A book with a tender pulse. It holds up a mirror to our world: how easily we turn away from those we deem different, and how quick we are to measure wA book with a tender pulse. It holds up a mirror to our world: how easily we turn away from those we deem different, and how quick we are to measure worth by likeness. I wish I could speak to closed minds the way Astra does: with a quiet kind of courage, soft enough to disarm, strong enough to change hearts.
If you can, get the audiobook that brings the story to life more than the slower written word does....more
Alchemised is a solid, moody romantasy (yes, I said it). The war, the politics, the magic? All secondary to the relationship at its heart. “Darker thaAlchemised is a solid, moody romantasy (yes, I said it). The war, the politics, the magic? All secondary to the relationship at its heart. “Darker than dark”? Not quite. That famous last line that’s supposed to ruin your life forever? I’m still waiting.
I’ll admit, the hype probably lifted my rating a little. And I can absolutely see why readers who loved the original fanfiction are devoted to it, that backstory adds a lot. But coming to it fresh, I never fully connected. The relationship felt distant, and without that emotional anchor, the high stakes never landed.
Despite the insistence that this isn’t romantasy, I have to disagree. The entire story revolves around the relationship between Helena and Kain, without their bond, there is no book. The war, the magic, the power systems all serve to explore that connection. Every sigh and swoon in my buddy reads whenever they so much as hold hands just proves my point (even if my friends are still in denial). It’s not the light, flirty kind of romantasy (ACOTAR, Fourth Wing), but rather its shadow twin bleak, obsessive, and trauma-laced.
That said, I found the pacing slow and the story occasionally dull. Honestly, if it weren’t for the buddy reads I joined, I might not have finished it. Beautifully written and undeniably ambitious, yes but not the emotional wrecking ball I was promised....more
Eat well, sleep well, move well, remember to take breaks and remember to have fun sometimes. Keep repeIt’s fine, repetition of the basics never hurts.
Eat well, sleep well, move well, remember to take breaks and remember to have fun sometimes. Keep repeating till common sense becomes common practice....more
This is almost a lecture series, working through the 6 chapters is like sitting in on a motivational seminar by Brendon Burchard. It is a very accessiThis is almost a lecture series, working through the 6 chapters is like sitting in on a motivational seminar by Brendon Burchard. It is a very accessible reworking of his views on how to live life in a positive way, always learning, always growing but without doing harm to yourself or others around you.
All his other books are great to check out, I always walk away from them with a little bit more spring in my step. ...more
This is such a beautiful book! It's a memoir of a childhood set on a farm in rural America but actually it can apply to any kind of farmer's experiencThis is such a beautiful book! It's a memoir of a childhood set on a farm in rural America but actually it can apply to any kind of farmer's experience. My grandfather had a farm, roses mainly but also other flowers and some vegetables, that bordered an every closing metropolitan city. He had to sell his lands in the early 2000s and that was both traumatic and a relief to the family. None of his children wanted to take over the farm, noone in the family really felt up to it anymore. Walking around in the suburbs that got built over the farmlands still is surreal. I can remember the barn for the horses, the rails where the carts turned, where we skated around one very cold winter. Fond memories. But I can also remember the stresses of losing the glass houses to a storm, pesticide rules changing all the time, asbestos.... it's a hard life.
I think connecting one's own experiences to the life of someone else is what makes memoires valuable to read. This book is also written very invitingly too, it is a series of essays that can be read as standalones but interlink to form a narrative arc too. The audiobook I listened to is narrated in a way that suits this personal story very well, the moments are quietly told and carefully nuanced, glimpses into the author's life. ...more
This is a very solid debut! When reading you wont be able to tell it’s a debut it’s just done well. The world-building and action are balanced out, itThis is a very solid debut! When reading you wont be able to tell it’s a debut it’s just done well. The world-building and action are balanced out, it’s never boring always intriguing and ended too soon so… fingers crossed that the sequel follows soon ...more
I enjoyed the book despite having been deceived by the clickbaity title. It wasn’t about cults, one of my favourite rabbit hole subjects, and it wasn’I enjoyed the book despite having been deceived by the clickbaity title. It wasn’t about cults, one of my favourite rabbit hole subjects, and it wasn’t even about diets perse either. The author describes the origins and science or nonscience behind some of the most well known diets but also exercise fats, and that it actually pretty interesting to know. He likes to compare the followers of specific diet or exercise lifestyles to cult members because it takes a certain amount of fanatical adherence to something to get results. Also he points out that though diet or other health gurus might think of themselves of being more pragmatic with food and exercise than the rest of use they are actually behaving in a ritualistic way. ...more
This is one of the better media about the weird story of Elizabeth Holmes and how she could fool the whole scientific field and raise millions for an This is one of the better media about the weird story of Elizabeth Holmes and how she could fool the whole scientific field and raise millions for an impossible technology. Until picking up this book I could not wrap my head around the fact that anyone! could belief her, it's so obviously impossible if you just have a grain of experience in medicine or lab testing. The other media about EH and Theranos focus on the story of success and the trickery this is the first time I came across the critics too. Apparently there were actually quite a few critical thinkers in and around Theranos. Those who objected though were silenced with law suits and / or job loss or plainly not believed because the prospect of earning millions with nonexistent technology just put stars in the eyes of the people with money.
I still cannot comprehend how this scheme could have happened on such a large scale! We need to use our common sense more. ...more
Jessica-sim
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