The Book Nerd Mom

Banned Books Week: Sept 27-Oct 3

Banned Books week is officially here! It is one of my favorite times of year. It’s a reminder that censorship is dangerous and a time to embrace the freedom to express our different ideas and opinions. While I don’t limit myself to reading banned books during just this one week, I like that there is a dedicated week for it.

Why are books banned in the first place? This is something I don’t understand. I think fear is the biggest thing. Fear is a powerful thing and I think people become so afraid of what they don’t agree with or don’t understand that they let it blind them. You can interact with something (in this case, read) and not mean that you agree with it. One of the purposes of reading is to expand your knowledge and open your mind. If you only read about things you agree with, how are you opening your mind?

I’m lucky because although I come from a small rural town in a conservative area, we didn’t really have a lot of censorship in my school. In fact, a lot of the books that we read for required reading often frequent the national banned books list. As I’ve gotten older, my tastes continue to reflect what I grew up with: seek out diversity. I’ve always had a questioning nature. I’m the type where if someone says don’t read something, it makes me want to. If I see that a book is on the banned book list, I seek that book out.

Getting Involved in Banned Books Week

How are y’all celebrating Banned Books week? I plan on reading at least one or two this week. I’ll be reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak. This way I can get my son involved, too. For more ideas on books to read, visit this list of books or if you’re curious, you can learn more about Banned Books Week.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

I won a free copy of The Left-Handed Booksellers of London during BookCon thanks to Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

This book is about an alternate London set in 1983 where the magical and the ordinary worlds, the Old World and the New World respectively, are intertwined. The booksellers are the ones who enforce the boundary of the Old World, making sure it doesn’t spill into the New World. Susan has always wondered who her father is and when she turns 18, she decides to find out who he is. Strange things start happening to her, and it is then that she meets Merlin, an odd fellow who coincidentally turns up whenever these odd things happen proclaiming he’s there to help Susan. As we find out, he is indeed not there with ill-intent but to aid her. He is a left-handed bookseller. We follow Susan, Merlin, and right-handed bookseller Vivien as they journey to find out who Susan’s father was.

Left-Handed Booksellers of London: Is It Worth The Hype?

As I’ve been on a bit of a fantasy kick, this book certainly hit the spot. It’s a nice light fantasy, with a twist of mystery sprinkled in. The synopsis had me hooked: magic, books, secret father? All things that I want to read about. I devoured the book and it’s stayed with me since I finished it. I can’t get the characters out of my head. My favorite character has to be Merlin. He was so magnetic and I enjoyed his sense of humor. I loved that his solace was to dive into a book when he was feeling particularly bothered; I related quite a bit to this.

Another character trait that Nix employed that I loved was Susan’s fearlessness. All of these crazy things happened to her, hardly any of them easily explained away, and she just took it all in stride and continued moving forward. Strong female main characters are always a plus, in my book, and in this case Nix had not only Susan but he also had Vivien. Vivien helped save the day on numerous occasions. It’s always great to see the woman being the hero instead of the damsel.

This was my first novel by Garth Nix. I’ve heard good things about his writing, and the premise sounded good, so I was excited to dive in. After reading this book, I have to agree that Nix does craft quite an intriguing story. I recommend you read this book if you’re into magic, fantasy, mystery, and adventure. It is now available for purchase.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix Physical ARC

Oshibana Complex by Craig Hallam

I received a free ebook of Oshibana Complex thanks to Inspired Quill in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this book, gender and race are no longer a part of the society of Shika-One. Procreation is a thing of the past. New society members are created involving synthesis but with limited prototypes, doppelgängers are abundant. Can one maintain the status quo and still showcase individuality? We follow Xev, a synth working at Burger Stop. When Xev is tasked with training a new Synth, things go haywire and everything Xev has ever known comes into question.

This storyline was super intriguing to me. I’ve been really into futuristic fantasy novels lately and this cyberpunk story sounded like it’d be right up my alley. There were things about it that I liked and things that I thought could have been improved.

Oshibana Complex: The Scoop

This entire book was written in gender-neutral pronouns. I loved that aspect of it. I’ve never read a book like that but it really was not any different than reading a book with gendered pronouns and yet it made it so inclusive. I also felt like it helped to make the story more universal; the questions that Xev asks can be asked by anyone. The situations that Xev goes through can happen to anyone.

Xev as a character is well written. In the beginning of the story, Xev is a rule-following synth, not wanting to be noticed and just trying to earn XP to buy food and clothes. Throughout the story, we see Xev’s motives and actions change so that e now is, more or less, rebelling against the “establishment” and questioning why things are the way they are. Instead of just accepting things as “this is how it is and has to be” Xev wants to know why. Xev is relatable and recognizable because who doesn’t often question why?

One of the issues I have is with the other characters. Some of the other characters, like Marsh and Tecks, are almost indistinguishable from each other. In a book this small, I’m not sure both characters are necessary. If they must both be included, they need to be more distinct from one another. Another small thing that I found weird is the nickname they kept calling each other. I’m not going to use it here, but it is a slang term in the US. I thought it a bit odd. If it means something elsewhere and I just don’t know, please someone, correct me.

Bottomline:

Overall, this is an enjoyable book. If you’re into post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk novellas, this is a great book to pick up. It’s a quick read but it asks some great questions. It has relatable characters and it’s written in inclusive gender-neutral language. Be sure to pick up your copy when it goes on sale this week! Publication is set for September 29th.