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📚 The books mentioned this week are as follows

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• Efuru by Flora Nwapa
• Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi
• Bandung Menjelang Pagi by Brian Khrisna
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau

I know the author Ziggy Zezsyazeoviennazabrizkie—the letter after Z is very long and I can't remember it, so I'll abbreviate it as Ziggy Z, from an announcement of a competition held by the Jakarta Arts Council—DKJ. It was a long time ago, then I felt that she was a cool writer because she could win a competition held by a state institution—if I'm not mistaken. Since then I have had the desire to read her works. However, buying Ziggy Z's books was not my priority, so it took me a long time to read the work of the author who I knew was still very young.

Otto Lindenbrock, a professor of mineralogy, teams up with his nephew Axel and a guide named Hans to explore the centre of the earth. Axel lives with his other uncle in Hamburg, with them is Martha, the maid and her goddaughter Graubfn. One day he decides to call Alex and share something with him. He has in his office a manuscript of the heimskringla, by snorri sturluson, the book, like everything the professor keeps, has a parchment of runic origin, as a cryptogram. He spent many nights trying to decipher it, being alex who could decipher it and see that the alchemist texts, from the Irishman Arnes Saknussemm, giving him one of the most unique things, the coordinates, to get to the centre of the earth, just a great idea which he would carry out. But the professor has many ideas, Axel doesn't want to go, but his uncle gives him no choice, the first point is Iceland and they arrive in the city of Reykjavik, a city near the snaefellsjokull, a volcano that they must enter to reach the heart of the earth, following the map. When they arrive they meet Hans, who becomes their guide for the expedition. When they enter the heart of the crater, the name of the alchemist is written on it, at the bottom they see three chimeras, they go down with ropes, 850mts and 11h, arriving to rest.

I find children's books simply sublime. Of a perfect beauty that healthily impose the writer to explore in a world as fascinating as contradictory, because it faces an imagination that knows no prejudices or vices, that of the children.

Today I share with you the review of one of the many books I have had the pleasure of reading. Always from a sincere aspiration that more people enjoy literature, because books give us the possibility of living millions of lives within the only one we have. Living those lives is a way to mock the limitation of time, because we are born to die, but the important thing is what we do with that sigh of life, with that little time we have to enjoy being alive.

Yesterday, we had the second edition of the Hive Book Club hangout, where book lovers gathered to share their hot takes and interesting opinions about books. Last week, there were 4 of us, but yesterday’s hangout was even more lively with 6 participants! The more the merrier. Basically, what we come to do is share a recent book we have read. In this post, I’ll review one of the books I shared in yesterday’s hangout. Over the past few months, I have been focusing on reading Nigerian novels, not a deliberate choice, but one of my courses for the semester is Nigerian Literature- where we read and analyze novels by Nigerian authors from the onset to contemporary times. The book I shared yesterday was Efuru by Flora Nwapa.

In the end, Black Tides of Heaven is a must read if you like well-crafted fantasy worlds, original magic systems, and stories that make you think about identity and power. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fantasy fan or if you’re looking for a story with modern and well-informed ideas, you’ll find a lot to enjoy here. So now you know, if you’re looking for a book that not only entertains you, but also makes you think about what it means to be yourself and do the right thing, even when the whole world is against you, you know what to expect… I give it a 4/5 stars without a doubt because, although it has a few things with the rhythm, the originality, the characters that touch your heart, and the themes that make you think, make it a book that stands out a lot… and well, that would be all for today, I hope you liked this, and we’ll see you in the next reviews, take care, byebye!

What sets Reckless apart is the atmosphere: richly imagined, haunting, and often beautifully grim. The Mirrorworld is no fairyland—it's full of danger, decay, and mystery. Some characters, like the dark fairies or the Goyl queen, are genuinely chilling. And amidst the magic and mayhem, Funke dares to ask some of the big questions—most notably: "Where does love come from?"

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