artsy musings of a bibliophile

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve been Pushed (and Pushed) to Read

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A weekly feature by The Broke and the Bookish
I’d been rec’d books over the past year more than I’ve been all my life (thanks, Eve) so I thought it’s a good time as any to share them. But first let me share the ones which emotionally wrecked me and then the ones I hope will.
Eve rec’d Vicious to me last year and all she said was basically that Victor Vale is the best villain of all time and that I should read it. I did and man, I was blown over by it. All hail the genius of V. E. Schwab.
I’m one of those people who haven’t sweared off of vampires and still loves a good paranormal book. So I read Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy, Frostbite, and Shadow Kiss in a span of a few weeks. However, I was hesitant to continue the series for various reasons such as Dimitri at the end of Shadow Kiss. But then Judith posted why she loves it so much, Raquel said it gets better, and Eve pushed me to read it because it’s Romitri and how I can’t not continue. So I spent my New Year’s Eve reading Last Sacrifice and there couldn’t have been a more perfect ending to this series. Sigh.
Angelfall. What can I say about this book, about this series, would never be enough. Susan Ee is an evil genius with a vicious imagination when it comes to world-building. Eve is the reason I read Angelfall and Sandra why I reread it and then read World After immediately after. Else I’d have waited till May 2015 to read it, not even kidding because I do stuff like this to avoid waiting and dying from said wait over and over. So you’re entitled to give me an ARC of Angelfall #3 (no title yet *sobs*), Sandra.
If it’s Patrick Ness rec, we should all know by now that Asti is behind it. Seriously, she made up my mind to read The Knife of Never Letting Go and I did and I’m still recovering. I do plan to finish reading the trilogy this year so, yeah I’m not ready but I can’t wait any longer.
First, Fahima rec’d Jay Kristoff’s Stormdancer to me, then Asti and then both of them. Guess what? I’m currently reading it. Well, I actually need to read it faster because I’m on Chapter 3 since four days now. Still, I expect great things.
Emily Murdoch’s If You Find Me has Judith written all over it. I plan to read it before the summer is over. I don’t think I’m prepared for it, though.
This is Racquel, of course. I first added Abigail Haas’ Dangerous Girls before it was released but always forgot about it when it came to deciding what to read next. I really want to read it and I hope I do it soon.
Well, #SandersonArmy told me to read it back when it was only composed of Nikki and didn’t actually exist. I also read Terri‘s post on Sanderson which convinced me further. Seriously though, I read the prologue and it gave me chills. I’m so looking forward to reading it, I can’t even.
Everyone in the blogosphere wants everyone else to read Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl. Okay, well at least 90% of people in the blogosphere. I bought it and now it’s just waiting to be read.
Joe Abercrombie’s Half a King is the latest recommendation by Aditi whose book photography is just so drool-worthy.
So have you read any of these and want to re-rec them to me? Now would be the time.

Review: Talker 25 by Joshua McCune

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Talker 25 by Joshua McCune
young adult fantasy published by HarperTeen on April 22nd, 2014
first book in Talker 25 trilogy

It’s a high school prank gone horribly wrong-sneaking onto the rez to pose next to a sleeping dragon-and now senior Melissa Callahan has become an unsuspecting pawn in a war between Man and Monster, between family and friends and the dragons she has despised her whole life. Chilling, epic, and wholly original, this debut novel imagines a North America where dragons are kept on reservations, where strict blackout rules are obeyed no matter the cost, where the highly weaponized military operates in chilling secret, and where a gruesome television show called Kissing Dragons unites the population. Joshua McCune’s debut novel offers action, adventure, fantasy, and a reimagining of popular dragon lore.

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Trend Alert: Pakistani Authors on the Rise

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Of trends and lesser-knowns.

At the stroke of midnight on August 14th, 1947, Islamic Republic of Pakistan was born. It’s been 67 years of independence which makes Pakistan a relatively new country. I’ve read and heard countless stories of how it all started, the struggle which seemed endless, and finally, the sweet, sweet taste of freedom.

Today, in celebration of my country’s independence, I want to talk about the writers who hail from Pakistan and primarily write in the English language. Since most are adult fiction than YA, I also hope to contribute to the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign. From being shortlisted for Man Booker Prize to Orange Prize for Fiction, these are the people and their novels which make me proud. Some I’ve read and some I plan to.

Bapsi Sidhwa is perhaps one of the most renowned authors of Pakistan. I first read her novel, An American Brat, in high school. She’s mostly recognized for Ice-Candy Man, a novel about the partition of the Indian Subcontinent which was later adapted into a movie titled, Earth 1947. 
Mohammed Hanif made headlines when he wrote a A Case of Exploding Mangoes in 2008, a dark satire based on a 1988 plane crash which killed Pakistan’s military dictator, General Zia. I read it during my college years and found it to be a thoroughly engaging read. His second novel, Our Lady of Alice Bhatti, is a story of a Christian nurse working in a government-owned hospital in Karachi.

Kamila Shamsie has written five novels. I was blown away by her writing in Burnt Shadows, a story that spans generations beginning from Nagasaki in 1945 to Afghanistan after 9/11. Some of the novels she wrote are Kartography, Broken Verses, and the most recent, A God in Every Stone.
Recognized for his novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid is a widely recognized author. The Reluctant Fundamentalist follows the life of Changez after the 9/11 attacks. His two other novels are Moth Smoke and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. Moreover, Discontent and its Civilizations is a collection of essays releasing next year.
A British Pakistani, Nadeem Aslam wrote two novels before he rose to fame in 2008 when The Wasted Vigil was published. Set in Afghanistan, The Wasted Vigil is a brutal story following three main characters. His other works include Season of the Rainbirds, Maps for Lost Lovers, and The Blind Man’s Garden.

Musharraf Ali Farooqi is a Pakistani Canadian author of The Story of a Widow and more recently, Between Clay and Dust which is a story about a famous wrestler past his prime and a well-known courtesan. He is also a translator and an illustrator for children’s books.
Daniyal Mueenuddin, an Asian American, is known for writing short stories. His book, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, a collection of short stories that link together, is about a large Pakistani landowning family.

Despite being born and bred mainly in the US, Nafisa Haji is a Pakistani author. She has written two novels; The Writing on my Forehead and The Sweetness of Tears. She is a well-received author of stories dealing with tragedy, turmoil, and emotion.
Based in London, Moni Mohsin debut novel, The End of Innocence, was about a dangerous love after which she immersed herself in writing satirical series titled The Diary of a Social Butterfly.

Sorayya Khan, daughter of a Pakistani father and a Dutch mother, moved to Pakistan as a child and is known for her Noor and Five Queen’s Road which is a historical novel set in old Lahore. She is currently working on her next novel.

Top Ten Tuesday: 2014 Series Starters I’m Unsure of Reading

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A weekly feature by The Broke and the Bookish
We all own books we’re not sure we should read anymore. Even though I know I won’t be able to read all the books I want to, I still want to try. So this post is basically me trying to find reasons to read these books more than trying to do the opposite. I’m a bookworm, afterall.
There’s been a lot of hype surrounding The Ring and the Crown as it wasn’t even on my radar before. Some books just seem to creep up on you like that. Anyway, almost all of the reviews I’ve read about this book seem to agree that it’s an okay read. I kind of still want to read it and my decision may or may not be  somewhat influenced by that cover.
The only thing I know about Mortal Danger is there’s some sort of academy in it and that it’s creepy. Okay, that’s two things. I like creepy but not average creepy. Thoughts?
Everyone who’s read it either love it or is meh about it. I don’t know what to do. Let me tell you this, it’s hard being a reader.
I don’t know much about The Young World expect that there’s a baddy government involved and maybe some sort of a rebellion group? It’s science fiction so I kind of want to read it…
The fantasy lover in me screams at me to give Stolen Songbird a chance. I’m torn about whether I should.
Apparently, there’s something Ocean Eleven-y about Illusive. Have you read it? Is it good enough?
I just saw it on my Goodreads to-read shelf and I don’t even remember adding it. Err.

So many people seem to be meh about it. I’ll probably read this since I’ve an eARC. But to be honest, I’ve been a somewhat put off.

There are so many things in this book that I love reading about from brutal murders to survival. Why are mixed reviews so confusing?

I’ve been wanting to read this but I’m not sure because of its average rating of 3.56 on Goodreads.
Are you sure of any book on my list and feel that I should definitely give it a read? Let me know!

Review: The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

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ABOUT THE BOOK

The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings
young adult science fiction dystopia published by Greenwillow Books on June 10th, 2014
first book in The Murder Complex series

An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.

The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

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