Thursday, April 28, 2022

Where Is Your Bookmark: Books with "Burning" in the Title




A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.


"You smell like smoke," my mother said to me. [Opening of A Burning]



A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.


For the rest of the day, we fall and die from knowing, but never being able to say, especially to our mothers, that the inside of the prison is an unreachable place. So what if there is a courtyard, and a garden, and a TV room? The guards tell us over and over that we live well, we live better than the trapped souls in the men's prison. Still we feel we are living at the bottom of the well. We are frogs. All we can bear to tell our mothers is "I am fine. I am fine." 

We tell them, "I walk in the garden."

"I watch TV."

"Don't worry about me. I am fine." [excerpt from pgs 56-57 of A Burning]

Here is a peek into one of my recent reads, A Burning by Megha Majumdar. The novel follows the thoughts of different characters, but both of these excerpts happen to fall under Jivan's section. I find the second excerpt especially compelling--and sad. 


For readers of Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Jhumpa Lahiri, an electrifying debut novel about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise—to the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies—and find their lives entangled in the wake of a catastrophe in contemporary India.

Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, determined to move up in life, who is accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is an opportunistic gym teacher who hitches his aspirations to a right-wing political party, and finds that his own ascent becomes linked to Jivan's fall. Lovely--an irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth and hope and humor--has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.

Taut, symphonic, propulsive, and riveting from its opening lines, A Burning has the force of an epic while being so masterfully compressed it can be read in a single sitting. Majumdar writes with dazzling assurance at a breakneck pace on complex themes that read here as the components of a thriller: class, fate, corruption, justice, and what it feels like to face profound obstacles and yet nurture big dreams in a country spinning toward extremism. An extraordinary debut.

Does this sound like something you would like to read? Have you read it? If so, what did you think?


Connect Five Friday is a weekly meme where readers share a list of five books, 
read or unread, or bookish things, that share a common theme. 
Hosted by the  Kathryn of of Book Date.


I have a handful of books that have been on my TBR shelf for awhile now with the word "burning" in the title. Lets take a look! 


The Burning by Jane Casey


Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black


The Burning Island by Hester Young


Burning for You by Michele Dunaway


The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? 


 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!



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36 comments:

  1. I haven't read any of these but I would like to try A Burning.

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  2. Your featured book does sound like a compelling and intense read. Thought provoking as well. Clever to use 5 books with the word burning for Friday 5's!

    Happy reading and have a good weekend!

    Elza Reads

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  3. A Burning sounds good to me! I hadn't heard of it before but I'll check further, thanks!

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  4. Great post theme, Wendy! And I love the writing style of A Burning. I must take a closer look at that book. Enjoy your weekend!

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    1. Catherine - Thank you! I couldn't resist keeping the burning theme going. :-)

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  5. What a fun weekly meme. I try to only do one or two weekly memes, or else my blog would be nothing but that. It is hard not to participate in all of them though.

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    1. Kami - I wouldn't post much if it weren't for memes. I find them easy to do, especially when life is so hectic.

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  6. As soon as I read the first line, I too could smell smoke. Happy weekend!

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  7. I bet I would like this one. I loved Tommy Orange's novel, There There. My quotes come from: The House in the Cerulean Sea

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    1. Anne - I will have to check out There, There. I'm not familiar with Tommy Orange. Thank you for the recommendation!

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  8. I have not read any of these but Burning for You sounds like a book I would enjoy.

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  9. So many titles with burning in them! I really like the sound of that first one by Majumdar. :)

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    1. Lark - I was surprised I had so many in my collection!

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  10. I LOVED Ninth City Burning and the sequel never got published as far as I can tell.

    Anne - Books of My Heart

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    1. Anne - I am glad to hear you loved Ninth City Burning! I look forward to reading it. :-)

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  11. I haven't heard of any of these, but they look like great reads.

    Ash @ Essentially Ash

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  12. There are sure a lot of books with "burning" on their titles, aren't they? A Burning sounds like a good read. The premise looks interesting, too.

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    1. Melody - I was surprised how many I had on my TBR shelf!

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  13. A Burning sounds like a book I'd really like having enjoyed The Homegoing and There There

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  14. I've not read A Burning but it sounds like a very powerful novel!

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  15. A Burning does sound very good. I definitely want to read that one. :)

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    Replies
    1. Lark - I liked it but didn't love it. I think it was worth reading though.

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  16. I haven't read any of those. Not sure they are my kind of reads though. I did find a couple of shifter romances to read this week.

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  17. I like that you combined all the weekly memes into one post! Surprisingly I have never read a book with "burning" in the title so I will have to check out the ones on your list!

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