Happy Monday, bibliophiles! Wow, can’t believe we’re halfway through February already…
Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme created by Lauren’s Page Turners. All you have to do to participate is pick a book from your Goodreads TBR, and explain why you want to read it.
Continuing with novels by Black authors for Goodreads Monday this February, here’s one that’s been sitting on my TBR for *way* too long. I’m always up for novels with different formats, and this one, paired with a distinct-sounding writing style, sounds like such a good book!
Let’s begin, shall we?
GOODREADS MONDAY (2/15/21) – DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE by Maika & Maritza Moulite
When a school presentation goes very wrong, Alaine Beauparlant finds herself suspended, shipped off to Haiti and writing the report of a lifetime…
You might ask the obvious question: What do I, a seventeen-year-old Haitian American from Miami with way too little life experience, have to say about anything?
Actually, a lot.
Thanks to “the incident” (don’t ask), I’m spending the next two months doing what my school is calling a “spring volunteer immersion project.” It’s definitely no vacation. I’m toiling away under the ever-watchful eyes of Tati Estelle at her new nonprofit. And my lean-in queen of a mother is even here to make sure I do things right. Or she might just be lying low to dodge the media sharks after a much more public incident of her own…and to hide a rather devastating secret.
All things considered, there are some pretty nice perks…like flirting with Tati’s distractingly cute intern, getting actual face time with my mom and experiencing Haiti for the first time. I’m even exploring my family’s history—which happens to be loaded with betrayals, superstitions and possibly even a family curse.
You know, typical drama. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.
So why do I want to read this?
There aren’t enough books in the world that are bold enough to be told in an almost exclusively epistolary way; it’s hard, absolutely, but the payoff, if done well, is something that’s truly unique. (See:The Illuminae Files). Dear Haiti, Love Alaine seems to consist of articles, diary entries, emails, and letters, so I’m excited to see how that format weaves into the story! Judging from the description, it looks like a perfect fit.
Also judging from the description, the writing sounds wonderfully tongue-in-cheek, and I’m looking forward to some laughs and misadventures! Alaine sounds like a reasonably flawed protagonist, but just the kind of heroine you’d want to root for. Plus, THAT COVER…THE RED…
Today’s song:
That’s it for this week’s Goodreads Monday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles, and happy Valentine’s Day, if that’s your thing! I’m not *super* into it or anything (I guess it’s more worthwhile when you’re…y’know, actually dating somebody), but regardless, I’m down for any kind of holiday that celebrates love of all kinds, be it romantic, familial or platonic. So love each other today and every day of the year, okay?
This week’s been kind of hit or miss; there hasn’t been a whole lot of schoolwork, thankfully, but precalc just continues to make my mood go 📉 so…yep. Let’s hope that statistics next year will be more merciful…
I accidentally got a whole bunch of shorter books on my library haul last week, so I read a lot more than I expected! Again, hit or miss, but I did find a few great ones, for sure. And blogging-wise, I loved doing my review this week! Writing-wise, I’ve been steadily outlining, and I got around to organizing my favorite scene in my sci-fi WIP. 🥺 (Again, details are largely undisclosed, but I will say that there are quite a lot of tender feels and a certain Beatles song.)
Other than that, I’ve been drawing a bit, I finished rewatching season 1 of Fargo and started rewatching season 2, and I finally got around to watching The New Mutants, which I was so excited for, but…gah, if you looked up the entry for the word “disappointment” in the dictionary, the movie poster would be there. So much wasted potential…they did my poor X-Men so dirty…😔👊
Time for another Top 5 Saturday! This was originally started by Devouring Books, and it sounded like such a fun post to take part in. Today’s topic is books with one-word titles.
Share your top 5 books of the current topic– these can be books that you want to read, have read and loved, have read and hated, you can do it any way you want.
I read this one about a year and a half ago, and I don’t remember too much of it, but I must have enjoyed it, since I rated it four stars. The cover’s absolutely gorgeous.
I TAG ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE!
Today’s song:
It’s been a year since I went with my family to Canada; I listened to most of Crush Songs when I went, and now I always associate the album with that trip. 💗
That’s it for this week’s Top 5 Saturday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
I know I’m *primarily* a book blog, but most of what I post outside of bookish content is music related, as apart from being a bibliophile, I’m a major music nerd as well. I found this tag over at Margaret @ Weird Zeal , and the tag was created by Sophie @ Me & Ink.
Rules
Link back to original so she can see your answers and listen to the tunes
For every prompt you choose to do, name 1-5 songs (you can use my graphics)
Have fun and play your music LOUD
Let’s begin, shall we? (I skipped a prompt or two because I couldn’t find anything for some of them, but here we go…)
Ooh, lots to choose from…
“Beautiful Freak”–Eels: Aside from the Hellboy II nostalgia, I want this to play at my wedding. VERY badly.
“Kooks”–David Bowie:I think one of my first memories is of being in the car as a baby and hearing the tail end of this song play.
“Strange Love”–Karen O.:This was my favorite song for a while… 😭 It’s from one of my favorite childhood movies (Frankenweenie), and the lyric video TOOK ME BACK…
“Bad Believer”–St. Vincent:Unfortunately, I associate this song with middle school, but hey, it’s an awesome song.
“Declare Independence”–Björk:If I actually took the time to listen to music while I “worked out,” this would be the perfect song.
(Also, I saw a video of her playing this live and saying something along the lines of “here’s a quiet little song to help you go to sleep :)” and then they just started BLARING THIS)
“Sympathy for the Devil”–The Rolling Stones:On an unrelated note, my brother and I tried slowing this one down in iMovie as a joke, and Mick Jagger sounded ABSOLUTELY CURSED IN THE BEGINNING
IT WAS GREAT
Oh boy, I listen to a LOT of depressing music…I’ve been thinking about making a post about it, but we’ll see…
“No Conclusion”–of Montreal:PLEASE, I AM BEGGING YOU, ONLY LISTEN TO THIS ONE IF YOU’RE IN A GOOD MOOD. 10 SOLID MINUTES OF DEPRESSION.
“Lazarus”–David Bowie:The day that David Bowie died, I remember my dad driving my brother and I to school in silence as this song played.
“Day Go By”–Karen O.:I listened to this whole album while I was in Canada last year, and I remember listening to this one in a hotel in Drumheller.
“Exit Music (for a Film)”–Radiohead:I discovered OK Computer last year, and I remember being curled up at the entrance of the cafeteria, reading a collection of Tennyson’s poems while blasting this through my headphones. (Yes, I am That Kid™️)
“Hunky Dory”–David Bowie: My favorite album of all time, hands down. Perfection.
“Twin Fantasy”–Car Seat Headrest: WHAT AN ALBUM…OH MAN…
“OK Computer”–Radiohead: See above. Pure genius.
Hmm, let’s see…
“Once in a Lifetime”–Talking Heads: …just watch the video. You’ll see what I mean.
“Life on Mars?”–David Bowie: This was my halloween costume last year…
“It’s Oh So Quiet”–Björk: Sorry to repeat a song, but this video always cheers me up 🙂
I TAG ANY OF MY FELLOW MUSIC NERDS WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE!
Since this tag is all about music, consider this entire tag today’s song…
That’s it for this tag! Hope you enjoyed this dip into the weirdness that is my taste in music…
Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
Happy Thursday, bibliophiles! Hope that all is well in your world!
While looking for tags to do, I found this one at Not-so-modern girl. The tag was originally created by Tiana @ The Book Raven. I have a whole shelf on Goodreads dedicated to covers I love, so this one should be fun…
Rules:
1. Thank the lovely person who tagged you, spread the love!
“THE SIMPLE AESTHETIC”: A Book that Stuns with the Most Minimalistic of Designs
There’s several different editions of Stranger in a Strange Landout there, but this is the one that I borrowed at the library. The letters were shiny, too…isn’t it just so pretty?
“COVER ENVY”: A Book Cover that You Wish You Had on your Shelf, but Don’t
The Final Sixis one of those books that I deeply regret borrowing from the library…SO GOOD…I WANT TO OWN IT…
Also, on an unrelated note, I think this book might be what ultimately pushed me to listen to all of Radiohead’s OK Computer. There’s this really creepy scene where one of the characters quotes a line from “Paranoid Android” (“When I am king/You will be first against the wall…”), and though I’d heard Radiohead before, this was what ultimately convinced me.
“TRAVELLING ABROAD”: A Book Cover Featuring a Country Outside of Your Own
The cover doesn’t necessarily show it, but White Roseis set in World War II-era Germany.
“THE COLOR WHEEL”: A Book Cover that Showcases One of Your Favorite Colors
Teal and turquoise are my favorite colors, and the cover of Even the Darkest Starsis dominated by both, luckily for me!
“SWITCHING GEARS”: A Cover Change you Absolutely Adore
I think they switched the Carry Oncover for the paperback edition, and I am SO HERE FOR IT! I mean, what could go wrong with Kevin Wada’s gorgeous art?
“AND THE WINNER IS…”: Which Book Cover Mentioned Above is Your Favorite?
Happy Sunday, everyone! Hope you all had a great week 🙂
After last week’s lethargy, I’ve gotten back on track for my reading challenge of 250 books. (I’m at 18 so far) I crossed several books off of my TBR that’ve been there for a while, and plus, I won’t have to make any excuses for not yet reading Watchmen. (!!!) And speaking of which, I started watching the HBO adaptation of Watchmen, and I ADORE IT so far! I mean, I’m only 3 episodes, in, but…
The Bookish Mutant 