Bookish appetites and desires

  Watery Through the Gaps , the second collection of nature inspired poetry by Emma Blas. A huge thank you to Emma for not only giving me a copy of her book, but for allowing me the opportunity to interview her so that we, the readers, could get a better understanding of her as a person, her muse, and her creative processes. Stay tuned for my review after our interview. The Interview What is something we should know about Emma Blas? I’m a poet, who uses the lens of the natural world to explore the human experience; I taught yoga for many years, and find my poetry maps the journey of self from disconnection, to something embodied, and more universally resonantly, whole. My poetry is sensual, but it seeks intimacy with the soul and with that something greater than romantic love. I often collaborate with visual artists in my work.  Where do you draw your inspiration from? I am a nature lover, and live on the dramatic coastline of Asturias, in the north of Spain. It is rugged and ...

  Author: Catherine Fisher    First Published: 2007 Genre: Science Fiction    Rating: ★★★☆ In a world where man has created the perfect device to house the world's inmates in an ultimate utopia, one man and one woman join forces to prove them wrong. Coming to a bookshelf near you, it's Incarceron . Intrigued? I was too. Yes, this steampunk dystopian novel dares to take on the narrative from two perspectives, an inmate who is convinced he's come from the outside world, and the Warden's daughter who is also convinced that he comes from the outside world. Did it work? Mostly, hence the 3.5-stars. I loved the whole premise of this book - a prison that is a supposed utopia where the world's criminals are stored, a world where they are forced to stay in the Victorian era, I think, characters who are battling man and nature in order to be free of Incarceron and of a loveless marriage. Yes! What I didn't love was how it was written. For the first quarter of the book or ...

  Author: Mary Carter    First Published: 2014 Genre: Mystery    Rating: ★ Have you ever locked eyes with a book on a sale table at your local bookstore and thought to yourself "Wow, I can't wait to dive into you, I bet you're fantastic!" then been utterly disappointed? Same. That's what this book did to me.  It's been a couple of weeks since I've given up on this book, and I honestly wasn't even going to post about this but the folks over on Goodreads - hello! - let it be known that they actually want to hear about the books I've not finished, so here we go. I'm going to attempt to do this as spoiler-free as possible. Did this have romance? Yes. Did it have mystery? Yes. Did it have travel? Yes. Did it have infuriating communication problems that literally could have resolved so many of the issues in a single conversation? Yes. Did our protagonist make me want to smash my face off of a wall because of how hypocritical, contrarian, and outright...

  Happy 2021 everyone!  Boy, I think we can all agree that 2020 was a roller-coaster of a year both globally and personally. For me, it was a year of big changes, included prioritizing my life and happiness, changing jobs, dealing with personal life crises, oh, and getting engaged - YAY!  It was also a year where I was able to slowly rekindle my love affair with books, including these five  which I think you need  to read in 2021, in no particular order, of course.  1. The Outsiders by S.E. Hilton   ★★★★★ I know, starting off with a Classic that is required reading for so many students, how cliché. Normally, I would agree with you, but this wasn't required reading for me, and having read it now in my mid-20s, I kind of wish it had been. Despite it being written and published in the mid-1960s I think it is still relevant in its messages, just be prepared for the fact that due to the time period it was written in that there are some tasteless and offensi...

Pop the bubbly because it's that time of year again, the new year! A time for celebration, reflecting on the past year, and looking forward to the new year. Today, we'll do all of those things, so raise your glasses to what 2019 was and what 2020 will be! Celebration Let's be honest, 2019 was a pretty trash year all around. Sure, there were good parts to it, but overall it was a pretty rough year, so let's focus on the good parts. For me, it was the year I finally decided to start blogging -wow, shocking, I know-. I wanted to get back into writing and trying to be creative again, so I figured that blogging about what I'm reading and trying to make a habit of it would be a good start. It's been rocky at times, but I think I've found a rhythm so that 2020 can go a bit more smoothly. I'd like to take this moment to thank all of you for stumbling upon my little corner of the internet and supporting me so far, it's been greatly appreciated! I...

Authors: Hazel Graynor and Heather Webb    First Published: 2017 Genre: Historical Fiction    Rating: ★★★★★    Have you ever wondered what letters to loved ones and friends on the battlefield during the great and tragic wars were like? What about their correspondence back? How is it that over such great distances, love can blossom during tragedy? Well, this book is the one for you if you've answered yes to any of these, and if you haven't, then it's about time you stopped lying to yourself.  Both Hazel and Heather did a fantastic job weaving this story using letters to depict what World War 1 was really like for those involved. I love that they didn't get too gory with details, but instead let the reader have a taste of what this war did to those involved, from being naive and optimistic to bruised, broken and psychologically damaged. As the characters progress and as the war progresses you get a sense of just how desperately those in...

Author: Kim Law   Published: 2019   Genre: Holiday Romance   Rating: ★★★    Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to finally get "the one that got away" despite you trying your best to forget that they ever existed? What if that special someone used to be your best friend? What if your best friend has a traumatic past that prevents them from getting close to you despite everything? Then this just might be the book for you! Set in Montana, with little description of what Montana is like besides saying "mountains!", this feisty little holiday piece is a lot packed into a small book. Think Nicholas Sparks level of complicated and sordid relationships mixed with tragic and traumatizing events, muddled all together in a quick-to-digest book. What I'd wished from this book though is that the author had taken the time to put a little more into it. I wish she'd gone a little deeper into the traumas and past, a little more into the set...