Rating: ππππ Publisher: Black Inc Books Genre: Non-fiction, autobiography, Australian history, SE Asia. Review in one word: Witty This is vivid story of a family of migrants who flee from the killing fields of Cambodia to the inner west of Melbourne to find sanctuary in the early 80’s. Told from the perspective of the narratorContinue reading “Book Review: Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung”
Tag Archives: Book review
Book Review: The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld
Rating: ππππ Publisher: Faber & Faber Genre: Fiction, Psychological thriller, Literary Fiction. Review in one word: Subconscious Originally published in Dutch and winning the Man Booker International Prize in 2018, Lucas Rijneveld’s debut novel captures in bloody, beastly and corporeal detail the lives of a dysfunctional farming family in the rural Netherlands, some time inContinue reading “Book Review: The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld”
Book Review: Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flynn
Rating: πππππ Publisher: William Collins Books Genre: Non-fiction, anthropology, environmental science, natural history, animal rights. What happens when humans foresake and ruin landscapes? They are never truly abandoned. Instead they are engulfed by the non-human world and they become teeming with many other foresaken wild lifeforms. The weeds, plants, insects, birds and large mammals moveContinue reading “Book Review: Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flynn”
Book Review: A Cat’s Tale: A Journey Through Feline History by Baba the Cat
Rating: πππππ Genre: Non-Fiction, History, Cats Publisher: Henry Holt Books Review in one word: Bonkers Imagine, if you will, a book that is so cheeky, so guileful and slinky that it could only have been written by a worldly feline and dictated to a lowly human author. In fact because Baba is so condescending toContinue reading “Book Review: A Cat’s Tale: A Journey Through Feline History by Baba the Cat”
Book Review: Shinrin-Yoku The Art and Science of Forest Bathing by Dr Qing Li
Rating: πππππ Publisher: Nippon Medical School/Penguin Books. Genre: Non-Fiction, Health, Nature, Spirituality. Review in one word: Immersive This is one of the most supremely nourishing books to gift yourself or someone you love. Shinrin-Yoku is your guide to the ancient Japanese art of ‘Forest Bathing’, which is the English translation of the eponymous title. IContinue reading “Book Review: Shinrin-Yoku The Art and Science of Forest Bathing by Dr Qing Li”
Book Review: Islands of Mercy by Rose Tremain
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction Rating: πππππ Islands of Mercy is a masterful book by the author of other historical fiction classics such as Restoration, Music and Silence and Merival. I have loved all of these books so I had a feeling (and rightfully so) that I would really enjoy this book. Set in Victorian eraContinue reading “Book Review: Islands of Mercy by Rose Tremain”
Book Review: The Flip: Who You Really Are and Why it Matters by Jeffrey Kripal
Publisher: Penguin Genre: Non-Fiction, Psychology, Parapsychology, Spirituality, Science, Epistemiology Rating: πππππ Prepare to have your mind blown a few times in a delightful way by this book. It’s really refreshing to read something science-y that is not afraid to delve into the ‘Twilight Zone’ so to speak. It’s difficult to put this book into theContinue reading “Book Review: The Flip: Who You Really Are and Why it Matters by Jeffrey Kripal”
Book Review: The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Dr Elaine Aron
Publisher: Penguin Genre: Non-Fiction, Psychology, Spirituality. Rating: πππππ This is the quintessential book about the trait of high sensitivity in people’s personalities. Beautifully written, engaging and informative, it has become a classic of psychology since it was first published in 1996. In case you are unaware of how this personality trait looks, here is aContinue reading “Book Review: The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Dr Elaine Aron”
Book Review: The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk
Publisher: Penguin Genre: Non-Fiction, Psychology Rating: πππ This is a comprehensive guide to trauma. Unlike other guides, it places emphasis on the physical body and how past buried traumas are inextricably connected to the body, or in other words: ‘The Body Keeps the Score’. Although this book is more of a clinical guide for psychologists,Continue reading “Book Review: The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk”
Eight βclassicβ and popular books that are unreadable…
Do you have any books that everyone else seemed to love and you absolutely hated, or that you found to be a bit mediocre? Do you disagree with my assessment on these books and want to give me a good talking to? Let me know below.
Content Catnip 