Kireth
WHY: Was chatting to my cousin and we were looking for ways to better utilise our time as we go through university and working life, finally giving me motivation to pick one of the popular non-fiction books off of my ‘want to read' list. Atomic Habits is one of the more well-known, highly-read and rated books from that selection, and we thought why not start with the best one.
CONTENT: I really loved all of the content in Atomic Habits, revolving around the discussion of small changes accumulating in an almost non-quantifiable manner to make large differences. There were a lot of great gems within, especially relating to setting up systems rather than goals, chaining good actions together and being efficiently lazy. I also appreciated the advanced section, which explains what the Goldilocks Rule is (balancing difficulty and achievement), and the dangers that can arise when you live a habitual lifestyle and forget continual improvement.
WRITING: Clear has a great structured approach to the book, building upon the cue-craving-response-reward process across the book's sections. Each chapter is streamlined to the key information, which is dressed by anecdotes, diagrams, sub-headings and summaries that all work together in keeping the reader engaged and learning. I also appreciated how Clear pairs positive-leaning changes that build habits with negative ones that can break undesired behaviours.
WHO: Honestly, this is one of those books which I feel I need a physical copy of on my bookshelf, so that at different times of my life (and for different people who may need it) I can just pull it down and flick to the section that is relevant. This is definitely one I recommend anyone read at any age when attempting to improve any area of their life - along the way, you'll probably end up using at least one or two of these tips in other areas, and these little changes will assist in building the identity you want for yourself.
WHY: Was chatting to my cousin and we were looking for ways to better utilise our time as we go through university and working life, finally giving me motivation to pick one of the popular non-fiction books off of my ‘want to read' list. Atomic Habits is one of the more well-known, highly-read and rated books from that selection, and we thought why not start with the best one.
CONTENT: I really loved all of the content in Atomic Habits, revolving around the discussion of small changes accumulating in an almost non-quantifiable manner to make large differences. There were a lot of great gems within, especially relating to setting up systems rather than goals, chaining good actions together and being efficiently lazy. I also appreciated the advanced section, which explains what the Goldilocks Rule is (balancing difficulty and achievement), and the dangers that can arise when you live a habitual lifestyle and forget continual improvement.
WRITING: Clear has a great structured approach to the book, building upon the cue-craving-response-reward process across the book's sections. Each chapter is streamlined to the key information, which is dressed by anecdotes, diagrams, sub-headings and summaries that all work together in keeping the reader engaged and learning. I also appreciated how Clear pairs positive-leaning changes that build habits with negative ones that can break undesired behaviours.
WHO: Honestly, this is one of those books which I feel I need a physical copy of on my bookshelf, so that at different times of my life (and for different people who may need it) I can just pull it down and flick to the section that is relevant. This is definitely one I recommend anyone read at any age when attempting to improve any area of their life - along the way, you'll probably end up using at least one or two of these tips in other areas, and these little changes will assist in building the identity you want for yourself.
“Empires do not suffer emptiness of purpose at the time of their creation. It is when they have become established that aims are lost and replaced by vague ritual."
This was by no means a bad book, and I give Dune Messiah credit for attempting to maintain its own identity, but perhaps it suffers from being a follow-up to the truly epic Dune.
Right off the bat I was intrigued at Herbert openly laying out the conspiracy against Emperor Paul, again giving readers multiple perspectives on both sides as individuals began to politically manoeuvre themselves amongst and against each other. This was in addition to a lot of discussion on philosophy, and pondering of leadership, governments and their costs. This was where I wish the book was actually longer, and made some more concrete statements or raised interesting discussions, as I instead watched the story go in an interesting but rather straight line.
"Eternity takes back its own. Our bodies stirred these waters briefly, danced with a certain intoxication before the love of life and self, dealt with a few strange ideas, then submitted to the instruments of Time."
Moreover, the lengthy conversations and Herbert's third-person omniscient writing style that constantly changes character viewpoint sometimes made events difficult to follow, and I was left wondering what true outcomes were achieved in individual scenes. I did enjoy some of the descriptive sections, and the varying epigraphs worked well in terms of framing, but most of all I found myself rocked by the ending. Keenly moving on to Children of Dune soon!
Originally posted at kirethwritesabout.com.
“Empires do not suffer emptiness of purpose at the time of their creation. It is when they have become established that aims are lost and replaced by vague ritual."
This was by no means a bad book, and I give Dune Messiah credit for attempting to maintain its own identity, but perhaps it suffers from being a follow-up to the truly epic Dune.
Right off the bat I was intrigued at Herbert openly laying out the conspiracy against Emperor Paul, again giving readers multiple perspectives on both sides as individuals began to politically manoeuvre themselves amongst and against each other. This was in addition to a lot of discussion on philosophy, and pondering of leadership, governments and their costs. This was where I wish the book was actually longer, and made some more concrete statements or raised interesting discussions, as I instead watched the story go in an interesting but rather straight line.
"Eternity takes back its own. Our bodies stirred these waters briefly, danced with a certain intoxication before the love of life and self, dealt with a few strange ideas, then submitted to the instruments of Time."
Moreover, the lengthy conversations and Herbert's third-person omniscient writing style that constantly changes character viewpoint sometimes made events difficult to follow, and I was left wondering what true outcomes were achieved in individual scenes. I did enjoy some of the descriptive sections, and the varying epigraphs worked well in terms of framing, but most of all I found myself rocked by the ending. Keenly moving on to Children of Dune soon!
Originally posted at kirethwritesabout.com.
Undeniably influential. Dune blurs the lines between SF and Fantasy, in-turn making it everything I ever wanted out of a novel - there's personal family conflict, ecology and environmentalism, an enormous sense of scale between vehicles and planets, philosophy on leadership, ethics of biological science and a deep examination of religious and political individuals and power structures all centered around an expensive, time-melding drug. Once I had adjusted to it, I loved the writing style with Herbert giving the reader multiple perspectives and exploring different characters and places. Despite the sheer amount of stuff in this ~444 page book, the prose is succinct and purposeful which (thankfully for me) means you don't get pages of description, allowing you to fill the gaps yourself. Reading this in anticipation of the film was an awesome ride and now I can't wait to dive into the sequels, after a time gap to let me just absorb this masterpiece and let it have its own definition.
Originally posted at kirethwritesabout.com.
Undeniably influential. Dune blurs the lines between SF and Fantasy, in-turn making it everything I ever wanted out of a novel - there's personal family conflict, ecology and environmentalism, an enormous sense of scale between vehicles and planets, philosophy on leadership, ethics of biological science and a deep examination of religious and political individuals and power structures all centered around an expensive, time-melding drug. Once I had adjusted to it, I loved the writing style with Herbert giving the reader multiple perspectives and exploring different characters and places. Despite the sheer amount of stuff in this ~444 page book, the prose is succinct and purposeful which (thankfully for me) means you don't get pages of description, allowing you to fill the gaps yourself. Reading this in anticipation of the film was an awesome ride and now I can't wait to dive into the sequels, after a time gap to let me just absorb this masterpiece and let it have its own definition.
Originally posted at kirethwritesabout.com.
Sometimes you finish a book at 3am and need to just sit and absorb the ending. With a trip overseas fast approaching I decided to knuckle down and just blitz my way through the second half of this book, which honestly became difficult due to the density of events portrayed. However, upon reflection I believe Children of Dune was a much stronger (and depressing) novel than its predecessor that is unfortunately weighed down by the rush of plot points in the story's middle-to-end.
Read the rest of my review at my personal website in the link below.
Originally posted at kirethwritesabout.com.
Sometimes you finish a book at 3am and need to just sit and absorb the ending. With a trip overseas fast approaching I decided to knuckle down and just blitz my way through the second half of this book, which honestly became difficult due to the density of events portrayed. However, upon reflection I believe Children of Dune was a much stronger (and depressing) novel than its predecessor that is unfortunately weighed down by the rush of plot points in the story's middle-to-end.
Read the rest of my review at my personal website in the link below.
Originally posted at kirethwritesabout.com.
SANDERSOOOOOONNN HOW DO YA DO IT?! Warbreaker was a fantastic standalone addition to Brandon Sanderson’s growing list of published works.
Read the rest of the review (with artwork and quotes) at my website in the link below.
Originally posted at kirethwritesabout.com.
SANDERSOOOOOONNN HOW DO YA DO IT?! Warbreaker was a fantastic standalone addition to Brandon Sanderson’s growing list of published works.
Read the rest of the review (with artwork and quotes) at my website in the link below.
Originally posted at kirethwritesabout.com.
Updated a reading goal:
Read 25k pages in 2024
Progress so far: 1721 / 25000 7%
5/5
Honestly, what is peak fantasy if not this? Sanderson kills it from page 1 and takes the reader on an emotional journey with a beloved core cast of characters. However, this couldn't have been achieved without Jordan's imaginative thinking, thorough planning and detailed world building. This is not wholly Sanderson's novel, but a combined attempt to satisfy fans and the world-maker's intention.
But there's no denial that Sanderson brings an increased pace, a well guided criteria of what is and isn't important to the story, and just a clear sense of purpose to every viewpoint and chapter. I found The Gathering Storm extremely difficult to put down, and am amazed that this is only the first third of payoff for this series's well-awaited conclusion. For those fans who had been reading for years, I truly hope this novel was everything you wanted and then some. Personally, I have crossed the 1 year mark of reading this series (completing about 1 book a month) and am bittersweet as I charge towards its ending.
Yes, there are moments of clunky writing and at some points the characterisation seems odd. There is one ridiculous and unfortunately accurately in-world spanking scene. But these are minor blemishes compared to the achievement that Sanderson, McDougal and the editing team were able to produce under the unfortunate circumstances of Jordan's passing. At times characters leap from nation to nation, and events occur without the narrative hesitancy we have witnessed in previous novels. This is all built off of the back of Jordan's setting development, and the strong sense of urgency in Sanderson's plotting all but hurtles us to the Wheel of Time's conclusion. Yet most importantly, Sanderson has both evolved character arcs and teed up individuals perfectly for the end. Every main character gets a moment, and a clear questioning or through-line of their development. Like earlier Jordan books, when a character ponders other events still occur around them and they themselves only provide new information to the reader. There are a few direct references to character histories, which I'm sure is beneficial for readers who read previous entries years before. I let it also pass in the massive scope of story, and because I'm hoping for payoff here. Stand-outs for this book? Egwene Al'Vere, Rand Al'Thor, Gawyn Trakand, Masema (briefly), and one more that's a spoiler...
The Gathering Storm was emotionally beautiful, astonishingly epic and still just a penultimate setup for Tarmon Gai'don, The Final Battle. I look forward to seeing everyone there, when the storm breaks.
5/5
Honestly, what is peak fantasy if not this? Sanderson kills it from page 1 and takes the reader on an emotional journey with a beloved core cast of characters. However, this couldn't have been achieved without Jordan's imaginative thinking, thorough planning and detailed world building. This is not wholly Sanderson's novel, but a combined attempt to satisfy fans and the world-maker's intention.
But there's no denial that Sanderson brings an increased pace, a well guided criteria of what is and isn't important to the story, and just a clear sense of purpose to every viewpoint and chapter. I found The Gathering Storm extremely difficult to put down, and am amazed that this is only the first third of payoff for this series's well-awaited conclusion. For those fans who had been reading for years, I truly hope this novel was everything you wanted and then some. Personally, I have crossed the 1 year mark of reading this series (completing about 1 book a month) and am bittersweet as I charge towards its ending.
Yes, there are moments of clunky writing and at some points the characterisation seems odd. There is one ridiculous and unfortunately accurately in-world spanking scene. But these are minor blemishes compared to the achievement that Sanderson, McDougal and the editing team were able to produce under the unfortunate circumstances of Jordan's passing. At times characters leap from nation to nation, and events occur without the narrative hesitancy we have witnessed in previous novels. This is all built off of the back of Jordan's setting development, and the strong sense of urgency in Sanderson's plotting all but hurtles us to the Wheel of Time's conclusion. Yet most importantly, Sanderson has both evolved character arcs and teed up individuals perfectly for the end. Every main character gets a moment, and a clear questioning or through-line of their development. Like earlier Jordan books, when a character ponders other events still occur around them and they themselves only provide new information to the reader. There are a few direct references to character histories, which I'm sure is beneficial for readers who read previous entries years before. I let it also pass in the massive scope of story, and because I'm hoping for payoff here. Stand-outs for this book? Egwene Al'Vere, Rand Al'Thor, Gawyn Trakand, Masema (briefly), and one more that's a spoiler...
The Gathering Storm was emotionally beautiful, astonishingly epic and still just a penultimate setup for Tarmon Gai'don, The Final Battle. I look forward to seeing everyone there, when the storm breaks.
Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny
2/5
A short-lived but interesting tale. Reginald Dacey is a mathematician committed to developing his entrepreneurial “teaching robots”, which he then transforms into nannies upon becoming a single father. Despite making sales using negative marketing against human nannies, an accidental death causes the invention to be forgotten. We then follow his son Lionel Dacey, who without knowing raises his father's illegitimate child using the robotic nanny technology in an attempt to show the worth of the creation, and the psychological institute that becomes involved in the child-raising process.
Whilst the sweet ending means to highlight the positive and necessary presence of a human parent, the lack of compassionate characterisation within the Dacey family reduces the overall story impact.
2/5
A short-lived but interesting tale. Reginald Dacey is a mathematician committed to developing his entrepreneurial “teaching robots”, which he then transforms into nannies upon becoming a single father. Despite making sales using negative marketing against human nannies, an accidental death causes the invention to be forgotten. We then follow his son Lionel Dacey, who without knowing raises his father's illegitimate child using the robotic nanny technology in an attempt to show the worth of the creation, and the psychological institute that becomes involved in the child-raising process.
Whilst the sweet ending means to highlight the positive and necessary presence of a human parent, the lack of compassionate characterisation within the Dacey family reduces the overall story impact.
Now this lived up to the hype of the Stormlight Archives. Beyond it's epic scope, Words of Radiance had powerful character moments and ticked along at a far better pace than its predecessor. In fact, this book felt like the exciting second half of one large story.
Read my full review with beautiful artwork and my favourite moments at my website here.
Now this lived up to the hype of the Stormlight Archives. Beyond it's epic scope, Words of Radiance had powerful character moments and ticked along at a far better pace than its predecessor. In fact, this book felt like the exciting second half of one large story.
Read my full review with beautiful artwork and my favourite moments at my website here.
