This book has definitely won my personal award of having the highest amount of highlighted passages in a book I’ve ever read in my life. While making my way through it page by page, I went through such a wide range of emotions, going from anger, frustration, disappointment to defeat and hopelessness but most of…
Tag: british authors
“Open Water” – Caleb Azumah Nelson
The fact of me having read “Open Water” was once again a classic example of the positive effect book clubs can have by making you leave your comfort zone. Even though I’ve heard quite a bit about the book, I wouldn’t have necessarily picked up something that sounded to be just another love story between…
“Beyond the Wand” – Tom Felton
I think the sensation that stays the most after finishing this book is… feeling confused? What exactly was it about? It tries to be a memoir but mostly ends up focusing on Tom’s acting experience within the Harry Potter movies while only describing a tiny little part outside of it. I might see how it…
“Just Like You” – Nick Hornby
Having previously read Nick Hornby’s books “A Long Way Down“, “About a Boy” and “High Fidelity”, I didn’t really have high expectations towards “Just Like You”. I have never rated any of the author’s books with more than 3 out of 5 ★ and his newest release can be classified within the same category. This…
“The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” – Oliver Sacks
Oliver Sacks has been on my “to-read” list as an author for quite some time and I was especially excited when it was picked as the book of the month within one of my book clubs. It ended up being such a fascinating read and I can’t wait to discover more of the author’s works!!!…
“The Midnight Library” – Matt Haig
“The Midnight Library” was the first one of Matt Haig’s books that I have picked up after having heard tons about his other publications and this one just having been released in 2020. It has been chosen by one of my book clubs to be read in January 2021 and I decided to join in…
“Syria’s Secret Library” – Mike Thomson
Prior to reading “Syria’s Secret Library“, I have just finished “The Book Collectors of Daraya” by Delphine Minoui. Both books were written about the hidden library within the Syrian town of Daraya but my curiosity simply hasn’t been satisfied after Delphine Minoui’s book, which was originally published in French in 2018. Upon doing some additional…
“Essentialism” – Greg McKeown
The most important take-away from this book for me was – if you’re not feeling completely overworked, chaotic and goal-less with the things you’re currently doing on a daily basis (whether that’s in your personal or your professional life), put this book aside until you feel that way one day and only then reach out…
“Intimations” – Zadie Smith
I was completely disappointed by this tiny piece of writing made up of 6 essays by Zadie Smith. Maybe it was because I’ve been meaning and wanting to read something by the author for such a long time, having built up too high expectations. Maybe because this isn’t the right book to start with if…
“Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race” – Reni Eddo-Lodge
My hunt for non-American literature on the topic of (anti-)racism continued and that’s how I came across Reni Eddo-Lodge’s book. It’s very heavily centred on British history, stories and statistics, so do be aware of that when you’re going into the reading. I specifically chose it for that reason because even though all the purely…
“Behind Closed Doors” – Natalie Fiennes
This super short book of just about 150 pages really has the potential to make you question well anchored thoughts & ideas in your mind. Starting from how “virginity” is a purely heteronormative & invented term, which is still being used too often in our society, to how we’re not taught about the diversity of…
“How to Break Up with Your Phone” – Catherine Price
While this book is intended to be used as a 30 day plan in order to break up with your phone, I read it in almost one sitting & am more than happy to give it a full 5 out of 5 ★ rating straight away! This book is literally life-changing! I already see it…
“After the End” – Clare Mackintosh
“After the End” isn’t a book I would normally reach out to myself. Somehow the name & the cover of the book screamed out kitsch, cliché & chick flick to me. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a chance, having stumbled across it through a friend of a friend on instagram, saying that it was…
“Why We Sleep” – Matthew Walker
If I was given the restriction to only read 1 single book this year, then I would without a doubt choose Matthew Walker’s “Why We Sleep”!!! I don’t remember the last time I read a book that was so densely packed with valuable information & on top of that “packaged” in such an approachable way…
“Talking to Strangers” – Malcolm Gladwell
I have been tempted to pick up the “Talking to Strangers” book having previously liked Gladwell’s “Outliers“ (read it in 2015 & gave it a 4 out of 5 star rating back then) & also because of its title, which ended up being completely misleading. I was expecting something more psychological or something that would…
“Machines Like Me” – Ian McEwan
This is the first book I have read by Ian McEwan & it has definitely sparked my curiosity to discover more books by the author. I really wanted to like this one, since I’m generally a fan of AI & I have also initially given it 4/5 stars, but while going through the review, it…
“Don’t Be a Tourist in Paris” – Vanessa Grall
This book is an absolute must-have for any kind of Paris-fanatic: Whether you’ve been living in the city for years & want to have a new & fresh view onto it or you’re coming to visit for the very 1st time – there’s something within it for both types of readers! It motivates you to…
“God Save la France” – Stephen Clarke
Picking up “God Save la France” for the 2nd time but in the version of the French translation to practice my language skills has only left me disappointed. I remember rating “A Year in the Merde” as one of my favourite books after finishing it, laughing out loud while going through it & finishing it…
“À propos d’un gamin” (About a Boy) – Nick Hornby
Out of the 3 Nick Hornby books that I’ve read, this is definitely the one that I hated the least 😁 The characters were better developed, in my opinion, than the ones in “A Long Way Down” & “High Fidelity”. Nevertheless, what seems to have saved the rating of the book, was the fact of…
“Vous descendez? (A Long Way Down)” – Nick Hornby
The only reason why I keep on reaching out to Nick Hornby’s books is the fact that I’ve got them standing around in French on my bookshelf. In my opinion, that’s also the only plausible reason to read them – translated in other languages to learn a foreign language, since the style & the vocabulary…
“Paris Revealed” – Stephen Clarke
Having read two books by Stephen Clarke about the Parisian adventures of a fictitious character, “Paris Revealed” sounded like a light & fun read, while I didn’t have any expectations towards it at all. Though it did have a few entertaining passages and it is successful at introducing the Parisian way of life, starting from…
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