Pick any of the keywords for this month from the Monthly Keyword Challenge and make connections. This month choices are Star, Cry, She, Window, Forever, Eye. My choice – EYE.
1 – EYE. For the September Key Word Challenge, I decided to read Little Eyes, Samanta Schweblin – Translated (from Spanish) by Megan McDowell which has the keyword EYE. “Kentukis” have gone viral across the globe. They’re little mechanical stuffed animals that have cameras for eyes, wheels for feet, and are connected to an anonymous global server. Owners of kentukis have the eyes of a stranger in their home and a cute squeaking pet following them; or you can be the kentuki and voyeuristically spend time in someone else’s life, controlling the creature with a few keystrokes.
2 – Schweblin. Little Eyes is the 2nd book I’ve read by Scweblin and the first one that I’ve liked. The first novel, Fever Dream, I thought was boring from beginning to end. It’s about a conversation between main character, Amanda, and a mysterious little boy named David. She is in a hospital. It’s not clear why. David asks her to recall what happened that got her there – and she rambles on and on.
3 – Translated Books Read in 2017. I read Fever Dream in December 2017 (thanks Goodreads). To contrast – one of my favorite translated books read that year (Top 15 Books that Blew Our Minds This Year) was The Thirst (Harry Hole #11), Jo Nesbo – Translated (from Norwegian) by Neil Smith. This is one of my favorite detective series!
4 – Audiobook Series. I’ve experienced all of the Harry Hole series as audiobooks … and plan to continue that trend if there are more books (there better be). Another series that I’ve only listened to the audiobooks is the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith. Another of my favorite (fictional) detectives.
5 – Pseudonyms. Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym for J.K. Rowling (who got accidentally outed). Another author that uses a pseudonym is Seanan McGuire, author of Middlegame which I’m currently reading … aka Mira Grant author of the fantastic Newsflesh series. The use of a pseudonym is explained by McGuire as a way to create some distance between her urban fantasy and science fiction work.
There you have it – my 5 connections for this month. Have you read any of these books or other books by these authors?
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