The Alibi Book Club #39 {6 Books For The New Year}

Oooooooookay.

I know this post isn't technically being put out into the world in the new year.

Buuut, the books in this post where bought at the beginning of January. SO. It counts.
Now, as this is being published, I'm on the last book in this post: The Book Of Dust. So I'll have actual reviews of how I've found the rest - and an idea of what I'm enjoying with the latter.

(PS. I've bought four more books that I CAN'T WAIT to read and post about)

Aside from that, let's jump in!

You might even find a new favourite...

001: etaf rum - a woman is no man:
This novel is absolutely heart wrenching. Revolving around 17 year old Isra in the 1990’s (between Palestine and Brooklyn) and her daughter 18 year old Deya in 2008 (in Brooklyn), this is a story about what it means to be a woman within Arabic culture.

Both girls face arranged marriage. Isra faces the challenge of bearing sons and wanting love from her husband Adam. While Deya is determined to go to college and not get married.

There’s so much more to this story than meets the eye. There’s shocks and twists in the plot and moments when you really feel for these characters. Even for Fareeda, Isra’s mother in law and Deya’s grandmother, who is described as ‘oppressive’.

Considering this is Etaf Rum’s first novel, this is pretty much faultless.

002: jess kid - things in jars:
A mythological read with Sherlock vibes. Except the main character is a girl called Bridie and she’s the detective. Set on a mission to recover a child ~~ who is something no one has seen before except in books...

I didn’t want this to end and Kidd left this book practically at an open end so I’m hoping for more from Bridie.

003: sayaka murata - convenience store woman:
A nice short witty read that was smart, funny and one of my new favourite books!

"Keiko Furukura had always been considered a strange child, and her parents always worried how she would get on in the real world, so when she takes on a job in a convenience store while at university, they are delighted for her. For her part, in the convenience store she finds a predictable world mandated by the store manual, which dictates how the workers should act and what they should say, and she copies her coworkers' style of dress and speech patterns so she can play the part of a normal person. However, eighteen years later, at age 36, she is still in the same job, has never had a boyfriend, and has only few friends. She feels comfortable in her life but is aware that she is not living up to society's expectations and causing her family to worry about her. When a similarly alienated but cynical and bitter young man comes to work in the store, he will upset Keiko's contented stasis—but will it be for the better?"

004: taylor jenkins reid - daisy jones and the six:
Set like a documentary each band member and their friends and family are interviewed about the highs and lows of the 1970s band Daisy Jones + The Six.
This sucked me in so deep I felt like I was living the touring, recording and rise and fall with them.

I honestly didn’t want it to end and I do wish this was a real band so I could hear the albums as they were described...

005: philip pullman - the book of dust (vol one):

006: joana glen - the other half of augusta:
Beautifully written and heartbreaking at the same time! It’s about learning to recover from pain and loss while finding new hope and purpose in life. I really felt for Augusta and what she was going through, and it was a wonderful surprise to have a second voice in there with Parfait.

The ending wraps up nicely when you realise what they both have to do with each other!