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Showing posts from December, 2018

Their Eyes Were Watching God

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Their Eyes Were Watching God  by Zora Neale Hurston Blurb: Fair  and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person – no mean feat for a black woman in the '30s. Janie's quest for identity takes her through three marriages and into a journey back to her roots.  Review: Janie  saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches.  I  have to admit being somewhat weary before starting this book. It is such an Important™ book that, from the very beginning, I was questioning how good it was going to be (unfortunately, a lot of Important™ books simply aren't that good in my opinion) but after a professor of mine specifically talked about it for quite a while and told us about Hurston and the impact (or lack thereof) of her work I couldn't help but jump at the opportunity to pick this one up no matter how weary I was. And at firs

Romancing the Nerd (Nerd #2)

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Romancing the Nerd (Nerd #2) by Leah Rea Miller Blurb: Dan  Garrett has become exactly what he hates–popular. Until recently, he was just another live-action role-playing nerd on the lowest rung of the social ladder. Cue a massive growth spurt and an uncanny skill at taking three-point shots in basketball and voila…Mr. Popular. It’s definitely weird. And the biggest drawback? Going from high school zero to basketball hero cost Dan the secret girl of his dorky dreams. A tuba-playing nerd with an eclectic fashion sense, Zelda Potts’s “coolness” stat is about minus forty-two. Dan turning his back on her and the rest of nerd-dom was brutal enough, but when he humiliates her at school, Zelda decides it’s time for a little revenge—dork style. Nevermind that she used to have a crush on him. Nevermind that her plan could backfire big time. It’s time to roll the dice…and hope like freakin’ hell she doesn’t lose her heart in the process. Review: I  hold my crossed fingers

Die Känguru Apokryphen

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Die Känguru-Apokryphen  von Marc-Uwe Kling Zusammenfassung:  Sensation , Sensation: Archäologen haben in einem Geheimfach in Marc-Uwes Schreibtisch neue Geschichten vom Känguru und seinem Kleinkünstler gefunden! Dies ist nicht die Fortsetzung der Fortsetzung der Fortsetzung der Känguru-Chroniken. Triologie bleibt Triologie. Aber ein anständiger Kleinkünstler hat natürlich eine Zugabe vorbereitet.  Rezension: " Korrekt ", sage ich und kratze mich am Bart. "Das Buch soll übrigens Die Känguru-Apokryphen  heissen." "Das", sagt das Känguru, "ist ein richtiger Kacktitel." "Vielen Dank. Deine destruktive Kritik ist immer sehr hilfreich für mich." Wer  die Känguru-Chroniken nicht kennt, der hat bisher wirklich etwas verpasst. Solltest du also die Känrugur-Chroniken gar noch nicht kennen; was machst du hier noch? Beschaff dir Zugang zu den Büchern, beziehungsweise zu den Hörbüchern, und ich wünsche viel Spass dabei, d

Friends in High Places (Commissario Brunetti #9)

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Friends in High Places (Commissario Brunetti #9) by Donna Leon Blurb: When  Commissario Guido Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat investigating the lack of official approval for the building of his apartment years earlier, his first reaction, like any other Venetian, is to think of whom he knows who might bring pressure to bear on the relevant government department. But when the bureaucrat rings Brunetti at work, clearly scared, and is then found dead after a fall from scaffolding, something is obviously going on that has implications greater than the fate of Brunetti's apartment …  Review: Brunetti's  best friend had often said that he wanted death to take him just at the moment he laid his last lira down on a bar and said, "Prosecco for everyone." Well … Let's face it, this is only the second book by Donna Leon I've ever read and I haven't adhered to this series' order in the least bit but, more importantly, I don't

The Little Snake

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The Little Snake by A.L. Kennedy Blurb: This  is the story of Mary, a young girl born in a beautiful city full of rose gardens and fluttering kites. When she is still very small, Mary meets Lanmo, a shining gold snake, who becomes her very best friend. The snake visits Mary many times, he sees her city change, become sadder as bombs drop and war creeps in. He sees Mary and her family leave their home, he sees her grow up and he sees her fall in love. But Lanmo knows that the day will come when he can no longer visit Mary, when his destiny will break them apart, and he wonders whether having a friend can possibly be worth the pain of knowing you will lose them. Review: This  is almost, but not quite, the whole of the story about a remarkable, wise little girl. She was called Mary. Everything I will tell you here began when Mary went walking in her garden on one particular afternoon. If  you're ever looking for a sweet little tale in the vein of The Little Pr

Throwback: June - November

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Oh , wow, do you remember how the last time I wrote one of these I was lamenting about having waited for too long before writing the next Throwback? Yeah, this time it's worse. But also, as you might have noticed from how sparingly I've written reviews (until this month), I was kinda busy. I have excuses. Don't judge. Anyway, I'm not going to waste more time not doing the thing I've set out to do and just get right into it: (Before I actually get into it, though, I just want to make it clear that I'll link to the Goodreads-pages of all the books I haven't reviewed on this Blog and to the reviews on this Blog of all the books which I have written ones for.) Books: (The ones I read for university) Witches: Exploring the Iconography of the Sorceress and Enchantress by Lorenzo Lorenzi Quite interesting! Especially the whole Medusa-bit, I'm a sucker for Greek Mythology and I never even thought of her as such great inspiration for the later