Now You’re One of Us by Asa Nonami

Publisher: Vertical
Publication Date:
18/12/2007
Length: 240 pages
Genre:
Translated Fiction | Japanese Fiction | Psychological Thriller | Gothic Horror

CW:  incest, non-consensual drug use

Blackwells.co.uk

All families have their own rituals, secrets, and credos, like a miniature religious cult; these quirks may elicit the mirth or mild alarm of guests, but the matter is rather more serious if you’re marrying into a household. If its’s a Japanese one with a history, the brace yourself: some surprising truths lurk around the corner.

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A Strange and Brilliant Light by Eli Lee

Firstly, a huge thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher: Quercus Books
Publication Date:
22/07/2021
Length: 416 pages
Genre:
Sci-Fi | Speculative Fiction | Literary Fiction

CW: n/a

Blackwells.co.uk

Lal, Janetta and Rose are living in a time of flux. Technological advance has brought huge financial rewards to those with power, but large swathes of the population are losing their jobs to artificial intelligence, or auts, as they’re called. Unemployment is high, discontent is rife and rumours are swirling. Many feel robbed – not just of their livelihoods, but of their hopes for the future.

Lal is languishing in her role at a coffee shop and feeling overshadowed by her quietly brilliant sister, Janetta, whose Ph.D. is focused on making auts empathetic. Even Rose, Lal’s best friend, has found a sense of purpose in charismatic up-and-coming politician Alek.

When vigilantes break in to the coffee shop and destroy their new coffee-making aut, it sets in motion a chain of events that will pull the three young women in very different directions.

Change is coming – change that will launch humankind into a new era. If Rose, Lal and Janetta can find a way to combine their burgeoning talents, they might just end up setting the course of history.

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Top 5 Friday – Women in Translation

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, as I’ve had a lot of things on my plate of late, but I just had to do it for Women in Translation month! As many of you have probably realised by now, I am very passionate about translated fiction. So, I’ve compiled some of my favourite books by women in translation! See if you can spot the unintentional theme…!

Continue reading “Top 5 Friday – Women in Translation”

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, as I’ve had a lot of things on my plate of late, but I just had to do it for Women in Translation month! As many of you have probably realised by now, I am very passionate about translated fiction. So, I’ve compiled some of my favourite books by women in translation! See if you can spot the unintentional theme…!

Continue reading “Top 5 Friday – Women in Translation”

Book Tag – The Book Snob Tag

It’s been a long time since I have done a book tag, but this one seemed so fun I had to join in! Thank you John @ Tales From Absurdia for the tag! You should totally check out his responses if you haven’t seen them already!

Tag Credit: Tia and All the Books

The Book Snob Tag


Adaptation Snob

Do you always read the book before watching the film / TV show?

Not really, if I’m really excited about an adaptation but it’s not coming out for a while then I will pick up the book first, similarly if it’s something that’s been on my TBR for a while I will try to read the book before seeing the adaptation… but I don’t have to read the book first.

In fact, in some ways it’s easier for me to watch an adaptation first and then read the books as I’m far less likely to watch a TV show or film based on a book if I’ve already read the book (purely because I’ve been so disappointed so many times now!). Whereas, if I do watch the adaptation first and really like it I’ll generally get the book to see how different it was.


Format Snob

You can only choose 1 format in which to read books for the rest of your life.

Which one do you choose: physical books, eBooks or audiobooks?

Even though I definitely wouldn’t have the space, I would still choose physical books. As much as I love the convenience of my kindle, especially for commuting or travelling, it still doesn’t beat the satisfaction of having full bookshelves and the feel of the pages!

To be really specific I do prefer paperbacks (especially floppy paperbacks) over hardbacks… Mainly because it’s easier to find a comfortable position to read in and it’s easier to take them around if the book you’re reading isn’t on your kindle. I also prefer the covers of paperbacks too whereas some hardbacks can be quite disappointing once the dust jacket is off… Although, I do feel fancy sitting outside with a naked hardback resting in one hand like a heroine from an Austen novel…


Ship Snob

Would you date / marry a non-reader?

Whilst not reading isn’t exactly a dealbreaker for me (as everyone has more than one interest or hobby to connect with) I think their reason for not reading could be. If someone just doesn’t enjoy it for themselves or prefers to do other things that’s totally fine, but if they have an actively negative opinion on books and reading then that would be an issue. As long as there is mutual respect for differing interests it’s all good!


Genre Snob

You have to ditch one genre – never to be read again for the rest of your life.

Which one do you ditch?

Now, the obvious answer for me is non-fiction but to make it interesting I’ll also choose a fiction genre… Which would probably be crime thriller novels.

This is the genre I reach for the least. I like detective fiction and whodunits (which I classify separately, no it isn’t cheating) but when it comes to gritty crime novels or true crime novels I just don’t have that much of an interest… The world can be terrible enough at times so the last thing I want is for that to follow me into my reading too!


Uber Genre Snob

You can only choose to read from one genre for the rest of your life.

Which genre do you choose?

This is a tough one as I read so many different genres and am very much a mood reader! 

If we are counting this as a genre then I would say translated fiction as I love reading books from other cultures, especially East Asian. However, if I’m not allowed to group translated fiction together then it would most likely be fantasy… Which is not something I thought I would say a couple of years ago!


Community Snob

Which genre do you think receives the most snobbery from the bookish community?

When I first started book blogging back in 2010 I would have said that a lot of bloggers looked down on the ‘chick lit’ (now ‘women’s fiction’) community and would try to pass it off as not ‘proper’ reading or just ‘trashy holiday’ reading. I think now that it has been rebranded as ‘women’s fiction’ I see less negativity around it (although there is still some).

Now, I would say that it’s probably the Young Adult community that gets put down a lot, especially the adults that are part of it as the books are deemed ‘too young’ for them which is dumb.

I tag…

Livy @ Shelves of Starlight

Isabelle @ The Shaggy Shepherd

Zoe @ Zoe’s Book Nook

Callum @ Callum McLaughlin

I’m generally late to the party on tags so, apologies if you have already done it!

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Publisher: Granta Books
Publication Date:
02/05/2019
Length: 163 pages
Genre:
Translated Fiction | Japanese Fiction | Contemporary Fiction

CW: n/a

Blackwells.co.uk

Meet Keiko.

Keiko is 36 years old.

She’s never had a boyfriend, and she’s been working in the same supermarket for eighteen years.

Keiko’s family wishes she’d get a proper job. Her friends wonder why she won’t get married.

But Keiko knows what makes her happy, and she’s not going to let anyone come between her and her convenience store…

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Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar

Publisher: Imburleigh Book Company
Publication Date:
18/02/2021
Length: 662 pages
Genre:
Historical Fantasy | Mystery | LGBTQIA+

CW: drug addiction, miscarriage, prisoner abuse, child abuse, graphic depictions of death

Blackwells.co.uk

Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law is wrong?

Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack.

Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three years of watching your son wither away can break down even the strongest convictions.

Then a dead girl washed up on the bank of the Brightwash, tattooed and mutilated. Where had she come from? Who would tattoo a child? Was it the same person who killed her?

Why was he the only one who cared?

Will Tashué be able to stand against everything he thought he believed in to get the answers he’s looking for?

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