An interesting look inside the the life of the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia. The content was interesting, but the book itself seemed pretty average. It certainly did convey how completely useless Nicholas was. I listened to this one and it seems that no one cast could satisfactorily pull off a Russian accent. Interesting. (I will confess that I’ve started reading October by China Mieville and this book pales in comparison to Mieville’s masterful prose. *swoon*)
Jodi Taylor tore at my heart with this one. I’m a little sad to have reached the end of this series. I hope there is another in the works!
I’m probably the only person who picked up this book not knowing who Gabourey Sidibe is or having seen any of her work. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Sidibe is smart and hilarious, and articulately discusses being body shamed as a black woman, the issues of food addiction and dealing with depression. Read this!
I spotted this on my library’s overdrive page so snapped it up and inhaled it. As a Triple J listener for many years I’ve been aware of Marieke Hardy’s work as an adult. I hadn’t realised that she was Frank Hardy’s granddaughter (the shock!) Nor did I realise she had graced my TV screen years prior as part of the Henderson Kids cast (damn I loved that show when I was 13). It was very refreshing to read a woman writing about sex and alcohol with no fear of reprisal. I also enjoyed that she gave people she had written about a right of reply and included their emails at the end of their chapters.
Speaking of having your heart ripped out. Eliza Griswold has travelled to Afghanistan to find and translate the poetry of Afghan woman (Landays) into English. Landays are only short – two lines, with the first 9 syllables and the second 22. Griswold includes lots of (heartbreaking) explanatory prose. A lot of her research and meeting with the women had to happen in secret, as poetry is still seen as dishonourable in some areas (it was banned under the Taliban).
This book is short, and I desperately wanted more. But I did feel as though it had thrown me down a rabbit hole of wonders that I hadn’t previously reaslised existed. Read this beautiful book now!
How has your reading week been?
doddyaboutbooks 
An interesting selection this week. I too swoon over Mieville’s prose. I have some issues with marieke hardy but this makes me want to check her book out. I usually find her abrasive and juvenile but is that just because she breaks the feminine mould? Also, what’s overdrive?
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