2017/04/28

2017/04/26

BOOK REVIEW:
FEMININE GOSPELS BY CAROL ANN DUFFY

Title: Feminine Gospels
Author: Carol Ann Duffy
Published: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 67
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
This collection looks at the experience of women, both historical and imagined, real life and larger than life.


Review:
This is my first read by Duffy and I picked this up after everyone kept telling me how wonderful her poetry is. And I can see what they're saying, at least in parts.

There were some poems in this I thought were excellent and it's a very cohesive and well put together collection. Some of the poems didn't resonate with me though and it's not really a writing style I'm overly fond of I think. It works for me sometimes, but not always.

I don't feel a strong emotional connection to this collection and it feels a bit too high brow for me. I didn't feel completely captured, but I can see the merit of the poems nonetheless. I also liked the historical aspects of the collection and the theme of women and their experiences.

I definitely want to read more of Duffys work after having read this and I would recommend it if you're an avid poetry reader.
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2017/04/25

2017/04/24

BOOK REIVEW:
THE IMPOSSIBLE FAIRY TALE BY HAN YUJOO

Title: The Impossible Fairy Tale
Author: Han Yujoo, Janet Hong (translator)
Published: 2017
Language: English (translated from Korean)
Pages: 214
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
This is an eerie, unpredictable and original story about two grade-school girls and the odd society at their school.


Review:
This book was next level strange.

I'm a little unsure what to say about this book and I don't know if I fully understand it. It's separated into two parts and I really liked the first one, but I felt it went a bit over the edge in the second part. The book is as much about how to tell a story and the use of language than the actual story, which is quite an interesting thing to read, but it gets a bit much in certain parts in my opinion.

It's a very mysterious and experimental book and I'm not really sure how I feel about it quite yet. It was an interesting read though and one I've thought quite a lot about since I finished it, but it needs a bit more time to simmer, I think. It might even need a reread.

It's a weird book and it's a bit all over the place, but it does have a certain beauty to it. Odd though, really odd.
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2017/04/22

BOOK REVIEW:
THE ESSEX SERPENT BY SARAH PERRY

Title: The Essex Serpent
Author: Sarah Perry
Published: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 416
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
Set in Victorian England in an Essex village that is engulfed in rumours of a mythical creature roaming the sea, this is a story that centres around two people who fall for each other, but not in the conventional way.


Review:
One of the most loved books I'd heard of from last year, I had sky high expectations for this book.

And it was a very good book indeed. It explores the balance between science and superstition, as well as friendship and romantic love, and it does this beautifully. It's wildly atmospheric, slightly creepy in parts and wonderfully eerie, as well as having a certain warmth to it.

The writing is astounding. It's beautiful, it sets the scenes vividly and you truly feel transported back in time in all ways; not just with the setting, but with the people and the themes as well. It's all very well crafted. And the characters! They're superbly conceived, fully fleshed out and I found most of them fascinating to read about. It's an exciting book as well, though I will admit some of the subplots struggled to keep my attention through the entire book.

I do think my expectations were slightly too high though and without being able to pinpoint what's missing, it's not a new favorite. It's up there though, with the better books I've read and it really is a must read if you like historical fiction.
You can get this book at Waterstones in this particular edition, or in another edition at The Book Depository*
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2017/04/21

2017/04/19

BOOK REVIEW:
DELUSIONS OF GENDER BY CORDELIA FINE

Title: Delusions of Gender: The Real Science Behind Sex Differences
Author: Cordelia Fine
Published: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 338
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
This book looks at the science of the brain in the male and female brain, what seperates them, what doesn't and what it all means.


Review:
This was a very interesting book.

I've never really been exposed to that many theories of the male and female brain and their differences, so most of this was pretty new to me. It was quite fascinating though, to see the research done in this area, the interpretation of different results and the authors thoughts on them. It's also interesting to read about the history of this type of thinking; trying to find a bodily difference in the brain between men and women and often ignoring our own culture and the way we've structured our society throughout the ages. It's also an interesting comment on jumping to conclusions and being critical and cautious of what some research "determines".

It's clearly a well-researched book and it's quite easy to understand and follow along. It's also a bit funny which I appreciated, because it helped alleviate some of the weight of this book. It's a book that packs a punch, yes, but it's also repetitive and a little bit dry. I also would've loved to see an updated version of this book, which included more on gender identities and not just pure female/male gender roles. I think the past ten years has brought a lot of discussions on gender that's quite interesting and important, and because I've been so exposed to that, I couldn't help but feel this to be a bit narrow.

I'd say it's one of the more interesting books I've read, but doesn't necessarily score that high on the enjoyment scale. It took effort to get through but it was worth it. I would recommend it if you're interested in the topic, but I would advise taking it bite by bite and not trying to eat it all in one go.
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2017/04/18

BOOKSTAGRAM SPOTLIGHT:
@RACHELREADS

It's time to look at another wonderful bookstagram account and today I want to divert your attention to the lovely Rachel over at @rachelreads.

Et innlegg delt av Rachel (@rachelsreads)



Fantastic, no? Go follow!
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2017/04/17

BOOK REVIEW:
PIRATE HUNTERS BY ROBERT KURSON

Title: Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship
Author: Robert Kurson
Published: 2015
Language: English
Pages: 432
Rating: 2/5


Summary:
This is the story of two men and their challenging and daring search for a legendary sunken pirate ship.


Review:
This book promises many things; history, suspense, pirates and above all: adventure. And in some ways it delivers all of this, but in others, it falls short.

I was very intrigued in the beginning of this book and I thought this was going to be a new favorite. You get to know the treasure hunters and their backstory which I thought was quite interesting and then there's the story of the ship they're searching for and its captain, which is brilliant. The writing was pretty good, the mystery was all set up and the search began. And then... it goes around in circles for pages on end.

I think this book could've easily shed almost a hundred pages because I think it lost some of its momentum in them. With these kinds of books, I feel there should be a certain feeling as a reader towards the end; you eagerly flip pages to solve the mystery as well as not wanting it to end. With this, when I started reaching the end, I just impatiently wanted them to get there already.

The history is definitely fascinating though, the tales of treasure hunting interesting and the stories from the Golden Age of Piracy are great. I just sorely wish there was less of all the other stuff in the middle of it, as you can only read about men bickering on a boat for so long.
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2017/04/16

2017/04/15

BOOK REVIEW:
DEAR IJEAWELE, OR A FEMNIST MANIFESTO IN FIFTEEN SUGGESTIONS BY CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE

Title: Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 80
Rating: 5/5


Summary:
Originally written as a letter to a dear friend who asked Adichie how to raise her daughter feminist, this is a powerful statement about feminism today.


Review:
This book is a treasure. If you've been around for a while, you'll know I absolutely love Adichies writing, and it's no surprise to anyone that I've ended up loving this as well.

This is powerful, eloquent, wise and funny and encompasses all of what I already love about Adichies writing. It's thoughtful, interesting and an invitation to discuss the reality of what it's like to be a woman in this day and age. It's honest and personal, and the form of a letter brings a sort of intimacy into it that I'm very happy they decided to share with the world.

I get the same feeling from this as I do every time I watch her TEDx talk "We Should All Be Feminist" and that is a sense of hope and reassurance, because there's someone out there that thinks the way I do and manage to put it into words when I can't, and I don't think I can stress enough how important that is.

I want every single person on Earth to read this. It's an extraordinary book.
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