Sara G's bookshelf: all en-US Tue, 22 Apr 2025 01:24:39 -0700 60 Sara G's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Aetherial Worlds: Stories 36520431 From one of modern Russia's finest writers, a spellbinding collection of seventeen stories, her first to be translated into English in more than twenty years.

Ordinary realities and yearnings to transcend them lead to miraculous other worlds in this dazzling collection of stories. A woman's deceased father appears in her dreams with clues about the afterlife; a Russian professor in a small American town constructs elaborate fantasies during her cigarette break; a man falls in love with a marble statue as his marriage falls apart; a child glimpses heaven through a stained-glass window. With the emotional insight of Chekhov, the surreal satire of Gogol, and a unique blend of humor and poetry all her own, Tolstaya transmutes the quotidian into aetherial alternatives. These tales, about politics, identity, love, and loss, cut to the core of the Russian psyche, even as they lay bare human universals. Tolstaya's characters--seekers all--are daydreaming children, lonely adults, dislocated foreigners in unfamiliar lands. Whether contemplating the strategic complexities of delivering telegrams in Leningrad or the meditative melancholy of holiday aspic, vibrant inner lives and the grim elements of existence are registered in equally sharp detail in a starkly bleak but sympathetic vision of life on earth.

A unique collection from one of the first women in years to rank among Russia's most important writers.]]> 196 Tatyana Tolstaya 1524732788 Sara G 0 currently-reading 3.70 2014 Aetherial Worlds: Stories
author: Tatyana Tolstaya
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Dirty Feet 73216031
As a small child, Askia was forced, along with his family, to wander the African desert as if under a curse. First driven from their home by drought and hunger, they were then kept from the villages they passed through by the fear and suspicion of others, who did not want to see their "dirty feet" stay for too long.

Years later, it seems Askia is destined to relive his family’s curse night after night as he roams the streets of Paris in his taxi. One evening, he picks up Olia, a young woman who claims to recognize his face, telling him that his features are similar to those of a man she photographed years ago. Had it been his father, the enigmatic Sidi Ben Sylla Mohammed? The father who migrated north long before he did; the father he has so often dreamt about; the father whom he aches to meet?

With Olia’s help, Askia sets out to retrace Sidi’s steps. But before he can embark on this new journey, he must first confront his violent past. A brutal, indelibly powerful look at the harrowing, often violent lives of those who arecondemned to wander.]]> 194 Edem Awumey Sara G 0 currently-reading 0.0 2009 Dirty Feet
author: Edem Awumey
name: Sara G
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Tram 83 26531941
Fiston Mwanza Mujila (b. 1981, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo) is a poet, dramatist, and scholar. Tram 83 is his award-winning and raved-about debut novel that caused a literary sensation when published in France in August 2014.]]> 224 Fiston Mwanza Mujila 1941920055 Sara G 0 currently-reading 3.25 2014 Tram 83
author: Fiston Mwanza Mujila
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.25
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lavender and Red: Liberation and Solidarity in the Gay and Lesbian Left (American Crossroads Book 44)]]> 32791306 336 Emily K. Hobson Sara G 0 3.75 2016 Lavender and Red: Liberation and Solidarity in the Gay and Lesbian Left (American Crossroads Book 44)
author: Emily K. Hobson
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves: currently-reading, non-fiction
review:

]]> Kill for Love 193438779
Kill for Love is a searing satirical thriller about Tiffany, a privileged Los Angeles sorority sister who is struggling to keep her sadistic impulses—and haunting nightmares of fire and destruction—at bay. After a frat party hookup devolves into a bloody, fatal affair, Tiffany realizes something within her has awoken: the insatiable desire to kill attractive young men.

As Tiffany’s bloodlust deepens and the bodies pile up, she must contend with mounting legal scrutiny, social media-fueled competing murders, and her growing relationship with Weston, who she thinks could be the perfect boyfriend. A female-driven, modern-day American Psycho, Kill for Love exposes modern toxic plasticity with dark comedy and propulsive plot.]]> 279 Laura Picklesimer 1951213866 Sara G 0 currently-reading 3.64 2023 Kill for Love
author: Laura Picklesimer
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Closer 563730 131 Dennis Cooper 080213212X Sara G 0 3.65 1989 Closer
author: Dennis Cooper
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1989
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves: explicit, queer-and-or-poly, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth]]> 45345935 A Novel 209 Veeraporn Nitiprapha Sara G 5 4.05 2013 The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth
author: Veeraporn Nitiprapha
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/18
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves:
review:
This is a summer book in the sense that every word of it felt lush and a bit overwhelming. And yes, it was dramatic. And fuzzy. And slightly nebulous. And also beautiful. And captivating. And genuinely deeply entertaining.
]]> Dominicana 51147721 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020

'This book is a valentine to my mom and all the unsung Dominicanas like her, for their quiet heroism in making a better life for their families, often at a hefty cost to themselves. Even if Dominicana is a Dominican story, it's also a New York story, and an immigrant story. When I read parts of Dominicana at universities and literary venues both here and abroad, each time, audience members from all cultures and generations came up to me and said, this is my mother's story, my sister's story, my story' Angie Cruz

Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn’t matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year’s Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights. Lonely and miserable, Ana hatches a reckless plan to escape. But at the bus terminal, she is stopped by Cesar, Juan’s free-spirited younger brother, who convinces her to stay.

As the Dominican Republic slides into political turmoil, Juan returns to protect his family’s assets, leaving Cesar to take care of Ana. Suddenly, Ana is free to take English lessons at a local church, lie on the beach at Coney Island, see a movie at Radio City Music Hall, go dancing with Cesar, and imagine the possibility of a different kind of life in America. When Juan returns, Ana must decide once again between her heart and her duty to her family.

In bright, musical prose that reflects the energy of New York City, Dominicana is a vital portrait of the immigrant experience and the timeless coming-of-age story of a young woman finding her voice in the world.]]> 334 Angie Cruz 152930489X Sara G 3 set-in-historical-times 4.24 2019 Dominicana
author: Angie Cruz
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/17
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves: set-in-historical-times
review:
Genuinely disappointed at how underwhelming I found this one, especially considering that I had high hopes when I started reading. Don't really have much to say except that it read a bit bland and I'm disappointed.
]]> Dislocating Cultures 163021844 0 Uma Narayan Sara G 4 non-fiction, on-womanhood 4.00 1997 Dislocating Cultures
author: Uma Narayan
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/27
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves: non-fiction, on-womanhood
review:
"Eating Cultures" is one of the best essays I've read in a while.
]]> <![CDATA[Thomas Sankara Speaks: The Burkina Faso Revolution, 1983-87]]> 542255 338 Thomas Sankara 0873485262 Sara G 5 non-fiction, favorites
The speeches I found the most interesting:
- We must fight imperialism together
- What is the Nonaligned movement doing?
- You cannot kill ideas]]> 4.53 1988 Thomas Sankara Speaks: The Burkina Faso Revolution, 1983-87
author: Thomas Sankara
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.53
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/15
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: non-fiction, favorites
review:
I think I'm gonna say that this is a must read for anyone discussing progressive politics, theory, revolution, and liberation of any kind. It was an interesting and genuinely inspiring collection of thought and I can't wait to read it again once it settles in my consciousness a bit.

The speeches I found the most interesting:
- We must fight imperialism together
- What is the Nonaligned movement doing?
- You cannot kill ideas
]]> <![CDATA[The Sky above the Roof: A Novel]]> 123150163
It all begins with a crash.

One night, seventeen-year-old Wolf steals his mother’s car and drives six hundred kilometers in search of his sister, who left home ten years ago. Unlicensed and on edge, he veers onto the wrong side of the road and causes an accident. He is arrested and incarcerated, forcing his mother and sister to reconnect and pick up the pieces in order to fight for his release.

What follows is a lyrical, precise, and unflinching account of the events that lead to this moment, told through the alternating perspectives of Wolf’s mother, sister, and grandfather, as well as the doctor who was present at Wolf’s birth. With each chapter, new versions of the story and views of reality unfold, and they fit together like puzzle in an uncertain order at first, and then slowly falling neatly into place as the pages turn. As details about the characters� lives and the disconnections in their relationships are revealed, the story becomes even more propulsive, even more compelling.

In this raw and poignant novel, Nathacha Appanah considers how trauma shapes generations and the wounds it leaves behind. The Sky above the Roof is both a portrait of a fractured family and a poetic exploration of the ways we break apart and rebuild.]]> 112 Nathacha Appanah 164445226X Sara G 3 contemporary 3.33 2019 The Sky above the Roof: A Novel
author: Nathacha Appanah
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/13
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: contemporary
review:
Something about the style didn't really work for me... I think perhaps this would have flowed better in the original, however, I neither speak nor read French so that's gonna remain a mystery. Reminded me in notes of Swallow the Air by Tara June Winch, however, that did work quite a bit against it.
]]> The Underdogs (Underdogs, #1) 59028963 From the writer of the. best-selling 'Dragon Masters' series and the illustrator of the best-selling 'Diary of a Pug' series comes a high-energy, illustrated chapter book series about dogs who learn that being yourself is much more fun than being Best in Show.

Welcome the town of Barksdale, where the canine residents strive for perfection. Every shopkeeper claims to be the "best groomer" or sell the "best biscuits." And at Barksdale Academy, the pressure is on every year for one pup to be named Best in Show.

Nova, Duke, Harley, and Peanut have never won Best in Show... which is okay with them! But they have to work together to pass their Agility Exam, because either the whole pack passes or the whole pack fails.

Nova has convinced her pals to train, but on her practice course, Duke is afraid to climb the high ramp. Harley keeps chasing squirrels, and Peanut can't make it through the hoops. Nova's not doing much better - she's so excited she keeps knocking the whole course over!

Will the pups make the grade, or are they doomed to be Underdogs forever?

With black-and-white illustrations on every page and hilarious antics throughout, this series is perfect for readers who are just starting to read chapter books on their own, or for anyone who loves a good underdog story!]]> 159 Tracey West 1338767968 Sara G 0 teaching-aids 3.80 2021 The Underdogs (Underdogs, #1)
author: Tracey West
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/24
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: teaching-aids
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels: The Case of the Missing Marquess, The Case of the Left-Handed Lady, and The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (Volume 1)]]> 58439986
14-year-old Enola Holmes wakes on her birthday to discover that her mother has disappeared from the family's country manor, leaving only a collection of flowers and a coded message book. With Sherlock and Mycroft determined to ship her off to a boarding school, Enola escapes, displaying a cleverness that even impresses the elder Holmes. But nothing prepares her for what lies ahead�

Book One in the series includes three thrilling The Case of the Missing Marquess , The Case of the Left-Handed Lady , and The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets . At the back of the book, readers can explore a portfolio of pages from Enola's secret notebook!
]]> 192 Serena Blasco 152487132X Sara G 0 teaching-aids 3.97 2022 Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels: The Case of the Missing Marquess, The Case of the Left-Handed Lady, and The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (Volume 1)
author: Serena Blasco
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/17
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: teaching-aids
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up! (Press Start! #2)]]> 34034991 King Viking has a plan to defeat Super Rabbit Boy once and for all! Can Super Rabbit Boy power up before it's too late?

Pick a book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!Baddie King Viking is tired of always losing to hero Super Rabbit Boy. So he's gone to the Secret Lands to search for the legendary Super Power Up, which has powers even Super Rabbit Boy won't be able to defeat. But Super Rabbit Boy is determined to stop King Viking. Can he navigate through the Secret Lands, locate the hidden dungeon, defeat the mini bosses, and claim the legendary Super Power Up before King Viking does it first? With danger everywhere, this may be the most difficult quest yet for Super Rabbit Boy.With full-color art on every page by Thomas Flintham!]]> 88 Thomas Flintham 1338035290 Sara G 0 teaching-aids 4.48 2017 Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up! (Press Start! #2)
author: Thomas Flintham
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: teaching-aids
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy! (Press Start! #1)]]> 30254993
This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!

Uh-oh, Animal Town is in trouble! Meanie King Viking has created a dreaded robot army to spread No Fun across the land. On top of that, he has stolen the happiest and most fun animal ever, Singing Dog. There is only one person who can save the day -- Super Rabbit Boy! Super Rabbit Boy is super fast and super brave, but he's also a video game character living in a video game world. What will happen when Sunny, the boy playing the game, loses each level? Will it be game over for Super Rabbit Boy and all his friends?

With full-color art by Thomas Flintham!]]> 80 Thomas Flintham 1338034723 Sara G 0 teaching-aids 4.25 2017 Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy! (Press Start! #1)
author: Thomas Flintham
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/05
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: teaching-aids
review:

]]> Jamilia 604208
Based on clues in the story, it takes place in northwestern Kyrgyzstan, presumably Talas Province. The story is backdropped against the collective farming culture which was early in its peak in that period.

Chingiz Aïtmatov was born in Kyrgyzstan in 1928. His work appeared in over one hundred languages, and received numerous awards, including the Lenin Prize. He was the Kyrgyz ambassador to the European Union, NATO, UNESCO and the Benelux countries.

Translated by James Riordan.]]> 96 Chingiz Aitmatov 1846590329 Sara G 4 3.95 1958 Jamilia
author: Chingiz Aitmatov
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1958
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/08
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves:
review:
Aitmatov writes, in this, as poignantly as in his other works, with a deep knowledge of the people and the human.
]]> Sleeping Dragons 51064678 144 Magela Baudoin Sara G 4 short-story-collection 3.50 Sleeping Dragons
author: Magela Baudoin
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: short-story-collection
review:
These were nice enough, definitely a writer to revisit, though I liked the first story the most and then my enthusiasm for this book progressively sort of tapered off.
]]> Census 57882209
Census is both a heretic allegory of the nativity and a cathartic retort to the satanic messages of Roman Polanski's renowned horror film Rosemary's Baby. Boasting repeated editions in Greece and Cyprus, this award-winning novel by Panos Ioannides, replete with magical realism, is riveting in terms of conception and execution: a sacred metaphysical thriller that redeems and purifies the reader. A masterpiece in the art of fiction and the recipient of the Cyprus National Prize for Literature, 1973.]]> 258 Panos Ioannides 9963255329 Sara G 2 2.50 2015 Census
author: Panos Ioannides
name: Sara G
average rating: 2.50
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves:
review:
God is dead! Or alive! Or something, idk, I'm not a Christian. Idk why I picked this up but it was boring? Not that confusing, like other reviews said, but more pointless from where I was standing. idk idk
]]> The Blind Owl 45967 The Blind Owl is a haunting tale of loss and spiritual degradation. Replete with potent symbolism and terrifying surrealistic imagery, Sadegh Hedayat's masterpiece details a young man's despair after losing a mysterious lover. And as the author gradually drifts into frenzy and madness, the reader becomes caught in the sandstorm of Hedayat's bleak vision of the human condition. The Blind Owl, which has been translated into many foreign languages, has often been compared to the writing of Edgar Allan Poe.]]> 148 Sadegh Hedayat 0802131808 Sara G 0 4.02 1937 The Blind Owl
author: Sadegh Hedayat
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1937
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/11
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves:
review:
I liked it? I guess? But I'm also a little bit annoyed at it? I think I should have probably waited for the right mood for this one because I was flip-flopping while reading from "this is so good" to "ugh grimdark bullshit
]]> Bodies in Motion: Stories 6648799 359 Mary Anne Mohanraj Sara G 5 3.43 2005 Bodies in Motion: Stories
author: Mary Anne Mohanraj
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/06
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: on-womanhood, queer-and-or-poly, short-story-collection
review:
So much to say about this one! I will come back to review it properly once it settles.
]]> Human Sacrifices 75599182 An undocumented woman answers a job posting only to find herself held hostage, a group of outcasts obsess over boys drowned while surfing, and an unhappy couple finds themselves trapped in a terrifying maze. With scalpel-like precision, Ampuero considers the price paid by those on the margins so that the elite might lounge comfortably, considering themselves safe in their homes.
Simultaneously terrifying and exquisite, Human Sacrifices is "tropical gothic" at its finest--decay and oppression underlie our humid and hostile world, where working-class women and children are consistently the weakest links in a capitalist economy. Against this backdrop of corrosion and rot, these twelves stories contemplate the nature of exploitation and abuse, illuminating the realities of those society consumes for its own pitiless ends.]]> 144 María Fernanda Ampuero Sara G 4 3.83 2021 Human Sacrifices
author: María Fernanda Ampuero
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves:
review:
Is Believers everyone's favourite story in this collection because it certainly was mine. What an interesting short story collection! Every story was so intriguing and attention grabbing!
]]> Girl Flesh 123181469 Does anyone remember Angie Kirby and Caroline Ellis?

Two women, wholly enraptured in their professional lives, find themselves thrust into the Texas mesa with nowhere to go and no one to trust. Angie is a chronically timid, guilt-ridden internet writer lost in a life she didn’t choose. Caroline is an ironic, nihilistic musician, pleased to find herself away from her responsibilities. They face unknown dangers and vast darkness, lost in a place without comforts. Will they succumb to the elements or find strength in their bond enough to escape?]]> 257 May Leitz Sara G 5 explicit 3.80 2023 Girl Flesh
author: May Leitz
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves: explicit
review:
Oh yes girl, write that suffering with a hopeful note!!!
]]> <![CDATA[Endgame in the Western Sahara: What Future for Africa's Last Colony]]> 24807324 229 Toby Shelley 1780327811 Sara G 0 non-fiction 0.0 2004 Endgame in the Western Sahara: What Future for Africa's Last Colony
author: Toby Shelley
name: Sara G
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/03
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: non-fiction
review:
Sometimes I read books like this and realise just how little I know about the world. More research, here I come, I guess.
]]> Call and Response 65649873 Richly drawn stories about the lives of ordinary families in contemporary Botswana as they navigate relationships, tradition and caretaking in a rapidly changing world.

A young widow adheres to the expectations of wearing mourning clothes for nearly a year, though she's unsure what the traditions meanor whether she is ready to meet the world without their protection.An older sister returns home from a confusing time in America, only to explain at every turn why she’s left the land of opportunity.A younger sister hides her sexual exploits from her family, while her older brother openly flaunts his infidelity.

The stories collected in Call and Response are strongly anchored in place - in the village of Serowe, wherethe author is from, and in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana � chartingthe emotional journeys of women seeking love and opportunity beyond the barriers of custom and circumstance.

Gothataone Moeng is part of a new generation of writers coming out of Africa whose voices are ready to explode onto the literary scene. In the tradition of writers like Chimamanda Adiche and JhumpaLahiri, she offers us insight into communities, experiencesandlandscapes through stories that are cinematic in their sweep, with unforgettable female protagonists.]]> 304 Gothataone Moeng 0593490991 Sara G 4 short-story-collection 3.93 2023 Call and Response
author: Gothataone Moeng
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/02
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: short-story-collection
review:
The writing is so beautiful, these stories all really worked for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Friend: A Novel from North Korea]]> 46003259 Paek Nam-nyong’s Friend is a tale of marital intrigue, abuse, and divorce in North Korea. A woman in her thirties comes to a courthouse petitioning for a divorce. As the judge who hears her statement begins to investigate the case, the story unfolds into a broader consideration of love and marriage. The novel delves into its protagonists� past, describing how the couple first fell in love and then how their marriage deteriorated over the years. It chronicles the toll their acrimony takes on their son and their careers alongside the story of the judge’s own marital troubles.

A best-seller in North Korea, where Paek continues to live and write, Friend illuminates a side of life in the DPRK that Western readers have never before encountered. Far from being a propagandistic screed in praise of the Great Leader, Friend describes the lives of people who struggle with everyday problems such as marital woes and workplace conflicts. Instead of socialist-realist stock figures, Paek depicts complex characters who wrestle with universal questions of individual identity, the split between public and private selves, the unpredictability of existence, and the never-ending labor of maintaining a relationship. This groundbreaking translation of one of North Korea’s most popular writers offers English-language readers a page-turner full of psychological tension as well as a revealing portrait of a society that is typically seen as closed to the outside world.

]]> 231 Paek Nam-Nyong 0231551401 Sara G 2 3.71 1988 Friend: A Novel from North Korea
author: Paek Nam-Nyong
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1988
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/01
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves:
review:
What a strange choice to make, spreading anti divorce propaganda for the country? For the people? Not too fussed about the state propaganda because I expected that but I don't know why I thought this would have a semi-reasonable perspective on marriage, divorce, and family? It's insulting but at least it's also very readable.
]]> The Underground 21138269
"I am Moscow’s underground son," says young Mbobo, introducing himself to the reader. "The result of one too many nights on the town." The story of a half-African, half-Siberian child growing up in the fast-changing Moscow of the 1980s, The Underground has been called one of the "ten best Russian novels of the 21st Century" (Continent Magazine). In this subtle and atmospheric novel, exiled Uzbek author and BBC journalist Hamid Ismailov provides a tour of the Soviet capital, on the surface and beneath, in the years before the fall. Though deeply engaged with great Russian authors of the past—Dostoyevsky, Turgenyev, Gorky, Nabokov, and above all, Pushkin—Ismailov is an emerging master of a new kind of Russian writing that revels in the sordid reality and diverse composition of the country today.

Reviews:

"Ismailov belongs to the tradition of Russian satirical novelists, from Gogol to Bulgakov and Platonov. A lesser writer would have produced several volumes of stories; instead, Ismailov weaves them into a rich, many-colored tapestry where every strand shines."

—The Independent

"Hamid Ismailov has the capacity of Salman Rushdie at his best to show the grotesque realization of history on the ground."

—Literary Review

About the author:

Hamid Ismailov is an Uzbek journalist and writer who was forced to flee Uzbekistan in 1992 for the United Kingdom, where he now works for the BBC World Service. His works are still banned in Uzbekistan. His writing has been published in Uzbek, Russian, French, German, Turkish and other languages. His books of poetry include Sad (Garden) (1987), and Pustynya (Desert) (1988). His books of visual poetry include Post Faustum (1990) and Kniga Otsutstvi (1992). He is the author of the novels Sobranie Utonchyonnyh (1988), Le Vagabond Flamboyant (1993), and many others. He has translated Russian and Western classics into Uzbek, and Uzbek and Persian classics into Russian and several Western languages. Ismailov's novel The Railway, originally written before he left Uzbekistan, was published in 2006 in an English translation by Robert Chandler; a Russian edition was published in Moscow in 1997. A Poet and Bin-Laden, translated by Andrew Bromfield, was published in September 2012.

Carol Ermakova studied German and Russian language and literature and holds an MA in translation from Bath University. She first visited Russia in 1991. More recently, Carol spent two years in Moscow working as a teacher and translator. Carol currently lives in the North Pennines and works as a freelance translator.]]> 290 Hamid Ismailov Sara G 3 2.50 2013 The Underground
author: Hamid Ismailov
name: Sara G
average rating: 2.50
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird: New Fiction by Afghan Women]]> 60442752
"My pen is the wing of a bird; it will tell you those thoughts we are not allowed to think, those dreams we are not allowed to dream"

A woman's fortitude saves her village from disaster. A teenager explores their identity in a moment of quiet. A petition writer reflects on his life as a dog lies nursing her puppies. A tormented girl tries to find love through a horrific act. A headmaster makes his way to work, treading the fine line between life and death.

"A precious collection of work, the first and maybe the last of its kind. My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird is a huge accomplishment" MONIQUE ROFFEY, author of The Mermaid of Black Conch

My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird is a landmark collection: the first anthology of short fiction by Afghan women. Eighteen writers tell stories that are both unique and universal - stories of family, work, childhood, friendship, war, gender identity and cultural traditions.

"This book reminds us that everyone has a story. Stories matter; so too the storytellers. Afghan women writers, informed and inspired by their own personal experiences, are best placed to bring us these powerful insights into the lives of Afghans and, most of all, the lives of women. Women's lives, in their own words - they matter." Lyse Doucet in her Introduction

This collection introduces extraordinary voices from the country's two main linguistic groups (Pashto and Dari) with original, vital and unexpected stories to tell, developed over two years through UNTOLD's Write Afghanistan project. My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird comes at a pivotal moment in Afghanistan's history, when these voices must be heard.

With an Introduction by BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet and an Afterword by Lucy Hannah

ABOUT UNTOLD

UNTOLD is a writer development programme for marginalised writers in areas of conflict and post-conflict. Afghanistan has millions of Pashto and Dari speakers with little or no local support for creative writing, literary translation, or literary editing. Support for writers has been hampered by cultural norms, free expression issues, chronic instability, and internal displacement. UNTOLD has been working one-to-one with women on their short stories, with English-speaking literary editors and translators working with the writers to realise the potential of their stories for publication both locally and globally in translation.]]> 190 Various 1529422221 Sara G 4 4.29 My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird: New Fiction by Afghan Women
author: Various
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.29
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Chaka 41823171 238 Thomas Mofolo 0795707169 Sara G 4 set-in-historical-times 3.82 1925 Chaka
author: Thomas Mofolo
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1925
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/22
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: set-in-historical-times
review:
A brutal story of a rise of a tyrant in a folkloric cadence, vivid and empathetic in exactly the right amount. A wonderfully captivating and very worth while read.
]]> To have and To Lose 56397228 Chingiz Aitmatov Sara G 4 20th-century-contemporary 4.20 To have and To Lose
author: Chingiz Aitmatov
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/24
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary
review:
What deep love for the land and the culture! It shines through every word. A story full of longing and nostalgia in the most fundamental sense of the word.
]]> Love Comes Later 28593784 Alternate cover edition for ASIN B008I4JJES

When newlywed Abdulla loses his wife and unborn child in a car accident, the world seems to crumble beneath his feet. Thrust back into living in the family compound, he goes through the motions—work, eat, sleep, repeat. Blaming himself for their deaths, he decides to never marry again but knows that culturally, this is not an option. Three years later, he’s faced with an arranged marriage to his cousin Hind, whom he hasn’t seen in years. Hard-pressed to find a way out, he consents to a yearlong engagement and tries to find a way to end it. What he doesn’t count on, and is unaware of, is Hind’s own reluctance to marry.

Longing for independence, she insists on being allowed to complete a master’s degree in England, a condition Abdulla readily accepts. When she finds an unlikely friend in Indian-American Sangita, she starts down a path that will ultimately place her future in jeopardy.

The greatest success of Rajakumar’s novel is the emotional journey the reader takes via her rich characters. One cannot help but feel the pressure of the culturally mandated marriage set before Hind and Abdulla. He’s not a real Muslim man if he remains single, and she will never be allowed freedoms without the bondage of a potentially loveless marriage. It’s an impossible situation dictated by a culture that they still deeply respect.

Rajakumar pulls back the veil on life in Qatar to reveal a glimpse of Muslim life rarely seen by Westerners.

"...a deliciously tangled plot and insight into life on the Persian Gulf."
Kirkus Review]]> 253 Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar Sara G 3 3.71 2009 Love Comes Later
author: Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/25
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves:
review:
It's a perfectly fine book. But I'm already forgetting what it was about so, not really world changing.
]]> <![CDATA[Motherfield: Poems & Belarusian Protest Diary]]> 74793446 A poetry collection where personal is inevitably political and ecological,Motherfieldis a poet’s insistence on self-determination in authoritarian, patriarchal Belarus.

Julia Cimafiejeva was born in an area of rural Belarus that became a Chernobyl zone during her childhood. The book opens with a poet’s diary recording the course of violence unfolding in Belarus since its 2020 presidential election.

Motherfieldpaints an intimate portrait of the poet’s struggle with fear, despair, and guilt as she goes to protests, escapes police, longs for readership, learns about the detention of family and friends, and ultimately chooses life in exile.But can she really escape the contaminated farmlands of her youth and her Belarusian mother tongue? Can she escape the radiation of her motherfield?

This is the first collection of Julia Cimafiejeva’s poetry in English, prepared by cotranslators and poets Valzhyna Mort and Hanif Abdurraqib.]]> 131 Julia Cimafiejeva 164605251X Sara G 5 Oh 3.64 Motherfield: Poems & Belarusian Protest Diary
author: Julia Cimafiejeva
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.64
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/27
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, poetry
review:
Oh
]]> Fluids 60796417 Meet Dahlia, a trans woman looking for home in an unaccepting world.
When lightning strikes between two of them, we learn just how far both will go to keep each other, destroy each other, and leave the world to die. What if the person you loved was only looking for shelter? And what if you were just desperate enough to kill for her, even if just for your entertainment. Fluids is a gross love story about toxicity and the divide between those looking to rise, like a phoenix, from the ashes of their past, and those looking to self-destruct.]]> May Leitz 1667842420 Sara G 5 If your stomach is not as strong when it comes to body horror and similar though, I'd say read the warnings first and heed the warnings.

Anyway, this was WILD! I loved it! It fucked me up! I shouldn't have read it on the bus! Don't do that! I'm positive I freaked out a few people reading over my shoulder! Emotionally harrowing and cathartic and fascinating!]]> 2.58 2022 Fluids
author: May Leitz
name: Sara G
average rating: 2.58
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/28
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: explicit, mental-health-and-disability, queer-and-or-poly
review:
Vomit's not my thing but I'm not super sensitive to it. However, I will say that was the only thing that truly put me off.
If your stomach is not as strong when it comes to body horror and similar though, I'd say read the warnings first and heed the warnings.

Anyway, this was WILD! I loved it! It fucked me up! I shouldn't have read it on the bus! Don't do that! I'm positive I freaked out a few people reading over my shoulder! Emotionally harrowing and cathartic and fascinating!
]]> Adua: A Novel 35187092 “Utterly sublime... Aduatells a gripping story of war, migration and family, exposing us to the pain and hope that reside in each encounter� (Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King). Adua, an immigrant from Somalia, has lived in Italy nearly forty years. She came seeking freedom from a strict father and an oppressive regime, but her dreams of becoming a film star ended in shame. A searing novel about a young immigrant woman’s dream of finding freedom in Rome and the bittersweet legacies of her African past. “Lovely prose and memorable characters make this novel a thought-provoking and moving consideration of the wreckage of European oppression.� —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Igiaba Scego is an original voice who connects Italy’s present with its colonial past. Adua is an important novel that obliges the country to confront both memory and truth.� —Amara Lakhous, author of Dispute over a Very Italian Piglet “This book depicts the soul and the body of a daughter and a father, illuminating words that are used every day and swiftly emptied of migrants, diaspora, refugees, separation, hope, humiliation, death.� —Panorama “A memorable, affecting tale... Brings the decolonialization of Africa to life... All the more affecting for being told without sentimentality or self-pity.� —ForeWord Reviews “Deeply and thoroughly researched... Also a captivating the novel is sweeping in its geographical and temporal scope, yet Scego nonetheless renders her complex protagonists richly and lovingly.� —Africa Is a Country]]> 192 Igiaba Scego 1939931479 Sara G 0 3.42 2015 Adua: A Novel
author: Igiaba Scego
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves:
review:
Ah, don't know what to say about this one. It was interesting but underwhelming. I would have rather read a nonfiction on the topic of Sudan and emigration.
]]> The Book Collector 27814566 170 Alice Thompson 1784630519 Sara G 3 I liked the style, sometimes even the imagery, but I think stories of women's madness can be very hit or miss. A lot of them end up falling flat on their face in front of me and it's just not something that works for me.]]> 3.44 2015 The Book Collector
author: Alice Thompson
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves:
review:
Ah, this reminded me of Rebecca which I'm already not a fan of and The Yellow Wallpaper which also fell rather flat for me. So maybe I should have picked a different book, I'll admit.
I liked the style, sometimes even the imagery, but I think stories of women's madness can be very hit or miss. A lot of them end up falling flat on their face in front of me and it's just not something that works for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Usta puna zemlje ; Smrt gospodina Goluže]]> 45021179
Usta puna zemlje možemo čitati sa istim onim čitalačkim zadovoljstvima i zanosima koji se mogu sresti kako kod Borhesa, tako i kod Huana Rulfa. Delo magijski obavija stvarnost jednog čoveka, njegovu unutrašnju nadmoć i pobedu nad grupom progonitelja.

U završnoj sceni shvatamo da onoliko koliko je protagonista živeo ideju samoubistva, što je više flertovao sa smrću, više ju je doticao, više joj se udvarao i sanjao o izbavljenju.

Takva kompozicija večitih životnih kontrasta i unutrašnjih preispitivanja poslužila je Šćepanoviću da napiše ovo ingeniozno delo o dva smisla čovekovog postojanja u uslovljenim predvorjima pakla i raja...

* * *

Kroz novelu Smrt gospodina Goluže Šćepanović je ispričao još jednu bizarnu priču u kojoj glavni junak dolazi u gradić na moru i gde, gotovo groteskno, najavljuje svoje skorašnje samoubistvo. Ova priča inicira mnoga pitanja koja, vrlo često, nemaju prave odgovore. Glavni junak se sve vreme bori sa unutrašnjim sukobima najmračnijih misli i povremenih prosjaja kroz koje je hodao po nevidljivoj liniji hada koja mu je sa jedne strane donosila zavodljivu privlačnost smrti, a s druge strane neko neobjašnjivo blagostanje.

Smrt gospodina Goluže uvrštena je u antologiju Moderne evropske novele (izbor Pitera Braska) u Danskoj, kao i u Antologiju svetskih priča (izbor Čarlsa Angofa) i Antologiju slovenskih književnosti u Americi.

* * *

Tvorac neverovatnih novela, srpski pisac Branimir Šćepanović baca katedralsku svetlost na glib ljudske duše... Podignut na rang amblemskog heroja, gospodin Goluža će uživati gostoprimstvo svih, uključujući i ljubav meštanki. Dugo. Sve dok varošani, postavši skeptični, ne zatraže od njega obećano i toliko očekivano samoubistvo... Ova novela funkcioniše božanski, a sama finalna scena � kad njen junak skače sa mosta � ledi krv. Le Matricule des Anges, Pariz

U antologiju svetske književnosti, koju je objavila Francuska enciklopedija pod naslovom Idealna biblioteka, među 700 knjiga svih vremena � od Gilgameša, Homera i Biblije do današnjih dana � uvršten je i Šćepanovićev roman Usta puna zemlje koji je dosad preveden na preko 30 jezika i doživeo mnogobrojna izdanja u svetu (na francuskom 23, na grčkom 9 i više izdanja u Americi, Rusiji, Japanu). Ovaj roman, za koji je Šćepanović dobio Oktobarsku nagradu Beograda, prodat je u više od 100 000 primeraka.

* * *

Knjiga Usta puna zemlje čisto је remek-delo! To je veličanstvena poema životu... Roman koji se svojom dubinom, veličinom teme i lepotom reči uzdiže do nivoa najvećih književnih dela. Le Magazine Littéraire, Pariz


Veliki, veliki spomenik književnosti! Le Matricule des Anges, Pariz

Ovom knjigom, koja je Šćepanovićev Starac i more, uvek će moći da se ponosi naša savremena književnost. Politika]]> 213 Branimir Šćepanović 8664572267 Sara G 4
Smrt gospodina Goluže: ostala sam bez reči, sam kraj me je udario posebno teško, ali u glavi mi je od kako sam zatvorila knjigu stih "Bože, kako neki mogu gore, a ja i Žuga ni na more".

U obe priče/novele, osetila sam se neverovatno blisko i posmatračima i glavnom liku, kao da sedim na obe strane linije. Stil pisanja je vrlo lak i deskriptivan.
Preporučujem, ne samo kao knjigu nego kao celokupno iskustvo.]]> 4.61 1974 Usta puna zemlje ; Smrt gospodina Goluže
author: Branimir Šćepanović
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.61
book published: 1974
rating: 4
read at: 2020/10/19
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: contemporary, short-story-collection, favorites
review:
Usta puna zemlje: uh, čitala sam zbunjeno i prosto preletela preko reči, kao da sam i ja, eto, tu, bila u poteri za tim jadnim, čudnim čovekom.

Smrt gospodina Goluže: ostala sam bez reči, sam kraj me je udario posebno teško, ali u glavi mi je od kako sam zatvorila knjigu stih "Bože, kako neki mogu gore, a ja i Žuga ni na more".

U obe priče/novele, osetila sam se neverovatno blisko i posmatračima i glavnom liku, kao da sedim na obe strane linije. Stil pisanja je vrlo lak i deskriptivan.
Preporučujem, ne samo kao knjigu nego kao celokupno iskustvo.
]]> Broken Glass Park 7803810
The heroine of this engrossing and thoroughly contemporary novel is seventeen-year-old Sascha Naimann. Sascha was born in Moscow, but now lives in Berlin with her two younger siblings and, until recently, her mother. She is precocious, independent, street-wise, and, since her stepfather murdered her mother several months ago, an orphan.

Unlike most of her companions, she doesn’t dream of escaping from the tough housing project where they live. Sascha’s dreams are different: she longs to write a novel about her beautiful but naïve mother and she wants to end the life of Vadim, the man who brutally murdered her.

Sascha’s story, as touching as any in recent literature, is that of a young woman consumed by two competing impulses, one celebrative and redemptive, the other murderous. In a voice that is candid and self-confident, at times childlike and at others all too mature, Sascha relates the universal and timeless struggle between those forces that can destroy us, and those that lead us back from sorrow and pain to life itself.

Germany’s Freundin Magazine called Broken Glass Park “a gripping portrayal of life on the margins of society.� But Sascha’s story does not remain on the margins; it goes straight to the heart of what it means to be young, alive, and conscious in these first decades of the new century.]]> 221 Alina Bronsky 1933372966 Sara G 3 teen 3.63 2008 Broken Glass Park
author: Alina Bronsky
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: teen
review:

]]> Zejnova svadba 34941860
Lik Zej­nov pri­ka­zan je, na prvi pogled, kao sušta suprot­nost svom ime­nu (Lepo­tan), s nizom fizič­kih i psi­hič­kih nedo­sta­ta­ka, ali je apsolutno neza­bo­ra­van lik. Kva­li­te­ti koje autor pri­pi­su­je juna­ku pri­ka­zu­ju­ći ga kao juro­div­ca, mistič­no povezanim s nat­pri­rod­nim sila­ma, neu­mit­no pod­se­ća­ju na hero­je mito­va i legen­di.

Kao knji­ga, Zej­no­va svad­ba poja­vi­la se na arap­skom 1969, kuvaj­tski film sni­mljen pre­ma roma­nu dobio je nagra­du na festi­va­lu u Kanu 1976. godi­ne, a adap­ta­ci­ja za pozo­ri­šte pri­ka­zi­va­na je u Kai­ru, Tri­po­li­ju i Kar­tu­mu tokom osam­de­se­tih godi­na.]]> 123 Tayeb Salih 8671025292 Sara G 4 20th-century-contemporary I really liked this book and I'll admit, I only got it because it was cheap and had a pretty cover. So I'm grateful for that too.]]> 3.76 1969 Zejnova svadba
author: Tayeb Salih
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1969
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/20
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary
review:
I'm genuinely stoked to be able to read books all over the world. Books I never heard of and stumbled upon entirely by accident. Books that are new and different and familiar and human and-
I really liked this book and I'll admit, I only got it because it was cheap and had a pretty cover. So I'm grateful for that too.
]]> Starter Villain 62326571 Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place.

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 264 John Scalzi 0765389231 Sara G 3 4.30 2023 Starter Villain
author: John Scalzi
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/20
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: satire-and-humour, sci-fi-fantasy
review:

]]> In the Company of Men 57199776 Drawing on real accounts of the Ebola outbreak that devastated West Africa, this poignant, timely fable reflects on both the strength and the fragility of life and humanity's place in the world.

Two boys venture from their village to hunt in a nearby forest, where they shoot down bats with glee, and cook their prey over an open fire. Within a month, they are dead, bodies ravaged by an insidious disease that neither the local healer's potions nor the medical team's treatments could cure. Compounding the family's grief, experts warn against touching the sick. But this caution comes too the virus spreads rapidly, and the boys' father is barely able to send his eldest daughter away for a chance at survival.

In a series of moving snapshots, V�ronique Tadjo illustrates the terrible extent of the Ebola epidemic, through the eyes of those affected in myriad the doctor who tirelessly treats patients day after day in a sweltering tent, protected from the virus only by a plastic suit; the student who volunteers to work as a gravedigger while universities are closed, helping the teams overwhelmed by the sheer number of bodies; the grandmother who agrees to take in an orphaned boy cast out of his village for fear of infection. And watching over them all is the ancient and wise Baobab tree, mourning the dire state of the earth yet providing a sense of hope for the future.

Acutely relevant to our times in light of the coronavirus pandemic, In the Company of Men explores critical questions about how we cope with a global crisis and how we can combat fear and prejudice.]]> 176 Véronique Tadjo 1635420962 Sara G 0 set-in-historical-times 3.79 2017 In the Company of Men
author: Véronique Tadjo
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves: set-in-historical-times
review:
The writing is at times pretty, at times a bit dry and boring. I found this book a valuable collection of knowledge regarding ebola but I can't imagine choosing to read it if I'd known what it would actually be.
]]> Nana, Vol. 21 7326799 Tragedy strikes as the Search Weekly team takes their snooping too far! Hounded to the limit by remorseless reporters, Ren spins his car off the icy road in a horrible accident that will change the course of everyone's future...

]]> 192 Ai Yazawa 1421533081 Sara G 0 4.65 2009 Nana, Vol. 21
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.65
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/20
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 20 6465803
Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock'n'roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties!

Ren's drug use is spiraling out of control and he doesn't want to drag Trapnest down with him. Neither Takumi nor Reira are willing to let Ren quit the band, and both do their best to give him the time he needs to get it together. But Ren isn't sure this is something he can handle on his own. Will he turn to Nana for help, or will their strained relationship make him try to face his demons alone?]]> 194 Ai Yazawa 1421530759 Sara G 0 4.58 2008 Nana, Vol. 20
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/16
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 19 4445951 179 Ai Yazawa 2756014745 Sara G 0 4.56 2008 Nana, Vol. 19
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/09
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 18 3079171 246 Ai Yazawa 2756013595 Sara G 0 4.55 2007 Nana, Vol. 18
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/08
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 17 1940376 190 Ai Yazawa 2756008907 Sara G 0 4.52 2007 Nana, Vol. 17
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/07
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 16 3032216 Blast is at the top of the charts, and the band is making all kinds of P.R. appearances. Nana just wants to sing though, and all the marketing is starting to wear on her. A party planned for the loyal fans might be just what she needs to cheer her up. But there are secrets about her past lurking in Osaka, and the magazine Search Weekly is determined to bring them to light!

]]> 250 Ai Yazawa 3770467558 Sara G 0 4.53 2006 Nana, Vol. 16
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/19
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 15 3032215 192 Ai Yazawa 377046754X Sara G 0 4.52 2006 Nana, Vol. 15
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 14 3032213 As Blast gears up for their major label debut, their fan club starts mobilizing. Led by the chic Shion, these ladies are serious fans who won't let anyone mess with their band. But the fan club has it out for Misato, a maverick fan who has gotten too close to Nana. What will they say when they find out Misato is applying for a job with Blast?!

Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock'n'roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties!

]]> 200 Ai Yazawa 1421519720 Sara G 0 4.49 2005 Nana, Vol. 14
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/17
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 13 3032210 Hachi hasn't seen Nana or the rest of Blast since she moved in with Takumi, and Shin and Reira's joint birthday party seems like the perfect chance for a little reunion. But Takumi is furious at Hachi for crashing the event, and she is forced to choose Takumi over Nana one more time. But was this Hachi's last chance to get back in Nana's life?

Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock'n'roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties!

]]> 200 Ai Yazawa 1421518805 Sara G 0 4.52 2005 Nana, Vol. 13
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/16
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 12 2387969 � Every volume has reached the TOP 10 in Japan’s best-seller list.
� Inspired an anime series, live action movies, music CD, and PS2 game
� VIZ Media has the rights for the Nana anime series.
� VIZ Pictures is releasing Nana movie 1 & 2.
� A top-ten title in Japan and winner of a Shogakukan Manga Award in the girls category in 2003
� Named one of the Top 50 Manga Properties in 2006 by ICv2
� Yazawa also contributed character designs for the Courtney Love inspired series, Princess Ai. The collaboration between the grunge rock queen and the wildly popular mangaka was an immediate hit.

Hachi tells herself that she's got her eye on the future and her life with Takumi, but she just can't let go of the past and her friendship with Nana and the rest of Blast--especially Nobu. And the tangle gets thicker when Hachi's wedding has to be postponed in favor of Nana and Ren's nuptials. Can Hachi handle another delay in her happily-ever-after?]]> 208 Ai Yazawa 1421518791 Sara G 0 4.51 2005 Nana, Vol. 12
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 11 2387968 � Every volume has reached the TOP 10 in Japan’s best-seller list.
� Inspired an anime series, live action movies, music CD, and PS2 game
� VIZ Media has the rights for the Nana anime series.
� VIZ Pictures is releasing Nana movie 1 & 2.
� A top-ten title in Japan and winner of a Shogakukan Manga Award in the girls category in 2003
� Named one of the Top 50 Manga Properties in 2006 by ICv2
� Yazawa also contributed character designs for the Courtney Love inspired series, Princess Ai. The collaboration between the grunge rock queen and the wildly popular mangaka was an immediate hit.

This is the story of two 20-year-old women who share the same name. Even though they come from completely different backgrounds, they somehow meet and become best friends. The world of Nana is a world exploding with sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties.



With the tabloids still out for blood, Nana and her Blast bandmates move into a weird dorm building run by their agency. But they've barely got enough time to settle into their new digs because their crammed schedule has them running from music studio to TV interview. The stress of band life and dealing with a disintegrating Ren have started to take their toll on Nana. If she collapses now, will she ever get back up?]]> 256 Ai Yazawa 1421517477 Sara G 0 4.49 2004 Nana, Vol. 11
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/14
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 10 1992805
Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock'n'roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties!

Being engaged isn't as wonderful as Hachi thought it would be. She has a trendy new apartment, but she's isolated from all her friends and Takumi is hardly ever home. When scandal hits hard, Trapnest (and her fiancé) flee to Europe, and Hachi is left to watch Blast suffer in the scandal rags and tabloid shows.]]> 280 Ai Yazawa 1421517469 Sara G 0 4.48 2004 Nana, Vol. 10
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/13
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 9 1992804
Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock'n'roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties!

Takumi and Hachi are getting married, but it's far from a joyous announcement. Nobu and Nana are devastated, and even Takumi's bandmates take the news hard. With paparazzi skulking around for a new scandal to exploit and tensions between Trapnest and Blast on high alert, will Hachi ever get her happily ever after?]]> 290 Ai Yazawa 1421517450 Sara G 0 4.52 2003 Nana, Vol. 9
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/12
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 8 1022588
Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock'n'roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties!

Hachi's happiness with Nobu is slipping through her fingers as an unexpected complication with Takumi threatens to upend her entire life. And unlike her past romantic woes, the choice she makes now will change the lives of everyone around her.]]> 200 Ai Yazawa 1421515393 Sara G 0 4.53 2003 Nana, Vol. 8
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/12
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 7 1022587
Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock'n'roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties!

Hachi was happy to be Blast's biggest cheerleader, but now that the band is taking off, she's discovering that there are hordes of fans eager to take her place. At the same time, her involvement with Trapnest hottie Takumi is turning into a romantic entanglement she hadn't expected. When a chance for another kind of happiness presents itself, will Hachi be strong enough to face the difficult choices that result?]]> 208 Ai Yazawa 1421510219 Sara G 0 4.54 2002 Nana, Vol. 7
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 6 98412
Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock'n'roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties!

Nana's band Blast is taking off in a big way--from sold-out club dates to a record label waving a contract at them. But the Trapnest menace still lurks, stealing away everything she cares for. Trapnest took her boyfriend, and even though Ren is back in her life, his band still comes first. And now her trusty sidekick Hachi is being lured away by Trapnest bassist Takumi. But this time, Nana won't give up without a fight!]]> 187 Ai Yazawa 1421510200 Sara G 0 4.52 2002 Nana, Vol. 6
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/07
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 5 98408
Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock'n'roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties!

Nana K. is going home--for an awesome Trapnest concert! She drags Nana O. along, convinced that somehow Ren will sense his ex-flame in the audience. But life is never that easy, and Nana O. isn't sure if she even wants Ren back. As for Nana K., is she prepared for Trapnest to come down off the stage and into her life, or will her fan-girl attitude land her in a heap of trouble?]]> 188 Ai Yazawa 1421510197 Sara G 0 4.54 2002 Nana, Vol. 5
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/07
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 4 98410 184 Ai Yazawa 1421504804 Sara G 0 4.55 2001 Nana, Vol. 4
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/07
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 3 98414
Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock'n'roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties!

Things are slowly coming together for Nana Osaki. The guitarist and drummer from her old band have joined her in Tokyo and she's finally found a ripping new bass player to replace Ren Honjo. The Black Stones are back and they're ready to kick some ass.

Nana Komatsu, however, can't shake her old nemesis, the Demon Lord. She's stuck in a dead-end job and there's trouble brewing with her boyfriend, Shoji. He's been working late and hasn't exactly been the most attentive lover. Poor Nana. Life in Tokyo is turning out to be a total bummer.]]> 183 Ai Yazawa 1421504790 Sara G 0 4.50 2001 Nana, Vol. 3
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/03
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 2 98411 200 Ai Yazawa 1421503786 Sara G 5 4.48 2000 Nana, Vol. 2
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/02
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, graphic-novel
review:

]]> Springtime in a Broken Mirror 39331988 Santiago is trapped. Taken political prisoner in Montevideo after a brutal military coup, he can do nothing but write letters to his family, and try to stay sane.

Far away, his nine-year-old daughter Beatrice wonders at the marvels of 1970s Buenos Aires, but her grandpa and mother - Santiago's beautiful, careworn wife, Graciela - struggle to adjust to a life in exile. Graciela fights to retain the fiery passion that suffused her marriage, her politics, her whole life, as day by day Santiago edges closer to freedom. But Santiago's rakish, reckless best friend is a constant, brooding presence in the exiles' lives, and Graciela finds herself drawn irresistibly towards him.

A lucid, heart-wrenching saga of a family torn apart by the forces of history, Springtime in a Broken Mirror tells with tenderness and fury of the indelible imprint politics leaves on individual lives. Generous and unflinching, it asks whether the broken bonds of family and history can ever truly be mended.

]]> 189 Mario Benedetti Sara G 5 20th-century-contemporary 4.25 1982 Springtime in a Broken Mirror
author: Mario Benedetti
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/14
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary
review:
I deeply enjoyed the poetic moments of this one, which I do consider highlights, however, the entire book is very engaging and interesting.
]]> <![CDATA[Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower]]> 55968948 145 Tamsyn Muir Sara G 3 sci-fi-fantasy 4.31 2020 Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy
review:
It's ok. The voice is fun and entertaining, I would probably give Tamsyn Muir another go at some point. But the book as such didn't work for me as well as I hoped.
]]> The Third Policeman 35511580 The Third Policeman is another inspired bit of confusing and comic lunacy from the warped imagination and lovably demented pen of Flann O'Brien, author of At Swim-Two-Birds. There's even a small chance you'll figure out what's going on if you read the publisher's note that appears on the last page.]]> 240 Flann O'Brien Sara G 4 3.78 1967 The Third Policeman
author: Flann O'Brien
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1967
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/03
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, satire-and-humour
review:
Genuinely a quite fun sort of philosophical of what we're owed (trying to be deliberately overly vague so I don't spoil this incredibly interesting book for anyone who's never heard of it because I went in completely blind and I think it served me quite well)
]]> Četvrto međuledeno doba 16106553 180 Kōbō Abe Sara G 4 sci-fi-fantasy, dystopia 3.54 1959 Četvrto međuledeno doba
author: Kōbō Abe
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.54
book published: 1959
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, dystopia
review:

]]> Smile As They Bow 3121331 146 နįĔįěĊĺġĄĺĸ� 1401303374 Sara G 0 queer-and-or-poly 3.51 2008 Smile As They Bow
author: နįĔįěĊĺġĄĺĸ�
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at: 2025/02/10
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: queer-and-or-poly
review:

]]> Kibogo 62608690 A new masterwork of satire, lore, and living memory, launching Mukasonga into contention for the Nobel Prize in Literature when it recently published in France.

“Mukasonga breathes upon a vanished world and brings it to life in all its sparkling multifariousness.� � J.M. Coetzee

In four beautifully woven parts, Mukasonga spins a marvelous recounting of the clash between ancient Rwandan beliefs and the missionaries determined to replace them with European Christianity.

When a rogue priest is defrocked for fusing the gospels with the martyrdom of Kibogo, a fierce clash of cults ensues. Swirling with the heady smell of wet earth and flashes of acerbic humor, Mukasonga brings to life the vital mythologies that imbue the Rwandan spirit. In doing so, she gives us a tale of disarming simplicity and profound universal truth.

Kibogo’s story is reserved for the evening’s end, when women sit around a fire drinking honeyed brew, when just a few are able to stave off sleep. With heads nodding, drifting into the mist of a dream, one faithful storyteller will weave the old legends of the hillside, stories which church missionaries have done everything in their power to expunge.

To some, Kibogo’s tale is founding myth, celestial marvel, magic incantation, bottomless source of hope. To white priests spritzing holy water on shriveled, drought-ridden trees, it looms like red fog over the forbidden, satanic, a witchdoctor’s hoax. All debate the twisted roots of this story, but deep down, all secretly wonder � can Kibogo really summon the rain?]]> 161 Scholastique Mukasonga 1953861377 Sara G 5 set-in-historical-times 3.81 2020 Kibogo
author: Scholastique Mukasonga
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: set-in-historical-times
review:
My second try with Scholastique Mukasonga and it's impeccable as the first, showing a range not often found. This folkloric yet so real take on the interwoven nature of colonialism and Christianity explores culture, community, and humanity in such a vivid and magical way that it gripped me and did not let go until the very last page.
]]> Silence Is My Mother Tongue 55279872 A sensuous, textured novel of life in a refugee camp, long-listed for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction

On a hill overlooking a refugee camp in Sudan, a young man strings up bedsheets that, in an act of imaginative resilience, will serve as a screen in his silent cinema. From the cinema he can see all the comings and goings in the camp, especially those of two new arrivals: a girl named Saba, and her mute brother, Hagos.

For these siblings, adapting to life in the camp is not easy. Saba mourns the future she lost when she was forced to abandon school, while Hagos, scorned for his inability to speak, must live vicariously through his sister. Both resist societal expectations by seeking to redefine love, sex, and gender roles in their lives, and when a businessman opens a shop and befriends Hagos, they cast off those pressures and make an unconventional choice.

With this cast of complex, beautifully drawn characters, Sulaiman Addonia details the textures and rhythms of everyday life in a refugee camp, and questions what it means to be an individual when one has lost all that makes a home or a future. Intimate and subversive, Silence Is My Mother Tongue dissects the ways society wages war on women and explores the stories we must tell to survive in a broken, inhospitable environment.]]> 209 Sulaiman Addonia 1644451298 Sara G 4 3.77 2018 Silence Is My Mother Tongue
author: Sulaiman Addonia
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/09
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: contemporary, queer-and-or-poly
review:

]]> In the Eyes of Mr Fury 33267175
The key will unlock more than just Judge's front door. It will also unlock a multitude of stories - where magic children talk to crows, men disappear in piles of leaves, and James Dean lookalikes kiss in dark alleys - and reveal a secret history that will change Concord's life forever.

Philip Ridley's second novel (following the sexually charged tour de force Crocodilia ) was an instant cult classic when originally published in 1989. Now, for this new edition, Ridley has reimagined the story, expanding the original novel into the world's first LGBT magical realist epic. A vast, labyrinthine, hall-of-mirrors saga, its breathtaking imagery and stunning plot twists - covering over a hundred years - reveal Ridley to be one of the most distinctive and innovative voices in contemporary fiction.

'Philip Ridley's stories compel attention.' - The Times (London)

'Ridley is the master of modern myth.' - The Guardian

'Ridley is a visionary.' - Rolling Stone]]> 388 Philip Ridley Sara G 4 4.53 1989 In the Eyes of Mr Fury
author: Philip Ridley
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.53
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: teen, sci-fi-fantasy, queer-and-or-poly
review:

]]> Nana, Vol. 1 98413 192 Ai Yazawa 1421501082 Sara G 4 4.38 2000 Nana, Vol. 1
author: Ai Yazawa
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/31
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: graphic-novel, 20th-century-contemporary
review:

]]> Eve out of Her Ruins 32068085 Le Figaro

With brutal honesty and poetic urgency, Ananda Devi relates the tale of four young Mauritians trapped in their country's endless cycle of fear and violence: Eve, whose body is her only weapon and source of power; Savita, Eve's best friend, the only one who loves Eve without self-interest, who has plans to leave but will not go alone; Saadiq, gifted would-be poet, inspired by Rimbaud, in love with Eve; Clélio, belligerent rebel, waiting without hope for his brother to send for him from France.

Eve out of Her Ruins is a heartbreaking look at the dark corners of the island nation of Mauritius that tourists never see, and a poignant exploration of the construction of personhood at the margins of society. Awarded the prestigious Prix des cinq continents upon publication as the best book written in French outside of France, Eve Out of her Ruins is a harrowing account of the violent reality of life in her native country by the figurehead of Mauritian literature.

The book featurues an original introduction by Nobel Prize winner J.M.G. Le Clézio, who declares Devi "a truly great writer."

Ananda Devi (b. 1957, Trois-Boutiques, Mauritius) is a novelist and scholar. She has published eight novels as well as short stories and poetry, and was featured at the PEN World Voices Festival in New York in 2015. She was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 2010.]]> 160 Ananda Devi 1941920411 Sara G 0 However I'm not sure about the actual plot? I think the beautiful style sort of washes over the entire work and obscures some finer details that I didn't exactly love.]]> 4.08 2006 Eve out of Her Ruins
author: Ananda Devi
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves:
review:
I found the writer's voice and style captivating. It truly is poetic and beautifully flowing.
However I'm not sure about the actual plot? I think the beautiful style sort of washes over the entire work and obscures some finer details that I didn't exactly love.
]]> La Bastarda 39973886 102 Trifonia Melibea Obono 1936932245 Sara G 3 3.57 2016 La Bastarda
author: Trifonia Melibea Obono
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/17
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: contemporary, on-womanhood, queer-and-or-poly
review:
Eh, so so I guess. Kinda choppy and flat though I'd say it has good bones I suppose.
]]> Lusi 55690624 Lusi, devojka sa Kariba, dolazi u Ameriku da radi kao dadilja četiri devojčice Luisa i Maraje. Oni su trostruko blagosloven par � zgodni su, imućni i naizgled srećni. Ipak, gotovo odmah, Lusi počinje da primećuje napukline na njihovoj lepoj fasadi. Uz ogorčenost i sasosećanje, ona pažljivo promišlja pretpostavke i činjenice sveta svojih poslodavaca i upoređuje ih sa živopisnom stvarnošću svog rodnog kraja. Ona nema iluzija o svojoj prošlosti, niti je spremna da je obmanjuje mesto na kome trenutno boravi.

"Kćerka Šarlot Bronte, Virdžinije Vulf i vlastitog neuporedivog sopstva …Kinkejd je sjajan portretista mladalačke podvojenosti."
Ričard Lok, The Wall Street Journal]]> 144 Jamaica Kincaid 8684599888 Sara G 5 4.67 1990 Lusi
author: Jamaica Kincaid
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.67
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, on-womanhood
review:
This dissection of a young woman, strong and vicious and quite soft and childlike all at once, is one of the best books I've read in a long time. The titular Lucy is complex and layered, her thinking always so plainly clear yet deeply unique, and her voice at the same time strictly detached and over involved. I will not tell you anymore as this book is very short, however, I will say that I'm eager to read more and more and more of Kincaid's work.
]]> Срце ноћи (Srce noći) 36617030 islamskog života.

Nagib Mahfuz (1911�2006) svrstava se u najuticajnije pisce kod Arapa. Visoko se uzdigao u svetu književnosti i, za sada, jedini je arapski pisac koji je dobio Nobelovu nagradu (1988). Mahfuz je formu romana, žanr koji jedva da je postojao u arapskoj literaturi kada je debitovao na književnoj sceni, za šest decenija angažovanog pisanja utemeljio i ozakonio širom arapskog sveta. Istrajno neobičan čitavog života, napisao je više od 60 knjiga, od istorijskih drama do dugih romana zapletenih struktura o životu u savremenom Egiptu i na stotine kratkih priča, filmskih scenarija, novinskih kolumni, eseja.]]> 135 Naguib Mahfouz 8660812077 Sara G 4 3.89 1975 Срце ноћи (Srce noći)
author: Naguib Mahfouz
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1975
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/09
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: memoir-of-sorts, mental-health-and-disability, mystery-and-thriller, 20th-century-contemporary
review:
The way Mahfouz wrote...oh this is captivating! I hated the main character, I thought his life story was messy and irritating, but, oh how deeply enthralled I was by it! And how I wished it was longer!
]]> ć 16106946 Ovaj roman na temu unutrašnjeg nemira i otrgnutosti iz rodne sredine smatra se za prvi, istinski moderan roman u srpskoj književnosti u kojem se pisac okrenuo istraživanju unutrašnjeg, odnosno samom čoveku, njegovim osećanjima i skrivenim svetovima. "Bepuće" je roman susreta, sećanja i samoposmatranja, s malim brojem likova i usporenim događanjima.

Gavre Đaković se vraća iz Zagreba u Liku, ali se oseća kao stranac među svojima. Ravnodušan je, kao da više ne pripada nekada poznatoj seoskoj sredini ...]]> 184 Veljko Milićević Sara G 5
Nihilizam i traganje za korenima u mladosti je još uvek bezvremena tema. Posebno se čini prikladna u ovom današnjem dobu gde ni ljudi sa to malo privilegije i sigurnosti, kao glavni lik ovog romana koji je jedini naslednik porodičnog imanja i kojeg je porodica iškolovala iako on od tog obrazovanja odustaje, nisu srećni niti "ukorenjeni" jer trenutno društveno stanje to malo kome dozvoljava. ]]> 4.27 1912 ć
author: Veljko Milićević
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1912
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, downer, favorites
review:
Odslušala sinoć na kanalu Čitajmo zajedno (audio lektire) na YouTube-u dok sam vezla, divno mi je pravila društvo.

Nihilizam i traganje za korenima u mladosti je još uvek bezvremena tema. Posebno se čini prikladna u ovom današnjem dobu gde ni ljudi sa to malo privilegije i sigurnosti, kao glavni lik ovog romana koji je jedini naslednik porodičnog imanja i kojeg je porodica iškolovala iako on od tog obrazovanja odustaje, nisu srećni niti "ukorenjeni" jer trenutno društveno stanje to malo kome dozvoljava.
]]> Sneško u tropima 53836090 290 Draginja Ramadanski 8686611966 Sara G 0 non-fiction 3.00 Sneško u tropima
author: Draginja Ramadanski
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/03
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Slobodna : Odrastanje na kraju istorije]]> 202126895
Porodica joj je na različite, nekad i direktne, načine bila povezana s politikom. Njen pradeda, na primer, bio je premijer Albanije 20-ih godina 20. veka.

Pisanje o odrastanju uz kult živog i preminulog Envera Hodže portret je najzatvorenije države „na obodu� Evrope, ali i slika građanskog dostojanstva koje opstaje u nemogućim uslovima.

Britanski časopis Prospekt (Prospect) uvrstio je Leu Ipi među deset vrhunskih svetskih mislilaca za 2022 godinu.]]> 248 Lea Ypi 8661454093 Sara G 4 4.48 2021 Slobodna : Odrastanje na kraju istorije
author: Lea Ypi
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/06
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: 20th-century-contemporary, satire-and-humour
review:
This was a funny and a very ~familiar~ read in a similar way to other books about the Balkans in this period in time. It's always interesting to see how very little difference there really is between us.
]]> Ljeta s Marijom 62906374 Sve supruge, majke, djevojke, kćeri, bake, unuke, sve žene predaka i sadašnjosti u moćnome romanu Ljeta s Marijom postaju ne samo Marije jedne konkretne obitelji već i obitelji općenito. Olja Savičević Ivančević ispisala je suptilnu posvetu i snažan krik žena, sustavno prešućivanih i zanemarivanih, koje su bolji dio naših porodica i života. Ljeta s Marijom nezaboravno su štivo i rodoslovno stablo svake familije naših krajeva, ono stablo koje živi i opstaje u svakom vremenu i nevremenu.]]> 176 Olja Savičević Ivančević 9533585064 Sara G 0 4.07 Ljeta s Marijom
author: Olja Savičević Ivančević
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.07
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/30
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Niko nije zaboravljen i ničega se ne sećamo]]> 63851610
Ovako počinje debitantski roman Mirjane Drljević koji je bio apsolutno bez premca među 575 rukopisa pristiglih na naš prvi konkurs za neobjavljeni roman. Pred vama je izuzetno delo koje funkcioniše na mnogo nivoa, jer autorka suvereno vlada pravilima žanra i koristi ga kao osnovu na kojoj će izgraditi kompleksnu priču o nekoliko generacija, njihovim odnosima, prijateljstvu, ljubavi, roditeljstvu i zemlji koja se raspala u eksploziji čiji šrapneli čak i tri decenije kasnije pogađaju nedužne.

Brz, inteligentan, višeslojan i znalački vođen od početka do kraja, roman Niko nije zaboravljen i ničega se ne sećamo predstavlja veliko književno otkriće i značajan dobitak za savremenu srpsku prozu.]]> 262 Mirjana Drljević 8660840275 Sara G 0 4.16 Niko nije zaboravljen i ničega se ne sećamo
author: Mirjana Drljević
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.16
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: contemporary, mystery-and-thriller
review:

]]> ʱč 42743203 378 Borisav Stanković Sara G 0 4.50 ʱč
author: Borisav Stanković
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Etnologija: od proučavanja starine do kulturologije]]> 17929360 350 Hermann Bausinger 8675620179 Sara G 0 non-fiction 3.00 2002 Etnologija: od proučavanja starine do kulturologije
author: Hermann Bausinger
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/30
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: non-fiction
review:

]]> Orijentalizam 17929466 480 Edward W. Said 8675620683 Sara G 0 non-fiction 4.40 1978 Orijentalizam
author: Edward W. Said
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.40
book published: 1978
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/30
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: non-fiction
review:

]]> Hotel Bertram 12494363
The hotel is full of suspects who have potential motives—and convenient alibis. While the local inspector is preoccupied with a series of recent robberies, only Miss Marple, with her shrewd observations and keen understanding of human nature, can sort out the puzzling sequence of events and zero in on the killer.]]> 244 Agatha Christie Sara G 4 3.80 1965 Hotel Bertram
author: Agatha Christie
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1965
rating: 4
read at: 2018/01/17
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves: mystery-and-thriller, 20th-century-contemporary
review:
I am the biggest sucker for Miss Marple and that's all I'm going to say here.
]]> <![CDATA[Ponoć ili grozno ubistvo na Dorćolu : kriminalni roman iz beogradskog života]]> 208280169
Nevelik obimom, roman sadrži deset poglavlja: Kartara, Neke zločinačke spreme i navike, Razbojnička jazbina, Zločinac, Zločin, Posle zločina, Iz članovog zapisnika, Lepa Katinka, Na Englezovcu, Bekstvo.

Roman je nastao iz pera Tanasija Tase Milenkovića koji je bio naš prvi učeni policajac. Uspešan u svom poslu, a štošta je i zabeležio. Njegovo polje pisanja uvek je bilo u vezi sa svakodnevnim životom Beograđana, dvorskim životom kraljeva Milana i Aleksandra Obrenovića, i svima onima koji su dolazili u dodir sa policijom, bilo da su to sitni krijumčari, lopovi, prevaranti, ili, na kraju, i ubice.]]> 185 Tanasije Tasa Milenković 8678187565 Sara G 3 mystery-and-thriller
Kraj me je, priznajem, iznenadio. Očekivala sam da bi jedan policajac završio knjigu s malo više... možda neosnovanog samopouzdanja i optimizma. ]]> 3.20 Ponoć ili grozno ubistvo na Dorćolu : kriminalni roman iz beogradskog života
author: Tanasije Tasa Milenković
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.20
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/01
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: mystery-and-thriller
review:
Interesantno je videti Beograd kroz ove oči. Interesantan je momenat. Interesantan je pristup policiji, istrazi i zločinu. Nije neka književnost ali jeste uvid u nešto sada već daleko.

Kraj me je, priznajem, iznenadio. Očekivala sam da bi jedan policajac završio knjigu s malo više... možda neosnovanog samopouzdanja i optimizma.
]]> <![CDATA[Pug's Sleepover: A Branches Book (Diary of a Pug #6)]]> 57468712 80 Kyla May 1338713477 Sara G 0 teaching-aids 4.32 Pug's Sleepover: A Branches Book (Diary of a Pug #6)
author: Kyla May
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: teaching-aids
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pug's Got Talent: A Branches Book (Diary of a Pug #4) (4)]]> 52664745 80 Kyla May 1338530127 Sara G 0 teaching-aids 4.30 Pug's Got Talent: A Branches Book (Diary of a Pug #4) (4)
author: Kyla May
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/22
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: teaching-aids
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pug’s Snow Day (Diary of a Pug #2)]]> 44442958 80 Kyla May 1338530062 Sara G 0 teaching-aids 4.28 Pug’s Snow Day (Diary of a Pug #2)
author: Kyla May
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.28
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/21
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: teaching-aids
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pug Blasts Off (Diary of a Pug #1)]]> 43319623 80 Kyla May 1338530038 Sara G 0 teaching-aids 4.20 2019 Pug Blasts Off (Diary of a Pug #1)
author: Kyla May
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/21
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: teaching-aids
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pokemon: Save the Shieldon (Level 2)]]> 3111716
Some Shieldon are in trouble! Can Ash help?

For Ash & friends, the Sinnoh Region has been an incredible journey full of adventure. And it keeps getting better! Check out all the fun in the next Sinnoh Reader, created especially with beginning readers in mind.]]> 32 Simcha Whitehill 0545073057 Sara G 0 teaching-aids 3.87 2008 Pokemon: Save the Shieldon (Level 2)
author: Simcha Whitehill
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: teaching-aids
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Кућа на Пуовом углу (Winnie-the-Pooh, #2)]]> 59270451 174 A.A. Milne Sara G 5 children-s 5.00 1926 Кућа на Пуовом углу (Winnie-the-Pooh, #2)
author: A.A. Milne
name: Sara G
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1926
rating: 5
read at: 2021/10/10
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: children-s
review:
I'm tearing up but it's ok because they're good tears and I've desperately missed reading my old "Winnie the Pooh" books.
]]> Moj muž 36304919
Sve ovo je ispisano u najboljem duhu američke kratke priče, najzahtevnijim načinom, jezikom običnih ljudi, mimo svake patetike, razorno i istinito.]]> 149 Rumena Bužarovska Sara G 3 contemporary 4.03 Moj muž
author: Rumena Bužarovska
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.03
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2019/08/06
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: contemporary
review:
Iznenađujuće duhovit i obećavajući početak. Naravno, nisu sve priče na istom nivou ali, to je sasvim normalno za zbirke, svako će imati omiljenu priču i neku koja mu ne odgovara. Definitivno bih preporučila.
]]> Vidimo se u Kapkejk kafeu 40773912 0 Jenny Colgan 8652109168 Sara G 3 contemporary
Still, I've had this book for years and this is the first time I've even considered rereading it. Pretty much the only reason I kept it after reading it is the recipes. So, you know, take from that what you wish.]]> 4.00 2011 Vidimo se u Kapkejk kafeu
author: Jenny Colgan
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2019/06/23
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves: contemporary
review:
This book is fine. In fact, it would be completely unremarkable if it didn't have two things going for it: it features actual, useable recipes, and it has a few scenes that stick in my head (most notably the teething scene).

Still, I've had this book for years and this is the first time I've even considered rereading it. Pretty much the only reason I kept it after reading it is the recipes. So, you know, take from that what you wish.
]]> Ubica 62870130
Bez imalo kajanja, a u nekoj vrsti umišljene misije, starica ubija svoju bolešljivu unuku u kolevci, što predstavlja okidač za budući uznemirujući rasplet priče, gde zločini bivaju isprepletani kaznom.

U ovoj modernoj grčkoj tragediji prepoznaćete elemente iz „Zločina i kazne�, s obzirom na to da je Papadiamandis svoje delo napisao neposredno nakon što je na grčki jezik preveo ovo poznato delo Dostojevskog.]]> 117 Alexandros Papadiamantis 8682198053 Sara G 3 3.94 1903 Ubica
author: Alexandros Papadiamantis
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1903
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/28
date added: 2024/11/05
shelves: mystery-and-thriller, on-womanhood
review:
Ova knjiga je provela poslednjih nekoliko godina na mojoj listi želja i uopšte mi nije žao što sam je sad na sajmu kupila, ali, priznajem, nisam oduševljena. Do određenog momenta mi je bila vrlo interesantna, ali se, uz Hadulin očaj i paniku, i proza dosta zaveže u čvor. Neke misli su nedorečene, neke besciljne, neke vrlo plitke. Ako je ovo delo stvarno bilo inspirisano Dostojevskim, onda mu fali introspekcije.
]]> Absent: A Novel 74052617 240 Betool Khedairi Sara G 3 3.00 2004 Absent: A Novel
author: Betool Khedairi
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/23
date added: 2024/11/01
shelves:
review:
Ok I was disappointed. I really hate when a book starts off promising and then quickly skydives down in quality and, frankly, engagement. I've read a few like that this year and I'm over it. Blah.
]]> Reasons She Goes to the Woods 29482601
Told in vignettes across Pearl’s childhood years, Reasons She Goes To The Woods is a nervy but lyrical novel about a normal girl growing up, doing the normal things little girls do.]]> 256 Deborah Kay Davies 1780743777 Sara G 4 mental-health-and-disability 4.00 2014 Reasons She Goes to the Woods
author: Deborah Kay Davies
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/16
date added: 2024/10/27
shelves: mental-health-and-disability
review:
I liked this. I found it...well, maybe fun is not the word but lets go with it anyway. I have a lot of hangups about books with ~evil~ children since they often veer into justifying child abuse which I just cannot and will not read, but I found this one very readable. The POV and short vignettes of story really worked for me and so did the general vibe of Pearl as a character.
]]> Night Sky with Exit Wounds 30006333 Winner of the 2016 Whiting Award

One of Publishers Weekly's "Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2016"

One of Lit Hub's "10 must-read poetry collections for April"

“Reading Vuong is like watching a fish move: he manages the varied currents of English with muscled intuition. His poems are by turns graceful and wonderstruck. His lines are both long and short, his pose narrative and lyric, his diction formal and insouciant. From the outside, Vuong has fashioned a poetry of inclusion.�-The New Yorker

"Night Sky with Exit Wounds establishes Vuong as a fierce new talent to be reckoned with...This book is a masterpiece that captures, with elegance, the raw sorrows and joys of human existence."-Buzzfeed's "Most Exciting New Books of 2016"

"This original, sprightly wordsmith of tumbling pulsing phrases pushes poetry to a new level...A stunning introduction to a young poet who writes with both assurance and vulnerability. Visceral, tender and lyrical, fleet and agile, these poems unflinchingly face the legacies of violence and cultural displacement but they also assume a position of wonder before the world.�-2016 Whiting Award citation

"Night Sky with Exit Wounds is the kind of book that soon becomes worn with love. You will want to crease every page to come back to it, to underline every other line because each word resonates with power."-LitHub

"Vuong’s powerful voice explores passion, violence, history, identity-all with a tremendous humanity."-Slate

“In his impressive debut collection, Vuong, a 2014 Ruth Lilly fellow, writes beauty into-and culls from-individual, familial, and historical traumas. Vuong exists as both observer and observed throughout the book as he explores deeply personal themes such as poverty, depression, queer sexuality, domestic abuse, and the various forms of violence inflicted on his family during the Vietnam War. Poems float and strike in equal measure as the poet strives to transform pain into clarity. Managing this balance becomes the crux of the collection, as when he writes, ‘“Your father is only your father/ until one of you forgets. Like how the spine/ won’t remember its wings/ no matter how many times our knees/ kiss the pavement.’�-Publishers Weekly

"What a treasure [Ocean Vuong] is to us. What a perfume he's crushed and rendered of his heart and soul. What a gift this book is."-Li-Young Lee

Torso of Air

Suppose you do change your life.
& the body is more than
a portion of night-sealed
with bruises. Suppose you woke
& found your shadow replaced
by a black wolf. The boy, beautiful
& gone. So you take the knife to the wall
instead. You carve & carve
until a coin of light appears
& you get to look in, at last,
on happiness. The eye
staring back from the other side-
waiting.

Born in Saigon, Vietnam, Ocean Vuong attended Brooklyn College. He is the author of two chapbooks as well as a full-length collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds. A 2014 Ruth Lilly Fellow and winner of the 2016 Whiting Award, Ocean Vuong lives in New York City, New York.]]> 70 Ocean Vuong 1619321564 Sara G 2 poetry
Reading this felt like sitting in a stranger's living room, decorated by nothing but generic store bought white, back, and gold decorations, those ones that look pretty but don't actually *do* anything or have anything to them. You can buy 10 of the same, monochromatic useless thing that sits and looks pretty, you can buy 20, 30, 100. And you can throw them all out in an instant and feel nothing. Sure it's pretty, it's there, but it's neither striking nor important, so what's the use?

When you leave the room, are you going to remember them?]]> 3.66 2016 Night Sky with Exit Wounds
author: Ocean Vuong
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2020/08/12
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: poetry
review:
The scenery, the visual descriptions are very vivid and clean but there's nothing else in this for me. No style, no substance, no emotion or relatability.

Reading this felt like sitting in a stranger's living room, decorated by nothing but generic store bought white, back, and gold decorations, those ones that look pretty but don't actually *do* anything or have anything to them. You can buy 10 of the same, monochromatic useless thing that sits and looks pretty, you can buy 20, 30, 100. And you can throw them all out in an instant and feel nothing. Sure it's pretty, it's there, but it's neither striking nor important, so what's the use?

When you leave the room, are you going to remember them?
]]> <![CDATA[A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers]]> 29162693
This stunning, haunting short story from rising star Alyssa Wong explores the depth and fierceness of love and the trauma of family.]]> 20 Alyssa Wong 0765386585 Sara G 4 sci-fi-fantasy, favorites
Merged review:

Oh. Shouldn't have read this one on public transport, I teared up. But then again, I'm a sucker for strong sibling relationships all the way.]]> 3.72 2016 A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers
author: Alyssa Wong
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2020/07/30
date added: 2024/09/30
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, favorites
review:
Oh. Shouldn't have read this one on public transport, I teared up. But then again, I'm a sucker for strong sibling relationships all the way.

Merged review:

Oh. Shouldn't have read this one on public transport, I teared up. But then again, I'm a sucker for strong sibling relationships all the way.
]]> <![CDATA[Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution]]> 25071668
The experience is her own—as a woman, a poet, a feminist, and a mother—but it is an experience determined by the institution, imposed on all women everywhere. She draws on personal materials, history, research, and literature to create a document of universal importance.]]> 320 Adrienne Rich 0393348105 Sara G 4 non-fiction, on-womanhood
This is an interesting dissection of womanhood and motherhood, most of the arguments (unfortunately) still stand and repeat themselves into perpetuity, it seems. We're still apparently discussing the same lack of education and preparation for motherhood, the same limiting social roles, the same small and large acts of violence by and towards women, the same difficulty many mothers have with connecting with and feeling warmly towards their children, the same difficulty and alienation of labour that leads to further pain, injury, violence, the same lack of community support around parents (primarily mothers who are still considered the primary caretakers) that stems from alienation and individualism promoted by wider capitalist and patriarchal society...

Not all things are still the same, of course. Partially because young women today have more prospects and freedom to make informed decisions they feel enthusiastically about, but also because there is less of a freedom and ability to bring children into the world when you cannot survive yourself.

The gap is getting wider, and we're rapidly losing the freedom of that choice all over again.

Gave me lots to think about (especially the Motherhood and Daughterhood chapter which I could talk about for the next month and never run out of steam).]]> 4.32 Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution
author: Adrienne Rich
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/05/23
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: non-fiction, on-womanhood
review:
"I only knew that to have a child was to assume adult womanhood to the full, to prove myself, to be "like other women"."

This is an interesting dissection of womanhood and motherhood, most of the arguments (unfortunately) still stand and repeat themselves into perpetuity, it seems. We're still apparently discussing the same lack of education and preparation for motherhood, the same limiting social roles, the same small and large acts of violence by and towards women, the same difficulty many mothers have with connecting with and feeling warmly towards their children, the same difficulty and alienation of labour that leads to further pain, injury, violence, the same lack of community support around parents (primarily mothers who are still considered the primary caretakers) that stems from alienation and individualism promoted by wider capitalist and patriarchal society...

Not all things are still the same, of course. Partially because young women today have more prospects and freedom to make informed decisions they feel enthusiastically about, but also because there is less of a freedom and ability to bring children into the world when you cannot survive yourself.

The gap is getting wider, and we're rapidly losing the freedom of that choice all over again.

Gave me lots to think about (especially the Motherhood and Daughterhood chapter which I could talk about for the next month and never run out of steam).
]]> The Pasha of Cuisine 38330861 For readers of Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series and Richard C. Morais's The Hundred-Foot Journey, a sweeping tale of love and the magic of food set during the Ottoman Empire.A Pasha of Cuisine is a rare talent in Ottoman lore. Only two, maybe three are born with such a gift every few centuries. A natural master of gastronomy, he is the sovereign genius who reigns over aromas and flavors and can use them to influence the hearts and minds, even the health, of those who taste his creations. In this fabulous novel, one such chef devises a plot bring down the Ottoman Empire—should he need to—in order to rescue the love of his life from the sultan’s harem.Himself a survivor of the bloodiest massacre ever recorded within the Imperial Palace after the passing of the last sultan, he is spirited away through the palace kitchens, where his potential was recognized. Across the empire, he is apprenticed one by one to the best chefs in all culinary disciplines and trained in related arts, such as the magic of spices, medicine, and the influence of the stars. It is during his journeys that he finds happiness with the beautiful, fiery dancing girl Kamer, and the two make plans to marry. Before they can elope, Kamer is sold into the Imperial Harem, and the young chef must find his way back into the Imperial Kitchens and transform his gift into an unbeatable weapon.]]> 288 Saygın Ersin 1628729627 Sara G 4 Second, the writing is really beautiful and it flows so well, I genuinely enjoyed the reading experience.]]> 4.12 2016 The Pasha of Cuisine
author: Saygın Ersin
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/08
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: set-in-historical-times, sci-fi-fantasy, read-for-buzzwordathon-2023
review:
First of all, this book owes me snacks.
Second, the writing is really beautiful and it flows so well, I genuinely enjoyed the reading experience.
]]> <![CDATA[Ali's Pretty Little Lies (Pretty Little Liars, #0.5)]]> 18193091
It's the end of seventh grade, and Alison DiLaurentis and her friends are the girls of Rosewood Day. Ali runs her clique with an iron fist, and she's got enough dirt on Hanna, Emily, Aria, and Spencer to keep them in line. But Ali's hiding a dark secret of her own, something so huge it would destroy everything if it ever got out. She's desperate to keep the perfect life she's worked so hard to build, but in Rosewood deadly secrets have deadly consequences. . . .

Set in the weeks leading up to Ali's murder, this special Pretty Little Liars tale is told by the prettiest little liar of all: Ali herself. For the first time ever, we see how the mystery began . . . and how Alison DiLaurentis's life ended.]]> 304 Sara Shepard 0062233386 Sara G 3 teen, mystery-and-thriller 4.02 2013 Ali's Pretty Little Lies (Pretty Little Liars, #0.5)
author: Sara Shepard
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2023/09/03
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: teen, mystery-and-thriller
review:

]]> Girl Town 41676972 164 Casey Nowak 1684065437 Sara G 4 3.50 2018 Girl Town
author: Casey Nowak
name: Sara G
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2021/08/02
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: graphic-novel, queer-and-or-poly, on-womanhood, sci-fi-fantasy, short-story-collection
review:
"The Big Burning House" felt a bit boring, "Girl Town" and "Radishes" were ok, "Diana's Electric Tongue" and "Please Sleep Over", however, are *excellent*.
]]> Small Beauty 195094280 Small Beauty explores the protagonist’s transness, but it also tenderly yet bitterly unpacks her experiences as a mixed-race person of Chinese descent, cycles of death and loss, and queer and intergenerational community. Small Beauty wanders through isolation, and then breaks it.]]> 176 Jia Qing Wilson-Yang 0994047150 Sara G 5 4.08 2016 Small Beauty
author: Jia Qing Wilson-Yang
name: Sara G
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2022/12/01
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: contemporary, queer-and-or-poly, favorites
review:
This is so beautifully written, I kept having to pause reading because I was crying so much, an excellent exploration of grief.
]]>