Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Waiting to Read Wednesday: The Mermaid from Jeju & Day One


The New
Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by the marvelous Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss upcoming release we are excited about that we have yet to read.


The Mermaid from Jeju
by Sumi Hahn
Release Date: December 8, 2020 by Crooked Lane Books
In the tradition of Yangsze Choo's Night Tiger and Min Jin Lee's Pachinko comes a magical saga that explores what it really means to love.

In the aftermath of World War II, Goh Junja is a girl just coming into her own. She is the latest successful deep sea diver in a family of strong haenyeo. Confident she is a woman now, Junja urges her mother to allow her to make the Goh family's annual trip to Mt. Halla, where they trade abalone and other sea delicacies for pork. Junja, a sea village girl, has never been to the mountains, where it smells like mushrooms and earth, and it is there she falls in love with a mountain boy Yang Suwol, who rescues her after a particularly harrowing journey. But when Junja returns one day later, it is just in time to see her mother take her last breath, beaten by the waves during a dive she was taking in Junja's place.

Spiraling in grief, Junja sees her younger siblings sent to live with their estranged father, Suwol is gone, the ghost of her mother haunts their home--from the meticulously tended herb garden that has now begun to sprout weeds, to the field where their bed sheets are beaten. She has only her grandmother and herself. But the world moves on without Junja.

The political climate is perilous. Still reeling from Japan's forced withdrawal from the peninsula, Korea is forced to accommodate the rapid establishment of US troops, and her grandmother, who lived through the Japanese invasion that led to Korea's occupation understands the signs of danger all too well. When Suwol is arrested for working with and harboring communists, and the perils of post-WWII overtake her homelands, Junja must learn to navigate a tumultuous world unlike anything she's ever known. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: Everything about this book calls to me. I love historical fiction and this sounds like such a heartbreaking novel that will bring tears to my eyes more than once. I can't wait to read it.


Does The Mermaid from Jeju interest you? What upcoming release are you looking forward to reading?


The Old(er) 
I have an embarrassing number of unread books sitting on the shelves in my personal library. Carole of Carole's Random Life in Books has given me the perfect excuse to spotlight and discuss those neglected books in her Books from the Backlog feature. After all, even those older books need a bit of love! Not to mention it is reminding me what great books I have waiting for me under my own roof still to read!


Day One
by Nate Kenyon
(Thomas Dunne Books, 2013)
Cloverfield meets The Terminator in this story of one man's escape from New York City as technology becomes sentient

Scandal-plagued hacker journalist John Hawke is hot on the trail of the explosive story that might save his career. James Weller, the former CEO of giant technology company Eclipse, has founded a new start-up, and he’s agreed to let Hawke do a profile on him. Hawke knows something very big is in the works at Eclipse---and he wants to use the profile as a foot in the door to find out more.

After he arrives in Weller’s office in New York City, a seemingly normal day quickly turns into a nightmare as anything with an Internet connection begins to malfunction. Hawke receives a call from his frantic wife just before the phones go dead. Soon he and a small band of survivors are struggling for their very lives as they find themselves thrust into the middle of a war zone---with no obvious enemy in sight.

The bridges and tunnels have been destroyed. New York City is under attack from a deadly and brilliant enemy that can be anywhere and can occupy anything with a computer chip. Somehow Hawke must find a way back to his pregnant wife and young son. Their lives depend upon it . . . and so does the rest of the human race.
[Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: It is always my intent to read more science fiction. I do enjoy it. This one has a bit of a horror sci fi vibe. I picked up a copy of this one on 2013 and added it to my TBR shelf. It sounded like quite the page turner. And still does. 


Have you read Day One? Does this book sound like something you would like to read? 


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26 comments:

  1. The Mermaid from Jeju sounds amazing! Can't wait for it to come out (hopefully I don't forget about it :p)

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  2. The mermaid from jeju sounds fantastic. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Jessica - I think so too! I look forward to reading it. Thank you for stopping by!

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  3. Day One sounds awesome! Thanks for bringing to my attention! Happy reading! :)

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    1. Ashley - Doesn't it? I don't know why I haven't read it yet. Thank you for visiting!

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  4. Oooh! I love the look of that Mermaid book! Great picks!

    Here’s my WoW!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog

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    1. Ronyell - I look forward to reading it! Thank you for stopping by!

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  5. I don't usually read historical fiction, although lately some have been getting my interest, but this one sounds really good. I love the cover, too.

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    1. Yvonne - I am really excited about The Mermaid From Jeju! Thank you for visiting!

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  6. The Mermaid from Jeju sounds amazing! Thank you for highlighting it:-)

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  7. Both of these interest me! But especially Day One. :)

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    1. Lark - I hope they will both be as good as they sound!

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  8. The Mermaid from Jeju looks gorgeous! I have so many books unread on the shelves. I thought getting away from my person book hoard would be good and I could focus on reading the books I brought but I seem to mostly just be buying more books so it is getting a bit hoardish again!

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    1. Katherine - I think so too! I look forward to reading The Mermaid from Jeju. It's hard to resist bringing in new books, isn't it? Too many sound good, even on top of the ones we already have to read.

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  9. Both of these sound really interesting! Great WoW! :)

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  10. Both of these sound good to me! That cover of Day One though looks eerily identical to another cover in my TBR or is it the same book I am thinking of? No idea but it definitely sounds good.

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  11. Oh my, The Mermaid from Jeju does sound brilliant! I hope you enjoy it when you read it!

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    1. Verushka - I hope I will too! I can't wait to read it.

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  12. Great picks! Hope you enjoy them both!

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  13. Both books sound good to me! Hope you'll enjoy these books when you get to them, Wendy.

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