book reviews
Reviews of books by relationship gurus, dating experts, and cautionary tale-tellers.
Breadcrumbs for Girlhood.
Sometimes, it is the quiet stories that speak the loudest. Perhaps that's why I never fell in love with the Harry Potter series like so many others. I had no trouble suspending my disbelief for magic and mystery, but few characters from the series stuck with me. They were either too awkward, too talented, too proud, too evil, or too good. Moments that were meant to resonate with children coming-of-age always seemed to miss the mark. Every single character 'fit,' even if they made a blunder or were an outsider, they all belonged on the chessboard, with their unique moves.
By Lucy Richardson5 years ago in Humans
Fairy Tales of Truth
We live in a practical world. It’s very much geared towards the key pillars of the workplace; our lifestyle, our past-times, our education, they’re all very… vocational. The modern curriculum is heavily in favour of the STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths. Other areas such as the Humanities, Arts, and Social Studies are often seen as fluffy, impractical subjects, Friday afternoon fillers in the classroom, even though they’re the keys to critical thinking. And critical thinking is the key to figuring out who we are as individuals, as people, as a society, and what sort of society we want.
By Michael Darvall5 years ago in Humans
The Most Selfless Character in a Book
I almost entitled this “The Most Important Elephant to Have Ever Fictionally Existed”, then I thought of Dumbo. This will not be a debate about which character means more to the world because I do not have the heart to compare the two.
By Jada Ferguson5 years ago in Humans
There's A Witch Under The Stairs
There are facets of my personality I have forgotten. Parts of myself that I thought were non-negotiable and non-refundable. The night used to be my nemesis. An unrelenting enemy that ravaged my sane thoughts and sent me plummeting into negativity nightly.
By Jada Ferguson5 years ago in Humans
The Little Prince
I’ve always enjoyed books. In elementary school there was a reading program in which we could earn points based on the number of books read. Then win rewards based on the points you gained from completing each book. I was an avid reader and used this as a sort of super power to attain items that I could not afford with money. I had a fifth grade math teacher who always came off as strict and reserved, a person who had very little patience for such things as children. So I was very surprised when she noticed my love of books and recommended "The Little Prince". This book would become a subconscious staple for me throughout my life. It forced me to ask myself questions many people aren't faced with until their adulthood. The story has taken on new meaning for each phase of my journey, giving me new understanding and hope.
By AvalonWrites5 years ago in Humans
Bedtime with Bambi
How I still long to hold that original 1929 hardcover in my hands again. My love for Bambi didn’t start with the Disney version. I enjoyed that adaptation but, as a young child, I wouldn’t become aware of the original story until years later. I loved to read and had many Little Golden Books including Walt Disney’s Bambi.
By Crystal McNeil5 years ago in Humans
The Answer Is... Review
Just before Jeopardy host Alex Trebek died, he wrote a book. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and the statistics told him he probably wouldn't live much longer. He fought for as long as he possibly could, getting through tapings in immense pain and going back and forth about how he felt trying to fight something that might be pointless. He initially didn't think he would ever want to write a book, but eventually realized he had a lot to say about his life experiences. He wanted to publish something from the original source so that facts of his life weren't stretched out of proportion, and he wanted to keep making a positive impact during the time he struggled the most. He acknowledges in the opening of the book that he is not a writer by any stretch of the imagination, but that doesn't matter. The Answer Is... encapsulates the voice of a laid-back conversationalist reliving his life's story through simple anecdotes, and for a book like this, that is absolutely perfect.
By Jamie Lammers5 years ago in Humans
Hearts, Keys, and Puppetry Review
About a decade ago, legendary fantasy author Neil Gaiman asked his Twitter followers to help him with an intriguing idea. He tweeted out a single line and asked his followers to help him write a full fantasy story based on that opening line. What followed was a huge selection of these 140-character lines that were eventually created into an official BBC audiobook, and after hearing it for the first time all these years later, I personally believe that Hearts, Keys and Puppetry is a charming feat.
By Jamie Lammers5 years ago in Humans
A Few Book Reviews
It has been awhile since I have been writing here, but I will now be writing more, since I have completed my Spring cleaning and a few other chores as well. I have been doing research for a book I plan to write as well as lectures that I plan to share here on Vocal and Medium. There will be reviews of picture books and young adult books as well. The reviews that I plan to share today I know I shared to Medium, but I am not sure about here on Vocal.
By Mark Graham5 years ago in Humans
Book Review: "Three Martini Afternoons at the Ritz" by Gail Crowther
Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton are two female poets who practically changed the face of 20th century poetry. Many, many things have been written about the two poets throughout the years that range from their broken marriages to their fights with depression, their years of higher education and all the way down to their methods of ending their own lives. It is clear that we can draw parallels between the two writers and we can also see stark differences in their lives - such as Sylvia Plath moving to England whereas, Anne Sexton remained in America. But the one thing that I think I learned most about the two women was how their lives were marred by other people. I related to that and I think that this book really showed me that I am not alone when it comes to struggling with my own close relations. It is something that these two women not only struggled with, but in the end, it may have actually had a hand in both of their deaths. A brilliant book on two amazing women of literature, “Three Martini Afternoons at the Ritz” is a biography that you will not want to miss this year.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Humans
