xunaira

I struggled with completing this book. It sounds like a self-help book for rich kids. The author uses his own life experiences to make sweeping statements. I found it difficult to concentrate on what he was saying. The little bit of concentration that I could manage only showed that he was just rehashing old ideas with a lot of expletives (which got on my nerves) and without any really meaningful examples. This made it really hard for me to connect with this book. I'd never recommend it to anyone interested in reading self-help. If you want to read a self-help book, please do not waste your precious time reading this book. Go read [b:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change 36072 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Powerful Lessons in Personal Change Stephen R. Covey https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421842784s/36072.jpg 6277] by Stephen Covey instead!

This was a great read. It put into perspective a lot of my ideas about parenting. Several things stood out and made me reflect on my own parenting and how I was brought up. The educational revolution proposed at the end of the book seems really far off but there are several suggestions that can be picked up and simply implemented to improve the current education system. I would definitely recommend this book to other parents because it opens the mind. It has also sparked my interest in reading John Holt's work and that's next on my list.

I didn't like this book at all. Firstly, because of the protagonist, Rachel, who was a weak character. That in itself was a huge put off. Her rival, Anna, was equally unlikeable. But while there was reason for any reader to dislike Anna because of the role she plays in Rachel's life, I found it really hard to sympathise with Rachel (regardless of how the story unraveled to show her treatment).
In crime mysteries when the actual perpetrator of a crime is revealed it's usually a big moment and something that's supposed to shock and surprise the readers. For me that point in the book wasn't exciting at all. I did not feel any surprise which is another reason why this book failed to impress me. The story was a drag in a lot of places and I just couldn't wait to finish this book, not because I was excited to know what's next but because I just wanted to get it off my to-read list.
Over all a very average book, only to be read when you have no better alternative.

So I'm confused about the book. I really liked the underlying theme but didn't like the writing style -
those long, never-ending sentences. I also felt there were some parts in the book that really could've been skipped. Like explaining Saeed's parents' life when the latter were young. I didn't understand the significance of that. I also ended up not liking both protagonists, Saeed and Nadia. Additionally I think the scenes of physical intimacy could have been toned down.

I wanted to read this particular book for 2 reasons:
1) Book Thief 2) Why Hitler did what he did and how he managed to get away with it and amass a following.
I must say, it was a very tough read. Basically the book only sticks to a few points and just keeps going on about them over and over again. That's how propaganda works I guess.
The reason I've given the book such a low rating is because I do not agree to the ideas in it. The book really calls out to the most basic negative emotions of mankind. It preys on negativity, extremism, intolerance and hate. Hitler's ideas were extremist. The only purpose behind his ‘new way of life' was the propagation of the Aryan race and he felt that all Germans should do everything in their power (no matter right or wrong) to achieve that end. His entire ideology was a violation of basic human rights.
Furthermore, he doesn't give any explanation about why he has certain points of view (PoVs), just that he believes in them and so all Germans must believe in them too. He doesn't describe any specific personal experiences he went through that led to the formation of those PoVs.
I'm not a student of history or politics so I can't really give a very detailed review of this book in terms of those subjects. But this book has aroused my interest in politics and history so I'd appreciate recommendations in these areas.

This is an excellent book and, at least for me, one that merits reading over and over again. It's taken me several months to finish and that's because when I was half-way through I decided to start over to better understand the concepts. I'm planning to go over it again to refresh the concepts. Full of practicable advice.

This 2nd part of the Inheritance Cycle was painfully long and very boring at a lot of times. Even towards the end of the book the climax fell short of what it could've been. I had hoped that the immature storytelling of the first part would diminish in the second part but it didn't which was quite disappointing. I'd probably read the next book more out of wanting to check it off my to-read list than any eager anticipation of knowing what'll happen next in the story.

I couldn't but the book down up till the point where 10 mins and 38 secs ended. After that I found it extremely hard to finish. It seemed like the story was dragging. The final scene did not make sense and gave the feeling like the author, in wanting to end on a good note but also wanting to finish the story, rushed the ending. I would still recommend it. It's a deeply emotional book and beautiful in a lot of places.

I also happened to be listening to the 7 Habits by Stephen Covey simultaneously and found a lot of compatibility in the ideas of both books.
Crucial Conversations is an excellent read. I could relate to several parts of the book.
I did feel overwhelmed by it but I also feel like trying to practice even some parts of it will be helpful. It's definitely a read over and over kind of book.