Author: elzaread

Friday Meets – 12 May 2017

My goodness – it’s Friday again. Time sure flies lately, but are we having fun? As long as there’s a book lying on your bedside table and a kindle in your bag, of course we are! Meet me on Friday @ Friday 56 for a bit of Book Blogger Hop to kick-start the weekend with Book Beginnings. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice. For this date, you will need the following: Grab a book (Yes, any book. But it might get you to your other Friday activities a bit quicker if you just grab the book you are currently reading) Turn to page 56 or 56% on your e-reader Find a sentence or two (your other Friday activities might determine this) Post it! Remember to post your link on Freda’s Voice and to visit the other guys in the linky. And don’t forget to list the title of the book and the author as well. A couple of weeks ago, I featured a South African book, Why you were taken by J.T. Lawrence. Man, you need to read that book. One word. Awesome. And the best part of all is that the second book in the series, How we found you, will be released next week! 56%: “All of those in agreement that the accused, […]

Posted May 12, 2017
30 Comments

Misverstand deur Marita van der Vyver

Titel: MisverstandSkrywer: Marita van der VyverUitgewer: Penguin Random House SAPublikasie datum: Maart 2017Bladsye: 270 (sagteband)My gradering: 2 SterreBeveel aan vir lesers van: Marita van der Vyver (dis nie ‘n genre nie, ek weet, maar dit is ‘n onmisbare stem). As jy worstel met die vraag, Wroeg jy met jou middelmatigheid? Kort opsomming: Willem Prins bewandel die strate van Parys. Eens was hy op koers om ’n gerekende skrywer in Suid-Afrika te word, maar na jare se probeer wink die koue water van die Seine – miskien sal sy verdrinking sy boekverkope bietjie opstoot, dink ’n swartgallige Willem.Tot sy skaamte is dit die erotika wat hy onder ’n skuilnaam skryf wat hom na Frankryk gebring het. Terug na die stad waar een van sy drie eksvroue saam met sy oudste seun woon, ’n jong man wat sy pa skaars ken.Vir Willem is Parys nie juis die stad van liefde nie, maar dit is hier waar hy vir Jackie ontmoet, ’n jong Suid-Afrikaner wat as au pair werk. Dit is ook sy wat saam met hom is dié Vrydagaand die dertiende toe terreur in Parys losbars.Misverstand is die dertiende roman van een van Suid-Afrika se gewildste skrywers. ’n Roman oor die ontnugtering van die middeljare, die lewe se onweerswolke wat dikwels dreig, en oor bande tussen […]

Posted May 11, 2017
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Why you were taken by J.T. Lawrence

Title: Why You Were TakenAuthor: J.T. LawrencePublished by: Pulp BooksPublication date: 29 March 2015Read: April 25 – April 30, 2015Genre: Thriller; Science Fiction (Futuristic)Pages: 358ISBN: 9780620655583Mareli’s rating: 3.5 starsRecommend to: Sci-fi junkies who love the thrill of something “different”. J.T. Lawrence’s fan-club (this woman can write!)Description: In tomorrow’s world prowls a creative and ruthlessly efficient assassin who won’t stop until Kirsten is killed. A troubled woman approaches Kirsten with a warning and a key and is later found dead. Was the woman just another victim of the Suicide Contagion or is there something more sinister at play? The key leads Kirsten to the Doomsday Vault and a hit list of seven people – and her barcode is on it. Edgy and original, Why You Were Taken is a dark cinematic thriller that will keep you guessing till the last page. Goodreads Nah, that blurb just doesn’t do enough justice to this book. Let’s try this one: Jo’burg city is shimmering with a bitterbright tension, the perfect playground for a scarred, creative, and extremely efficient assassin. Kirsten is a roaming, restless synaesthete: an awarded photographer with bad habits and a fertility problem. Her life has been defined by what she calls her ‘Black Hole’: a painful hollow feeling where her heart […]

Posted May 7, 2017
4 Comments

Library Card May 2017

Greetings! Another month has passed and it’s been a rather hectic time at the new house. Renovations and alterations and gardening and all those housy thingies that keep you from reading and blogging. So when the looong weekend in SA finally arrived on Thursday, I was all excited to just relax and take it easy. I actually had a number of posts planned and all the books from April’s Library Card lined up for completion. Alas…. Maybe this house is haunted. It keeps beckoning to me. It keeps pulling me away from the books….. Nah. Or at least I don’t think so. I love my new house. Nothing weird here. Or scary. I’m just making excuses for not completing my Library List. But let’s have a quick look at what I did finish in April: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye Review Don’t tell anyone by Eleanor Gray Review Why you were taken by J.T. Lawrence – Review to follow *Afrikaans* Misverstand deur Marita van der Vyver – Resensie volg Stacking the Shelves in April: I’ve had my eye on the weekly feature, Stacking the shelves, hosted by Tynga’s Reviews for quite some time. I’ve decided to incorporate it with my Library Card.Because that is exactly […]

Posted May 1, 2017
14 Comments

Question Marks and Full Stops with Kim Dinan

Greetings! A couple of weeks ago, I’ve shared some inky feelings on the Yellow Envelope by Kim Dinan. This was one of those I-wish-I-had-genie books. “I wish, I wish I could travel to far-off places, to the great, big out-there”. Imagine if you also have a yellow envelope in your pocket with just 3 rules: Rule #1: Don’t over think it Rule # 2: Share your experiences Rule # 3: Don’t feel pressured to give it all away Now wouldn’t that make for a great travel memoir? Throw in some great writing, a few humorous situations and some food-for-thought (quotes from the Yellow Envelope) and it’s a done deal. Needless to say, when Sourcebooks gave me the opportunity to do a Q&A with Kim Dinan, I immediately had a few things I wanted to ask Kim. But I had to think about it. What do I really want to know? Not that much interested in the weather or the food, but the experiences she will carry with her forever and a day: 1. Your travels as told in The Yellow Envelope turned you into a wonderful storyteller. Is that fact or speculation? In other words, do you think you would have been such a master […]

Posted April 25, 2017
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Friday Meets – 21 April 2017

Greetings! It is a beautiful day in my hometown. The sun is shining and it’s just a bright bright sunshiny day! So let’s talk books for the weekend. Meet me on Friday @ Friday 56 for a bit of Book Blogger Hop to kick-start the weekend with Book Beginnings. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice. For this date, you will need the following: Grab a book (Yes, any book. But it might get you to your other Friday activities a bit quicker if you just grab the book you are currently reading) Turn to page 56 or 56% on your e-reader Find a sentence or two (your other Friday activities might determine this) Post it! Remember to post your link on Freda’s Voice and to visit the other guys in the linky. And don’t forget to list the title of the book and the author as well. Seeing that it is such a beautiful day in my beautiful country, I’ve decided to feature two books by South African authors today. I am currently reading Why you were taken by J.T. Lawrence and so far definitely so, so good. 56%: “As soon as you can, Cat. The list, it’s a ….. kind of a …… poisoned chain letter. It’s not just a list. It’s […]

Posted April 21, 2017
41 Comments

Don't Tell Anyone by Eleanor Gray

Title: Don’t Tell AnyoneAuthor: Eleanor GrayPublished by: Midnight InkPublication date: 08 December 2016 Read: April 16 – April 18 2017Genre: Mystery; General Fiction; Family DramaPages: 384ISBN: 9780738750224Mareli’s rating: 4 starsRecommend to: Lovers of Whodunnit Description: Nearly lost in a fog of grief over the fatal stabbing of her daughter, art historian Grace Neville feels only sorrow as Jordan Dukes is found guilty of murder. Days after the sentencing, Grace receives a visit from Jordan’s father, who claims that his son is innocent and a grave miscarriage of justice has taken place. Jordan’s history of gang-related violence and the fact that he doesn’t have an alibi make his father’s plea hard to believe. But then why does somebody break into Grace’s home and go through her daughter’s belongings? In Don’t Tell Anyone, Eleanor Gray explores the relationship between a mother and a daughter, and the secrets that drive Grace to seek the truth no matter what the cost. Goodreads Don’t Tell Anyone is one of those books that you can actually tell everyone about. Most readers enjoy a good Whodunnit every now and then. Don’t Tell Anyone is a decent mystery with a twist or two in the tail. Grace is devastated after the brutal stabbing of her only child, Tara. Her “almost […]

Posted April 20, 2017
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The Sunday Headlines #4

Greetings! It’s Easter Sunday and time for another edition of The Sunday Headlines where we bring you an update of the past week and give you a forecast of the upcoming week. As always, this post links up with The Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and It’s Monday! What are you reading? hosted by Book Date. Remember to give these lovely ladies a visit and add your linky!It’s been dreadfully cold and raining (hallelujah!) over the weekend, so yes – I would much rather spend my afternoon curled up with a book. But I’ve already skipped Friday Meets and my strict Dutch Reformed background will not permit my conscience to skip another weekly feature. So let’s see how short and sweet this can be!Thalked about this week Cover Characteristics – The saga of Smelly Cat Part 1 Book Travelling Thursdays – The Saga of Smelly Cat Part 2 Top Ten Tuesday – Most Unique Characters in Literature Book Review Jane Steele: Reader, I didn’t care for it much No Self-help section this week. But off the blog, I did go to the movies this week. Imax. 3D. It was amazing…… Beauty and the Beast official trailer Forecast for the week Recently Finished Currently Reading The Signature of […]

Posted April 16, 2017
16 Comments

Book Travelling Thursdays #4 – The saga of Smelly Cat Part 2

Greetings! Welcome to another edition of Book Travelling Thursdays, hosted by the Goodreads group. Should you wish to participate, just follow the instructions at the end of this post. Earlier this week, I told you about the newest edition to my household. My very own Smelly Cat! Cover Characteristics – Perfume. Seeing that today’s theme for Book Travelling Thursdays is your favorite pet, I’ve decided to honor my little kitten by featuring Jennie by Paul Gallico. Jennie is the story of a young boy called Peter, who is knocked down by a car. To his considerable astonishment, when he recovers, he is not a young boy, but a cat! Fortunately, he meets Jennie, a cat who had been abandoned by her family when they moved away, who educates him in the wiles of the feline world. It was first published in the UK in 1950 and also published in the USA in 1950, but under the title The Abandoned. Here are the two original covers: Those were obviously the days before Covers became really important. The cover below on the left, is the one I have on my bookshelf (it is featured on my photo with Smelly Cat as well!). The one next to it […]

Posted April 13, 2017
5 Comments

Jane Steele – Reader, I didn't care for it much

Jane Steele by Lyndsay FayeMy rating: 2 of 5 stars This book is a very good example of a bad habit. The habit of assumption. One assumes that a book is going to be great for oh so many reasons: 1.Everyone is raving mad about it (Sometimes Everyone is just raving mad)2. That blurb. I mean really. Of course Everyone is going to go raving mad about it. What’s NOT to like about – “A Gothic retelling of Jane Eyre. Like the heroine of the novel she adores, Jane Steele suffers cruelly at the hands of her aunt and schoolmaster. And like Jane Eyre, they call her wicked – but in her case, she fears the accusation is true. When she flees, she leaves behind the corpses of her tormentors. A fugitive navigating London’s underbelly, Jane rights wrongs on behalf of the have-nots whilst avoiding the noose. Until an advertisement catches her eye. Her aunt has died and the new master at Highgate House, Mr Thornfield, seeks a governess. Anxious to know if she is Highgate’s true heir, Jane takes the position and is soon caught up in the household’s strange spell. When she falls in love with the mysterious […]

Posted April 12, 2017
6 Comments

Author: elzaread

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