YASSSSSSS another Akagami no Shirayukihime lover!!!! Such a good series ^_^

Hello, I'd like to join the club if it's okay. :)

 Soljiwan:

Hello, I'd like to join the club if it's okay. :)

Welcome to our Drama Book Family, dear friend!
There's nothing special you need to do, you just post anything about the books you've read, or ask/give any recommendations.
Looking forward to your input!

I forgot to post my February and March books!

February was In the Name of the Family by Sarah Dunant.

I've read three other books by the same author over the years (and mostly enjoyed them), but unfortunately, I think this was the weakest of the four.  That said, it was still an interesting read, since I knew little to nothing about the Borgia family.  I'd still recommend if you like historical fiction based on people who really existed and things that actually happened (though of course fictionalized to some extent).  Rating: 3/5

March was Just in Case by Meg Rosoff and The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty.

I was trying to remember if I had ever read anything other than short stories by Eudora Welty, so I picked up The Optimist's Daughter, more or less at random.  The main character kind of just fell flat for me, I guess, so I had trouble really feeling anything for it.  Probably didn't help that it's one of those books where most of the action is in the past, or in the main character's head.  Time to find a different Eudora Welty novel, haha.  Rating: 3/5

Just in Case was actually a really fun read!  It's told from the point of view of a anxious, depressed, but also pretty funny teenager.  Kind of gently philosophical, though also kind of just weird for the sake of weird at times.  Still, a quick and interesting read with a whole slew of memorable characters.  Rating: 3.5/5

I also forgot to do my march update. Read the graphic novel Watersnakes and also read Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quiñonez. The latter was a recommendation. It did make me gasp at one point but idk. Also been getting into manga again recently.

A friend gave me this book and I have just finished reading and am completely under shock of how prophetic this book was when it was first published in 1991. I am having trouble believing that someone was so lucid as to see where our society was heading. And this writer was and he did see. Oh so clearly! And we are, as a society, exactly where he thought we would be almost thirty years ago.

Philippe Muray, The Empire of Kindness - There is an urgent need to undermine it. (my translation of the title page: I could not find the book in english!)

APRIL Reads





Steampunk x buddy-cop duo? First book was introductory but as the series goes on, I'm sure this is just going to get more and more fun ^^

In the sales bin at my local bookshop, I found this very interesting book full of random fun facts about Thailand!A good book to gain some knowledge about Thai culture and customs...;-) It is 12 years old but some things need time to change so I think it is quite accurate.




BOOK FAVOURITES OVERVIEW
ㅤㅤGoing to post this here because there's little point in keeping it on global feeds.
ㅤㅤMostly to make for easy reference when someone asks for books that I love <3

Ultimate Favourite - Gentleman Bastards by Scott Lynch - The true #1 for nearly every category.
Writing Style - Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson - The POV breaks the 4th wall.
Setting - Medoran Chronicles by Lynette Noni - I want to attend Akarnae Academy!
Plot - Vicious by V. E Schwab - For me it's a standalone and  scratches my itch for modern crime.
Character - Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderon - Kaladin for his emotional arc over 4 books.
Couple - Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco- Ignoring book 3, couple had me in shipping mode.
Friendship - The Raven Cycle by Marie Stiefvator - Friendship is the main point of the series.
Comfort Read - Emily Wilde by Heather Fawcett - Gives off Howl's Moving Castle vibes.
Cover - Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson - For art inside Dragonsteel's edition.
Most Anticipated Sequel - The Strength of the Few by James Islington - First book left me reeling ;-;


I have just finished reading this book and it made me realize how lucky I am!

Written by a former police detective who is basing his novels on his own experience, this book felt like a punch in the gut. It tells the story about Paris difficult suburbs, where hope does not exist anymore and everyone just survives one day at a time, earning meagre living by drug trafficking. The politicians are using the inhabitants' misery for their own cynical career and the police do what they can, when they are allowed to do it. 

Even if only 10% of what Olivier Norek wrote is true, this world is seriously damaged and except for some brave cops, nobody seems to be interested in having anything change for the better. The writing is smooth, to the point, very lifelike. And the main characters are a bunch of highly intelligent idealists! We need so many more of them!



 FeiRen:
Writing Style - Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson - The POV breaks the 4th wall.

You seem to ba a Brandon Sanderson fan. Can you recommend a book by him please? I read the novels he wrote in order to complete The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and frankly I was not impressed by his writing.

But he seems to be highly regarded and TWOT was not his own original work so maybe his other books are better. Thanks!

 Selma:

You seem to ba a Brandon Sanderson fan. Can you recommend a book by him please? I read the novels he wrote in order to complete The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and frankly I was not impressed by his writing.

But he seems to be highly regarded and TWOT was not his own original work so maybe his other books are better. Thanks!


Sure ^^ To preface though, in case this is a really important aspect for you in books,  the widespread love for Sanderson has nothing to do with his prose. He never writes 'flowery' and is more intent on just being a "storyteller", getting the tale he wants to across in a professional but also accessible way.

Majority of his popular works are set in the 'cosmere', making them interconnected in the same universe. Aside from The Sunlit Man, so far he's written all of them so that you can start anywhere without context knowledge from previous books.

My personal recommendation is to start with Tress of the Emerald Sea

It's a fun start thanks to being a cozy standalone; Sanderson experimented with his writing here. Rather than being narrated by the protagonist, it is told from the POV of a storyteller character that appears in other cosmere books - Hoid. With Hoid speaking directly to readers, it feels a bit like a real person telling you a story by a bonfire.

 FeiRen:
My personal recommendation is to start with Tress of the Emerald Sea:

Thank you for the recommendation.

While waiting to find some time to go to the bookshop this weekend and needing a change of tone after the tough previous book, I decided to brush up on my classics! Always a favourite! I must have read it about 100times and believe it or not, I still find new and interesting details inside ...go figure!

 Selma:
While waiting to find some time to go to the bookshop this weekend and needing a change of tone after the tough previous book, I decided to brush up on my classics! Always a favourite! I must have read it about 100times and believe it or not, I still find new and interesting details inside ...go figure!

I've read it about 100 times too - and watched most of its versions, series or movies!

 penel:
I've read it about 100 times too - and watched most of its versions, series or movies!

I consider it THE original blueprint for EVERY enemies-to-lovers story written ever since this one was first published 200 years ago. Literally, a timeless classic! I read it or watch any of the versions, when I need some serious pick me up or when dramas/books are a disappointment! I know that this one will never let me down! I still have to find another story featuring the same trope that can be just as good (impossible to be better!)! Do you know of any?