This was just as good as series 1-4, if not better. I really vibe with Haynes' sense of humour and the way she breaks down and summarises stories. HigThis was just as good as series 1-4, if not better. I really vibe with Haynes' sense of humour and the way she breaks down and summarises stories. Highly recommended!...more
4.5/5! This was so interesting and entertaining to listen to! I don't know anything about classics but this was a really accessible introduction! High4.5/5! This was so interesting and entertaining to listen to! I don't know anything about classics but this was a really accessible introduction! Highly recommended!...more
3.5 stars. This was an interesting read and I liked some parts of it better than others.
In this book, the author (Natasha Lunn) interviews a number of3.5 stars. This was an interesting read and I liked some parts of it better than others.
In this book, the author (Natasha Lunn) interviews a number of different people with particular experiences or areas of expertise about their views on different types of love. Most of the page count is essentially interview transcripts, which took a lot of getting used to, but it is quite a natural way to structure the information without second-hand reporting the views of the interviewees.
I had some trouble at the start because the focus was almost entirely on romantic love in the Western conception of it; a lot of the advice given about boundary setting or healthy distance would just not work the same way in a household from a different culture. I felt the range of interviewees was quite limited in those first several sections and some of them were really not answering Natasha Lunn's questions at all, which made me feel like the rest of the book would be a bunch of similar hocus-pocus. Things did get better as I persisted, though, because I did relate to the parts about friendship and the parts about loss; the final few chapters struck some deep chords in me and I did genuinely feel comforted and empowered as I read them.
All in all, these are the main lessons I took from this book: 1) Love is an active choice. When you assert that you love someone, follow up by asking yourself how you show it. 2) People are really bad at noticing and appreciating those small, everyday moments that are the real basis of long-term relationships.
These are the things that I'd change: 1) Interview more people from ethnic minority backgrounds and explore a bit more deeply how their culture influences the way they love others. 2) Not compare growing long-term love to a fire - I think it's more like a tree.
Do I recommend this? I think this is for people who need to be told to take active part in their lives and take active steps to show those that they love that they love them, so I don't really think people who are already good at openly communicating their feelings would learn all that much from the bulk of this book. I would recommend the last few chapters about loss to people who are healing from loss of a loved one, though. ...more
This is a book written for the layman about chronic stress, how it affects our overall health and longevity, and what we can do to limit its effects oThis is a book written for the layman about chronic stress, how it affects our overall health and longevity, and what we can do to limit its effects on our lives. I really like that it includes a psychological approach as well as a biological approach to each aspect of stress and delves into some of the landmark experiments that have changed our understanding of stress over time. It's not a self-improvement book - it's more of a summary of the science and how it might be applied to daily life and future research.
I'm giving it 4 stars rather than 5 because I think it could be more concise, but I'm not in the target readership so maybe I found it a little slow/ verbose for that reason. Recommended for people with an interest in human biology and psychology who want a better introduction to the science of stress than David Belin gave in 3rd year psych....more
Not for everyone but certainly for me. This was sooo interesting!! It would have been perfect but for the bit at the end talking about how we s4.75 :)
Not for everyone but certainly for me. This was sooo interesting!! It would have been perfect but for the bit at the end talking about how we should be sending people to settle on Mars so that our species can continue even if disaster destroys all life on Earth; I absolutely do not back the propagation of the human species beyond a single planet and think we should all just go down with the rest of the planet.
Anyway, would definitely recommend to people with an interest in evolutionary biology and/or flight in the natural and engineering worlds! I know this does not account for many people in the world but I recommend it, anyway! :D...more
Sooo funny, though, that (view spoiler)[ I started wondering how they were going to get from South Africa to the South Pole inAh, just great escapism.
Sooo funny, though, that (view spoiler)[ I started wondering how they were going to get from South Africa to the South Pole in the remaining 25 minutes of the audiobook, and they just flew via Chile lol (hide spoiler)]...more
This book made me cry so many times that I had to stop reading it in public and, yet, it's not painful to read. I've learnt Everyone should read this.
This book made me cry so many times that I had to stop reading it in public and, yet, it's not painful to read. I've learnt so many things that have changed the way I practice medicine and the way I live my life.
Strongly recommended but do read in the privacy of your own room!...more
This book is an account of the racial issues faced by Black students, particularly Black women, at top universities in the UK. The main foc4.5 stars!!
This book is an account of the racial issues faced by Black students, particularly Black women, at top universities in the UK. The main focus is on Cambridge, but statements are also given from graduates of Warwick, SOAS, and other universities.
I learnt so much from this book. I always knew that Black students were heavily underrepresented at Cambridge, but I didn't realise just how low the numbers were. The narrative also opens discussion on the VARIOUS ways in which race affects Black female students whilst at university, in terms of making friends, dating, impostor syndrome, mental health, being seen and heard in academic spaces, bearing the burdens of constant activism and education of others, and even dealing with the media. The authors describe being invisible at times, but also hyper-visible at others, for reasons totally outside of their control, which is something I hadn't thought about. I also hadn't really been aware of terms like "misogynoir" or "Black excellence" prior to reading this, and hadn't realised how harmful the term "BAME" could be.
I thought this book was really informative and would recommend it to people like me, who are looking for an introductory text on racial issues faced by university students. I think the only ways to improve this book would be a little more specific advice about how to be a better ally and a further reading list....more
This book follows Michael Palin through a 6-month journey across half a dozen countries, following the filming of a BBC documentaSuch good escapism!!
This book follows Michael Palin through a 6-month journey across half a dozen countries, following the filming of a BBC documentary about the Himalayas from the Khyber Pass to the Bengal Sea. The book is written in a diary-style format, so you really feel like you're there with Palin on his journey, which makes this book perfect for escapism!! I feel like I've been on holiday without having had to leave my house! This is also the sort of journey I'd never actually be able to undertake in real life, so it's really nice to experience it second hand through this book!
Palin gets a really close-up view into a number of different cultures across South and South-East Asia, spending most of his time staying with locals. The brief but astute, and totally open-minded observations he makes about all the people and places he sees are so refreshing to see in a time where many travel-related or culture-related content is sensationalised beyond enjoyment or even accurate representation.
I listened to the audiobook, but I also happened upon a copy of the print version in my house and got to have a look at all the amazing photographs! I'm glad I listened to the audiobook because I feel that the narrative is really well-optimised for an auditory medium, but I'm also glad I didn't miss out on the amazing photography, especially of the mountains. It's really mind-blowing.
Highly recommend for anyone looking to go on a refreshing holiday in their own mind XD...more
Tragic but equally somehow encouraging. My only gripe is that Adam Kay talks about some patients in a way I find a bit disrespectful, but most of the Tragic but equally somehow encouraging. My only gripe is that Adam Kay talks about some patients in a way I find a bit disrespectful, but most of the time it's fine. Quite dark humour & explicit content, so I can't recommend it to everyone, but it gives a good idea how how much the NHS is struggling for those who want an inside view!...more
I listened to the audiobook version read by Alan Bennett himself. I had no expectations going in and was a little surprised to find that the 3.5 stars
I listened to the audiobook version read by Alan Bennett himself. I had no expectations going in and was a little surprised to find that the book wasn't about Bennett's life as much as it was a portrait of his family life, focusing particularly on his parents and two aunties.
I was struck at times by the apparent detachment with which Bennett wrote about the deaths of his family members, particularly his auntie Kathleen and his mother ("Mam"), but it was really interesting seeing a new perspective. The way he writes about the death of his father in terms of one of life's great formative experiences (and therefore not one to be wasted) was unflinchingly candid and presented an entirely alien concept to me. I also learnt a lot hearing about his mother's slow mental decline and the effect it had on her and her family. I'll definitely keep it in mind when I start working in care of the elderly this summer.
The dry humour was at times quite striking but fit quite well into the narrative and kept me going through all the doom and gloom.
Not sure I'd recommend this one and not sure I'd read it again, but this was, in summary, a set of interesting insights on a set of actually very common and shared experiences. Almost all of us will live through the deaths of our loved ones and watch them decline physically and mentally. Any new perspective is an opportunity to learn and connect....more
This was such a good introductory text!! Silberman is an investigative journalist rather than an autism researcher, which I think is what makes his wrThis was such a good introductory text!! Silberman is an investigative journalist rather than an autism researcher, which I think is what makes his writing so refreshing and accessible.
The trouble with most of what I've read so far on autism is that it's really difficult to find a single text that does all of these: 1) Includes the opinions of multiple researchers who disagree. There are so many different opinions and theories about autism but the general approach I've seen when researchers disagree is to simply ignore whatever they disagree with, as if it had never been written. Simon Baron-Cohen only ever cites himself in his work...
2) Follows developments in research through time. New research builds on old findings but it's way too common for newer literature on autism to ignore the biases, caveats, and limitations of older works. What I'm thinking of specifically is the fact that autism was initially characterised only in boys, and this characterisation is what subsequently informed the development of screening and diagnostic tools, which are what we use now to identify autistic people for the purposes of further research. In other words, we continue to know way more about how autism presents and manifests in boys than in girls and, until we look critically at the research we are building on rather than taking it for granted, autistic girls will continue to suffer!!! I feel very strongly about this!! Looking at you, extreme male brain theory...!!
3) Takes into account the historical context in which research was done. For example, Asperger had to do most of his research with Nazi eugenicists trying to find ways to justify murdering the children at his school, so he had to find ways to convince the public that these children were as "functional" as the average person, if not more. We can see a potential reason why he and Kanner characterised autism so differently and can start to understand why labels like "high functioning" might have come into use.
4) Doesn't romanticise or stigmatise people with autism. Uta Frith is the person who comes to mind. It's so icky describing autistic children as changelings or beautiful faeries without souls or any of the other weird stuff she writes. A lot of texts also focus a lot on the struggles of parents of autistic children, overlooking the child's perspective and the perspectives of autistic adults, or sending the message that autistic children are somehow at fault or are an unreasonable burden. Sooo toxic and NT-centric.
So, basically, this book does all these good things that other books don't. I won't say I've read a ton but I've read around and I did 2 modules & a research project on autism and child developmental psychopathology at university so I can say with confidence that I recommend this book to anybody looking for an introductory text on autism that doesn't read like a textbook. ...more
I listened to the audiobook version by Clipper (narrated by Sandra Duncan) and found it an intimate and insightful view into the lives of JanAmazing.
I listened to the audiobook version by Clipper (narrated by Sandra Duncan) and found it an intimate and insightful view into the lives of Jane and Stephen Hawking during their 25 years together. It surprises me that the Goodreads ratings are so low!
I think what I liked most about this book is the very thing a lot of people hated: the fact that it's not about Stephen Hawking. It's about Jane. (Come on, people, it's her memoir!) It's about her struggles being an academically gifted woman trying to build and maintain a home in unimaginably difficult circumstances, from the pressures of being responsible for a beloved public figure, to the emotional toll of harsh in-laws, the sting of having her faith constantly and even publicly ridiculed, the erosion of self that comes with being utterly committed to the care of others, and the gradual wear of having to deal with daily life in a world totally unadapted for people with physical disabilities.
So many times throughout history have the efforts and achievements of women been swept aside or minimised and this is the perfect example of that. Not only does Jane get no real acknowledgement for the mammoth feats of domestic labour she carried out, but I had no idea that she had a PhD and that it took 13 years for her to get it. Jane's identity seemed to change depending on everybody else around her - she became a wife, mother, carer, housekeeper, daughter-in-law, etc. - while it sounds like Stephen's identity remained largely the same throughout their marriage - he was just himself. He was allowed to be himself and pursue personal goals above all else, not just because the marriage was started and expectations were set when his disease prognosis was only 2 years, but because he was a man and there was never the expectation on him that he should decline any opportunity because of his wife or children. Though he was fully dependent on Jane, it seemed he was fully able to pursue any goal that his body and illness allowed. Meanwhile, Jane, though physically free to walk and run, was confined in her pursuit of personal goals (such as her PhD) by the constraints of time and energy, in terms of what remained after everybody else was taken care of. The noble but thankless sacrifice of the self she relates is so important and yet so seldom actually mentioned in discussions about women and gender roles.
Women's perspectives are also often dismissed as melodramatic. I feel like that's what happened to Jane throughout her marriage to Stephen, and I think it's still happening now as people read this book and openly doubt her lived experience. We all know this book is only her side of the story, but I feel that people are only as doubtful as they are because they're already biased towards Stephen. Even saying that makes it sound like this book frames Jane and Stephen as enemies when it really doesn't. This read to me as a remarkably level and objective account of events. The narration never felt exaggerated, accusatory, or vindictive as far as I could tell; Jane isn't framed as a saint who did everything right and Stephen isn't framed as a villain. They're both just people and, though, at times, things might have been handled better, ultimately I think they were both just people living through extraordinary difficulties. By the end, it struck me hard how much media portrayals have sugar-coated their lives and how often Stephen is framed as a hero of godly proportions while Jane is forgotten or villainised. Though the most remarkable thing in her life story does seem to be the challenges presented by her marriage to Stephen, I feel strongly that her having risen to those challenges is equally remarkable.
Further on the topic of social justice, I am very grateful to have read this so soon before starting my first job. My first rotation as a doctor is going to be care of the elderly and, though my patients are not going to be in the exact same situation as Stephen and Jane Hawking, this book really opened my eyes to the daily struggles of people living with disabilities as well as the struggles of their carers. The NHS was criminally unhelpful to the Hawkings and, though that was probably mostly because of the hell wreaked on it by the Thatcher government, a large part of it must simply have been doctors not understanding the type of care and support the Hawkings needed. Carers are so important in long-term care of disabled people but they become completely invisible to hospital staff once they can be relied on, to an extent I never appreciated before.
Finally, I just want to say how charmingly the romances were written. The fairytale-like romance between Jane and Stephen at the start was so compelling!! Meeting at mutual friends' Christmas parties, sneaking onto the stage at the Old Vic, Stephen's crazy driving, going to the Trinity Hall may ball!! Ah, the perfect Cambridge romance. When is it my turn?!! And the romance with Jonathan - oh my goodness! The moment where Tim fell into the muddy puddle and Jonathan heated a basin of water there and then at the side of the road and cleaned him up!?! I was thinking about that for days. (Can you tell my love language is acts of service?) I am so happy Jane and Jonathan found each other!!! Perfection.
The last last thing I want to mention is how interesting it was to read about how much Cambridge as a city changed over the course of the memoir. It's still like that in that shops and buildings are constantly changing, but it was wild hearing about the developments on Mill Lane which I thought had been there since the dawn of time, while Harvey Court has apparently been a constant for way longer than I imagined.
I hesitate to recommend this because it's so long and I know some people might not be down to listen to a 19-hour audiobook, but this was a really amazing read and I'm certain I'd read it again. Time to go rewatch the film for comparison (and probably cry again :D)...more
Quite a slow read and probably way longer than it really needed to be but on balance a good read!! It was so interesting hearing about how Michelle ObQuite a slow read and probably way longer than it really needed to be but on balance a good read!! It was so interesting hearing about how Michelle Obama went from a disadvantaged neighbourhood to Harvard and on to the White House. I loved her advocacy for representation of minority groups in positions of power, the media, and even in art, and the way she addressed racial stereotypes and her experience of facing them. It seems like the media really villainised her at the time... just for being Black!! My eyes were really opened about how cutthroat the world of politics is. Something else I loved was her views on mentorship. Nobody really talks about it but it makes such a difference!
She writes with a really personable, real-human-being kind of tone that works really well in audiobook form. I found her interactions with the Queen so entertaining!
It was also really cool learning about the lives of the family members of the US president in detail. The security sounds insane - secret service agents, armoured vehicles, snipers, mobile blood banks, nuclear launch codes on hand, etc.!! Crazy!!
I found her last chapter mentioning Hamilton really compelling, actually, and felt validated listening to her opinions on Trump.
I would recommend this with the caveat that you should skip or skim the first sixth or so - just get to the part where she goes to Princeton and things pick up from there!...more
I grew up watching iCarly and was really shocked to read of the adversity Jennette McCurdy had to live through while fAll that glisters is not gold...
I grew up watching iCarly and was really shocked to read of the adversity Jennette McCurdy had to live through while filming the show. She describes her struggles with identity, OCD, eating disorders, and alcohol, surrounded by adults in positions of responsibility and authority obviously shirking their duty of care towards her.
I've never had such an intimate view into another person's life before. The writing is well-structured and gives the impression of being spoken to directly by a friend.
One star off because I found the writing in some places a little bit detached given how serious the content was, but otherwise a really interesting read. ...more
I remembered this book existed and decided to share my thoughts lol. Maybe I can't judge it that well because I gave up on it before halfway and it's I remembered this book existed and decided to share my thoughts lol. Maybe I can't judge it that well because I gave up on it before halfway and it's been over 3 years since I last touched it but this was genuinely so awful. The first bit felt to me like the author was just bragging about how he didn't need meds to recover from depression, which bothers me SO MUCH because there's so much stigma around taking mental health-related medication. It was written with this "if you have depression, you'll really relate, and if you don't, then this is such a great learning opportunity" sort of overtone that felt really patronising and completely pointless because I found it neither relatable nor educational. I'm curious about The Midnight Library but after remembering that this was written by the same person... I don't know lol...more
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