Tag Archives: Throwback Thursday

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 (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!



Throwback Thursday (July 26) – Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

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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…

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

A few weeks ago I featured Assassin’s Apprentice, which introduces us to the Farseer world. However, Ship of Magic, while still set in the same world, kicks off an entirely new trilogy complete with (almost) entirely new characters. Therefore, while I still would recommend you read the Farseer books first, it’s absolutely not necessary to really enjoy this book.

Ship of Magic follows the Vestrit family. Althea Vestrit is the daughter of a Bingtown Trader and rightful heir to her family’s Liveship, Vivacia. However, when her father dies, the ship is passed to her hateful brother-in-law, Kyle, instead of to her.

Kyle forces his son Wintrow to accompany him to sea, in spite of the fact that Wintrow was training to become a priest. Wintrow struggles aboard Vivacia, trying to cling to his beliefs in spite of his father’s constant cruelty.

Meanwhile, Althea enlists the help of her father’s former first mate, Brashen, in a risky endeavor to reclaim the ship. At the same time, the ruthless pirate Kennit seeks a way to seize power and make himself King of the Pirate Isles.

Yes, that is a very complex plot, and I haven’t even begun to touch on all its twists and turns. One thing I love — love — about this series is that it alternates perspective between a ton of characters, and it works. Althea, Wintrow, Brashen, and Kennit are all narrators, and it doesn’t stop there. It’s the best example of alternating perspective I think I’ve ever read, and it helped me become completely and utterly absorbed in the world.

And as for the story, it’s one of the most vivid fantasy books I’ve read. Everything from the descriptions of life on board the ships to the somewhat stifling life lived by families in Bingtown is completely engrossing and fantastic. You really feel like you’re there with the characters, experiencing their (often frustrating and infuriating) lives. Oh, and speaking of infuriating, this book is also a fabulous example of a story where I started out passionately hating certain characters, and by the end of the series, I loved them. And that is no small task.

If you are a fan of fantasy, pirates, adventure, magic, and — oh yeah — dragons, this is a must-read.

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



Throwback Thursday (July 19) – The Chronicles of Narnia

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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 for today is…

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

I first read these stories as an elementary schooler, and still enjoy them to this day as an adult. (Oh, and for the record, I read them in the original published order, which is the order I think they’re meant to be read in — not the chronological order). I love the magical fantasy world of Narnia, the intriguing characters, the strong storytelling. I love the imagination and sense of wonder the stories convey. Yes, they are written as Christian allegory, and I personally love that aspect of the story, but they also can stand on their own as just a beautiful and wondrous children’s fantasy series.

I love these books as a way to introduce children to the world of fantasy and magic. We’ve introduced our girls to the first two, which they loved. I’m looking forward to being able to go through the entire series with them.

Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!