The Smell of Ink/Lukten av Trykksverte

As February is almost over, I decided writing a summary of books I've read this month. As I've been in a reading slump, I didn't get much reading done, but I've managed to read a few books at least. Here's my list. The Resort by Bryce Gibson (thriller/horror) Forlatte hus og noen av menneskene som bodde i dem by Britt Marie Bye (photography/non-fiction) The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren (paranormal cosy mystery) Nedtelling (Cold Case #2) by Tina Frennstedt (Swedish crime fiction) Norske tilstander (Leo Vangen og Rino Gulliksen #4) by Lars Lenth (Norwegian thriller) Death by French Roast (A Bookstore Cafe Mystery #8) by Alex Erickson (cosy mystery) Death by Espresso (A Bookstore Cafe Mystery #6) by Alex Erickson (cosy mystery) Coconut & Sambal: Recipes from my Indonesian Kitchen by Lara Lee (cookbook)

Some time ago I ended up reading In Bibi's Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries That Touch the Indian Ocean by Hawa Hassan and Julia Turshen. Today, I'll post my review of this cookbook. Description from Goodreads Grandmothers from eight eastern African countries welcome you into their kitchens to share flavorful recipes and stories of family, love, and tradition in this transporting cookbook-meets-travelogue. In this incredible volume, renowned food writer Julia Turshen and Somali chef Hawa Hassan present 75 recipes and stories gathered from bibis (or grandmothers) from eight African nations: South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, and Eritrea. Most notably, these eight countries are at the backbone of the spice trade, many of them exporters of things like pepper and vanilla. We meet women such as Ma Shara, who helps tourists "see the real Zanzibar" by teaching them how to make her famous A...

Earlier this year, I read the poetry collection Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Selected Poems is the classic volume by the distinguished and celebrated poet Gwendolyn Brooks, winner of the 1950 Pulitzer Prize, and recipient of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. This compelling collection showcases Brooks's technical mastery, her warm humanity, and her compassionate and illuminating response to a complex world. This edition also includes a special PS section with insights, interviews, and more—including a short piece by Nikki Giovanni entitled "Remembering Gwen." By 1963 the civil rights movement was in full swing across the United States, and more and more African American writers were increasingly outspoken in attacking American racism and insisting on full political, economic, and social equality for all. In that memorable year of the March on Washingto...

As I have a World Literature Project going on, I ended up reading Weeding the Flowerbeds by Sarah Mkhonza, who is from Swaziland. Today I'll post my review. Description from Amazon Weeding the Flowerbeds is a memoir of boarding school at Manzini Nazarene high school in Swaziland, a country in southern Africa. In this book Sarah explores life in the boarding school at Manzini Nazarene high school, a school that produced many graduates. She explores life in an educational institution where growing up is takes place under strict hostel rules in the seventies. As young swazi girls Bulelo, Sisile and Makhosi grow up learning about life and christianity. They learn to love school and also to appreciate writing and literature. All the time they feel as if they are being pushed in a certain direction and it is one of the teachers Mr. Fields and others who come to the school and make them understand the importance of choosing to be * in ones spirit. With all that education they leave the s...

I came across the Not A Book Blogging Newbie Tag over at  Howling Libraries and I decided to play along. This tag was originally for booktubers (created by Shelby ) but was adapted for bloggers by Heather . The Questions 1. How old is your blog? In July this year, it will be 10 years old. 2. What are your favorite posts to make? I really love writing discussion posts, as it enables me to look at books in a different way. 3. What is one piece of advice you would give to someone wanting to start a book blog? Focus on consistently writing quality content rather than focusing on the stats. If you've got crappy content and isn't posting consistently, the stats will be crappy anyway. 4. Since joining have you run into any unforeseen challenges? It's not directly an unforseen challenge, it's more the fact that book blogging can be a bit time-consuming. 5. What is a favorite book/series you’ve read because of blogging? I've read many new favourite books and series due to ...

Jeg har som nevnt et "Land i verden"-prosjekt når det gjelder bøker og det er ikke alle land det er like lett å finne noe fra. I forbindelse med Burundi, endte jeg opp med å lese Kryssild - mitt liv som flyktning av John Bosco Ngendakurio og Jostein Holmedahl og i dag kommer omtalen av boka. Beskrivelse fra forlaget Den usminkede og rørende historien til en unggutt som kjempet seg gjennom krig og fornedrelse - til en trygg tilværelse i Norge. John Bosco Ngendakurio (født 1980) overlevde så vidt folkemordet i Burundi i 1993. Året etter klarte han å flykte til Tanzania. I 2003 kom han til Norge som FN-flyktning, og i dag bor han med kone og datter i Mosterhamn på Bømlo. Med støtte fra institusjonen "Fritt Ord" har Bosco Ngendakurio gått opp igjen sine flyktningspor, og i samarbeid med forfatter Jostein Holmedahl presenterer han her sin historie. Utgivelsen er støttet av "Leser søker bok", en allianse som jobber for tilrettelagt litteratur. - Det er vikt...

For en stund tilbake leste jeg boka En amerikansk slaves liv av Frederick Douglass og i dag kommer omtalen. Beskrivelse fra forlaget En amerikansk slaves liv er et enestående portrett av borgerrettighets­aktivisten og statsmannen Frederick Douglass som barn og ung mann. Den autentiske førstehåndsberetningen gir et direkte og usminket inn­blikk i Sør­statenes nedverdigende og brutale slaveri. Biografien dekker perioden fra Douglass ble født, sannsynligvis i 1818, på en plantasje i Maryland, frem til 1838 da han la slaveriet bak seg og først rømte til New York og siden til New Bedford i Massachusetts. Boken ble første gang utgitt av Massa­chusetts Anti-Slavery Society i Boston i 1845. Det var sju år før Harriet Beecher Stowe skrev den popu­lære anti­slaveriromanen Onkel Toms hytte, og seksten år før den amerikanske borgerkrigen brøt ut. I løpet av årene før borgerkrigen solgte boka i over 30 000 eksemplarer og ble et uvurderlig verktøy for abolisjonister, og ikke minst en sentral inspir...

Recently, I read the poetry collection The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads A beautiful new edition of this beloved poet's first collection, originally published in 1926 when he was just twenty-four. From the opening "Proem" (prologue poem) he offers in this first book-"I am a Negro: / Black as night is black, / Black the depths of my Africa"-Hughes spoke directly, intimately, and powerfully of the experiences of African Americans, at a time when their voices were newly being heard in our literature. As his Knopf editor Carl Van Vechten wrote in a brief introduction to the original 1926 volume, illuminating the potential of this promising young voice, "His cabaret songs throb with the true jazz rhythm; his sea-pieces ache with a calm, melancholy lyricism; he cries bitterly from the heart of his race...Always, however, his stanzas are subjective, personal" and, he concludes, they are "the...

It's Sunday and perhaps time for another Six For Sunday post, courtesy of A Little But A Lot . The theme of the week was favourite picture books. Here's my picks. Ritu Weds Chandni by Ameya Narvankar Flo of the Somme by Hilary Robinson and Martin Impey When Spring Comes to the DMZ by Uk-Bae Lee The Escape of Robert Smalls: A Daring Voyage Out of Slavery by Jehan Jones-Radgowski My Bison by Gaya Wisniewski Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman

As I’m having the World Literature Project, I decided to read the memoir The Dark Child by Camara Laye, who is from French Guinea. Today I’ll post my review.  Description from Goodreads The Dark Child is a distinct and graceful memoir of Camara Laye's youth in the village of Koroussa, French Guinea. Long regarded Africa's preeminent Francophone novelist, Laye (1928-80) herein marvels over his mother's supernatural powers, his father's distinction as the village goldsmith, and his own passage into manhood, which is marked by animistic beliefs and bloody rituals of primeval origin. Eventually, he must choose between this unique place and the academic success that lures him to distant cities. More than autobiography of one boy, this is the universal story of sacred traditions struggling against the encroachment of a modern world. A passionate and deeply affecting record, The Dark Child is a classic of African literature.    My Thoughts on the Book The Dark Child was a fa...

As I've heard so much about the book, I ended up reading Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew . . . This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales t...

I came across The Book Life Tag over at  The Book Dutchesses  and I decided to play along as it looked like a fun tag. Who Would Your Parents Be? Molly and Arthur Weasley of course. Who Would Be Your Sister? Luna Lovegood. I think she would be a fun sister, really. Who Would Be Your Brother? Akiva from Daughter of Blood and Bone by Laini Taylor Who Would Be Your Pet? Fang, Hagrid's dog Where Would You Live? At a castle at the Scottish Highlands. Where Would You Go to School? How is it possible to resist Hogwarts? Who Would Be Your Best Friend? Hermione Granger from the HP series. Who Would Be Your Significant Other? If Grace O'Leary from The Hocus Pocus Magic Shop by Abigail Drake was bi or lesbian, she would be my top pick.

As part of my World Literature Project, I ended up reading So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ, who is from Senegal. Today I'll post my review of this novella. Description from Goodreads It is not only the fact that this is the most deeply felt presentation of the female condition in African fiction that gives distinction to this novel, but also its undoubted literary qualities, which seem to place it among the best novels that have come out of our continent. - West Africa This novel is a perceptive testimony to the plight of articulate women who live in social milieux dominated by attitudes and values that deny them their proper place. It is a sequence of reminiscences, some wistful, some bitter, recounted by a recently widowed Senegalese school teacher. The letter, addressed to an old friend, is a record of her emotional struggle for survival after her husband's abrupt decision to take a second wife. Although his action is sanctioned by Islam, it is a calculated betrayal of his w...

A while ago I read the poetry anthology Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry edited by Camille T. Dungy and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Black Nature is the first anthology to focus on nature writing by African American poets, a genre that until now has not commonly been counted as one in which African American poets have participated.Black poets have a long tradition of incorporating treatments of the natural world into their work, but it is often read as political, historical, or protest poetry—anything but nature poetry. This is particularly true when the definition of what constitutes nature writing is limited to work about the pastoral or the wild. Camille T. Dungy has selected 180 poems from 93 poets that provide unique perspectives on American social and literary history to broaden our concept of nature poetry and African American poetics. This collection features major writers such as Phillis Wheatley, Rita Dove, Yusef Kom...

A while ago I read the poetry collection Maya Angelou: The Complete Poetry by Maya Angelou and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads From her reflections on African American life and hardship in Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie to her revolutionary celebrations of womanhood in Phenomenal Woman and Still I Rise, and her elegant tributes to dignitaries Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela (On the Pulse of Morning and His Day Is Done, respectively), every inspiring word of Maya Angelou's poetry is included in the pages of this volume. My Thoughts on the Book Maya Angelou's poetry is something that should be read by everyone. She talks about several topics, whether it's racism, misogyny, entitlement, love, community or other themes. She's so universal, most people could find at least one poem by her they would enjoy.

It's Sunday and perhaps time for a new Six For Sunday post, courtesy of A Little But A Lot . The theme of the week was favourite books under 200 pages. Sometimes it's nice with a quick read after all. Here's my six picks and there's a bit of variety, such as a short story collection, horror, mystery and some other genres. Jamilia by Chingiz Aitmatov Our Dead World by Liliana Colanzi Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit The Cryptic Lines by Richard Storry Maiden, Mother, Crone - Fantastical Trans Femmes edited by Gwen Benaway Tethered by Bryce Gibson

Last year, I ended up reading the short story collection Bitter Leafing Woman by Karen King-Aribisala and today I'll post my review. Description from Amazon Set in Nigeria, Bitter Leafing Woman relates the experiences of Woman as she chews the bitter leaves of patriarchal oppression in a bid to transform them into gender balanced sweetness. Here Woman becomes a symbol of the oppressed; of women and men alike. The style of writing ranges from plain prose as in The Edi Kai Ikong War, magical realism as in World of the Fat/Thin House, the social satire of The Bone Eater, the densely poetic and symbolic Broken Plate and the biblical imbued style of Bitter Leafing Woman who finding herself drowning in the soup of gender oppression for forty years attempts to murder her Deacon fiancé. In this collection we become involved with serious issues of conflicts, which nevertheless we try to treat with sardonic humour and insight. My Thoughts on the Book It's a well-written short story col...

Considering I've already read Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron, I couldn't resist reading This Poison Heart and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Darkness blooms in bestselling author Kalynn Bayron's new contemporary fantasy about a girl with a unique and deadly power. Briseis has a gift: she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms with a single touch. When Briseis's aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents decide to leave Brooklyn behind for the summer. Hopefully there, surrounded by plants and flowers, Bri will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they could never have imagined--it comes with a specific set of instructions, an old-school apothecary, and a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world that can only be entered by those who share Bri's unique family lineage. When strangers begin to arrive on their doorstep, asking for t...

I came across the Fantasy Book Tag over at  Sav's Review and as I love fantasy, I couldn't resist doing this tag. The Questions What is the longest series you’ve ever read? For now, it's the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling Favorite Fantastical Setting Or World? Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend Besides Harry Potter, what is your favorite fantasy book/series? The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor is one of my favourites. What fantasy book do you wish was more popular? Endangered (Daughter of Hades Book One) by Dani Hoots Your favorite villain? Prof. Snape from the HP series. What’s the first fantasy book you have ever read? The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis Your favorite Harry Potter book? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling What is your favorite mythical creature? Well, you can't go wrong with dragons. Favorite female protagonist from a fantasy book? Effie of Glen Coe from The Laird of Duncairn by Craig Comer ...

A while ago I read the YA retelling Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix by Ibi Zoboi. Today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Pride and Prejudice gets remixed in this smart, funny, gorgeous retelling of the classic, starring all characters of color, from Ibi Zoboi, National Book Award finalist and author of American Street. This young adult novel is an excellent choice for accelerated tween readers in grades 7 to 8, especially during homeschooling. It’s a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom. Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable. When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius....

It's Tuesday and perhaps time for a new Top Ten Tuesday post, courtesy of That Artsy Reader Girl . It was a love freebie theme this week, so I decided writing a list of ten books featuring LGBT+ love in one way or another. Here's my picks. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas Blood Countess by Lana Popovic Malice by Heather Walter The Witchling's Girl by Helena Coggan This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron Harkworth Hall by L. S. Johnson Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron The Winter Loon by Lori Henriksen Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta Wooing the Farmer by Jenny Frame