Where Is Your Bookmark: Books with "Burning" in the Title

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.

"You smell like smoke," my mother said to me. [Opening of A Burning]

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.

For the rest of the day, we fall and die from knowing, but never being able to say, especially to our mothers, that the inside of the prison is an unreachable place. So what if there is a courtyard, and a garden, and a TV room? The guards tell us over and over that we live well, we live better than the trapped souls in the men's prison. Still we feel we are living at the bottom of the well. We are frogs. All we can bear to tell our mothers is "I am fine. I am fine." 

We tell them, "I walk in the garden."

"I watch TV."

"Don't worry about me. I am fine." [excerpt from pgs 56-57 of A Burning]

Here is a peek into one of my recent reads, A Burning by Megha Majumdar. The novel follows the thoughts of different characters, but both of these excerpts happen to fall under Jivan's section. I find the second excerpt especially compelling--and sad. 

For readers of Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Jhumpa Lahiri, an electrifying debut novel about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise—to the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies—and find their lives entangled in the wake of a catastrophe in contemporary India.

Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, determined to move up in life, who is accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is an opportunistic gym teacher who hitches his aspirations to a right-wing political party, and finds that his own ascent becomes linked to Jivan's fall. Lovely--an irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth and hope and humor--has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.

Taut, symphonic, propulsive, and riveting from its opening lines, A Burning has the force of an epic while being so masterfully compressed it can be read in a single sitting. Majumdar writes with dazzling assurance at a breakneck pace on complex themes that read here as the components of a thriller: class, fate, corruption, justice, and what it feels like to face profound obstacles and yet nurture big dreams in a country spinning toward extremism. An extraordinary debut.

Does this sound like something you would like to read? Have you read it? If so, what did you think?

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.

I have a handful of books that have been on my TBR shelf for awhile now with the word "burning" in the title. Lets take a look! 

The Burning by Jane Casey

Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black

The Burning Island by Hester Young

Burning for You by Michele Dunaway

The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? 

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

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© 2022 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.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Shoes On the Cover

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana at The Artsy Reader Girl.

I considered posting covers with flowers or rain showers on them, but that seems an obvious April theme. My daughter suggested I post covers featuring shoes. And so, here you go! My Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books with Shoes On the Cover. Some of these I have read and others I haven't. 

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (translated by Ina Rilke)

Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman

Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos

Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman

Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith

You Remind Me of Me by Dan Chaon

Dancing Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

The Surrogate by Louise Jensen

The Midnight Witch by Paula Brackston

The Sisters by Claire Douglas

Did you take part in this week's Top Ten Tuesday post? What theme did you come up with? Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think. 

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© 2022, 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.

Weekly Mews: April Heat, Comfort Reads & My April TBR Winner

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

Thank you for the kind words and condolences over the deaths of my grandmother and great-aunt. My aunt continues to heal after her recent illness, and my mom's surgery this past week went well. She is home recovering now.

Mouse auditioned for a part in an upcoming school musical and is pleased with the role she was chosen for. She will be playing Rachel Walker Revere, Paul Revere's wife. This weekend she, along with some of the other students from her dance studio, performed at a local Easter event. They had a lot of fun even in this heat we've been having--although it made for a long day having to return to the studio for classes and Mary Poppins and Cinderella rehearsals. 

Last Read

This past week, I read Four Aunties and a Wedding (Aunties #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto. It was full of laughs like the first book in the series.

Reading Now

I enjoyed the first book of the Evenfall Witches B&B by Auralee Wallace and eagerly dived into the second, When the Crow's Away, which I am reading now. 

Up Next

Thank you to everyone who voted in this month's TBR List poll. It was another close one with the top two books tied up for most of the week.  Anxious People by Fredrik Backman edged out a win with one vote over The Bromance Book  Club by Lyssa Kay Adams with 13 votes. The Final Girl Support Group came in third place with 9 votes. I do plan to read all three books at some point--but next up is Anxious People! 

Thank you for voting! What will you be reading next?

My TBR List is hosted by the awesome Michelle at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and let you vote for my next read during that month. My review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

I hope you have a great weekend and week! Happy reading!

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© 2022, 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..

Bookish Mewsings: The Maid by Nita Prose

I am well aware that my name is ridiculous. ~ Opening of The Maid 

The Maid by Nita Prose

Ballantine Books, 2022

Crime Fiction; 304 pgs

Source: NetGalley  

Molly Gray takes great pride in her job as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. Before her grandmother’s death, Molly relied heavily on her grandmother to help her understand the world around her. She has her memories and holds on tight to the lessons her grandmother taught her. Molly is neurodivergent and does not see the world the way most others do. She struggles with social skills and reading facial expressions. She likes routine and having rules to follow. Her life is disrupted in a big way, however, when she finds the body of Charles Black, a wealthy and influential businessman, in his hotel room, his young wife Giselle absent from the scene. A police investigation ensues and, much to Molly’s surprise and consternation, she finds herself at the top of the suspect list.

The novel is written from the perspective of Molly, and so the reader gets a firsthand glimpse into what she is feeling and thinking. I loved the references to the old Columbo television show, which I have fond memories of watching when I was a child. Molly is such a wonderful character and there is so much more to her than at first the reader may think. There were moments I wished I could wring the neck of some of the other characters who had taken advantage of Molly’s naivety. But I also think it was their assumptions about her that made them underestimate her. There were also the characters I was so glad Molly had in her life.

I thought the overall characterizations and story were multi-layered and well-developed. I had a hard time putting The Maid down once I started reading. I found it to be a witty, charming and heartfelt novel that I hated to see come to an end if only to spend more time with Molly.

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© 2022, 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.

Weekly Mews: Good Riddance to March and Tip Toeing into April . . . (Please Vote in my April TBR Poll!)

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

As part of my monthly wrap up, I am linking up to Nicole of Feed Your Addiction's Monthly Wrap-Up Post.

March was a punch in the gut. Or rather, a punch in the heart. My grandmother was put in hospice, tired and ready to rest after 104 and some months of life. She took her last breath on my daughter's birthday. My grandmother always had a ready smile, loved to dance and cook during her younger years, but most of all she loved her family. A week or so after, my great-aunt suffered a major stroke. She died at home, surrounded by family. I was always a little intimidated by her, I admit. She could be so stern and proper, but she was also very kind hearted. She took me to Mexico for the first time when I was a young adult and hosted my wedding shower at her house. Even though both of these women were older, their deaths cast a shadow over the month that still lingers--as grief has a way of doing. 

The month actually began though with my aunt (not to be confused with my great-aunt) in intensive care (ICU), the prognosis dire. An infection and sepsis on top of her existing health issues. She's survived being near death before and evidently her body was not ready to call it quits yet this time either.  Although she's not completely out of the woods health-wise, she is out of ICU and this past week was moved to a rehab facility. Some good news amongst the bad. But now she has COVID. Because March couldn't go without throwing that in too. She is hanging in there.

In other news: there was work, lots of work, the end of the Girl Scout Cookie season, dance and rehearsals, Mouse's school's open house, regular dental check-ups, spring break for my daughter, Mouse's birthday, and both my husband and I came down with colds. I accompanied my mom to a couple of doctor's visits in preparation for her upcoming surgery this coming week. She is starting to feel nervous, but we are optimistic things will go well. 

Even with everything going on this past month, I did what I could to make sure my daughter had a good birthday, spreading the celebration over several days. She received lots of books for her birthday. So many books! I would be a little jealous but I am sure she will let me borrow any I may want to read.

Although my husband and I had to work through Mouse's spring break, we did visit the Living Desert Zoo last weekend. It was our first visit there even though we've lived so close for the past 20+ years. 

All of that has kept me away from blogging. My head just has not been in it. Even my reading was slow going. I am not sure what April will hold but hopefully it will be a gentler month.

Last Read

March got away from me, and I never did get around to posting the results of March's TBR List Poll. Thank you to everyone who voted! It was a close race: Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse receiving 8 votes, Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara got 12, and Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo won with 13 votes. 

I can see why Last Night at the Telegraph Club received so much praise and have to add mine to it. I also recently read Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 5 by Kamome Shirahama, translated by Stephen Kohler, a manga series I continue to enjoy. I love the artwork! 

Reading Now

At the moment I am reading Four Aunties and a Wedding (Aunties #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto, which is just as funny as the first book in the series so far. I also have continued with my reading of The Count of Monte Cristo, which I am stretching out over the course of the year. I am right on schedule! 

Up Next

I could really use your help in choosing my next read. I am not sure what I am in the mood for. Something romantic and funny or perhaps heartwarming and touching? Or would something more intense and heart pounding be a better fit? Which of these three books do you think I should read next? 

The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams

The first rule of book club: You don't talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him.

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife. [Goodreads Summary]

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman 

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and “writer of astonishing depth” (The Washington Times) comes a poignant comedy about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined. Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.

First is Zara, a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else until tragedy changed her life. Now, she’s obsessed with visiting open houses to see how ordinary people live—and, perhaps, to set an old wrong to right. Then there’s Roger and Anna-Lena, an Ikea-addicted retired couple who are on a never-ending hunt for fixer-uppers to hide the fact that they don’t know how to fix their own failing marriage. Julia and Ro are a young lesbian couple and soon-to-be parents who are nervous about their chances for a successful life together since they can’t agree on anything. And there’s Estelle, an eighty-year-old woman who has lived long enough to be unimpressed by a masked bank robber waving a gun in her face. And despite the story she tells them all, Estelle hasn’t really come to the apartment to view it for her daughter, and her husband really isn’t outside parking the car.

As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.

Rich with Fredrik Backman’s “pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness), Anxious People’s whimsical plot serves up unforgettable insights into the human condition and a gentle reminder to be compassionate to all the anxious people we encounter every day. [Goodreads Summary]

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

A fast-paced, thrilling horror novel that follows a group of heroines to die for, from the brilliant New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.

In horror movies, the final girl is the one who's left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?

Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she's not alone. For more than a decade she's been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette's worst fears are realized--someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.

But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up. [Goodreads Summary]

Thank you for voting! What will you be reading next?

My TBR List is hosted by the awesome Michelle at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and let you vote for my next read during that month. My review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

March Monthly Wrap Up

Here is what I finished reading in March:

• Black Sanction Magic (The Hollows #8) by Kim Harrison
• Pale Demon (The Hollows #9) by Kim Harrison
• Fool Moon (Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher (re-read)
• Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
• Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 5 by Kamome Shirahama, translated by Stephen Kohler

I am really enjoying Kim Harrison's The Hollows series and am kicking myself for waiting so long to read it. I love the world building and Rachel Morgan has really grown over the course of the series.

It's been over two years since I last attempted an audio book but I needed something to keep me company on my recent solo walks and so listened to James Marsters narration of Fool Moon, the second in the Dresden Files series. I read the print version of the book years ago--it's a favorite series of mine. I recently watched a video on the internet of a 2020 NY Comic Con conversation between Marsters and Butcher as they talked about the Dresden Files, which has me excited about diving back into the series again. 

My daughter got me into the manga series, Witch Hat Atelier last year and I continue to enjoy it. The detailed artwork is amazing. It's a fun series, although I wish there were not such big cliff hangers at the end of each volume.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club was my favorite read of the month. It was a quieter novel than most of what I have been reading as of late, which took a moment to adjust to, but it is such a good book with characters that I came to really care for, especially Lily and Kath. 

My roses welcoming in spring

How did your March shape up? Do you have a favorite among the books you read?

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© 2022, 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..