Where Is Your Bookmark? (Reading Then & Now / Spine Poetry)

It has been a hectic past couple of weeks, and I have not been able to visit blogs or do much of my own blogging the past couple weeks as I would have liked. I have been reading though. Right now I am just over a third of the way through Black Water Sister by Zen Cho. 

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

 

The first thing the ghost said to Jess was: 

Does your mother know you're a pengkid?

The ghost said it to shock. Unfortunately it had failed to consider the possibility that Jess might not understand it. Jess understood most Hokkien spoken to her, but because it was only ever her parents doing the speaking, there were certain gaps in her vocabulary.  [opening of Black Water Sister]

My initial thoughts: I like the opening--the immediate introduction into the story of a ghost and a little bit about Jess, the protagonist. I was hooked. 

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

Had she really thought of confiding in Mom and Dad about what was going on? Jess wondered at her own forgetfulness. 

The past couple of years had stripped her of many illusions about her parents that none of them would have wished away. It made it all the more vital to preserve their illusions about her. [excerpt from 34% of Black Water Sister]

My initial thoughts: At this point, Jess is carrying a lot on her shoulders and wishes she could share what is going on with her with her parents. I love the second paragraph in this excerpt. It's clear she loves her parents, not wanting to add to their burdens. It may or may not be the best decision but I can appreciate where Jess is coming from.

A reluctant medium discovers the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power in this compelling Malaysian-set contemporary fantasy.

Jessamyn Teoh is closeted, broke and moving back to Malaysia, a country she left when she was a toddler. So when Jess starts hearing voices, she chalks it up to stress. But there's only one voice in her head, and it claims to be the ghost of her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma. In life Ah Ma was a spirit medium, the avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she's determined to settle a score against a gang boss who has offended the god--and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it.

Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she'll also need to regain control of her body and destiny. If she fails, the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good. [Goodreads Summary]

Does Black Water Sister sound like something you would enjoy reading? Have you read anything else by this author? What are you reading right now? 

Originally a feature called Last Year I Was Reading created by Maria from ReadingMaria. 

I liked it enough to continue on my own, but have tweaked it

 to feature Five Years Ago I Was Reading. 

(I would have gone back ten, but I read so little in 2011)

Last week I mentioned I was reading Seraphina by Rachel Hartman five years ago around this time, and it turns out I immediately jumped into the second book, Shadow Scale, which I finished five years ago this week. The peace between dragons and humans is in a very precarious position. Civil war between the the dragons threatens to boil over into the human lands. The humans are divided as well. Seraphina is a great character who has to overcome quite a few obstacles, as often heroines do in fantasy novels like this. I enjoyed Shadow Scale, although perhaps not as much as I did the first book in the duology, Seraphina. 

What were you reading five years ago this week? 

Connect Five Friday is a weekly meme where readers share a list of five books, 

read or unread, or bookish things, that share a common theme. 

Hosted by the  Kathryn of of Book Date.

In honor of the final day of National Poetry Month this year, I thought I would share a spine poem of books made from my personal shelves. Admittedly, I have only read the last two. The others are patiently waiting their turn to be read.

All He Ever Wanted (Anita Shreve)

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears (Dinaw Mengestu)

The Other Side of Midnight (Simone St. James)

In a Lonely Place (Dorothy B. Hughes)

She's Come Undone (Wally Lamb)

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

---

© 2021 Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.