Hi guys, how’s your week been? I read a lot of nonfiction this week and surprisingly two ARC’s. My reads this week were The Twelve Faces of the Goddess: Transform Your Life with Astrology, Magick, and the Sacred Feminine by Danielle Blackwood, Lady Death by Lyudmila Pavlichenko and The Quest for Mary Magdalene by Michael Haag.
Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin’s Sniper by Lyudmila Pavlichenko
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Lyudmila Pavlichenko was not just any sniper, however, for she was to become the highest-scoring female sniper with 309 official kills. Official kills, it should be noted, were those observed by a second party.“ ― Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Lady Death
You might have heard of American Sniper. And even Simo Häyhä. Now meet Lady Death. Fascinating tale of Russia’s most efficient female sniper. This book made me feel like I had been living under a rock because I had no idea there were female snipers. And quite a lot of them. This book transports you in time to Russia in World War 2 and it is interesting to learn what Pavlichenko thought in some situations and what was life like in general. I warmly recommend this book to fans of history.
The Quest for Mary Magdalene explored the identity of Mary Magdalene and how she was reinterpreted in every age. Pope Gregory reduced Mary Magdalene from an independent visionary to a sinner and a prostitute while making Jesus’ mother Mary, who is a nonentity in the gospels, into a creature of the Church, hailing her as the epitome of all things feminine and holy. It was an interesting book, I like to read about things the church has invented throughout the history and what is actually historically accurate.
Then I read this weirdly fascinating short story by Karin Tidbeck called Sing. There is a village in Kiruna and there outcast Aino has worked hard to create a life for herself. One day, offworlder Petr arrives…
It’s a good story with interesting concepts and a lot of Finnish words. And look at that cover. It’s just gorgeous. I really like how the bird is coming out man’s mouth.
“I told him about how Oksakka kills the sound of birds, and how giant Maderakka peeks over the horizon now and then, reminding us that the three of us are just her satellites.” – Karin Tidbeck, Sing
If you’d like some motivation to read through your ARC’s, Evelina @ Avalinah’s Books has a wonderful State of the Arc meme going on. Check it out.
I also managed to be more social this week and met up with some old colleagues and friends so it was a pretty cool week.
What have you done? What you have you read?
//Anastasia
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
