Then and Now #14 (10/25-10/31)

 The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted @ Caffeinated Reviewer. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.  It is hosted weekly over at Mailbox Monday and every Friday they do a round-up of some of their favourite, shared reads!

Last Week

I'm currently still in London, finally fitting in a visit to my dad and sister! Aside from my uncle's funeral in Spring, when they flew into the Netherlands for 4 hours, I haven't seen my sister since January 2020. So we were due a meet-up! I got all tested and masked up to get here and then we spent the past few days safely traipsing through London, mostly buying some new things for her apartment and just spending quality time together. I also still had some work to do, but thankfully so did she! I'm spending today with my dad and then on Monday I get onto the Eurostar and head back. I prefer the train over flying, it's just so much calmer, even if it takes longer. 

More importantly, however, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Halloween was never really a big thing in the Netherlands and my family wasn't big on dressing up and things like that, so while I enjoyed it at university, I mostly spend my Halloween watching a scary movie or reading. I guess I really am getting old! I watched Ready or Not with my sister the day before, for which I put in the trailer below. If you're into thrillers that are also hilarious then this is absolutely a movie for you!

Posted this week:

• Friday Friyay: Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlasie
• Review: Lady Hotspur (Innis Lear #2) by Tessa Gratton

Recommendations

Here is the trailer for Ready or Not. Like all modern-day trailers I do feel like it shows a little bit too much, so avoid if you want to go in fresh!

Mailbox Monday

For today I have two audiobooks I got through the 2-for-1 deal on Audible and two books I bought secondhand here in London.

The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey, narr. by Ben Onwukue, Vivienne Acheampong

Near the island of Black Conch, a fisherman sings to himself while waiting for a catch. But David attracts a sea-dweller that he never expected - Aycayia, an innocent young woman cursed by jealous wives to live as a mermaid.

When American tourists capture Aycayia, David rescues her and vows to win her trust. Slowly, painfully, she transforms into a woman again. Yet as their love grows, they discover that the world around them is changing - and they cannot escape the curse for ever... 

I have heard great things about The Mermaid of Black Conch and I love the small 'a love story' subtitle. I also loved the sample of the audiobook, I think Onwukue and Acheampong are going to be amazing!

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth, narr. by Dakota Fanning

Fifteen years ago, five ordinary teenagers were singled out by a prophecy to take down an impossibly powerful entity wreaking havoc across North America. He was known as the Dark One, and his weapon of choice - catastrophic events known as Drains - leveled cities and claimed thousands of lives. Chosen Ones, as the teens were known, gave everything they had to defeat him. 

 After the Dark One fell, the world went back to normal...for everyone but them. After all, what do you do when you’re the most famous people on Earth, your only education was in magical destruction, and your purpose in life is now fulfilled?  

Of the five, Sloane has had the hardest time adjusting. Everyone else blames the PTSD - and her huge attitude problem - but really, she’s hiding secrets from them...secrets that keep her tied to the past and alienate her from the only four people in the world who understand her.  

On the 10th anniversary of the Dark One’s defeat, something unthinkable happens: one of the Chosen Ones dies. When the others gather for the funeral, they discover the Dark One’s ultimate goal was much bigger than they, the government, or even prophecy could have foretold - bigger than the world itself. And this time, fighting back might take more than Sloane has to give. 

I sneakily loved the Divergent-series in a 'this isn't great but I'm into it' way, so I'm intrigued to see what Roth has to offer in a more adult genre. 

The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

This famous story of man's progress through life in search of salvation remains one of the most entertaining allegories of faith ever written. Set against realistic backdrops of town and country, the powerful drama of the pilgrim's trials and temptations follows him in his harrowing journey to the Celestial City.

Along a road filled with monsters and spiritual terrors, Christian confronts such emblematic characters as Worldly Wiseman, Giant Despair, Talkative, Ignorance, and the demons of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. But he is also joined by Hopeful and Faithful.

An enormously influential 17th-century classic, universally known for its simplicity, vigor, and beauty of language, The Pilgrim's Progress remains one of the most widely read books in the English language.

This is one of those books I feel like I should read as a literature student/Medievalist. Although I'm not big on Allegory, perhaps by going back to one of its key texts I'll glean something new from it.

Kant and the Platypus: Essays on Language and Cognition by Umberto Eco

How do we know a cat is a cat? And why do we call it a cat? How much of our perception of things is based on cognitive ability, and how much on linguistic resources? Here, in six remarkable essays, Umberto Eco explores in depth questions of reality, perception, and experience. Basing his ideas on common sense, Eco shares a vast wealth of literary and historical knowledge, touching on issues that affect us every day. At once philosophical and amusing, Kant and the Platypus is a tour of the world of our senses, told by a master of knowing what is real and what is not.

I adore Umberto Eco, who himself also was a Medievalist. I adore his fiction, but I also adore his critical/academic writing. I have quoted some of it in my own essays, so I'm intrigued to see what he has to say in this collection.

So, that's me! How was your week? And what's new on your bookshelf?