TBR Thursday #7

 

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about. 

"It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured."

So begins this epic, mesmerizing first novel set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear.

Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay's hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.

As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.

Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas—this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature

WWW Wednesday #5

 

This weekly meme is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

The three W's: 

1. What are you currently reading?

2. What did you recently finish reading?

3. What do you think you'll read next?

In the middle of two books at the moment. A physical read for me and a read aloud with my kids.

I have a stack of library books and a classic that I really want to get to before the end of the month but I am not going to push myself. I also want to get to the next book in the Chronicles of Narnia with my kids.

My reading this month has been really slow going just like the month. I am 6 books into my 100 books reading challenge and 4 of those were graphic novels. But the 3 books that I have finished in the past week are....

Top Ten Tuesday: 2021 Releases I Didn't Get To

 

Thanks to Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl for hosting Top Ten Tuesday every week. This week's prompt is sharing 10 2021 releases that I was excited for and never got around to. I have so many releases that I didn't get to because as much as I want to buy and own all the books, I do prioritize my already owned TBR. And also, I can get the books from my library, but my library is really bad at waiting months until after release date and order maybe one or two copies to share between 9 different libraries in my county. 

Review: The Man Who Played with Fire by Jan Socklassa

 

My first translated and nonfiction read of the year and I am sad to say that it wasn't that great. The Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson is one of my favorite series and I have had this on my TBR since it was released. Going into this, I knew it was a true crime and I was expecting interviews and documents and there were some of those files included, but it got really boring most of the time. The author was constantly repeating facts and going off on tangents on people who were briefly mentioned and companies that essentially were suspected but never brought up again.

I also had a hard time keeping people's names in order. I found myself just swiping pages to get to the next chapter because I didn't care. 

This is about the Olof Palme assassination back in the 1980's. He was the Prime Minister of Sweden and people really didn't like him because he was against the South Africa Apartheid. He wanted to end it and hold the people responsible. His murder was finally solved back in June of 2020. This fact is not in the book. 

This book goes into detail about Stieg Larsson's hatred for right wing extremism and Nazis. It goes into detail about how the killing of Olof Palme was a conspiracy by the South Africans and the author Jan Stocklassa going on stakeouts, interviews and international trips to question the men who were suspected.

Top Ten Tuesday: January Releases I want to Read

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's prompt is to share the last ten books that you got recently. I am going to be doing a different prompt that is piggy backing off last weeks prompt of anticipated releases for the first half of the year. I had so many releases that I am excited for, for this month alone so I am going to be sharing my booktube video of ten January releases that I want to read. I hope you enjoy my video and if you do watch, make sure you go to my youtube channel and subscribe and leave a comment. Hope you all had an amazing Tuesday!!

DECEMBER WRAP UP

 

IF YOU HAVE NOT SUBSCRIBED TO MY CHANNEL, PLEASE DO. 

Review: Locke and Key volume 4-6 by Joe Hill

VOLUME 4: Keys to the Kingdom

 

The first book read for 2022 and it was a 3 stars. This is volume 4 and I read volume 3 at the end of 2020, so a whole year has gone by and I didn't remember anything. The art style at the beginning was very different and I didn't like it. It is the same artist for the first three volumes and I don't understand why it was a different style for the animal key. Also we don't get much information on that key, it is just shoved into our faces.

I have been watching the show with my husband and we are 5 episodes in and I have been introduced to keys that I haven't been introduced to yet in the graphic novels. Like the music box key is on the volume 4 cover but it wasn't a major key in this installment. 

I knew from stills from the first season of the show that Joe Hill plays a paramedic in one of the episodes and this book has the answer to why there are paramedics. 

In my honest opinion, the show is better than the graphic novels, but I hate how they did the head key in the show. Not my favorite. 

VOLUME 5: Clockworks

Holy crap, this has to be my favorite volume yet. I loved the backstory of how and why the keys were made. Questions were finally answered. The beginning was a nice break from the teens and I loved how it was the origin story of the keys. I like how that the creation of the keys were formed around colonist and redcoats and that it took place in the sea caves. 

I also really like how we got answers for how Lucas became the well woman and the backstory of the father's group of friends and who died, and who was together. I really enjoyed the time travel that Kinsey and Tyler did. "Not" Bode was a little creepy and the beginning with the kid and the bus was terrifying and I was upset by it. Not a fan of that part. I want to read Volume 6 which is the last volume right now but I don't want to be disappointed if it's not good and if it's damn good, then I won't want it to end.

VOLUME 6: Alpha & Omega

This is not going to be a review type, more like my thoughts while reading. The first chapter is pretty disappointing. It just jumps back and forth and it is not cohesive. It's mainly about Scott making his film and then a couple of pages of  Bode "Dodge Lucas" in the sea cave near the black door. Kind of boring. 

Scott being in a white dress to go to the prom was absolute perfection. I laughed so hard. But then he was hitting on Mrs. Locke and that was just gross. I feel bad for Rufus. He got the shitty end of the stick. His life has been ruined, by attacking Not Bode and then escaping the institution. 

Scott and Jamal have to be my favorite characters in this volume. They re-enacted the prom scene from Carrie and the sound of nothing. Of course Tyler would run into Jordan and have sex. Tyler was always going to be pining over Jordan. Kinsey telling her mom that she hated her while her mom was passed out drunk on the floor was relatable. I am highly upset about the cave scene and Scott letting go because of Jackie. 

JAMAL WEARING LEOPARD PANTIES AND SAYING TIGER ONES WOULD BE TACKY.... I don't get what goes through Joe Hill's mind! How is Mrs. Locke suddenly sober to remember to put Tyler in the mending cabinet. Also answers my question about that key from the 5th episode of season 1 I watched last night. 

I am crying about Bode and Lucas.... man this was an ending. I wonder what is going to happen in season 3. I need to hurry and finish season 1 and get to watching season 2. I am giving this final volume a 4 stars. It was good, but it doesn't beat the 5th book. 

I give this series an overall 4 out of 5 stars.