1000 views + Books I bought in 2015

It's the end of the year, and my blog has just reached one thousand views. It doesn't sound like much, but for a blog that has only been open for a few months, and is run by someone who has virtually no experience in blogging, 1k views is a pretty big deal. It means that someone in this infinitely large Universe we call the Internet has found something in my blog they like, and that makes them want to come back for more. So, a big and loud thank you for all of you who keep on clicking on my links. You guys are the best.

Now to some more annual recaps and summaries. In my post, 2015 in Books and Movies I made a very short list of the best and worst books and movies I had the pleasure (or a misfortune) to discover. Today, I want to list the books that I bought in 2015. I usually don't buy a lot of books, since I can find most of what I want in the library. So when I go out and make a purchase, it has to be something special.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon

I've read this book, and will be happy to read it again. It's an excellent crime drama set in alternate reality, where European Jews found refuge in Alaska before WWII.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy of Four, by Douglas Adams

So far I've only read the first book, and I hope the sequels are just as funny.

Foundation and Earth, by Isaac Asimov

With this last book I have read the entire Foundation series, and I cannot wait to read all seven books again so I can review the crap out of them.

The Silent Steppe: Memoirs of a Kazakh Nomad Under Stalin, by Mukhamet Shayakhmetov

Not long after I featured this title in my Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year list, I ordered it online. It should be delivered right after New Year.

Finally, a really happy new year to you guys!

Comments

Summer Reading

Schoolz out for the summer! For the next two months, I won't have to learn anything new about odontology, medicine, or the physical properties of dental cements. Also, I can finally read for fun again . I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I have fallen out of love with reading, and at that time it really did feel that way. Now, I feel like I'm getting my bookworm mojo back, and I'm already working on my next book review. I have also assembled a short and preliminary list of books I want to read this summer. Some of them are new to me, but there are a few re-reads as well. I bought my copy of The House of Binding Thorns on a whim because I loved the cover. Also, I almost never read anything by French authors, and I'd like to change that. Endymion is, of course, the third book in the Hyperion Cantos series. The first two books completely blew me away. Honestly, not a day goes by that I don't think about those stories. The two re-r

Book Review: The Silent Steppe: The Memoir of a Kazakh Nomad Under Stalin

Title: The Silent Steppe: The Memoir of a Kazakh Nomad Under Stalin Author: Mukhamet Shayakhmetov Translated by: Jan Butler Year of publishing: 2007 Publisher: The Overlook Press Source: Purchased Genre: historical nonfiction This is a first-hand account of the genocide of the Kazakh nomads in the 1920s and 30s. Nominally Muslim, the Kazakhs and their culture owed as much to shamanism and paganism as they did to Islam. Their ancient traditions and economy depended on the breeding and herding of stock across the vast steppes of central Asia, and their independent, nomadic way of life was anathema to the Soviets. Seven-year-old Shayakhmetov and his mother and sisters were left to fend for themselves after his father was branded a "kulak" (well-off peasant and thus class enemy), stripped of his possessions, and sent to a prison camp where he died. In the following years the family travelled thousands of miles across Kazakhstan by foot, surviving on the charity of rel

Big Site News (I'm Moving!)

What's up guys! It's been over a week since I got back from Montreal and I can't believe it's all over now. But life goes on, and I sure have a lot of stuff to cross off my list before the end of summer. First, there's Campnanowrimo, which I do every July (and April). I took this opportunity to finish the first draft of my new novel. I'm also moving! No, I don't mean like to a new city (or Canada). I'm moving this blog to Wordpress. I've been wanting and planning to switch to Wordpress for a long time, and now finally seems like the right time. Nothing will change. I will be posting book reviews, discussions, and an occasional Top Ten- list. But I will be doing it on a platform that will allow me to be more creative, and to grow as a writer. I want this to eventually become an author website, with that author being... well, me. The official date for the move will be announced as soon as I'll finish building my Wordpress site and transport

Dinara Tengri

Search This Blog