Book Stop Corner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It is sometimes difficult to reconcile the fantasy of what you thought motherhood would be like, and what you thought you would be like as a mother, with reality.
----Debra Gilbert Rosenberg, LCSW, a nationally recognized psychotherapist and motherhood expert

Lucy Lawrie, an English author, penned her debut novel called, Tiny Acts of Love based upon joys and downfalls of motherhood, sacrifices and love to hold a family. This is a very sweet story about how a woman makes her choices selflessly regardless of her own feelings.

Synopsis:
Surviving motherhood? It's all about having the right network. Lawyer and new mum Cassie has a husband who converses mainly through jokes, a best friend on the other side of the world, and a taskforce of Babycraft mothers who make her feel she has about as much maternal aptitude as a jellyfish. Husband Jonathan dismisses Cassie's maternal anxieties, but is he really paying attention to his struggling wife? He's started sleep talking and it seems there's more on his mind than he's letting on. Then sexy, swaggering ex-boyfriend Malkie saunters into Cassie's life again. Unlike Jonathan, he 'gets' her. He'd like to get her into bed again too... And on top of all her emotional turmoil, she finds herself advising a funeral director on ghost protocol and becomes involved in an act of hotel spa fraud, never mind hiding cans of wasp spray all over the house to deal with the stalker who seems to be lurking everywhere she looks. Marriage and motherhood isn't the fairytale Cassie thought it would be. Will her strange new world fall apart around her or will tiny acts of love be enough to get her through?

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My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Hannah Kent, a contemporary Australian writer, has commented about "Iceland" as:

In Iceland, you can see the contours of the mountains wherever you go, and the swell of the hills, and always beyond that the horizon. And there's this strange thing: you're never sort of hidden; you always feel exposed in that landscape. But it makes it very beautiful as well.

Arnaldur Indriðason, a very famous author of Iceland, has spun a mind-blowing thriller story, Jar City, which has sold over 6 million copies in the world and has been translated in more than 20langugaes. The original Icelandic version of this book is called, Mýrin and has been turned into a film by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur. Moreover, this is the third book in the series with Detective Erlendur.

Synopsis:
When a lonely old man is found murdered in his Reykjavík flat, the only clues are a cryptic note left by the killer and a photograph of a young girl’s grave. Inspector Erlendur, who heads the investigation team, discovers that many years ago the victim was accused, though not convicted, of an unsolved crime. Did the old man’s past come back to haunt him?

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Two weeks to go for Christmas and you still haven't decided what to gift your bookworm girlfriend/boyfriend or your book-fanatic bestie! And probably you are racking your brains hard so as to get an idea about what to gift him/her this Christmas apart from the same-old, very predictable gift- a book. But this time you're in luck since I'm going to be your friend to help you choose that perfect gift for your book-lover friend. So scroll below to check out the gifts that you're bibliophile friend is definitely going to love.

1. For e-book lovers: Kindle Covers






So your friend has a kindle and he/she is a beta-reader.  Oh well, then you're in luck my friend, since it's not hard to choose a gift for your e-book lover friend. Instead of purchasing the latest e-reader for your friend, you can easily surprise him/her with a cool and unique Kindle cover. Moreover, an unique  gift also stands out over those traditional gifts! So this year, buy something cool, funny and amazing for your friend to see how their eyes light up with sheer joy.


Gift Purchase Link:

• Amazon 

2. For your messy bookworm friend: A Nightstand Bookshelf





If you're a physical book lover, then I understand being messy and all. Bookworms get so lost in those fictional worlds, they often forget to clear up the mess they create with the huge pile of read-books on their bed. So how about a nightstand bookshelf? Yeah, it's a prefect and a very thoughtful gift for the book lovers. So splurge on this neat and beautifully crafted bookshelf for your geeky friend and save them from their own mess of books. Also it will be nice to teach them a lesson to stay organized :-P

Gift Purchase Links:

• Brookstone 

3. For your cozy-minded book lover:  A Nice, Warm Blanket



Book lovers often tend to curl up with a book and a pot of hot tea/coffee, and since it's Christmas time, expect all the bookworms to be tucked inside a soft, warm blanket, reading their favorite book. And you, my friend, can make a book-lover's Christmas more special by gifting him/her the most beautiful, warm, feathery soft blanket. So make your geek friend's Christmas very warm.

Gift Purchase Link:

• Amazon

4. Feeling Out-of-the-box: A Book Style Paper Towel Tissue Box





I understand you really, really want to impress that nerd girl that you happen to meet few days back! You're pulling your hair on your head but still nothing striking your mind! Well stop worrying, here's a really innovative gift that you can present your special someone. A book-style tissue box which will definitely going to remind her of you every time she pulls out a tissue. So buy this tissue box and win away her heart.

Gift Purchase Link:

• The Gadgetflow 

5. For the Library: A Book-shaped Night Lamp




So your friend has a library which is poorly lit up. Then this will be the perfect gift for your friend that will light up his/her heart this Christmas. So purchase this energy-saving lamp which can be kept in between the stacks of the books, so the next time when your friend is taking out a book from that huge stack, he/she can switch on the night lamp and can easily check out the title of the book that he/she wants to read.

Gift Purchase Link:

• LightUpYourWorld

6. For the hikers: A Book Tent

•  Field Candy 

7. Be Spontaneous: A Book Christmas Tree



Your geeky room-mate is coming back from their trip on the Christmas Day morning and you want to surprise him/her with a completely funky and spontaneous gift, moreover, you forgot to purchase him/her Christmas present. Before going to bed on the night before Christmas Day, try to make a cute little book Christmas Tree for your roomie. Trust me, it's really very hassle-free and easy to build! Resource: Your room-mate's ever-flowing book-shelf. Try to make the base with big, fat books and place each of them corner-to-corner in an angle, now try placing the comparatively smaller sized books above that base of big, fat books. Do it in an order and voila!  Your Book Christmas Tree Present is ready. You can even spunk it up with little decorations. So when they open their room and their eyes fall on this beautiful creative present, watch them scream with joy and pleasure.

Gift Purchase Link: This is a DIY Present


8. For the "Punctual" Bookworm: A Book Style Desk Clock







Your friend loves to arrive on time, loves to wake up early, and loves to do everything by precision of time. It's so easy to surprise them with their only favorite thing in the world- a clock. But since your friend is also a bibliophile, so this Christmas gift them a book style desk clock which will always remind them of you with every tick of the clock.

Gift Purchase Link:

• Deal Extreme

9. A bookworm's favorite hobby: A Quotation Book 





A bookworm's all time favorite gift- a quotation book! I suggest, if you want to stand out with your present then try to make them a DIY quotation book.

Steps to Make a Quotation Book:

i) Ask his/her all time favorite book. Say The Fault in Our Stars or Pride and Prejudice or any Charles Dickens novel or even maybe Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series
ii) Google all the remarkable and the legendary quotes from that book and list them in a piece of paper
iii) Now write those quotes one-by-one in each piece of paper. Be creative, this the tricky part. Use glitter pens, stickers, scented stickers, and any possible decorative tid-bits
iv) Make a beautiful, mesmerizing and his/her favorite book-themed cover
v) Staple them nicely or you can bind them
vi) Presents are never complete with a nice little wrapping paper

Voila! Your Christmas Present for your geeky friend is ready and see how their Christmas become so amazing and special because of your hard-work.

Gift Purchase Link: This is DIY present.

10. Last minute Present: A Book Style Accessory




Be it a book-style scarf or coffee mug or pendant or t-shirt or bag or purse, it'll always be the-most-special-Christmas gift for your book-love friend. You can purchase such quirky book-inspired accessories online.

Gift Purchase Link:

• Etsy 

So Happy Gifting!

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My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Mathias Malzieu, the singer of the French music band, Dionysos, has quoted while saying about "love":

“We love each other like matches in the dark. We don't talk, we catch fire instead”

Theodora Goss, an American author, has weaved a sweet fairy tale in her new book, The Thorn and the Blossom .

Synopsis:

One enchanting romance. Two lovers keeping secrets. And a uniquely crafted book that binds their stories forever.

When Evelyn Morgan walked into the village bookstore, she did not know she would meet the love of her life. When Brendan Thorne handed her a medieval romance, he did not know it would change the course of his future. It was almost as if they were the cursed lovers in the old book itself...

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My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder.”
----Jim Morrison

Ann Cleeves, the English best-selling author of Shetland series, which is now the major BBC1 drama starring Douglas Henshall, SHETLAND, has penned down the fifth book in the Shetland series, called, Dead Water .

Synopsis:
When the body of journalist Jerry Markham is found in a traditional Shetland boat, outside the house of the Fiscal, down at the Marina, young Detective Inspector Willow Reeves is drafted in to head up the investigation. Since the death of his fiancée, Inspector Jimmy Perez has been out of the loop, but his interest in this new case stirred and he decides to help the inquiry. Markham -- originally a Shetlander but who had made a name for himself in London -- had left the islands years before. In his wake, he left a scandal involving a young girl, Evie Watt, who is now engaged to a seaman. He had few friends in Shetland, so why was he back? Willow and Jimmy led to Sullum Voe, the heart of Shetland's North Sea oil and gas industry. It soon emerges from their investigation that Markham was chasing a story in his final days. One that must have been significant enough to warrant his death...

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Anna Quindlen, an American journalist and opinion columnist whose New York Times column, Public and Private, won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992, has quoted about "reading books" as:

“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.”

Well this post is about promoting one of my favorite "bookish" website. No, no it's not Goodreads or BookLikes. It's called- TripFiction. Sounds cool, isn't it?

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My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Your choices are your only freedom.”

Lailah Gifty Akita, a Ghanaian and founder of Smart Youth Volunteers Foundation, quotes this remarkable line.

Rachel Hore, an English best-selling author from London, has penned down a charming and alluring story about past and present entwined by a manuscript in her new book, The Silent Tide.

Synopsis:
London, the present day: Emily Gordon has found her dream job, editor at a small publishing house. When the biography of a late great English novelist crosses her desk, she discovers, buried beneath the history, a story that simply has to be told...

London, 1948: Isabel Barber has barely arrived in the city when a chance meeting leads to a job offer, and a fascinating career beckons. But as she develops a close working relationship with a charismatic young debut novelist the professional soon becomes personal, and she finds herself fighting for her very survival...

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My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Celebrate the past, don't regret it.”
---― Andrew Critchley, Dublin in the Rain

Andrew Critchley, an English author, has spun a spectacular story in his debut novel, Dublin in the Rain, which follows the life of an emotionally torn man, named, Jonathan Paul Melton.

Synopsis:
On a rainy day in Dublin, during the spring of 1947, a tragic accident brought devastation to those involved. As the subsequent years pass, unable to come to terms with the accident, the survivors set the path for a deeply troubled future for each generation that followed.
Jonathan Melton had a traumatic childhood in which he ended up in foster care, but when he meets the wild, willful, sexually experienced and free spirited Sophia at university, everything changes. At first inept with women, Jonathan’s complex relationship with Sophia evolves from a one-way obsession into a genuine love and shared passion, as the relationship brings happiness, romance and joy to both their lives that neither thought was ever possible. The two marry, and Sophia gives birth to their first child; a beautiful baby daughter. Everything is seemingly perfect, until the evening that their tiny baby is found dead in her cot.

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