Recently I was asked to review The Land of Honey by Chinenye Obiajulu. This is the account of Zimako’s and Anuli’s, a professional Nigerian couple’s, experiences as they immigrate from Nigeria to Canada. It deals with their struggles to adapt to Canadian culture and also to enter the Canadian workforce. It is additionally a moving account of how struggle to adapt put a strain on what appeared to be a strong marriage. What I liked Well written and structured. I appreciated that Obiajulu spent some time with the couple in their original home of Nigeria before their move to Canada. This section of the book did an excellent job of introducing us to Anuli and Zimako and explaining their reasons for moving as well as the ties that continued to bind them to Nigeria. Obiajulu describes Nigeria in a vivid and colourful way, making use of local dialect to add to the picture – there is a glossary of Nigerian terms included in the book.It is important to get a sense of where the couple is coming from, their values and what they hope to gain from the move to Canada. Relatable. As an immigrant to Canada myself, I…
Recently I was asked to review The Land of Honey by Chinenye Obiajulu. This is the account of Zimako’s and Anuli’s, a professional Nigerian couple’s, experiences as they immigrate from Nigeria to Canada. It deals with their struggles to adapt to Canadian culture and also to enter the Canadian workforce. It is additionally a moving account of how struggle to adapt put a strain on what appeared to be a strong marriage. What I liked Well written and structured. I appreciated that Obiajulu spent some time with the couple in their original home of Nigeria before their move to Canada. This section of the book did an excellent job of introducing us to Anuli and Zimako and explaining their reasons for moving as well as the ties that continued to bind them to Nigeria. Obiajulu describes Nigeria in a vivid and colourful way, making use of local dialect to add to the picture – there is a glossary of Nigerian terms included in the book.It is important to get a sense of where the couple is coming from, their values and what they hope to gain from the move to Canada. Relatable. As an immigrant to Canada myself, I…
This week I have read some fun books. The first of these is William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher. Doescher has taken the script for George Lucas’s Star Wars movie and translated it into Shakespearean English, complete with the Bard’s iconic iambic pentameter. [book-info] In short, this is the most brilliant piece of writing I have read in a long time. I am a big fan of the original trilogy Star Wars movies and it’s just incredible how well they work in Shakespearean language. Doescher studied Shakespeare and is also a big sci-fi geek and his understanding of both media comes across very well. The dichotomy of the sci-fi content in old fashioned language adds a real interest to the writing. It’s also a heck of a lot of fun to play “spot the (adapted) Shakespeare quotation.” For example, we have “Alas, poor stormtrooper, I knew ye not” referencing Hamlet’s thoughts on Yorrick. I have both the audiobook (narrated by a troupe of Shakespearean actors including the author himself) and I strongly recommend experiencing William Shakespeare’s Star Wars in audiobook format rather than the written word. The cast really brings it to life. Here’s a sample: I gave William…
This week I have read some fun books. The first of these is William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher. Doescher has taken the script for George Lucas’s Star Wars movie and translated it into Shakespearean English, complete with the Bard’s iconic iambic pentameter. [book-info] In short, this is the most brilliant piece of writing I have read in a long time. I am a big fan of the original trilogy Star Wars movies and it’s just incredible how well they work in Shakespearean language. Doescher studied Shakespeare and is also a big sci-fi geek and his understanding of both media comes across very well. The dichotomy of the sci-fi content in old fashioned language adds a real interest to the writing. It’s also a heck of a lot of fun to play “spot the (adapted) Shakespeare quotation.” For example, we have “Alas, poor stormtrooper, I knew ye not” referencing Hamlet’s thoughts on Yorrick. I have both the audiobook (narrated by a troupe of Shakespearean actors including the author himself) and I strongly recommend experiencing William Shakespeare’s Star Wars in audiobook format rather than the written word. The cast really brings it to life. Here’s a sample: I gave William…
First of all, I’ve decided to extend my give-away for another week – if you’re interested in winning the first three books in Vampire Academy series from Audible check it out. A reminder that you don’t need to have an Audible subscription or account to take advantage of this prize. Good luck! This last couple of weeks, I’ve done something I don’t do very often – marathoning an entire series of books. In the last couple of weeks I have read the entire six books in the Vampire Academy series. I just adored the world, the characters and the storylines. You can follow my Vampire Academy reviews through the index. I kept thinking ah well, the books aren’t that thick (ebooks can be deceiving in that way…) but then I realised that they were four or five hundred pages each! Often I like to change things up a bit, so it says a lot for Mead’s writing and worldbuilding that she was able to retain my interest through six large books. Recently I came across a fun exercise from Random House of Canada: Reading Bingo. Please check it out on RHoC’s Facebook page or their site page. I…
First of all, I’ve decided to extend my give-away for another week – if you’re interested in winning the first three books in Vampire Academy series from Audible check it out. A reminder that you don’t need to have an Audible subscription or account to take advantage of this prize. Good luck! This last couple of weeks, I’ve done something I don’t do very often – marathoning an entire series of books. In the last couple of weeks I have read the entire six books in the Vampire Academy series. I just adored the world, the characters and the storylines. You can follow my Vampire Academy reviews through the index. I kept thinking ah well, the books aren’t that thick (ebooks can be deceiving in that way…) but then I realised that they were four or five hundred pages each! Often I like to change things up a bit, so it says a lot for Mead’s writing and worldbuilding that she was able to retain my interest through six large books. Recently I came across a fun exercise from Random House of Canada: Reading Bingo. Please check it out on RHoC’s Facebook page or their site page. I…
First of all in honour of the new site name, Scottish eReader, and also in honour of my current obsession with Vampire Academy, I have decided to host a giveaway of the first three books in Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series. They are: Vampire Academy. In which we first meet dhampir bodyguard-in-training Rose Hathaway and her best friend, good vampire Lissa Dragomir. This is narrated by Stephanie Wolf. Go ahead and read my review of Vampire Academy. Check out a sample. Frostbite. This is the second book in the series and Rose’s relationship with Dimitri deepens as does her and Lissa’s knowledge of spirit magic. This is narrated by one of my favourite narrators, Khristine Hvam. Check out my thoughts on the book. Check out a sample. Shadow Kiss. Things start to get more serious between Rose and Dimitri and St Vladimir’s faces an unexpected threat and tragedy is ahead. This is also narrated by Khristine Hvam. Review coming soon. Check out a sample. The prize will be gift codes to pick up the first three books from Audible.com. In order to enter the giveaway, please check out the books on Audible.com, OR share the giveaway on your favourite social…
First of all in honour of the new site name, Scottish eReader, and also in honour of my current obsession with Vampire Academy, I have decided to host a giveaway of the first three books in Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series. They are: Vampire Academy. In which we first meet dhampir bodyguard-in-training Rose Hathaway and her best friend, good vampire Lissa Dragomir. This is narrated by Stephanie Wolf. Check out a sample. Frostbite. This is the second book in the series and Rose’s relationship with Dimitri deepens as does her and Lissa’s knowledge of spirit magic. This is narrated by one of my favourite narrators, Khristine Hvam. Check out a sample. Shadow Kiss. Things start to get more serious between Rose and Dimitri and St Vladimir’s faces an unexpected threat and tragedy is ahead. This is also narrated by Khristine Hvam Check out a sample. The prize will be gift codes to pick up the first three books from Audible.com. In order to enter the giveaway, please check out the books on Audible.com, share the giveaway on your favourite social media sites and leave a comment below telling me why you would like to have these great…
First of all in honour of the new site name, Scottish eReader, and also in honour of my current obsession with Vampire Academy, I have decided to host a giveaway of the first three books in Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series. They are: Vampire Academy. In which we first meet dhampir bodyguard-in-training Rose Hathaway and her best friend, good vampire Lissa Dragomir. This is narrated by Stephanie Wolf. Go ahead and read my review of Vampire Academy. Check out a sample. Frostbite. This is the second book in the series and Rose’s relationship with Dimitri deepens as does her and Lissa’s knowledge of spirit magic. This is narrated by one of my favourite narrators, Khristine Hvam. Check out my thoughts on the book. Check out a sample. Shadow Kiss. Things start to get more serious between Rose and Dimitri and St Vladimir’s faces an unexpected threat and tragedy is ahead. This is also narrated by Khristine Hvam. Review coming soon. Check out a sample. The prize will be gift codes to pick up the first three books from Audible.com. In order to enter the giveaway, please check out the books on Audible.com, OR share the giveaway on your favourite social…
This week I have been reading not for fun. My husband and I were recently given the date for our Canadian citizenship exam, so I have been working my way through Discover Canada – The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship. This is required reading for the exam, and the Government of Canada very helpfully offers it in hard copy, electronic format and as an audiobook. My husband, being a traditionalist, is working from our hard copy while I am following along on my Kindle Fire. I’ll be perfectly honest. It’s been a while since I’ve had to study for an exam – probably at least 20 years or so now – and it’s hard. While it’s interesting reading about my adopted homeland, it’s tough wondering what we will be asked and what I’ll need to remember. It’s also been a while since I’ve had to actually retain information. In the jobs I’ve had we’ve not been expected to know everything, but to be able to access resources to do our jobs. Any tips from those who’ve been through the process would be most welcome. I took at look at the UK citizenship test – I would have failed that one!…