Robin Surtees từ Kharbi, Maharashtra, India

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05/15/2024

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Robin Surtees Sách lại (10)

2019-04-29 04:31

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Sách được viết bởi Bởi:

Sometimes you come across a book online (in this case while looking up books similar to In the Land of Invisible Women, although I was hoping for better writing) and it looks really interesting. A great cover -- in this case the blue one -- and a story about a culture you're curious about. Sometimes it is easy to find a copy of that book, so your curiosity is quickly sated. Sometimes you can't find a copy anywhere -- neither of the library systems in your town have it; it's not available on the bookswap site you use; the bookstore doesn't have it (and you view Amazon as cheating). So you put it on your "to-read" list anyway and hope that sooner or later it'll become available on the bookswap site. And then -- and then. You're going through your to-read list in preparation for a library run, checking to see which books both appeal at the moment and are available at the library, and this book is one of them. Shock. Happiness. It has such a great cover, after all, and even though you know better than to judge a book by its cover, you are lulled into a false sense of security because you're happy that you'll actually be able to move this one from the "to-read" list to the "read" list. So you check the book out. And then you start reading it. Oh dear. This is not what you expected. This is, first of all, very clearly self-published. (You could have figured this out before you got it from the library, of course, but shhhhh, you haven't learned this lesson yet and probably won't anytime soon.) It is immediately clear that the author desperately needed an editor, and a proofreader, and somebody who could remind him to stop switching tenses mid-paragraph, dammit, you're going to break some poor reader's brain. The book is written in a chatty, conversational style, which sometimes is fine and sometimes makes you want to bash your head against the wall, because in addition to needing an editor and a proofreader and so on, the author would have benefited from a fact checker. There is no continuity to the stories, no recurring characters, and numerous threads left hanging. Every other statement is presented as a truth universal to Saudi Arabia, with little or no nuance. On the more minor end of things, the author talks about earning and saving a ton of money in Saudi Arabia, then going back to the States, getting accepted into a low-tier law school (he doesn't say "low-tier", of course, but you have Google on your side), and then not having the $11,000 to pay for a year of schooling (which confuses you on two levels -- first because one would think that if he'd saved up a ton of money he could at least make it through a year of school on his savings, second because the school's website and Wikipedia put annual tuition at $9,000 and $7,500, respectively, and you wouldn't expect it to have decreased since the author's admission). It doesn't matter, anyway; he goes back to Saudi Arabia to save up the money for law school and then never mentions law school again. When the author is not talking about how much money he's saving, his stories can be divided into two categories: crazy shit that Saudis do because they are so unqualified for any job ever, and crazy shit that Saudis have because they spend money like it is going out of style. It is memoir, of course, so you expected some degree of bias, but you had naively assumed that the author would at least try to be evenhanded rather than throwing out every shocking or funny story he can think of (except for those times when he tells half a story, says that he'll tell the rest later, and then never gets around to it). He's not stupid. He recognises inequalities and inconsistencies in Saudi Arabia, but also in other countries. He's just not interested in exploring them in any depth beyond shock value, nor in covering any part of the culture As an American, he has certain advantages not available to many other foreign workers or many classes in Saudi Arabia -- he recognises this, but doesn't question it -- just uses those advantages to the best of his ability. The role of women is noted, but again, only as shock value -- you don't actually count, but if you did you'd probably find that he spends more time talking about cars (ones he's had, ones the Saudis gave away because they weren't modern enough, ones that got scraped) than about women. There's little insight, just extremes. The book definitely does not pass the Bechdel test. But you finish the book. Not that you expect it to get better. Possibly you are a masochist, or possibly you just still have an irrational hope that somewhere in here there is one gem -- just one -- that would make the book worth it. At least now the book can come off your "to-read" list.

2019-04-29 09:31

Tuần Của Bé - Bé Bao Dung Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn

Sách được viết bởi Bởi: Dương Hà Ngân

There is no doubt that Amplified makes you feel like a rock star when you're done. I love the struggles, the music, the parties, the boys, and everything wrapped up in this musical story. We start off with Jasmine Kiss, who is from Woodside, an indicator that she comes from money. After telling her father she deferred Standford and doesn't want to do the college thing, she leaves and goes to Santa Cruz to pursue her dream of playing music. She realized life isn't as easy as she'd though it'd be. When she meets Veta and Sean... siblings in the band C-side things start to look up for her. But, she'll have to literally amp herself up to survive the life she wants. I loved this book so, so much. If you don't know, I'm in love with music. It's what gets me through most days to be honest and I can't seem to do one thing without it. I always have it on in the background, I play it in between classes, I fall asleep to it. Music says so much that words and feelings can't sometimes. That being said, the whole music aspect of the story made me connect with it that much more. And hello.... Jasmine's ringtone is Placebo - Meds?!?! I am in love with that song. All the characters in this book are so well developed too. None of them are perfect, they all have flaws and problems. Jasmine is trying her hardest to fulfill her dream yet in the background, she deals with extreme family issues. She's a very inspiring protagonists that I think many readers will relate to. I also, love all the band members: Veta, Bryn, and Felix. Veta is the hardcore best friend, Bryn has issues of his own to deal with while trying to be the band leader, and Felix is the comic relief. They all mesh together so well. There are also shall we say "others" that weave this story. One in particular... Amy. To me, she's the type of person that girls hate and guys just want to get with. She's spoiled and rude, and I wanted to kick her multiple times :). And oh yes, I'm forgetting someone..... Sean. Sean is something else. Three main things hit my brain when I think of him: Smells like gasoline, has green eyes, and plays in a band. Each of those things drive me in INSANE. Uhhh perfection! I really enjoyed watching his and Jasmine's relation grow. It's not perfect, and it's not meant to be... that's what makes it so real. To be honest, the ending of this story left me wanting so much more. But, with that being said I understand why it ended the way it did, and it ended perfectly for the story. There are so many ups and down and emotions throughout Amplified, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. A completely moving story.

2019-04-29 11:31

Hợp Tuyển Văn Học Cổ Điển Hàn Quốc Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn

Sách được viết bởi Bởi: Phan Thị Thu Hiền

I actually picked up a tattered paperback copy of The Dig several years ago after seeing it referenced online in a discussion about books that do a good job of portraying an archaeological dig. It wasn't until I was offered an ARC of the new edition, however, that I finally made time for John Preston and his literary treasure hunt. To be honest, if I didn't feel obligated to give it a review, I likely would have discarded this to the DNF pile. There was some interesting history behind it, and an impressive amount of detail in some of the excavations, but the narrative itself was painfully dry, and the characters tediously English. I mean, there is some very cool stuff going on here, and some really exciting things being revealed from the mysterious mounds, but there is absolutely no emotion to the book. Everyone in it takes such pains to be prim and proper, and Preston himself seems compelled to similarly reign in his enthusiasm. I'm sure there are literary merits that I'm glossing over, and I'm sure cultural aficionados could pick apart the words and the sentences to reveal a whole other layer, but as adventures go . . . as archaeological discoveries go . . . The Dig was just a wholly underwhelming read. Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for review consideration. This does not in any way affect the honesty or sincerity of my review.

Người đọc Robin Surtees từ Kharbi, Maharashtra, India

Người dùng coi những cuốn sách này là thú vị nhất trong năm 2017-2018, ban biên tập của cổng thông tin "Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn" khuyến cáo rằng tất cả các độc giả sẽ làm quen với văn học này.