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Library Reads: October 2018

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We’ve been regularly going to the library this year ever since we learned about their Sleepy Time Stories event/program. It’s where your little kiddos are read about 3 books, with music and a bit of play in between each stories, just before bedtime. My oldest looks forward to this every week because she gets to see some of her friends.

I have also started making it a habit to ask my daughter if there are any books she wants to borrow to read at home. There would be times when she’d say no, but most of the time she doesn’t leave the library empty handed.

Since we’ve been borrowing books quite regularly at the moment, I thought of sharing them with you and show you what my girls have been reading from the library.

  • One Big Pair of Underwear by (Laura Gehl, Tom Lichtenheld) – One Big Pair or Underwear is mostly about learning how to share. It goes through all the basic numbers so there is a little bit of counting there as well. It’s funny and silly, and the illustrations makes it easy for your little ones to understand what sharing is.
  • Mighty Dads (Joan Holub, James Dean) – Mighty Dads is a picture book which features construction vehicles, and showcases how fathers teach their kids to follow on their tracks.
  • Beat Bugs: In My Life (Cari Meister) – I’ve first seen Beat Bugs on Netflix and it didn’t even click on me when we read this one night.  In In My Life, inspired by the song “In My Life”, the bugs are celebrating Kater’s birthday which was cut short because she wasn’t feeling well. This book shows the importance of accepting who or what you’re meant to be, and friendship.
  • The Prince Has A Boo-Boo (R.W. Alley) – “The prince has a boo-boo and he needs a bandaid.” This message was pretty much passed all throughout the kingdom until the prince finally had a bandaid for his boo-boo.
  • My Bus (Byron Barton) – My Bus helps kids with their counting including addition and subtraction as it shows how many animals hops in and off of the bus.
  • Can I Be Your Dog? (Troy Cummings) – This one was my daughter’s favourite out of everything we checked out. Can I Be Your Dog? is about Arfy’s search for a family to be with. Don’t worry, this one has a happy ending.
  • First Ballet (Deanna Caswell) – This is a picture written with rhyming verses illustrating the excitement and joy a child could experience at their first ballet viewing.

I try not to interfere too much whenever my 4-year old picks out a book to borrow because I want it to be a good experience for her. I want her to find out for herself that sometimes, you simply don’t like or enjoy a particular story or book and that is ok. Books are written for everyone to enjoy, but not everyone will like every book ever written.

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Books

Vox by Christina Dalcher

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Title: Vox
Author: Christina Dalcher
Published / Release Date: August 2018
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Fiction
My Rating: ★

I remember hearing about Vox over on What Should I Read Next Podcast. It sounded promising, and it’s something I haven’t read before.

Vox is set in an America where half of the gender population is reduced to 100 words a day. These women and girls are equipped with a counter which electrocutes them if they dare speak past the 100th word mark. Vox is about the lengths a person would go through to change that. Vox is set in present day America with its government running it as if it’s the olden times. Homosexuality is highly frowned upon; boys and girls go to different schools wherein the girls attend a school which curriculum is pretty much Home Ec on steroids.

What I liked about it: Dalcher gave us a taste of how it used to be when women are expected to get married, have kids, stay at home and simply be on the sidelines. Yes, I am aware this still happen today but the difference is the expectation is no longer there. Getting married, having kids, and staying at home with the kids are now all choices we are able to make. We are able to work, get paid equally as our male colleagues, and even hold power. We are also free to love and be with who we chose. The reality of Dalcher’s America peaks through throughout the book and it’s scary.

I also enjoyed the difference in opinions between Dr. Jean McClellan and her son Steven. In addition to that, I liked that this book got me upset at certain parts of it.

What I didn’t like:  I find there to be something missing for me. The premise is intriguing, but it didn’t give me the ending I needed. I also found it to be a bit long. There was also something in the story line which I find to be unnecessary although I can’t seem to put my finger on it.

With that said… it is still a good read. Be cautious though if you do decide to read this as it has homophobia, and self harm / suicide attempts.

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To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

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If love is like a possession, maybe my letters are like my exorcisms. My letters set me free. Or at least they’re supposed to.

When I learned about Netflix acquiring the rights to To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, I didn’t think anything of it. After all, the series has been on my e-reader for a while now and I had no intention of reading it anytime soon.

Then the teaser trailer above pops up, and Janssen from Everyday Reading got excited about the Netflix movie, and well she pretty much got me reading To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, which then led to me reading the rest of the series.

Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean has written five love letters, one for each boy she’s loved. She keeps them in a hat box her mother gave her. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is about what occurred after these private love letters got mailed out.

I was able to relate to Lara Jean because something similar happened to me in high school. One of my high school friends and I used to exchange diaries and read them. One day, I made the mistake of leaving my diary out with the rest of my text books under my chair. We had assigned seating back then and I was assigned a seat beside my high school crush. I don’t remember how he ended up with my diary, but I do remember him telling me he did and that he read it. My diary was mostly about him. So, yeah…

It was interesting, and entertaining (sometimes painful, and painfully embarrassing), to watch Lara Jean navigate through the aftermath of her letters being sent. She went as far as pretending to be someone else’s girlfriend to: a) keep her actual crush from thinking she likes him; and b) to get her pretend boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend’s attention. There is very little romance, but the story will induce enough butterflies in your stomach to make up for it.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before got mixed reviews over on Goodreads and that is understandable. Although somewhat relatable, our protagonist is a bit meh and it’s very easy to get tired of her. Moreover, the ending is a cliffhanger and my advise is make sure to have the second book in the series (titled P.S. I Still Love You) on hand if you do decide to read To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. You know, just in case.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before will be available on Netflix on August 17, 2018 starring Lana Condor and Noah Centineo. I hope they’re able to bring the chemistry from the book to the screen cause I’ve hyped this up so much for myself and I don’t want to get disappointed.

★

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Books

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

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… Because every one of us has four box, a dark chamber stowing the thing that lanced our heart. It contains what you do everything for, strive for, would everything around you. And if it were opened, would anything be set free? No. For the impenetrable prison with the impossible lock is you own head.

The decision to read Night Film came as a whim while I was scrolling through my list in my e-reader. One chapter in an I have convinced myself I can only read this during daytime.

On a damp October night, 24-year-old Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley’s life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive cult-horror film director Stanislaus Cordova–a man who hasn’t been seen in public for more than thirty years.

For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova’s dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.

Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova’s eerie, hypnotic world. The last time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath lost his marriage and his career. This time he might lose even more. (Goodreads)

Ashley Cordova’s death sent McGrath into an investigation frenzy. He believes there’s more to Ashley’s alleged suicide and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. He wanted to know the truth.

This is my first Pessl novel and I didn’t expect to enjoy it, but I did. I get scared easily so reading this at 3 in the morning while I nurse my daughter was not (I guess I should say never) an option. I think the main reason I was fearful throughout this reading experience was I went in to Night Film blind. I thought, based on the cover, it’ll be about films shown at night, and their audience. I was SO wrong. However, I powered through it and as much as it frightened me, I kept pressing for the next page.

I was not too thrilled of how it dragged on. I was constantly wondering if I was getting close to the end, closer to the truth. Ultimately though, I felt the novel was a buildup to an ok ending. It didn’t give me that feeling of contempt, and relief I was hoping for. If anything, I’m left confused between versions of truths presented to me on the days I read Night Film.

★

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