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Amazon link I watched the Netflix series while sick with covid a while back and found it entertaining. While the general story line is the same, the book is very different how it progressive with the character development. Overall, it is an enjoying YA read and I will start the next book in the near future.
Amazon link Any book on womens health is always very insightful and one is always learning something new. This book in particular does a great overview of everything around PCOS and offers practical suggestions about how to improve with the condition. Its is also great to read a book that talk both about the 'natural' but scientifically proven aids for health (such as switiching to a plant based diet) as well as talking about the typical medication route. As some one who is already plant based, a lot of this information was not new but it was still great to actually read the research around this and how it can help long term.
An interesting read for sure. Personally I am not keen on the writing style-while I understand the use of the informal language, I think it is just a bit too 'brash' for me. It is a classic in the self-help reading list though so is worth a read. When in moments of self doubt, it is for sure worth a read.
A nice read that covers various aspects of reading. From the history of how we began to read, modern digitalisation of reading to reading difficulties in children. This book offers some great insights into the science of reading that increases in complexity as you go through the book. I particularly enjoyed the sections on multilingualism and how this can be a benefit for children but also a hindrance if not done in a supportive environment.
I would highly recommend this one if you are curious about language and reading but don't want to delve too deep into the science.
I actually really enjoy reading more popular science books about my area of science. It provides a different perspective and it helps me alot when I am thinking about how to explain things to non-scientists. The author here does a really good job of weaving together the science and the history, making it a really coherent story. I even learnt a lot from this book from the earlier chapters about the first computers to some different methods of quantum computing. Although slightly outdated (like anything that is published within a day), I like the focus on trapped ions (obviously very biased but still).
I thought I would try reading some more German books and seeing as stress was a topic in a recent German class, I thought this book would be a nice supplement. I was rather disappointed when reading this book. The author does explain at the beginning that he is not an expert/scientist on the topic of stress and that this book is just about his experience but the book contained very generic tips and which sometimes felt a bit of a ‘bro science’ story. It was definitely good on the practising my German reading front but it was still not what I expected and I wouldn’t really recommend this book.
I am a huge fan of Simon's work and have been a long term viewer of his Youtube channel. His book does not disappoint. I very much enjoy reading about the history of science and this book has such a nice evolution in its storytelling. Atmospheric physics was not something I studied in my degree but this book is very accessible and I would recommend it to physicists and non physicists alike.
I have never actually read this book to the amazement of some of my friends but now I do agree it is a must read. Beautiful imagery and a nice story. I initially thought it was just a kids book but I for sure enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed this book. Beautiful imagery! I read this book so quickly because I couldn’t put it down. The story is gripping and nicely paced. A reminder at how childhood trauma can come up on us at any point in our lives. The ballerina trope has been done a lot before but had lots of twists and turns. However, maybe it is just because I have read a lot of similar styles of books before that it seemed a bit familiar. Highly recommend this book, although it has a few adult scenes that I was not expecting.
I have read other amazing survival stories from Holocaust survivors but this ones is extra special. The story is based on Lale Sokolov survival in the camp and then a short while after. The writing style is very plain and it feels like you are just reading the story as the subject is describing. Naturally, the topic is very sad but the writing style doesn’t make me (as the reader) feel emotionally overwhelmed all the while reading the book and feels like more of a story of hope than loss. Hence, I would recommend it to anyone who would want to read a story about some incredibly strong people.
I saw this book on Penguin's list of banned books and thought it would be an interesting read. Indeed it was an interesting book but not one I would read again. It was not in my scope of books I usually enjoy but I am still glad I read it. Was dragged out a lot with rather upsetting visuals from the character (what to be expected admittedly) but was something I wanted to finish quickly.
Amazing book. I read this over four days as it was such a gripping and a well written, heart-wrenching story. I had never heard of Munchausen by Proxy before but it is truly a scary form of abuse that must be so hard to detect until you are aware that this is a thing. I wonder if the ‘age of information’ has made this kind of abuse that the author suffered more prevalent- the author’s mother would spend time looking through medical books to identify possible illnesses/symptoms; now it is very common for people to use symptom checkers online and I wonder how many abuse this resource in the same way (a bit of a stretch but I am curious at the change in information sources). The story is well paced and the writer does a good job at telling her life story in a way that builds the emotion page by page. While it is a difficult tale of abuse, the author does a good job at telling her story in an informative but also ‘entertaining’ way that makes the reader want to carry on and find out more. With that point though, I find it kind of sad that one googling the author to find more of her work or interview, there is very little online. The book is a best seller, and was published in 2004 so I expected there to be more additional content out there-which is something I really value after reading books like these. Overall though, I would recommend this book. The level of reading is not too difficult, only the content is for mature readers.
I really did not like this book. Which is honestly rare for me. The writing is almost childlike and the style is constantly changing- not very well throughout. The author doesn’t go into depth on any plot and characters are very blank which I think was one of the main selling points of this story. It is a real shame because on first glance, this book had so much potential. And for sure, there were a few pages of the book, where for a moment, the writing was really good and built some good imagery. Sadly, this was short lived. The only reason I finished this book was because it was so short.
Reading two books back to back that contain a lot about child abuse etc, is a bit heavy but this was another book that I have wanted to read for a long time. I think I first saw the movie about the same story “From homeless to Harvard” and the author has such an interesting story that I wanted to read more. This is a nicely written autobiography, which is a genre that I do not read often, but the author's ability to understand her younger self and share her reflections on her journey is written so nicely. She is very personal and vulnerable with her choice of words and I guess it reflects the emotions and change she went through. A real ‘rag to riches’ story, I would highly recommend to people who want to reflect on their own journey.
I loved this book! The story was original and so well written. The characters had depth and the author did a great job at building this hyper techy world. There is also strong messaging through the story which was greatly shown by the characters. I did not want the book to end and I hope that in the future the author will publish more similar adventures. I highly recommend this book!
I originally watched the film and thought that was really good but after reading the book, it was even better! Basically, the book just builds more of a world and a story around Mae and the Circle. I also enjoyed that, although this book was written in 2014 and technological advancements move so fast, this book felt relevant for the time. The tech used was not too far fetched or too outdated which made the book more relatable. I found myself constantly questioning my own reasoning and morals when learning more about the Circle and the company's ideology. I actually always fall back on the comfort of living in the EU and what that means for data privacy; however, it encouraged me to do more research into this area in order to see what information there really is out for access.
I don’t usually like self-help style books as they are often very generic. This book was ok. At first, a lot of the stuff seemed very basic but as I progressed, there were topic throughout the book which are areas I have never struggled with so never had too much thought about. This made it an interesting read and would be useful as the ‘toolbox’ kit that the author describes this book to be. I read the book straight through and didn't make any notes but I can see myself in the future going back to certain sections to review. The summaries at the end and the exercises throughout the book are what makes this book something that you want to go back to to complete. Something I do find interesting on COVID-19 published books is the very casual references to coronavirus pandemic so much so that it is assumed that everyone who reads the books knows exactly what this is in reference to and what happened. While this may seem obvious now, it makes me question the longevity of these books. Maybe a small paragraph about this time period would be beneficial for future generations who read this book and were either too young or not born yet to understand the impact of this time. It gives the impression of this fast track to publish a book that will only be popular for such a short period of time before the next one comes out but in reality, for something to be a good book, I feel that it needs to have a good standing in time. For science-based books, within minutes of publishing, the research could be out of date but I think it is therefore important to provide context at the time of publishing about the current landscape. Just a thought that I had while reading this as it was the second science based book that just made references to covid like it something as obvious and relevant as brushing our teeth everyday.