Every time I visit my childhood home, I lose some space. Here I remove some of my t-shirts, here is a drawer I can empty so my parents can use it. AndEvery time I visit my childhood home, I lose some space. Here I remove some of my t-shirts, here is a drawer I can empty so my parents can use it. And every single time, I find some of my childhood treasures. This time I found all of my Egypt related books. I had so many of them which I read start to finish; I had dozens of bookmarks in them! Yeah, I can blame my love of the Stargate series and my wish to be an archaeologist (or to join the air force depending on the day you asked me). I probably read all of these books more time than I did the Harry Potter and that's an achievement!
But, there is nothing to say, even years later I still enjoy reading this and flipping through the pages brings me immense happiness. And with certainty, I can say that I will never get rid of this book. ...more
So, I've read this book several years ago, and I loved it so much, it's definitely my favourite when it Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing!
So, I've read this book several years ago, and I loved it so much, it's definitely my favourite when it comes to WANNA PLAY A GAME? type of books or movies. Last night I just had a look at my bookshelf, I saw this book (for some reason next to The Vampire Academy series, talk about system or organisation) and I felt like I needed to read this book.
Now here I am. I flew through this book, and I'm shaken. While I thought that I remembered the book very well, that was not really the truth. I forgot so many details! It was amazing.
However, I think that my tolerance for Rebecca is even lower than it was the first time around, which is the reason why this has 4 star rating and not a 5 one.
But, now I feel a bit guilty. I have so many new books to read and instead, I re-read one?...more
Last October I read The Psychopath Test, I had no idea what to expect, and I was blown away. And Goodreads being the amazing place it is, I had peopleLast October I read The Psychopath Test, I had no idea what to expect, and I was blown away. And Goodreads being the amazing place it is, I had people recommending me to read this one.
It sounded very interesting, so, I went and bought it straight away!
And let me tell, I maybe liked it even more than I did the Psychopath Test? It might be due to the fact that I already read Jon Ronson's book, and it made more sense this time around. It was easier to see how it all connected. Plus, I already knew it was not a fiction story. (Yeah, I had a bit of dumb moment with the Psychopath test.)
The story was great; I have to say that I generally stay away from Twitter because I always get angry there and/or disappointed with the world. So, I did not know any of those stories the book mentioned. It was all new to me. I'm honestly thinking about reading up more about some of them because it will be very interesting to compare the initials feelings which I had after reading about them in this book with those I'll have then. I felt sorry for several people. I wanted to ask what they were thinking. One broke my heart. Some "culprits" were not exactly sympathetic to me. And I had a very hard time feeling anything toward them. Then, they were those people who inspired me a bit. They looked the shame in the eyes and remained unbowed.
“As soon as the victim steps out of the pact by refusing to feel ashamed,” he said, “the whole thing crumbles.”
“I suppose that when shamings are delivered like remotely administered drone strikes nobody needs to think about how ferocious our collective power might be.”
I liked the complexity of the story. How those people were shamed. How they dealt with it. What's behind the "public shaming mentality". Also, how differently men and women are usually shamed, which I never really realised but thinking now about it, it's pretty terrifying truth. And I have to say that I enjoyed the little tidbits where Ronson explained how he identified with those who shamed them.
"I consider myself a social justice person. It was my people, abusing our power,[...]"
It was not a crucial part of the book. But it's still my favourite.
Anyway, the important question is which Ronson book I should read next?
Yeah, well, it took me some time to finally and officially finished cause I stopped reading for couple months.
Anyway, before I get into it, I have toYeah, well, it took me some time to finally and officially finished cause I stopped reading for couple months.
Anyway, before I get into it, I have to say that I did enjoy this, just to make that clear. Because sometimes I feel like I have more to say about the aspects which were not great in my opinion and I forget to speak about the things that I actually enjoyed.
I've always enjoyed geography, and always stared at maps for way too long. The only game I use on my phone is a geography game when it gives you country/city in the world and you have to locate it on a blind map. So, of course this book was something I had to buy. However, I have to say that I would appreciate if the book worked more with the maps it included. And I wanted more maps. It often felt like the maps were just slapped into the book and rarely worked with. I would love this to use old maps of first settlement and compare them with the current one. To SHOW how geography influenced the evolution of the area rather than just TALK about it.
That would be really awesome; however, I can understand that it may have not been possible in a book which has some odd 300 pages. Maybe an extended version? Or separated into several books?
I'll have to edit this review later on, cause I marked several quotes from the book I wanted to add here; however, I already lend the book to a friend. So, later.
I really liked the separation of the book; however, I would enjoy if it was more... logical in a way? It went from Russia to China than the USA, then Europe and then in a couple of chapters it went back to Pakistan and India and later to Korea and Japan and then it jumped to Latin America again. I believe that the flow would be better if there were more sense and order in how the chapters followed each other. The three chapters which were probably the best were Russia, China and the USA. Can you see a pattern there? All were chapters focusing only on one country, not a whole continent. But at the same time, I will say that the one which I enjoyed the most was Africa, which deserved more pages because it felt rushed and somewhat oversimplified.
And with finishing reading the chapter on Africa I also realised another issue. The author had a tendency to introduce ideas he did not mention until then. Which is a shame because those seemed to be the most interesting thoughts.
What I do not understand why there was a chapter on Western Europe which spend like two or three pages on the topic of Greece. Either it should have been Europe chapter or European Union chapter. Probably the former.
Also, where is Australia and New Zealand? Is one chapter missing? The author did acknowledge that he did not write on Australia or Canada and Indonesia. However, I have to say I do not feel like the book reached its limit. 300 pages is not that many and the glaring lack of the whole continent is just strange.
Good girls are Christians. Bad girls are Christian's.
I see what you did there!
Well, I don't think that this book is something amazing for a native speaGood girls are Christians. Bad girls are Christian's.
I see what you did there!
Well, I don't think that this book is something amazing for a native speaker of English. But since English is my third language, I think it gave me a lot! I sort of wish we had this in high school.
It certainly showed me a lot of things I did wrong and also things I never heard about. (Preposition at the end of a sentence... I know, I know.) What is the split infinitive? And some things I do, and I know that I should not. But I really love 'Tautology.'
I added a couple of bookmarks, definitely going to review some of the issues again....more
I'm a way too big of a fan of Edgar Allan Poe to rate it differently.
Out—out are the lights—out all! And, over each quivering form, The curtain, a fI'm a way too big of a fan of Edgar Allan Poe to rate it differently.
Out—out are the lights—out all! And, over each quivering form, The curtain, a funeral pall, Comes down with the rush of a storm, While the angels, all pallid and wan, Uprising, unveiling, affirm That the play is the tragedy, “Man,” And its hero, the Conqueror Worm.
But even I have to say that there are some of his poem that I do not particularly like, such as Al Aaraaf and The Bells.
However, my all-time favourite remains unchanged. You cannot do better than The Raven.
“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted—nevermore!...more
“There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay “There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”
Ray Bradbury did it. He presented a world where the population is completely controlled. And it was such a simple decision. Burn! The most frightening thing is that I could see glimpses of our society in Fahrenheit 451. And I thought about it. Are we slowly inching towards Bradbury's world? I was left breathless by this little novel. Reaching always for another page. Feeling strange pain in my heart for those characters completely swallowed by the simple entertainment. This novel is full of quotes I want to share and never to forget and for everyone to hear them.
“But you can't make people listen. They have to come round in their own time, wondering what happened and why the world blew up around them. It can't last.”
“We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?”
“Oh God, the terrible tyranny of the majority. We all have our harps to play. And it's up to you to know with which ear you'll listen.”
“And when he died, I suddenly realized I wasn’t crying for him at all, but for the things he did. I cried because he would never do them again, he would never carve another piece of wood or help us raise doves and pigeons in the backyard or play the violin the way he did, or tell us jokes the way he did. He was part of us and when he died, all the actions stopped dead and there was no one to do them the way he did. He was individual. He was an important man. I’ve never gotten over his death. Often I think what wonderful carvings never came to birth because he died. How many jokes are missing from the world, and how many homing pigeons untouched by his hands? He shaped the world. He did things to the world. The world was bankrupted of ten million fine actions the night he passed on.” ...more
I don't want to say that I am disappointed. Because I'm not! But I am!
“Loki was not evil, although he was certainly not a force for good. Loki was . .I don't want to say that I am disappointed. Because I'm not! But I am!
“Loki was not evil, although he was certainly not a force for good. Loki was . . . complicated.”
I can relate to this. My stance towards this book is... complicated. This book was amazing. There is probably nothing the Neil Gaiman cannot write and make it amazing.
However, I feel that this book is a great introduction to the Norse Mythology. But if you already know something about it; it may sometimes feel slightly dull. Thanks to Gaiman's master writing everything is still fun to read. Still, I could not stop thinking that somehow I've expected a bit more from this book.
"Of course it was Loki. It's always Loki."
Yeah, even back then when I first read about the Norse Mythology, I disliked Thor. And somehow Neil Gaiman managed to make me hate Thor even a bit more than before. I'm still rooting for Loki. I sometimes wonder if he was the first bad guy I started to root for.
“It is a long story, and it does no credit to anyone: there is murder in it, and trickery, lies and foolishness, seduction and pursuit. Listen.”
I love any mythology. Because the gods are always a little crazy, angry, cunning and out for revenge. My favorite combo! And even though I always preferred Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Chinese mythology to the Norse one. It is still pretty amazing.
"None of this matters. The world is burning," says Loki. "The mortals are dead. Midgard is destroyed. I have won."...more
Vtipný je, že jsem se prokousala málem 700 stránkovou bichlí a tak nějak nevím, co říct.
Ale upřímně, od něčeho co má hodnocení víc jak 4* jsem toho čVtipný je, že jsem se prokousala málem 700 stránkovou bichlí a tak nějak nevím, co říct.
Ale upřímně, od něčeho co má hodnocení víc jak 4* jsem toho čekala tak nějak víc. Hlavně mám pocit, že autor místy až zbytečně moc okecával, takže příběh ztrácel na dynamice a člověka akorát mátl. Myslím, že se tam dalo v pohodě škrtnout 200 stránek zbytečností.
Vlastně člověk ani moc netušil, co ho čeká, protože anotace vlastně zahrnuje pouze nějakých prvních 200 stránek? Pak je příběh absolutně o něčem jiném. A myslím si, že kdyby kniha popisovala to, co tady přeskočila, tak by to bylo o dost zajímavější. Taky je tam těsně před koncem takový skok, kdy se postavy najednou znovu sejdou, i když byly dost daleko. Četla jsem to dvakrát a pořád jsem to nepochopila.
Tak nějak jsem měla problém si najít cestičku k nějaké postavě, nikdo z nich mě nezajímal a fandila jsem virákům, aby zas dostali sváču.
Druhý díl tuším, že mám doma, takže si ho asi časem přečtu, protože jsem zvědavá na dvě věci. (view spoiler)[Na konci Amy naznačovala, že je Peter něčím zvláštní, tak bych chtěla vědět čím. (hide spoiler)] a (view spoiler)[Ten konec? Co to je? Sara končí zápis mega happy, ale tak nějak to vypadá, že vše šlo do kytiček. (hide spoiler)]...more
Messieurs Lunard, Queudver, Patmol et Cornedrue spécialistes en assistance aux Maniganceurs de Mauvais Coups sont fiers de vous présenter. LA CARTE DU MARMessieurs Lunard, Queudver, Patmol et Cornedrue spécialistes en assistance aux Maniganceurs de Mauvais Coups sont fiers de vous présenter. LA CARTE DU MARAUDEUR
I have to say that after all this time I have a bigger appreciation for the third book than I did before. And it was sadder than I realised. Knowing what's going to happen. No matter how many times I read this, it's still amazing.
Je jure solennellement que mes intentions sont mauvaises....more
Well, this is going to be rather hard. The first thing I have to say that with all respect for General Sir Richard Shirreff, he is not a novelist and Well, this is going to be rather hard. The first thing I have to say that with all respect for General Sir Richard Shirreff, he is not a novelist and it is something that is putting this book down. From unbelievable dialogues to dialogues which are so strangely put together you are wondering who is actually talking. The author likes to put at least a page-long summary of a person character and their history when they enter the picture which is as you may imagine very distracting and feels very forced. The author said that he wrote this because he believes that this way he will be able to approach more people who usually do not read policy papers for think-tanks. But he immediately fails since he has no idea how to write a novel. If he found a ghost-writer who would use what he had prepared as a storyline and made it more readable, it would be way better.
The book is filled with abbreviations, weapons, how NATO works etc. If you have no idea, it will be exhausting for you. If you do, you will be soon tired by the repetitions.
Where to start? President, how they always call the Russian president is very clearly Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The President is by the Russians called Vladimir Vladimirovich very often. Never Putin. But it could not be any more clear that it is actually him. I do not understand why the author tried to pretend it is actually not Putin when it is obvious it is actually him and on the other hand why he made it so clear it is actually Putin, but any of the other persons featured in the book are not also a portrait of a real politician. At first, I thought that the American President Dillon, since it is a woman and just won the elections is actually Hillary Clinton. But Dillon comes from a business sphere which is something that links her more to Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton. Also, Hillary Clinton as a former Secretary of State would not need a detailed briefing on how military works and what the generals just told her. So, I believe that the American President is actually a combination of both. Dillon has Trump's inexperience in the military, but I believe her decisions are more like Clinton's. As for the British, I do not know the British political scene well enough to try to find some similarities.
I'm not going to go into the whole would Russia attack the Baltics, a NATO member state, because that is a complex issue and one that had a lot of attention since it is well known that Russia does not appreciate NATO at its borders.
What I did not appreciate about the novel is that it is very pro-Western and clearly anti-Russian. Putin is shown as a Bond movie villain or a villain in a Superhero movie. Those villains always have a great plan that clearly works until the point where the hero starts to fight against them when suddenly everything crumbles. Said villain is often ridiculed and humiliated.
The main thing Shirreff wanted to push through is how cutting the military budget is a bad thing! (Not going to go into if I agree or disagree.) But, he repeats it over and over again. Russians use it as one of the reasons why attack now, everyone uses it as an explanation for why the Russians attacked, why they cannot attack back, why their plan did not work etc. In the end, one of the "heroes" of the novel talks about the future, and he has a long monologue where he is angry about how they cut the budget which caused everything. The monologue was absolutely cheezy but clearly something the author wanted to say himself, but he did not realise he already pushed that through somewhere around page 50.
What I found the most important and interesting is the NATO problem. Russia is not the problem. NATO which is not united and cannot come to a consensus is the real problem. And that was brilliantly shown. It takes very much for the 28 states to come to an agreement. It is even harder than to force them to really fulfil their promises. I say that as a citizen of a state that still did not fulfil of its promise to pay up the 2% GDP. And, it also showed how some states are becoming more and more depended on Russia. Russia is right now heavily investing in the Balkans. A couple of years ago I visited Montenegro, and I was surprised how much Russians invest there and that it was easier to speak Russian than English. And Montenegro is one of the possible nex members for NATO! Is that going to make the consensus any easier? NATO is shooting itself in the foot; they do not need Russia to do it.
I was probably never so inclined to write into a book as I was at this time but I've managed. But still, there are a couple of things I would like to address.
"...I'll have another chat to the Americans. Ask what they have done to stop the Russians lately." -This shows my main problem with the British leaders in this book. I do not believe that the PM was supposed to be Theresa May, but I cannot say. Still, it seemed like the British were portrait especially dumb. Not thinking anything through and not expecting any revenge.
Which continues:
Walker had never heard of the place, so was glad when the CDS elaborated. The place? Kaliningrad! You are British, did you never see a map of Europe? Okay, I would have no problem with a random British person not knowing what Kaliningrad was but some sort of adviser for the British PM. During basically war! That is dumb! I'm not even going to apologise for that.
Any more and the "dubs" - dumb Ukrainian bastards - This is how you are going to show that the Russians are the bad guys? That they are going to call Ukrainians fighting against them "dubs"? Not buying.
It is a sad thing that I have to say that the best-written character is Major Vronsky from Spetsnaz. Technically a bad guy but still there is no one else that could be considered a good written. The Presidents or the British PM are not really characters you could consider. Morland is a bit too bland. And where Krauja could shine she was hidden behind Morland.
If you are interested in a war-game that shows Russia attacking the Baltics, I would suggest you watch the BBC's This World 2016 World War Three Inside the War Room. I believe it shows the decision making way better.
Also, the book basicaly ends with (view spoiler)[Putin dying when his hilecopter crashes. It is implied that he was in reallity killed since he lost all power after the attack on the Baltics. Plus that the new President is even bigger danger and more nationalist and most likely will seek revenge for the lost. (hide spoiler)] I always said that we should not fear Putin's Russia but we should definitely fear Russia without Putin.
I'm still glad I read this but as I show there are many shortcomings on the authors part that pull this novel down. If there was the possibility to give half stars, this would be 2,5* but I'm going to round it up....more
Na to jak je to hubená knížečka, jsem to četla teda pěkně dlouho.
Před pár lety jsem byla naprosto nadšená z Lutzovi Exmanželka. Takže jsem teď čekala Na to jak je to hubená knížečka, jsem to četla teda pěkně dlouho.
Před pár lety jsem byla naprosto nadšená z Lutzovi Exmanželka. Takže jsem teď čekala něco podobného.
A upřímně jsem byla velmi zklamaná. Nevím jestli to bylo touhle knihou nebo jsem prostě před lety z Exmanželky byla nadšená, ale dneska bych to ani nedočetla.
Děj mě nenadchnul, byl velmi předvídatelný. A konec zase dost divný a naprosto nerealistický. (view spoiler)[Jistě, ve vězení bude někomu vykládat, že ho nezabila, ale že to udělala její spolubydlící (kterou nikdy nikdo neviděl), ale ne, zrovna má štěstí na detektiva, který jí prostě bude věřit a půjde po absolutních drobcích. (hide spoiler)]
To samé se dá říct o postavách. Allie mi lezla na nervy. Už jenom kvůli tomu, že Samovi odpustí (view spoiler)[že ji podvedl, což je taky takové divné. Kdyby to bylo nějak víc rozvedeno, tak by to nevyznělo jako výkřik do prázdna. Bylo by zajímavé, kdyby to třeba již tady byla Hedra, která ho měla předem zmanipulovaného (hide spoiler)]a vezme ho zpátky. Vlastně jsem ani mezi nimi žádnou chemii necítila, prostě ne. Hedra... Nevím, co k ní říct. Asi by ale kniha byla zajímavější z jejího pohledu.
(view spoiler)[Přitom ten konec šlo tak hezky vyřešit jinak. Proč Hedra nemohla udělat někde chybu? Nechat u Sama svoji DNA. Nebo zapomenout na někoho, kdo je s Allie viděl? Blbě se před někým prokecnout? Nebo proč nepřišel někdo z těch lidí z toho baru, kde ji Allie hledala, podat svědectví. Většina z nich se vyjadřovala, že ji nemají rádi. Okay, když už byl detektiv tak aktivní jen kvůli Alliině slovu, tak by bylo pořád logičtější, kdyby si s někým z těch lidí promluvil a zjistil by, že je nějaká druhá Allie. (hide spoiler)]
Jinak celá ta zápletka s Mayfaira byla poměrně zbytečná, ději nic nepřidala a v některých situacích z Allie udělala ještě větší blbku, než už byla. Navíc, co se stalo s těmi záhadnými telefonáty? To se doopravdy nedovíme, kdo to byl? (view spoiler)[A volal Hedře, která se vydávala za Allie nebo volal Allie, protože to Hedra zařídila, jako psychycké deptání? (hide spoiler)]...more
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