Jane Austen, Mysterious men and Bookselling: The Bookbabe Reviews First Impressions by Charlie Lovett

                                         

       

Howdy Bookies, I am back with yet another review of something Jane Austen related. A few weeks ago I read First Impressions by Charlie Lovett; a book that questions the true authorship of Pride and Prejudice. What bought me to this book was the fact that I had read and  LOVED Lovett's The Bookmans Tale last year. This book was definitely not a disappointment.  Basically the books main character Sophie Collingswood is an Austen fan, and general book lover. She gets caught up in the mystery of the murder of her beloved uncle and a mystery involving her beloved Austen; with a bit of romance and danger added in. What I really loved about this book, like Lovett's other novel, is that the characters are 100% relatable. Sophie is everything you love in a  bibliophile; she is intelligent, well read, overly protective of  books, and quick on her feet. Sophie comes from a seemingly well to do family that had a long history of publishing in its blood. However, her father is not a fan of books, or even reading. He finds the family library to be unnecessary, basically it is a waste of space and since most of the books are first editions of collectables they can be sold off to the highest bidder. The only person standing is his way is Sophie's beloved Uncle. Who won't allow his brother to sell even one book in the family library. Sophie's uncle is the reason she loved books; he is the reason she is found of old books and behind her as she studies Library sciences at Oxford. So when he suddenly is found dead in his flat Sophie just can not seem to accept the cause of this demise. She is determined to prove that someone murdered him; in fact, the quest almost costs her her life. 

What I really loved about the book was that it bounced back from Sophie's time period to the regency period, in which, Austen lived. Lovett writes in Austen's voice so beautifully that it made me feel like I was re-reading one of my favorite novels. He made Austen come alive in a way that I have never seen other authors do. Another thing that was extremely impressive was the balance of innocent romance and suspense. There was just enough romance to make you swoon and enough suspense to keep you up at night wanting to finish the book in one sitting. I am happy to say that I took my time reading this book so that I could throughly enjoy it. It was the well developed characters and the artful balance of romance and suspense that lead me to give First Impressions 5/5 stars on Goodreads. 

I definitely see this book becoming one I give away to fellow Austen fans.

Favorite Quotes:

"A bibliophile raised in a family that does not know the word...that's me"

(it was this moment that let me know Sophie was set to be my literary BFF of the moment)

"A good book is like a good friend. It will stay with you for the rest of your life. When you first get to know it, it will give you excitement and adventure and years later it will provide you with comfort and familiarity. And best of all, you can share it with your children or your grandchildren or anyone you love enough to let into its secrets"

"Let me ask you this, Miss Austen. Are you able to prevent yourself from writing?"

"Indeed not. I find that my stories will not cease to crowd all other thoughts from my mind until I have committed them to paper"

"...Then, Miss Austen, let there be no doubt about it - you are a novelist"

"It is only when we attach happiness to those things which are worldly and unimportant that our lives become corrupted"

For more information of this book go to www.goodreads.com

Please be sure to follow me at www.facebook.com/thebookbabeofde and www.delawarebookaddict.blogspot.com

First Impressions are everything; the Bookbabe Reads: End of Days by Susan Ee

Finally I have gotten done with book 2 of the Angelfall trilogy by Susan Ee (World After) and I am on to End of Days! I am now 128 pages in and I am absolutely in love. Penryn has finally allowed herself to think about her feelings for Raffe and we finally get to know his true feelings for her. I want this match to work out but I also know Raffe is dedicated to his "side"; though I have a suspicion that they will it be all that dedicated to him in the end. 

It dawned on me as I was reading the beginning of this book that the next time I recommend it I will would most likely  call it a cross between Mortal instruments and the Hunger Games. 

Here is the synopsis of the book (from Amazon.com):

End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy. After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

Latest Book Acquisitions

I purchased these lovelies over the past few weeks; I am so so excited about these. So far, the only one I have finished is Citizen by Claudia Rankine. Here is the complete list of what I purchased:

1) Zen in the Art of writing by Ray Bradbury

2) The Shining by Stephen King

3) The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

4) The Inferno by Dante

5) The Woman who would be King by Kara Cooney

6) Deception Point by Dan Brown

7) End of Days by Susan Ee

8) Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

9) Coco Chanel: The Life and the Legend by Justine Picardie

10) Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

11) Bourbon Kings by J.R. Ward

12) The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayanna Mathis

13) The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman

14) Passenger by A. Bracken

15) Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard

16) Tess of the D'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy 

17) In a dark dark room by Ruth Ware

I plan on reading all 17 this year. As a part of my 75 book challenge! Wish me luck; for information on these books and all others I have read an reviewed go to www.goodreads.com

Revolutionary Prose: The Bookbabe Reviews: Citizen by Claudia Rankine

        

                                                 

Citizen is perhaps one of the most powerful, thought provoking books that I have read in a while. The book is a collection of poems about African American life; every thing that Rankine wrote reminds you of what it feels like to sometimes doubt what you feel, and think. One of the best parts of the book is about the career of tennis star, Serena Williams. In this particular part of the collection Rankine talks about some of the open criticism that followed Williams over the years when it came to her body. The idea that she was "to big", "to man-ish". Rankine discusses why Serena boycotted the India Wells tournament; a tournament where both she and her family had been openly booed. Not to mention the fact that racial epithets had been shouted at her sister and father. Rankine points out that Serena Williams seemed to detach herself from of the slights thrown at her; maybe it was a way to deflect the pain of being considered an outsider in the tennis world. Or maybe it was because Serena did not want to make a fuss about something that she knew would never change. Rankine also includes and image of Dane Caroline Wozniacki mocking Serena by stuffing rolled up towels into her shorts and top during a televised match. What made this particular section of the book stick with me was the fact that I never knew anything about these events. Of course, I know who Serena Williams is and what an incredibly focused athlete she is but I would have never ever imagined she had experienced this kind of thing. The larger thing I got from this is that sometimes the presence of a black body can be intimidating. In fact, this was a theme that ran throughout the book. Over and over again, Rankine draws attention to the "body", almost in a detached sort of way. On of my favorite passages reads as follows: " How to care for the injured body, the kind of body that can't hold the content it is living? And where us the safest place when that place must be someplace other than the body?" 

Also she openly addresses the way we sometimes are made to feel guilty if we speak up about the things that make us uncomfortable. Like when a friend makes a racially charged joke etc. Sometimes we will call them on it only to shrink back when they deflect from it or say "none of the other black friends feel that way and how you feel is how your feel". Personally I can say that in the months after Trayvon Martin,  Mike Brown, and Freddie Grey I have felt the same way. Like I was walking on eggshells with some folks, never really able to speak to the things that they said or posted on social media that made me upset. 

What I so deeply loved about this book was that it was raw and real, a lot of the topics covered in the book is something that I think many African Americans can relate too. Also, I think its something a lot of other people would be a little shocked at. I will say that this book is definitely at the top of my gift giving list for the year. I will be recommending it to everyone I talk to that wants a good, thought provoking read. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

Quotes I Loved:

"For so long you thought the ambition of racist language was to denigrate and erase you as a person. After considering Butlers's remarks, you begin to understand yourself as rendered hyper visible in the face of such language acts. Language that feels hurtful is intended to exploit all the ways that you are present. Your alertness, openness, and your desire to engage actually your presence, you're looking at, you're talking back, and, as insane as it is, saying please"

"And you were not the guys and still you fit the description because there is only one guy who is always the guys fitting the description....."

"What happens to you doesn't belong to you, only half concerns you. It's not yours. Not yours only"

      

Vampires, and Sympaths...Oh My...The Bookbabe reviews Lover Avenged (Blackdaggger Brotherhood # 7)

            

    

                                            

Well I ventured back to Caldwell, NY with the seventh book in the Blackdagger brotherhood series. This particular book was very interesting because the subject of it was not a brother but Rehvenge; a drug dealing, club owner, and all around bad boy. For anyone that has read the series they are very aware that Rehvenge leads a double life. He is in hiding; and only a few people know the truth about what he really is. What I love the most about his character is that even though he tries to put on a tough guy exterior Rehv really takes care of those that he loves. He is the keeper of many secrets. He keeps his drug running and his "pimping" a secret. Not to mention the secret of this meetings with the Princess of the Sympaths. Due to his contact with her he tries to keep people away. He also blocks his thoughts from her so that she can have no access to his inner most feelings. What was extremely interesting about this book was watching Rehv's love affair with Ehlena develop. It was very slow and innocent. Ehlena is not the type of woman that anyone would have expected Rehv to end up with.  She came up among the upper vampire classes. However, due to a bad business deal her family ends up poor. Ehlena ends up being the caregiver and bread winner in the home. Her father, however, is suffering from something similar to Dementia. It takes up a lot of her time and if it would not have been for her treating Rehv at the Clinic she would have never meant him. Mind you she did not want to treat him at all; she just happened to be the only nurse that was not scared of him. 

As their relationship is progressing we get a tangled into a drama of a murder plot. We find out that Wrath has angered the upper classes and they want him out. Who else would they turn to but Rehv, and that is because his secret has been discovered. Rehv, being who he is, thinks that Wraths demise could work out in his best interest. However, because of his sisters connection to the Brothers he comes clean to Wrath. In return, Wrath vows to help him keep his secret from his sister and the rest of the vampire community. Even though Wrath has sworn to keep things quiet the Brotherhood receives an email calling on them to expel Rehv from the community. Of course, Rehv decided to take it upon himself to do what was best for his family and leave. Upon his surrendering to the Princess he spends months as a prisoner. Back home in Caldwell, Ehlena hatches a plot along side Xhex to rescue Rehv. 

What I loved most about this story was it showed the softer side of Rehv. We get to see him as a man in love. As a family man, and as a best friend. I am sure that we will see even more of him in the upcoming books. 

Quotes I Loved:

"The Fabric of the Race's society is going to unravel, and if you think that's going to help in the war, you've got your head so far up your ass you're using you're colon as a mouth piece"

"Oh man, there's a marathon of Beaches running tomorrow night. Can we go after ten so I can see it once all the way through?" (Rhage)

"What...Look its not Mary Tyler Moore, Kay? So you can't give me shit! "(Rhage)

"It's worse then Mary Tyler Moore. And to call you an idiot would be an insult to halfwits around the fucking world" (V)

Rating on Goodreads: 5 stars

Personal thought....reflection on a passage from Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

Commentary on this....(The book is Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine) This particular passage spoke to me; mainly because I have experienced this. Times when my unsmiling face has been criticized. I was at work week before last and a customer asked me something and I responded. I did not come off as hateful, or mean (in my opinion) but she suddenly looked at me and asked me "why are you so miserable?". Of course, I could have left it alone and just excused myself and let someone else help her but I found myself saying "that is just my face, I don't always smile". She then went on to explain to me "well you were like this the last time I was here, I THOUGHT YOU HAD A PROBLEM WITH ME". Finally I had to tell her; not that she deserved an explaination that "I am dealing with some personal stuff". She went on to tell my coworker that I was "rude"; no you made a thing about how my faced looked. You made it about you; you did not ask me if I was alright. You assumed that it was about you. The main reason I post this is because I am sick of having to explain myself. I should not have to; better yet I should not feel that I have too! 

So many books so little time....my Dec/Jan book haul!

There is nothing like new books....(all purchased between last month and this one)!

Here is what I purchased:

1) The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman

2) Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Candor

3) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

4) Passage by Alexandra Bracken

5) Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard

6) Tess of the D' Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

7) In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Of course there are so many more books that's been added to my list since purchasing these. Ugh...such is the life of a book worm!