Jiaying
My first thought upon finishing the book: “So that was it?”
Perhaps I have been accustomed to children's books either having lots of plot or having lots of secret wisdom about life or love. But that really is the symptom of adults reading children's books to find adult reflections on love and loss.
Firstly, that cover truly depicts the deception of the book. The girl who had a pig. From the first page you would have thought this book would be about the friendship between Fern and Wilbur the pig. But eventually it was the spider who saved Wilbur multiple times but recognised only, in Charlotte's words, was “to a small degree”. You might not have noticed the spider on the cover if you didn't read the book. And Templeton the rat who ran much errands for them isn't even on the cover. “I notice that it's always me you come to when in trouble. But I've never heard of anyone's heart breaking on my account. Oh no. Who cares anything about old Templeton?”
Upon some reflection, I think the beauty of this book boils down to these:
1) A simple, innocent and giving friendship between imperfect characters.
- Wilbur is whiny, yes. But he is also a rather ignorant, young pig. Nevertheless, he understood and treasured the friendship he had with Charlotte.
- “You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a while, we die.”
2) Small, understated and positive observations about life that does not revolve around the self, nor have bittersweet undertones.
- “Life is always a rich and steady time when you are waiting for something to happen or hatch.”
- Love, whether for a friend or others, entails giving. Wilbur and Charlotte do not proclaim love but they showed it in how they treat each other - by acting on it.
3) Great descriptions about the seasons and surroundings. It's almost poetic how E.B. White describes the setting. There is so much richness to the description.
5 stars! Excellent way of telling Apollo's stories through the Muses. I especially appreciated the beautiful conclusion on why Apollo despite his glaring shortcomings is such a revered deity in the Greek pantheon. Greek mythology don't always make sense but this helps us see the relevance of it to us. This makes it more than just a compilation of stories but really an insight on Phoebus Apollo.
I was a really shy kid when I was young, and wish I had this book that understood my shyness and to gently prod me out of it. Beautiful watercolour illustrations that matches the book.
My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend ⬅️⬅️⬅️
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
Second Murakami book and as per the first, I'm not sure what I feel about it. This piece is a surrealist work and not just fantasy for sure.
Beauitful illustrations that made me feel like I was watching a movie wide-screen. I loved the view-from-top perspective, but it could vary a bit more than just 2 perspectives.
Story-wise, the last part caught me a bit by surprise! I wonder if kids might get spooked out :P
A book with a great message about perspective and seeing the beauty in every circumstance.
It's the kind of book with life lessons distilled into short 2-3 pages of wisdom in essence, and which you would want to put by your bedside table and refer back to again and again to recalibrate your mind to what is important and necessary in life.
My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend ⬅️⬅️⬅️
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
This is not just a book for the people who are facing imminent death, or for those with loved ones who are approaching the end of life. This is a book for anyone who will die, namely every person. It discusses how modern medicine has transformed people and doctors' perspectives on death as a problem to be fixed, neglecting the very subjective and tricky topic about the quality of life at the end. Treatments lend hope to patients who often cling onto them, leaving them even less prepared to have the difficult thought-through conversation of thinking what truly matters to them, and when to let go. Bought a copy of this book because I know one day my time will come, and I hope the enlightenment from this book will give me the courage to know and let it be known the life I wish to lead in my final moments. An excellent book that advocates a paradigm shift, and I believe anyone's life decisions will be changed after reading it. I hope healthcare professionals who read this will also take it upon themselves to change the way illness, treatment and death are framed, and to guide patients to knowing and achieving what they truly treasure in their treatment journey.
Love the illustrations. Felt like I was watching a Pixar film! It isn't common that the book is read vertically but this was done to frame the scenes with more emphasis on height than panoramic view.
3.5 stars. It started off great and I love the rhymes, but somewhere in the second half, I couldn't match the description to the illustrations. Love the message about conservation though and great there is a list of the animals featured to find out more about them.
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My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great ⬅️⬅️⬅️
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
4 stars.
Do not read this at night. I have never been to Scotland but I did feel like I experienced the mythical qualities of Isle of Skye. It was a gripping and rather haunting story, especially when you read the first few pages again after the book has ended. My only grouse is with the font in the comic sections.
My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend ⬅️⬅️⬅️
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
5 stars, a rating I reserve only for books that have changed something in my life and this certainly did. Powerful storytelling, also powerful encouraging the readers to be bold and brave if they been given a dream. There are others but you must have to read it for yourself. Isn't it crazy though that the author's own writing career is like that of the protagonist fulfilling his Personal Legend?
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My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views ⬅️⬅️⬅️
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
The nature of social media marketing is such that formats and trends are always changing. The challenge of the author is to outline some principles of what makes a good story which stands in the ever-changing landscape of social media. The most valuable lessons of this book are gleaned from the wealth of case studies and analyses of what makes them work, or not. Thankfully the theories are few but focuses more on examples (with pictures of course, because this is the era of visual marketing), making it an easy and engaging read.
3.6 stars. It was a very imaginative plot but Neil Gaiman seemed to keep his writing within a very minimalist style. Kind of like reading a fairytale written for a junior audience, yet the content was most definitely for an adult audience. I felt that the story could benefit from fleshing the characters out more. The second half of the book seemed rushed and touch-and-go. Had great potential to be very emotionally impactful like the movie, but fell a little flat.
My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great ⬅️⬅️⬅️
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
So cute and creative!
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My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend ⬅️⬅️⬅️
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
- Stars. Hands. Down.
One of those few books that hits you in the gut with feels. And when mere pictures can be more vivid than video, and more descriptive than words.
Everything felt too brief. While the premise of the plot is interesting and possesses lots of potential, there wasn't enough fleshing out of the storyline nor the characters. The main discovery and resolution happened in the last 10% of the book, which is really short. And at the end of it, rather than feeling like all questions have been answered, I still feel like it's all been a blur and some of that remains.
Read this because it was referenced to in “Being Mortal”. A mere 50-page read, but in no way simple and incredibly profound.
This book challenges you with these few essential questions:
What is life?
What is death?
Is death a point, a beginning or the end?
What is a good ending? Is death necessarily a sad ending?
The writing reads like you inhabit Ivan Ilyich's body. It does not use beautifully flowing sentences, but simple ones conveying the urgency and misery a dying person is experiencing.
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My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend ⬅️⬅️⬅️
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
It's so deadpan, it is funny. And something about the illustration just brings out the deadpan dialogue so well. Must be the eyes.