The Birth House by Ami McKay

The Birth House by Ami McKay was the selection for the 2011 "Canada Reads" contest/thing run by the CBC. It tells of life in the small town of Scot's Bay, Nova Scotia as old by resident Dora Rare.

The book reads as diary entries and it documents her life both before and after she was apprenticed to the town midwife, Miss B. When trouble comes to town what will become of the traditions of town, specifically the ones regarding childbirth? Will this spell the end for the 2 midwives? You'll have to read to find out won't you.

This book was beautifully written, the way Ami McKay wrote the diary entries, it didn't feel as though you were reading a diary, it was told as if it was a story. The life of Scot's Bay residents through Dora's eyes and the things that go on in her life. It felt, at some points, as though you were watching the story unfold with your own two eyes.

Ami McKay is a Canadian journalist, and novelist (part of the reason she was nominated for the "Canada Reads" thing). She grew up in Indiana but moved to Scot's Bay later in life.

Back to the book, Dora goes through many ups and downs in her life as a resident of Scot's Bay (who doesn't, both human and book character alike (you know what I mean))

As I mentioned it is beautifully well written with famous quotes and such woven in to the text.

How does everything turn out for Dora and the residents of Scot's Bay you ask? Well...no spoilers...at all...none whatsoever!!! You have to read to read the book.

Tequila Mockingbird by Tim Federle

Tequila Mockingbird by Tim Federle is...well...I suppose you could call it non-fiction. It's a book of cocktails, mocktails and snacks and each one has a literary twist (hence the title, haha pun) I got this book today and I've already finished it (it's only a hundred some odd pages) I found it and I thought it might come in handy as I have been accepted to the bartending course at my local college for the Fall Semester. As I mix and try the various drinks and make the various foods from the book I will update this post with results and whatnot. I would suggest this book to English majors and "barflies" alike as I think they'd enjoy it and the cocktails sound really good.

SO...mini book review today...very mini...but this will be updated as I go through the book...I would suggest that if you find it, you pick up a copy, it would be good for entertaining, especially during the holidays or whenever.

Keep reading, I know a bit of a disappointing review today but I just a couple of new books from the library so...more reading to come (If you want to see what I have read, what I am reading and what I will read check out my Summer Read List and feel free to suggest things!)

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

OK, I finished this book just recently (read about 3 hours ago) and it's really wonderful. There's some profanity and mature subject matter but it's a book for adults I think we can handle it. The sequel comes out next month (all the back of the book says is June 2014 but according to the Robert Galbraith website the date is definitely June 19, 2014, exactly a month from today's date :D)

This book is the first in the Cormoran Strike series. When a famous model falls off her balcony to her death Cormoran is called in to investigate, was it suicide, as her death suggests? Or murder? There are many twists and turns along the way and the trail seems to be getting ever colder but Strike keeps investigating. If it was murder the murderer has to have slipped up somewhere along the way.

This book is a great read, I bought it last week (when I went to the 30th anniversary of one of the local bookstores?) and I finished it today and it's great, it's poignant and it keeps you riveted all through. The adventures of Cormoran Strike and his plucky young secretary/sidekick Robin will keep you wanting more and begging to know who the murderer is.

I will post no spoilers, that's mean, but you should definitely read this book, mystery fans the world over will love Cormoran Strike.

Eileen's Summer Reading List

I will add to this as I obtain new books to read and, at the end of the summer, anything not read and reviewed will be archived for me to review at a later date (probably on weekends once fall semester starts). I mentioned some of these in my 'Coming Attractions' post you'll remember and I really do look forward to reviewing all of these wonderful books. I'll strike through the title and author once the book has been read and reviewed so as to avoid confusion

1. Tesla: Man out of Time - Margaret Cheney
2. Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie
3. Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City - Kirsten Miller
4. The Other Boleyn Girl - Phillipa Gregory
5. Gallows Thief - Bernard Cornwell
6. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
7. Persuasion - Jane Austen
8. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
9. Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
10. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
11. Emma - Jane Austen
12. The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith
13. The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith (I found a copy the grocery store for, like, 40% off the Canadian cover price so I sprung for it SO EXCITED!!!)
14. Divergent - Veronica Roth
15. Insurgent - Veronica Roth
16. Allegiant - Veronica Roth
17. Ruby Red - Kerstin Gier
18. French Revolutions: Cycling the Tour de France - Tim Moore
19. The Hound of the Baskervilles - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
20. The Adventure of the Speckled Band - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
21. An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
22. Never Somewhere Else - Alex Gray
23. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
24. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald #
25. Let it Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
26. This Dark Endeavour - Kenneth Oppel
27. (Such Wicked Intent - Kenneth Oppel)
28. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
29. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
30. Shadow of Night - Deborah Harkness (already reviewed, but I'll update it)
31. The Book of Life - Deborah Harkness (IT'S FINALLY OUT!! I don't have it yet but will buy it soon)
32. ((Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen))
33. Love me Back - Merrit Tierce
34. Let's Just Say it Wasn't Pretty - Diane Keaton
35. The Forever Girl - Alexander McCall-Smith
36. The Ladies Number One Detective Agency - Alexander McCall-Smith
37. (Hollow City - Ransom Riggs)
38. The Glory Wind - Valerie Sherrard*
39. If only you Knew - Mags Storey*
40. Plain Kate - Erin Bow*
41. City of Heavenly Fire - Cassandra Clare
42. The Diviners - Libba Bray*
43. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green
44. Who-ology: Doctor Who, the Official Miscellany - Cavan Scott & Mark Wright
45. Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld*
46. Stardust - Neil Gaiman :D
47. Looking for Alaska - John Green #
48. Geek Girls Unite - Leslie Simon
49. Page Fright - Harry Bruce
50. Tequila Mockingbird - Tim Federle
51. The Birth House - Ami McKay
52. Lights Out in Wonderland - DBC Pierre
53. An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's homes in New England - Brock Clarke
54. Dark Triumph - Robin LaFevers
55. Revenge of the Vinyl Café - Stuart McLean
56. Secrets from the Vinyl Café - Stuart McLean
57. Vinyl Café Diaries - Stuart McLean
58. Alex Cross - James Patterson
59. Extreme Vinyl Café - Stuart McLean
60. 44 Scotland Street - Alexander McCall Smith
61. The Vinyl Café Notebooks - Stuart McLean
62. The 'Make Good Art Speech' - Neil Gaiman
63. Dave Cooks the Turkey - Stuart McLean
64. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain
65. ((The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling))
66. The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler
67. Northanger Abbey - Val McDermid
68. Shakespeare's Landlord - Charlaine Harris
69. Shakespeare's Champion - Charlaine Harris
70. Watership Down - Richard Adams
71. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
72. Bridget Jones Diary - Helen Fielding
73. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - Helen Fielding
74. A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula Le Guin*
75. Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor
76. Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman
77. The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula Le Guin
78. Brave New World - Alduous Huxley
79. Carrie - Stephen King
80. Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores - Jen Campbell
81. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

As you can see it's an ever expanding Behemoth of a thing with a whopping total of 81 books to read in the next 5 months (I think I can do it, even if I do the July session of Camp NaNo).

*The ones with an asterisk next to their names are the ones that have been recommended to me by someone

() The ones in single brackets I have to find either in a bookstore or a library 1

(()) The ones in doubles brackets I own, I just have to find them (or get them from the library if I can't find them)2
# The ones with Number signs next to them are also on my Banned Books Week list so as I review for that they will be crossed of the list

As I mentioned this list will be comprehensively updated with everything that I intend to review. Keep reading, writing and for heaven's sake recommend a book, I don't bite I promise :)

1 Apparently I can do footnote-y type things...I will delete the brackets once I have either bought or rented this book
2 I will  underline these titles once I find my copy (or get one from the library)

New books!

Hello again readers!!!

As I mentioned in my last post I have some time off this spring and summer during which I will be (among other things) reading and reviewing. I mentioned that I have a stack of books to read this summer and I'm pleased to report, after a successful trip to my local bookstore, (It's their 30th birthday/anniversary and they were having a sale, I couldn't resist! (aside from the 30th anniversary/birthday sale it's a great book store in general)) I now own 4 new books which I can review, in honour of the 30th anniversary thing they had, like, gift bags with books in them and I pick up one that had 3! 3! I also bought The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (in soft cover if you must know, I hadn't really seen it in softcover before today to be honest) and I've already started reading it! It's really good so far, I'm only 5 chapters in or so, so I won't be reviewing in depth just yet, just thought I'd let you know. One of the other I got (in the prize bag) was by the author of The Ladies Number One Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith (for the life of me I can't remember what it's called right now).

As always book suggestions are always welcome in comments or via twitter (or via Tumblr at my book blog! (http://thelibrarian-bloggerin221c.tumblr.com this Tumblr is more for interesting book things and bookstores etc. but I may occasionally post a review, this will be my main book review blog however) (my other blog (http://theartisticnovelist.tumbr.com) is more for my art stuff and novel updates rather than book reviews.)

Stay tunes for a comprehensive list of up and coming reviews (possibly in some semblance of an order I haven't decided). This list will be updated every time I find something new that I want to review and, as I mentioned, suggestions are always welcome. My summer reading series will go from about now (starting Monday (May 12)) and will go until the fall semester starts (Around Labour Day in September) and I will update as often as possible. I look forward to your feedback on books to read and review and stay tuned for summer reading list!

By the Pricking of my Thumbs by Agatha Christie

Hello again,

As I mentioned in "Coming Attractions" I recently finished reading "By the Pricking of my Thumbs" by Agatha Christie. It follows Mrs. Tuppence Beresford and her husband through the solving of an ages old mystery. But when Thomas (Tuppence's husband) is away on important government business and Tuppence is left to investigate on her own she digs too deep and ends up in trouble. Will she get out of it?

This book is a wonderful book, from start to finish it has you wondering what will happen next and how Tuppence will get out of the situations she finds herself in. Mopre imprtantly it leaves you wanting more. Not just from Tuppence and Thomas but from Christie herself.

It all starts after Thomas' Aunt Ada dies and Tuppence goes on a quest to return a painting she had to its original owner. From there it's a roller coaster of travel and mystery for Tuppence, who gets into a heap of troouble but bothing she can't deal with. If you like the mystery Genre or classic novels you'll want to read thuis book, especially if you're a fan of Agatha Christie. I found it riveting  and engaging the whole way through (Well, there was one chapter where she switched focus from Tuppence to Thomas and it was a little confusing but when she went back to Tuppence it all made sense). I highly reccomend that you read this book.

Sorry to cut the review short today but there's really not much to say. As always your feedback and book suggestions are welcome in the comments below and I will try my level best to review everything that you suggest (that'll be easier now that I'm off for the summer and I don't have classes). So please suggest books for me to read, or movies for me to watch, I'm open to doing some movie reviews as well (You'll recall that in "Coming Attractions", my last post, I mentioned that I was going to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier and was going to do a review).

That's all for me today folks, as always your feedback is very welcome and any and all book suggestions will be read and reviewed in due time (I have to FIND the book and reasd it before I can review it, most of the time it's finding it that's the trouble.) I hate to cut this one short but my German exam beckons. In the mean time keep reading, writing and yes, watching movies.

TTFN!

Coming Attractions

Well I fell off the blogging bandwagon again but life. So, as I said, Coming Attractions.

I'm going to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Divergent soon (I will see them. I'm so looking forward to it) Don't know when yet, because there ARE NO MATINEES AT THE THEATRE NEAR MY HOUSE, the earliest time is 4 in the afternoon! (Maybe over Easter weekend...although I do have an exam on Monday evening) anyway, I digress.

I went shopping with my friend Sara yesterday and I bought some books to add to my summer reading list!!!I got a biography of Nikola Tesla (Sara's and my favourite inventor), the first book in the "This Dark Endeavour" series (I know, I know, it came out, like, 3 years ago but I've never read it) and a book that I'd been looking for forever "Let it Snow" by John Green, Lauren Myracle and Maureen Johnson so I'm looking forward to reading that (actually I did start that one already it's really good, but I'm only a couple of chapters in.) I'm going to read the Divergent series again because I want to finally read "Allegiant" and I want a bit of a refresher (maybe I'll just read "Allegiant"). I'm going to read "Pride and Prejudice" (or finish it at any rate) and maybe I'll work my way through my Jane Austen box set and finally get to "Murder on the Orient Express." I'm going to work my way through "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (again) and finally read "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." and I'll possibly read "A Discovery of Witches" and "Shadow of Night" again but won't be writing a new review for "Shadow of Night", just updating it. I'll certainly read anything you suggest to me (comment people for goodness sake! It's like I'm talking to myself!)

My next review will be of a book I recently finished actually "By the Pricking of my Thumbs" by Agatha Christie (if I've reviewed it already (I don't think I have but I'll check) I'll just update the review instead of writing another one.) Thus is a brief picture of the next few months of book reviews. Please do suggest books in the comments and don't forget to tell me what you thought of the books I've suggested if you have read/do read them.

That's all for now I think, happy spring! Keep reading and writing (oh, and please I know it's a bit far down on my blog, one of my first posts I think, but please,  read the excerpt of my Mystery Novel and tell me what you think.