Take a photo of a barcode or cover
_astridedwards_'s reviews
63 reviews
One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak
5.0
[a:B j Novak|15427313|B j Novak|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] blew me away with this collection of short (and sometimes very short) stories. Few writers have ever drawn me in using the short story format, but Novak does time and time again.
Pick [b:One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories|18007533|One More Thing Stories and Other Stories|B.J. Novak|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393786903s/18007533.jpg|25273867] up and read any of the stories. You will not regret it.
Pick [b:One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories|18007533|One More Thing Stories and Other Stories|B.J. Novak|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393786903s/18007533.jpg|25273867] up and read any of the stories. You will not regret it.
Breaking News: Sex, lies and the Murdoch succession by Paul Barry
4.0
[a:Paul Barry|201587|Paul Barry|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] notes that 'writing about Rupert Murdoch and his family is perhaps not a great career move, given that they have such power and patronage in the media in Australia, the UK, the US and the rest of the world' (Acknowledgements, page 405).
No doubt Barry will not be writing for the News empire in the future. But this is exactly why this work is such a good read - the author pulls no punches.
Barry takes the reader through the various crises faced by News in the last decade, and also takes a look at the key players: children Elisabeth, Lachlan and James, and former favourite Rebekah Brookes. Pervading the entire book is an account of Rupert himself, the indefatigable and most definitely long lived 'Sun King'.
No doubt Barry will not be writing for the News empire in the future. But this is exactly why this work is such a good read - the author pulls no punches.
Barry takes the reader through the various crises faced by News in the last decade, and also takes a look at the key players: children Elisabeth, Lachlan and James, and former favourite Rebekah Brookes. Pervading the entire book is an account of Rupert himself, the indefatigable and most definitely long lived 'Sun King'.
Girl in the Woods: A Memoir by Aspen Matis
4.0
I was lucky to receive an advanced reader's edition of [b:Girl in the Woods: A Memoir|18635099|Girl in the Woods A Memoir|Aspen Matis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1427750639s/18635099.jpg|41700117].
[a:Aspen Matis|7307462|Aspen Matis|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1437049614p2/7307462.jpg] is a brave woman - this is the memoir of her rape, her childhood, and her growth into a woman. She takes the reader with her as she walks the length of the Pacific Crest Trail as a thru-hiker, from Mexico to Canada. Aspen doesn't leave anything out, even those aspects of herself that others may find confronting, and she shares her strengths, failings and growth with the reader.
I look forward to her future writing.
[a:Aspen Matis|7307462|Aspen Matis|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1437049614p2/7307462.jpg] is a brave woman - this is the memoir of her rape, her childhood, and her growth into a woman. She takes the reader with her as she walks the length of the Pacific Crest Trail as a thru-hiker, from Mexico to Canada. Aspen doesn't leave anything out, even those aspects of herself that others may find confronting, and she shares her strengths, failings and growth with the reader.
I look forward to her future writing.
The Strays by Emily Bitto
4.0
'What set me back on this trail of blood that leads from my past, perverse as any night-time cemetery walker or gatherer of bones, was...' (page 278).
Emotive, intellectual, evocative. Worth reading again.
Emotive, intellectual, evocative. Worth reading again.
So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
3.0
If you are one of the billions who use social media, this book is for you.
As [a:Jon Ronson|1218|Jon Ronson|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1428023511p2/1218.jpg] notes, he wrote this book because 'it didn't seem to be crossing any of our minds to wonder whether whichever person we had just shamed was OK or in ruins. I suppose that when shamings are delivered like remotely administered drone strikes nobody needs to think about how ferocious our collective power might be' (page 52).
Ronson considers this, and takes a long hard look at the level of public shaming that the Internet now makes possible, especially but not only Twitter.
As [a:Jon Ronson|1218|Jon Ronson|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1428023511p2/1218.jpg] notes, he wrote this book because 'it didn't seem to be crossing any of our minds to wonder whether whichever person we had just shamed was OK or in ruins. I suppose that when shamings are delivered like remotely administered drone strikes nobody needs to think about how ferocious our collective power might be' (page 52).
Ronson considers this, and takes a long hard look at the level of public shaming that the Internet now makes possible, especially but not only Twitter.
The Current by Yannick Thoraval
4.0
[a:Yannick Thoraval|9514185|Yannick Thoraval|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1442987009p2/9514185.jpg]'s [b:The Current|23368624|The Current|Yannick Thoraval|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415956373s/23368624.jpg|42927751] is brilliant. Many authors take climate change as their theme, but few understand the complexities of a changing climate and make these accessible to the reader.
But the novel is more than just a book about climate change - it is about the human response to it, and the human response to the broader world we live in. Everyone would benefit from reading [b:The Current|23368624|The Current|Yannick Thoraval|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415956373s/23368624.jpg|42927751].
But the novel is more than just a book about climate change - it is about the human response to it, and the human response to the broader world we live in. Everyone would benefit from reading [b:The Current|23368624|The Current|Yannick Thoraval|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415956373s/23368624.jpg|42927751].
Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope by Richard M. Cohen
4.0
Stop for a moment, and consider the likely fact that you know someone living with chronic disease. It is increasingly prevalent. And they may or may not have told you, because such diseases are often stigmatised.
[a:Richard M. Cohen|217849|Richard M. Cohen|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] collates five searing accounts of chronic disease. As a person with Multiple Sclerosis, he explores the lives of others living with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), muscular dystrophy, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Crohn's disease and bipolar disorder.
This is a disturbing and depressing must read that I recommend for all adults. Too often we choose not to see the daily pain and extraordinary lives of those around us, many of whom are living with chronic disease.
[b:Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope|6379532|Strong at the Broken Places Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope|Richard M. Cohen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347875977s/6379532.jpg|1765173] is an attempt to break through the stigma, and a good one.
As Cohen writes, 'do not turn away'.
[a:Richard M. Cohen|217849|Richard M. Cohen|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] collates five searing accounts of chronic disease. As a person with Multiple Sclerosis, he explores the lives of others living with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), muscular dystrophy, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Crohn's disease and bipolar disorder.
This is a disturbing and depressing must read that I recommend for all adults. Too often we choose not to see the daily pain and extraordinary lives of those around us, many of whom are living with chronic disease.
[b:Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope|6379532|Strong at the Broken Places Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope|Richard M. Cohen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347875977s/6379532.jpg|1765173] is an attempt to break through the stigma, and a good one.
As Cohen writes, 'do not turn away'.
Blindsided: Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir by Richard M. Cohen
3.0
There is no way around it, [b:Blindsided: Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir|710330|Blindsided Lifting a Life Above Illness A Reluctant Memoir|Richard M. Cohen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428548217s/710330.jpg|696597] is a heavy read. [a:Richard M. Cohen|217849|Richard M. Cohen|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] carries anger at the Multiple Sclerosis that has so marked his life around with him wherever he goes.
If you have MS or know a loved one who does, I recommend you read this. Anger aside, this is unlike other MS memoirs. Richard was diagnosed four decades ago, well before the disease modifying therapies currently on the market existed. He offers a different world view of MS and has plenty to teach, including ways to cope.
There is a lesson in this for all of us who face life looking into the vast unknown that is a chronic disease.
Best of all, Richard is writer. Words are his profession, and this MS memoir is the most well written I have read.
If you have MS or know a loved one who does, I recommend you read this. Anger aside, this is unlike other MS memoirs. Richard was diagnosed four decades ago, well before the disease modifying therapies currently on the market existed. He offers a different world view of MS and has plenty to teach, including ways to cope.
There is a lesson in this for all of us who face life looking into the vast unknown that is a chronic disease.
Best of all, Richard is writer. Words are his profession, and this MS memoir is the most well written I have read.
This Time: Australia's Republican Past and Future by Benjamin T. Jones
4.0
I voted ‘yes’ in the 1999 referendum, but I haven’t given the possibility of an Australian Republic much thought since. I picked up This Time because the world in 2018 doesn’t look like I thought it would, and as I wondered (and perhaps obsessed) about the role of Australia on the global stage, the oft-forgotten matter of an Australian republic caught my attention.
This Time surprised me. I thought I understood the arguments, and I certainly wasn’t expecting anything new. Consider me chastened. The history of agitation for an Australian republic is riveting.
Review_This Time Australia’s Republican Past and Future
The bloody French Revolution and war of American Independence influenced the early advocates for an Australian republic. So did Scottish and Irish convicts (dumped on Australian shores for arguing that Scotland and Ireland should break free from Britain), and even Canadian convicts (yes, there were such a thing), who were brought to Australia after rebelling against the British Crown. They all found themselves in Australia, yet another outpost of the Empire in need of a break from the damn British.
And in much more recent years, how our status as a possession of the British Crown effects how we think of ourselves as a nation. Do you know how close we came to calling our currency the ‘royal’? And do you know the politicking behind the choice of our anodyne national anthem? And do you understand the extent to which the authority of an unelected monarch was used to change our leadership in 1975?
Jones doesn’t have all of the answers. But he did convince me the broad debate about an Australian republic and what it means to be Australian is an opportunity to address many of the outstanding items on our national to do list. Reconciliation. Australia Day. The national anthem. The flag. Multiculturalism. Even the citizenship of our politicians. And from an outsiders point of view, our role in our region, our relationship with America and our approach to the Asian Century.
If you are even mildly interested in an Australian republic, this book summarises exactly where the debates – and there are many of them, most of them difficult – stand in 2018.
If you are pro status the quo (do you think ‘it it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’? Or do you just like the glamour surrounding Royal weddings?), this book explains exactly why the status quo is not what you think it is. When laid out bare, it may actually make you uncomfortable.
And if you are pro-monarchy, well, you won’t enjoy This Time. But you should read it, as you will need to counter the arguments so deftly articulated by Jones.
NOTE: This review was first published on The Garret (www.thegarretpodcast.com) on 27 January 2018.
This Time surprised me. I thought I understood the arguments, and I certainly wasn’t expecting anything new. Consider me chastened. The history of agitation for an Australian republic is riveting.
Review_This Time Australia’s Republican Past and Future
The bloody French Revolution and war of American Independence influenced the early advocates for an Australian republic. So did Scottish and Irish convicts (dumped on Australian shores for arguing that Scotland and Ireland should break free from Britain), and even Canadian convicts (yes, there were such a thing), who were brought to Australia after rebelling against the British Crown. They all found themselves in Australia, yet another outpost of the Empire in need of a break from the damn British.
And in much more recent years, how our status as a possession of the British Crown effects how we think of ourselves as a nation. Do you know how close we came to calling our currency the ‘royal’? And do you know the politicking behind the choice of our anodyne national anthem? And do you understand the extent to which the authority of an unelected monarch was used to change our leadership in 1975?
Jones doesn’t have all of the answers. But he did convince me the broad debate about an Australian republic and what it means to be Australian is an opportunity to address many of the outstanding items on our national to do list. Reconciliation. Australia Day. The national anthem. The flag. Multiculturalism. Even the citizenship of our politicians. And from an outsiders point of view, our role in our region, our relationship with America and our approach to the Asian Century.
If you are even mildly interested in an Australian republic, this book summarises exactly where the debates – and there are many of them, most of them difficult – stand in 2018.
If you are pro status the quo (do you think ‘it it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’? Or do you just like the glamour surrounding Royal weddings?), this book explains exactly why the status quo is not what you think it is. When laid out bare, it may actually make you uncomfortable.
And if you are pro-monarchy, well, you won’t enjoy This Time. But you should read it, as you will need to counter the arguments so deftly articulated by Jones.
NOTE: This review was first published on The Garret (www.thegarretpodcast.com) on 27 January 2018.