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raineachreads's reviews
44 reviews
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
informative
medium-paced
3.75
A lot of common sense written in an accessible and easy to apply way.
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Desmond Tutu, Dalai Lama XIV, Douglas Carlton Abrams
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A wonderful book of conversations between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Such a lot of wisdom and joy within these pages. It was especially interesting to see how much respect they both held for the other and that even when they didn’t agree on something (though they mainly did) this had no negative effect on their friendship but rather became a point in which to listen, learn and discuss. It really is a book for everyone!
1984 by George Orwell
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Dark, disturbing and just as relevant, if not more so, for the current times as when it was first published. I think the story is well known so I won’t go into that here but reading it at the start of 2023, the realities to British politics is quite frightening. From erasure of any information that didn’t fit the Big Brother theme (sound a bit like the Home Secretary trying to get the Suella Braverman question and answer session video taken offline?) to writing negatively of refugees arriving on the shores in boats (again sounds very familiar especially as attempts that there should be no reporting of refugees arriving on boats shown in a positive light currently in discussions). Orwell has created a powerful book. An uncomfortable read but an essential one. Let’s hope soon reading this will look increasingly dystopian once more.
You Know You Have Autonomic Dysfunction When... by Hannah Ensor
funny
informative
fast-paced
5.0
Really helpful to give to friends, family and carers to help them understand, yet remains funny and humorous too. Essential guide
You Know You Have Hypermobility Syndrome (HMS) Or Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) when ... by Hannah Ensor
funny
informative
fast-paced
5.0
This has really helped me explain EDS to friends and family in a way that isn't all doom and gloom and makes everyone laugh over the realities.
Medieval Plants and their Uses by Michael Brown
informative
medium-paced
4.0
I love this type of book that takes a subject and gives you so much information about it in depth that you learn everything you wanted to know and everything that you didn’t know you wanted to know!
The title very much explains what this book is about; plants and how they were used during medieval times. Split into chapters covering topics such as medicinal uses, folklore, practical uses in the home, and food and drink the subject is covered comprehensively. I especially enjoyed learning about beliefs in medicine of why each plant was used to cure certain illnesses. In many ways we have forgotten a lot of the knowledge, though equally it does mean we don’t use some of the horrible remedies either! The book finishes with a couple of practical things you can try including making a flower crown and instruments.
I really enjoyed this and found the author got the writing tone just right so that while it remained factual and informative it didn’t take on a dry, textbook style form either. I’ll definitely be reading it again in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The title very much explains what this book is about; plants and how they were used during medieval times. Split into chapters covering topics such as medicinal uses, folklore, practical uses in the home, and food and drink the subject is covered comprehensively. I especially enjoyed learning about beliefs in medicine of why each plant was used to cure certain illnesses. In many ways we have forgotten a lot of the knowledge, though equally it does mean we don’t use some of the horrible remedies either! The book finishes with a couple of practical things you can try including making a flower crown and instruments.
I really enjoyed this and found the author got the writing tone just right so that while it remained factual and informative it didn’t take on a dry, textbook style form either. I’ll definitely be reading it again in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Women of the Harlem Renaissance by Various
emotional
fast-paced
4.0
Anthologies can be a bit hit or miss, however this one was edited and put together superbly. A mixture of poems and short stories it flowed together well and gives plenty of food for thought too. I really hope more books like this start to follow!
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I wish I could have read this book when it first appeared. Waiting for it to be printed instalment by instalment must have really added to the suspense. Not so dissimilar to weekly television shows today. That being said listening to the audiobook narrated by Ian Holmes was a pretty good alternative!
‘The Woman in White’ is a tale of mystery, suspense and I think could be classed as a gothic thriller. It is a long book and while the writing is verbose in places Collins has created a world that really does come to life. A friend of Charles Dickens there is similarities in both their work. Without giving too much away the book creates a mystery- who is the woman in white and what is her importance- telling the story through various sources from diaries, letters, accounts and retellings. The two main figures Laura and Walter are a bit weak and I struggled to like them, yet their foil Marian and Count Fosco were fascinating characters that really carried the tale.
This is not a book I would have normally read (in fact I’ve avoided it for some time) but as it’s part of the BBC top 100 books and I’m down to the last 15 on the list it was time to pick it up. I’m really glad I did and will definitely read it again at some point to see what clues I might have missed in the first reading.
‘The Woman in White’ is a tale of mystery, suspense and I think could be classed as a gothic thriller. It is a long book and while the writing is verbose in places Collins has created a world that really does come to life. A friend of Charles Dickens there is similarities in both their work. Without giving too much away the book creates a mystery- who is the woman in white and what is her importance- telling the story through various sources from diaries, letters, accounts and retellings. The two main figures Laura and Walter are a bit weak and I struggled to like them, yet their foil Marian and Count Fosco were fascinating characters that really carried the tale.
This is not a book I would have normally read (in fact I’ve avoided it for some time) but as it’s part of the BBC top 100 books and I’m down to the last 15 on the list it was time to pick it up. I’m really glad I did and will definitely read it again at some point to see what clues I might have missed in the first reading.
Magic Between the Covers by AJ Tipton
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.75
Read for the Reading Rivalry book prompt of ‘Paranormal Romance’. This book was really not for me. It’s not a genre I would normally choose to read and not one I plan to return to again. That being said considering this was only 62 pages long the author did a good job of squeezing in the plot in amongst all the romance.