Tag: Europe

Books

Book 885: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce

Geoff W

Book cover of "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" with Amazon Affiliate link Ugh—I should’ve given up while I was ahead, or used the same app I used to slog my way through Ulysses. This was the longest 215 pages of my life.

I actually broke down for the last chapter and found an audiobook version from my local library to listen to at 1.25x speed while sorting data and stuff at work. So, at the very least I can say I enjoyed the Irish accents for that portion of it and the Whaley last name shout out about 75% of the way through 😀

Continue reading “Book 885: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce” →

Books

Book 870: Before We Disappear – Shaun David Hutchinson

Geoff W

Book cover of "Before We Disappear" with Amazon Affiliate linkFull disclosure, I only requested this one because of how adorable Wil is on the cover with that book.* I have no idea why, I was just like awwwww and then I read the premise and was sucked in and so glad I requested a copy!

Jack and Wil are magicians’ assistants and they meet at the Seattle World’s Fair in 1909. They’re both in abusive relationships with their magicians and when they find each other they slowly discover that there is so much more in the world than they ever thought and ultimately, they want to experience it together.

Continue reading “Book 870: Before We Disappear – Shaun David Hutchinson” →

Books

Book 867: Finley Embraces Heart and Home (Love, Austen #4) – Anyta Sunday

Geoff W

Book cover of "Finley Embraces Heart and Home" with Amazon Affiliate linkThis book felt different from the other three books in Anyta Sunday’s Love, Austen series. I was always going to read it and said yes as soon as the review opportunity came in, but it just felt different.*

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think it has to do with the fact that we spend so much more time with Finley and Ethan growing up than we spent with anyone else in the series. All the other books (Emerett Has Never Been in Love, Cameron Wants to Be a Hero, and Bennet, Pride before the Fall) were your more typical whirlwind type romances: sparks fly, a couple of weeks or months past, boom happily ever after.

Continue reading “Book 867: Finley Embraces Heart and Home (Love, Austen #4) – Anyta Sunday” →

Books

Book 843: The Midnight Library – Matt Haig

Geoff W

Book cover of "The Midnight Library" with Amazon Affiliate linkClearly, I grabbed this one for the title and the fact that it seems everyone is reading it. Seriously, I saw at least three or four copies while on vacation and it’s been popping up sporadically on book blogs since its initial release last year.

I didn’t really have an idea of what it was about so was a little taken aback by the opening line but then was totally on-board when I re-read the back blurb. In essence the book follows Nora as she tries to find the life she wants to live by visiting all her potential selves after attempting suicide.

Continue reading “Book 843: The Midnight Library – Matt Haig” →

Books

Book 840: Saint-Exupéry – Stacy Schiff

Geoff W

Book cover of This one has been in my TBR pile for over a decade. Seriously, it’s been there since 2010 when I heard Schiff speak at the first Boston Book Festival. The one I really wanted to purchase at the time was her biography of Cleopatra, but couldn’t afford it.

I ended up waiting to read it until I could get a digital copy (don’t want to mess up that signature) and the last dozen or so times the library had one I either didn’t have the time or was feeling meh about reading a biography. This time however, after building up so many advance posts I figured I had the time and wanted to read some nonfiction so here we are.

Continue reading “Book 840: Saint-Exupéry – Stacy Schiff” →