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emanon_reads's reviews
117 reviews
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl
4.25
Giving it 4 stars because I took a long break between the stories and found out that they didn’t really stick in my head. Having said that it doesn’t mean that I don’t think that they weren’t amazing.
The Boy Who Talked with Animals
- this was a peculiar story but also a lovely one; it was the right amount of entertaining and easy to read
The Hitch-hiker
- I love love love this short story; the characters were so fun and I really like a little conversation heavy plot… makes you feel like you’re a part of the scene😌
The Mildenhall Treasure
- I appreciate the introduction to the story; I love it when the author gets involved in their works… makes them more personal
- this Ford guy needs a good kicking cuz damn that was dumb move from his side
the Swan
- wow, this is bullying on another level
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
- this was a story that contained a story that had a retelling in it; complex if you ask me but so damn interesting; man knows how to write!!
Lucky Break
- again! He made it personal and that so nice; it’s good to know how one came to be through their own words and Dahl does it so well
A Piece of Cake
- reading this wasn’t a piece of cake, I got lost while reading it
Final thought:
- I absolutely loved “The Swan” and “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”; both stories were complex in their own way and both stories were told really well
- I got into reading this collection of short stories because of the newly released short movies by Wes Anderson and wow, I did not realise how much inspiration this man draws from Dahl and it’s quite cool to see
- 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
The Boy Who Talked with Animals
- this was a peculiar story but also a lovely one; it was the right amount of entertaining and easy to read
The Hitch-hiker
- I love love love this short story; the characters were so fun and I really like a little conversation heavy plot… makes you feel like you’re a part of the scene😌
The Mildenhall Treasure
- I appreciate the introduction to the story; I love it when the author gets involved in their works… makes them more personal
- this Ford guy needs a good kicking cuz damn that was dumb move from his side
the Swan
- wow, this is bullying on another level
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
- this was a story that contained a story that had a retelling in it; complex if you ask me but so damn interesting; man knows how to write!!
Lucky Break
- again! He made it personal and that so nice; it’s good to know how one came to be through their own words and Dahl does it so well
A Piece of Cake
- reading this wasn’t a piece of cake, I got lost while reading it
Final thought:
- I absolutely loved “The Swan” and “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”; both stories were complex in their own way and both stories were told really well
- I got into reading this collection of short stories because of the newly released short movies by Wes Anderson and wow, I did not realise how much inspiration this man draws from Dahl and it’s quite cool to see
- 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Finding Freedom: Writings from Death Row by Jarvis Jay Masters
5.0
Wow, man has been in prison since 1981.
It’s difficult to understand how one can make the financial of prison interactions sounds so funny and light in some cases and then so harsh and heartbreaking in others.
Jarvis knows how to write and he’s done an amazing job at portraying his stories in this book. I especially love “Recipe for Prison Pruno” (p63). It’s experimental and it’s done so well😙👌🏼.
I’ve underlined so many lines in this book. Some made me thing and reflect on these peoples situations, other on how at the end of the day everyone is the same and the rest were simply ridiculous.
Prisoners don’t give a damn about hoe they sound and it’s honestly so funny to me.
It’s difficult to understand how one can make the financial of prison interactions sounds so funny and light in some cases and then so harsh and heartbreaking in others.
Jarvis knows how to write and he’s done an amazing job at portraying his stories in this book. I especially love “Recipe for Prison Pruno” (p63). It’s experimental and it’s done so well😙👌🏼.
I’ve underlined so many lines in this book. Some made me thing and reflect on these peoples situations, other on how at the end of the day everyone is the same and the rest were simply ridiculous.
Prisoners don’t give a damn about hoe they sound and it’s honestly so funny to me.
How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America by Moustafa Bayoumi
5.0
I’m happy I picked this book up and I’m happy it turned out better than expected. I’ve had experiences of reading about Arabs and Muslims in a somewhat negative way and I won’t lie, I wasn’t looking forward to yet another book of that sort.
The way Moustafa got to retell each person’ story was beautiful.
Rasha - I honestly wanted to punch someone after reading this
Sami - it opened up a different perspective to how someone can be patriotic and in conflict with their loyalty due to their upbringing
Yasmin - I don’t think I would’ve ever been as resilient to a situation like this one
Akram - this one had a mage that made my blood boil
Lina - it’s a weird one because it somehow felt like it hit close to home while it definitely doesn’t
Omar - this was an unfair one, the dude is obviously good
Rami - he’s so far away from my reality that I almost couldn’t believe that this is someone’s real life story
This makes no sense but I don’t need it to👌🏼
Revenge by Yōko Ogawa
fast-paced
5.0
I want to give this book a review but I can’t. I literally have to sit down with whoever comes across this review and just rant for 10min straight cuz the emotions I’m feeling are too strong.
Ok ok, lemme try and make some sense out of it all. So.. the book has 11 short stories. Each one, on its own, is about 3.5 - 4.5 stars. Well written but nothing too crazy. But together, now that’s when the magic starts.
Yoko took the genius decision to connect all the stories and create this very peculiar world where everyone and everything is connected without any of the characters actually knowing that. Frankly they don’t need to, they just live their own lives doing whatever odd thing Yoko has assigned them but then they either witness or take part in some other characters life and it’s just so.. good! Idk, I love it. It’s so ordinary it almost feels extraordinary.
I found myself seeking each and every connection from one story to the next and it felts so good each time I caught up on them. Some of the connecting dots were so subtle and others were obvious. Lovely, lovely stuff.
Ogawa deserves 5 stars for the effort. I went into this expecting nothing special and I came out having read one of my favourite books do far.
Ok ok, lemme try and make some sense out of it all. So.. the book has 11 short stories. Each one, on its own, is about 3.5 - 4.5 stars. Well written but nothing too crazy. But together, now that’s when the magic starts.
Yoko took the genius decision to connect all the stories and create this very peculiar world where everyone and everything is connected without any of the characters actually knowing that. Frankly they don’t need to, they just live their own lives doing whatever odd thing Yoko has assigned them but then they either witness or take part in some other characters life and it’s just so.. good! Idk, I love it. It’s so ordinary it almost feels extraordinary.
I found myself seeking each and every connection from one story to the next and it felts so good each time I caught up on them. Some of the connecting dots were so subtle and others were obvious. Lovely, lovely stuff.
Ogawa deserves 5 stars for the effort. I went into this expecting nothing special and I came out having read one of my favourite books do far.
The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono
5.0
I never thought I’d enjoy reading a random thrifted book as much as I just did!!
I’ve never heard of Jean Giono but the man did an amazing job and telling an unreal story that you’d wish was based on a real life experience.
It was an easy short read that’s entertaining enough to finish in one go. Just lovely!!
I’ve never heard of Jean Giono but the man did an amazing job and telling an unreal story that you’d wish was based on a real life experience.
It was an easy short read that’s entertaining enough to finish in one go. Just lovely!!
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
3.5
My rating of this book does not reflect my opinion but my experience. Very little went into my head hence my need to reread it at some point.
It’s a good book for one reason in my opinion. It’s an easy guid into what the Quran says or May religion to that matter. It’s a guid to how the human being should take on life and share it with others which makes it great.
I had one instance at the start when it felt wrong. The relationship between Man and God was described as following:
~~~
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
~~~
This doesn’t sound amazing and it makes it all sound a bit questionable. But yeah… that’s about it
It’s a good book for one reason in my opinion. It’s an easy guid into what the Quran says or May religion to that matter. It’s a guid to how the human being should take on life and share it with others which makes it great.
I had one instance at the start when it felt wrong. The relationship between Man and God was described as following:
~~~
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
~~~
This doesn’t sound amazing and it makes it all sound a bit questionable. But yeah… that’s about it
Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer
3.0
maybe I’m really wrong about this story but I didn’t find it special… just cute
Super-Frog Saves Tokyo by Haruki Murakami, Haruki Murakami
fast-paced
4.25
How do I say this?.. this story is hilarious but also weird and sad.
I think the horror image at the end could’ve been skipped but I also see why it’s there.
Anyways, great quick read
I think the horror image at the end could’ve been skipped but I also see why it’s there.
Anyways, great quick read
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi
5.0
I hate that this book made me cry so many times. I think reading as 1st generation immigrant form a Middle Eastern country makes it a completely different experience to reading it out of interest.
I felt a lot of the emotions and I share a lot of the mentioned guilt. Marjane (a beautiful name btw) explained it all so well! I felt heard…
Am I just dumping my emotions online? Yes.
Anyways, the book was given ti me by an Iranian friend of mine which made 10x more valuable. The reading experience is amazing. There are some great, funny moments as well as some horrific ones. I laughed at the stupidly sad stereotypes and cried for the horrible things these people had gone through. I remind me of the world today which is obviously bad but I’m happy that literature like that exists out there. It’s needed, it gives perspective and it teaches of human compassion (western media loved to twist things and sometimes you just need to look at it from a local perspective)
I felt a lot of the emotions and I share a lot of the mentioned guilt. Marjane (a beautiful name btw) explained it all so well! I felt heard…
Am I just dumping my emotions online? Yes.
Anyways, the book was given ti me by an Iranian friend of mine which made 10x more valuable. The reading experience is amazing. There are some great, funny moments as well as some horrific ones. I laughed at the stupidly sad stereotypes and cried for the horrible things these people had gone through. I remind me of the world today which is obviously bad but I’m happy that literature like that exists out there. It’s needed, it gives perspective and it teaches of human compassion (western media loved to twist things and sometimes you just need to look at it from a local perspective)
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
2.75
I don’t get it, I really what to but I just don’t get it. The book did not read easily and half of the information shared passed through me as if I had never even gone through it.
The story was good but bad. A story about a guy that likes his best friend but it’s complicated. I get it, it’s difficult and it’s heartbreaking and it’s sad. We’ve all been there but the author really didn’t get to me, I did not feel the emotions I was supposed to. The race piece was good, the intentions were there but only one chapter felt like it talked about the matter and the struggles properly and this infuriates me.
It’s a good idea but I feel like the execution is just not it. You can talk about race and you can talk about live and you can have both topics in one book but you cannot write it in a way that it doesn’t stick.
I’m taking my anger on Open Water because I expected a masterpiece and I got yet a other 3 start experience.
Final thoughts… some books are made to be listened to and others to be read. I think I read a book meant for listeners.
The story was good but bad. A story about a guy that likes his best friend but it’s complicated. I get it, it’s difficult and it’s heartbreaking and it’s sad. We’ve all been there but the author really didn’t get to me, I did not feel the emotions I was supposed to. The race piece was good, the intentions were there but only one chapter felt like it talked about the matter and the struggles properly and this infuriates me.
It’s a good idea but I feel like the execution is just not it. You can talk about race and you can talk about live and you can have both topics in one book but you cannot write it in a way that it doesn’t stick.
I’m taking my anger on Open Water because I expected a masterpiece and I got yet a other 3 start experience.
Final thoughts… some books are made to be listened to and others to be read. I think I read a book meant for listeners.