Wednesday, January 2, 2019

THANK YOU, 2018!

With respect to reading, 2018 was a good year. I’ve read 45 books in all, 21 out of that were five-starred. I know my numbers are measly compared to other readers, but I am really happy with my results. No one or two stars. Yay!

If you want to see My Year 2018 in Books via Goodreads, give it a click here.

Here are my most favored reads, in no particular order:

  • PEACHES FOR MONSIEUR LE CURÉ by Joanne Harris (Chocolat #3) – Going back to Lansquenet and joining all the old and new characters were a wonderful experience. Ms. Harris’ words are always so tasteful, I enjoyed them very much.
  • A MEMOIR OF AN ADVENTURE: The Argentine Tango Chronicles of Senor Don Roberto Juan Carlos Fuljumero y Suipacha by Robert Fulghum – One of my favorite authors. I knew Tango was exquisite, but it is even more so in Fulghum’s writing. As always, gleaning precious insights from Robert Fulghum's writing is a gift.
  • THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF NICOLO ZEN by Nicholas Christopher – A boy pretending to be a girl and deceiving Master Vivaldi, I was instantly intrigued by the premise.
  • THE INEXPLICABLE LOGIC OF MY LIFE by Benjamin Alire Sáenz – This was nominated for various awards, and rightly so. I love how Sáenz fleshed-out his characters; I love their goodness, their flaws, their pain, and their connections.
  • HERO AT THE FALL by Alwyn Hamilton (Rebel of the Sands #3) – The whole series will stay with me for a long time. It’s magical!
  • MURDER GAMES by James Patterson, Howard Roughan – An exceptionally satisfying read. I loved Dr. Dylan Reinhart from the very beginning.
  • GOOD TIME COMING by C.S Harris – A hauntingly beautiful coming-of-age tale.  Louisiana 1862, a time when children cannot be children and adults will never be the same.
  • BEAR TOWN by Fredrik Backman (Björnstad #1) – This was a departure from Backman’s usual whimsical stories. The premise was heavy with a moral dilemma and no one can easily forget this one.
  • WHO KILL THE INNOCENT by C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr #13) – I thought that it would be difficult to top Where the Dead Lie, but C.S. Harris has proven me wrong, yet again. I love, love this series!
  • LABYRINTH OF THE SPIRITS by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (El Cementerio de Los Libros Olvidados #4) - Reading this installment is like taking a long exhale, unraveling everything slowly. Book #4 is worth the wait if only to read Fermin's witty dialogues again.
  • SPEECHLESS by Adam P. Schmitt - One of the many reasons I love Middle-Grade books is that they give me a whole new set of lenses to look through. It is a very well-written, memorable story.
  • BRIDGE OF CLAY by Markus Zusak - It's beautiful! It's sad, lyrical, and beautiful.
  • WHEN ALL IS SAID by Anne Griffin – An absolutely brilliant read, coming this January 24th. Do put this one on your TBR.

Now, of course, I have special mentions:
  • HELLO, UNIVERSE by Erin Entrada Kelly – Winner of the 2018 Newbery Medal. A tugging tale, replete with diversity.
  • NEWS OF OUR LOVED ONES by Abigail DeWitt – A compelling read, perfect for historical fiction lovers.
  • BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE by Fredrik Backman – Another charming book – it can be funny and heartwarming, other times, it can be sad.
  • HOUSEKEEPING by Marilynn Robinson – It’s the absolute quietness of this book paralleled to the turbulent emotions it evoked inside that struck me. It is tragedy enveloped with disturbing calmness. Ms. Robinson snags me every time.
  • EUPHORIA by Lily King – Special thanks to Tin who gave me a copy. This story will shift something inside of you. The melancholy was absolute.

My 2018 wish was fully realized, I’ve read some really satisfying books. I wish the same for this year. And maybe, more books in the mail, please and thank you.

It’s THE PAGE WALKER’S 6th bloggy birthday. Thank you for following, for the emails, and bounce rates!

Happy 2019, everybody!



Wednesday, December 26, 2018

MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2019

'Tis the season for lists and I have time to spare. I thought of jotting down books, come 2019, that I cannot wait to get my hands on. It turned out to be longer than I intended, but I'm pretty sure there'll be more. 

There is no particular theme to this list. It's a mix of debut authors, authors I've read before, some new plots, and series I've been following. Eclectic as before, of course. I am not sure if I'll ever get to read all of them once they are out, but maybe putting them right here will give me a good perspective.

If you've made your own list, do let me know.



  • THE WOLF IN THE WHALE by Jordanna Max Brodsky
                                                           January 29, 2019, by Redhook
  • WHEN ALL IS SAID by Anne Griffin
                                                           January 24, 2019, by Sceptre
  • THE HUNTRESS by Kate Quinn
                                                           February 26, 2019, by William Morrow
  • THE CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Charlie Jane Anders
                                                           February 12, 2019, by Tor Books
  • BOWLAWAY by Elizabeth McCracken
                                                           February 5, 2019, by Ecco
  • GOOD RIDDANCE by Elinor Lipman
                                                           February 5, 2019, by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  • GINGERBREAD by Helen Oyeyemi
                                                           March 5, 2019, by Riverhead Books
  • THE LIBRARY OF LOST AND FOUND by Phaedra Patrick
                                                           March 26, 2019, by Park Row
  • KADDISH.COM by Nathan Englander
                                                           March 26, 2019, by Knopf Publishing Group
  • WHO SLAYS THE WICKED by C. S. Harris
                                                           April 2, 2019, by Berkley Books
  • THE EDITOR by Steven Rowley
                                                           April 2, 2019, by Putnam
  • THE BOY WHO STEALS HOUSES by C.G. Drews 
                                                           April 4, 2019, by Orchard Books
  • THE STRAWBERRY THIEF by Joanne Harris 
                                                           April 4, 2019, by Orion
  • THE CONFESSIONS OF FRANNIE LANGTON: A Novel by Sara Collins 
                                                           April 4, 2019, by Penguin
  • MACHINES LIKE ME by Ian McEwan
                                                           April 18, 2019, by Jonathan Cape
  • THE 18TH ABDUCTION by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
                                                           April 29, 2019, by Little, Brown, and Company
  • THE BRIDE TEST by Helen Hoang
                                                          May 7, 2019, by Berkley
  • THE PRINTED LETTER BOOKSHOP by Katherine Reay
                                                          May 14, 2019, by Thomas Nelson
  • WHERE I END AND YOU BEGIN by Preston Norton
                                                           June 4, 2019, by Disney-Hyperion
  • MOSTLY DEAD THINGS by Kristen Arnett
                                                           June 4, 2019, by Tin House
  • THE ALIENIST AT ARMAGEDDON (Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, #3) by Caleb Carr
                                                           September 1, 2019, by Mulholland Books
  • LALANI OF THE DISTANT SEA by Erin Entrada Kelly 
                                                          September 3, 2019, by Greenwillow Books
  • KILLER INSTINCT (Instinct #2) by James Patterson, Howard Roughan
                                                           September 9, 2019, by Little, Brown, and Company
  • SI JANUS SILANG AT ANG HIWAGANG MAY DALAWANG MUKHA (JS #4) by Edgar Calabia Samar
                                                           September 14, 2019, by Adarna House Publishing
  • THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY and THE RIDDLE OF AGES (TMBS #4) by Trenton Lee Stewart
                                                           September 24, 2019, by Mulholland Books
  • POISON FOR BREAKFAST by Lemony Snicket
                                                           October 1, 2019, by Tundra Books
  • FIND ME (Call Me By Your Name #2) by André Aciman
                                                           October 29, 2019, by Farrar, Straus, and Girouxs
  • THE STARLESS SEA by Erin Morgenstern
                                                           November 5, 2019, by Doubleday

BTW, this marks as my 300th post thru Blogger.


Monday, December 24, 2018

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Wednesday Spotlight | Game Changers of the Apocalypse by Mark Kirkbride

7 Jan. 2019
Omnium Gatherum Media
 

About the Book:

It’s always the end of the world when you break up with someone. This time it really is...

Everyone on the planet has mysteriously disappeared, leaving exes Greg and Polly. They've survived the apocalypse, yet shouldn't have. Battling each other and a malevolent entity that teases them with their fate, how long can they remain ahead? Even more terrifying than everyone else on the planet disappearing is what’s about to take their place…




About the Author:

MARK KIRKBRIDE lives in Shepperton, England. He is the author of two novels, Game Changers of the Apocalypse (coming soon) and Satan’s Fan Club, both published by Omnium Gatherum. His short stories can be found in Under the Bed, Sci Phi Journal, Disclaimer Magazine and Flash Fiction Magazine. His poetry has appeared in the Big Issue, the Morning Star, the Mirror and Horror Writers Association chapbooks.

You can find him here.




*Content sent by the author for this blog's publication. This is a free ad.


Monday, December 10, 2018

Book Review | WHEN ALL IS SAID by Anne Griffin

January 24th, 2019,
Sceptre


Five toasts. Five people. One lifetime.

"I'm here to remember -all that I have been 
and all that I will never be again."


If you had to pick five people, to sum up your life, who would they be? If you were to raise a glass to each of them, what would you say? And what would you learn about yourself, when all is said?

At the bar of a grand hotel in a small Irish town sits 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan. He’s alone, as usual - though tonight is anything but. Pull up a stool and charge your glass, because Maurice is finally ready to tell his story.

Over the course of this evening, he will raise five toasts to the five people who have meant the most to him. Through these stories - of unspoken joy and regret, a secret tragedy kept hidden, a fierce love that never found its voice - the life of one man will be powerful and poignantly laid bare.

Beautifully heart-warming and powerfully felt, the voice of Maurice Hannigan will stay with you long after all is said and done.

Brilliant!

WHEN ALL IS SAID is achingly beautiful. I can employ all the superlatives, but they will not suffice, I suppose. So, let me try again… Brilliant!

Maurice Hannigan is one solid farmer and family man. Rough on the edges and irascible at times, but appreciates hard work and recognizes a good soul. Tonight though, he’d be sitting alone, raising toasts to people who made his existence significant in distinctive ways, while exploring every nooks and cranny of his life –including his ghosts and regrets.

Anne Griffin employed the simplest of language, unassumingly raw, but razor-sharp. From the blurb alone, I knew this book will be piercing, although, I was never prepared to bawl over it at two in the morning. With her words, it was not hard to like Maurice and relate to him –all 84 years of him. I felt this old man like I was there sitting next to him in that bar.
"She was so self-contained that sometimes I think I missed the full extent of the hurt and guilt. I did my best to be on guard for it. But having spent half my life distracted by what was outside – my deals, my empire – I often forgot to see what lay inside and how precious it was."
This is one of those books I never wanted to end. It did, nevertheless. It was done but verberates in echoes and booms. I highly recommend it.


Book details:
Author: Anne Griffin
Publication: January 24th, 2019, Sceptre (UK)
                       March 5th, 2019, Thomas Dunne Books (US)
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★


*Thanks to Thomas Dune Books, Sceptre,  and NetGalley for the DRM, in exchange for this unbiased book review. 




Friday, December 7, 2018

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Book Review | TWOSPELLS by Mark Morrison

February 23, 2018
Sarah and her twin brother Jon are heirs to an ancient magical realm and its most valuable treasure: an enchanted library. The library endows readers with the supernatural means of crossing into the uncharted inner sanctum of the second-dimension, inhabited with peculiar and sometimes perilous creatures. Both children are emboldened with a wondrous, mystical gift that no being has ever possessed before. But fate intervenes and triggers a disastrous war that disrupts the fabric of time and space, spanning multiple universes and tearing destiny a new and savage pathway. The two must rescue their world from a phantom hybrid alien race controlled by the demented dark wizard, Jeremy Sermack. They'll either assimilate or be exterminated. Will they be the saviors that the prophets envisioned, or will they retreat to the perceived safety of their distant homeland?

If you have Middle Graders, they will absolutely enjoy this adventure.
Enchanted library,
Stepping into books,
Meeting book characters,
And mythical creatures,
With magical twins,
And, it’s set in Wales, where adventure is thick and the magic is even thicker.

Everything was nicely narrated, except for the first three chapters, which was a tad slow for me. The good thing was that the plot steadily progressed, and then escalated into a huge battle. It was utterly fast and robust in detail. The battle was both exciting and terrifying!

The characters were all strongly fleshed-out and defined. Twins Sarah and Jon are distinct opposites but bonded in a way only twins can ever be. Both Grandpa and Grandma are a hoot. Even the other minor characters are vibrant additions; they surely added diverse layers to this story.

It is absolutely hard not to put spoilers here. But is fair to divulge, the cliffhanger is a knot that will be difficult to untangle, until the next book.

If my darling daughter is still in middle grade, we’d be reading TWOSPELLS together too, I’m sure with the same excitement as when we read the Magic Tree House and Deltora Quest series.

A perfect gift idea this Christmas!



Book details:
Title: TwoSpells
Author: Mark Morrison
Publication: February 23, 2018; Self-published
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★


*A digital copy was sent by the author in exchange for an honest review.