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Father of Lions

Father of Lions

The Bookseller of Kabul meets The Zookeeper’s Wife: an award-winning journalist puts a human face on life under ISIS, told through the prism of the Mosul Zoo.

Posted on January 11, 2020January 11, 2020 by Allison SpeakmonIn Books, January 2020, Non-Fiction3 Minutes Read

Tag: Louise Callaghan

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Speaking of...Currently Reading! ⠀ .⠀ Sadie was able to complete a 5k run with me yesterday and she only tripped me twice! We’re starting to get the hang of running longer distances together and she’s getting better at not pull my arm off and not getting distracted from the trail. The next milestone we’re aiming for next week is a 5 miler run, which will put us at perfect half marathon training pace! ⠀ .⠀ I use to run on the treadmill for long runs, where I would catch up on my shows. But since I’ve gotten Sadie, I like getting to run with her. But long runs can be boring so I love finding good audiobooks to listen to while we run. Currently I’m listening to Tom Hanks read The Dutch House as a buddy read! I’m about halfway through and while I love Tom Hanks narrating, I’m torn on the book so far. ⠀ .⠀ Anyone else finish The Dutch House? Does it get more interesting?? Anyone have any other great audio recommendations?!⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #speakingof #speakingofbooks #speakingofblog #thedutchhouse #audiobooks #currentlyreading #currentlylistening #runandread #bookblogger #bookreview #bookstagram #bookclubbooks #tomhanks #audible #bookstabuddies📚 #riotgram #yelpreads

Speaking of...Book Review! ⠀ .⠀ Big Lies in a Small Town came out yesterday and I’m telling everyone to read it. Huge thank you to @stmartinspress for my #giftedbook!⠀ .⠀ North Carolina, 2018: Morgan Christopher's life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit, she finds herself serving a three-year stint in the North Carolina Women's Correctional Center. Her dream of a career in art is put on hold―until a mysterious visitor makes her an offer that will see her released immediately. Her assignment: restore an old post office mural in a sleepy southern town. Morgan knows nothing about art restoration, but desperate to leave prison, she accepts. What she finds under the layers of grime is a painting that tells the story of madness, violence, and a conspiracy of small town secrets.⠀ .⠀ North Carolina, 1940: Anna Dale, an artist from New Jersey, wins a national contest to paint a mural for the post office in Edenton, North Carolina. Alone in the world and desperate for work, she accepts. But what she doesn't expect is to find herself immersed in a town where prejudices run deep, where people are hiding secrets behind closed doors, and where the price of being different might just end in murder. What happened to Anna Dale? Are the clues hidden in the decrepit mural? Can Morgan overcome her own demons to discover what exists beneath the layers of lies?.⠀ .⠀ The writing in this book is excellent but what I really enjoyed was the mixture between mystery and historical fiction that this book contained. I also enjoyed learning more about the mural and art itself, which there was tons of information buried in the story. I’ve got some other thoughts on this book but don’t want to ruin the ending! Head over to my blog for my full review, but be warned spoilers! Link in bio! ⠀ .⠀ This is my first Diane Chamberlain book, what other books of hers should I put on my list? ⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #speakingof #speakingofbooks #speakingofbookreview #bookreview #notjustaprettybook #bookreviewsneedlovetoo #bigliesinasmalltown #historicalfiction #dianechamberlain #newbooks #januaryreads #stmartinspress #booklover #bookblogger #blogger #pupsandpages

Speaking of...new release Tuesday!⠀ .⠀ Happy #bookbirthday to some great new releases! So many new new books are hitting the shelves today but here are some of my most loved. ⠀ .⠀ Followers: a modern dystopian novel that follows Orla, Marlow, & Floss and their journey with social media and fame. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ see my full review up on the blog. ⠀ .⠀ Father of Lions: a non-fiction account of the evacuation of the Mosul zoo. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ see my full review up on the blog. ⠀ .⠀ Big Lies in a Small Town: Diane Chamberlain is back with a new tale that spans three generations of artist. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ keep a look out for my full review up on the blog tomorrow. ⠀ .⠀ The End of the Ocean: a captivating story of the power of nature and the human spirit that explores the threat of a devastating worldwide drought, witnessed through the lives of a father, a daughter, and a woman who will risk her life to save the future. ⠀ .⠀ What new books are you excited for today?! Thank you to the tagged publishers for my copies of these books. ⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #speakingof #speakingofbooks #speakingofblog #newbooktuesday #newbooks #newbookrelease #theendoftheocean #bigliesinasmalltown #fatheroflions #followers #graydenbooks #forgebooks #stmartinspress #harpervia #bookblogger #bookreview #bookreviewer #notjustaprettybook #yelpreads #riotgram

Speaking of...Book Review⠀ .⠀ Starting Monday off with a killer new book & review for ya’ll. ⠀ .⠀ Angelo takes the reader through two story lines, 35 years apart. The first follows Floss & Orla ‘pre-spilling’, who aim to be famous, no matter what the cost. The second ‘post-spilling’ follows Marlow. Who has lived the majority of her live in a private community where everything is filmed and lives her life by the amount of fans she has. As we follow the three women, we find out how private our lives really are and get a glimpse to what a technology apocalypse could look like. ⠀ .⠀ ⠀ I feel that everyone on instagram should read this book. Angelo has done a great job of capturing what social media is in our current age and how it has morphed our society. She has also envisioned a very new perspective of the effects all our social media can lead to. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me and check out my blog for my full review, link in bio! ⠀ .⠀ Followers comes out tomorrow 1/14/20. Thank you to @bookishfirst & @harlequinbooks for my advanced copy! ⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #speakingof #speakingofbooks #speakingofblog #bookblog #bookblogger #followers #newbooks #newrelease #meganangelo #graydonbooks #harlequinbooks #bookblogger #bookreview #notjustaprettybook #bookreviewsneedlovetoo #review #bookblogger #bookreviewer #janrelease2020

Speaking of...Sadie Sunday! ⠀ .⠀ For 2020 I’m trying to read all the unread #botm books on my shelf because as I said the other day my #botm shelf is starting to get very full. Patty over at @pattyisbooked started a Book of the Month backlist bookclub and while I’ve the ones she picked out, it inspired me to set out some of mine that have gotten pushed to the wayside. I’m hoping to read all of these before March us over. Sort of a lofty goal but aim high right? ⠀ .⠀ What’s one of your biggest backlist books you want to read this year?? ⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #speakingof #speakingofbooks #speakingofblog #bookstagram #books #bookstabuddies📚 #bookofthemonth #backlistbooks #sadielady #sadiesunday #pupsandpages #bookriot #riotgram #dearedward

Speaking of...Book Review! ⠀ .⠀ I cannot tell ya’ll how stoked I was to break out Sadie’s halloween costume. She on the other hand was not as excited to be donning the lions mane again. See my story for some photoshoot gems of her! ⠀ .⠀ Father of Lions is the powerful true story of the evacuation of the Mosul Zoo, featuring Abu Laith the zookeeper, Simba the lion cub, Lula the bear, and countless others, faithfully depicted by acclaimed, award-winning journalist Louise Callaghan in her trade publishing debut. Combining a true-to-life narrative of humanity in the wake of war with the heartstring-tugging account of rescued animals.⠀ .⠀ At first I wasn’t too thrilled about this book. Ya’ll know me, if it doesn’t have magic, weirdness, or a plot twist it’s probably not for me. The first half of the book took me a week to read, partly because I wasn’t invested, partly because of the holidays. The second half of this book I devoured in a night. Once I really started to focus on the story, got to know the characters (because there are alot), and got into the rhythm of the book I was hooked. Callaghan does an amazing job of capturing the personalities of the real life people within these pages, while also depicting accurately their experiences, thoughts, and reactions. I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and for my full review head over to my blog, link in bio! ⠀ .⠀ Thank you to @bookishfirst & @forgereads for my advanced copy! This book hits shelves this coming Tuesday, make sure you animal lovers pick it up! ⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #speakingof #speakingofbooks #speakingofblog #notjustaprettybook #lions #sadiethelion #pupsandpages #fatheroflions #newrelease #newbooks #bookstabuddies📚 #riotgram #bookstagram #forgebooks #arcbook #yelpreads #bookreview #bookreviewsneedlovetoo #bookblogger #booklover #nonfictionbooks

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