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Ami & Gai

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A lengthy read but absolutely full of adventure and surprise. It was like reading an alternate version of Interstellar. Masterful, Cronin's way with words is to a reader what water is to a sponge. They project visualisation and understanding so vividly and reflexively. It was joyous and so smooth. Only hiccups in reading arose when explaining particular sciences/theories.

Overall rating 4.5/5
Ease of reading: 4.5/5
Character development: 4.5/5
World building 4.5/5

Consequently, Prospera (the main world) is depicted as a futuristic sci-fi solarpunk suburban civilization with an underground cyberpunk crime-addled society known as the Annex.

I somehow wished the Annex storyline would have been a bit more realistic or expounded upon. Though this could have easily warranted splitting this book into two, and could have discounted the gravitas of its class acts. Also, the way he describes, I wouldn't have minded imbibing more world-building content. by @amewreads

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3 years ago

We're baccckkk (!) with a perfectly paced Helen of Troy classic adjacent. Centered about the life of its titular heroine, I loved how the author writes with such brevity and hastiness, so much so each scene is fleeting yet final. Coming from me who doesn't exactly read about Greek mythology, the retelling perspective of Helen's sister is a rarity and that made unravelling the mysterious Clytemnestra way more exhilarating.

In the youth of Clytemnestra and Helen the story begins, where the plot simmers with sibling rivalry and love. Later, it is dabbled with trauma and foreboding and eventually brims with war and of course, more tragedy - as the classic has written.

Herein largely lies an overarching theme of necessary vengefulness and notes of feminism (as the queen would have it). A masculine adjacent I recommend is The Song of Achilles. What other recent books (aside from Circe) would you recommend in this genre??!

Overall rating: 4.5/5
Ease of reading: 5/5
Character development: 5/5
World building: 3.5/5 (but hey, if you watched Troy in 2004, or the Spartacus series, this score is no big deal)
Author's favourite word: fresco by @amewreads

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3 years ago

💭 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀: Things We Lost In The Fire

𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷/𝓲𝓯: you want a taste of Gothic Horror ☠️

Yknow what's scarier than ghost in a horror story? REALITY 🤡 This was my first ever Gothic Horror & it was stunning. Mariana Enriquez combines Argentina's history with an aesthetic associated with the gothic horror tradition, amplified with social criticisms. The series of short stories are full of female protagonists and describe the tragedies and complexities of the human condition. She elaborates mostly on the horrors and dangers of occupying a female body - confines of bad marriages, poverty and addiction, violence against women and even femicides.

Definitely an uncomfortable read, especially since it's based on real places and situations 😩 But I love how Enriquez talks about real issues within speculative premises as an additional lens to approach and contextualise the topic.

Some of my favourite stories were:
1. Adela's House - absolutely chilling & creepy...
2. Things We Lost in the Fire - perfect closer to this collection that talks about reclaiming power from the abuser
3. The Dirty Kid - the ending was disturbing omg 😩

If you're looking for a book that has proper satisfying endings, this is definitely not it!! This collection had a lot of ambiguous endings which I appreciate so so much because it makes it more believable? Not everything is neatly solved in reality and we can never have all the information.

Enriquez's work is subtly unnerving, delicately disturbing. You kind of cant forget what you've just read because of how disturbing it is. Definitely a book that packs a punch! 👏🏼 read this for October’s #diversifyyourbacklist and i’m very grateful for @idleutopia_reads and everyone else for the discussion ❤️

Overall rating: 4/5
Ease of reading: 2/5
Character development: NA
World building: 4/5 by @amewreads

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6 years ago

💭 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀: Adults

𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷/𝓲𝓯: you want to know the consequences of social media addiction

Emma Jane Unsworth captures the 21st century problems of social media addiction and societal pressures and its repercussions on the life of Jenny McLaine and her relationship with others. Jenny is insecure and anxious and goes to weird lengths to create this perfect image of her life to appease the social media devils (who honestly don't really care about her 🤡)

While I think this book is a good gauge of character development, I thought Jenny was really irritating!!! She was rly obsessed, even getting her friend to QC her captions before posting 🥴 this book is such a relevant read, providing an external POV to the damage that social media addiction can do. BUT..... I had to push myself to finish this (because i wanted to understand the hype) it was definitely a struggle and the storyline was pretty predictable. I wish it had more!! ☹️

#qotd - How do you guys control your social media addictions? Personally I make it a point to set the timer on IG (35 mins!) and try my best not to exceed it. Also, reading rly helps because books require me to get off my phone for longer periods of time 😜

Overall rating: 2/5
Ease of reading: 3/5
Character development: 3/5
World building: 1/5 by @amewreads

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6 years ago

#nonfictionnovember i'm ready and coming for YOUUUU!!! This month, I am going to attempt (keyword!! 🤡) to read this lovely stack which includes:

✨ A Woman Looking At Men Looking At Women - Siri Hustvedt
✨ Trick Mirror - Jia Tolentino
✨ I Will Never See The World Again - Ahmet Altan
✨ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot
✨ The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
✨ We Should All Be Feminists - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

For someone who would previously never ever consciously chose a non-fiction book to read for leisure, I am pretty amazed at myself. Also, it helps that I've been on a roll reading good nonfics?? 😜 Not forgetting the lovely people on #bookstagram are constantly inspiring and motivating me to learn, unlearn and relearn everything I know.

What are you guys planning to read this month (fiction/non-fiction)? Let me know! 🥰 by @amewreads

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6 years ago

💭 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀: Impractical Uses of Cake

𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷/𝓲𝓯: you want to take a trip to Singapore!! 🇸🇬

OKAY firstly, I went into this thinking it was a series of short stories revolving around cake and I was very satisfied with Chapter 1! But.. The story continued and I was like.. Wait.. it’s not short stories… 🤡

Okay but my foolishness aside, Impractical Uses of Cake is a lighthearted story that is heavily grounded in Singapore. There is a sort of nostalgic and romantic undertone throughout this book as it focuses on the reunion of Sukhin and his ex-girlfriend Jinn, who is a homeless woman. I think this book is a good prelude to the invisible society of Singapore’s homeless and sensitive topics like mental health, education system and materialism.

I loved how Yeoh Jo-Ann puts into perspective this idea of chasing the “Singapore dream” as evident from Sukhin who is materially fulfilled with a stable job yet lives in an isolated, mundane and routine existence. This was contrasted with Jinn, who consciously made a decision to step away from this path and in doing so, leads a more fulfilling and happy life. It just makes me wonder: What are we working for/towards in our daily life and WHY? Is that what we want or societal (or parental hahaha) pressure to follow the norm?

The writing is interesting!! It focuses less on the plot and more on the characterisation. However... Jinn was played off as this enigmatic character but I honestly felt that she was slightly underdeveloped & existed only to add value to Sukhin’s character. I wanted to know more about her!!! 😩 Also, the explanation to her choice in lifestyle felt slightly half-baked for me… and might be problematic as it could even reiterate an existing stereotype linking homeless people to mental illness.

ALSO, I was lowkey disappointed that there wasn’t more discussion of cake in the book 🤡 that being said, i rly did enjoy this book and buddy-reading this with @slightlyliterary and I enjoyed our discussions ❤️

Overall rating: 3/5
Ease of reading: 5/5
Character development: 3/5
World building: 3/5

“The older I am, the more I regret the distances untravelled. And the boundaries I let people convince me were there. by @amewreads

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6 years ago

💭 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀: Homegoing

𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷/𝓲𝓯: you want to read about the ugly repercussions of colonialism

Admittedly, i dont read a lot of Black fiction (i’m trying!) but this was exquisite and worth all the hype. There was so much pain translated within the stories through the different characterisation. Also, I love a book that discusses the horrible consequences of colonialism and Yaa Gyasi beautifully talks about it through the years of strife in a family that was split even before the story began. It follows the story of 2 half sisters, Effia and Esi, who end up at Cape Coast Castle in the late 18th century, with successive chapters mining stories from each family lineage. Tragic story about coming home, and yet, where is home exactly?

Honestly, I cannot believe this is a debut novel?? 🤯 There are so many different lives interlinked with one another in a well-crafted narrative and the little details that contribute to each individual's world building - it’s insane!!! Perhaps the absence of a central character and the constant switching of locations would bother some but I found it refreshing.

Gyasi has given such a strong and compassionate voice to the missing and suppressed, tracing through the 300 year long repercussions of African families exploited by the traffic in human chattel. She really goes into depth covering a wide spectrum of the history - the African complicity in the slave trade, Anglo-Asante wars and even the heroin addiction in Harem.

I think one of the quotes that striked me the most was:

"You must always ask yourself, whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story, too."

Because in history and in institutions, we rarely learn about both sides of the coin. For any retelling of history, there is a degree of bias because there are certains things that will be excluded, regardless of how objective you will be. How do we sift through historical facts without getting emotionally, intellectually or culturally compromised?

Overall rating: 4/5
Ease of reading: 4/5
Character development: 2/5
World building: 4/5 by @amewreads

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6 years ago

💭 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀: This Is Going To Hurt

𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷/𝓲𝓯: you want an insight into the life of healthcare professionals with some dark humour

It’s a full on rollercoaster of emotions that also seems to very accurately describe what it’s like to work as front line staff for the NHS. This was an excellent read, multiple good anecdotes (some horrifying and amusing) which are surprisingly funny, considering it's a non-fiction book. I've always had high respects for doctor but this kind of pushed it way higher (if that's even possible). Honestly, being a doctor takes a lot of willpower and determination because of the hours and length of years training/studying like wow 👏🏼 i 👏🏼 am 👏🏼 in 👏🏼 awe 👏🏼

𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝔀𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽:
1. Being a medical professional is SO hectic, I honestly wonder how anyone keeps up their relationship, especially if it's not someone from the hospital. Plus, it's so tough for their partner to argue that they're not spending enough time because they're literally busy saving lives 🙁

2. I know we can't pay everyone high wages (again this is questionable) but don't medical professionals (nurses, doctors etc) deserve more? I feel like they are being taken advantage of because most people do it for the passion. The continuous cuts to NHS services and the treatment of those who maintain this service is completely unfair. Please stop mistreating doctors in the NHS who are under-funded, under immense pressure, suffer from unfair treatment which leads to mishaps when dealing with patients and severe mental health problems.

I wished the book dived more into the NHS component but I guess that was supplemented with the open letter at the end. Buddyread this with @readwithamyy - thank you love, i had a good time! ❤️

Overall rating: 4/5
Ease of reading: 4/5
Character development: NA
World building: 2/5

“From the most insignificant of actions can come the most serious of consequences.” by @amewreads

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6 years ago

❗️INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY ALERT ❗️

Wew my first ever #giveaway! Having this simply because I've read these 2 amazing books recently and felt that everyone else should have a chance to read them as well! Also because I lowkey want to get them for myself so why not share the love 🥰

I'll be giving away these 2 amazing book titles:
✨ Thick - Tressie McMillan Cotton
✨ Shame On Me - Tessa McWatt

To stand a chance to win, all you have to do is:
1. Like and share this post to your story (and tag me!)
2. Tag 2 friends in the comments and recommend to me a book written by a female author

Please note that winners must:
- be willing to share your postal address with me
- Book Depository must deliver to your country (unless you have very strong objections, you can also recommend me another online bookstore that has free shipping!)

Giveaway ends 6 November 2020 - all the best everyone!! ❤️ by @amewreads

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6 years ago

#QOTD: What is a book that has been on your tbr for awhile now? Mine would definitely be Bring Up The Bodies 🤩 Also because I lowkey have a soft spot for historical fiction books haha.

Gonna continue this #alphabetflatlay with titles beginning with the letter B next! Honestly, this was the toughest one I've had so far especially the cover for 'Between Stations' - I didnt know boats/cargo ships were so tough to draw?? 😫 Will I continue this? STAY TUNED.

Featured in this stack:
✨ Before We Were Yours - Lisa Wingate
✨ Beyond The High Blue Air - Lu Spinney
✨ Brief Answers To The Big Questions - Stephen Hawking
✨ Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
✨ Between Stations - Boey Kim Cheng
✨ Bring Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel

October has been slowly creeping by, hasn't it? We're finally approaching the end of it 🥳 I'm simply excited for November to come!! I've tagged some of you guys as usual, feel free to join in (or not). Stay safe and happy everyone ❤️❤️❤️ by @amewreads

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6 years ago

𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀: Never Say No

𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷/𝓲𝓯: you crave for some juicy office drama

I love the depth Elizabeth Neep went into describing office politics especially about female empowerment and the amount of work that needs to be done to rise to the top (usually more than males). This book was surprisingly easy to read. Loved how it wasn't over flowery with descriptions (personal preference 😂) and the dialogues helped to give the book a realistic punch, bringing everything to live. Come on, the awkward interactions between Hailey and Vivian (her boss)?? I LIVEEEEE 🙌🏼

The author was able to take me through Hailey's thought process throughout her difficulties and experiences with friends and colleagues at her workplace - and I related so much to her!!! 😜 I almost disliked Sophie because of how clingy she was towards Hailey (i mean yes you’re going through a tough time and you need your friend but that doesn’t mean that your friends needs to sacrifice her life for u every single time). However, towards the end, there was sort of a redemption for her character which worked for me and it didnt seem as though it was forced to tie everything up neatly.

I would say that I'm curious about Hailey's family - what happened? Are they alive? Yes, we were given a preview to the background of Hailey and Dom, but I wanted to understand more about her and thought it could have drive her character development. Additionally, I felt that Dom was abit flat because he was just given a very simple character description and existed only to supplement Hailey‘s character.

Overall, it's a surprisingly easy book to read, and come on, we all love a little office gossip! A huge thank you to @bookouture @netgalley @elizabeth_neep for the chance to read this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! ✨

Overall rating: 4/5
Ease of reading: 5/5
Character development: 3/5
World building: 2/5 by @amewreads

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6 years ago

💭 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀: Shame on Me - An Anatomy of Race

𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷/𝓲𝓯: you want to know more about how far socially constructed groupings extend to individual identity

Thisss book you guys, everyone should definitely read it 🥺 Tessa McWatt brilliantly weaves identity, belonging, genetics and family in her writing where she explores structural inequality and the resistance to dismantling it. The book considers different anatomies and links it to different aspects of a being - the ass & history of sexualisation of Black women, the hair and racial contention, the bones with mental health. Additionally, she highlights the proximity to whiteness that people of colour struggle with and the tendency to associate body parts to a race.

She talks about slave labour and sugar plantation with the hierarchies, mentality and oppression, which are essential to explain the effects and mindset post-colonialism, arriving at the idea of otherness. As long as the concept of 'otherness' exists, there will be always inequality. She elaborates about racism in all its facets and tbh, my favourite was the psychoanalytic perspective.

Towards the end, McWatt simply asks for a new language of belonging: who-are-you instead of what-are-you because biology is indeed an insufficient marker to determine belonging and essentially, urging people to reinvent their own realities 👏🏼

Ultimately, this book sparked an interest in myself and my own history which I havent really considered in depth. Buddyread this with @mawarlembayungxo and I had a ball of a time, thank you 🥰 Seriously had to stop myself from rushing through this book and decided to savour it instead.

Overall rating: 5/5
Ease of reading: 5/5
Character development: 4/5
World building: 3/5

"Identification is not identity. Shared traits do not equal shared identity. My identity has been fluid as I move back and forth across the Atlantic, back and forth between art and institution, between screen and page, between past and present." by @amewreads

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6 years ago