3.5/5
I didn't know much about Madeleine Albright (or her politics) aside from the fact that she was the first woman to be Secretary of State of the US, and that she was also an immigrant. This book mostly covers the last stages of her career, so I still don't feel like I know all there is to know about her, but I did enjoy reading the stories she told in this book. There were some chapters that were more interesting than others, but I would say the interesting ones heavily outweigh the non-interesting ones. It's also interesting to hear about the behind-the-scenes stories of some important political milestones in US history.
This one's an Indonesian classic and I picked up a copy whilst visiting Hamka's old house which has now become a museum.
Honestly, I found this extremely hard to read, and not very exciting in the beginning. It wasn't bad enough that I couldn't finish it though, and when I did finally get to the last third of the book it finally got more interesting. Not sure if I'd actually recommend this to other people though, I thought it was just OK.
Another great work from Andy Weir! This is the kind of book that I found hard to put down despite being almost 500 pages. The story is just so fascinating. The only reason it wasn't a 5/5 for me is because at times it just felt unrealistic. I know this is fictional, but still — the book feels so realistic in some parts yet unrealistic in others and I think it's the fact that it didn't just pick one side that feels off to me. Overall, I'd still highly recommend this book though!
4.5/5 rounded up to 5/5.
Wow. What a beautiful story! I know the story is fictional, but it was told with so much detail and soul that if you had told me it was an autobiography, I would have believed you. Historical fiction is my favorite genre of fiction, and this book hits all the right spots for me.
I can't believe it took me this long to pick up an Isabel Allende book; I will definitely be back for more!
I'm a big fan of Simu and his work (and, his love for boba) but not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting this book to be this good... but it is! The story of his childhood is quite sad, yet the journey he took to get to where he is today is so inspiring.
If you get the chance, listen to the audiobook! Simu is a great story-teller (and actor), and it really shows in his audiobook.
This is a fantastic book that's so relevant in this day and age. Prior to reading this book, I understood that fast fashion was a problem, but I didn't quite understand how much of a problem and how it relates to other issues like colonialism. Aja Barber makes a great case for why and how consumerism and fast fashion is destroying the planet, and she does it in such a helpful and easy to understand way.
My biggest critique is that some parts are repetitive and could have definitely been cut down, but considering it's not a super long book to begin with, and how easily digestible it is, I don't think it necessarily gets in the way of this becoming a great book and one I'd recommend to everyone.
If you're a young adult with spending power (or if you want to learn more about consumerist culture), read this!
Piranesi is unlike any other book I've read. I'm not sure if I would exactly put this under the Fantasy genre; if anything, it's a lot more subtle and perhaps more in between Fantasy and Magical Realism. It has incredible world building, such a unique story, and for me it was the kind of book that I couldn't put down.
What a great follow-up to The Sixth Extinction. Whereas The Sixth Extinction is an explanation of—as the title suggests—the current ongoing mass extinction, Under a White Sky talks about all the problems that we humans have caused while trying to solve other (climate-related) problems. As in The Sixth Extinction, I love Kolbert's storytelling style, and how she uses different examples in each chapter to demonstrate her point. Instead of giving you a hypothesis in the beginning, and then continuing with different pieces of information to back up her point, she does it the other way round so that you form your own understanding of the topic without her having to make it so obvious... if that makes sense?
Under a White Sky mentions direct carbon capture and climate geoengineering quite a lot; I'd love to read more books on these topics to get a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the challenges that we face.
Overall, I think this is a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about climate change.
This book dispells a lot of common misconceptions about the “male and female brains” and has a lot of general information on how the brain develops. Love the content, but I do feel that some parts of it could be explained in a more concise way (and a bit too much scientific explanation that I don't think the average layperson would care much for).