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girlnextshore's reviews
806 reviews
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
5.0
What an epic read this was.
I don’t want to give too much away, but it is a beautiful, realistic look into friendships and human brokenness, the traumatic secrets we keep, the uphill battle to recovery, the beauty of love and how we allow our demons to take those who care for us for granted.
It’s an absolute beast of a story; you really feel for the characters and you cant help but feel a little bit nostalgic about your own friendships and support bubble.
It is definitely beautiful, if a bit disturbing, but absolutely more human than any others I’ve read this year so far. Take time to read this one. And maybe in our own little lives we could see where we need to lend a hand.
I don’t want to give too much away, but it is a beautiful, realistic look into friendships and human brokenness, the traumatic secrets we keep, the uphill battle to recovery, the beauty of love and how we allow our demons to take those who care for us for granted.
It’s an absolute beast of a story; you really feel for the characters and you cant help but feel a little bit nostalgic about your own friendships and support bubble.
It is definitely beautiful, if a bit disturbing, but absolutely more human than any others I’ve read this year so far. Take time to read this one. And maybe in our own little lives we could see where we need to lend a hand.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
3.0
The premise: small town twins run away. One leaves sister to live a “white life” and forgets about what she left behind. The other sister moves back to small town years later with her dark child in tow. The small town, btw? It’s a town of “light black people”. The years to by and lives intersect and intertwine.
An interesting tale of love: love for self, love for family, love that’s lost and forgotten, love that stands the test of time, love that’s forgiving and love that does not judge, but isn’t blind.
This could’ve been a Hallmark film, but with a slight Netflix twist.
An interesting tale of love: love for self, love for family, love that’s lost and forgotten, love that stands the test of time, love that’s forgiving and love that does not judge, but isn’t blind.
This could’ve been a Hallmark film, but with a slight Netflix twist.
Slade House by David Mitchell
3.0
Really like David Mitchell’s stuff and how he has subtle references to his other work - like how Stan Lee would interplay characters and stories in Marvel. Quite clever. This one is meant to be an accompaniment to a previous book, The Bone Clocks (which I’ve not read yet), but is actually quite a stand-alone.
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake
4.0
Completely fascinating read, I was engrossed from start to finish. I got this after reading [a:Robert Macfarlane|435856|Robert Macfarlane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1369335601p2/435856.jpg]'s [b:Underland: A Deep Time Journey|53121631|Underland A Deep Time Journey|Robert Macfarlane|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597184024l/53121631._SY75_.jpg|68561061], with a chapter on Epping Forest, Merlin Sheldrake and mycorrhizal fungi.
I learned a lot, the text is wonderfully written with much scope about the subject matter and the themes for each chapter are great. The notes are also really worth pursuing for extra facts and further reading.
There are great tidbits and fun facts - from the effects of psilocybin and ophiocordyceps, to fungal photosynthetic capabilities, to the voyria of Panama and matsukake forming after the Hiroshima bombing, to truffles and lichen, to the fact that Star Trek’s Paul Stamets was actually based on a mycologist called... Paul Stamets.
There’s a lot to discover about the world of fungi and I finish the book completely inspired by how they can build and destroy, how they affect technology and our ecosystems, and ultimately the possibilities they present for humanity.
Utterly enchanted.
I learned a lot, the text is wonderfully written with much scope about the subject matter and the themes for each chapter are great. The notes are also really worth pursuing for extra facts and further reading.
There are great tidbits and fun facts - from the effects of psilocybin and ophiocordyceps, to fungal photosynthetic capabilities, to the voyria of Panama and matsukake forming after the Hiroshima bombing, to truffles and lichen, to the fact that Star Trek’s Paul Stamets was actually based on a mycologist called... Paul Stamets.
There’s a lot to discover about the world of fungi and I finish the book completely inspired by how they can build and destroy, how they affect technology and our ecosystems, and ultimately the possibilities they present for humanity.
Utterly enchanted.