Review

Love and Spice
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR A 58 YEAR OLD BOOK THAT HAS BEEN ADAPTED INTO TWO MOVIES AND ONE TV SERIES.
By Atomic Historian2 years ago in BookClub
Review of 'Woman of Light'
There is one every generation, a seer who keeps the stories. Luz “Little Light” Lopez, a tea leaf reader and laundress, is left to fend for herself after her older brother, Diego, a snake charmer and factory worker, is run out of town by a violent white mob. As Luz navigates 1930s Denver, she begins to have visions that transport her to her Indigenous homeland in the nearby Lost Territory. Luz recollects her ancestors’ origins, how her family flourished, and how they were threatened. She bears witness to the sinister forces that have devastated her people and their homelands for generations. In the end, it is up to Luz to save her family stories from disappearing into oblivion. Written in Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s singular voice, the wildly entertaining and complex lives of the Lopez family fill the pages of this multigenerational western saga. Woman of Light is a transfixing novel about survival, family secrets, and love—filled with an unforgettable cast of characters, all of whom are just as special, memorable, and complicated as our beloved heroine, Luz.
By Cyn's Workshop2 years ago in BookClub
"Atlas Shrugged": A Review
It’s easy to be snarky, sarcastic, degrading, and even vicious towards reviewing books. Nowhere is this more evident than with the works of writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. In particular, her magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged (1957), garners praise but mostly people employ condescending rhetoric when it comes to this tome.
By Skyler Saunders2 years ago in BookClub
A Gift from James Ballard
As a little preface - English is not my mother tongue. I was born in the USSR in a mixed Estonian-Russian family, and my first language was Russian.
By Nik Hein2 years ago in BookClub
A Book that change my thoughts
I want to say this is a case of “It’s not the book, it’s me.” But then again, isn’t that the case for every book we end up disliking that everyone else enjoyed?
By Kajal Ghosh2 years ago in BookClub
Book Review: Norah's Ark by Victoria Williamson
Two very different lives. One shared hope for a brighter future. No time to waste. The flood is coming... Eleven-year-old Norah Day lives in temporary accommodation, relies on foodbanks for dinner, and doesn't have a mum. But she's happy enough, as she has a dad, a pet mouse, a pet spider, and a whole zoo of rescued local wildlife to care for. Eleven-year-old Adam Sinclair lives with his parents in a nice house with a big garden, a private tutor, and everything he could ever want. But his life isn't perfect - far from it. He's recovering from leukaemia and is questioning his dream of becoming a champion swimmer. When a nest of baby birds brings them together, Norah and Adam discover they're not so different after all. Can Norah help Adam find his confidence again? Can Adam help Norah solve the mystery of her missing mother? And can their teamwork save their zoo of rescued animals from the rising flood? Offering powerful lessons in empathy, Norah's Ark is a hopeful and uplifting middle-grade tale for our times about friendship and finding a sense of home in the face of adversity.
By Marie Sinadjan2 years ago in BookClub
Seduction in the Spirituality Section Came With Way More Perks
When you grab an unknown book out of curiosity and then open it to a random page to 'get a feel'…sounds kinda sleazy, doesn’t it?
By The Dani Writer2 years ago in BookClub
20000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne (Review)
Chapter 1 - A Shifting Reef The year 1866 was marked by a bizarre incident, an unexplained and unexplainable phenomenon, which -without a doubt- no one has forgotten.
By Ian Read2 years ago in BookClub
Friedrich August Von Hayek The Road to Serfdom
Friedrich August von Hayek ( 1889-1992) Austrian-British economist and political philosopher who got a Nobel prize in the field of economy in 1974 together with G.Myrdal.
By Lightness2 years ago in BookClub
The Celestial Waltz
The small town of Celestia was always known for its serene charm and its intimate connection with the night sky. Nestled amidst rolling hills and surrounded by a forest that whispered ancient secrets, the town had an enchanting quality that made it seem like it existed in its own pocket of time. But this August was different. The anticipation in the air was palpable as the townspeople eagerly awaited the arrival of a celestial event that hadn't occurred in decades – the Super Blue Moon.
By sherif amzat2 years ago in BookClub
Beating ADHD with Lessons from Ready Player One
Growing up engrossed in video games such as Ragnarok Online and Perfect World, the virtual world has always felt like a second home to me. Despite the immense concentration and dedication I applied to gaming, leveling up avatars, and conquering missions, I found it incredibly difficult to channel that same commitment into other aspects of my life, notably reading. The challenges of living with ADHD made the seemingly simple task of reading a book an almost insurmountable hurdle. My thoughts would dart around erratically, like an overexcited gamer navigating through multiple screens, tabs, and functions. The result? I never managed to finish a single book. But everything changed when I picked up Ready Player One.
By Abnoan Muniz2 years ago in BookClub
As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow
As long as the Lemon trees grow is a powerful book to inform people about the events happening in Syria. It is a story about love for one’s country. The story revolves around a young girl “Salama” who was studying to be a pharmacist before the revolution took place. But now, she is volunteering as a doctor in the nearby and the only hospital in Homs. She has no one in her family left except for her sister-in-law Layla, and Khwaf who happens to be the imagination of her creation. She is engulfed with fear daily, imagining the worst-case scenario thanks to Khwaf. Her father and brother Hamza were taken away by the government for participating in the revolution. Being taken by the government meant only two things: either they were tortured every day until the day they died, or they had already been killed. The family wished for the latter. Before being taken away by the government, Hamza made Salama promise to keep their mom, herself, and Layla, his wife safe. She lost her mother during one of the bombings which turned their home into rubble. And now she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her best friend and sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. Salama learns about Am helping Syrians who want to leave the Revolutionary War. Her sister-in-law Layla talks to Salama about leaving behind Syria. Salama hesitates because she is only one of two doctors Homs has. She is torn between loyalty to her country and her will to survive. However, the bombing near her house scares her for the safety of Layla and her unborn child. She wants to find a way to get out of Syria before Layla gives birth. She is reminded of the promise she made to her brother on the day he was taken away. She meets Am to talk about leaving Syria. He asks for a ridiculous amount of money for two people. Salama is angry at Am for using people's sufferings to make money but she must contend with him as it was the only way she and Layla might finally breathe free. The guy comes rushing to the hospital with her daughter who has been one of the victims of the recent bombing. As her desperation to save Layla grows, then and there Khwaf tells her to use this situation to her advantage. She sets a deal with Am that she will treat his daughter if he decides to lower the boat price for her. He couldn’t believe what she had proposed and looked at her with disbelief. Salama then reminds him that he is doing the same thing or even worse as he is using people’s desperation to be alive to make money by charging immoderate amounts of money to get them out of the country. He agrees but continues to remind her how evil of a person she is for using such a situation to her advantage. Through the events, she ends up meeting Kenan whom she was supposed to meet for marriage before the revolution began. She is drawn by the familiarity of Kenan, but she can't remember where she had seen him before or if he was another one of her imaginations. Khwaf makes her doubt her every decision, every choice, and everything she doesn’t want to worry about. She worries about Kenan and his two little siblings and the trauma they hold because of the revolutions. Kenan's little brother had stopped talking since the day their parents were killed during one of the bombings. She learns about Kenan’s love for Studio Ghibli movies and his wish to become an animator in the future. He makes her happy, and seeing him she starts imagining what would have happened had they met in a different circumstance where she would be able to tell him about all the plants and their medicinal values and talk about her hectic days at the hospital. She starts building this beautiful world with him in her imagination. Later she finds out he was supposed to be at her house to meet her. His mom had met Salama during her brother’s Walima and liked her for her son Kenan. Their mom had set up a meeting arrangement where Kenan and Salama could meet each other. She had seen Kenan’s picture and had liked it. Layla had even made fun of her and she remembers being all shy while looking at Kenan's picture. But before they could ever meet the revolution started, they were torn apart from their families not knowing whether they were dead or alive. Kenan was shooting the revolution videos and uploading them on YouTube. Salama fears for his safety because supporting the revolution in any way meant going against the government and the only outcome for that was torture or death. Khwaf tries to plant the seed of doubt in Salama’s heart against Kenan. But since they were around the same age and going through similar trauma, she decided to trust him. Later Kenan tells her that they were supposed to meet and supposedly could have been married.
By Winry2 years ago in BookClub