in love with books

Today for the first time on my blog I'm reviewing two books in one post. The reason being that both are from the same author (Natalia Lialina) and designer/illustrator (Andrei Lialin). Moreover, both of these books are the work of The Chickenleg House creative group. If you want to know more about this children's book series, I recommend visiting Natalia Lialina's official site (here). 
Before I get into reviewing these two lovely books, I want to take a moment to stress the importance of reading to children. In this screen and technology dominated age, a nice book is every parent's best friend.  As a parent, family member, friend or educator, you'd want kids to rest their eyes from the screen as often as possible. If you want to improve your children's language skills, one of the best ways to do it is by reading to them. 
Reading to (and with) children will not only help them improve their vocabulary and literacy, but will also help to develop their imaginati…

The Crying of Lot 49 was such a fun read! Sign me in for more Thomas Pynchon, please. This was my first reading of one of Pynchon's works, and I was honestly blown away. How is it possible that I haven't read him sooner? Well, it's never too late to discover a good writer. I'm actually happy that I dived into this novel blissful unaware of anything regrading the author, the time period it was written in or the novel itself. That made the reading all the more fun. The Crying of Lot 49 has proved to be such an exquisite literary surprise! If this novel is anything to go by, Thomas Pynchon has a really peculiar writing style. The narrative in this novel often felt chaotic, but I absolutely enjoyed its potent mix of wild humour, entertaining characters, delicious sarcasm, social commenting and alternative history! I didn't find it hard to follow at all. Maybe it was because of my mood at the time, but I found myself immersed in the novel.




But first things first. I read …

My Universities is the third and the last part of Gorky's autobiographical trilogy. I was very much impressed with this book. Honestly, I can't recommend it enough. One thing is certain, Gorky is a fantastic thinker and writer. In fact, the more I read Gorky, the more I like him. My Universities was a chance read, I have to admit. I found a vintage copy at home (probably one of my husband's books) and I read it in one sitting. Had I planned my reading, I probably wouldn't start with the last of his autobiographical books. No regrets, though. My Universities is a very powerful piece of writing and I enjoyed reading it. This book provides a painful insight into Russian society of the time. Moreover, it allows the reader to observe Gorky's formative years, his personal evolution and the emergence of his personality. 

Chronologically, this book covers Gorky's teenage years. Encouraged by a kind but native Jewish friend, Gorky travels to his friend's home city in…

Pavilion of Women was my first book by Pearl S. Buck, but I have a feeling that it is not going to be my last. I must admit that I wasn't familiar with Pearl S. Buck. If this book is anything to judge by, I've been missing out. Having read this novel, I'm convinced that Pear S. Buck is an author that deserves more attention. Pavilion of Women was a joy to read! Perhaps it had something to do with timing,  but more than anything I feel like this is such a profound novel. Still, it amazed me how sometimes books do have such great timing. This was certainly the case with Pavilion of Women. This book has touched me so deeply, that I cannot help feeling a strike of destiny in the way it came into my hands. I started reading it, blissfully unaware of both the plot and what it might be like. Pavilion of Women has proven to be such a beautiful reading surprise. I must have read it in one breath, or at least, that is what reading it felt like. Once I started it, I just couldn'…

Today I'll be reviewing another book I have mixed feelings about. It is primarily the question of whether I'm reading too much into this book. Is it really a social satire or is it something I want it to be? Does it has a deeper message or am I reading too much into it? I just can't tell or sure. Perhaps I need to read more from this author to be able to tell. This was my first novel by Anders de la Motte. I bought the book in Croatian translation ages ago, but it took me this long to pick it up? Why? Because the writing didn't look exactly inviting. I'll explain what I mean in this review. 

When it comes to book as such, I have to say that I'm not that impressed.  In my introduction, I mentioned that I'm not sure whether this book really is social satire or not. I wanted it to be, because the subject of Buzz's social satire is quite important. Buzz is a novel that questions the  consequences of our 'digital lives'. As I explained, there is only…