The Shadow King

This book was neither on my radar nor my TBR until just a few weeks ago, when one of my fellow bookstagrammers, @beingabookwyrm, started the hashtag #READETHIOPIAN, to spread awareness of books by Ethiopian authors. And literally the day after I saw her post about this book, it was on the new book shelf as…

The Girl Who Smiled Beads

I was intrigued by the title of this book before I even knew what it was about. I wanted to know who the girl who smiled beads was and what it even meant to smile beads. After reading the description, I realized it was completely different than what I was expecting (though I am not…

She Would Be King

I love reading because it opens up so much of the world that is unknown. Like, there is just so much out there to learn about. I am drawn to books that will give me insight into something I didn’t previously know about. And even if, like in this case, the story itself is told…

Freshwater

I was originally drawn to this book by the cover, which is gorgeous, and then by the description. I am always fascinated to read about beliefs that are different and foreign to my own, specifically in how they look/play out in real life. In addition, this sounded like a really fascinating personal exploration, a book…

Small Country

I first saw this book on @bookworm_man’s IG – a source I definitely trust for books. He had nothing but good things to say about it, so I knew, when I saw it as an option on First to Read, that I wanted it. Small Country by Gaël Faye “Genocide is an oil slick: those…