Indira Pranabudi
As someone who isn't well-versed in climate change, I felt that this book gave me a solid understanding of the topic. It gave a comprehensive overview of the different ways we currently add carbon to the atmosphere, the different ways we can tackle the problem (through innovation), and a little bit on climate policy as well. I like his emphasis on the fact that it's developing countries that will be hurt the most by a climate disaster, as I think it's a fact that people in most “rich” countries often forget or disregard altogether.
This book also presents a very optimistic view on us actually being able to tackle climate change, which I guess is not that surprising considering his success with Microsoft and his belief in the power of innovation. I definitely finished this book feeling more optimistic about this issue.
The book did feel a little repetitive towards the end, and it was annoying in some parts to keep hearing about how he invests in all these green companies, etc., so I would say it's more of a 4.5/5 for me. I'm also aware of all the “controversy” around this book—definitely agree with what Jenna discussed in her review!
4.5/5
I have such respect for the work Jane Goodall has done as a naturalist/primatologist, so really wanted to like this book but it was just so meh.
I didn't quite realize this book is presented as a conversation between Jane Goodall and Doug Abrams, so I got the audiobook cause I thought it would be good to hear Goodall narrate her own story, but the whole conversation dynamic was just weird as an audiobook. You'd hear Doug narrate “And then Jane said” followed by Goodall narrating what she actually said... which was just odd.
I also completely agree that we need hope in order to tackle the current climate crisis, but I felt that what was discussed in this book was too handwavy. Yes, there were some nice tidbits here and there, but overall, I'd love to hear more concrete evidence.
I did finish the audiobook, but honestly I spaced out after 70% of the way.
This is an Indonesian classic, and it's about time I read this!
Having already already watched the 2019 film adaptation featuring Iqbaal Ramadhan an Mawar Eva De Jongh, I'm already familiar with the storyline. However, reading the book was an even better experience because I got to really immerse myself in the story, including all the details that were left out in the film.
I thought the book was great. At its core, it's a political novel, and it serves as a great insight into what life might have been like as a Native in the Dutch East Indies back in the late 1800s. It's quite interesting because as I'm reading this in the 21st century, I realize that my life is vastly different from life back then (e.g. the Dutch no longer rule in the East Indies and Indonesia has become an independent country), and yet, in many ways life is still the same (e.g. the Western world still “rules” Asia and the repercussions of colonialism are still felt).
The main character, Mike, is a Native. Yet unlike most Natives, he lives a very privileged life and attends HBS (Hogere Burgerschool), an elite school even for Europeans and Indos. In a way, he's straddled between two worlds: Natives and Europeans, and doesn't quite fit in either. As someone who is Indonesian but has lived in “Western world” for the past 10 years now, I could really relate to this aspect of the story.
One of my favorite characters in the story is Nyai Ontosoroh, the concubine of a wealthy Dutch man. The fact that most Native women at that time did not receive an education, combined with the fact that as a concubine she constantly faced shame and ridicule makes it even more incredible that throughout the book she continuously shows how smart, wise and strong she is. This makes it even more annoying how Nyai Ontosoroh's own daughter, Annelies Mellema is depicted as such a weak woman. In fact, she's described as a “doll” multiple times throughout the book. I just don't get it.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to pick up the next one!
Such a comprehensive yet quick read on the intersection between climate change, colonialism, and racism. I'd highly recommend this to everyone!
I loved reading this; it definitely made me feel closer to my roots. Child of All Nations has more serious undertones that This Earth of Mankind; it has a lot less romance and a lot more discussions on colonialism, the struggle for independence, and humanity. This is the kind of book that really immerses you in a completely different time and place. In a way, I'm not sure how much me enjoying this book is because I feel that I can relate to it, vs it actually being a great book. Regardless, I really enjoyed it. It's such a thought-provoking books and there were so many moments I felt that I had to stop to really think.
The ending was a big letdown for me, I feel like the build up was huge and it ended so quickly. There were also a few things that I felt weren't completely tied up at the end. However, it was still a great book to me, so I'm giving this a 4.5/5.
If I had to summarize in three words, it'd be: raw, heartfelt, and relatable. It touches on so many important topics including loss and loneliness. Such a beautiful book and I'm glad I finally read it.
“It isn't fair to be the kind of creature who is able to love but unable to stay.”
Migrations follows Franny Stone's journey to follow the last migration of the Arctic terns. It's a story set in the near future, on an earth that's been ravaged by the warming climate and where most species of animals have gone extinct. It's a heart wrenching story centered on a character who is so damaged and has lost so much.
I found the story to be predictable to a certain extent, but Charlotte McConaghy's story-telling is so beautiful that I found myself hooked anyways.
This is a must read book on climate change.
Reading this book honestly made me feel considerably more anxious about the state of our earth. However, he's right—the reality is that the situation is absolutely dire, and if we don't do anything about it soon then we're all f*cked.
I do have a couple of criticisms about the book: 1) I wish it was written in more straightforward language (yes the writing was beautiful but he could've said the same thing in less words), 2) some parts felt a little repetitive.
Overall, great book though. Honestly at this point everyone should be aware of the state we are in, and thus I'd highly recommend this to anyone and everyone.
Oh man this was disappointing. I wanted to love this book because it's about badass women of color (!!!) but damn it was so dry and boring. The message of this book is very important but I didn't feel that the author narrated it very well. There were some interesting bits but overall I felt very underwhelmed.
This book didn't bring me joy, so I didn't finish it. I'll just watch the movie
I love historical fiction, so this book was right up my alley. It wasn't bad, but I just felt that it started off too slow, and didn't find it very interesting until about halfway through. In generala I didn't feel that this was as gripping as Beneath a Scarlet Sky (which I love) hence the 3/5.
I picked up this book at the recommendation of a friend, and as someone who studied Computer Science at university, I wanted to love it. I did find this book interesting, but I also found myself skimming a lot. I felt that some of the chapters were quite long and I lost interest towards the end. I'm not sure it got the right balance between hard CS concepts and their real-life applications.
This book got raving reviews from my friends so I decided to pick it up without reading the synopsis. Although it was not what I expected I loved it anyways. It's both a brilliant love story and a powerful story about a queer Cuban woman succeeding in a male dominated world. Surprisingly somewhat feminist and I love it. ✊
4.5/5 for me!
It's an interesting story about alternate universes. I also like that it makes you think — what would happen if I had made different decisions in life? Am I happy with the decisions I've made? What are the things important to me?
I'm already a supporter of effective altruism so I don't think I learned anything new from reading this book, but it was good to get a refresher nonetheless. Felt a bit repetitive in some parts but overall it's a great introduction to the topic.
I've heard raving reviews about this book, and especially the audiobook (since it has a full cast) and it did not disappoint! I listened to it all in one day. Not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much if I had read the book instead of listened to the audiobook, but the audiobook is definitely a 5/5 for me!
The fact that the story was told through an interview was really unique and I enjoyed hearing about everyone's perspectives too. I also loved certain elements of feminism, e.g. talking about how Daisy Jones handled being a woman in a male-dominated field, and how Karen confronted Graham about the responsibilities of motherhood.
I think another reason why I loved this book was how much it reminded me of Fleetwood Mac, one of my favorite bands of all time. It obviously isn't the same story, but it definitely sounded Fleetwood Mac-esque and I loved that!
I found this book hard to read and just plain confusing. Each “chapter” is very short, often just one or two pages, and jumps back and forth between different people in different locations. There were quite a few people mentioned and I found it difficult to keep up with them all (maybe I'm just dumb? lol). I ended up skimming through the last third of the book cause I just wanted to get it over with.
I was originally going to give it a 1 star rating but TBH there were some interesting historical tidbits in there, so it wasn't all bad!
It was ok. It had some interesting tidbits about forecasting (and uncertainty, and probabilities) but I got bored towards the last quarter and ended up skimming the rest.
Interesting climate change fiction following the two storylines of Signe and David. It was generally good and I feel like it helped me empathise with the lives of climate refugees but I also felt that the story wasn't particularly exciting and the ending was kinda meh.
I went into this knowing nothing about Bob Iger aside from the fact that he was the CEO of the Walt Disney Company and I was pleasantly surprised! It was really interesting to get a behind-the-scenes look of the aquisitions that Disney made during his time. It also felt pretty candid and authentic, and included some good nuggets of advice throughout the book. It was engaging (and short) enough that I ended up finishing it over the course of a weekend.
The story just gets stranger and stranger. I think I'm done reading the Dune series now lol
This was surprisingly good. I honestly don't know much about Will Smith and wasn't planning to pick up an audiobook copy, but I recently got recommended Will's “Best Shape of My Life” series on YouTube in which he includes excerpts of his new book... and I was hooked.
From his audiobook, you can really tell how good of a storyteller he is. I loved all the different voices he did in it and all the music he included. Prior to listening to this audiobook, I only knew of Will Smith as a famous actor (heck, I had no idea he was a rapper, let alone the first person to ever win a Grammy for Rap), but I now have a newfound appreciation for how hard working and talented he is. It's inspiring to see a black man accomplish so many groundbreaking accolades!
The only thing I wanted to call out was the ending — I thought it was a little cheesy. I think I would have preferred it with less of the “life lessons” so that the audience can interpret his story however they want.
I get the point of this book but in the end I just thought it was a little... odd? I did enjoy Keiko's commentary on society and how everyone conforms to the same made-up rules though!