BW45: Cemetery of Lost Books by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

 

It's Book Week 45 in our 52 Books bingo quest and it's all about different cultures. 

I finished Carlos Ruiz Zafon's Angel's Game, #2 in the Cemetery of Lost Books in which Daniel slowly loses his mind as people he loves and those surrounding a long ago mysterious disappearance are never what they seem to be.

"In this powerful, labyrinthian thriller, David Martín is a pulp fiction writer struggling to stay afloat. Holed up in a haunting abandoned mansion in the heart of Barcelona, he furiously taps out story after story, becoming increasingly desperate and frustrated. Thus, when he is approached by a mysterious publisher offering a book deal that seems almost too good to be real, David leaps at the chance. But as he begins the work, and after a visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, he realizes that there is a connection between his book and the shadows that surround his dilapidated home and that the publisher may be hiding a few troubling secrets of his own. Once again, Ruiz Zafón takes us into a dark, gothic Barcelona and creates a breathtaking tale of intrigue, romance, and tragedy."




Next up #3 in the Cemetery of Lost books - The Prisoner of Heaven.

"Barcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife, Bea, have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julián, and their close friend Fermín Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past.

His appearance plunges Fermín and Daniel into a dangerous adventure that will take them back to the 1940s and the early days of Franco's dictatorship. The terrifying events of that time launch them on a search for the truth that will put into peril everything they love, and will ultimately transform their lives."

BW44: November Crime Spree - Translated Mysteries

 

It's book week 44 in our 52 Books Quest and this month's theme is an international crime spree.

I finished Nalini Singh’s Archangel’s Resurrection about Zanaya and Alexander, two Archangels whose love affair lasted eons so it covered vast periods of time. Many, but not all of the other characters made appearances. It was different with a lot more telling than showing and angst over the relationship.  Not one I’d be eager to reread over and over again,  but good nonetheless.

I love reading translated books and Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s Cemetery of Forgotten Books are on my ebook nightstand.   Already read Shadow of the Wind so next up is The Angel’s Game.

It’s now 12:30 p.m. and its the first time I had to sit down all evening. Movie night was called on account of a plumbing emergency.   Hubby decided to use Liquid Plumber, even though a plumber told him in the past never to use.  He used it on the slow draining kitchen sink and snaked the outside drain, blasting the lines with water.  James goes into the bathroom and starts yelling.  The seal on his toilet broke and the bathroom was flooded.  Stuff had backed up in both the bathtub and the shower. We’ve spent the past few hours running snakes, wiping up messes for each try, and cleaning all the drains. It’s finally fixed.  Hubby’s bleaching everything now.  Lesson learned:  Don’t Use Liquid Plumber.  Ugg!

BW27: 52 Books July Crime Spree - American Mysteries

 It's book week 27 in our 52 Books Quest and this month's crime spree is all about American Mysteries. I have a lot of those on my night stand. 

Read  The Cat and The City by Nick Bradley. It's odd and intriguing but not my cup of tea.  Too crude and not very uplifting.  Good premise with cat tying all the tales together but the stories left me depressed

On my nightstand: 

Carlos Ruiz Zafon's second book in the Cemetery of Lost books - The Angel's Game.  I finished Shadow of the Wind and didn't remember any of it, so like reading for the very first time. Plenty of twists and turns and tales within tales. 

Rebecca Zanetti's first book in her Deep Op's series -  Hidden

Brandon Sanderon's third book in the Stormlight Archive - Oathbringer

George Eliot's Middlemarch (not making much progress but hope to soon. 

BW26: Half way through the year!

It's book week 26 in our 52 Books Quest and we are half way through the year. We're half way through the year and Summertime has arrived in our neck of the world, and Wintertime for those on the other side of the world. And I've got nothing. Well, not really. I've got a song crashing through my mind, an unfortunate earworm that I can't identify which will drive me loopy until I figure it out. In the meantime, let's dip into a bit of half time randomness.

Once a year I watch Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi's The Danger of a Single Story and get something different out of it every time. I love her books.

I just finished reading The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk so the Ted Talk about The World's Most Mysterious Book fascinated me. While the story was interesting and full of an odd collections of characters,  I really didn’t like the lead character until she managed to redeem herself in the end.

And while wondering through Ideas.Ted.Com came across 70 books to make you feel hopeful: A special reading list. You're welcome!

While falling down some rabbit hole about 25 Beautiful Literary Maps, it lead me to Kenocartographobia. No, I didn't know what it was either. The fear of Maps. And wouldn't you know it, Goodreads has a list.

I just discovered the newest book by A.J. Jacobs, The Puzzler, which I of course, had to get instantly. If you haven't read any of his books, start with The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible) and also check out Jacob's favorite recent reads.

***

I’m in the midst of several books. Don’t know why I do that to myself. Brandon Sanderson’s 3rd book in the Stormlight Archive Oathbringer as well as rereading Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s first book in Cemetery of Forgotten books with Shadow of the Wind. Puzzler’s also on the virtual nightstand and I’ll be getting back into Middlemarch soon.

And no I haven’t figured out the name of the song yet!

TLC Book Tour: The Prisoner of Heaven

The Prisoner of Heaven

Synopsis: Barcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife, Bea, have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julián, and their close friend Fermín Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city’s dark past. His appearance plunges Fermín and Daniel into a dangerous adventure that will take them back to the 1940s and the early days of Franco’s dictatorship. The terrifying events of that time launch them on a search for the truth that will put into peril everything they love and ultimately transform their lives.

Full of intrigue and emotion, The Prisoner of Heaven is a majestic novel in which the threads of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel’s Game converge under the spell of literature and bring us toward the enigma hidden at the heart of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a collection of lost treasures known only to its few initiates, and the very core of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s enchanting fictional world.

After reading and being pulled into the drama and intrigue of The Angel's Game, (review here) and The Shadow of the Wind (review here) I was quite excited to read The Prisoner of Heaven.  The story takes you into Fermin's past and Daniel's present, blending the two story lines until they meet in 1957.  It wasn't as deep and mysterious as the other two books, but more of an emotional character read.  It is intriguing and will engage you from page one until the very ending which leaves you with the feeling of wanting more.  Even though the story can standalone I would definitely recommend reading the other two books first so you'll know what's going on.  Makes me want to go back and reread the other two books now.   Check out the thoughts of the rest of the participants of the tour.   I have a couple treats for you.

Trailer of The Prisoner of Heaven


Plus download a free short story Carlos has also written called A Rose of Fire.  

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for asking me to be part of the tour, Harper publishing for providing me with a copy of the book and Carlos Ruiz Zafon for creating such an interesting series about 1957  Barcelona and the Cemetery of Lost Books.