Review: We Should All Be Feminists

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thought that it was about time that I actually got around to reading this essay, which is basically a summary of Chimamanda's TED talk from back in 2012, especially as it has been all over the news recently after Sweden has decided to make it compulsory reading for all 16 year old students. It is a very brief insight into life in Africa and modern day attitudes towards women and the societal pressures placed on both males and females and how this needs to change. Insightful and humorous, it has also encouraged me to read more of the author's work as well as think about my own views on feminism and human rights.

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Review: Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery

Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun romp with a group kick-ass female adventurers who make up your traditional role-playing group consisting of a cleric (who in this case in atheist), dwarven tank (who shaves her beard), elven magician and halfling (smidgen) thief called Betty who was my personal favourite with her love of booze and candy. Throw in some fantastic warcrys ("Rat Queens! Put the sexy back in large wholesale slaughter!") and swearing ("fucktarts!") and this was a great way to spend an afternoon where my brain was mushy due to being in the throws of a nasty cold and lack of sleep. This volume collected the first 5 issues of Rat Queens, but I found that just as I was getting into the swing of the reading and involved with the stories, it ended all too quickly. I will definitely look into inventing in future issues.

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Read Harder Challenge 2016

And here we are with another year and another challenge list!  Courtesy of those kind people over at Book Riot here is a list of this year's very cunning Read Harder targets.  Lets see how we'll do this year!

1. Read a horror book 
2. Read a nonfiction book about science - Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated organ
3. Read a collection of essays 
4. Read a book out loud to someone else 
5. Read a middle grade novel 
6. Read a biography (not memoir or autobiography) 
7. Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel 
8. Read a book originally published in the decade you were born - Post Office by Charles Bukowski
9. Listen to an audiobook that has won an Audie Award 
10. Read a book over 500 pages long 
11. Read a book under 100 pages - A Case of Spirits by K J Charles
12. Read a book by or about a person that identifies as transgender - All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
13. Read a book that is set in the Middle East 
14. Read a book that is by an author from Southeast Asia 
15. Read a book of historical fiction set before 1900 - Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean
16. Read the first book in a series by a person of color 
17. Read a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years - Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe
18. Read a book that was adapted into a movie, then watch the movie - High Rise by J G Ballard
19. Read a nonfiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist themes - We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
20. Read a book about religion (fiction or nonfiction) 
21. Read a book about politics, in your country or another (fiction or nonfiction) 
22. Read a food memoir 
23. Read a play 
24. Read a book with a main character that has a mental illness - Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

Read Harder 2015 - Fail!

Well, I have updated my original post here to show what I did and didn't manage to do this year.  Whilst I didn't achieve everything I was aiming for, it certainly encouraged me to read outside of my comfort zone and read things that I wouldn't normally have picked up so I have to thank the challenge for that.

In fact, I will probably try this again next year as even though I didn't complete every single point it still made me more aware of what I was reading which can only be a good thing?!

Here's to plenty more reading in 2016!

Review: Lord of the Silver Bow

Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've had this sat on my kindle for quite some time, waiting for that perfect moment to be able to settle down and enjoy a good slice of ancient historical fiction and finally that perfect time came! But disappointingly the book didn't quite deliver. To me this was very much a book of two halves - the first half, whilst I appreciate was setting the story and introducing the characters, felt plodding and drawn out. However, the second half where we finally reach Troy seemed to pick up the pace and was a lot more enjoyable and I felt more on familiar ground with characters being introduced that I was already aware of from other stories of the Trojan Wars. Because of my love of ancient history, I will be continuing with this series as I have heard a lot of good things over the years about David Gemmell's writing and won't let this first foray put me off.

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My Xmas Pop! Collection

Rocket has Groot, Sally has her Jack, but poor Thor is all on his own...

Review: Holiday in Death

Holiday in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Got to this book in the series at the right time of year (purely by accident!) as this is set around the Christmas period with a serial killer that dresses up as Father Christmas. Alongside this we have Eve trying to figure out what to by those people who have become part of her life over the past year since marrying Roarke, and decide what exactly to get the man who has literally everything. This one has another great mystery story arc, with a pair of creepily close twins who run a dating agency together, but I did feel that the character of Eve had become a bit of a parody of itself with Eve's grumblings and tough attitude almost magnified to comic proportions. Still, there were some nice dynamics in her relationship with Roarke and it was good to see more character development of Peabody and some of the other supporting characters.

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