Tobias Reeks
To be fair, I wasn't a huge fan of Russell Brand before I read his “Booky Wook” - I just found him annoying.
However “Booky Wook” is Russell's story of where he came from and his journey to where he is today. Honest, explicit and intelligently written, “Booky Wook” shares the ups, downs and general chaos from his life so far with the closing chapter providing a teaser that more is still to come.
Very readable, I would recommend this book to Brand fans (if they haven't read it already) and to the non Brand fans who may fancy a delve into his world.
In much the same way that other reality stars have tried to justify their existence, Ollie Locke formerly of Made in Chelsea, published this autobiography back in 2013, at the tender age of 26. One could argue that this is indeed a complete cash cow.
“Laid in Chelsea” as is the title, talks about just that. Sex.
Though a product of “Made in Chelsea”, no figurative dirt will be dished on his ex cast members, and in fact, it barely gets a mention.
This is a breeze to read, recounting his life so far but ultimately it reads like a teenage boy's diary unearthed in a clear out of their bedroom.
I've loved Chinese food since the first time I went to a restaurant as a child and ordering from the takeaway was an expensive and unhealthy habit of mine at university. I always thought that recreating those flavours out of the restaurant environment was quite impossible - not so!
In this wonderful book, Ching takes the mystery out of delicious Chinese cooking. You're likely to have many of the ingredients in your kitchen already - garlic, root ginger, oil. By taking the illusions out of Chinese cooking she has made it all the more successful by easing us into the recipes - “Takeaway Favourites” is one chapter.
As for the recipes, there is something to appeal to everyone here. Here is a list of what I've made so far: Chicken Chow Mein, Beijing Rice, Mu Shu Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork and Sichuan Orange Beef.
My only fault with the book would be for vegetarians. There doesn't seem to be much choice for them. Also some of the ingredients do prove a little difficult to get hold of if you don't live in a city with a Chinese community.
Apart from those little faults - can we have some more please Ching?
Since starting this book I have finally managed to part with my graffiti laden secondary school polo shirt, which I last wore in 2001, and university notes I've not looked at since writing them down in 2007.
Kondo's approach is methodical and indeed ruthless, and recommends starting with clothes. Why? - You may ask. Well to me this makes sense. She recommends starting here, as we're all prey to buying something new every season – in theory discarding something we didn't like or use so much from the previous season.
The way to figure out whether an item is worth keeping or not, is whether it “sparks joy” – these are her words, not mine. Again, this methodology makes sense. If you don't love an item, why are you keeping it? In theory if you apply this theory to every item you own, you end up with only the items you truly cherish, and you end up happier as a result.
By sorting your clothes, you then have the know-how to approach other items you may own, sorting and decluttering as a result.
The author's culture and her background do seep through in some aspects of the book, but in a way that appealed to me. Don't let this aspect of the book put you off though – take it with a pinch of salt, as the message behind it is well meant.
No amount of nagging from my mother, Feng Shui books or the approach of trying to sort out a corner of my bedroom at a time was going to get me to sort all of my stuff out – until now. So far unloved clothes have been donated, books have been given to the public library in town and I have felt “lighter” as a result.
Though I'm far from a clutter free life, I've certainly broken the camel's back with the KonMari method and if like myself, you've struggled with clutter for whatever reason, this may be the book you're looking for.
Thoroughly recommended.
I read “The Handmaid's Tale” in sixth form back in 2001-2002, and at the time it was a bit shocking, particularly one scene fairly early on in the book. One of the novel's key themes is power - who has it and who doesn't, and ultimately what we do with it is the most frightening thing proposed in the novel.
Roll the clock forward fifteen years and now things in the twenty first century have possibly taken a step backwards, with some parts of the first world now putting things into place which clearly remind me of a possible blossoming of Gileadean society.
Every little bit as powerful, shocking and frightening as it was back when it was published in the mid 1980s, “The Handmaid's Tale” is a word of warning to us all.
I read “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne and loved it. Jack Canfield was one of the many voices features in the preceding film and subsequent print publication.
Here in his own book alongside D.D. Watkins, they write a similar book to Byrne's but I feel do a better job of telling us how to best utilise the Law of Attraction to our best ability with many exercises and activities on the way to help you out.
The Vision Board, mentioned in the film version of The Secret is explained here in Canfield's book. On the whole, it feels more of an individual effort and allows you to be more creative, instead of Byrne's book which seemed to suffer from multiple personalities and seemed like you were buying into a massive franchise.
Like “The Secret”, you will finish this within a matter of days on initial reading, but you'll probably need to go back through it again to make best use of the exercises in it.
If I had paid full price, I would have been quite annoyed at doing so. My only other quibble would be the use of the G word, throughout - I don't consider myself particularly religious, so the smattering of the G word though somewhat infrequently could possibly put people off.
This book makes the Law of Attraction a little more fun to put into action, and compliments “The Secret” perfectly!
Two worlds meld when Ana Steele falls into Christian Grey's office (see what I did there?) and shortly after the two embark on a passionate love affair, of which you will have read about yourself or heard a lot about in the press, online and also in its subsequent film adaptations.
Hidden in the depths of this book, alongside Steele's split three way personality (her inner goddess and her subconscious feature prominently) there's a love story of sorts, if a very passionate one with very unconventional features to it, though perhaps in terms of the White Knight saving the Damsel in Distress, it's wanting to be a mixture of both here?
What did I learn from Fifty Shades of Grey after it's 514 pages? Do we all know what we're getting into when we meet someone? No. Do we have ourselves tested to the limit when we meet someone? Yes.
For whatever reason, this book has become a publishing sensation and has clearly entertained many people in the process of doing so.