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theartisangeek's reviews
713 reviews
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
5.0
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15/9/19
My chest is heavy, my throat is rough and my eyes are tearing. What a story, I can't believe it's over! I don't think I have ever been so upset for a story to finish. Emezi's writing is nothing less than remarkable and I need more - Freshwater it is. Will be uploading a review to my Youtube channel as soon as possible!
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15/9/19
My chest is heavy, my throat is rough and my eyes are tearing. What a story, I can't believe it's over! I don't think I have ever been so upset for a story to finish. Emezi's writing is nothing less than remarkable and I need more - Freshwater it is. Will be uploading a review to my Youtube channel as soon as possible!
You can find me on
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Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
2.0
4/1/19
What I learned from reading [b:So Good They Can't Ignore You|13525945|So Good They Can't Ignore You Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love|Cal Newport|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360564614l/13525945._SY75_.jpg|19086651] is that you can actually skim through Newport's books and extract the same information as if you were to read them thoroughly. The only difference is that you have saved yourself from reading an abundance of examples (mainly about white middle/upperclass men) and self congratulatory text, that at the very least, could have been easily whittled down.
Therefore this time, I skimmed through Deep Work and actually finished the book not feeling like I had wasted much of my time. However, it did make me notice that Newport has the tendency to create unnecessary jargon for ideas that really aren't that complex. The ideas in this book aren't revolutionary, but rather serve as a nice reminder. Having said that, this book could have been about 200 pages (or more) shorter.
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What I learned from reading [b:So Good They Can't Ignore You|13525945|So Good They Can't Ignore You Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love|Cal Newport|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360564614l/13525945._SY75_.jpg|19086651] is that you can actually skim through Newport's books and extract the same information as if you were to read them thoroughly. The only difference is that you have saved yourself from reading an abundance of examples (mainly about white middle/upperclass men) and self congratulatory text, that at the very least, could have been easily whittled down.
Therefore this time, I skimmed through Deep Work and actually finished the book not feeling like I had wasted much of my time. However, it did make me notice that Newport has the tendency to create unnecessary jargon for ideas that really aren't that complex. The ideas in this book aren't revolutionary, but rather serve as a nice reminder. Having said that, this book could have been about 200 pages (or more) shorter.
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My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
23/1/20
This one wasn't it for me. I wasn't sucked into the story, the characters didn't interest me and the story wasn't able to make me care much for their wellbeing. The main character messed up in jaw dropping dumb ways and honestly she was so annoying.
There was also unnecessary racist stuff in here. The whole 'slave day' at school where people could 'buy slaves' or had slaves assigned to them...
Also at some point a girl loses a ton of weight and the MC gets worried, says she looks like an Ethiopian. What in the frick is that supposed to mean? Yeah, I'm not surprised if a white girl in 80s America said this sort of dumb ass stuff, but it was so incredibly unnecessary in the scheme of this story.
You can find me on
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You can find me on
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This one wasn't it for me. I wasn't sucked into the story, the characters didn't interest me and the story wasn't able to make me care much for their wellbeing. The main character messed up in jaw dropping dumb ways and honestly she was so annoying.
There was also unnecessary racist stuff in here. The whole 'slave day' at school where people could 'buy slaves' or had slaves assigned to them...
Also at some point a girl loses a ton of weight and the MC gets worried, says she looks like an Ethiopian. What in the frick is that supposed to mean? Yeah, I'm not surprised if a white girl in 80s America said this sort of dumb ass stuff, but it was so incredibly unnecessary in the scheme of this story.
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You can find me on
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The Grip of It by Jac Jemc
2.0
10/9/19
A sincere thank you to Titan Books for gifting me a copy of The Grip of It. I didn't really enjoy this book a whole lot unfortunately.
'The inability to trust ourselves is the most menacing danger. I fear what we could find there. I fear what we won't.'
What I liked about the story was that the changes were at times really slow which give the story an eerie feel. However, throughout I had a feeling that the story was building up to something grand and the conclusion left me a bit bereft. The explanations for events weren't all that clear to me - there is a profound subtleness to this story, one that I had a really hard time picking up and as a result made me disengage to a certain extent.
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A sincere thank you to Titan Books for gifting me a copy of The Grip of It. I didn't really enjoy this book a whole lot unfortunately.
'The inability to trust ourselves is the most menacing danger. I fear what we could find there. I fear what we won't.'
What I liked about the story was that the changes were at times really slow which give the story an eerie feel. However, throughout I had a feeling that the story was building up to something grand and the conclusion left me a bit bereft. The explanations for events weren't all that clear to me - there is a profound subtleness to this story, one that I had a really hard time picking up and as a result made me disengage to a certain extent.
You can find me on
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Cog by Greg Van Eekhout
4/3/20
I read this one, because it's a Nebula award finalist for the MG and YA category, and it was so good! Wow! The characters are so cute and funny, it's hard not to root for them :) We get to experience first-hand how the main character Cog, learns (the at times tough) lessons of life . Van Eekhout managed to so deftly weave those into the narrative, whilst still providing a thoroughly entertaining story centred around artificial intelligence and our future with it. Honestly this would be perfect for any kid :)
You can find me on
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4/3/20
I read this one, because it's a Nebula award finalist for the MG and YA category, and it was so good! Wow! The characters are so cute and funny, it's hard not to root for them :) We get to experience first-hand how the main character Cog, learns (the at times tough) lessons of life . Van Eekhout managed to so deftly weave those into the narrative, whilst still providing a thoroughly entertaining story centred around artificial intelligence and our future with it. Honestly this would be perfect for any kid :)
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How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
6/3/20
A great collection in which Thammavongsa showcases so many aspects of the immigrant experience: the good, the bad, the pain, the beautiful. Would definitely recommend.
28/2/20
Found it during one of my book scavenging trips through London! :D
30/11/19
One of my friends read this and recommended it to me! I love a good short story collection!
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6/3/20
A great collection in which Thammavongsa showcases so many aspects of the immigrant experience: the good, the bad, the pain, the beautiful. Would definitely recommend.
28/2/20
Found it during one of my book scavenging trips through London! :D
30/11/19
One of my friends read this and recommended it to me! I love a good short story collection!
You can find me on
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Revenge by Yōko Ogawa
1/5/20
I thought this was an amazing collection of short stories. I read The Memory Police and Revenge almost back to back, and this was definitely more to my liking. I have a weak spot for interconnectivle short stories and this was an example of one that held my attention for the entire ride. I think that this would also serve well as an introduction to Japanese horror.
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I thought this was an amazing collection of short stories. I read The Memory Police and Revenge almost back to back, and this was definitely more to my liking. I have a weak spot for interconnectivle short stories and this was an example of one that held my attention for the entire ride. I think that this would also serve well as an introduction to Japanese horror.
You can find me on
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Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey
24/4/20
Pretty good! I enjoyed the goriness of bodies being exploded, but the story didn't feel all that believable to me. Imagine going to Hogwarts as a muggle and people not knowing you didn't have an ounce of magic in you -- you wouldn't even be able to talk yourself out of your lack of knowledge...
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Pretty good! I enjoyed the goriness of bodies being exploded, but the story didn't feel all that believable to me. Imagine going to Hogwarts as a muggle and people not knowing you didn't have an ounce of magic in you -- you wouldn't even be able to talk yourself out of your lack of knowledge...
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People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami
14/8/20
This was a great collection of short stories at times venturing off into some weird and dark places -- loved it! There seems to currently be a movement of contemporary female Japanese authors writing surreal short fiction and I'm super excited to read more of that :)
14/8/20
A sincere thank you to Granta for a copy of this book! Really excited to read this one :)
You can find me on
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This was a great collection of short stories at times venturing off into some weird and dark places -- loved it! There seems to currently be a movement of contemporary female Japanese authors writing surreal short fiction and I'm super excited to read more of that :)
14/8/20
A sincere thank you to Granta for a copy of this book! Really excited to read this one :)
You can find me on
Youtube | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Website | The Storygraph