Vishwesh
My first reading of “rhyming couplets and prose vignettes.” I didn't know what to expect.
Unfortunately, this didn't work for me at all.
Poetry is okay-ish and sometimes I liked the vignettes more than the poetry. It was overkill at many places. Never felt attached to the plot or characters, but still would give 3.5 stars for the structure and attempt.
The book is as cozy as a cup of coffee and a cinnamon bun!
“The real treasure is the friends we made along the way” is a lesson many of us must take to heart. This book emphasizes the power of community-building. And Legends & Lattes show us the strength and magnitude that can be gained from having good people in your corner.
Another important lesson in the book is that it is definitely possible to change and become someone new in your life. No matter how deeply entrenched you are in a past life.
A good amount of humor keeps a smile throughout the read. I laughed out loud in multiple places while listening to the audiobook.
“You get success by having extremely high integrity but absolutely zero prestige. Because integrity is about who you are, whereas prestige is only about what other people think of you.”
Backman does it again! Fantastic book with great character journeys. Nobody writes people so well IMO. It's sad and funny but most important it's real!
Entire Beartown series is a gem!
“We're in the world, not against it. It doesn't work to try to stand
outside things and run them, that way. It just doesn't work, it goes against life. There is a way but you have to follow it. The world is, no matter how we think it ought to be. You have to be with it. You have to let it be.”
This one is a bit darker than most Le Guin books, but truly a mind-bending and profound dystopian masterpiece. I kept getting Philip K Dick vibes reading this book, the central character is so PKD style (an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances).
Overall a very interesting read indeed. I will leave you with this quote from the book -
“Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; re-made all the time, made new. When it was made, they lay in each other's arms, holding love, asleep.”
This definitely lived up to the hype. Another gem of a book from Blake Crouch after Recursion and Dark Matter!
This is definitely a page-turner with some expected, some unexpected twists and turns, overall a fantastic read.
“An Immense World” by Ed Young is a captivating journey through the wonders of the natural world.
Through stunning illustrations and minimal text, Young invites readers to immerse themselves in the beauty and diversity of the planet.
Each page is a visual feast, bursting with vibrant colors and intricate details that ignite the imagination. From the depths of the ocean to the heights of the sky, “An Immense World” celebrates the awe-inspiring majesty of nature in all its forms.
Young's masterful artwork and poetic storytelling make this book a mesmerizing exploration for readers of all ages, reminding us of the boundless wonders that surround us every day.
I have been avoiding these books for some time but found an excellent audiobook narration and decided to give it a shot.
I listened to the audiobook version by Bluefax and it was wonderfully done. I was completely hooked from start to end in this epic classic. It was narrated so well that I finished listening to the book in 3 days!
LOTR here I come!
This was indeed an interesting read. Very well written characters and progression of these characters.
It got emotional towards the end and I did shed a tear or two in the end.
Gaming background made me nostalgic and it never felt as if it was written by a non gamer, all the references were very apt.
Would recommend audiobook version as it is very well narrated.
3 ***
This was my first experience with LitRPG. It takes some time to get used to it but once you are in that mode it is almost like listening to the gameplay of an RPG.
I heard the audiobook and the narration was good. Overall a fun read, I had a good laugh a few times.
The first book did not entice me enough to pick the next ones in the series right away so maybe sometime later I will get back to this genre.
Wonderful and clever writing. This book is deep and gorgeous. It explores many themes on relationships, life and music. Depiction of love and humanity puts this book in line with Becky Chamber's work.
Looking forward for more from the author ✍️
“The most successful metaphors become invisible through ubiquity. The same is true of ideology, as it becomes thoroughly integrated into a culture, sheds its contours and distinctive outline, and dissolves finally into pure atmosphere.”
I love how the author could tie up philosophy, science and technology, and personal learnings from experiences together.
Some ideas like re-enchantment are excellent. Some hard questions on singularity, rationalism, AI-driven world are discussed very well by the author in this book.
Gist is - “How to be human in the age of AI”
One of the best book I have read.
Animal Farm
Great dramatization of the very heavy idea that “Absolute power is likely to Corrupt Absolutely!”
I have read this book multiple times and would read it again because every time I read I gain new insights into human nature and the civilization/government game.
What's more, the novel ends with a quote so true that it still gives me chills.
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but already it was impossible to say which was which”.
I also recommend going through - http://study.com/academy/lesson/allegory-in-animal-farm-characters-examples.html to understand the Animal Farm analogies.
1984
I enjoyed my journey throughout the book, it was full of mixed feeling with a common thread of Depression.
The best part of this book is THE GOVERNMENT ! ‘he who controls the past controls the future, and he who controls the present controls the past'.
We are all living in ‘depression' This book gives new meaning to Depression. Though I know there is a ray of hope somewhere :)
Overall Orwell's fantasy is all too realistic. It fails both as fantasy and prophesy.
Must read books ! Highly recommended to all my reader friends.
Surprisingly good for a short novel. Despite its concise story, Sanderson does an excellent job with world-building. The audiobook is narrated really well.
Amaze Amaze Amaze.
♩♫♩♫
One of the best books I read in a long time. It is a page-turner and I cannot stop reading (listening).
Highly highly recommend the audiobook version of this.
**
Additional star for the narrator: Patricia Santomasso
“When you're different, even just a little different, even in a way that people can't see, you like to know that people in power won't judge you for it.”
What a wonderful light read keeps you hooked and puts a smile on your face.
I needed this after yellowface
Though book has great perspectives on overthinking and some great solutions discussed, it gets repetitive after a point.
It's a great read for those who have a habit of overthinking.
“We moved from being a part of nature to being apart from nature, we need to reverse that transition” A Life on Our Planet is very accessible. It's coming from 94-year-old legend Sir David Attenborough who has been a witness to the entire world change in front of his eyes, it's his witness statement.
This book is divided into three parts, the first of which features highlights from Attenborough's filmmaking career. The second part is short, “What Lies Ahead”, but it serves as a bridge to the third part and clarifies several new concepts and the third part is “the vision for the future” which is where he discusses possible changes we need.
Most of the writing here will stick with you long after you have closed the book: “We often talk of saving the planet, but the truth is that we must do these things to save ourselves.”
It's not usual rant about Climate Change, Global Warming, Saving the Planet, etc. but real experiences and things Sir David Attenborough witnessed in his journey. He manages to connect all the dots really well. He is very direct and hits you hard with facts and figures but also gives you possible changes we can make in the end.
This was indeed an eye-opener book for me.
I listened to The Anxious People - an audiobook read by Marin Ireland, which was very well narrated.
Fantastic, emotional roller coaster. It keeps you hooked throughout the book. Backman is master of storytelling and building complex character arcs and he did it again in this book.
Loved it!
It is a bit of a hard read due to format but overall a great book if you could comprehend :)
Very short book (even shorter if you are into audiobooks)
This book has changed lot.pf perspectives about how I want to manage finances. Live for experiences and don't die with regret
I heard the audiobook version of this and it is definitely a nicely written book. It is slow but I think it's an apt pace for such a story. The author focuses mainly on the characters and their stories than the fantasy element of time travel. Though the stories get predictable you are hooked to them because everything happens in a cozy cafe and the story has a pull where it feels as if you sitting on one of the tables and witnessing everything happening around you.
If you are drinking coffee while reading this one, make sure you “drink your coffee before it gets cold”, mine went cold as I was so engrossed in reading/listening.
