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anisha_inkspill's reviews
171 reviews
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
dark
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I saw the book cover before the title and author, both I’d never heard of before.
My cover is green with an eye in the center, like Big Brother is watching, the About We section, a very very short section, explains how this book inspires Orwell and Huxley. The subtitle of the book tells me it’s a sci-fi.
This is a profound and unsettling read but there’s a charm to how D-503 starts feeling (and questioning the world around him) when he falls in love.
I finished thinking I want to know more about this author and the works he writes.
My cover is green with an eye in the center, like Big Brother is watching, the About We section, a very very short section, explains how this book inspires Orwell and Huxley. The subtitle of the book tells me it’s a sci-fi.
This is a profound and unsettling read but there’s a charm to how D-503 starts feeling (and questioning the world around him) when he falls in love.
I finished thinking I want to know more about this author and the works he writes.
The History of Titus Groan by Brian Sibley
4.0
A drama adaptation by Brian Sibley of the entire Gormenghast trilogy. The ending was flat compared to the rest but I liked the atmospheric gothic tones with faint traces of Shakespeare, whilst Titus finds himself on a quest.
I listened to this after coming across the book, a trilogy, which, along with the author, is new to me. What caught my eye were the illustrations in the book. Skimming through it I see there is more interesting story details. This, and how the writer and artist are part of the story they’ve created, I can see myself enjoying reading this.
I listened to this after coming across the book, a trilogy, which, along with the author, is new to me. What caught my eye were the illustrations in the book. Skimming through it I see there is more interesting story details. This, and how the writer and artist are part of the story they’ve created, I can see myself enjoying reading this.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
4.0
Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, this is a madcap, strung out read with narcistic tones.
Is it hilarious? At times, or the humour comes because it’s so unbelievable and wacky.
Is it unsettling? Yes, when the humour is put on pause and where there are clear signs of rage, or the beginning of it.
Could it be read as a philosophical doctrine? Possibly. Under the laughs and the Roul Duke’s lack of sensitivity to others, it’s looking back to another time where the world made more sense to him, where hope is not entirely lost as he and Attorney search for the American Dream.
I enjoyed it more for its style and innovative use of form, for this it’s 4*.
Is it hilarious? At times, or the humour comes because it’s so unbelievable and wacky.
Is it unsettling? Yes, when the humour is put on pause and where there are clear signs of rage, or the beginning of it.
Could it be read as a philosophical doctrine? Possibly. Under the laughs and the Roul Duke’s lack of sensitivity to others, it’s looking back to another time where the world made more sense to him, where hope is not entirely lost as he and Attorney search for the American Dream.
I enjoyed it more for its style and innovative use of form, for this it’s 4*.
Orestes by John Peck, Frank Nisetich, Euripides
dark
sad
3.5
This is not a leisurely read, it’s alarming, bloody, angry and very anti-women. Orestes by Euripides is hardly produced for the stage today but worth a read if, like me, you’re trying to put all the pieces together that makes mythology.
Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, & Other Typographical Marks by Keith Houston
informative
4.0
At times this was a touch dry but the examples and illustrations included made this an easier, fun read.
Keith Houston throws in many facts and trivia of 11 typography symbols, at times this is a touch overwhelming but at the same time fascinating. One of these is how the ampersand used to be the 27th letter of the English alphabet. I’m still grappling with this one.
The Spoken Word: Sylvia Plath by The British Library
5.0
Sylvia Plath reading some of her poems and talking about her work. And it’s wonderful how she reads them, I love her poetry that is full of stark, sharp imagery.
Extract from Candles by Sylvia Plath
They are the last romantics, these candles:
Upside-down hearts of light tipping wax fingers,
And the fingers, taken in by their own haloes,
Grown milky, almost clear, like the bodies of saints.
They are the last romantics, these candles:
Upside-down hearts of light tipping wax fingers,
And the fingers, taken in by their own haloes,
Grown milky, almost clear, like the bodies of saints.
Life for Sale by Yukio Mishima
A quick read. This story, whilst delivering deep philosophical nuggets on the value and meaning of life, is an entertaining read with its outlandish humour of many absurd scenes.
Minus its view of women, it’s clever in how it delivers big ideas through comedy.
Minus its view of women, it’s clever in how it delivers big ideas through comedy.
The History of Colour: How We See, Use and Understand Colour by Neil Parkinson
informative
5.0
For me this is a dream read, not only does this book on colour theory give an overview of its history but it also includes many, many (and I mean many) colour charts. If this is not enough, it is also a book about books, for this is a perfect read.
Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams by Sylvia Plath
medium-paced
4.0
This is a collection of short stories, essays and notebook entries by Sylvia Plath. As a collection it doesn’t gel and seems disjointed but what it does do is give hints of how Plath’s writing style developed.
The story this collection is named after, Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams, has a narrator that feels like an earlier version of The Bell Jar.
The works are a mixture of dark, coming -of-age, matter of fact and light comedy. Some are less interesting than others, and I would have been less interested in those if I had not read two biographies about Sylvia Plath. This helped me to connect to this book:
In Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams Plath is cryptically sharing her own fears of having electric shock therapy. I also recognised Rose and Percy B is about her neighbours when she lived in Devon, England, with Ted Hughes. Other works also have a relevance in some way which would not have been obvious to me without reading the biographies.
What’s amazing about Sylvia Plath is in her short life how much she has written and the variety.
The story this collection is named after, Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams, has a narrator that feels like an earlier version of The Bell Jar.
The works are a mixture of dark, coming -of-age, matter of fact and light comedy. Some are less interesting than others, and I would have been less interested in those if I had not read two biographies about Sylvia Plath. This helped me to connect to this book:
In Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams Plath is cryptically sharing her own fears of having electric shock therapy. I also recognised Rose and Percy B is about her neighbours when she lived in Devon, England, with Ted Hughes. Other works also have a relevance in some way which would not have been obvious to me without reading the biographies.
What’s amazing about Sylvia Plath is in her short life how much she has written and the variety.
Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather L. Clark
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
There were parts of this very in-depth biography that was not an easy read, but what made it phenomenal is Heather Clarke’s detailed context of Sylvia Plath’s life.
I also like how it puts Sylvia Plath’s talent back to centre stage from the shadows of the last months of her life.
Sylvia Plath who was inspired by many and would go on to inspire others long after her death.