Sameen's Updates en-US Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:32:14 -0800 60 Sameen's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9096232709 Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:32:14 -0800 <![CDATA[Sameen is currently reading 'Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How We Fix It']]> /review/show/7340179346 Failed State by Sam Freedman Sameen is currently reading Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How We Fix It by Sam Freedman
]]> Review7338385302 Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:16:43 -0800 <![CDATA[Sameen added 'Trumped! The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall']]> /review/show/7338385302 Trumped! The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunnin... by John R. O'Donnell Sameen wants to read Trumped! The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall (Kindle Edition) by John R. O'Donnell
bookshelves: to-read
This book was written in 1991 in the rise and fall of Trumps casino operation and failing marriage to Ivana. I vaguely was aware of this period but didn't know much.

Given it's age, it gives a remarkable pen portrait on the current US president. It talks a lot of executive dysfunction, relentless avarice and explosive temperament - sacking people for your own failings.

Many times the book itself read a bit as someone setting things straight, which is understandable given the trash talk of trump on many many people. Various episodes of big decisions are recounted.

I recognise many similar people who have risen to the top and burned everything around them. ]]> ReadStatus9093714801 Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:16:19 -0800 <![CDATA[Sameen has read 'Trumped!: The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall']]> /review/show/7338392303 Trumped! by John R. O'Donnell Sameen has read Trumped!: The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall by John R. O'Donnell
]]> ReadStatus9093714551 Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:16:12 -0800 <![CDATA[Sameen wants to read 'Trumped! The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall']]> /review/show/7338385302 Trumped! The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunnin... by John R. O'Donnell Sameen wants to read Trumped! The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall by John R. O'Donnell
]]> Rating827946419 Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:15:47 -0800 <![CDATA[Sameen Farouk liked a review]]> /
Sameen Farouk liked Calzean's review of Trumped!: The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall:
Trumped! by John R. O'Donnell
"The book covers the author's experiences in various senior roles in Trump Plaza late 80s. It's more than a bit scary that the author's experiences are being played out in the White House today. Trump's idea of motivation is to sack people. Those he sacked become bad people. And this most telling quote "He was a terrible communicator and didn’t know how to sort out his thoughts on a daily basis, let alone provide long-term corporate direction".
There's a fair bit about the finances of running a casino and the the amount of finance bluffing, bullying and outright lying that Trump performed on a daily basis.
I hope reading this book does not affect my ability for a goodnight sleep."
]]> Review7338385302 Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:15:01 -0800 <![CDATA[Sameen added 'Trumped! The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall']]> /review/show/7338385302 Trumped! The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunnin... by John R. O'Donnell Sameen wants to read Trumped! The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump—His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall (Kindle Edition) by John R. O'Donnell
bookshelves: to-read
This book was written in 1991 in the rise and fall of Trumps casino operation and failing marriage to Ivana. I vaguely was aware of this period but didn't know much.

Given it's age, it gives a remarkable pen portrait on the current US president. It talks a lot of executive dysfunction, relentless avarice and explosive temperament - sacking people for your own failings.

Many times the book itself read a bit as someone setting things straight, which is understandable given the trash talk of trump on many many people. Various episodes of big decisions are recounted.

I recognise many similar people who have risen to the top and burned everything around them. ]]> ReadStatus8986758315 Mon, 27 Jan 2025 11:15:13 -0800 <![CDATA[Sameen wants to read 'Favourite Daughter']]> /review/show/7263059611 Favourite Daughter by Morgan Dick Sameen wants to read Favourite Daughter by Morgan Dick
]]> ReadStatus8972995203 Fri, 24 Jan 2025 17:20:15 -0800 <![CDATA[Sameen is currently reading 'Circe']]> /review/show/7253281358 Circe by Madeline Miller Sameen is currently reading Circe by Madeline Miller
]]> Review7230315899 Sat, 18 Jan 2025 15:02:44 -0800 <![CDATA[Sameen added 'Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow']]> /review/show/7230315899 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Sameen gave 3 stars to Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Hardcover) by Gabrielle Zevin
bookshelves: american, americana, character-driven, coming-of-age, female-fiction, left-wing
Before I write my review, I just wish to take issue with the reviewers here slating the book for being woke. I'm sorry, but if themes touched upon in this book trigger you, then I think the author did a great job caricaturing your mindset with a certain character.

I read this book growing up as a 90s kid with fond memories of the evolution of gaming from arcade to text based adventures to RPGs to lore about the origins of nintendo. Ancient games like Sierra's Kings Quest 6 got mentioned. I loved the homage and research. There are so many delightful passages in here for gaming buffs who used to have PC Gamer or an old NES.

I also made a mistake. I thought this was going to be an asexual romance. Clearly love is a deeply recurring theme in this novel but I realised actually this one is ruminating a lot about death, and confronting it. Grief makes love so much harder and the book really helped explain how it's a little easier to love someone as they are dying than loving someone alive.

Sadie and Sam are two deeply flawed individuals, intertwined by their love for gaming. The intensity of what they produce is pretty impressive, in the days before gaming became so much more commercialised and professional. It also gives a good flavour of the heady days of Los Angeles and Massachusetts. I was trying to work out in particular if Sam was brought up in Cheondoism, as it would help explain his character so well.

But grief absolutely hits you in your face with this book several times. Far different to the tedious sex. It really pushed hard to make you think about the reality of living as opposed to the simulation of it in the gaming worlds they create. They also really went into detail on the concepts of games, which I thought were admittedly very cool except for the main one which brought all their success.

I was trying hard to understand why make something pretentious and then realised there's a certain style by this author to throw in words to capture that. I really enjoy a book that allows you to pick up a dictionary to just check what they are on about or am obscure reference that isn't footnoted. I appreciate having to make the effort as a reader. ]]> Rating814253882 Sat, 18 Jan 2025 14:56:20 -0800 <![CDATA[Sameen Farouk liked a readstatus]]> /
Sameen Farouk liked A’s status update
A A started reading Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
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