Jane's Bookish Haven: January 2021

Sunday, January 31, 2021

Review: When Lightning Strikes

When Lightning Strikes by Jenny Carroll
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Review: Radioland

Radioland by M.E. Elzey
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

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Monday, January 25, 2021

Books if You Love Pets

Because of Winn Dixie (Dog)

A Mango-Shaped Space (Cat)

Strider (Dog)

It's Like This, Cat (Cat)

Wonder (Dog)

Treasures of the Snow (Cat)

Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Probably my pick for 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt: set in a place you want to visit in 2021 (Switzerland)
I'm looking for books set in Croatia, though..

"My Annette" was one of the animé series by World Masterpiece Theater, where Hayao Miyazaki used to work before Studio Ghibli..
I can still remember the first few parts of the story, and when I read this book I felt like crying. This is a story about anger management, revenge and forgiveness. It's suitable for Christian schools due to its religious theme at the last half of the book. The emotions of the main characters moved me to tears, just like how I remember while watching the animé adaptation.
Will definitely recommend to my teachers.

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Review: Elphie and Dad go on an Epic adventure

Elphie and Dad go on an Epic adventure by Hagit R. Oron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My first completed read via Kindle. It tells the story of father and child on an epic adventure. The illustration is okay and the plot is cute. Despite being playful, the dad is still protective of his child. I think the climax happened before this conversation:
"Was that our epic adventure?"
"No," dad said. "That was a heart attack."
If you're interested, I encourage you to read it.
It only takes less than 5 minutes.

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Review: A Very Large Expanse of Sea

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My entry for 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt: a book by a Muslim American author

More than five years ago, I did not finish Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me. It was too slow-paced for me, so I thought this book is the same thing. Woah! I am actually surprised by how good this book is.
This is probably my first book about Muslim immigrants in the USA (when 9/11 happened). It reminds me of the famous movie line "My Name is Khan and I'm not a terrorist" (love that movie, btw).
The main character is one of the most assertive people in literature that I know of. Actually, most characters here are tough (because they have to be), interesting and talented (I see you, Shirin's father).
I thought this is another romantic cliché I can live without. Well, they're adorable and wholesome and their chemistry is similar to Eleanor and Park. Will definitely read a sequel, if there's any.

content warning: profanity

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Fandom

Harry Potter

Leviathan

Twilight

Hunger Games

Divergent

Books About Art or Artist

The Secret Cove in Croatia

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

13 Little Blue Envelopes

A Picture of Dorian Gray

Never Let Me Go

Sunday, January 24, 2021

My Journey to Stardew Valley

Top 10 Favorite Books into Movies

Ready Player One

I, Robot

Hugo

Lovely Bones

It's Kind of a Funny Story

The Book Thief

Coraline

My Sister's Keeper

The Glass Castle

Unbroken

Home

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Review Policy

Review: A Very Large Expanse of Sea

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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Saturday, January 23, 2021

January 2021 Reads

title	author	date read
Xenocide (Ender's Saga, #3)	Card, Orson Scott	Jan 22, 2021 [edit]
Germs Up Close	Levine, Sara C. *	Jan 21, 2021 [edit]
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again	Tolkien, J.R.R.	Jan 21, 2021 [edit]
Sudden Widow, A True Story of Love, Grief, Recovery, and How Badly It CAN Suck!	Thompson, Bella Lynn *	Jan 20, 2021 [edit]
The Westing Game	Raskin, Ellen	Jan 19, 2021 [edit]
Matched (Matched, #1)	Condie, Ally *	Jan 17, 2021 [edit]
Diary of an Oxygen Thief	Anonymous	Jan 16, 2021 [edit]
The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)	Thomas, Angie *	Jan 16, 2021 [edit]
Jonathan Livingston Seagull	Bach, Richard *	Jan 15, 2021 [edit]
Adulthood Is a Myth (Sarah's Scribbles, #1)	Andersen, Sarah *	Jan 15, 2021 [edit]
The Color Purple	Walker, Alice	Jan 14, 2021 [edit]
Never Let Me Go	Ishiguro, Kazuo	Jan 13, 2021 [edit]
The Very Pulse of the Machine	Swanwick, Michael	Jan 12, 2021 [edit]
To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #1)	Han, Jenny *	Jan 12, 2021 [edit]
Sandry's Book (Circle of Magic, #1)	Pierce, Tamora *	Jan 11, 2021 [edit]
The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds	Gaiman, Neil *	Jan 10, 2021 [edit]
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe	Flagg, Fannie	Jan 09, 2021 [edit]
Scherzo with Tyrannosaur	Swanwick, Michael	Jan 09, 2021 [edit]
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)	Wells, Martha *	Jan 09, 2021 [edit]
13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope, #1)	Johnson, Maureen *	Jan 08, 2021 [edit]
A Ring of Endless Light (Austin Family Chronicles, #4)	L'Engle, Madeleine	Jan 07, 2021 [edit]
City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)	Clare, Cassandra *	Jan 07, 2021 [edit]
Gulliver's Travels	Swift, Jonathan	Jan 06, 2021 [edit]
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Sisterhood, #1)	Brashares, Ann	Jan 06, 2021 [edit]
The Trial	Kafka, Franz	Jan 05, 2021 [edit]
Her Favorite Color Was Yellow	Holmes, Edgar	Jan 05, 2021 [edit]
A Brief History of Time	Hawking, Stephen	Jan 05, 2021 [edit]
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)	Adams, Douglas	Jan 05, 2021 [edit]
Salt	Waheed, Nayyirah *	Jan 05, 2021 [edit]
The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, #1)	Scott, Michael *	Jan 04, 2021 [edit]
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker	Powell, Patricia Hruby *	Jan 04, 2021 [edit]
Diamonds From Ashes	Vaune, Alex	Jan 04, 2021 [edit]
Madame Bovary	Flaubert, Gustave	Jan 04, 2021 [edit]
Waiting for Godot	Beckett, Samuel	Jan 03, 2021 [edit]
A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, #1)	Bray, Libba *	Jan 03, 2021 [edit]
The Picture of Dorian Gray	Wilde, Oscar	Jan 02, 2021 [edit]
The Aesop for Children	Aesop	Jan 02, 2021 [edit]
The Communist Manifesto	Marx, Karl	Jan 2021 [edit]
The Giving Tree	Silverstein, Shel	Jan 2021 [edit]