“Black Leopard, Red Wolf” by Marlon James

I was excited when Marlon James announced that he was writing a fantasy book. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew that whatever it was it would be great.

I bought a copy of Black Leopard, Red Wolf as soon as it was published. James was on tour and came to my area, so I got a copy at a book signing event, where James spoke about the research he did for the book. I was impressed. I knew that I would like it and assumed that it would become my next favorite fantasy series.

However, if not for a buddy-read hosted by Why Read on Instagram, this book would probably still be sitting on my bookshelves unread. (I’m horrible at reading the books I buy.) The buddy-read got me to start the book and to continue with it when I was tempted to DNF it. By the end, I was impressed by the story and liked it but unsure if I will continue with the series.

Genre:

Fantasy

Pubbed:

2019

Series:

Dark Star trilogy, book 1

Goodreads summary:

In the first novel in Marlon James’s Dark Star trilogy, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child.

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Weekend Reads #60: Other People’s Thoughts

Weekend Reads is a weekly post in which I discuss a variety of topics and mention the books I plan to read on the weekend.

Once again I’m forgoing a discussion topic but will instead feature two discussions, a review, and an article I recently read that really stood out to me. All of them touch on diversity topics in some way and are all interesting reads. I highly suggest that you visit the blogs to read the posts yourself.

First up is Whitney’s (Brown Books and Green Tea) wonderful review of Fresh Off the Boat, a memoir written by restauranteur Eddie Huang that was made into a TV sitcom earlier this year. I placed it on my TBR soon after the book was published in 2013, but moved it up my TBR list after reading Whitney’s review, which made me reflect on my experiences as an immigrant and as a child of immigrants. I’m curious to know more and would like to experience the book for myself. Whitney’s review mentions the abuse Huang experienced and pressure from his family to always do better.

Top Ten Tuesday #12: Wishes for My TBR Pile #8

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic:

Freebie — your choice

Since this one is a freebie, I’ve decided to use it to do a Wishes for My TBR Pile post. Wishes for My TBR Pile is a monthly post where I list and sometimes discuss the books I’ve discovered and would like to purchase.

Weekend Reads #18: The National Book Festival

Weekend Reads is a weekly discussion on a variety of topics. At the end of the post, I’ll include what I plan to read on the weekend.

The question for this weekend:

So, what did you do this weekend?

Book Haul: Dragons and an Assassination

It’s a semi-peaceful, boring Sunday. I’m inundated by work but thought to take a break to do something fun hence this post on books! I recently started doing posts called Wishes for My TBR Pile in which I share the top books I’ve discovered and added to my Goodreads “to be read” list. I frequently add books to my TBR list so “top” here refers to those I’m most likely to purchase and read.

While working, I realized that I’ve never shared whether I’ve actually gotten any of the books I wished for so I thought it would be a great idea to take a break and do a post on the ones I received. Here they are:

The first TBR pile book I bought is The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones. It’s from my October TBR pile round-up. I’ve already started reading it, but am doing so at a leisurely pace. To me it is written like an history book, which makes sense (duh!) but the pacing bores me a bit so I allow myself to be easily interrupted while reading. But so far I enjoy the back story it provides on the Targaryens and how they came to be in Westeros. The artwork is great as well.

Next I got an audiobook of Marlon James’ recent story on the attempted assassination of Bob Marley, A Brief History of Seven Killings: A Novel, from Goodreads. This one is from the October TBR pile round-up as well. I would have started it already if it was a novel. I have to work myself up to listen to an audiobook since I don’t retain much when I simply listen. My mind tends to drift. I’ll have to work out a routine for this one: either drawing while listening or purchasing the book and reading along while I listen.

Wishes for my TBR Pile: 5 Books I Want to Buy

I’m super excited because I came home to find two 20%-off coupons from Barnes & Noble waiting for me in the mail. I can’t wait for the weekend so I can get to shopping. The following are books I’m eager to add to my TBR list. I’ll be honest here and state that most likely these books will be bought and placed on my bookshelf, where it will sit and collect dust for a few months before I actually read them. But I am a book-lover, a bibliophile at heart, so I can’t pass up an opportunity to collect more books. Though I am on a book-buying ban, I shall lift it for the weekend because—coupons!! Possible purchases might include:

The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (Bantam, Oct. 28, 2014)

“This lavishly illustrated volume is a comprehensive history of the Seven Kingdoms, providing vividly constructed accounts of the epic battles, bitter rivalries, and daring rebellions that lead to the events of A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO’s Game of Thrones. In a collaboration that’s been years in the making, Martin has teamed with Elio M. García, Jr., and Linda Antonsson, the founders of the renowned fan site Westeros.org—perhaps the only people who know this world almost as well as its visionary creator.”