Very interesting travelogue. I am a bit freaked out by the various new tropical diseases and parasites this has altered me to the existence of. ReflecVery interesting travelogue. I am a bit freaked out by the various new tropical diseases and parasites this has altered me to the existence of. Reflective and ultimately sad. Worth a read....more
Freaky lady lol... interesting enough even for someone like me who knew nothing about her prior... she's just a bit up herself thoughFreaky lady lol... interesting enough even for someone like me who knew nothing about her prior... she's just a bit up herself though...more
Orwell is just so readable, especially his non-fiction. The latter half of this book, especially the diatribe against the machinisation of 4.25 stars
Orwell is just so readable, especially his non-fiction. The latter half of this book, especially the diatribe against the machinisation of life was particularly interesting... a lot of it feels very prescient to ai threatening creative work, as the line between work and play is so blurred....more
I would have enjoyed I think some inclusions of the letters from her family members or interviews with figures such as Aunt Baba to lend a b2.5 stars
I would have enjoyed I think some inclusions of the letters from her family members or interviews with figures such as Aunt Baba to lend a bit more depth to the memoir. Currently it has an interesting story of her life, but feels very one-sided and tied to Adelines own perspective on events when potentially input from others would have shed more light....more
Best nonfiction I've read in a long time! Fascinating subject matter of Viking interactions with their Eastern world, with excellent interludes on theBest nonfiction I've read in a long time! Fascinating subject matter of Viking interactions with their Eastern world, with excellent interludes on the role of Viking women and movement of people both into and out of Scandinavia. The narrative that ties back into identifying the origin of a carnelian bead found in Repton is superbly told. Definitely feels like a labour of love from the author. Recommend 100%...more
'S good. Very quick little book about the author and family making a go of it as farmers in AndalucÃa. It sounds like a beautiful place to l3.5 stars
'S good. Very quick little book about the author and family making a go of it as farmers in AndalucÃa. It sounds like a beautiful place to live....more
Leviathan surpassed my expectations for being a truly multifaceted exploration of the whale, ranging from their biology, to the history of whaling, toLeviathan surpassed my expectations for being a truly multifaceted exploration of the whale, ranging from their biology, to the history of whaling, to cultural perception as in Moby Dick, to their conservation and whale tourism in the modern day. You can feel how fascinated the author is with his subject- a whale is more than an animal, becomes a symbol of the unknown depth of the ocean and complex wonders of nature. The incomprehensible scale of a whale! (As opposed to snail and the whale). I am now the proud owner of many new whale facts to bestow on my victims, including that narwhal comes from Old Norse for corpse whale, due to their spots resembling the marks on a dead body....more
If you're looking for a book that gets across the gravity of the climate disaster around the corner, whilst still allowing for "hope" as the 3.5 stars
If you're looking for a book that gets across the gravity of the climate disaster around the corner, whilst still allowing for "hope" as the title suggests, then this is worth a read. The presentation of potential ways to offset emissions and reduce warming whether via geoengineering or giant seaweed plantations was excellent. The only real downsides to this for me were that it had a focus on Australia (for reference I live in the UK) and that some of the climate science is likely out of date given it's publication was in 2015....more
Beautiful writing and poetry interspersed. Myers has captured the strangeness of nature and wildness, especially as it overtakes past human 3.5 stars
Beautiful writing and poetry interspersed. Myers has captured the strangeness of nature and wildness, especially as it overtakes past human activities like the rubbish tip featured. I loved how his own life and day to day thoughts or interactions with the landscape were accompanied by the history and words of writers and poets, especially Ted Huges who spent his childhood in Mytholmroyd. I'm having to knock a star off because I found the description needlessly repetitive at times, and the comments made by the author fairly hypocritical in attitude towards other writers in this genre (several times saying this was a more authentic vision of the countryside etc than these supposed lesser works)....more
Another classic from Frankie D. Admittedly I took a 9 month break from reading this but my lack of commitment is not a fault of the book itself. FinisAnother classic from Frankie D. Admittedly I took a 9 month break from reading this but my lack of commitment is not a fault of the book itself. Finished it just in time to read the trilogy over again before my history A-level I suppose......more
Kurkov is an excellent writer, engaging and funny and I feel I must check out some of his fictional novels now. He has excellent turns of ph3.5 stars
Kurkov is an excellent writer, engaging and funny and I feel I must check out some of his fictional novels now. He has excellent turns of phrase " a peaceful mafia town of drug addicts and medium sized companies etc" and manages to neatly intersperse the heavy political events of the time with the more lighthearted anecdotes of family life....more
Very readable and packed to the brim with useful statistics. I read this to improve my knowledge of Communist China for a level history, and would defVery readable and packed to the brim with useful statistics. I read this to improve my knowledge of Communist China for a level history, and would definitely recommend ot as further reading for that, particularly if you are looking for information on the economy, social changes and health care, and treatment of religion....more
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