Shout

March 27, 2019March 27, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

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Title: Shout

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Page Count: 304

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 12, 2019 by Penguin Young Readers Group

Format: Hardcover

Review: Laurie Halse Anderson has been a powerhouse in the realm of Young Adult Fiction, so it was interesting to learn a little bit more about her through this poetry memoir. I like the format in verse because I think it will make the book seem less daunting to reluctant readers. I was able to breeze through it in a couple hours, and despite it’s brevity, there is still a lot to unpack.

I think this is an important book because it reveals the gap in education regarding consent, and really just sex in general. Because sex is still such a taboo topic, society is failing to educate youth about their own bodies and the importance of respecting others.

One of the most tragic aspects of sexual abuse/assault is that the victims often do not fully understand what has happened/is happening to them. They push down their shame and internalize their trauma, which often manifests itself in destructive ways. Because of this, it is so important that we talk through these issues with our youth, and let them know that it is ok to speak out if someone is doing something that doesn’t feel right.

I personally think this should be required reading in middle schools, because it is important to start this conversation early. It is not graphic, but it absolutely gets it’s point across, which I think makes it appropriate for both middle school and high school students.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Non-fiction

Master Recipes from the Herbal Apothecary

March 20, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

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Title: Master Recipes from the Herbal Apothecary: 375 Tinctures, Salves, Teas, Capsules, Oils, and Washes for Whole-Body Health and Wellness

Author: JJ Pursell

Page Count: 288

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 5, 2019 by TimberPress

Format: eBook

Review: I was so impressed with the way this book was laid out. It satisfies my craving for order (LOVE that the recipes are alphabetical), and it is so aesthetically pleasing. I can’t speak to how well the remedies actually work, but I feel confident that I could make any of them if I tried. This is a great reference book for both beginners and people with more expertise on the subject.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Historical · Non-fiction

DOUBLE REVIEW: The Tattooist of Auschwitz

February 26, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustme1 Comment

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Title: The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Author: Heather Morris

Page Count: 262

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: September 4th 2018 by Harper (first published January 27th 2018)

Format: Paperback

Review: I loved this book. It’s heartbreaking and awe-inspiring and wonderfully written. It’s a quick read, which is good because you don’t want to get stuck in that mindset for too long, since it’s about Auschwitz.

Lale’s story is one of immense hardship and Heather Morris tells it very well. It also makes you wonder what you would do if put in his position. He was a remarkable man, and I really enjoyed reading about him.

Lale, as the title suggests, was a tattooist at the concentration camp. His job was to etch numbers on the arms of the new prisoners, and what first grabbed me about him was how he tried to be gentle with Gita’s when she came into his line. He did not know her but he felt the need to make this process as easy as possible, to the point where he almost got in serious trouble for going so slowly. Sometimes it’s the small things that endear someone to you so much.

Reader: Kymberly

Rating:

Review: This is an incredibly moving book, and it is no wonder that it is a best seller (it had over 80 holds in my library system at one point!). This book is a very quick read, so I recommend reading it in one sitting if you can.

As you can imagine, the content of this book is incredibly sad. My stomach was churning literally the whole time I was reading it. It is through a series of miracles, both large and small, that the main characters, Lale and Gita, survive. Honestly I don’t know if I could have made it through the book without knowing that in advance.

This is one of the rare cases that instant love between two people in a story does not make me roll my eyes. It is literally love at first sight for these two, and though they know very little about each other, it is a love so pure it makes your heart ache.

There is one particular scene in this book that stands out to me and I think it really encapsulates the heart of this story. Lale comes across a single flower while walking to his barracks one day, and the mere sight of it gives him pause. It is such a rare sight to see something so delicate and beautiful that he can’t help but stop and marvel at it. In my mind, this flower is symbolic of the love between Lale and Gita. It is the one beautiful thing blossoming in a landscape of unimaginable horrors.

After reading this book it is hard not to believe in the concept of soul mates. It is unlikely that these two would have met under any other circumstances, and it is even more unlikely that they would have both been able to survive the atrocities committed against them. Yet they did meet, they did fall in love, and they did survive. This was a story that needed to be told, and I am so glad it has reached such a wide audience.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Historical · Non-fiction

How to Remove a Brain

January 31, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: How to Remove a Brain

Author: David Haviland

Page Count: N/A

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: July 2017/ Thistle Publishing

Format: eBook

Review: This was a fun, quirky read. It’s full of interesting stories and tidbits about medical history, including, of course, how to go about removing a brain. Each chapter is broken down into multiple stories relating to one overall theme, meaning it can be read quickly, which is always nice.

David Haviland managed to write the exact amount needed for each topic, never going too far or coming up short. The reader is given the relevant information and can go on to read more on their own time if they want, which means the book isn’t bogged down with too much needless information.

Haviland debunks popular medical myths and discusses how they most likely started. He also finds the obscure fact in order to keep you on your toes.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes medical facts, history, and stories and wants a quick, fun read.

Reader: Kymberly

Rating:

Historical · Non-fiction

The White Headhunter

January 17, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: The White Headhunter

Author: Nigel Randell

Page Count: N/A

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: 24 January 2019/Thistle Publishing

Format: eBook

Review: I found this book incredibly engaging and could not put it down. It’s well written and well researched and just a genuine pleasure to read. While I liked the whole book, there is one part that stood out the most:

‘Village history does not reside in the public domain but is owned by various individuals and families- a copyright legitimised by an ancestral connection to a major participant in the narrative.’ This is the line that fully gripped me and made me realise how much I was going to enjoy reading the book. It shows how much research went into writing it, since this is not something that could be easily understood. Randell clearly went to extraordinary lengths to write this book, and it shows. I loved his dedication to making sure the reader understands the culture of the island, and I think that’s what makes the book such a good read.

It appealed to my love of both history and anthropology and I recommend the book to anyone who likes either.

Reader: Kymberly

Rating:

Historical · Non-fiction · True Crime

Famous Assassinations

December 30, 2018December 30, 2018 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: Famous Assassinations

Author: Sarah Herman

Page Count: N/A

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: Nov. 9th, 2018

Format: eReader

Review: There have been a great number of assassinations in human history, and Sarah Herman describes a good deal of them. She separated them by time period and job type (royalty, president, dictator, etc.), taking us from the Roman Empire to Bin Laden.

Each main assassination is broken down into victim, assassination, assassin, and aftermath (or some amalgamation of the sort), making it a relatively quick read, as well as being very organised.

Herman writes very academically, while still being easily read by the public, which is a rare skill. I highly recommend this to anyone at all curious about the history of assassinations.

Reader: Kymberly

Rating:

Memoir · Non-fiction

Educated

December 19, 2018 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

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Title: Educated

Author: Tara Westover

Performer: Julia Whelan

Length: 12 hrs, 15 min, 32 sec

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2018 by Random House Audio

Format: eAudiobook

Review: This memoir was truly fascinating. I thought the audiobook version was incredible. I have greatly enjoyed this performer for other books, and she really does a fantastic job with this one.

It is hard to believe this is a true story. The fact that someone can go to college and excel without a formal education is a concept I had never considered. As a librarian, I am a huge proponent of books, but this story really puts into perspective how powerful literacy, books, and internet access can be.

The physical, emotional, and psychological abuse in this book is difficult to stomach, so this is a serious trigger warning. It is incredibly frustrating to see the cycle of abuse perpetuated on so many different levels, and it demonstrates how difficult it is to truly cut ties with an abuser, especially one that you love. This story is a powerful example of how one can break the cycle and move forward in life. My heart broke for Tara on so many occasions, and some of the choices she had to make for her own mental health and wellbeing brought tears to my eyes. She is an incredibly resilient human being and I have great admiration for all she has accomplished.

I highly recommend this memoir. I think it provides important insights into a world that few know about, and it tackles issues, such as mental illness, that have a lasting impact on more people than we realize.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Historical · Non-fiction

End of Days

November 15, 2018 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: End of Days, the Assassination of John F. Kennedy

Author: James Swanson

Page Count: 398

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2013, William Morrow

Format: Printed, paperback

Review: ‘Does this guy only write about assassinations?’ my coworker asked when I told him about James L. Swanson’s books. And yes, yes he does. And he does it well. End of Days is a compelling read and had me on the edge of my seat despite knowing what happened. I grew up hearing about JFK’s assassination from my parents and later in documentaries but this is the first book I sought out to explain it. That’s probably because I loved Swanson’s book on Lincoln’s assassination (review for Manhunt), so I already knew his writing style and the level of research he puts into his work (which is a lot, by the way).

Much like his book on Lincoln, he wrote this full of historical facts but made it so it read like a novel. You don’t find yourself inundated with a bunch of dates and names; instead, he integrates it all into the narrative so smoothly.

I highly recommend this book, and one of the biggest pluses for me is that it doesn’t go into any of the conspiracy theories. He mentions some of them at the end, but only to acknowledge that they exist. I thought that was a good call on his part.

Reader: Kymberly

Rating:

Non-fiction

HausMagick: Transform Your Home with Witchcraft

November 10, 2018 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

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Title: HausMagick: Transform Your Home with Witchcraft

Author: Erica Feldmann

Page Count: 256

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 12, 2019 by HarperOne

Format: Paperback

Review: I happened upon this book by pure chance, or by destiny (however you want to look at it). I came into work, and there it was — sitting on my desk in a manila envelope. It was sent to me by a friend who works at our main library, and I guess as he was sorting through ARCs sent to us by various publishers, he thought it might be of interest to me.

Witchcraft isn’t my thing, but I decided to give the book a chance. Although I cannot really buy into the “magical” aspect of the rituals described in this book, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could really get behind a lot of the ideas. At the core of this book are themes like mindfulness and setting positive intentions, and these principles really resonate with me. I do believe that people can set the tone or vibe for themselves and others around them, and this book has a strong focus on creating an environment that centers us and gives us peace.

This book covers a lot of different topics including astrology, crystals, and herbs. I enjoyed learning more about these various topics and I could appreciate the aesthetics of the photographs sprinkled throughout the book.

All in all, I am glad that this book happened upon my desk, and I even already have someone in mind who I will be recommending it to!

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Non-fiction · True Crime

Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy

October 24, 2018 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy

Author: Eamon Javers

Page Count: Unavailable

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: February 2010, Harper Business

Format: eReader

Review: Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did since I don’t have much interest in economics or business practices, but I really loved reading it. Javers discusses the game of corporate spies by giving case studies and tells them like stories, which makes them very easy to read.

He also conducted many interviews with both active and no-longer active spies, which really helps add to his book. It adds a level of credibility. I also liked that he detailed the ways spies both follow people and how people can tell if they are the ones being followed.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it, even if you aren’t into economics or business (both things honestly go over my head and I was still able to understand what he was talking about).

Reader: Kymberly

Rating: