Hello and welcome!
I have another insane collection of books that I got via #Netgalley. I have a pathological problem that involves me requesting more books than I can read then I begin to panic because I don’t want my percentage to go down then I would have issues getting my requests approved. it is just a self-inflicted circle of pain but I love it. I am so happy to tell you that I have listened to a few audiobooks via the Netgalley Shelf App and I love it (I am a huge Netgalley lover IF YOU CANNOT ALREADY). Because I seem to be getting all my requests approved, I try to keep them between poetry, graphic novels, and a few fantasy novels that I am really excited about. Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Crown Noble by Bianca Phipps
Review
I don’t know if this book falls under poetry or prose. The only thing I can say is that I really enjoyed this book. From the cover of the book, I had a feeling that it would address familial ties and relationships and that is what I got.
The relationship between Siblings and the method of love that is passed down in the family. I felt a bit disconnected from the individuals in the books and that really opened my eyes to my own family dynamic. The difference that is explored in this book, conflict resolution
A specific part that comes to mind a lot is under the title “Born To Embody it”
“My body has never been mine alone
Always a shared space with the ghosts of my father’s past
And my mother’s favorite demons
and a little room for me.
I am a product of my mother’s fragile vertebrae and my father’s miserable veins“
I got me thinking about how much deep it means to be a product of your parents. I would highly recommend this book.
Expected publication date: August 25th, 2020
Rating
I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars
Here at Dawn by Beau Taplin
Review
I absolutely love this book.
It is a collection of verses that addresses the importance of finding magic in the most basic things in life. There are so many parts of this book I want to talk about (BUT just pick one up). It illustrates the magic of life and the importance of self-acceptance, self-love, defeat, strength, traveling, relationships, and expectations.
A specific verse titled “The Needle and Thread” reminds me of a Korean drama “When the Weather is Fine” wherein one of the characters was telling a friend of his that his major and most proud of accomplishment was learning how to enjoy the most basic things in life.
“The secret is to never lose sight of the simple, everyday miracles in life:
good food, literature, laughter, music, compelling conversation, nature, and art.
Look for them in every day, and even when it feels like your whole world is unraveling you will never be too far from a needle and thread” – absolutely love this
Another verse I like among the many is titled “The Symphony of the Earth” here Beau says talks about how important each person is and how much we are very linked
“You matter
You are valuable
Your life is not only your gift
It belongs also to others”
I just love this, you are one of the stars in the conservation, we all need each other, your importance cannot be overestimated, you are a jewel in a set, we complete each other. I just love this.
I could go on and on about how much I love this book, so here are a few verses that I really enjoyed
“True Fulfillment”
“And let there be light”
“The Ever-Knowing Self”
“The Composer”
“Self-Inflicted”
Expected Publication date: September 15th, 2020
Rating
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars
Karmen by Guillem March
Review
I read this in one hour and I absolutely loved this. Thanks to #Netgalley for providing this book to me.
This comic addresses death, suicide, and loss in a way that I have never watched, read or seen before. As much as I enjoyed this book, I felt that Karmen was such as preachy character (which is normal because she more of a grim reaper, or a collector of souls, similar to what is in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak) who made Cata both understand the loss that she has created in the world and how shortsighted and selfish she was for taking her own life. Suicide is a very sensitive topic but at the same time a very important one to have, This book makes me think of a book a read recently “HERE AT DAWN” a particular poem “you matter, you are valuable, your life is not only your gift, but it belongs also to others”
you don’t just lose your life, you also steal or deprive millions of people from their gift.
ANYWAYS
Here we see a quick montage of Cata’s relationship with Xisco and how they got to a point where he was cheating on her with a friend of theirs and she just felt lost in the relationship. The next thing we know is Karmen (a lady with pink hair and a skeleton customer) walking up the stairs and into a bathroom where we saw Cata had slit her wrist and is in a pool of her own blood. Karmen was very funny and made it easier for Cata to accept the new situation or rather plane that she now was in.
They go on a journey around the city and Cata learns to fly and also accepts the situation and how she had contributed to her depression and social anxiety. A particular line that Karmen said that stuck with me was
“Think about it, there are only advantages (i.e. to being dead) you can’t tell anyone what is happening to you (being Cata was a ghost), but that’s okay because it turns out that no one is worthy of hearing your secrets anyway” This just made me think about people who bottle things up and don’t share their worries (I cannot claim that there are certain people who cannot tell other because they have no one around them who is willing to listen, however, there are many helplines that everyone should be aware is available, don’t be alone)
While reliving memories and meeting another person who was not necessarily remarkable but was taking life by the horns and giving it all he can. He ends up dying and that was an eye-opening experience for Cata even though it was too late.
“Your own existence only has any meaning when you’re part of other people’s lives”
Rating
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars
Dear Girl by Ajia Mayrock
Review
This is the first Audiobook I got via #Netgalley and I absolutely loved it. I did have to play it about 2 times faster to really enjoy how intensely the narrator (who by the way is fascinating, it was also performed by the Aija Mayrock the writer of this book).
This is a collection of poems that shows and illustrate the sheer power that is a ‘Girl’. The strength of failure and the movement beyond what is and what is available to something more precious and valuable. It follows the journey from girlhood to womanhood and it is told in poetry.
It felt like a conversation between two friends, between mother and child, between two sisters, between a woman who has lived through the war, pain, and suffering to a girlchild just coming to her own.
“Anger is Ugly” is just one of the things that we are told, just to silence our anger and to underestimate how souls
“I will fight still they give up” There are so many things that I really enjoyed. I just hoped that it was a bit longer.
However, I felt that listening to this book really increased my level of enjoyment because the intensity with the performer carried the words would not really be one that I would have when I am reading it.
Rating
I gave this book 3.2 out of 5 stars
The Tea Dragon Tapestry by Katie O’Neill
Review
This book was provided to me via #Netgalley and I love it so much. However, I do have to point out the fact that I had not read the first two books in the series and it made me a little confused because there was no way for me to identify that this book is part of a series.
Let me start with the art style, it was super cute and interesting. It was fun to see the complexities of the character and how varied their human and animal characteristics were. I am not familiar with the other books so it can as a nice surprise.
Now to just reading this book, it didn’t feel like I was missing out much, I meanwhile reading this book I knew that I was probably missing out on a lot but it didn’t affect my reading and I just figured things out as I went along.
We follow a set of characters who live a sustainable life together in this small village and the story focus around a tea house and the art of raising tea dragons. Greta has just been given a ginseng tea dragon who is mourning the loss of his past caregiver and he is depressed (I will continue to refer to the dragon as he because I don’t know the gender) Anyways, Greta is saddened about this but she is quickly cheered when a master smith, Kleitos, who she wants to be an apprentice under arrived in the village and he is here to see what she is capable of before he can take her back to his forth as an apprentice. However, she must impress him first.
Then we have Minette who is Greta’s friend but she seems to have lost her memories, however, one day a message arrives for her from the monastery she used to live and she slowly goes through a process of finding and accepting who she is now. There is so much interesting stuff that happening but you would have to read that to find out.
Okay, so I thought master Fraida was a man until a few plates after she was introduced and this was because she was so buff. That goes to show you how narrow-minded I can be (Yes, I can call myself out when I do dumb stuff)
I just believe that this is a story about acceptance, self-love, forging on, and enjoying the little things around you that spark joy. This is such a good book for children.
Expected publication date: October 27th, 2020
Rating
I gave this book 3.8 out of 5 stars
Thanks for reading.
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