Dinara Tengri

January is (finally) over, so how about a quick recap of all the bookish stuff I've done this past month?  Just a couple of days ago I had the pleasure of attending a book release party at the Science Fiction Bookhandeln in Malmö. Novellix is a Swedish publishing house that specializes on publishing short stories. This is their first venture into science fiction, with four of the biggest names in the genre. A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury The New Atlantis by Ursula Le Guin The Defenders by Philip K. Dick The Country of the Blind by H.G. Wells I'm always happy to see science fiction get the love it deserves, and I really dig the choices Novellix made. Coincidentally, A Sound of Thunder is one of my favourite short stories. You can either buy individual stories, or a whole box set. I bought the box set (of course).  The book store also had a quiz about all these authors, and I came in third! Now I need to go back there and collect my prize. Speaking...

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!

Who else is going back to school next week? Yep, the summer is almost over, and I can barely recall what I have been doing these past three months. I've been studying, and listening to Stephen King's It . I've been going to the gym... oh, and I binge-watched Marvel's The Defenders. That's quite an accomplishment, wouldn't you say? Most importantly, I've been reading a lot. I read a total of eleven books. I wrote six book reviews, and one movie review. I'll get to the list very soon, but first, an announcement. I officially have a Bookstagram account now! It's called Books on Fire , and it's basically my personal Instagram account that I made public. I also deleted all the selfies, and other private stuff. I'm posting almost every day. Book hauls, pretty pictures of books and Star Wars coffee mugs, it's all there. You can follow me there on @dinaratengri . And now to the wrap-up! Book summer 2017 The Fall of Hyperion   by Dan...

Welcome to Weekly Small Talk, an original feature where I talk about anything that's even remotely related to books and popular culture. Ever since my Bokrean book haul , I didn't buy that many books, but enough to write a whole post about it. A book haul wouldn't be a book haul without at least one book by Ray Bradbury. This time, I have three. Dandelion Wine is his a highly acclaimed collection of short stories set in Bradbury's fictionalised hometown, Green Town. Farewell Summer is the sequel. The third book was a present from my brother. Zen in the Art of Writing is a collection of essays that is not exactly a manual to aspiring writers, but it's supposed to be filled with helpful and inspirational tips by the Grandmaster of fantasy himself. 2061: Odyssey Three is the third book in the Space Odyssey series by Arthur C Clarke. I only read the first two books and so far I'm okay with them, so I'm hoping that the third book will be better. Levi...

Welcome to Weekly Small Talk , an original feature where I talk about anything related to books or popular culture. This week it's time for another book haul. But not just any book haul. My school library is having a major book purge, getting rid of the so called "expired" books, and as soon as I saw this abomination take place, I could not just walk by. I mean, what kind of a person would I be if I let a perfectly good copy of Fahrenheit 451 be thrown out and recycled into wrapping paper, just because nobody wants to loan it?                                          Never in my life have I brought home this many used books. Ten books, to be specific. I also took an old biochemistry text book, but I'm stashing it in my locker (it's very heavy). So, without further ado, here are the books that I have "rescued" from the great purge:  Tusen och en Natt (Arabian Nights) ...

In the big exam/Christmas/back-to-school frenzy I completely forgot to do my obligatory book haul. Well, better late than never. The list is pretty long, but four of these books I bought at a sale as well as the two DVD's. And there's also that one book that I got for free. All in all, it was quite a bargain. Starting off at number one is the freebie, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  by Rebecca Skloot. I had to read this book in school, and I loved it. You can read my full review of it right here. Next we have Stephen King's memoir/writing advice book, On Writing. I actually read it a couple of years ago, and I'm looking forward to re-reading it someday. Then we have a classic, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , by Robert Louis Stevenson, that I bought for my brother. I read it once before, but it was such a long time ago, so I'm looking forward to that re-read as well. The are three books that I got at an outlet for only one hundred kronor. These are St...

This post doesn't really need an introduction. It's a list of all the books that my brother and I bought between October and November 2016. Isaac Asimov  1. Magic: The Final Fantasy Collection  2. The Complete Robot: The Definitive Collection of Robot Stories 3. Robots and Empire (Robot series #4)  Ray Bradbury  4. A Medicine for Melancholy  5. The Golden Apples of the Sun Philip K. Dick  6. Ubik   7. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Harry Martinson 8. Aniara: En Revy om Människan i Tid och Rum (Aniara: An Epic Science Fiction Poem) Pierce Morgan 9. Red Rising (Red Rising #1)  Robert Louis Stevenson  10. Treasure Island H.G. Wells  11. The Island of Doctor Moreau

Just because my reviewing career is on hiatus, doesn't mean I can't still buy books, right? Last week I had some free time after lunch and I went to the local book store. And I got this: Intercept: The Secret History of Computer s and Spies, by Gordon Corera I'm promised a behind-the-scenes look into the real world of surveillance and espionage. Very excited to dive into this book. I also celebrated my going back to school by getting the X-files Season 10 Comics, Volume 1.   Finally, this last goodie was baught by my Mom, who went out and got me a special edition of Classic Pop Magazine. It's Michael Jackson! Thanks, Mom, you know me.    

Say goodbye to summer! No love lost there.  I honestly don't find anything to love about summer. This season, especially, has been a little slow in regards to being active and doing stuff. Mostly, I found myself binging old shows on Netflix and reading some. It's been hot. Very, very hot. And when the temperature reaches a certain degree, I turn into one of those boa constrictors that just lie motionless for days on end. Didn't do much blogging either. What I did do this summer was buy a whole lot of books.   But first, let's take a look at the August reviews: A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick The Last Question , by Isaac Asimov (audiobook) Suicide Squad (Movie review) Stranger Things: Season 1 (Netflix review) ... And now to the July-August Bookhaul. I bought a total of ten books, three of them are in Swedish, the rest in English. A Medicine For Melancholy , by Ray Bradbury Technically, it's my brother's book. But we share. And we b...

June has been a busy month. I attended my very first book release here in Malmö. I changed the design of my blog, a project so troublesome, I wrote a whole essay about it. And I wrote a total of six reviews: Full Fathom Five , by Max Gladstone - 4 stars A heart-wrenching story set in the most fantastic world. Dawn of Rebellion , by Michelle Lynn - 3 stars This book was exciting and had a lot of potential, but fell short when it came to characters and writing. Lords of the Sith , by Paul S. Kemp - 3 stars Barely any Darth Vader in this action-packed space adventure. A very disappointing read. Demon Eyes , by Scott Tracey - 5 stars One of the strongest sequels I have read. The Best of All Possible Worlds , by Karen Lord - 3,5 stars A great love story, but I expected more, considering all the praise this book got. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows  - 5/10 stars Mindless popcorn entertainment. I wouldn't ha...

Happy Towel Day everybody!   Today was not just about galactic travel guides and their authors, it was about coming to the grand opening of Science Fiction Bokhandeln, which moved to a bigger and better location in Malmö, which also happens to be criminally close to where I live.    I spent an hour there, and snapped a few pictures too.      The new storefront and the proud sign in the middle of Malmö's famed shopping street.         I didn't take any selfies, unless you count my reflection in the glass as one.         The Incredible Hulk says "Buy a book or I'll start smashing, puny god!"       Aren't these beautiful?       They also have the Tardis     I didn't have the guts to step inside (also, I'm pretty sure it's against the rules)     May the force of merchandise...

The time has come, my friends! The time to do my very first real book haul . Remember when I made a New Year resolution to spoil myself with new books? Well, in the past couple of months, I have been honouring this quite selfish resolution, and today I have not one but four new books to show you, as well four new comic books (and one book-related movie). Now, these books have been on my TBR for a very long time. Except for The Martian . I've already read that book, I just wanted to own a copy of it. This is the most books that I have bought in the course of two months (college books don't count), so I guess you can say I went a little nuts. On the other hand, I got them all very cheap. My budget was one hundred Swedish Crowns or less.     1. The Martian     I like the book, and I love the movie. And now I can enjoy them both. For the record, I hate it when they reprint books with movie posters on the cover, but if a movie is as great as this...