Category Archives: Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday (August 30) – Time Blender

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback this week is…

Time Blender by Michael Dorn

Guys, this recommendation is pretty much exclusively for fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation. So if that’s not you, sorry. Also, if that’s not you, what’s wrong with you?

Just kidding. Mostly.

Anyway. For those of you who are interested…Michael Dorn wrote a book.

Michael Dorn. Wrote. A book.

I really wish this was the author photo on the back of the book.

And the premise is, more or less, Black Indiana Jones + TIME TRAVEL. Worf wrote a time travel book featuring Black Indiana Jones. Let’s all just bask in the gloriousness of the fact that this book exists.

I read this when a friend gave it to me as a [semi] gag birthday gift in high school. I thought it was an appropriate pick for today for two reasons:

1) Today is my birthday, so I thought it was appropriate that I feature a book I got as a birthday present when I turned 17. No, I’m not going to tell you how old I am today. Older than 17. That’s all you’re getting.

2) [I was going to mention how much I love Worf and Star Trek: TNG, and how I can do what I want because it’s my birthday, then I realized that’s basically just reason 1 again.]

It is not great literature or mind-blowing sci-fi. It ends with a big “TO BE CONTINUED” and it was never continued. And it’s been a few years, but I think it may actually end on a literal cliffhanger. As in, a person hanging off a cliff. So be warned about that one.

But it’s a fun quick read (I’ve read far worse sci-fi), the premise is really amusing, and it was written by my favorite Klingon. It entertained me immensely, and now if I ever meet Michael Dorn, I can say I read his book. And that’s really all I needed.

Oh, also, ALSO, this. Which has nothing to do with this book, except, WORF.

This is a Blog Hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday posts below!


Throwback Thursday (August 23) – Into Thin Air

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback this week is…

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Yes, I’m picking another non-fiction book. I don’t even know who I am anymore.

Into Thin Air may be non-fiction, but it reads like a thriller. It is the true story of the ill-fated 1996 expedition to climb Mt. Everest, when a terrible storm and some bad judgement calls resulted in the deaths of five people and the terrible peril of the rest of the party. Krakauer was part of the expedition as a journalist, and his first-hand account of his party’s fear and struggle to survive in extreme conditions is in turns suspenseful, gripping, exciting, and haunting.

Krakauer writes with not a small amount of survivor’s guilt, like he’s trying to make up for what happened on the mountain. It’s sometimes hard to read, not because it is in any way bad, but because his emotions are so raw and real.

As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t read a lot of non-fiction. A non-fiction book has to be pretty darn interesting for me to even pick it up in the first place. But this is easily the most thrilling non-fiction I’ve ever read, and I tore through it the first time I picked it up in high school. Honestly, if you didn’t know it was a recount of Krakauer’s actual experience, it would be easy to believe its fictional, because the course of events is just that intense, and Krakauer tells the story like a seasoned novelist.

Maybe you’re like me and you don’t read a lot of non-fiction. Maybe you adore non-fiction and can’t get enough of it. Either way, I think this book will appeal to you, because it’s kind of amazing.

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!

Throwback Thursday (8/16) – Never Let Me Go

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback this week is…

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Let me just start by saying this book is not for everyone. It’s tremendously sad. Sad to the point that another blogger I was discussing it with recently (well, the movie version, but still the same story) said she finished with a broken heart wondering, “what’s the point?” And I could totally see how you could come away from this book with that feeling. That said, I think if you go into the book with the right expectations, and you yourself have the “right” personality (for this book, not for…you know…life), it’s strangely beautiful. It’s one of those stories you can’t stop thinking about for a long time afterward.

I first read this book for a bit of a roundabout reason. I had seen the movie The Social Network, and I was totally captivated with Andrew Garfield’s performance. “What else has this kid been in?” I asked myself, and looked him up on IMDb. Lo and behold, he’d been in some artsy movie called Never Let Me Go that was based on a book. “I shall read this book, and then see the movie!” I proclaimed.

Because, as we all know, you always read the book first.

So I did. And then I saw the movie. And they are both haunting and sad and…well…strangely beautiful. (As a side note, while I think the movie is fabulously acted, I don’t think it really holds its own narrative-wise. So I would definitely recommend reading the book before seeing the movie).

Never Let Me Go is the quietest sci-fi dystopian you’ll ever read. So quiet, in fact, you may not notice that you’re reading sci-fi dystopian, because it disguises itself quite effectively as serious contemporary(ish) British literature. It is the story of three friends, Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth, who grow up together in the boarding school of Hailsham. Kathy carries a torch for Tommy from the time they are very young, but it is Tommy and Ruth that pair off through their teen years.

However, after leaving Hailsham and drifting apart, Kathy looks back on her time with Tommy and Ruth and wonders. For students of Hailsham are created for a specific purpose, and once they fulfill that purpose, their lives are complete. As the time for the three friends’ completion grows near, they reunite and examine whether there has been meaning in what they went through, or if they have any reason to hope for the future.

As I said earlier, this book is not for everyone. It’s a dystopian where it never occurs to any of the characters to try to overthrow the system. You want them to fight back, and they don’t, and you get your heart stomped on. Brutally. (I’m doing a great job of selling this book, aren’t I?)

But if you like quiet, difficult, poignant stories with strongly developed characters, this may be one to try. If nothing else, it’ll stick with you for a long time after you finish. And that in itself, even if you hate it, is saying something.

Also, if you like the book and want to see it interpreted visually, I think the movie works well as a companion to it. Here’s the trailer.

Also, I posted this in my most recent Top Ten Tuesday, but I absolutely adore this fan-made video. Perfectly captures the gutting emotion from the movie.

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!


Throwback Thursday (August 9) – The Hiding Place

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

[Everyone welcome back Mandi from her blogging break! HI MANDI!]

My Throwback this week is…

 

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.

This book is an anomaly for me. It’s nonfiction, and I don’t generally read nonfiction. Plus, it’s about the Holocaust, and I don’t generally read about the Holocaust.  Too sad and emotionally gutting for me. I honestly can’t take it. I have a very hard time reading about suffering and cruelty on that level, knowing that it actually happened.

But a friend recommended this book as her favorite book, saying she loves it so much she keeps extra copies on hand to give away to people who hadn’t read it. And with a recommendation like that from a friend I respect, I knew I needed to give it a try.

The Hiding Place is the true story of the Ten Boom family, as told by daughter Corrie, a humble watchmaking family living in Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II. Although the Ten Booms were Christians, and therefore not a direct target of the Nazis, they couldn’t bear to stand idly by and watch as their Jewish neighbors were seized and sent to concentration camps. So they constructed a secret wall in their home that they used to shelter Jews from prying Nazi eyes.

Ultimately, they were discovered and several members of the family, including Corrie, were sent to concentration camps, where they were faced with horrors and evil beyond imagining. But Corrie eventually came through it, and the story of how she survived is amazing.

The Hiding Place is unapologetically about faith in God, so if you have strong feelings against reading something with a spiritual focus, then it may not be for you. More than that, though, I found it to be a book about love. Love for family, love for neighbors who don’t share your views, and even love for those who would seek to do you harm. I’ve never read a book — especially one based on true events — where the people involved so beautifully represented the kind of love and respect I wish all people had for one another.

Yes, there is a lot of intense and troubling content, since the book spends a great deal of time in a concentration camp,  which were hellish places. It is about a horrible, dark period of human history. It will break your heart and disturb your soul. But if you’re like me, it will also give you hope that sometimes, even during periods of darkness, people can shine.

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!



Throwback Thursday (August 2) – Circle of Friends

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

On a side note, Mandi will be rejoining us next week, fresh off her blogging hiatus! Yay! This solo hosting gig is daunting. I’m glad I won’t have to do it anymore. So here’s a preemptive WELCOME BACK, Mandi!

My Throwback this week is…

 

Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy.

You may have heard that Irish author Maeve Binchy died this week at the age of 72. She wrote chick lit love stories set in Ireland, which I devoured as a high schooler. And this story, about childhood friends Eve and Benny that grow up to attend college with the beautiful Nan and dashing Jack, was the first book of hers I ever read.

High school was a time when I was reading books after seeing movies, and this one was no exception. However, if you’ve seen the movie, while it is…okay…it really is not a faithful adaptation of the book. Especially the end. Grr. This one is definitely a case of “the book is better.”

I love her nontraditional protagonist in Benny, who is neither slim nor beautiful, and her fierce friendship with Eve. I love the beginning stages of her sweet romance with Jack. And yes, while I kind of hate the turn the story takes, at the same time I appreciate that it’s not neat and tidy and Hollywood.

And, kind of the same as in real life, some characters experience a huge amount of growth and some…don’t. I got frustrated with the ones who just stayed the same, of course, but it still felt genuine. They were simply the kinds of people who tend to not learn or grow up. Ever. But they were overshadowed by the characters who do develop and learn and grow and mature, and I enjoyed all of it. It was the kind of book I just liked to relax and melt into.

And the fact that it’s all set in Ireland didn’t hurt.

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!