You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
libbysbookshelf's Reviews (745)
PREP by CURTIS SITTENFELD
This is an academic novel that follows Lee Fiora, a girl from the Midwest of America, attending an elite boarding school in Boston. Lee is the strong voice behind this novel and she is speaking as her older self looking back on her time at high school. She remembers how she felt like an outsider and how she hardly had any friends and didn’t really do very well at school. But mostly she remembers the guy she had a crush on: Cross Sugarman (the names in this book are unbelievable!).
The benefit of hearing the story from older Lee’s voice is that she is able to reflect upon how she viewed the world from the point of view of her boarding school tinted glasses. She’s incredibly self-centred but not in a way that makes you hate her (well, I didn’t anyway), it was in a way that made me cringe with recognition — this too had been how I’d felt as a teenager. Everyone was looking at ME. Everyone was interested in what I was doing. When the real truth was that no one really cared because they were too busy being narcissistic as well!
I really loved this book for its strong voice and for the way the writer clearly understood teenagers — I’m struggling to think of a writer who has captured this feeling better (maybe the woman of the hour in Normal People). The beauty was, though, that I was entirely absorbed with Lee. The writer was so good that I too started to care what people thought of her and how she presented herself. There were also times when I wanted her to snap out of it and just try to enjoy herself, but that’s just me being a typical adult!
I must admit that the racism at the start of the book was massively disconcerting and I considered DNFing. That was until I realised that it was done on purpose to show what it’s like for kids of colour in these elitist boarding schools. I still have some qualms, but for now I’ll believe that the writer was doing it all on purpose.
Anyway, it’s a relatively long read so I’m sure I’ll miss it over the next few days, but luckily I have Ms Rooney to fill the void.
#prep #curtissittenfeld #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer #booklover
This is an academic novel that follows Lee Fiora, a girl from the Midwest of America, attending an elite boarding school in Boston. Lee is the strong voice behind this novel and she is speaking as her older self looking back on her time at high school. She remembers how she felt like an outsider and how she hardly had any friends and didn’t really do very well at school. But mostly she remembers the guy she had a crush on: Cross Sugarman (the names in this book are unbelievable!).
The benefit of hearing the story from older Lee’s voice is that she is able to reflect upon how she viewed the world from the point of view of her boarding school tinted glasses. She’s incredibly self-centred but not in a way that makes you hate her (well, I didn’t anyway), it was in a way that made me cringe with recognition — this too had been how I’d felt as a teenager. Everyone was looking at ME. Everyone was interested in what I was doing. When the real truth was that no one really cared because they were too busy being narcissistic as well!
I really loved this book for its strong voice and for the way the writer clearly understood teenagers — I’m struggling to think of a writer who has captured this feeling better (maybe the woman of the hour in Normal People). The beauty was, though, that I was entirely absorbed with Lee. The writer was so good that I too started to care what people thought of her and how she presented herself. There were also times when I wanted her to snap out of it and just try to enjoy herself, but that’s just me being a typical adult!
I must admit that the racism at the start of the book was massively disconcerting and I considered DNFing. That was until I realised that it was done on purpose to show what it’s like for kids of colour in these elitist boarding schools. I still have some qualms, but for now I’ll believe that the writer was doing it all on purpose.
Anyway, it’s a relatively long read so I’m sure I’ll miss it over the next few days, but luckily I have Ms Rooney to fill the void.
#prep #curtissittenfeld #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer #booklover
THE INSEPARABLES by SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR translated by LAUREN ELKIN
As soon as I realised this book had been realised, I scurried to my local bookshop to purchase it and I read it straight away. I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t want to put it down and I certainly didn’t want it to end.
You may know de Beauvoir as the author of The Second Sex; a seminal feminist work, or perhaps you know her as a contemporary of Jean Paul Satre, the existential philosopher. You, unlike I, may have also known her as a writer of fiction. Either way, whether you’ve heard of her or not, you should read this.
It is being marketed as the ‘recently discovered last novel by de Beauvoir’, which — admittedly — reeled me right in! It is also semi-autobiographical, as the girl it follows is based on a friend de Beauvoir had as a child and young woman. It had whispers of Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend about it — probably because it was told from the point of view of one girl who idolised her friend so much so it almost seemed like love.
The writing and translation were brilliant; effortless. I cannot rave about this book enough! I really loved it.
#simonedebeauvoir #theinseparables #book #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #bookstagrammer
As soon as I realised this book had been realised, I scurried to my local bookshop to purchase it and I read it straight away. I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t want to put it down and I certainly didn’t want it to end.
You may know de Beauvoir as the author of The Second Sex; a seminal feminist work, or perhaps you know her as a contemporary of Jean Paul Satre, the existential philosopher. You, unlike I, may have also known her as a writer of fiction. Either way, whether you’ve heard of her or not, you should read this.
It is being marketed as the ‘recently discovered last novel by de Beauvoir’, which — admittedly — reeled me right in! It is also semi-autobiographical, as the girl it follows is based on a friend de Beauvoir had as a child and young woman. It had whispers of Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend about it — probably because it was told from the point of view of one girl who idolised her friend so much so it almost seemed like love.
The writing and translation were brilliant; effortless. I cannot rave about this book enough! I really loved it.
#simonedebeauvoir #theinseparables #book #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #bookstagrammer
LIKE A MULE BRINGING ICE CREAM TO THE SUN by SARAH LADIPO MANYIKA
What a special little book! I’d seen this @cassavarepublicpress book around Bookstagram a lot and the title captivated me so much that I had to go out and buy it.
The story follows Morayo, a 75 year old woman from Nigeria who has lived all over the world, but now lives in Sam Fran. Over the course of the book, we meet people she interacts with and hear their points of view as well as Morayo’s own.
Morayo also has a love of books, so that’s always a lovely thing to read about, and she is a cool old lady with great stories and great style.
It’s a short book, but extremely affecting. Loved.
#book #bookstagramreadsthebooker #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #booklover #likeamulebringingicecreamtothesun #sarahladipomanyika
What a special little book! I’d seen this @cassavarepublicpress book around Bookstagram a lot and the title captivated me so much that I had to go out and buy it.
The story follows Morayo, a 75 year old woman from Nigeria who has lived all over the world, but now lives in Sam Fran. Over the course of the book, we meet people she interacts with and hear their points of view as well as Morayo’s own.
Morayo also has a love of books, so that’s always a lovely thing to read about, and she is a cool old lady with great stories and great style.
It’s a short book, but extremely affecting. Loved.
#book #bookstagramreadsthebooker #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #booklover #likeamulebringingicecreamtothesun #sarahladipomanyika
SUMMER by ALI SMITH
This marks the fourth and final book in Smith’s seasonal quartet, and what a quartet it was.
I don’t think I could properly sum up in a caption what these series has done or what it has meant to me. The experience transcends words.
Ali Smith is, without a doubt, one of the greatest writers, dead or alive. She has given us four novels that could be presented as art, or they could be presented as history books of the last four years. She takes us from the Brexit vote, to the pandemic and everything in between. She shows us the beauty of language and compassion and love. She shows us the need to educate ourselves; about science and history and art, to ensure that we don’t let history repeat itself, or worse, kill the planet as well as all the people on it.
Reading this series has felt, at times, like reliving a memory; the details are slightly hazy, but the emotions are strong. I like to think that is exactly what Smith was intending with her subtle reminders of events from previous novels. In a way I’d be intrigued to see the whole series mapped out and see how all the characters intersect (I’m sure someone has made such a thing on line) but, on the other hand, I quite like that it’s all mixed up in my memory.
This marks the fourth and final book in Smith’s seasonal quartet, and what a quartet it was.
I don’t think I could properly sum up in a caption what these series has done or what it has meant to me. The experience transcends words.
Ali Smith is, without a doubt, one of the greatest writers, dead or alive. She has given us four novels that could be presented as art, or they could be presented as history books of the last four years. She takes us from the Brexit vote, to the pandemic and everything in between. She shows us the beauty of language and compassion and love. She shows us the need to educate ourselves; about science and history and art, to ensure that we don’t let history repeat itself, or worse, kill the planet as well as all the people on it.
Reading this series has felt, at times, like reliving a memory; the details are slightly hazy, but the emotions are strong. I like to think that is exactly what Smith was intending with her subtle reminders of events from previous novels. In a way I’d be intrigued to see the whole series mapped out and see how all the characters intersect (I’m sure someone has made such a thing on line) but, on the other hand, I quite like that it’s all mixed up in my memory.
THE ADVENTURES OF CHINA IRON by GABRIELA CABEZON CAMARA translated by MACKINTOSH and MACINTYRE
This novel is my final read for #womenintranslationmonth and it’s a good one. It’s Argentinian and follows the story of China Iron, who is mentioned briefly in the poem by Martin Fierro.
This novel is Camara’s reimagining of the forgotten wife. It takes us across the pampas in Argentina in the year 1872 with China Iron, a Scottish woman named Liz and a gaucho named Rosario. Nature is written about with such beauty that it felt like another character in the story.
As much as nature is a theme, so too are gender and sexuality and colonialism.
Some spicy sex scenes, together with everything I’ve mentioned, make this into a road trip novel like no other.
I got this in a @booksthatmatteruk box over a year ago and I’ve only just read it! Silly me! I recommend that you don’t make the same mistake as I did by putting it off this long.
#theadventuresofchinairon #gabrielacabezoncamara #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #charcopress @charcopress #bookrecommendations #bookreview #wit #witmonth #womenintranslation #bookreviewer #bookrecommendation #argentinianliterature
This novel is my final read for #womenintranslationmonth and it’s a good one. It’s Argentinian and follows the story of China Iron, who is mentioned briefly in the poem by Martin Fierro.
This novel is Camara’s reimagining of the forgotten wife. It takes us across the pampas in Argentina in the year 1872 with China Iron, a Scottish woman named Liz and a gaucho named Rosario. Nature is written about with such beauty that it felt like another character in the story.
As much as nature is a theme, so too are gender and sexuality and colonialism.
Some spicy sex scenes, together with everything I’ve mentioned, make this into a road trip novel like no other.
I got this in a @booksthatmatteruk box over a year ago and I’ve only just read it! Silly me! I recommend that you don’t make the same mistake as I did by putting it off this long.
#theadventuresofchinairon #gabrielacabezoncamara #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #charcopress @charcopress #bookrecommendations #bookreview #wit #witmonth #womenintranslation #bookreviewer #bookrecommendation #argentinianliterature
THE FIRST WOMAN by JENNIFER NANSUBUGA MAKUMBI
A coming of age tale set in a small village in Uganda, following the life of Kirabo; a young girl with a lot of character, who was abandoned by her mother at birth and spends a long time fantasising about who she could be. Kirabo eventually goes off to a Christian mission school and into the clutches of colonisation, but it’s in her village life that we learn about Ugandan culture and myth and folklore, and it was here that I fell in love with this book and these characters.
I had a very physical reaction to one section in the book that seemed so sad and so unfair and I was left feeling down for the rest of the day (DM me if you want to know the bit I’m talking about).
My one criticism of the spectacular book is that it was a little wordy in places and not in a way that added to the writing. Makumbi is clearly a sensational writer, but I think this was more of an editing issue — or it could just be me!
Anyway, I still loved this book and Kirabo is one of my all time favourite characters.
#book #bookstagram #bookphotography #booklover #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookstagrammer #jhalakprize @jhalakprize #thefirstwoman #jennifernansubugamakumbi
A coming of age tale set in a small village in Uganda, following the life of Kirabo; a young girl with a lot of character, who was abandoned by her mother at birth and spends a long time fantasising about who she could be. Kirabo eventually goes off to a Christian mission school and into the clutches of colonisation, but it’s in her village life that we learn about Ugandan culture and myth and folklore, and it was here that I fell in love with this book and these characters.
I had a very physical reaction to one section in the book that seemed so sad and so unfair and I was left feeling down for the rest of the day (DM me if you want to know the bit I’m talking about).
My one criticism of the spectacular book is that it was a little wordy in places and not in a way that added to the writing. Makumbi is clearly a sensational writer, but I think this was more of an editing issue — or it could just be me!
Anyway, I still loved this book and Kirabo is one of my all time favourite characters.
#book #bookstagram #bookphotography #booklover #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookstagrammer #jhalakprize @jhalakprize #thefirstwoman #jennifernansubugamakumbi
THREE SUMMERS by MARGARITA LIBERAKI
Had Jane Austen been born in a small village in Greece in the twentieth century, she might have written this book.
The story is set over the course of three summers, following the lives of three sisters in their rural Greek village.
The days are long and lazy and the men are plenty! But should these girls aspire to marriage and submission, or is freedom the better option?
I loved the descriptions of the Greek countryside and lifestyle. I loved the characters and the scenarios they faced. This book is truly a perfect summer read.
I recommend you quickly try to fit it in now before September or get it and read it next summer on a nice hot day.
#threesummers #margaritaliberaki #greekliterature #wit #witmonth #womenintranslation #womenintranslationmonth #bookstagram #bookgrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer
Had Jane Austen been born in a small village in Greece in the twentieth century, she might have written this book.
The story is set over the course of three summers, following the lives of three sisters in their rural Greek village.
The days are long and lazy and the men are plenty! But should these girls aspire to marriage and submission, or is freedom the better option?
I loved the descriptions of the Greek countryside and lifestyle. I loved the characters and the scenarios they faced. This book is truly a perfect summer read.
I recommend you quickly try to fit it in now before September or get it and read it next summer on a nice hot day.
#threesummers #margaritaliberaki #greekliterature #wit #witmonth #womenintranslation #womenintranslationmonth #bookstagram #bookgrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer
HOW WE MET by HUMA QURESHI
Like a lot of Bookstagrammers, I first heard about this book when @thebooksheelf was raving about it. I’m so glad I picked it up!
This is the memoir of Huma and her journey to finding and falling in love. Her journey was slightly more tumultuous — not because she didn’t find love — but because she found love in a white English man. Huma is Muslim of Pakistani decent and her parents wanted her to marry someone with the same values — meaning, someone from the same background. But Richard is none of these things…
In this memoir, we also read about Huma‘s experience with finding potential husbands through her mum’s network (forgotten the proper name for it now), but unfortunately this isn’t successful.
I loved the honesty in this book, especially around grief and struggles with finding love. I think a lot of people will find solace in these words. I know I did.
P.S. I met my husband when my sister was going out with his friend. We did not like each other at first!
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer #howwemet #humaqureshi
Like a lot of Bookstagrammers, I first heard about this book when @thebooksheelf was raving about it. I’m so glad I picked it up!
This is the memoir of Huma and her journey to finding and falling in love. Her journey was slightly more tumultuous — not because she didn’t find love — but because she found love in a white English man. Huma is Muslim of Pakistani decent and her parents wanted her to marry someone with the same values — meaning, someone from the same background. But Richard is none of these things…
In this memoir, we also read about Huma‘s experience with finding potential husbands through her mum’s network (forgotten the proper name for it now), but unfortunately this isn’t successful.
I loved the honesty in this book, especially around grief and struggles with finding love. I think a lot of people will find solace in these words. I know I did.
P.S. I met my husband when my sister was going out with his friend. We did not like each other at first!
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer #howwemet #humaqureshi
BRIGHT by DUANWAD PIMWANA translated by MUI POOPOKSAKUL
Thanks to @bookbeforeuleap for sending me this as a gift after I put it on my wishlist when @footnotes.and.tangents was discussing it in his stories.
This is a book written by a Thai writer and set in a working-class community in Thailand. It follows 5 year old Kampol whose parents have abandoned him outside the housing estate in which they used to live. Kampol is left to the kindness of his neighbours, who take it in turns to feed and house him, but these neighbours don’t have much and they sometimes struggle to feed themselves. Luckily, Kampol is a resourceful and resilient little boy and he manages to get by. The book Is actually made up of vignettes, or little episodes within Kampol and the neighbours’ lives.
It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming and ultimately explores the importance of community and sticking together.
I really loved this and the community will have a special place in my heart, especially little Kampol.
#womenintranslation #witmonth #womenintranslationmonth #books #book #thailitetature #thailand #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookreviewer
Thanks to @bookbeforeuleap for sending me this as a gift after I put it on my wishlist when @footnotes.and.tangents was discussing it in his stories.
This is a book written by a Thai writer and set in a working-class community in Thailand. It follows 5 year old Kampol whose parents have abandoned him outside the housing estate in which they used to live. Kampol is left to the kindness of his neighbours, who take it in turns to feed and house him, but these neighbours don’t have much and they sometimes struggle to feed themselves. Luckily, Kampol is a resourceful and resilient little boy and he manages to get by. The book Is actually made up of vignettes, or little episodes within Kampol and the neighbours’ lives.
It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming and ultimately explores the importance of community and sticking together.
I really loved this and the community will have a special place in my heart, especially little Kampol.
#womenintranslation #witmonth #womenintranslationmonth #books #book #thailitetature #thailand #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookreviewer
CONFETTI by ZUZANNA SZOSTAK
First of all, I’d like to say a big thank you to @untranquilpoet for sending me her beautiful collection of poems. The cover is stunning and the photography inside adds to the atmosphere. What a huge achievement to have written a poetry collection and self-published it at the age of 19!
There are a handful of poems in here that are truly affecting and remind me of how I felt when I was younger. I especially admired Dear Mr Anxiety — unfortunately anxiety is still in my life and I recognised a lot of emotions displayed. The rest of the poems show potential for an exciting new writer and I really can’t wait to see what she does next.
#poetry #poems #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #books #booklover #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer
First of all, I’d like to say a big thank you to @untranquilpoet for sending me her beautiful collection of poems. The cover is stunning and the photography inside adds to the atmosphere. What a huge achievement to have written a poetry collection and self-published it at the age of 19!
There are a handful of poems in here that are truly affecting and remind me of how I felt when I was younger. I especially admired Dear Mr Anxiety — unfortunately anxiety is still in my life and I recognised a lot of emotions displayed. The rest of the poems show potential for an exciting new writer and I really can’t wait to see what she does next.
#poetry #poems #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #books #booklover #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer