My own Book Jar

This idea of making my own book jar came from these two booktubers (one, two). I picked 25 titles of books I want to read this year, and I put them in the jar! Every time I won't be able to decide what I want to read, I'll draw a title.

At first I wanted to make different jars for different genres, but then I might not be able to pick out a genre so one single jar it is!

Here the making of video of my jar! :)

Review | Empire State a Love Story (or not) by Jason Shiga

I must admit before I go on with this review that I only discovered graphic novels a little while ago, and thus my review can be totally off. I will be also using a lot of invented words, just because I can.

This book was suggested to me by one of my friends, when I asked for recommendations on my blog. She told me I couldn’t go wrong with this title, and boy was she right! I absolutely loved it!

Before I go into the plot, let me tell you that the book cover is absolutely beautiful. I want a copy just so I can look at it more often.

Empire State is the story of Jimmy, a total geek from Oklahoma who is totally oblivious to the excitement of living spontaneously. Overprotected by his mother (she still manages his finances!), he does not feel the need to get out of this comforting routine. That is, until the day when his best friend, the girl he loves (or not) moves to Brooklyn to work in a publishing company. After a while Jimmy, who at first couldn’t understand Sara’s desire to leave Oakland, decides to go on an adventure to New York City to visit her.

“Empire State tells a heartfelt story about love, jealousy, and desperation. It offers definite proof that math geniuses like author Jason Shiga actually have souls.”

-          Gene Luen Yang

In my newbie-ness, it took me a while to understand that when the drawings where in the shades of red it meant that it was in the past, like flashbacks, and that the blue was in the present. I was really confused at first, but once I figured it out, I was in love with the writing and drawing styles!

         

Even though the art is really simple, I thought it represented really well the geekiness of their world. The text/illustration ration was, in my opinion, really well balanced; it was definitely a great first graphic novel read!

I certainly recommend it to all the geeky graphic novel lovers and I can’t wait to get my hands on Meanwhile, Shiga’s first book.

Review | Swallow by Theanna Bischoff

I found this book sitting on the new arrival shelf at the National Library and Archives of Quebec on one gorgeous Sunday. I was taking my sister there; another one of my attempts to try and get her to like books… (Mission failed, but I won’t give up.) The beautiful cover caught my eye, and then the title, so simple, Swallow. 

I had never heard of the author, Theanna Bischoff, but when I saw she was a Canadian author, I couldn’t resist and check it out from the library, even though I have a mountain of books on my nightstand. It’s nice to read books about places you know.

Swallow is, as the cover mentions, “a touching and poignant tribute to sisterhood”. With an absent father and their mother constantly ill, sisters Darcy and Carly Nolan were forced to rely on each other growing up. While unpredictable Carly bounced around, her life's direction uncertain, Darcy fell in love, went to University, and moved to another province. When nineteen-year-old Carly unexpectedly kills herself, Darcy is left to carry the burden of their childhood memories forward alone. The pain of these memories overwhelms Darcy as she struggles to unravel her own feelings of guilt, and to make sense of her sister's death--as an act of destruction, of misery, but also of love.

The writing style was absolutely delightful. I had read a few YA novels before this one, and the elegance of the writing was welcome. The story is told in one of those sad and nostalgic tons, with a tinge of regret. Something I really enjoy. 

“If swallows mate for life, where was its partner? Would it mourn forever, like Papi? What happened when part of you was gone forever?”

Darcy goes back and forth into her memories, sometimes she’s in the present, sometimes in the past. The pace of the book isn’t slow, even though you could feel it is. It’s just laden with sadness (in a good way) and it flows really well. I can’t remember any long and unnecessary descriptions.

I could relate a lot to her life, and so this book brought back a lot of memories. It was definitely an emotional read and I enjoyed every pages of it. The length was also perfect. Not too heavy, not to short.

“Our childhood photo albums seemed to suggest, not necessarily inaccurately, that we’d raised ourselves.”

I highly recommend Swallow to anyone who likes to read a good book about dysfunctional families. This book is a testimony of pain and loss, but also of hope. And that’s really what life is all about.

I will definitely be reading Cleavage by the same author.