Monday 30 March 2015

Share Your Thoughts: Do Discussions Ever Get Old?

Hello, there and welcome back! Make sure you're sitting comfortably, and get ready to share your thoughts! This is a new periodical feature here at Book For Thought, where we can come together to discuss bookish topics. As with everything else here, if you have any comments on the feature in general, or you would like to suggest a topic for a future discussion, feel free to email me (address in the About Me page). So, let's get talking!
I've been meaning to start a new discussion feature for a while now. I must have started this post a thousand times, but I just couldn't bring myself to actually ever finish it. "Why is that?" I hear you asking. Well, since you insist, it would be rude not to tell you. The reason is actually pretty simple. Every topic I came up with just felt not very original (or, in some cases, not at all). The more I racked my brain to come up with an original idea for a discussion, the more I realised that all the topics I was picking had already been discussed before by other bloggers. A quick Google search for each topic brought me pages and pages of results, and I just felt like there was no point in me discussing the issue, because it had been done so many times before already, and I'm not entirely sure I could actually add anything of value to the multiple discussions that were already out there.

But that actually got me thinking, can a topic ever be "over-discussed"? I know it's incredibly hard to actually come up with an idea that no-one, EVER thought before. I mean, there probably are some bloggers out there who have already tackled this topic, it's just that I haven't really come across them before. But sometimes, it feels to me like some topics have been discussed by everyone and there really isn't much more left to say. Still, I am pretty conflicted about this, since I actually love to hear what each person has to say on a specific topic, because they are bound to add their own personal spin to it, and that is something I LOVE and it's one of the reasons I am so fond of the book blogging community.

On the other hand, though, there are only so many things one can say on long-time favourite discussion topics, such as "paperbacks vs hardbacks", for instance (I am a paperback-lover, by the way. Just in case you were wondering). And while I love reading what everyone has to say, and finding out their own personal reasons for falling on one side of the fence or the other (or even sitting on it, if you're one of those people), sometimes I can't help but feel like it's all been said before, and I actually end up skim-reading the whole post and not really engaging in the discussion because of the over-exposure to the topic.

So, I guess what I really want to know is, am I alone in this? Do you also feel like some topics have been over-discussed, or do you actually like reading everyone's opinion on a given topic, even if you've heard that discussion umpteen times before? And is there really such a thing as over-discussing a topic?

Saturday 28 March 2015

Stacking the Shelves (Mar 28)


Stacking the Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves, physical or virtual, and sharing our excitement about our new titles. And why not, maybe also finding a great new read in the process! This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Aaaaand... Another month has gone by! I just cannot believe it, it seems like yesterday I was writing this about February, and now it's the end of March already. Time is definitely flying by really quickly, although that's not necessarily a bad thing. At least now we can start to hope that spring will finally arrive, and that the long days of bad weather and cold are finally over. So, what happened during last week? Well, as I told you in my last Weekly Recap, I took part in an International Literature Festival in Venice as a volunteer. It was FANTASTIC to see so many talented authors and lovely volunteers come together from around the world to share their experiences and their love for books. Of course, I would have enjoyed it SOOOO much more if I hadn't fallen ill halfway through, which caused me to miss out on basically everything that happened in the second half of the week. But hey, that's life I guess.

Book-wise, it was a pretty good week. I've been sticking to my book ban, so YAY for my self-restraint. I'm not sure how long it will last, so I think I better celebrate while I still can. I didn't get that many new books this week, except for a few e-galleys that I had requested through NetGalley a long time ago. Although, actually, it may not have been that long ago after all. But let's see those books now, shall we?

Wednesday 25 March 2015

Book Review: Stardust by Neil Gaiman


Publisher: HarperTeen

Published: 2007 (first published 1998)


Pages: 336

   

Summary


Hopelessly crossed in love, Tristran Thorne leaves his mundane Victorian-English village on a quest for a fallen star in the magical realm bordering his village. The star proves to be an attractive woman with a hot temper, who plunges with our hero into adventures featuring witches, lions and unicorns, plotting elf-lords, ships that sail the sky, magical transformations, curses and all the rest.

Saturday 21 March 2015

Stacking the Shelves (Mar 21)


Stacking the Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves, physical or virtual, and sharing our excitement about our new titles. And why not, maybe also finding a great new read in the process! This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

This was another intese week, and I can already tell that next week will be even more! I can now officially say it: I have been selected to be a part of the team of volunteers that will assist during the International Literary Festival Incroci di Civiltà in Venice. I am so excited that I will get to meet lots of amazing authors and see the inner workings of such a big event! Of course, I will update all you lovelies right here on the blog at the end of next week, so you'll be able to know what I got up to during the event. And now, on to the thing you're really here for: ALL THE NEW BOOKS!

Friday 20 March 2015

ARC Book Review: Secrets of the Tower by Debbie Rix

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 384

Challenges: Around the World Challenge; Women's Challenge


Summary


Two women, centuries apart, bound together by the secrets of one of the most iconic buildings ever created. 
Pisa, 1999
Sam Campbell sits by her husband's hospital bed. Far from home and her children, she must care for Michael who is recovering from a stroke. A man she loves deeply. A man who has been unfaithful to her. Alone and in need of distraction, Sam decides to pick up Michael's research into the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Immersing herself in the ancient city, she begins to piece together the mystery behind the creation of the tower, and discovers the woman that history forgot...

Pisa 1171
Berta di Bernardo, the wife of a rich merchant, sits in her chamber, dressing for a dinner party. A gathering that will change the course of her life and a young master mason, Gerardo, forever. A strong, intelligent woman, Berta's passion for architecture also draws her closer to Gerardo. As she embarks on a love affair, her maid Aurelia also becomes spellbound by the same man. Yet for Berta, her heart's desire is to see the Tower built, and her determination knows no bounds.

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Book Review: The Little Man from Archangel by Georges Simenon


Publisher: Adelphi

Published: March 2007 (first published 1956)


Pages: 172

Challenges: Library Challenge

   

Summary


"She's gone to Bourges."

It was to protect Gina's reputation that Jonas had told the little lie. She had often gone off with younger men since their wedding. In fact, her family, most of the neighbours -  they all knew. How could the timid little bookseller foresee the dumb hostility and suspicion, the police inquiries, the ugly discoveries his lie would provoke in the place he called home?

Saturday 14 March 2015

Stacking the Shelves (Mar 14)


Stacking the Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves, physical or virtual, and sharing our excitement about our new titles. And why not, maybe also finding a great new read in the process! This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I've been pretty good this week in restraining myself from buying new books, and especially from downloading those devious little free ebooks. But, I couldn't resist a trip to the library, so I guess I wasn't really as good as I wanted to be... Although library books go back at the end of the month and won't take up any shelf space, so they don't really count, right? RIGHT?? Mmmm, maybe we can forget about this, and just enjoy this weekly haul.

Friday 13 March 2015

Book Review: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce


Publisher: Pickwick

Published: September 2014 (first published January 2012)


Pages: 310

Challenges: Around the World Challenge; Women's Challenge

   

Summary


Recently retired, sweet, emotionally numb Harold Fry is jolted out of his passivity by a letter from Queenie Hennessy, an old friend, who he hasn't heard from in twenty years. She has written to say that she is in hospice and wanted to say goodbye. Leaving his tense, bitter wife Maureen to her chores, Harold intends a quick walk to the corner mailbox to post his reply, but instead, inspired by a chance encounter, he becomes convinced he must deliver his message in person to Queenie - who is 600 miles away - because as long as he keeps walking, Harold believes that Queenie will not die. So without hiking boots, rain gear, map or cell phone, one of the most endearing characters in current fiction begins his unlikely pilgrimage across the English countryside. Is it possible for Harold and Maureen to bridge the distance between them? And will Queenie be alive to see Harold arrive at her door?

Saturday 7 March 2015

Stacking the Shelves (Mar 7)


Stacking the Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves, physical or virtual, and sharing our excitement about our new titles. And why not, maybe also finding a great new read in the process! This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Another week has gone by... I still haven't been terribly productive on the blog this week, since I've been running around a lot. Because of my ever-growing TBR and the review books piling up, I've decided to force myself to limit the amount of new books I get. I sort of managed this week, but let's see how long I last!

Free Ebooks



For Review


The DUFF by Kody Keplinger (Movie Tie-in Edition) - I haven't seen the film yet, but I heard some really good things about this book, so I'm really looking forward to reading this. Thanks to Hodder Children's Books and NetGalley!


That's all for this week! Did you read any of these books? What did you think? What books did you get this week? 

Monday 2 March 2015

ARC Book Review: Cannonbridge by Jonathan Barne

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Solaris

Publication Date: 10 February 2015


Pages: 272

Challenges: Around the World Challenge 

  

Summary


Flamboyant, charismatic Matthew Cannonbridge was touched by genius, the most influential creative mind of the 19th century, a prolific novelist, accomplished playwright, the poet of his generation. The only problem is, he should never have existed, and beleaguered, provincial, recently-divorced 21st Century Dr Toby Judd is the only person to realise something has gone wrong with history. As bibliophiles everywhere prepare to toast the bicentenary of the publication of Cannonbridge's most celebrated work, Judd's discovery will lead him on a breakneck chase across the English canon and countryside, to the realisation that the spectre of Matthew Cannonbridge might not be so dead and buried after all...

Sunday 1 March 2015

Stacking the Shelves (Mar 1)


Stacking the Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves, physical or virtual, and sharing our excitement about our new titles. And why not, maybe also finding a great new read in the process! This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.