2015

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

What did I read last week?

Three five-star reads in one week!

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian: Done! My review is here.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: Done! My review is here.

Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke: Done! My review is here.

In graphic novels…

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson: I really loved this story of a sidekick who’s so much more than she appears, the villain she aligns with (who isn’t maybe all that villainous after all), and the superhero/golden boy who isn’t quite all that perfect. It’s fun seeing the comic book standards turned upside down. The characters are terrific, the dialogue is clever, and the illustrations are spot-on. Highly recommended!

Fresh Catch:

Yet another week with no new books! This must be some kind of record for me.

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness: I bought this one several months ago, and I think it’s about time to get started!

Now playing via audiobook:

I’m plugging along with this massive, long audiobook version of Diana Gabaldon’s guide to the Outlander series. It’s quite a fun listen, with detailed plot synopses, character guides, and all sorts of fun tidbits narrated by Herself.

Ongoing reads:

None at the moment! My book club is in between group reads right now, with plans to start a new classic read and a Gabaldon read-along in January. Until then, it’s every reader for herself.

So many book, so little time…

27Dec2015

Take A Peek Book Review: Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

“Take a Peek” book reviews are short and (possibly) sweet, keeping the commentary brief and providing a little peek at what the book’s about and what I thought.

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

The Overlords appeared suddenly over every city–intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior to humankind. Benevolent, they made few demands: unify earth, eliminate poverty, and end war. With little rebellion, humankind agreed, and a golden age began.

But at what cost? With the advent of peace, man ceases to strive for creative greatness, and a malaise settles over the human race. To those who resist, it becomes evident that the Overlords have an agenda of their own. As civilization approaches the crossroads, will the Overlords spell the end for humankind… or the beginning?

My Thoughts:

I’m so glad to have read this sci-fi classic! I recently watched the incredibly well-done TV version of Childhood’s End (a three-part mini-series on Syfy), and couldn’t wait to read the original novel for more insights and explanations.

Where to start? The book differs from the TV show in many ways, but the overall storyline remains more or less the same. In some ways, the book has fewer big, dramatic set-pieces, and we get less involved with certain characters or places. The book is a story of all of Earth and the fate of mankind. It’s fascinating to see the evolving relationship between the humans and Overlords, and what this relationship will mean for the next chapter of life on Earth.

The writing is intelligent and though-provoking. We see the events unfold through many different characters’ perspectives, and come to understand the role of the Overlords as well as the way Earth’s inhabitants grow over the years from fear to acceptance, curiosity to complaisance.

The moment of the Overlords’ arrival, as seen by an astrophysicist, is an early indication this book is really something special:

He felt no regrets as the work of a lifetime was swept away. He had labored to take man to the stars, and, in the moment of success, the stars — the aloof, indifferent stars — had come to him. This was the moment when history held its breath, and the present sheared asunder from the past as an iceberg splits from its frozen, parent cliffs, and goes sailing out to sea in lonely pride. All that the past ages had achieved was as nothing now: only one thought echoed and re-echoed through Reinhold’s brain:

The human race was no longer alone.

If you’re interested in classic science fiction, this is a great place to start. While it was written in 1953, Childhood’s End really does not feel dated. As an aside, at least one small moment where a character expressed dissatisfaction with what passes for the arts in this golden age seems quite prescient:

Do you realize that every day something like five hundred hours of radio and TV pour out over the various channels? If you went without sleep and did nothing else, you could follow less than a twentieth of the entertainment that’s available at the turn of a switch! No wonder that people are becoming passive sponges — absorbing but never creating. Did you know that the average viewing time per person is now three hours a day? Soon people won’t be living their own lives any more. It will be a full-time job keeping up with the various family serials on TV!

Childhood’s End is fascinating, beautifully written, and with so much food for thought and discussion. Highly recommended!

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The details:

Title: Childhood’s End
Author: Arthur C. Clarke
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication date: 1953
Length: 212 pages
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Purchased

26Dec2015

Book Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I dare anyone to read this book and not fall at least a little bit in love with Simon, the main character of this sweet, funny, touching young adult novel.

Simon is a 17-year-old high school junior, a good student, in the school musical (Oliver!), and with a reliable circle of friends, among them his life-long besties Nick and Leah and his new BFF Abby. What Simon hasn’t shared with anyone is that he’s gay. It’s not that he’s unsure — he’s quite, quite certain about his identity. He’s just not quite ready to stop being private and have to deal with the reactions he’s sure to face.

But life gets complicated. On the Tumblr where students from his school share secrets, he’s found a kindred spirit — a kind, smart boy going by the name of Blue, who is also a junior at the same school. Simon and Blue start an intense email correspondence, each using his “secret” gmail account to maintain anonymity. Over the course of the weeks and then months since they began emailing, they’ve opened up to one another to a remarkable degree. Simon wants to meet; Blue isn’t sure that it’s a good idea.

And then Simon makes the ultimate online error — he checks his email using the computers in the school library and forgets to log back out. Before long, he’s facing a geeky, awkward student named Martin who lets Simon know that he has screenshots of his emails and will let the entire school know that Simon’s gay unless Simon helps him get Abby to go out with him. It’s blackmail, but carried out with a smile. Martin refuses to see that he’s doing something evil, and apart from this unforgivable act, Martin isn’t a terrible person or a bully, which makes it all the more confusing for Simon.

Simon himself is a sweetheart. He’s funny and smart, tries to do the right thing, and has good intentions, although he still manages to hurt some of his friends along the way. Above all, he’s a boy who’s falling in love with someone from the inside out, learning everything about Blue but still not knowing which of the boys he sees at school everyday is the actual man of his dreams.

Simon’s voice in the novel is engaging and full of humor. Even in his moments of doubt or discouragement, he’s funny as hell.

I take a sip of my beer, and it’s — I mean, it’s just astonishingly disgusting. I don’t think I was expecting it to taste like ice cream, but holy fucking hell. People lie and get fake IDs and sneak into bars, and for this? […] Anyway, it really makes you worry about all the hype surrounding sex.

Simon’s email flirtation with Blue is incredibly adorable:

I’m glad I was cute and grammatical. I think you’re cute and grammatical, too.

The truth eventually comes out, and Simon comes out, and all is finally revealed. I don’t want to say more, because seeing it unfold is a big part of the fun.

Beneath all the humor and cute teen escapades are real feelings, beautifully expressed, about family, identity, safety, trust, and friendship. Simon’s journey in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda involves sharing himself, really and truly, with the people in his life, and pursuing his truth even when it means taking risks.

It’s a lovely and engaging story, full of flirting and happy moments as well as heartache, and I loved every bit of it. Highly recommended — check it out!

_________________________________________

The details:

Title: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication date: April 7, 2015
Length: 303 pages
Genre: Young adult fiction
Source: Purchased

26Dec2015

Book Review: The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian is a dark, disturbing look into the world of sex trafficking, as well as a meditation on love, marriage, and the tests a relationship can withstand.

Richard Chapman — 40 years old, a well-off investment banker with a beautiful Westchester home, a lovely wife, and terrific 9-year-old daughter — has the best of intentions when he agrees to host a bachelor party for his younger brother at his home. His brother is a careless, selfish sort with a bunch of equally immature friends, but Richard figures having the party at his house is better than ending up in a strip club. And sure, everyone espects that there will be a stripper showing up — but what they don’t expect is two beautiful, young strippers who seem willing, for a price, to do much more than strip. And they definitely don’t expect the two intimidating guys who seem to be the girls’ handlers, bodyguards… or something even shadier.

Things get out of control, and quickly. And before the night is through, one of the strippers has stabbed one of the guards in the throat, the other guard has been shot, and the girls have run off, leaving behind a group of shocked and terrified men, a house that’s a bloody mess, and at least one husband with a lot of explaining to do.

Richard’s world is immediately turned upside down. He has to explain to his wife that while he was tempted by the offer of sex (and in fact, went upstairs with one of the girls), he did not actually have sex with her. He has to face the fact that the girls involved may have been minors. He has to deal with the immediate tabloid headlines about orgies in the suburbs and the subsequent damage to his reputation. And on top of all this, he can’t get the girl named Alexandra out of his mind. He went upstairs with her, even took off his clothes, but was somehow so touched by her youth and vulnerability that all he wanted to do was protect her.

At the same time, each chapter ends with a segment told from Alexandra’s point of view. Alexandra is not her real name, but it’s the name she’s used for the past five years, ever since she was lured away at age 14 from her small town in Armenia by the promise of ballet lessons in Moscow. What she got in Moscow was not ballet, but rape, imprisonment, and forced sexual slavery. Deprived of all access the to outside world, Alexandra was brutalized and forced into a life as (as she puts it) a “courtesan” and a “sex toy”. She and other girls her age are kept locked up, kept pretty, and trained to please the endless stream of wealthy and powerful men whom they service. There’s no other word for it — it’s horrifying.

The intersection of Richard’s world and Alexandra’s world blows both of their lives apart. Richard’s marriage is in crisis, his daughter is disgusted, his home feels violated, and he’s been placed on leave by his banking firm, which wishes to distance themselves from the lurid, sordid details that the press is delighting in sharing. Richard’s brother’s friends are being shady, and while Richard is not in legal trouble, he has plenty of reason to worry about his future.

Meanwhile, Alexandra and the other girl, Sonja, are on the run, but without resources — no place to turn for help, no ID or credit cards, nothing but the clothes on their backs, the cash in their pockets, and the guns they’ve taken from the dead guards. They know that they can’t stay in New York, with the Russian gangsters who own them wanting them dead, but they have no experience being free or making their own way, and have no one they can trust.

To say that this book is upsetting is an understatement. I couldn’t put it down or look away, but it left me feeling so bleak and full of despair. The fact that Alexandra’s story is fictional doesn’t mean that these sorts of things aren’t taking place in the real world. The Guest Room provides a peek into the world of sexual slavery, and it’s grim and dirty and depressing as hell.

Which is not to say that The Guest Room is not a good read. It’s actually completely engrossing, and once I started, I couldn’t stop reading. The main characters are all so well-developed that we get to really understand them as complex people, not cookie-cutter characters. Richard screws up, but he’s still a good person. He loves his wife and child, and wants to do the right thing, and still, inadvertently, brings all sorts of horror and chaos into their previously perfect lives. Richard’s wife Kristin is humiliated and hurt, but she also loves her husband and values their life together. She doesn’t always do what’s expected, and the author avoids the more clichéd roads with Kristin by showing the deeply thought-out choices that she makes.

Alexandra is a tragic, fascinating character. Seeing the world through her eyes in the parts she narrates, we get to understand what hopelessness truly is. Her voice is distinct and feels very real, and it’s incredibly disturbing to enter into Alexandra’s intensely awful existence and understand why she thinks and behaves as she does.

The Guest Room is powerful, upsetting, and impossible to put down. Chris Bohjalian is a masterful writer who seems to be at home in any genre. This book is a crime thriller, but it’s also a character study and even, in an odd way, a story about what makes a good marriage. I can’t say that it’s a pleasant read, but it’s certainly a great one.

_________________________________________

The details:

Title: The Guest Room
Author: Chris Bohjalian
Publisher: Doubleday
Publication date: January 5, 2016
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction/thriller
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

23Dec2015

Thursday Quotables: Terrier (Beka Cooper, #1)

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

NEW! Thursday Quotables is now using a Linky tool! Be sure to add your link if you have a Thursday Quotables post to share.

Terrier by Tamora Pierce
(published 2006)

This week’s Thursday Quotables selection comes courtesy of my daughter, who is home for winter break and is reading (for the 1,000th time?) one of her favorite books by a favorite author.

“I’ll kiss them and make them better,” he said when he saw my bruises.

I slid one foot back to balance myself and raised my arms, hands fisted, into blocking positions. “Try and I’ll bruise you.” I actually said it out loud.

Intrigued? Here’s the synopsis for Terrier, via Goodreads:

Hundreds of years before Alanna first drew her sword in Tamora Pierce’s memorable debut, Alanna: The First Adventure, Tortall had a heroine named Beka Cooper – a fierce young woman who fights crime in a world of magic. This is the beginning of her story, her legend, and her legacy….

Beka Cooper is a rookie with the law-enforcing Provost’s Guard, commonly known as “the Provost’s Dogs,” in Corus, the capital city of Tortall. To the surprise of both the veteran “Dogs” and her fellow “puppies,” Beka requests duty in the Lower City. The Lower City is a tough beat. But it’s also where Beka was born, and she’s comfortable there.

Beka gets her wish. She’s assigned to work with Mattes and Clary, famed veterans among the Provost’s Dogs. They’re tough, they’re capable, and they’re none too happy about the indignity of being saddled with a puppy for the first time in years. What they don’t know is that Beka has something unique to offer. Never much of a talker, Beka is a good listener. So good, in fact, that she hears things that Mattes and Clary never could – information that is passed in murmurs when flocks of pigeons gather … murmurs that are the words of the dead.

In this way, Beka learns of someone in the Lower City who has overturned the power structure of the underworld and is terrorizing its citizens into submission and silence. Beka’s magical listening talent is the only way for the Provost’s Dogs to find out the identity of this brutal new underlord, for the dead are beyond fear. And the ranks of the dead will be growing if the Dogs can’t stop a crime wave the likes of which has never been seen. Luckily for the people of the Lower City, the new puppy is a true terrier!

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Click on the linky button (look for the cute froggie face) below to add your link.
After you link up, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment about my quote for this week.
Be sure to visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

22Dec2015

Shelf Control #15: The Rithmatist

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Shelf Control is all about the books we want to read — and already own! Consider this a variation of a Wishing & Waiting post… but looking at books already available, and in most cases, sitting right there on our shelves and e-readers.

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Let’s take control of our shelves!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: The Rithmatist
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Published: 2013
Length: 378 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

The Rithmatist, Brandon Sanderson’s New York Times bestselling epic teen adventure is now available in paperback.

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that will change Rithmatics—and their world—forever.

How I got it:

I bought it after reading a bunch of positive reviews, thinking it might be something that would be good to read with my son.

When I got it:

A year or two ago.

Why I want to read it:

It just sounds so clever and different! Plus, by now, I’ve seen some book friends posting enthusiastic reviews, and I feel like I’m missing out. I don’t think my son is particularly interested, but I guess that just means I should go ahead and read it on my own.

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link below!
And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and have fun!

For more on why I’ve started Shelf Control, check out my introductory post here, or read all about my out-of-control book inventory, here.

And if you’d like to post a Shelf Control button on your own blog, here’s an image to download (with my gratitude, of course!):

21Dec2015

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books (and Bookish Goodies) I’d Love To Get As Gifts (2015)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year. Since I don’t have a tree and I’m not on Santa’s route (and my winter holiday has already come and gone), I’ll stick with books and bookish items that I’d love to get as gifts — any time at all!

For the most part, my list consists of books and related things that I’d love to receive, but for whatever reason — high price, feeling like too big an indulgence, a “nice to have” but not really a necessity — I just most likely wouldn’t buy these for myself. (Ahem, secret gift givers — are you paying attention??)

1) The new illustrated Harry Potter: This looks absolutely gorgeous! Next time I find myself with a giftcard in my hands, this will be my treat to myself.

2) Also related to Harry Potter, I’d love to get the complete series as audiobooks:

3) This one has been on my “want” list for years: Firefly: A Celebration by Joss Whedon

Description: Titan’s three bestselling Firefly titles collected together at last, just in time for the 10th anniversary of Joss Whedon’s beloved series. This huge, 544 page full colour volume is simply one of the most lavish books ever produced for a TV show, and is presented in a foil-stamped leather-effect binding. Plus, as an exclusive bonus for this edition, a pocket at the back of the book contains 9 frameable photo prints of the cast, featuring rare and previously unseen images, and a facsimile of one of the prop banknotes used in the show.

4) This one too: Bone: Full Color One Volume Edition by Jeff Smith

Bone is one of my very favorite things ever. I love the artwork, the story, and the ridiculous stupid rat creatures. We have the 9 individual books, but I’m sure lusting after this all-in-one version. However… at about $100, this isn’t an edition I’m likely to buy unless I’m suddenly discovered by some long-lost wealthy relative… I can dream, can’t I?

5) The gorgeous hardcover collected edition of the first three volumes in the Saga series:

6) Sticking with graphic novels, I’d love to own my own set of the Alex + Ada trilogy, which I read this past year thanks to my public library:

7) I have a perfectly functional Kindle — but it’s one of the old-model keyboard Kindles, and I’m kind of itching for an upgrade (for no good reason, really, since it works just fine and I enjoy using it). Still, if I were to get a newer Kindle, I’d probably go for the Kindle Voyage, ‘cuz it just seems cool.

8) I love all the amazing book-related shirts, totebags, mugs, etc over at Out of Print:

9) I’d definitely love to receive pretty much any of the Collectible Edition books available from Barnes and Noble:

Dracula and Other Horror Classics (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions) The Bronte Sisters: Three Novels (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions) Anne of Green Gables (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions)

10) There are several memoirs and non-fiction books that I’ll probably borrow from the library eventually, but wouldn’t mind actually owning — among them:

What are you hoping to find under your tree, in your stocking, or in the UPS driver’s hands this year? Whatever you’re wishing for, I wish you good health, good friends, lots of laughter, and amazing reading!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

21Dec2015

The Monday Check-In ~ 12/21/2015

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

What did I read last week?

Winter by Marissa Meyer: Done! My review is here.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters: Done! My review is here.

A Cold-Blooded Business by Dana Stabenow: I finished this audiobook during the past week, and loved it. The Kate Shugak series is consistently strong and fascinating.

Elsewhere on the blog:

Speaking of audiobooks… I wrote a post asking whether listening to audiobooks “counts” as reading. In my opinion, the answer is a resounding YES, but I’m interested in hearing what others have to say on the subject. You can read my post and share your thoughts here.

Pop culture goodness:

I finished season 2 of Transparent, which is simply amazing, so hard to describe, and an absolute must-watch.

And of course the biggest pop culture event of the week (or the year)… like millions of others, I went to see the new Star Wars movie! Not on opening night, alas, but close enough…

Fresh Catch:

No new books this week!

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Next up, I plan to read one (or both) of two ARCs for books being released in early January:

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

Now playing via audiobook:

Just to change things up a bit… I picked up the newly released volume two of The Outlandish Companion back when it came out in the fall, but haven’t done more than just randomly leaf through up to now. For those not completely obsessed with all things Outlander — the OCII is a reference book (2nd volume), including plot synopses, character descriptions, maps and floor plans, and various essays related to the book series. I think it’s fascinating, naturally. Anyway, I decided to listen to the audiobook, which includes pieces read by Diana Gabaldon as well as by the narrators who do the novels of the series and related novellas. It’s quite fun so far — and I’ll be listening to this one for a few weeks, as it’s over 21 hours long!

Ongoing reads:

None at the moment! My book club is in between group reads right now, with plans to start a new classic read and a Gabaldon read-along in January. Until then, it’s every reader for herself.

So many book, so little time…

20Dec2015

Take A Peek Book Review: In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

“Take a Peek” book reviews are short and (possibly) sweet, keeping the commentary brief and providing a little peek at what the book’s about and what I thought.

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her?

Featuring haunting archival early-twentieth-century photographs, this is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.

My Thoughts:

Bravo to Cat Winters for creating a chilling yet realistic world in her debut novel! In the Shadow of Blackbirds is set in a time of absolute horror in the United States, as the awful combination of a brutal war and a deadly flu pandemic makes death feel like a constant presence. The author does a masterful job of creating the feel of the time period, with paranoia and terror rampant in the cities and streets, and with no safe place to hide.

Surely, though, I must have stolen into the future and landed in an H. G. Wells-style world — a horrific, fantastical society in which people’s faces contained only eyes, millions of healthy young adults and children dropped dead from the flu, boys got transported out of the country to be blown to bits, and the government arrested citizens for speaking the wrong words. Such a place couldn’t be real. And it couldn’t be the United States of America, “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

But it was.

I was on a train in my own country, in a year the devil designed.

1918.

Mary Shelley is a smart, courageous young woman who sees her whole world turned upside down as her father is imprisoned for treason after daring to speak out against war. As she flees Portland to take shelter with her aunt in San Diego, she seeks word of the boy she loves, only to be told that he’s died a hero’s death in the war. But as Stephen visits her in her dreams and then in waking moments, she realizes that her skepticism about spiritualism may be challenged by a voice trying to reach her from the other side.

This book conveys so much without ever feeling like a history lesson. Through Mary Shelley’s experiences, we see the impact of the war on the homefront, the sickeningly high death toll of the influenza epidemic and the futility of the home remedies used to ward off disease (garlic-flavored chewing gum, bathing in onion water — ugh), the horrible condition of the injured, maimed soldiers home from the battlefields, and the desperation of the bereaved that makes them easy prey for charlatans claiming to be able to channel their dead loved ones.

The plot is tautly woven and fast-paced, but never at the expense of character development. We learn so much about Mary Shelley’s character and her relationship with Stephen through their letters sprinkled throughout the book, as well as by seeing Mary Shelley’s determination to figure out the secrets surrounding Stephen’s messages and help him find peace.

I highly recommend In the Shadow of Blackbirds for anyone who enjoys historical fiction — as well as for anyone who enjoys a good, suspenseful tale, grounded in reality but with a hint of the supernatural. Cat Winters is an extremely talented author, and I can’t wait to read more of her work!

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The details:

Title: In the Shadow of Blackbirds
Author: Cat Winters
Publisher: Amulet Books
Publication date: April 2, 2013
Length: 387 pages
Genre: Young adult/historical fiction
Source: Library

19Dec2015

The audiobook debate: What “counts” as reading?

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Earlier this week, a close friend (and one of my favorite book people – a true BBF) was moaning to me about her progress toward her Goodreads goal. Only two weeks left in December, and she’s still short 12 books! She’s planning to take a bunch of smaller books and graphic novels with her on her family holiday trip, so it’s likely she’ll make her total by the end of the year.

I’ve already passed my goal (okay, I did read a lot of graphic novels this year!), and as I was talking to my friend about some of the books that pushed me over the top, numbers-wise, I mentioned Uprooted by Naomi Novik, one of my favorite audiobooks of the year. The conversation took a sudden and unexpected turn:

BBF: You count audiobooks?

Me: Yes. (Of course! I added in my head.)

BBF: But that’s not reading!

Me: Oh yes it is!

BBF: Nuh-uh!

Me: Yuh-huh!

We didn’t stick out our tongues at each other… but in terms of childish behavior, we came close!

So what is reading? What “counts”?

The primary definition of the verb “read”, according to Dictionary.com, is:

to look at carefully so as to understand the meaning of (something written, printed, etc.):
to read a book; to read music.

Okay, that one focuses on the written/printed word. Here’s definition #2:

to utter aloud or render in speech (something written, printed, etc.):
reading a story to his children; The actor read his lines in a booming voice.

Hmm. That’s the act of reading aloud. When my son was younger, I read to him all the time, even up to age 12, when we read together such books as Eragon and The Hobbit. I had never read Eragon before, and as I read it to my son, I was reading it for myself as well.

But back to the original question: Is listening to a book the same as reading a book? Do your eyes have to be involved in order to have read something? What about someone who’s vision-impaired? Using a Braille book seems to obviously be reading… but what if they don’t know Braille? What if they can only enjoy books that they listen to? Does that count as reading?

I’ve become a big fan of audiobooks in the past few years, so my take on the issue is pretty clear-cut. For me, whether I’ve used my eyes or my ears, my brain is certainly involved, and either way, I’m absorbing a story, ideas, plotlines, themes, and more.

I suppose I’d be in favor of a more expansive definition of reading, along the lines of:

Using one’s senses to take in the content of a book.

(Okay, let’s agree to exclude taste and smell from the above! I love the smell of a bookstore, but sniffing books definitely isn’t reading! And I don’t recommend eating them either.)

Of course, as I probably should have said earlier, it doesn’t actually matter what anyone else thinks when it comes to Goodreads stats. I’ve seen people argue about all sorts of things “counting” as real books, such as novellas, graphic novels, and re-reads. I take a pretty lenient approach with myself: If I feel like I’ve read something, then I have! And that includes all of the above.

Yes, in my opinion, if I’ve listened to an audiobook, then I’ve read the book. Period.

Where do you stand on the issue? Are audiobooks books? Does listening “count” as reading? And would you (or do you) include audiobooks in your list of books read in a year?

Share your thoughts, please!