My Year Of Rest And Relaxation is a wonderfully fucked up book in every sense of the word. By far, one of the most interesting novels I've read in a lMy Year Of Rest And Relaxation is a wonderfully fucked up book in every sense of the word. By far, one of the most interesting novels I've read in a long time!
If you're a fan of unlikeable, unhinged, entitled protagonists and love dark humour with lots of depressive episodes and existential crisis, you'll probably dig it. The main synopsis is a young privileged woman, recently bereaved of both of her parents, who attempts to self-medicate herself into a year of hibernation based on the concept of rebirth/renewal.
The last page completely suckerpunched me.
It has a similar(ish) tone to Bret Easton Ellis (particularly American Psycho's nihlistic/self-destructive vibe) and Martin Amis (Money), both of which are two of my all time favourite books. I look forward to delving into Moshfegh's other books soon....more
Oh, I fell for this book hard. It's been a while since I've enjoyed a novel like this and I'm not sure why I never read it when there was a huge hype Oh, I fell for this book hard. It's been a while since I've enjoyed a novel like this and I'm not sure why I never read it when there was a huge hype about it years ago.
Normal People follows the timeline of two young people and their incredibly messy and chaotic relationship/friendship over the span of a number of years. Marianne starts off as the classic 'loner' stereotype; the weird girl at school with no friends, whereas Connell is the popular sporty guy with bags of confidence. Their initial secret hookups at school develop into an ongoing romance and we see their personalities change and grow as the story continues.
It's a classic tale of two people in love who can't seem to move on or forget the other, regardless of where life or other partners take them. Bittersweet, funny, and sad at times, it's easy to see how this was picked up for a drama series....more
All The Living and the Dead is an exceptionally thought-provoking and utterly insightful book that takes a deep dive into the many different roles of All The Living and the Dead is an exceptionally thought-provoking and utterly insightful book that takes a deep dive into the many different roles of death workers and offers a fascinating study into this sadly hidden world. The author interviews people from every possible job role imaginable that involves death; from the commonly well-known positions such as funeral directors and embalmers, to the more obscure and less talked about roles like bereavement midwives and crime scene cleaners.
Campbell discusses the topic of death eloquently and with much empathy and understanding, yet doesn't sugarcoat the reality that these death workers deal with in their jobs every day. She also explains how interviewing these people, researching the topic, and shadowing their work impacted her own life and mental health, whilst opening up the discussion of how death should be embraced and accepted by society, rather than shut away and not talked about.
I feel that death is one of the last standing taboos that society has as a whole which is something that I've always personally thought was very strange as it happens to us all. I hope this book is read far and wide to educate and encourage others to openly talk about it more often....more
Half cookbook, half memoir, Breadsong is the emotionally moving journey of the origin of the now Insta-famous Orange Bakery. With the narrative writteHalf cookbook, half memoir, Breadsong is the emotionally moving journey of the origin of the now Insta-famous Orange Bakery. With the narrative written by both Kitty and her father, it recalls how Kitty's battle with her mental health led to an extraordinary change of career for her father and a new lifelong passion for baking for Kitty. It will truly make you cry at times and also rejoice at how strong and connected this family are for supporting their daughter through her darkest times.
The recipes are also incredible and offer a fantastic introduction to the novice and experimental baker with something for everyone to enjoy....more
A fantastic contemporary look at the meanings of tarot from such a fresh narrator's perspective! It really sparked my interest in the subject and brouA fantastic contemporary look at the meanings of tarot from such a fresh narrator's perspective! It really sparked my interest in the subject and brought it to life....more
One of the most interesting autobiographies that I've read in a long time! Despite being a long time fan of the Jo Malone brand (I adore the Lime BasiOne of the most interesting autobiographies that I've read in a long time! Despite being a long time fan of the Jo Malone brand (I adore the Lime Basil & Mandarin fragrance), I didn't actually know anything about the woman herself and found myself completely engrossed in her story which came across as fresh, honest and quite raw in some places.
I was not expecting such a rollercoaster of emotions to come to the surface as she depicts her childhood, growing up in a freezing cold council house (the way that she described watching a piece of ice fall down inside the window of her bedroom and how she declared that she didn't want to wake up feeling cold ever again once she was an adult - I was in tears as I grew up in similar circumstances), and the difficult relationship that she had with her parents, especially her mother, all resonated with me.
Throughout the book, I admired Jo's unfaltering work ethic - from working around the clock to help support her parents and sister, to building her own brand after working with her mother, she never stopped dreaming big and always kept finding ways to move onwards and upwards.
Admittedly, she did have some incredible opportunities (it's not every day that your mother randomly ends up working for an eccentric Countess in central London who died and leaves her the business), but she also put in a hell of a lot of effort to make the most of those opportunities and without her creative insight and can-do attitude, it's unlikely that Jo Malone would have been as rapidly as successful as she was, even with the famous names on her client list.
I thoroughly enjoyed her journey of building the brand, selling it and then years later, building a new brand, and her experience of having breast cancer in between only seemed to help strengthen her resolve even more.
Despite my love of all things sci-fi, I had never read anything by the great master Philip K. Dick before, and Minority Report was the first book thatDespite my love of all things sci-fi, I had never read anything by the great master Philip K. Dick before, and Minority Report was the first book that I spotted on the shelf when I decided to rectify this situation. I didn't realise that Minority Report itself was a short story, and so this edition also features eight other shorts including several which have been made into films.
Every story in this compilation is strong, and I can now see why so many people have such a high regard for PKD's work, and I can also clearly see how truly influential he has been in the industry. His stories are so engaging and gripping that I flew through this book, and I was sorely disappointed when I had finished it. Favourites of mine in this edition were Imposter, Minority Report, Second Variety, War Game and The Electric Ant.
Like many, I first heard about Bates' Everyday Sexism project via Twitter when the #ShoutingBack hashtag was gaining momentum, and I thought it was a Like many, I first heard about Bates' Everyday Sexism project via Twitter when the #ShoutingBack hashtag was gaining momentum, and I thought it was a great idea to have an online platform where women can share their daily experiences of sexism. I picked up the accompanying book, yet I had no idea of the emotional impact it was going to have on me.
When I was 12 years old, my proudest moment was when I campaigned with a group of other girls in my year to force our headmaster to let us wear trousers in the winter months. At that time, I don't think any of us thought of it as a 'women's or equal rights or sexist issue' or anything like that. We were simply fed up of freezing our legs off because we had to wear skirts and it was bloody cold (tights just weren't cutting it)! After our demands were met, the penny only dropped months later when Spring arrived and we were expected to go back to wearing skirts, and we asked that all important question 'but WHY?'. The boys didn't have to wear skirts, so why should we? We don't want to! It's not fair! Eventually, the headmaster relented and that was the end of that.
I didn't give feminism much more thought. Personally, I was much more interested in other issues like saving the environment, animal rights, the third world debt, the rich and poor divide, and later on, socialism, anarchism, communism (the proper kind, not to be confused with fascism). Feminism didn't really appeal to me because the feminists at my college were all lesbians and really uptight- they were no fun and I just wanted to hang out with the boys with dreads, go to gigs, get drunk and smoke weed. Feminists didn't do that, they just moaned about everything.
It was only when I began to work crappy jobs that I started to see how unequal society was. Nearly all the managers and supervisors were men, and the women were mostly working in low paid positions as admin staff, carers, checkout assistants, shop staff etc. It was 'normal' to see women in the bathroom at lunchtime crying because they didn't know what to do because their creepy manager had come onto them earlier that day. I remember having to register at a different surgery seven miles away because my local one didn't have a female GP, and arguing with staff there because I was out of their catchment area. It all started to click into place.
But I digress. Bates' Everyday Sexism book brought up a lot of my own past experiences with sexism that I thought I had forgotten about for good. Like the time I went to London for work experience with a big advertising company and a man in a suit outside asked me if I'd give him a blow job for £50 - I was 16. Or the time I got lost in Manchester after a gig and a group of men asked if I wanted to go back to their flat for a 'party' and I ran faster than I'd ever run in my life. Or the times I had my bra snapped by boys at school or was whistled at by builders and called a slut when I gave them the finger. I rarely told anyone about these and when I did, even close friends didn't want to know and they certainly didn't want to discuss it. These were all just 'normal' things - why did I want to make a fuss?
Reading other women's experiences in the Everyday Sexism book made me incredibly depressed because I never realised how wide a problem it was, but it also made me feel angry and empowered to want to 'do' something about it as well. Interspersed with the factual accounts are shocking statistics and Bates' does a fantastic job of addressing the issues of why we all need to learn and respect the values of consent and personal boundaries and we need to recognise that assault can come in any form where you have not consented to it happening to you.
The chapters are themed around a certain subject (e.g Women in Media, Young Women Learning, Women in Politics etc), very accessible to read, concise and to the point, whilst at the same time offering enough information to get your blood boiling. There's also a good chapter on men and what they can do to call out sexism when they see it and be part of the change because it's not going to happen on just one side. Things are certainly improving from when I was much younger and that was only 10 or 20 years ago, but there's so much more that needs to be done, so this is a book I would recommend to everyone....more
There are some books that I've had on my shelf for years and All Quiet On The Western Front, for some reason or another, has been one. I don't know whThere are some books that I've had on my shelf for years and All Quiet On The Western Front, for some reason or another, has been one. I don't know what urged me to finally pick it up, but I did so this month and I can confidently say that it's been elevated to my 'All Time Favourites' shelf. I haven't been so emotionally moved by a story for such a long time, that this just hit me for six and I can still remember feeling the hairs on my neck stand up when I read the last page.
All Quiet On The Western Front is of course one of those classics that almost everyone encourages you to read at least once in your life and I've now joined the ranks of those people. This is the story of Paul, a young German who enlists in the army straight out of school to fight for his country in WW1, along with his fellow classmates. These school boys turned soldiers are sent to the front and thus unravels the true horrors of war in vividly graphic detail. It's strange to say that I 'loved' a novel about one of the most bloodiest wars of our time, but Remarque's descriptions of the trenches, the shelling, the deeply human relationships etc are so incredibly realistic that you feel like you're there at the front with Paul, getting muddy and hoping to hell that a bomb doesn't hit your camp right now. But what I loved the most was the lack of heroism and nationalistic pride that seems to constantly plague us nowadays - this is the warts and all of war, this is a group of young adults scared out of their wits, this is the grim reality of war.
Along with several scenes which seem to have seared themselves onto my mind (I'll never get the image of the horses being shelled out of my head for as long as I live), the lasting memory I think I'll have of All Quiet On The Western Front is the recurring theme of the lost generation that Paul touches upon and describes throughout. The thought that it was so much harder for those who joined the war when they had just come out of school and had never really experienced life properly yet - the ones who didn't have girlfriends, families of their own, or even crappy jobs to return home to after it all ended. Whose only understanding of the world was fighting, bombing and violence again. For me, those were the most painful parts to read.
If you haven't read it before, read it now, and if you have read it, read it again....more
When I picked up Bird Box and read the blurb on the back, I was obviously intrigued by the concept, but really had no idea that I'd enjoy it so much. When I picked up Bird Box and read the blurb on the back, I was obviously intrigued by the concept, but really had no idea that I'd enjoy it so much. This is definitely in the top 5 books I've read all year! Bird Box is a suspenseful dystopia set in a not so distant future where 'creatures' have appeared and seeing one causes the viewer to go insane, which usually results in them attacking someone close by and then killing themselves in the most violent manner. As civilisation seems to approach its end, handfuls of survivors try to make it by wearing blindfolds, boarding up windows and finding safe places to stay. Malorie is the main character who we see this terrifying new world through, and we get to experience a whole rollercoaster of emotions as the story alternates between the past and present day. I thought Bird Box was a welcome refreshing break from the usual dystopian themes that dominate the genre as it instead focused more on abstract and psychological horror ideas. Well worth picking up!...more
The God Delusion is a book that I should have read years ago. I've always had a problem with religion which may stem from the fact that both of my parThe God Delusion is a book that I should have read years ago. I've always had a problem with religion which may stem from the fact that both of my parents tried to force their religious views down my throat when I was growing up. Having a Catholic mother and a Muslim father (who quickly got divorced, go figure) allowed me to see the sheer stupidity in religion as I often witnessed countless arguments based on who's God was best and so on and so forth.
Needless to say, I've always considered myself as an atheist, and The God Delusion is one of the most interesting books I've read on the subject so far. It's a meaty book to get your teeth into, but is broken down into focused chapters to make it more accessible. I read it over the span of two months, and took my time consuming what was said, carefully chewing it over and looking at the pros and cons of each argument presented. At the end of it, I can firmly say that I'll always be an atheist!
Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea is a book that I've seen many human rights activists who I admire recommend, and it's really opened my eyNonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea is a book that I've seen many human rights activists who I admire recommend, and it's really opened my eyes to seeing things from a different point of view. In Nonviolence, Kurlansky provides an insightful overview of this powerful mindset and movement, citing its early origins in the foundations of religions such as Christianity and Hinduism, and carries it through to describing its use in relation to the fall of the Soviet Empire. He illustrates the differences between nonviolence and pacifism, draws upon how States around the world have manipulated religion to promote wars and ultimately promotes nonviolence as the only way to achieve sustainable peace. The chapters are short and accessible, yet packed full of information, and he rounds it off with a 25 lessons summary at the end to recap what you've just read.
Nonviolence is a fascinating book which will help you to think about the futility of war and violence, and hopefully it'll encourage more people to question and proactively change (through nonviolent means) the power-mad agendas of their governments. One of my favourite quotes that's stuck in my mind is one by Hannah Arendt - "The practice of violence changes the world, but the most probable change is a more violent world.". ...more
The Contortionist's Handbook is one of those books that just hooks you in from the very beginning and carries you on a weird and wonderful journey. ThThe Contortionist's Handbook is one of those books that just hooks you in from the very beginning and carries you on a weird and wonderful journey. The protagonist, John, is a typical down and out type from an outsider's point of view. He's someone you're naturally wired to hate, but through his charisma and intelligence, you just can't help but love him. The phrase 'own worst enemy' immediately springs to mind.
John's a master forger who can perfectly fake just about anything, which comes in handy for his other past time of being a drug addict (thinly veiled under the guise of someone who experiences 'godsplitting' headaches and then self-medicates to the point of regular overdose). Due to his appreciation for narcotics, he finds himself in and out of hospitals and uses his talented skills to knock up a brand new identity for himself each time to prevent the men in white coats trying to lock him up.
It's enthralling and a perfect piece of escapism, as you wonder if the authorities will ever catch up with John (or whatever his name is that week). While the ending was a little weak IMO, the intelligent, witty prose and clever one liners completely won me over to make this a 5/5....more
Oh The Great Gatsby, why has it taken me all these years to read you?! I enjoyed this so much, it's such an easy book to get sucked into. I felt like Oh The Great Gatsby, why has it taken me all these years to read you?! I enjoyed this so much, it's such an easy book to get sucked into. I felt like an adult version of Alice going down the rabbit hole, but ending up at the bottom covered in money, jewels, and cocktails. The prose is simply gorgeous, evoking a decadent and insanely wealthy world that you've no doubt heard about, but were never privy to. I loved the inevitable sadness and almost grief, attached to it as well though which showed a much more cruel side to all the splendour. ...more
If you want an easy to read, fully accessible and engaging history overview of the downfall of the Soviet Empire, then this is the title for you. I'veIf you want an easy to read, fully accessible and engaging history overview of the downfall of the Soviet Empire, then this is the title for you. I've picked up (and inevitably also put down) many books on this era and found the majority dull and far too dense for me. It's almost like you need a Masters in Eastern European history just to look at some of them! So I was very happy to stumble across this one as it's a great starting point / introduction to whet your appetite with. ...more
Harrison's now cult classic dystopian tale of an overpopulated New York City often gets forgotten about in comparison to the very loosely based film vHarrison's now cult classic dystopian tale of an overpopulated New York City often gets forgotten about in comparison to the very loosely based film version, Soylent Green. Whilst the book doesn't have the whole sensationalized hook of cannibalism (none of this is in the story) which so dominates the film, it stills provides an eery read which has all the hallmarks of a great dystopian novel. We have mass overpopulation and its myriad related problems, corruption at the top, a main character who is easy to identify with and through whose eyes we can see this crazy world for what it is, and of course some political undertones about how much religion sucks and why birth control is desperately needed.
The latter politics, whilst being thinly apparent throughout, are brought to light much more towards the end in Sol's dramatic speech which is worth reading the book for alone if you like that kinda thing like I do. Otherwise, I'd still recommend it because it reminds me of a Dirty Harry film and then can never be a bad thing.
A beautifully simple and short book that tells the love story of a relationship through dictionary definitions. The uncoventional manner of how its wrA beautifully simple and short book that tells the love story of a relationship through dictionary definitions. The uncoventional manner of how its written perhaps lends itself to the story not flowing in any order, but instead each definition is like a glimpse of this relationship. I'd recommend it to anyone who admires the clever use of the English language, and for those who are currently in some kind of relationship. Some of the definitions are a little cliched, but the majority will strike a cord with anyone who has ever experienced the rollercoaster of emotions that are associated with the pleasures and pains of being in love....more
A powerful and highly emotive account of how people are forced to live their lives in North Korea. Demick tells the personal stories of several peopleA powerful and highly emotive account of how people are forced to live their lives in North Korea. Demick tells the personal stories of several people who have managed to escape in a way that is easy to relate to (in terms of falling in love, being young, wanting to get a good job and education etc) but at the same time, completely alien because of how the dictatorship runs everything (no freedom, mass censorship, famine etc).
Despite the overall grim subject matter of a nation of oppressed people, Demick's writing style makes it accessible to read throughout with the use of short chapters and fascinating true life tales. Some parts are incredibly hard to read through, especially the chapters that deal with the horrendous famine of the 90s, so it took me some time to get through it all. It's a real eye opener to how hopeless some parts of the world are when they are ruled under such vicious dictatorships. I only hope that for the people of North Korea, that rule ends soon.
This book was amazing! It crams in so much on everything from space to evolution to our current existence and everything in between. Completely accessThis book was amazing! It crams in so much on everything from space to evolution to our current existence and everything in between. Completely accessible, even to someone like me who hated anything to do with science at school, Bryson really has a gift for explaining complex terms in ways I can understand them. The short chapters only add to this ease of reading, and I found myself constantly fascinated by what I was reading whenever I picked it up. I recommend it to everyone....more
Loading...
