Tahleen reviews audibook: "Career of Evil" by Robert Galbraith

Title: Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike #3)
Author: Robert Galbraith
Publisher: Hachette Audio, 2015
Narrator: Robert Glenister

Rating: 4.5 stars

This is the third book in Galbraith's (aka J.K. Rowling) Cormoran Strike series, and here, we have an extremely personal case for Strike and Robin.

The book starts off with the very disturbing delivery of a most unwanted package to Robin Ellacott, Strike's resourceful and determined secretary-turned-partner: the severed leg of a woman. What follows is a race against time to find this killer before he finds them, and Strike has not one, but three men in mind who have a grudge against him might have done this.

This book is just as complex and riveting as the first two in the series, but the notable thing about Career of Evil is how much more disturbing it is than the first two, which is saying something. Here, we are taken into the mind of a serial killer, and witness his sadistic and sociopathic need to kill and mutilate, all while Glenister dispassionately relates it all in his expert narration. Glenister is truly the perfect narrator; the amount of dialects and accents he uses in this book alone is worth listening to the whole thing, even if the book wasn't so darn good in the first place.

One other thing I loved about this book was how we learn more about Robin and her past. In addition, the relationship/friendship between Robin and Strike develops further, and I really enjoyed watching it progress.

I will warn you, this is not for the faint of heart; if you get squeamish easily you might want to skip this series. If not, you are definitely missing out on some top-notch mysteries and fabulous narration. If you're an audiobook listener, put these on your list.

Disclaimer: I got this audiobook from my local library, wahoo!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child WILL BE RELEASED AS A BOOK. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

As I'm sure you all have seen by now about the interwebs, the new play premiering this summer detailing Harry's life as a middle-aged dude is officially going to be released in book form on July 31 (the play premiers on July 30 at the West End's Palace Theater in London).

The goddess Rowling has smiled down upon us!

#currentmood

For those of you who have been living under a rock, here's the synopsis:

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. 

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

So, I honestly haven't been following this all that much because obviously I'm not going to go to London just to see this show, particularly because tickets will probably cost like a zillion dollars and also I hate crowds and I'm not a big fan of plays to be honest, so you can imagine how happy I am that I will actually be able to just read the book in my living room and NOT HAVE TO SEE IT ON STAGE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY. 

I do wish it was going to be in novel form, but I get that J. K. is super busy and like, doesn't exactly have the time to turn her book series-turned-play back into a novel just because I want her to. But, ya know. Dreams.

How PSYCHED are you for this??!?!?!? If you live in the UK, will you go see it on stage? How do you feel about reading the script versus reading it in novel form?? Let's discuss!!

P.S. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is available for preorder on Amazon!! I just ordered mine!!

Top Ten Tuesday - Valentine's Day Freebie

For future Top Ten Tuesday topics & info on how to participate, click here!

This weeks theme...

Valentine's Day is next week... so we're doing a Valentine's Day themed freebie! Top Ten Books That Would Make Great Valentine's Day Reads (or anti-Valentine's day reads), Top Ten OTPs, Top 10 fictional crushes, top ten great love declarations in fiction, swoony quotes from books, etc. Get creative!

And for our list...

Top Ten Swoony Quotes from Books

Daisy's Picks

"In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."  

- Mr Darcy. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

"I don't want those things from you. I love your faults and imperfections. Your kind heart. The scars that match mine, and the struggles to find ourselves. I want you humanness. Nothing else." 

- Morpheus. Ensnared by A.G. Howard

"I cannot make speeches, Emma. If I love you less, I might be able to talk about it more." 

- Mr. Knightley. Emma by Jane Austen

Julia's Picks

"I love you with everything I am, everything I've been, and everything I hope to be. I love you with my past, and I love you for my future. I love you for the children we'll have and for the years we'll have together. I love you for everyone of my smiles and even more, for every one of your smiles." 

- Colin Bridgerton. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

"Love, real love, the kind that you fall in, isn't like Corinthians. The "suffereth long" and "is king" nonsense. It's  like the Song of Solomon. It's jealousy and fire and floods. It's everything that consumes."

- A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long

"Love's about finding the one person who makes your heart complete. Who makes you a better person than you ever dreamed you could be. It's about looking in the eyes of your wife and knowing all the way to your bones that she's simply the best person you've ever known"

- The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

"I no longer believed in the idea of soul mates, or love at first sight. But I was beginning to believe that a very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. Not because he was perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate being to hinge together"

- Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas

Lauren's Picks

“Some people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them," I said. "Right, of course. But you keep the promise anyway. That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway.” 

- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

“The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: a boy that loves you.” 

- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

“So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.” 

- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

January Faves & February TBR List

January Faves

Jamie's Pick

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner -- I had a GREAT reading month so it was hard to only mention one of the great books I read, but this one was definitely my favorite! It's incredible. I can't even describe it. You can check out my attempt to here.

Lauren's Pick

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner -- I really enjoy the first book in this series and so I picked this one up to read. I only have one thing to say... this was the second book in a series, but it could also be read as a standalone novel. CAN I GET A HELL YEAH?!?!

Jana's Pick

Winter by Marissa Meyer -- What a wonderful ending to my favorite series! This book was everything I could have hoped for and more.

Tahleen's Pick

 Uprooted by Naomi Novik -- It has been a very, very long time since I've read a book that I feel excited to get back to, that I can't wait to pick back up, but that I never want to end. I loved everything about this book. It was surprising, and exciting, and romantic, and just wonderful. I actually want to buy this one and always have it on hand if I feel like rereading. I do not do this. So. This will be a go-to recommendation for me.


Julia's Pick

Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare -- Since Jana picked Winter (which I loved, too), I'll pick Romancing the Duke. I went on a cross country flight and read this in a day. It was sweet and unique and I fell in love with the leads.

Bridget's Pick

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey -- This is definitely not your average post-pandemic science fiction story. It will definitely tug at your heart, and it will also surprise you in a few different ways. It's hard to explain without giving things away, but rest assured that the ending will make you rethink everything you knew about post-apocalyptic scenarios.

February TBR

 Jamie's Pick

The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry -- I can't get enough of time travel lately and this one was pitched as The Time Traveler's Wife meets Friday Night Lights --- which are two of my all time fave things.

Lauren's Pick

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys -- Everyone pretty much knows of my affection for historical fiction, so this one doesn't really need an explanation. Except I did read the author's other novel, Between Shades of Gray, and it is now on my favorites list. 

Jana's Pick

The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson -- I'm so excited! I loved The Kiss of Deception, and can't wait to continue.

Julia's Pick

 Uprooted by Naomi Novik -- I am so excited to read this one, and seeing that Tahleen picked it as her best of for January makes me so excited!  I found it recently and checked it out as a book to read during my beach vacation next week. I am so excited to pick something up that is unique and different!

Bridget's Pick

Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pamela Smith Hill (Editor) -- I'm actually about halfway through this already and have been reading it on and off since before Christmas, but I want to get it done this month! It's very interesting, but it's also exhausting to flip back and forth between the footnotes and the story. For those who don't know, Pioneer Girl is what eventually became the seven Little House on the Prairie books, but it was originally written as an adult memoir, not as a children's series. It's been really fun to see where things were fictionalized or moved around to fit the narrative that Laura Ingalls Wilder wanted for her children's series!

A (Long Overdue) Cocktail & Conversation With TB&TB Crew

Every other Thursday here at the Broke & The Bookish is  A Cocktail Conversation time. One of the TB&TB members will pose a question to 2-3 of the other members of TB&TB crew about books, life, music, etc and then they'll answer and we can converse about it. So grab a cocktail & cozy up for some conversation. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, friends.

It's been a while since we've sat down for some cocktails and convo with y'all on a Thursday! Our apologies.

Here's this week's topic: 

 What is one book you recommend pretty much across the board -- regardless of genre or what the person normally reads?

 Julia Says...

One book that I usually recommend to people is The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It's a drama, I would say, but also includes hints of science fiction and romance. I adore this book and read it every few years. I'm actually do for a reread now. I love the questions that this book poses on the ramifications of time travel on not just the person time traveling but the people around them. The movie version of this was a disappointment, so if you didnt really like the movie, give this book a chance.

Tahleen Says... 

I recommend Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple to anyone at the library who is "looking for a good book" and gives me little to no extra information. It's funny, got a mystery, has broad appeal, plus it's written in emails and documents, as well as being narrated by Bernadette's 14-year-old daughter. Pretty much everyone who has read it that I've talked to has loved it. Bonus: If they liked Where'd You Go, Bernadette and are looking for something else to read, I'll recommend Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia — this one is also a quirky mystery, but set in an old hotel during a major snowstorm that traps the high school chorus and orchestra all-stars (and their teachers/chaperones) who are performing there that weekend.

 

Bridget Says...

There are a few books like this, but recently it's been Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You. I feel hypocritical because I always say "this book will make you ugly cry... in a GOOD way" but if someone told me that about a book I probably wouldn't read it, because I generally avoid books that make me cry. But this one was SO WORTH IT and you should read it.

Lauren Says...

I recommend Ready Player One by Ernest Cline for several reasons. It has that dystopian feel to it that most people are intrigued by these days, but it also tugs at those science fiction heart strings that you didn't even realize you had. The true front-runners of the science fiction genre have set the tone for our future. Just turn on the History Channel or TLC and you come across a documentary about today's society/culture and I can guarantee you someone at one time has written a science fiction novel about that very same topic. Take Arthur C. Clarke for example. He is best known for writing the screenplay for one of the most influential films of all time... 2001: A Space Odyssey. When Clarke was introduced to one of the first computers (which consisted of many gigantic electrical boxes that filled an entire room), Clarke legit predicts the internet and how one day everyone will own a computer that will be drastically smaller where they can look at their bank statements or work from home. SERIOUSLY? Yes, seriously. Look it up. Ernest Cline did not disappoint with this novel as he introduced a new possible future that truly meets the trends our society seems to be following. So just go pick it up. You won't be disappointed. 

Tell us, dear book pushers! Which books are ones that you will pretty much recommend universally?

Of Interest

Hey guys! Jamie here! Thought it would be fun to give you a quickie rundown of what's going on that may be of interest to you.

• Panels discusses how to read comics on a budget which is a topic I've been mulling over as I've just gotten into comics over the past couple months. For right now I'm just getting trades from the library but I know I'm going to want to purchase some single issues especially with some new comics I'm eye-ing up right now or ones I plan to catch up with.

• Amazon plans to open up brick and mortar shops. INNNNTERESTING. I mean, I shop all over the place -- indies, chains and online with Amazon -- but I just feel weird about this considering Amazon killed so many indies. How do youuuu feel about this

• 100 books to read before they are movies. Get crackin' on these!  

• I'm so impressed with this little girl and inspired by her honestly.  Love her #1000BlackGirlBooks project!!

• McDonalds is going to experiment with putting books as the happy meal prize? Not that my mom really took us there that much as kids but DAMN I would have loved this so much more than half the crap I got in Happy meals back in the 80's and early 90's. Not a big fast food fan but I'm interested to see how this will be received!

• There is a children's book about Donald Trump's hair. BAHAHAHAH. 

• Author Marissa Meyers (love her Lunar Chronicles series from the two books I've read thus far) is writing graphic novels set in the same world as The Lunar Chronicles!!! 

• Leonardo DiCaprio is set to produce an adaptation of a post-apocalyptic book I've never heard of....and that has zero info on Goodreads. Throw me a bone here.

• Interesting survey about publishing. And the results are in....publishing is very white. Surprising and shocking to probably not many people who are paying attention to the diversity in publishing convo happening online.

•  15 Life Lessons Anne of Green Gables Has Taught Us --- oh this list makes me want to revisit these books!!

• If the Hot Dudes Reading instagram makes you drool, prepare your fainting couch  because it's coming to you in coffee table book form. You think my husband would think it's weird if this ends up on our coffee table? Ehhh he probably wouldn't even notice it because he's numb to books laying around everywhere that he just ignores them.  

Let's discuss all the things. Also, am I missing anything of interest??

Top Ten Historical Settings We Love

For future Top Ten Tuesday topics & info on how to participate, click here!

This week's prompt: Top Ten Historical Settings You Love / Top Ten Historical Settings You'd Love To See or Top Ten Futuristic Books You Love/Ten Futuristic Societies I'd Love To Read in Books --- basically this week is all about the past or the future....spin it however you choose!

Jamie's Picks

1 -- Old West: I have memories of watching Westerns with my grandfather as well as with my "Uncle" Bobby (RIP -- this man was the husband of my old babysitter/family friend and we adored him).  Such good memories. But out of all the historical stuff I read, I never read stuff set during this time. I've been loving the Wild West/American Frontier settings as of lately! Just gimme the Oregon Trail and Gold Rush stuff!

2 -- WWII France, Germany and England: I can't help it. I will never tired of this setting. I just won't... ever. They are often hard to read, but I've read some of my favorite historical books ever in this setting. I've always loved history and my stepdad and I would often watch lots of WWII docs on the History Channel (when it was, like, still the History Channel full of history stuff).

3 -- Tudor England: I just... can't get enough. Honestly. Esp Henry VIII court.

4 -- Civil Rights Era in U.S.: I think this period interests me because it's still so present in our society today. It's not that far removed... our parents and grandparents saw it. There's still generations who lived through it in our society. We can see the effects today and are largely still working on racial issues in today's society so I've just always been interested in it and inspired by people who sacrificed so much for rights I've just been born with and never had to fight for. I remember learning about this time in school and thinking, "Man, I can't believe this stuff happened not that long ago. Weren't we more evolved as a people than to treat people like that?" And while progress has been made because of this era, it's more evident than ever that this is still a dire issue in our country.

Lauren's Picks

5 -- When Egypt Ruled The World: I can't stop reading every single historical fiction book set during... well, any time in Egypt. Every single ruler or person of note has a rich background full of Egyptian culture that seizes my soul. Must Reads: Cleopatra's Daughter, The Heretic Queen, Nefertiti, Lily of the Nile, Cleopatra: A Life

6 -- India: This country's culture and society is so full of color and AMAZINGNESS that I am in awe every time I finish a book set in India. You will be too. Must Read: Rebel Queen, The God of Small Things, A Fine Balance, The White Tiger

7 -- Hawaii: This state has seen it's fair share of tragedy and loss, and sadly... many people don't realize it. When someone says, "Hawaii," people automatically think... vacation! I think of the suffering and obstacles so many had to overcome there in the past. It is truly an amazing and determined state that has now become one of the best places to vacation. Must Read: Moloka'i, Honolulu

8 -- Ancient Greece: Besides the obvious... GREEK MYTHOLOGY IS LIFE... other cultural aspects of this time period spark my imagination and I tend to pick up any book set in ancient Greece. Must Read: Sirena, The Iliad, Last of the Amazons, Gates of Fire, Helen of Sparta, Flow Down Like Silver

9 -- Medieval: Who doesn't want to know about those crazy ass torture devices and what was knocking around in these peoples' minds regarding well... just staying alive? Must Read: Pope Joan, The Midwife's Apprentice, Incarceren, A Game of Thrones

10 -- Italy/Renaissance: So much happened. So many beautiful things were created. How can you not want to know more? Must Read: The Birth of Venus, In the Company of the Courtesan, The City of Falling Angels, Juliet, The Monster of Florence