Annie Kapur
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I am:
🙋🏽♀️ Annie
📚 Avid Reader
📝 Reviewer and Commentator
🎓 Post-Grad Millennial (M.A)
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📖 280K+ reads on Vocal
🫶🏼 Love for reading & research
🦋/X @AnnieWithBooks
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🏡 UK
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Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
Death in Venice is a novella by the German auhor Thomas Mann (who appears somewhat on my list of greatest books with an entry titled Lotte in Weimar). It was originally published in 1912 under the name Der Tod in Venedig and it still stands as one of his most studied pieces. If you did not believe that Thomas Mann was a master of psychological insight before then you sure as hell will when reading this incredible, and slightly controversial, text. Mann had already become a big name in the literature world with the success of his novel Buddenbrooks written just over a decade before. Unlike his former novel, Death in Venice seems more like a study in decay - the decay of both the body and the spirit.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Glamorous Notions" by Megan Chance
So I'm back to reading some books on my phone (which is why you won't find a 'photograph taken by me' on the front seeing as I take the photos with my phone and well, I simply can't do it). One of the books I got was called Glamorous Notions which, I know, doesn't look like my kind of book at all. I tend to avoid the whole 'Hollywood inspired vapid espionage book' altogether. But I have to say that this one, with its frequent flashbacks and the hidden past of the protagonist which slowly gets unfolded, makes for a genuinely interesting read. So, even though I perhaps wasn't fully on board with it - I definitely enjoyed it enough to feature it here with (I might add) a pretty good score...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Lime and Coconut Cupcakes
I think I’ve done these before and often I’ve filled them with raspberries because that simply makes a classic flavour combination. This time though, I’ve opted for filling them with blueberries mainly because I wanted them to taste slightly different. I go for a lot of coconut and before you’re asking whether I actually eat these, the answer is no because I do not like coconut myself. But, other people around me love it and so I opt for quite a bit. Let’s not dwell on whether I’ll eat them myself and get to the recipe then. This comes complete with a buttercream recipe for the icing and how I made it.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Feast
Book Review: "The Old Patagonian Express" by Paul Theroux
In My First 20 Books of 2020, I checked out The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux and got the idea that this guy must really like his railway journey. The COVID-19 pandemic was a crazy time for us all and I was looking forward to travelling without travelling (I mean, as I travelled much anyway!). I found it fun and engaging and of course, so atmospheric that I honestly felt like I was there. In his more famed book The Old Patagonian Express, Paul Theroux definitely reignites this travel narrative joy in all of us. I'm not normally a travel narrative girl, but this is an author I will return to whenever I do want to read them.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
The Rise of Pseudo-Intellectualism...
Well, I guess it's storytime again: so I was having a bit of a back-and-forth with someone on Facebook who was constantly sending images of Rousseau quotations taken from Google images and ideas they had read from ChatGPT on philosophy in order to argue their point. It was all too clear that they hadn't actually read any philosophy and probably even clearer that they had never read a book before. Be that as it may, they were convinced they were right until I asked them for proof of their claims. Then they never responded to me and backed down. I feel like they accepted their loss and were just too embarrassed to return to the conversation. Say hello to another hellscape that ChatGPT and Social Media have vomitted up: pseudo-intellectualism.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Cheese and Onion Scones
I'm not going to make a series out of this, I'm just going to post things that I make sporadically because I feel like I post enough anyway. Baking has always been my side-thing. Some time ago I was going to turn it into a business but after thinking about it, I decided that it would suck the joy and fun out of everything. Scones are something I quite like making and coming up with new savoury scones is something I like because I feel that the classic sweet scone can’t be messed with. Savoury scones though? the recipe is up for grabs. Let’s take a look at it then…
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Feast
Book Review: "Night Walks" by Charles Dickens
Reading Dickens is always a treat as the nights become darker and the weather gets a little chilly. I make it a habit of re-reading stories like The Signal-Man around this time because it makes me feel all warm and cosy inside. As we run up to cold weather and of course, Halloween - stories set in the nighttime or those that feel a bit eerie definitely give us a whole new sense of atmosphere. I'm very happy that the horrible hot weather is going and now, I can be depressed and cold in peace. At least I have a good book and I'm wrapped up warm.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Exterminator!" by William S. Burroughs
As you know, my encounters with William S Burroughs have been a bit here and there. I have often enjoyed his works but, then again some have missed the mark entirely. Some years' ago I read The Wild Boys which was definitely in the middle of that line it seems, though tipping over to the side of enjoyment from time to time. When I read Queer however, I found out what the problem really was: that it would have been much better if it wasn't William S. Burroughs who had written it. So, let's explore what I thought of the fragmentary experimental novel Exterminator! where yet again, Burroughs has planted himself firmly (it seems) in the autobiography of the character and plot.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Carrion Crow" by Heather Parry
I'm so happy that I've been able to read some of my books on my phone. It is usually not a possibility because as soon as you sit there on your phone everyone assumes you're being anti-social and doomscrolling. But, because I haven't been out and about lately, I've been able to get some books going on my phone and read them. One of these books was Carrion Crow by Heather Parry. Back when I read Orpheus Builds a Girl by the same author, I did say I wasn't sure whether I was going to give Parry another chance because the book was a bit of a let down for me. However, I did get snatched away by the fantastic opening chapter to Carrion Crow. Let's hope it stays this good...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "My Dining Hell" by Jay Rayner
I know, I don't know why I'm reading this. I came across it online and then well, here we are. I didn't have a thinking process behind it, I didn't plan to read it. It kind of just ended up here. It seemed a bit funny and the 'praise for the author' page was replaced with 'abuses for the author' in which most of the digs are at Jay Rayner's rather unsavoury appearance and 'face for radio'. But from what I know of Jay Rayner, he's a bratty restaurant reviewer. So, I wasn't really expecting all that much. Let's see how it went...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
The Devil's Chair
Welcome back to 'Why It's Shifty' and today we're looking at something that was honestly new to me when I heard about it. The Devil's Chair is a wonderful and very interesting piece of folklore which is probably more famous across the Atlantic. The Devil's Chair is possibly one of my favourite pieces to folklore to come out of 20th Century America next to the 'Devil at the Crossroads'. There's lots of stuff about the Devil in that part of the world but honestly, I don't mind it. To some people it sounds a little silly but I like to investigate where these things came from.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Perspectives" by Laurent Binet
I've been meaning to read this book. I've seen it around and of course, because it is about the Medici, what better way to give myself a little treat than to buy the book. My bank account hates me but I don't care. Honestly, I didn't know what I was going to think of this because before reading the novel, I had absolutely no idea is was an epistolary text. Sometimes, this structure can be a bit odd when you're trying to focus on character voice, but I think the author did an excellent job of making it as engaging as physically possible. And of course, I adored this book...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
