For a bit of Sunday happiness & silliness: tell me about some a book you've recently excitedly told someone about and why!
I've talked about Erin Meyer's "Culture Map" because it opened my eye to a lot of intercultural interactions I have in both, my everyday and my work life.
And about Marcin Wicha's "Things I Didn't Throw Out" because it made me laugh and cry at the same time + made me fall in love with Daunt books because I would not have found out about the book without them.
I recently told my family and friends about The Warrior Queen by Joanna Arman.
It's about one of the queens (I'm not pro royalist by any means) of this land, pre-England, and how she had the guts to take over after her husband died, even in the face of "women can't rule!". Little is known about her and she was almost written out of history.
@grb090423 oh, I just looked it up - I had no idea about her! (And know very little about the British Isles during this period - kingdom of Mercia said nothing to me and I may have places it somewhere in Spain or or, confusing it with Murcia ... 😅 )
@vicgrinberg "What You Are Looking For Is In The Library" by Michiko Aoyama! I came across it when I was very frustrated with my work as library assistant, and it reminded me of why I love this job, so it gave me a much-needed morale boost. It's also very charmingly written and full of wisdom and inspiration for non-library folks too!
@glittercleric I just looked up the book - sounds absolutely lovely, thanks for sharing it here! (I also have a thing for Japanese fiction in general, so this is right up my valley :) )
@vicgrinberg I recently read The Giver of Stars, which is a historical fiction about the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky (US) during the great depression.
There were a lot of places in Kentucky that didn't have library access because of distances and rural mountain terrain. So the Packhorse Librarians would load 100 ish books into saddlebags every day and ride all around the county delivering books to secluded families.
@vicgrinberg I think I've already raved to you about "Blood Over Bright Haven" by M.L. Wang? I've been recommending that to everyone recently. Great fantasy academia setting that actually thinks it through when it goes big.
As it happens I'm currently reading "The Culture Map", thanks for that rec! I'm not that far into it yet though.
"The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett. It had been on my list for so long that I couldn't remember why I had originally put it on there. In the end it turned out that one of the protagonists starts a relationship with a trans man in the 19070s/80s? All in all, the relationship was only a side issue, but I still felt very seen. Especially when I consider that I wouldn't have expected that now, because the book wasn't filed under "queer literature" in my memory.
@vicgrinberg Joan Lingard's "Kevin and Sadie saga" (five novels: The Twelfth Day of July, Across the Barricades, Into Exile, A Proper Place & Hostages of Fortune).
It is a story of an Irish Catholic boy and Protestant girl from Belfast during the Troubles period. A story of love between them, exploring the challenges of interconfessional relationships, and a message of hope for the future generations from Lingard; although it's young adult genre, IMO it is must-read for adults as well.
@vicgrinberg recommended it to my parents because they harshly oppose inter-faith relationships & marriages... similar to the characters from the series. As well as one of my friends who is a mother; she loved it too.
I think this series is a lesson on how the love between people with different religions/faiths can become strong and unbreakable.
@vicgrinberg “From Strength to Strength” lessons on making that transition as you age and inevitably decline. I keyed in particularly on the section about lacking real relationships vs transactional friends mostly from work. Having to answer that question “ how many real friends do you have?” was sobering. I’m trying hard to shift my mindset to ‘prioritize prople and relationships over work.’
@vicgrinberg 'A Brief History of Seven Killings' by Marlon James, because I loved the Jamaican Patois so much. It takes a while to get into it but after that you'll read it as if it was plain English. And besides that it's just a really good and well-written book.
It came up in conversation because a friend had a very similar experience watching 'Top Boy' on Netflix.
@ives oh, nice! I've read another of Marlon James' books (Black Leopart, Red Wolf) and while overall it was not quiet mine, I do remember the language being fascinating!
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