Ariadne

I tried, but I did not enjoy this book. The space travel was so easy and fast, that I could not buy it at all. Also, the descriptions of the environment, furniture and gadgets did not seem ???futuristic???. There were books (paper books!), big kitchens and manual preparation of food. It sounded very generic in terms of world building. It seemed to me the story could happen anywhere, at any period of time. I also did not like the characters, I was not worried about them. The romance was overly clich?? and too easy to believe. The ending was disappointing.

This book is definitely not my thing. From the start I decided that it is a book in which a very high suspension of disbelief is necessary. Okay, no problem with that. But then the mixture of vampires, ghouls, dinosaurs (T-rex, Allosaurus, Giganotosaurus, Spinosaurus, Pterosaur), fae, immortals, prehistoric souls, cabalistic numbers, the end of the world, visions, jaguar, tigers... That was too much for me! I hoped something really epic would happen in this book (after all, the end of world was near!) but the plot was sadly disappointing for me. And the romance... well, I didn't buy any of it.

This one was a good read for the end of the year. It's a very light read putting together various ideas to make our lives effortless. My main takeaway was asking myself: ???How am I making this harder than it needs to be???? or ???How this could be easier????. It was a nice reminder that it's possible to turn around our mindset and see the bright side of everything.??

This was the perfect read to start 2018!

Courtney Carver brings her own simplicity views in a calm and loving way. Actually, the book is all about love. There were chapters that brought tears to my eyes because she writes in such an intimate and sensible way. It is a wake-up call for all of us to be here, in the present moment. She teaches us how to listen to our hearts and define what matters to us.

It was an enjoyable read and by reading it I fell in love with calm mornings, cozy afternoons and quiet evenings. I read it during the holidays so I was in sync with the spirit of the book. The reading calmed my mind and helped me eliminate the anxiousness that usually comes with a new year.

Forget about rushed new years' resolutions or to-do lists. The book invites us to reflect on our priorities and listen to our hearts. And search what feels good. I liked that Courtney focus is on intuition and finding answers within ourselves. We usually want to use our rationale and external pressure to define our lives. She invites us to be calm and listen. I highly recommend it if you want a different approach to simplifying and slowing down.

Not what I was expecting. It caught my attention because of the strong female characters (women blacksmiths), but the writing style didn't please me. It follows the trope of the death of a ruler and then a prophecy that will point to the new heir. It has brutal and bloody battle scenes that were treated so childishly as if they were of no consequence. It uses an amusing tone for everything (even violence), and that bothered me.

Short chapters: each one exploring one aspect of the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology. It's a collection of David Allen's newsletters throughout the years. It contains various of his famous quotes and some of his A-HA moments working with the methodology.
The last chapter brings a GTD summary with the 5 steps, the weekly review, the natural planning model and the higher horizons. It still uses the old nomenclature before David Allen published the revised edition in 2015.

This book is a secular approach to meditation with scientific evidence and more than a hundred references.
It explains and present guides to 5 types of meditation: focus on relaxation, focus on body sensation/breath meditation, focus on emotion, focus on positive and focus on now.
I enjoyed it very much because the author brings even uses references from Star Wars, Dune and Star Trek to illustrate complex and abstract concepts. It is a very interesting book and a perfect first time guide to start meditating.

This book in an update to the first book [b:Your Digital Life: Everything you need to know to get your life organised and put technology to work for you 26886517 Your Digital Life Everything you need to know to get your life organised and put technology to work for you Carl Pullein https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444248619s/26886517.jpg 46934995]. I loved both of them because [a:Carl Pullein 14441169 Carl Pullein https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] built a simple and straightforward organization system.I've been using the [b:Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity 1633 Getting Things Done The Art of Stress-Free Productivity David Allen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1312474060s/1633.jpg 5759] productivity method for years but I could never get it running smoothly. I always struggled with my tools, I was unsure of how to organize my references, I never knew how to deal with personal and work related projects. It wasn't neat. I wanted to make it better.And [a:Carl Pullein 14441169 Carl Pullein https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] proposes a practical approach that fits perfectly with me. I realized I was complicating things too much and now my system is just the way I need it. And I enjoy it!

??I???m truly enjoying these historical romances with a modern twist. In this one the main character, Annabelle, is a bluestocking in 1879 studying in Oxford, who joins the suffragette movement. They are fighting to get the ???Married Women???s Property Act??? amended, so that women can keep their own property after marriage. Annabelle is tasked with getting the Duke of Montgomery to back the cause, and romance ensues! It has a rich plot with believable political background. Beautiful romance story with a strong female character.??

??More mysterious deaths and this one starts with Bel investigating a strange case of an apparent suicide. Atticus is also investigating a series of murders and then the plot becomes more complicated and the two investigations intertwine. Atticus and Bel form a great duo, it was a delight seeing them join forces to solve the mystery. I will read the next in the series.??

I liked the diet approach of this book. I've had acid reflux for years and have adopted lifestyle changes and tweaks to my diet to counteract it. It never worked 100%, and this book was eye-opening in terms of suggesting additional changes to my diet and eating habits that are truly beneficial. I'm still in the first 28-day healing phase (the most restrictive diet) and I'm seeing improvement in my symptoms.
The book is very accessible, there are recipes, a comprehensive meal plan suggestion, and lists of foods that are recommended so we can come up with our meal plan as well. The recipes are easy to follow, and they matched my diet preferences. It has very good advice not only for acid reflux but for lifelong health.

I heard about this book when I was researching about a technique called free writing. This author developed this method of “writing practice” where you set a timer and free write whatever is in your mind, nonstop, flow-of-consciousness style. The book is a compilation of fun small essays about writing. It's light and amusing!

This is the third of this series, and I wasn't too thrilled about it. I think it has the same formula as the previous books and it was the weakest of the series. I felt there was a lot of unnecessary info-dump, as I felt some world building elements were already explained in previous books. It's a fun series overall, with sci-fi and romance, but this ending in this one was kinda meh.

I didn't like this one as much as the first one in the series. It is still a sci-fi thriller, with lots of insights into how a virus that turns into a powerful A.I.?? would start evolving and basically take over all digital systems in the world, from smart devices to cars and computers. The chapters describing how the virus developed intelligence and its communication with each other were a bit boring.

I enjoyed this second book of the series. Actually, I am surprised I am having fun with this series. I am not into the young adult genre, but I think this series takes it up a notch.
The story is quite calm in the beginning, it is a slow burn until the climax and the huge cliffhanger at the end!

While the first book is like an “origins” tale, this one is the development. It takes a while until Vhalla accepts her powers and I was a bit annoyed at the beginning. But the last third of the book compensates the slow start. She finally becomes the powerful Windwalker everybody was expecting!

I will read the next in the series because I want to see Vhalla using her full power at the great war!

Good information, it brings successful examples of how to make life adjustments after retirement for people with ADHD. It mentions the importance of keeping a simple life, reaching out for help or support groups, exercising, diet, practising mindfulness and having social support. It gave me some insight on the difficulties adults with ADHD can face when getting older.

Accessible stories for french learners, specially intermediate or upper beginners. There are 7 short stories, all with the main vocabulary of the texts presented in short pieces throughout the text. In the end of each story there is a vocabulary recap to review words and expressions. It was very nice to learn new expressions and to see the use of french words in a full narrative.

A look into how Obi-Wan Kenobi was known as Ben in Tatooine. He only wants to be left alone (so that nobody realises he's a Jedi) but he keeps getting tangled into local affairs. It was interesting to get know a little bit about the sand people and constant tension with the farmers. It covers a short period of his time there when he basically helps dissolve local grievances. A day in the life of Ben Kenoni.