Month: Jul 2020

Rosie | Little Bird Book Blog2 Comments

Monthly Wrap Up – July 2020

It’s the end of the month and it’s also nearly the end of my first week back to book blogging; this wrap up might be slightly odd this month as it is the first one. Even in this short space of time the welcome back I’ve from people in the community has been lovely and it has me very excited to continue! It actually makes me regret taking such a long break away from the book blogging sphere, but I’m pleased to be back.

Books read this month

Physical copies of books read this month!

This month I read a total of 9 books (7 physical books and 2 ebooks):

Reviews written this month

So, as I have just been back a week I have only managed to write and post two proper book reviews which are for Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and Hope Island by Tim Major. However, I have plenty more on the way so watch this space!

My favourite books this month

I really enjoyed pretty much everything I read this month, however there are three books in particular that stand out as my favourites…

Circe by Madeline Miller
I’m not totally familiar with the story of Circe in Greek mythology despite reading a lot of it when I was younger, however, I really liked Miller’s take on the character. I loved seeing how Miller weaved her into so many other famous Greek tales. I want to write a full review on this book soon as a couple of lines does not do this justice at all.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Unlike the other two on this list, this is one that I have managed to review this week! The way Lee seamlessly writes through four generations of a Korean family is incredible. Not only does she gets the pacing spot on to where literal decades in the book fly by, but she also has a great understanding of the people that she is writing about and brings them to life.

The Cat and the City by Nick Bradley
This is actually a novel that I read this morning and it blew me away. A full review will be up in the coming days but the tl;dr is that I urge you to pick this up and read it as it is wonderful. It has even made me very nostalgic for my trips to Japan as it truly captures the spirit of Tokyo.

How did you get on this month? Did you read more or less than you expected/wanted? Did we read any of the same books? I’d love to know!

Rosie | Little Bird Book BlogLeave a comment

Animal Crossing New Horizons Book Tag

In my favourite place with my favourite villager…

Firstly, huge thanks to Two Book Thieves for creating this brilliant book tag! As soon as I saw it on another blog I just knew that this would be a perfect one for me to do! As well as books, my other huge passion is video games and I, like most other people, have been obsessively playing Animal Crossing New Horizons since it came out in March. I also thought it was quite appropriate to post this today with the second Summer update going live!

Past Villager – Who is a character you found when you were younger that still has a place in your heart?

I think I would have to say Alex Rider from the series by Anthony Horowitz. Whilst I haven’t kept up with the series in recent years, I loved Alex’s adventures and I was always excited to start reading the next instalment. The character is still very much in my heart, especially after reliving my favourite of his missions, Point Blanc, in the recent TV adaptation Alex Rider on Amazon Prime.

Blather’s Blatherings – Recommend a historical fiction book that you think everybody should read.

No doubt about it, everybody should read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (then again, I’m not sure if there are many people left that haven’t read it at this point!). It’s a phenomenal story set in Nazi Germany and narrated by Death. I read the novel in 2007 and it has stuck with me ever since.

Celeste’s Wish – What is a future book you wish you could read now?

I wish I could read The Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss, which doesn’t yet have a release date. After finishing The Wise Man’s Fear I have been eager to get my hands on the final instalment of the series! However, I trust Patrick Rothfuss and his writing to know that the novel will be well worth the wait no matter how long it may be.

Timmy & Tommy – What is your favourite sibling relationship in a book?

The siblings that immediately came to mind were the Weasley twins – how could they not?

The Easter Bunny – A popular book character you’re not a big fan of.

Professor Snape. I feel like getting backstory for him, and the reveal of why he’s mean to Harry, just didn’t sit well with me. It was interesting but, to me, it made him bullying Harry all these years make less sense. Okay, we get that you hate his father but, is that any way to treat the child of the woman you supposedly loved?

Nook’s Loans – An author you would give all your money to.

Haruki Murakami, I mean, I practically have already with all of the books of his that I’ve bought and read so far!

The Sisters Able – What is your favourite fictional family (found or otherwise)?

Kind of a mix of found and blood family, but I love the Housekeeper, her son Root and the Professor in Yōko Ogawa’s The Housekeeper and the Professor. Whilst only two are actually blood related, the way that the Housekeeper looks after the Professor and builds a strong bond with him was beautiful. The way the Professor took to Root too, as if he was his grandson, was also very touching.

It’s a C+ – What is a book trope you don’t like that keeps popping up?

Love triangles. Nothing more needs to be said.

The Wandering Camel – What is your favourite book set in a land far away from yours?

As a literature enthusiast, it is impossible for me to have a favourite book (how do you manage to pick just one?!). However, the one that I have chosen for this question is Dawn by Octavia Butler. This was on my reading list for a module at university and I adored it. I was fascinated by the Oankali aliens and their plans for the last remaining humans on a new planet. Thinking about this book again makes me want to re-read it and finish the series…

What Would Dodos Do? – A fictional land you wish you could fly away to at any moment.

It would have to be the wizarding world in the Harry Potter series. After growing up with the series, it felt like home to me and probably always will. Although, I’d like to go to Hogwarts when Harry isn’t a student: I couldn’t be dealing with the stress of Voldemort making an appearance every year AND exams.

Rosie | Little Bird Book Blog1 Comment

Hope Island by Tim Major

Publisher: Titan Books
Publication Date: 08/06/2020
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Sci-Fi | Horror

CW: n/a

Blackwells.co.uk

Workaholic TV news producer Nina Scaife is determined to fight for her daughter, Laurie, after her partner Rob walks out on her. She takes Laurie to visit Rob’s parents on the beautiful but remote Hope Island, to prove to her that they are still a family. But Rob’s parents are wary of Nina, and the islanders are acting strangely. And as Nina struggles to reconnect with Laurie, the silent island children begin to lure her daughter away.Meanwhile, Nina tries to resist the scoop as she is drawn to a local artists’ commune, the recently unearthed archaeological site on their land, and the dead body on the beach… 

GoodReads
Continue reading “Hope Island by Tim Major” →

Rosie | Little Bird Book Blog2 Comments

Book Haul – July 2020

My July 2020 book haul!

Every month since April, I decided to treat myself to a selection of books as I’m getting through my TBR pile relatively quickly this year! So, I don’t feel quite as guilty adding to my bookshelf. After reading Circe by Madeline Miller, you will see there is a bit of a theme amongst some of the books…

I can’t wait to get stuck into these! Keep an eye out on my reviews in the coming weeks. Have you read any of these novels? Let me know what you thought of them!

Rosie | Little Bird Book Blog4 Comments

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Publisher: Apollo
Publication Date: 13/03/2020 (reissue)
Length: 552 pages
Genre: Historical fiction | Asian Literature

CW: suicide

In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant — and that her lover is married — she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son’s powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations.

GoodReads

Review

This year, as you will soon see from the coming reviews that I post, I have been on a kick of reading Japanese and Korean fiction. So, naturally, this book seemed like a perfect one to get stuck into and get stuck into it I did!

Although the novel spans four generation and covers several decades, many of which being some of the most important in the 20th Century, the novel flew by. The pacing was excellent, each change in setting or year was clearly identified at the beginning of the chapter so you were always aware of how much time had passed. The transition from year to year and character to character flowed so naturally. When the protagonists shifted from Sunja, to her sons, to her grandson, I was barely aware of it because it was done seamlessly. It felt right to have the shifts happen when they did as you have built a relationship with the characters from their lives as told by the previous protagonists.

This was also achieved through how Lee depicted each of the characters. You could tell that not only is she a talented writer but she really understands the people that she was portraying. There were several times where the characters just felt like real people and I became so invested in their lives because of this. Sunja is so admirable, I certainly wouldn’t have been as strong as her. I would have immediately caved and lived as Hansu’s kept woman. I was also fascinated by her sons Noa and Mozasu, seeing how they can be raised in the same situations but turn out so different (or so it seems at first).

Whilst this is a work of fiction, it isn’t difficult to believe that there were many Korean families that experienced hardships like this in Japan. Who most likely still face some similar hardships now. Min Jin Lee does a superb job of weaving history into the novel without it dominating the novel or the characters. You are aware of the wars going on, however they are not the sole focus and you see the events through how the family develops and reacts.

I could talk about this book for hours, as it’s one of my favourite novels that I read this year and potentially in general. However, I will restrain myself before this post becomes too long, and simply urge you to pick this book up for yourself!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Rosie | Little Bird Book Blog2 Comments

Hello everyone, welcome to Little Bird Book Blog!

It’s been a very long time since I have dipped my toes into the book blogging world and I’m very excited to come back! Once upon a time I ran a book blog for a few years starting when I was doing my A-Levels, I was reading a lot for school and outside it that I just wanted to share all of my thoughts (even if I was just shouting them into the void at first!).

The blog continued into my years studying English Literature at university, even if I didn’t keep up with any kind of regular posting schedule. However, after university I was in a huge slump: I was totally burnt out on reading books after having to power through four in a week (even if I didn’t like them) every week, and job hunting was draining. The thought of picking up a book and reviewing it became overwhelming and the blog became dormant.

Once I got a job I thought the commute would be the perfect time to get some reading in, like it was when I was on my placement year. However, I’d forgotten how long it took me to adjust to the 9-5 lifestyle in London on my placement year and so my to read list continued to pile up. I read a couple of books here and there, mostly on holiday or, if there were problems with my trains and I ended up having to sit on the District line for well over an hour.

This year I resolved to travel more (which hasn’t quite worked out) and read more. Back in February I attended a Japanese Literature event at the British Library where authors and their translators spoke in depth about their works which excited me and I came away with nearly all of the books on sale (which made the journey home on a crowded, delayed, Central line train even more fun).

One of the books I picked up was Penguin Highway by Tomihiko Morimi and little Aoyama inspired me to start writing again. I was fascinated with the way the boy took notes about everything and it made me want to start journalling again. I now have three journals on the go and it was my reading journal that convinced me to start a book blog again. After reading 44 books this year so far, I feel like I have recovered from my book burnout and rediscovered my lifelong passion and enthusiasm for reading.

Okay, so I know this was long winded but I hope you stick around for more of my reviews and ramblings! I know this is going to be tough starting out again, and there may be times that I feel overwhelmed with blogging, but I think I’m in a better place for it now, and I’m determined for it to continue.

~ Rosie