sneha
My favourite in the trilogy! This one has a brilliant collection of stories of brave women in Mahabharata!
I entered the book expecting a really gripping discussion or an enriching debate but the book loitered around generic points and didn't really live up to its promise.
** the kind of conservations I want to footballers to have **
I feel that the title of the book is slightly misleading. Written especially raising funds for the UNHRC Refugee Crisis, this book brings in the big names in contemporary footballer to have important conversations about the world around us. Amy Raphael brings in an interesting and diverse ensemble of men and women of the footballing world to talk to individuals from various other fields. Paired together for their shared love and admiration of a club, these conversations are never boring.
They share personal stories, opinions on political events, ideas on the evolution of the game and footballing industry and discuss immigrants and the world in the aftermath of Brexit. While the theme of the book is to promote conversations about Brexit and immigration in Europe, the tone and discussions always feel very organic. Not once I got the sense that they were talking because they were forced to do so.
While I was excited to hear, I thoroughly enjoyed all these little personal anecdotes that were shared between celebrity fans and football personalities.
It was quite delight reading Guardiola's take on the Catalonian independence (I read this before the FFP ruling and his reaction to it so.. ), Klopp reinforced his “cool uncle” image for me and seeing him be as loud and vocal on Brexit as on pitch was fun. His conversation on the problematic past of Germany and its future discourse on immigration was also worthy of notice. Steve G and Frank Lampard discussing the impact of immigration, now as managers, was a mood. Reflecting on their time as players for the national team and compete for titles with their clubs and now shifting focus on mental health and navigating the labyrinth of managerial life was entertaining. Ferdinand and Wright's discussion focusing on racism in the game and the evolving role of social media was important. I was also delighted to pick up further readings form their conversations on these topics. Gary Lineker's convo with Fahd Saleh was of supreme importance, highlighting the real reason why individuals leave their country and how war tears their entire lives apart and what it means for them to find asylum in a new stable state. Vivianne Miedema, Lucy Bronze, Clare Balding and author Amy Raphael's conversations on Women's football was a bit of a surprise as found a new mindset to approach the game and found a better understanding of the reality from the point of view of women who are pioneers in the game. Eric Dier's conversations with David Lammy was filled with surprising revelations about both personalities. As a Spurs fan, it was entertaining, informative and had me walking away with a newfound respect for the centre back.
Having said all that, the book could have done a bit more. It felt like the owners of talking about race fell on the shoulders of players of colour, only women discussed the victories and challenges of women's football and so on. But I loved the concept and the implementation and would love to read more work that shows these sports celebrities as actually thinking social beings and not reduced to the stereotypes of fast cars and flashy clothes.
- what a fun, breezy, dreamy read about the Rome in 1950s - oh and Mario Lanza's songs *
when a book ends, you hold it - think about it for a while and carry on with the day. but sometimes, when it ends, you hold onto it, let it marinate in your brain because it fluttered too many emotions and you don't know what to do with it.
I didn't expect When in Rome to be special or unique. I was expecting some cliched love story set in Rome. I was surprised by the story tho. It was a love story, sort of but it was so much more than that. We have our heroine, Serafine. The quite, dotting daughter and later loyal, caring house servent. But through her eyes and narrative, we realise that maybe Mario Lanza is the true protagonist of this book. I learnt so much about Rome from this book, really wasn't expecting to. I found out about the opera culture, the fantastic sounds of Caruso, the dorky Americanised rom-com. I felt the intimacy sitting next to fontana di trevi, the flavours of gelato on a summer day, the bustle and grandeur of Via Veneto. I loved touring Trasteverini and peaking into their lives.
The story hit differently. Her admiration and affection for Mario was just <3 I felt it. What a bittersweet feeling I had when I read the last line. Argh, thanks Ms. Pellegrino, for this book.
I didn't enjoy this as much as the sequel “Love Among the bookshelves”.
For me, the main highlight for these books has been Buskin Rond's stories about his literary adventures. The snippets he shares is often of secondary importance to me.
This is mostly because I pick this book to read Mr Bond's words and not necessarily the authors he wishes to share. The latter requires a certain mindset. It's hard to switch the reading mood from enjoying Ruskin Bond to Jack London to Joseph Conard. You need to be in a certain state of mind to read and appreciate William Saroyan or H.G.Wells. Personally, the switch from the tone of one author to another is hard for me to make.
Another quirky thing about this book is the lack of female or authors of colour. I understand that since these chapters often feature stories read by Ruskin Bond while he was growing up, they are focused around a certain “type” of a writer. But it would be nice if the third instalment (if he chose to write and I'd absolutely love that) would feature a more diverse range of authors.
I'd recommend reading this book but treat it more as a collection of short stories and not a book to devour in a road trip in one go.
** one of the best books on football EVER **
if you decide to read only one book on football ~let it be this.
David Squires is unbelievably funny -has his facts and values in line.
The book covers the history and origin of football while mentioning the colonial aspects that come with the game - something I don't see mentioned in most works. It covers the formation of the various footballing associations, tournaments and very cleverly talks about the capitalistic desires. It talks about the iconic individuals and moments in human history of football, reminding why the game is so popularly loved.
I can't gush enough about it. It is a keeper :')
please read, please!
Supremely contemporary, funny, witty and woke. <3
David, you stole my heart.
This little book of poetry is best read with a serving of warm tea, tucked away in your blanket. It makes you go through all emotions; joy, excitement, curiosity and sadness. While reading this anthology of poems, you can see the change in style of poetry the author goes through. His later works being more grounded around his life events and written like proses. I particularly enjoyed “at the adivasi academy, tejgadh” and “with a neurologist”. This book is a pledge and an act of catharsis. I look forward to more works by this author. :)
I'm not a fan of horror but boy, did I enjoy this book? Wonderful stories that will have to at the edge of your seat!
A classic murder mystery close set in local town and a pure delight to read. Characters feel nostalgic and the setting is very exciting!
** 94-page rollercoaster **
I have certain rules when it comes to reading books. Well, not rules, but general guidelines I follow. Don't pick up the latest release unless it's from an author you've read and loved before. Don't jump on the popularity bandwagon right away. Don't purchase books because someone recommended to it to you once. And I have pretty good reason to follow them but more often than not, I'll end up buying the book and it'll stay on my shelf. While there is nothing wrong with it, at the end of 2018 I decided that one of the first steps to reading more was to have a short reading list. I had also developed a bit of a book ownership problem. Buying more books than reading (which is always), was an unsustainable model. I was often left with mediocre works that now collect dust, and I hate dust.
When my friend's latest blog post A poetry competition and a few beetles in the walls talked about this Indian author at length, I was intrigued. I loved the snippets I read in his blog and proceeded to click on the Kindle sample review. Next thing I know, I am left wanting to read more. I purchase the ebook and start savoring it. The short stories themselves don't have a revolutionary plot but the writing is so easy, crisp, and vibrant, it doesn't matter. The characters feel familiar and you're emotionally invested, all in less than 3 pages. How Eshna manages to do this is a matter of skill, practice, and a lot of talent.
I have never been someone who loves poetry, especially the modern, instagramy poetry. I like the old English poets of yesteryears, maybe its Stockholm Syndrome from English classes. But I do not like this idea that breaking a sentence into multiple lines makes it poetic. Eshna's work is different. Quality poems; easily accessible while encouraging moments of introspection.
Not going to lie, as a 23-year-old, this girl gave me a mini-existential crisis. But I am happy and hopeful that we have such talented writers in the country; creating excellent work. :) The book is less than a dollar on Kindle store, I'd suggest you pick it up for a nice quarantine read.
Looking forward to reading more of her works!
3.5. all new cases all handled with nuance and humanity. a rarity in indian true crime circle unfortunately.
It took a really long time to finish this one but I was thoroughly enjoying it.
Apart from the chapter on tennis and Olympics, it mostly covered “American” sports and several arguments and information were very America focused. Not a critique but an observation. I wish they were able to tackle or mention some highly popular events that aligned with the chapter themes from other parts of the world. The sports discussed were also mostly American so I did feel a little alienated in parts but also learnt a lot of new things.
This book is thoroughly-researched and well-written. I consumed it as an audiobook and found myself bookmarking some really cool observations. Overall, the tone was positive and bits about the group psychology of sports were my favourite.
In this battle, the one person I feel genuinely bad for is Casey himself. It's shameful that despite being such a beloved and kind man, he could not receive proper care, respect & love in his final days.
Up until the last episode, my only complaint with this series was it felt too self-indulgent for the authors and parts of it felt repetitive. In my opinion, any work on a true crime that the author/creator is not directly involved in should focus on the victims and their stories rather than the obsessive self indulgence of “how i effected me” narrative. For the first 50% of the book, it felt the story was more “my days in uni”, “my experience with the English” and so on. Also, w/o much context, there was a lot of emphasis on defending or searching for the “what” on behalf of the murderer. I understand that cases are never black and white but it felt the author was really trying to find an explanation for the crime.
In the second half, the valid points made about the impact of homophobia and the need to protect the elderly is overshadowed by the casual revelation of an actual crime. [spoiler] I do not like or understand the non-chalet way with which pedo/abuse of young boys was dusted off. The author or the interviewee had no right to explain their thoughts on “oh he did that, it was shady but it's not that bad”. are you kidding me?! excusing a grown man's sexually veiled approach to underage young boys in his school is not “pent up homophobia” or product of “loneliness”. For all the criticism of society and church for their treatment of LGTBQ+ members, excusing abuse of power and making young boys uncomfortable by saying “he was gay and lonely in the 80s” is awful for the community and the movement. He was a predator and it does not matter “how far he went”. He is a grown man who should have known better and if the students voiced their opinion of feeling uncomfortable once, that should be more than enough reason to back off forever. This part really irked me. The author or anyone else, do not get to pass a judgement on how wrong or right his actions were, they won't be dealing with the trauma of his actions. And the way this was used as a segway for the author to again talk about “her guilt” just did not make sense. Whose story are you telling? The victim and elderly abuse or your guilt? Until the 7th chapter, I was moderately enjoying it. But the last episode really pissed me off. Side note: I usually enjoy the production and sound engineering on audible originals but the audio for the interviewee was very muffled in this one.
this book is essentially a 20-21 Spurs team playing against a top 6 club, promising in first 20 minutes then bland and a sudden nose-dive in the second half, let's talk about this
I found this book perchance, was checking out someone's old blog. The cover page blurb “Finally, a football crime book” made me go “WEEEEEEE!” Two of my favourite things together - football AND murder yes, please!
Exposed at the Back has all your classic Scandinavian crime novel tropes - an attractive blonde female lead who will not stop chasing the truth no matter what the cost, an aloof male lead with a mysterious past with darkness he can' reveal until we're 60% through the book, a questionable frienemy character who you don't know it with or against you, a creepy middle-aged man who is defo going to be misogynistic and a child because why not.
The central pitch of “Norway's most powerful football agent is murdered” was a gripping plot. (nope, Haaland transfer and my dislike for Railo has nothing to do with my interest in the plot). The story, much like the current Tottenham Hotspur squad, had so much potential. Alas, you can see that potential go down the drain as the author tries to overfit more storyline than defenders in a Spurs game. (should I stop with this spurs parallel? therapy is expensive, complaining about spurs on goodreads is free - so deal with it, sorry)
You have the health implications of artificial turf, the corruption and exploitation of players from the African continent, doping young talent, celebrity power couple, gay players, life-ending injuries, under-the-table deals with clubs and investigative football journalism. I understand that Arild Stavrum is not a professional author but a footballer and with that perspective, this is a great first book. It was entertaining for the most part (even if the cliches made me do mini eye-rolls) but I do feel this book could have gone through a more thorough editorial process and the focus of the book could have been trimmed down to a single focus. So many diverse plotlines are started and abandoned in the next few pages much like spurs attacking strategy (okay this is the last one, I promise).
What I absolutely despised was i) treatment of the lead female whose whole presence was to be some sort of a (sexual?) motivation for the male lead. who unironically says, “okay, we will have sex once this case is solved” seriously, who does that? who finds that hot? argh!
ii) undertones of Islamophobia and homophobia - I despise when brands, storytellers or movie makers use “wokeness” and “activism” as plot device or marketing gimmicks. the absence of LGTBQ+ members in men's football is a serious issue and concern for the sports. if you plan to use this as an integral plot device, please do it in a better way that does not make it sound problematic and rely on harmful stereotypes. especially in the second half, you see a lot of problematic portrayal of minority groups (women, people of colour, lgbtq members) that seems completely unnecessary.
TL;DR the book starts very strong, feels promising but over the course gets bored of itself, repetitive and slightly annoying. You could give it a shot once but I am very much in the market for more football murder mystery books with far more focused plot and better writing. As a debut novel from someone who played professionally for their national team - good stuff!
The title of the book is a major giveaway to the identity of the killer and I think that's super cool. If you're into football but also want to read a footy-ish book, I'd recommend this.
PS. If someone has a copy of Steve Bruce's book Striker! Please share <3
man, why did I listen to this vvv sad story first thing in the morning?
new story and I liked the content but sad
Tina Fey being your elder sister, mentor and overall a badass while sharing her life story makes for a lovely book to read!
This was a weird one. On one hand, there were a lot of new true crime stories that I got to know about, but I couldn't shake off the annoyance of the wanna-be edgy tone that the author chose not to mention the backhanded misogynistic tone that was incorporated at every turn. I listen to a lot of true crime, so I am not faint-hearted or irked by gore, but this book seemed to almost push the voyeurism of the crimes rather than discuss the facts or mitigating factors. This needed much better editing and perhaps a more empathetic approach to writing about the victims and less glamourisation of the criminals.
this just felt too long.
I started with “Ministry of Utmost Happiness” earlier this year and the first 50 pages I felt like I had gone through the whole storyline. I then encountered a lot of reviews talking about how God of Small things might be a better start than Ministry.
I have previously read non-fiction by Roy and it has been hot and cold. I like her style of writing, a lot. But when it came to God of Small Things, I loved the proses but not the story itself. I need a plot, I need a story. I need some motion. I am all cool with this Nolan like narration with the constant back and forth but what's at the heart of the tale? God of Small Things, much like Anna Karenina, was wonderful prose, then she dies more beautiful prose.
I just expected to love and enjoy this book so much more. I really enjoyed the writing style, heck I was awed by how captivating her description of a mundane act like shopping for vegetables was. I just went in with more expectations.
All said, it does a fantastic job at highlighting all the issues in Indian society (sometimes hitting too hard) and brings forth the hypocrisy through her characters really well. Her tales of a small town in Kerela would make for a wonderful animated film and I'd definitely watch it.
This is not a chill, laid back, happy book. This has all the hallmarks of a literary masterpiece and it deserves all the awards and recognition it got.
Now excuse me, while I go read some fluff to chill out after two intense books.
The stories were very average. Well written, but the plot isn't amusing or exciting. The author tries very hard to make it a thrilling adventure but falls flat with the end being extremely predictable. The only wonderful thing about this was the narration by Benedict Cumberbatch. It was a delight listening to him talk in various accents for different characters. Give it a listen for bennypatch