Holiday Gift Guest Post

All quiet here (behind on reviews, what else is new?!) but I did manage to wrangle together a holiday gift recommendation for Jen at Books, Personally.  Check out her post and see what I (and other awesome bloggers) recommend! 

What is one book you'd recommend gifting this year?

Comments

  1. I'm not behind on reviews, but I'm still behind on my book challenge. I will sprint across that finish line on a tide of 200 page novels. JUST WATCH ME!

    ReplyDelete

  2. Loved your recommendation, though before I clicked over I thought it was going to be Gillespie & I

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. HA! It's totally making my top ten of 2012 but I felt super moved by this one as a great gift -- it's so fun!

      Delete

  3. Thanks so much again for being part of the post, and sharing the link! So much fun. & your pick is quite the hit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. My pleasure -- I'm so thrilled you invited me (and waited the ten thousand years for me to send you my blurb! ;))

      Delete

  4. Audra, I just want to get that thorn and blossom book to check out the accordion style for the two viewpoints!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Serena, it is *so* gorgeous -- totally worth it!

      Delete

  5. Love your pick, I've been looking for a copy of it for a while. I think I'd go for either The Night Circus of The Snow Child, both kind of festive and good.

    ReplyDelete

  6. This was a great post for me because I was trying to think of a book for the family grab that might appeal to a really broad range of tastes and interests ($20 max, from a small/independent business). It's got to be one that people will have heard of, even vaguely, but have probably not already read.

    ReplyDelete

  7. "The book of Mirdad"
    http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1487022.The_Book_of_Mirdad

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where They Bury You by Steven W. Kohlhagen

Image
Title:Where They Bury You
Author: Steven W. Kohlhagen

Genre: Fiction (Historical / 1860s / New Mexico / Civil War / Native Americans / Kit Carson / Historical Figures Fictionalized / Con Artists / Theft)
Publisher/Publication Date: Sunstone Press (9/2/2013)
Source:JKS Communications

Rating: Liked.
Did I finish?: I did -- raced through it!
One-sentence summary: A handful of gamblers try to make a big score in 1860s New Mexico and Arizona, at a time when the region is torn up with conflict and war.
Reading Challenges:E-book, Historical Fiction

Do I like the cover?: You know what? I do. I thought I didn't, but when I viewed the image full size, the textured background, the 'Western' font, and the silhouettes actually appeal to me.

First line: I'll be damned.

Buy, Borrow, or Avoid?: Borrow or buy if you like Westerns, the Southwest as a setting, or want a look at a wild and tempestuous time in US history.

Why did I get this book?: I've always been a bit curious about Kit Carson …
Read more

Book Review: Kitchen Table Tarot by Melissa Cynova

Image
This book reignited my love for tarot.

I bought my first tarot deck at 16 or so, and have been passionate about tarot since then. But after twenty years of reading (and heavily collecting), I found I wasn't turning to my cards as much. Partially it was being pregnant, and then having a kid -- many, many things in my life slowed down -- but a good deal of it was feeling in a rut and at a dead end. I 'knew' the cards, as much as I could, but I wasn't using my decks regularly or reading for anyone -- including myself.

On a whim, I requested this book via NetGalley, and to my surprise, actually read the e-book galley cover to cover -- yes, including every page for every card. Cynova -- popularly known online as Little Fox Tarot -- has a wonderfully down-to-earth and accessible attitude that immediately drew me in, and her every thought on tarot and reading (or card slinging) is approachable, welcoming, and realistic.

From the first page, Cynova's personality comes thr…
Read more

Book Review: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Image
First line: Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond.

I had to grit my teeth to get through this book. (All 209 pages.)

I'm ashamed to admit this since a surprising number of folks online and in person have cited this novella as one of their favorite books, but I found everything about this brief read to be agonizing -- the plot, the narrative style, the characters -- it and I just did not connect.

I went in expecting to love this book given its reputation and subject matter. Achebe depicts the story of a Nigeria broken by white colonialism; our hero is deeply flawed and stubbornly committed, living in a world with problems triply complicated by the unnecessary influence of white colonizers. Achebe's narrative style is straight-forward and clear, even as he articulates a world deeply foreign to modern audiences.

I suspect I didn't understand this book; I'm also not a huge fan of tragedies (I loathe Hamlet) so Okonkwo as a character didn'…
Read more

Reading Challenge: RIP 13

Image
Belatedly, here's my commitment post for Readers Imbibing Peril XIII, or RIP 13, the reading challenge of creepy, scary, and chilling reads.

I'm a total puss and yet I love me some creepy books. Reading ghost stories in October is just a tradition for me (honestly, Halloween might be my favorite holiday) so gathering up spooky books is catnip.

My queue, unsurprisingly, is massive. Good luck to me. My list includes two beloved rereads (Rebecca and Jane Steele) (if you haven't read either of these books read them immediately!) as well as some new items. I'm particularly excited for the issue of Nightmare magazine, as it's focused on authors of color and includes some thoughts on Lovecraft. Mmmm.

Agatha Christine, Ordeal by Innocence
Daphne Du Maurier, Rebecca
Lyndsay Faye, Jane Steele
H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories
(Daniel) Mallory Ortberg, The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror
Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Nightmare Magazine 49: October …
Read more