book reviews
Reviews of books by relationship gurus, dating experts, and cautionary tale-tellers.
Artist from Montmartre by Olga Levitzki
Artist from Montmartre by Olga Levitzki is a simple love story set in the heart of Paris. If you’re looking for a cute romance novel set in France, or consider yourself a francophile, then this book might be something you enjoy. The book took me back to my childhood because when I was younger, I loved Paris and would enjoy anything set in Paris. I like Olga Levitzki‘s light and lyrical is a good writer, and I find it admirable that she can speak in 6 languages. Sometimes I wonder if some things get lost in translation or had the use of other translators, put as far as I know, there’s just this English version.
By Chloe Gilholy5 years ago in Humans
'Those Winter Sundays': the haunting of remorse
‘Those Winter Sundays’ was written by the poet Robert Hayden and tells the story of his father. It tells us about how, even on his days off, his father would wake up early before the sun and go out to work to chop wood in what he dubbed the “blueblack cold” in trying to keep the house warm. To keep the fire going, blazing and winter at bay. How Hayden’s fathers hands would ache from the non-stop labor to allow Hayden to sleep in for a few extra minutes, so he did not have to be awake in the cold. To break down this poem down like Hayden’s fathers broke down wood one swing at a time
By Liv Atterson5 years ago in Humans
Weaving Bales with Bytes: A Case for Cotton Digitalization
Cotton has been a profitable crop for the past 7000 years otherwise our ancestors would have dropped it. It is one of the most sustainable fibre. For a very long time, India was known for cotton fabrics, while the rest of the world clad in wool. Today, cotton is cultivated in about 80 countries around the globe. India ranks no. 1 in cotton production, contributing to 33.23% in the total area of the world. One in every four hectares of cotton grown around the world comes from India.
By Isabella peter5 years ago in Humans
Jane of Battery Park
2020’s so far has been a crazy part of my life. Things that I used to take for granted have now gone and are slowly coming back. The weirdest thing about this pandemic is that any country could become the next dystopian empire with their own crazy rules if power falls into the wrong hands. I’ve always loved reading books and I’ve been reading more now than I ever did when I was younger. It’s one thing that’s been keeping me sane over the years, by reading books.
By Chloe Gilholy5 years ago in Humans
Book Review: "Jack" by Marilynne Robinson
I think we have all heard enough about the segregational culture of America in the 1950s and though I love 1950s music and film culture, I can definitely say that I was not 'born in the wrong generation' due to the fact that I am brown and happy that I am in a time where that is respected as a positive aspect of my character. However, I understand that the kind of music I listen to and the films I watch from the 1950s had a culture where that was not so and thus, when I read a book from this time or set during this time, I keep that in mind no matter what it is about. There are many books set in this period such as the famous “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee all the way through to the African-American Southern Gothic books of Toni Morrison. But I think that possibly one of the best modern examples in our own day of this is the books of Marilynne Robinson, especially this one entitled “Jack” which explores the more subverted aspect of interracial romance at a time where this only just was not accepted but was condemned outwardly by others.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Humans
The Exploration of the Main Character in Tandolfo the Great
For those of you who have been enjoying my random short story reviews, I'm planning to do more full-on book reviews in the near future since this is the main medium I can use to do that. For now, though, I hope you enjoy yet another short story review.
By Jamie Lammers5 years ago in Humans
The Essential Point of Me vs. Animals: How it Breaks the Typical Essay Format
On the surface, Benjamin Percy’s “Me vs. Animals” feels more like a collection of eight short pieces rather than a complete essay. It tells eight separate occurrences throughout Benjamin’s life of his encounters with various animals, from moose to mice to rattlesnakes. Each of these stories is engaging on its own merit, with writing that is stylized in a way that sounds like Benjamin’s speaking style. However, by the end of the piece, it becomes unavoidably clear that this collection of stories works best when read all at once as an essay, as it threads together a narrative that demonstrates that man is much more dangerous than any animal ever could be.
By Jamie Lammers5 years ago in Humans
Text vs. Subtext in The Paper Menagerie
As an explanation for this and the many other short story reviews I've been posting recently, these are reading reflections that I wrote for a creative writing class I took at the end of last year. These short story reviews allowed me to gain a better appreciation for narrative through writing and for reading in general, and I am super proud of these short reviews.
By Jamie Lammers5 years ago in Humans
Dialogue vs. Subtext in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Joyce Carol Oates uses dialogue and subtext to her advantage to portray the fear of being sexually abused in her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Talking first about what is actually said by the primary characters of the story, we see the fifteen-year-old girl Connie trying to ask this strange boy that arrives on her driveway about why he’s there. This boy, who reveals his name as Arnold Friend, reveals how much she has heard about this girl and how interested he is in her. She dodges the fact that her name is Connie and tries to understand where this boy is taking her but doesn’t get any answers from him. Eventually, her anxiety about Arnold escalates so much that she threatens to call the police on him, and he retaliates by saying he will come into her house if she calls the police. By the end of the story, she unsuccessfully tries to call for help but is eventually taken by the young boy.
By Jamie Lammers5 years ago in Humans
