Still reading!! I guess you could call me a bookworm :)) In that I consume books without truly understanding or appreciating anything.
January Book Reviews
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
7.5/10 First book for my New Years resolution of one book per month! I picked it because It was less than 200 pages and I mean, might as well start off with one goal accomplished right? This book is pretty much like The Little Prince. It reads kind of like a children's fairytale but makes it pretty obvious that everything is a metaphor for life. Follow your dreams! The world works in mysterious ways! Listen to your heart! I might sound sarcastic but it is actually a lovely little story. I don't think it matches up to The Little Prince, but it's not a bad read.
Bellevue Square (Michael Redhill)
2/10 Emboldened by my success at finishing a 200 page book, I tried reading another one and I HATED IT. The two points were pity points. Okay, maybe some points for the initial premise which sounded promising and interesting enough to make me pick it up. That and it was a Giller Prize Winner and people kept asking for it. I mean, if people are willing to pay money for it without knowing anything then I can at least try it out right? Well, I'm right but there's no heartwarming ending where it's a lesson of taking chances or whatever because I totally hated this book. It started out alright and moving forward with the blurb I read it was pretty good. Then it started getting...weird...and trippy...and confusing and totally threw me for a loop but not in a good way. It wasn't like wow what a rollercoaster of a ride, it was more like drinking something at a party and finding out it was spiked with drugs. I expected a little unusualness but it just threw out reality and didn't even resolve any of the questions it raised at the end. In summary: I hate having to suggest this book just because it was the grand prize winner. Down with the system!!
I was already pretty much lost on this book but when she stole a plane and flew it to some random town then starting burning down the tent that her doppelganger was giving a speech on about her book which was about her........like........calm down.
The Inner Life of Animals (Peter Wohlleben)
5/10 After the mind-fuck mess that was Bellevue Square, I decided to read a book in the totally opposite direction: a non-fiction book about animals and the natural world. And you know what, there is a heartwarming ending in which I learned a lesson and that lesson is: no matter how different the genre, there are going to be books that I dislike no matter what. Isn't that great? Granted, it wasn't a book that I hated but I don't particularly care for it. A lot of the book is just the author saying 'do animals really [human emotion]? It can never be proven by science but here's some anecdotal stories that say yes!' Which was really not what I picked up this book for. I mean, animals are great and there are lots of chicken soup for the soul stories that attest to the incredible complexity of animals. But I could find those on the internet! I just felt like I finished reading this book and learned almost nothing new or interesting, except for the fact that apparently the author is against the treatment of pigs raised as livestock. So. There's that.
Modern Romance (Aziz Ansari)
9/10 FINALLY!! After the disappointment of the previous two books I was like man I feel down, maybe I should pick a lighthearted humour book instead. And finally a book that delivered on my expectations. It was indeed, a light-hearted humour book. And not only that, I did learn a lot of new things! I can't speak for how reliable the research was except that it seemed legit but I did like how they covered the topic of romance in the modern age. They complied both hard numbers and collected anecdotes and complied them all with funny commentary to give a pretty interesting look at romance between now and then as well as in the US and other places of the world. It wasn't a laugh a minute type deal, but mixed the data with the comedy in an easy to read way and the writing was clever in some parts. The thing I appreciated the most about this book, and what I feared would be its biggest failing, was that they never took sides. They showed the ups and downs of dating whether it was in the pre-internet age or on Tinder; whether it's arranged marriages or meeting in a bar. It never tried to say which way was 'right' but stressed that it depended on the person, and how willing you are to work for a relationship that really makes it or breaks it. And I'd say just that conclusion alone is worth a read.
Ascent of Women: A New Age is Dawning for Every Mother's Daughter (Sally Armstrong)
6.5/10 A pretty good look at the rise of feminism in all parts of the world, although it's marred by a few drawbacks that prevent it from being a truly remarkable piece of work. I enjoyed that they didn't focus entirely on Western feminism and its rise in developed countries. Instead, most of the book contained stories and events happening in places that most people would consider the last place for women's rights: Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and parts of Southeast Asia. That focus also made some parts the hardest to get through, not because of the writing, but of some of the truly terrible things happening. It's definitely an eye opener for those who tend gloss over the horrifying details behind words like rape and female genital mutilation. While it's filled with stories of optimism, the author also does her best not to neglect to mention the overwhelming challenges and barriers still in place before anything can be really celebrated, which I appreciated. One of the biggest drawbacks is that in a world that's rapidly and constantly changing, the 2013 book is already outdated. It's hard reading about the women's roles in the Arab Spring and knowing the political situation in Egypt right now, but the book serves as a good reminder of things that are possible, no matter how small, that can be accomplished by women no matter where they are.
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik)
8/10 A surprsingly good read about a figure I really didn't know a lot about! The book lost a bit of relevancy for me because I'm Canadian so I still feel a bit detached from the drama of the US court system. But even with that, the book managed to portray a portrait of a woman who quietly persisted and patiently fought for what she deserved. Through her 80 years of challenges and successes, we could also see some of them reflected in the progress of feminism in the US as well. Although it does provide a limited view, that of mostly middle class, Caucasian women, but an interesting view nontheless. What I like most about RBG is that she's not an explosive, revolutionary figure. In her own words, she didn't like to 'rock the boat'. But it also didn't mean she went along with whatever people said. When it came down to the things that mattered to her, she took a stand in her own way. An enjoyable read about an impressive woman (and just a bit of a messed up political/justice situation).
