Book Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Publisher: Narrativa Nord

Published: January 2014

Pages: 306

Challenges: Women's Challenge; Library Challenge

   

Summary

On the faded Island Books sign hanging over the porch of the Victorian cottage is the motto "No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World." A.J. Fikry, the irascible owner, is about to discover just what that truly means. A.J. Fikry's life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, A.J. can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly. And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It's a small package, but large in weight. It's that unexpected arrival that gives A.J. the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. It doesn't take long for the locals to notice the change overcoming A.J.; or for the determined sales rep, Amelia, to see her curmudgeonly client in a new light; or for the wisdom of all those books to become again the lifeblood of A.J.'s world; or for everything to twist again into a version of his life that he didn't see coming. As surprising as it is moving, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is an unforgettable tale of transformation and second chances, an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.

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?

Book Review: Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Publisher: Garzanti

Published: 9 October 1998

Pages: 338

Challenges: Library Challenge; Around the World Challenge; Women's Challenge

Rating: 3/5

  

Summary (from Goodreads)

When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Reynaud denounces her as a serious danger to his flock - especially as it is the beginning of Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. War is declared as the priest denounces the newcomer's wares as the ultimate sin. Suddenly, Vianne's shop-cum-café means that there is somewhere for secrets to be whispered, grievances to be aired, and dreams to be tested.

Book Review: Radiance of Tomorrow by Ishmael Beah

Publisher: Neri Pozza

Published: 8 May 2014

Pages: 272

Challenges: Library Challenge; Around the World Challenge

Rating: 5/5

  

Blurb

At the centre of Radiance of Tomorrow are Benjamin and Bockarie, two friends who return to their hometown after the civil war in Sierra Leone. The village is in ruins, the ground covered in bones. As more villagers begin to come back, Benjamin and Bockarie try to forge a new community by taking up their former posts as teachers, but they're beset by obstacles. As Benjamin and Bockarie search for a way to restore order, they're forced to reckon with the uncertainty of their past and future alike. With the gentle lyricism of a dream and the moral clarity of a fable, Radiance of Tomorrow is a powerful novel about preserving what means the most to us, even in uncertain times.

Book Review: Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Publisher: Einaudi

Published: 10 June 2008 (first published 2006)

Pages: 456

Challenges: Library Challenge; Around the World Challenge; Women's Challenge

Rating: 4.5/5

  

Blurb

In 1960s Nigeria, a country blighted by civil war, three lives intersect. Ugwu, a boy from a poor village, works as a houseboy for a university professor. Olanna, a young woman, has abandoned her life of privilege in Lagos to live with her charismatic new lover, the professor. And Richard, a shy English writer, is in thrall to Olanna's enigmatic twin sister. As the horrific Biafran War engulfs them, they are thrown together and pulled apart in ways they had never imagined.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's masterpiece, winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction, is a novel about Africa in a wider sense: about the end of colonialism, ethnic allegiances, class and race - and about the ways in which love can complicate all of these things.

Book Review: Jennifer Government by Max Barry

Publisher: Abacus

Published: 5 February 2004

Pages: 352

Challenges: Library Challenge; Around the World Challenge

Rating: 4/5

  

Summary (from Goodreads)

In Max Barry's twisted, hilarious and terrifying vision of the near future, the world is run by giant corporations and employees take the last names of the companies they work for. It's a globalised, ultra-capitalist free market paradise. Hack Nike is a lowly merchandising officer  who's not very good at negotiating his salary. So when John Nike and John Nike, executives from the promised land of Marketing, offer him a contract, he signs without reading it. Unfortunately, Hack's new contract involves shooting teenagers to build up street cred for Nike's new line of $2,500 trainers. Hack goes to the police - but they assume that he's asking for a subcontracting deal, and lease the assassination to the more experienced NRA. Enter Jennifer Government, a tough-talking agent with a barcode tattoo under her eye and a personal problem with John Nike (the boss of the other John Nike). And a gun. Hack is about to find out what it really means to mess with market forces.

Reading Challenges for 2015

Time for lots of hot chocolate. Yay!

So, it's December already and that means winter, hot drinks, Christmas lights and holiday spirit. I've already started humming Christmas carols while cleaning, and I'm slowly getting in the mood for all the holiday films. It may be just me, but I can't go by without seeing all the Christmas films on television! I'm way behind on my Christmas shopping (meaning I have yet to begin), but I've started my holiday reads, so I guess that says something about my priorities...

Of course, December wouldn't be complete if I didn't also start getting ready for the New Year. And that includes choosing which reading challenges I will participate in during 2015! I'm incredibly excited about this, since I've never taken part in any of these before. I've decided to keep it simple for this first year, only signing up to a few challenges, and see how it goes before stepping it up over the course of the next few years. So, here are the reading challenges I've decided to sign up to in 2015.