Dinara Tengri

It's the last day of 2017 and I thought I'd do a little summary of my reading year, and share with you some of my goals and dreams for the next year. But first, I want to give shoutout to author Robert Eggleton, and his book, Rarity from the Hollow . It's a science fiction story about a girl who lives in an abusive home, and who has to save the Universe from an economic crisis. It's one of the strangest books I have read, and it deals with really heavy issues like child abuse, depression, and alcoholism. The author is a former  mental health psychotherapist, who worked with victims of child abuse, and this book cuts deep into that subject matter. Moreover, the author proceeds from the book go to   Chrildren's Home Society of West Virginia  which is a nonprofit organisation.  Now, I haven't read as many books as I wanted this year but I did meet my goal of thirty one books. I have tried to keep my goals simple and realistic, by only reading one book at

I haven't done a book haul in a while, so how about an end of the year haul?  The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams - this is the sequel to the surreal mystery Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency . I loved it, and it was only a matter of time before I got the sequel. Caraval by Stephanie Garber - I don't read a lot of YA fantasy but this book got a lot of positive buzz on Booktube, which made me quite curious. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë - love, love, love Jane Eyre! I read the library copy years ago, and it was about time to get my own. Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection by Isaac Asimov - got this as a present for my brother the last time I was in Stockholm. We both love Asimov so it seemed like the perfect choice. Alright, that was my last book haul of 2017. As you can see I didn't get a lot of books this semester, but I put a lot of thought behind every purchase.  Merry Christmas!

Hello everybody!  Today was the last day of school (phew!). I prepped my last plastic tooth, and I returned all the instruments I've been working with this past semester. I've gotten quite acquainted with such lovely tools as the excavator, the bur, and the periodontal probe (they're not as scary as they sound). And now I rest... For like two days, because then I have to start studying for the finals that are in three weeks.  Before I go back to the school library, and hit those textbooks hard, I want to share some news and updates . This blog has been in this weird half-life for months now, partially due to the increasingly demanding schedule, but mostly due to my extra-curricular commitments. For the past year, I have been the chairman (woman? person?) of our faculty's cultural committee and, though a lot of fun, this job has been taking a large chunk of my personal time.  I decided not to run for a second term (I sound like a damn politician), so t

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, an original feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish . This week's topic is ten best books we have read in 2017.  But first, I have something to ask you. A few months ago, I started a new series, called Before They Were Blockbusters , where I review books that became the basis for popular movies. The first book in this series was The Prestige , by Christopher Priest. For my next episode, I've narrowed down the list to two books:  Who Goes There?  by John W. Campbell which was the basis for John Carpenter's The Thing , and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick which was the basis for the movie Blade Runner.   So, go to my Facebook page by clicking on  this link  and vote for the book you want me to review next. The poll will open for six more days.  Now that we have that out of the way, here are the ten best books I have read in 2017 (with links to reviews). 1. Hyperion    by Dan Simmons 2. The Fall

Back in October, I ran a Halloween giveaway of Silent Fear , the latest novel by authors Lance and James Morcan. Now, I'm happy to announce that the father and son team behind this suspense novel is giving away one Kinlde Copy of Silent Fear for a very special holiday giveaway . So, fill out this form for a chance to get a copy of Silent Fear as a Kindle Gift! Loading... "When you can't hear... death comes suddenly." So goes the tagline for the new suspense novel,  Silent Fear  by Lance Morcan and James Morcan - a father and son author team from New Zealand. Now all my awesome readers have a chance to get a  free advanced readers copy  of  Silent Fear , and an  opportunity to win a physical copy!   Silent Fear   is dedicated to the many millions of deaf people around the world. This novel was inspired by the murders of deaf students at Gallaudet University, one of the world’s most prestigious learning institutions for the deaf, between 1980 and th