2019/06/30

2019/06/29

BOOK REVIEW:
TERRA NULLIUS BY CLAIRE G. COLEMAN

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S
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Title: Terra Nullius
Author: Claire G. Coleman
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 302
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
Set in future Australia, the Settlers who have colonised the country are eager for peace and will do anything to achieve it, whereas the Natives are desperate for freedom from their oppressors.


Review:
I thought this book was fascinating and exciting, and well worth the read!

The themes of this book are really interesting and it gives such a clear look at the destruction of colonisation and comments on our own history. I thought it was especially interesting to get into the minds of the characters and the kinds of thought process that could make people act and believe in what they do in this book. It's horrific to look into the minds of these characters who see other people and literally think they're animals, and what makes that so horrific is that it's not a reach. I also really liked how you get halfway through the book and realise who the Settlers are though, I loved that twist and it made me even more intrigued to keep going.

I do think that the theme and what this book is trying to convey sometimes is a little much and in parts, I think it overtakes the story and the characters too much. I really liked reading about the characters in this book, but I wish they had been a little more well-rounded and developed.

Overall though, this is a great commentary on colonisation and it made me think and reflect on the topic and it's well worth the read just for that.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2019/06/28

2019/06/27

BOOK HAUL:
JUNE

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S
S P O N S O R E D : O N E  B O O K  S E N T  B Y  P U B L I S H E R
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June is coming to an end and it's time to take a look at the books I got this month! This has been one of those months where I've just kept picking up books everywhere, so now that I see the stack of books, it's a little larger than usual.

Summer has made an appearance here in Oslo this month, although it's looking to be a typical Norwegian summer this year, which means the weather is basically just super shifty and it rains a lot. I don't really mind that, to be honest; whatever inconvenience the weather may feel like to me, I know it's better for the nature if it's not scorching hot for six weeks straight.

Anyways, you're probably not here for a weather report, so... to the books!















( a f f i l i a t e  l i n k s  +  b o o k  m a r k e d  *  s e n t  b y  p u b l i s h e r )
* Kniv by Jo Nesbø (English edition here)

Hope you're all having a lovely day!
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2019/06/26

PENGUIN ORANGE COLLECTION:
TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S
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The magnificent Twelve Years A Slave by Solomon Northup. This is one of my favorite nonfiction classics, it's such an interesting and heartbreaking read!
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2019/06/25

THINGS I LIKE NO. 23

I mentioned earlier this year that I'd tried and loved the Himalayan Charcoal Mask from the Body Shop and that I wanted to try more of their face masks, and now I have! One of them is the Chinese Ginseng and Rice Face Mask and I am loving it!

This is a clarifying and polishing mask and it exfoliates your skin in a really lovely way and it leaves my skin super soft. You only need to leave it on for 5-10 minutes to get it to work, so this one is perfect for when you just want a super quick boost.
These masks really are wonderful for when you want to treat yourself to a little home spa, I love them so much!
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2019/06/24

BOOK REVIEW:
BURY WHAT WE CANNOT TAKE BY KRISTIN CHEN

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S
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Title: Bury What We Cannot Take
Author: Kristin Chen
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 300
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
A family living under Maoist rule on Drum Wave Islet decides to try and escape to Hong Kong under the ruse of a family member being sick, but finds it's impossible to get an exit permit for the whole family and ends up having to leave their youngest daughter behind.


Review:
This was a pretty interesting book, although I feel like it fell a little flat towards the ending.

I thought reading about the communist regime and the oppression the family experiences while under it was really interesting, and I liked seeing how the different family members dealt with it, as well as dealt with the situation of having to leave one of their own behind while they make a new life for themselves in another place. I especially liked reading about the grandmother and the mother and seeing how they thought and felt about the situation they were in. I also really liked reading from the perspective of the girl who was left behind and her coming to terms with what has happened.

That being said, some of the characters felt a little one-dimensional and I felt like the story lost itself a little bit the further into the book I got; it became a little repetitive and I found myself losing interest. I also thought the ending was a little underwhelming. It started off really strong but just tapers off a little bit.

There are a lot of interesting themes going on in the book, but it doesn't really do anything with the plot, the writing or the characters to make it stand out.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2019/06/23

10K Q&A

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2019/06/22

BOOK REVIEW:
THE LAST BY HANNA JAMESON

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S
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Title: The Last
Author: Hanna Jameson
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 392
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
A group of people are stranded in a hotel in Switzerland after nuclear war has erupted, and a historian who was there for a conference becomes obsessed with trying to find out what has happened to a young girl they've found in the hotel water tank.


Review:
This was an entertaining and interesting book, although it wasn't without its faults.

I found this story to be incredibly readable and the whole setting of this book is incredibly enthralling. I really liked getting to know the group of people in the hotel and seeing them figure out the group dynamics and grappling with what has happened to the world. It was really fascinating and terrifying to see what happened to the people we meet in this book as supplies dwindle and everyone starts wondering where the road is going to lead next.

But next to that, there are some things in this book that just fell a little flat. The excitement of the mystery of the girl in the water tank surprisingly tapers off fairly quickly and I sort of lost interest in it halfway through the book; I almost feel like it could've been taken out of the story altogether. I also wish we'd gotten to dig deeper into the issues that arises from having nuclear war kill so many people, and what prompted the war to break out in the first place. I also felt the ending to be underwhelming and rushed.

So although I thoroughly enjoyed this, it feels like the story just sort of scratched the surface. I'd recommend it if you like apocalyptic stories though, I think it's the worth the read if you like that sort of thing.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2019/06/21

2019/06/19

PENGUIN ENGLISH LIBRARY:
THE TIME MACHINE

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S
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Love, love, love this edition of The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.
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2019/06/18

BOOKSTAGRAM SPOTLIGHT:
@MYBOOKBATH

Here is another bookstagram account I follow and adore: @mybookbath! This account is run by Jude and I love looking at all the books she features on her feed.

Go follow!
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2019/06/17

BOOK REVIEW:
OIL AND HONEY BY BILL MCKIBBEN

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S
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Title: Oil and Honey: The Education of an Unlikely Activist
Author: Bill McKibben
Published: 2013
Language: English
Pages: 272
Rating: 2/5


Summary:
In this, the author, Bill McKibben, recounts his experiences of becoming an environmental activist.


Review:
I don't really know what I expected from this, but... whatever I got wasn't it.

I find I don't have a whole lot to say about this. The book really is just the author recounting his journey of traveling around the world, trying to make changes happen when it comes to the environment and trying to raise awareness of the damage we're doing to our planet.

My problem with this was honestly just that I found it to be really boring. When I sat down to read it and I got a few pages into the chapter, I just found my interest dwindling, and the further into the book I got, the faster my interest waned. It felt really repetitive towards the end. I was surprised by how dull I found this, as I'm actually incredibly interesting in this topic.

The only thing I did like about this was the parts of beekeeping and getting to know the authors friend who worked on his own beekeeping farm. Other than that, I just... I was just bored!
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2019/06/16

2019/06/15

BOOK REVIEW:
MAMA AMAZONICA BY PASCALE PETIT

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S
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Title: Mama Amazonica
Author: Pascal Petit
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 112
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
This is a poetry collection set in a psychiatric ward of an animal hospital in the Amazon rainforest.


Review:
This was a beautiful, painful and wonderful collection of poetry.

The scenes some of these poems create are so vivid and filled with passion, life and emotion. We explore mental illness, trauma and the authors experiences from her childhood and it's all incredibly fascinating. The setting and the use of animals works really well. The language is colorful and intense and flows incredibly well. It all manages to make sense even through all the metaphors, which is very well done, as I've experienced before that things get lost in them.

My only complaint is that the collection felt a little long in some parts, and some parts felt a little repetitive.

Overall, an excellent collection and one I'd highly recommend to all poetry lovers out there.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2019/06/14

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