This week has been a rather quiet week on the books front. Rather it’s been a binge of House of Cards seasons. I don’t understand politics much, not Indian, not American but I’m watching in the hope that I’ll understand the US Presidential Elections this year, better, if I can glean something from House of Cards.
In between all that watching though, this week I did finally finish How to Get Your Heart Broken, caught-up with my podcasts and, cleaned-up and re-potted most of the garden.
The garden has been needing a lot of my time and attention, so for this season, I’ve toned it down and re-planned so I won’t have to spend lots of time in there and yet will be able to manage it. Got to focus on my running for the next few months, May isn’t to far and I want to do the TCS10K in under an hour.
I started listening to The Readers Podcast last week and have listened to only two episodes but I’m quite enjoying listening to Thomas and Simon. This week Simon did a special on the 'Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction' long-list. (It’s odd but not one book hit the spot for me, maybe their review after reading might help and something might get added to my #TBR.)
It was on their first podcast I ever heard, Ep. 148, that I first heard of the Bailey’s Prize, formerly known as the Orange Prize. It’s pretty cool that women are getting attention in various spheres, we need the push. Gender Equality is something close to my heart and it’s what I’m fighting for, it’s not about women being on top or being more powerful, it’s about men and women being equal.
And frankly we aren’t, we are still a long way to go to get there. That’s why the only piece of news that interested me this week was what Lionel Shriver had to say about the Bailey’s Prize. This bit of news I read in an article by Vanessa Willoughby and also heard on the BookRiot Podcast. Here’s what she said,
“This whole thing of treating women specially, as if they need special help and special rules, is problematic and obviously backfires.”
Lionel Shriver has a point, and I’d be inclined to agree with her but if she had maybe said this 20 years from now, or at least at a time when gender equality was actually real and true, or almost true. Not now, not at a time when we have just started out working towards equality!
#TBR Additions This Week
Moving on, here’s the list of books I added to the TBR this week. ;) I’ve been vacillating the last couple of weeks but I’ve finally taken the plunge. I’m taking up the BookRiot Read Harder Challenge for 2016. (More on it in the the coming weeks, click on the link to know more)
I am not much of a horror person, both in books and movies, too vivid an imagination I guess, I have weeks of nightmares but Amanda Nelson convinced me on the show to give it a try, when she talked about how she has similar fears and nightmares to mine and yet is also now a horror fan. So, here’s my two picks to try.
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
(Get Booked #19)
Considering my fear of horror, this one seems appropriate as it has no visual of the monster. It is just Something, something that if seen drives people to kill themselves. So people have to keep their eyes closed all the time.
In this craziness, Malorie must blindly navigate 20 miles downriver with her two children and she knows she’s being followed, but by what. Sounds scary and yet maybe, it’s my entry into horror.
Hexed by Michael Alan Nelson
(Get Booked #19)
A graphic novel might make it easier to deal with horror, since it would take my imagination on to the picture by providing visuals. It would also help me check-off my graphic novel to-do. :D
The Year of The Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota
It was the authors Indianish name that first got my attention, then the premise clinched the deal. This is supposed to be the story of three young Indian men living in Sheffield and trying to make a life in a new country. One of them even has a visa-wife. Add to this Sheffield, I’ve been there and reading a story about a place I’ve been to sounds exciting.
Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg
Now this one’s a book on productivity; not my usual fare but it got lots of praise in one of the podcasts (not sure which) and considering this year I want to do sooo much I thought it would help.
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
(Get Booked #19)
I missed adding this book in last week but the ladies reminded me again this week. The premise of the book is an interesting tangent to the usual Sherlock fare coming out these days. This story is about Sherlocks Grand-daughter and Watson’s grand-son, who land up in the same school and in the middle of a murder mystery.
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
(Get Booked #19)
And continuing with the Sherlock frenzy here’s another I liked. This one’s about a girl who stumbles (literally) into Holmes who is living a retired life in Sussex. Holmes takes her under his wing and starts training her. Sounds interesting right, what also caught my ear, was Amanda Nelson’s brief complaint about Watson not being portrayed well. Got to check it out.
So, what have you been unto this week? What are you reading? Got some new books?
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