2020/03/30
2020/03/28
BOOK HAUL:
MARCH
S P O N S O R E D : S O M E B O O K S S E N T B Y P U B L I S H E R S
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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So. March has been quite a month and not in a particularly good way. As I'm sure everyone is aware, the current pandemic is spreading throughout the world and a lot of places have gone into lockdown, including all of Norway. It's a scary time for everyone.
I have found bits of light in these past few weeks though; seeing the community come together and help each other out, talking to friends more than usual and checking in, seeing and hearing people share ideas of what to do when you're stuck inside and all sorts of other little things. Hopefully, we can all do a bit of team effort in this situation and it'll be over sooner rather than later.
I've also found a lot of refuge in books these past few weeks and I've been reading loads (especially those weeks I've been stuck in quarantine). I've also got quite a lot of new books I'm excited about this month and I'm really looking forward to them.
( a f f i l i a t e l i n k s + b o o k s m a r k e d * s e n t b y p u b l i s h e r s )
I hope you're all doing all right wherever you are!
2020/03/27
2020/03/26
2020/03/25
BOOK REVIEW:
LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE BY CELESTE NG
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: Little Fires EverywhereAuthor: Celeste Ng
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 341
Rating: 5/5
Summary:
In Shaker Heights, an immaculate and carefully planned suburb of Cleveland where everything is just so, the Richardsons decide to let their rental home to a single mother and her daughter and as their lives become more and more entangled, resentment and secrets start emerging with devastating consequences.
Review:
This was an excellent novel and one of my favorite books I've read so far this year.
This is a novel very much about characters and it's filled to the brim with fascinating ones. They feel real and very well crafted. I especially liked reading about the mothers in this book and their different ways of thinking, acting and handling different situations, and reading about their relationships with their daughters was really interesting. You really feel like you get into their heads and it felt like I really got to know them. There's a lot of emotion and thought in these characters which make me feel like they'll stay with me for a long time.
The story has a lot of elements to it, but it never feels messy, it just reads like life. The setting is also excellent; this extremely meticulous and precise space works as an excellent backdrop. There are a lot of secrets and surprises along the way, but it doesn't feel cheap or overdone. The characters are what makes this book though and they're what makes you want to keep reading.
It's a slow burn of a book in a lot of ways, but I felt like that really worked, because it gave space for the building of complex and interesting characters, which is what makes this an excellent novel. It explores motherhood, womanhood and morality in a well written and compelling way. I literally feel like the author nailed everything with this and so I'd highly, highly recommend it.
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/03/23
BOOK REVIEW:
NO ONE IS TOO SMALL TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY GRETA THUNBERG
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: No One Is Too Small To Make A DifferenceAuthor: Greta Thunberg
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 68
Rating: 3/5
Summary:
This is a collection of speeches from climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Review:
This was quite a short book and very much what it said it was going to be; a series of speeches written and made by Greta Thunberg. I quite enjoyed it, mostly because I think Greta is such an inspirational person and I applaud the work she's doing.
I really liked revisiting speeches I've heard in text and I liked pausing and thinking things over. I do, however, think that these speeches are more powerful when you listen to them, and when you end up reading the back to back, they get a little repetitive (understandably so, but still).
I think this was definitely worth reading though and I hope Greta comes out with more literature in the future, maybe in longer format where she explores her life and her work, because I'd love to read that. Although I imagine she's probably too busy saving the world, come to think of it.
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/03/22
2020/03/21
BOOK REVIEW:
THIS IS GOING TO HURT BY ADAM KAY
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: This Is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior DoctorAuthor: Adam Kay
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 280
Rating: 4/5
Summary:
Adam Kay was a junior doctor for six years before a devastating experience caused him to leave the profession and this book is a combination of the diary he kept when he was working and reflections on that time and those experiences.
Review:
This book is a weird combination of things; both funny, gross and heartbreaking, all at the same time.
This is one of those books that I feel like is really easy to get into and sort of get addicted to reading; I really didn't want to put this down when I first started it. It has a lot of humour in it, but also a lot of interesting (and sometimes slightly unpleasant) bits in it, and then some difficult and sad bits. I think it's hard to write a book that balances all of that, but I feel like this does it well.
I feel like throughout this book you really got insight into the intensity of this work and both the joy and the struggle of it. It shows us the dark side of this kind of work; people are overworked and underpaid and how anyone manages to do it over a long period of time is nothing short of incredible, especially when the consequences to the health care professionals personal life and mental health are so devastating. It also shows us the importance of health care and a health care system that works well, which it often doesn't.
I also have to give extra praise to the footnotes in this book, as they not only explain what needs to be explained when it comes to medical terms etc. but they're also really, really fun to read.
I did kind of feel like the end of this came about very abruptly and I felt like there was a little something missing at the end there, but otherwise, this was a great book and well worth reading (although I'll say it again, some things in here are quite graphic and would gross some people out, so just bear that in mind).
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/03/20
2020/03/18
2020/03/17
PENGUIN ENGLISH LIBRARY:
THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS AND OTHER CASES
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 the colors and the design of this edition of The Five Orange Pips and Other Cases by Arthur Conan Doyle.
2020/03/15
2020/03/14
THINGS I LIKE NO. 28
If you've been here for a while, you'll know I'm pretty obsessed with the face masks from The Body Shop and today I thought I'd share another favorite! This time it's the Japanese Matcha Tea Mask, which says it's a pollution clearing mask, and to be honest, I don't really know what that means. All I know is that it feels like it deeply cleanses my skin and it exfoliates it as well.
You only need to keep this on for 5-10 minutes, so it's super quick, which I'm very into! I will say, I don't love the smell of it though, but it's worth using either way and I really like it!
2020/03/13
2020/03/12
2020/03/11
BOOK REVIEW:
THE VIRAGO BOOK OF WITCHES EDITED BY SHARUKH HUSAIN
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 Virago Book of WitchesEdited by: Shahrukh Husain
Published: 1993
Language: English
Pages: 338
Rating: 3/5
Summary:
This is a collection of stories about witches from all around the world.
Review:
This was a great book to dip in and out of and read witchy tales from all kinds of different countries!
I really like reading about witches and especially their place in myth and folklore, and one thing I really liked about this collection was that we got to see witches in quite a broad term; we get to many kinds of magic, women and cultures. A lot of the stories in the collection were also completely new to me, so that was really fun!
As with most short story collections, especially when they contain a lot of stories, there are going to be stories you love and stories you maybe don't like as much, and it's the same with this. I think it's worth reading all of them to find the ones you like, but there are some in here that I just couldn't get into.
Overall though, if you like folklore, fairytales and witches, this is a must read!
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/03/10
2020/03/09
EVERYMAN'S POCKET POETS:
BLAKE
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 beautiful collection of poetry by William Blake from Everyman's Library.
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