|
|
 Today’s question: How do you get your books for reviewing? Do you track them somehow (excel, database, etc), or just put them in a tbr (To Be Read for anyone that doesn’t know) pile?
I get books from all over. I request from publishers, mainly through Shelf Awareness, and sometimes authors if a book sounds really, really good. I have received a fair number from LT Early Reviewers and just won a book the other day from Member Giveaway. I have several contacts who reliably offer me books I’ll like. Most of my ARCs now come from contacts and the odd lone offer. I also buy books, both new and used, and I even get books out from the library if I’m not sure I’ll like them but still want to give them a shot, or if they’re romance novels because I’m 99.9% sure I’m not going to reread them.
When I get a book, I stick its release date or blog tour date on my google calendar, and then I make sure I read it by then. Easy enough. I thought about tagging them in LT, but that seems purposeless when I can just glance at my calendar to see when I need to review everything. An Excel spreadsheet would probably be a good idea, but since I go to google calendar all the time anyway, it’s the easiest. I also keep the books in their own pile and try to read them in chronological order. If I’m ahead, like I am now, I then know I can read other books for fun, or I can try to get further ahead because I have essays coming up!
 From the back cover:
“Lilith is born into slavery on a sugar plantation in Jamaica near the beginning of the nineteenth century. Even at her birth, the slave women around her recognize a dark power that they – and she – will come to both revere and fear. The Night Women, as they call themselves, have long been conspiring to stage a slave revolt, and as Lilith comes of age they see her as the key to their plans.”
When I started this book, I basically hated it. I hate slave narratives because it is just so wrong that it makes me feel ill and uncomfortable. It’s hard for me to believe that people could do such a thing to other people. Regardless, I persevere because it is important and I should know and anyway, I had to review this book, so I didn’t have much of a choice.
That said, the power of this book seriously grew on me as I went in. I grew to really like Lilith even though she commits the most horrible crimes; you can almost see what drives her to them. I was repelled but fascinated by the plans of the slave revolt and their interactions with each other. I almost always wanted to smack all the white people and I must admit that I was pleased when they got their comeuppance and disappointed that not all of them did. There are some seriously disturbing scenes in this book, so I don’t think it’s appropriate for everyone. It’s not that I can say this was a good book, either, because nothing to do with slavery is good. It is, however, a daring story of the life of one slave woman, the every day struggle just to get by, and ultimately a powerful tribute to impossible love and the depth of human emotion.
Buy The Book of Night Women on Amazon.
|
|
Recent Comments