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Angury

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Everything posted by Angury

  1. Yes I did and it was worth it. It took me a while because I read it alongside some online lectures & had to do some wider reading to understand some of the concepts but I really enjoyed it. It stimulated my interest in Metaphysics and has encouraged me to think of things in a different way. Are you thinking of giving it a go?
  2. It is an easy book to read - which I know isn't often true of stream-of-consciousness novels. You're right that you can lose focus at times but the novel is interspersed with a parallel story of a lioness which reads more like a 'normal' story and helps break it up a bit. It's also easy to get caught up in the story despite the lack of punctuation so I don't think that would stop you. The main obstacle imo is continuing with such a long book when there isn't really much of a plot (but again, this is where the story of the lioness helps). It was an enjoyable read through and worth it. I'd recommend giving it a go.
  3. I've just finished reading two books one after the other. The first is Ducks, Newbury Port by Lucy Ellman which is a one thousand-page book consisting of about six sentences. It's written as a stream-of-consciousness from the perspective of an American mother & wife living in present-day America. It is a clever insight into today's world and how our otherwise mundane thoughts reflect the society that we live in (the media-obsession, the changes in politics, relationship worries, fears of violence etc). The second book is 'Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race' by Reni Eddo-Lodge. A short book with an emotive title that stemmed from Reni's blog post she wrote a number of years before (with the same title) that resulted in a wider conversation on race and 'white privilege.' I initially chose this book after I moved jobs and noticed the disparity in income, class and its links with race and wanted to read more into it. This book made me realise just how ignorant I have been of Britains past in terms of race. When I hear about race issues in the news it is rarely about the UK - it just doesn't seem to be in the media as much as in other countries. This book was an excellent start to educate myself on these issues and how the issues of race are more than just individual - they are part of the wider system in which we all live in. Definitely a topic I want to read about further. For now though I'm not sure if I should start reading something fictional or non-fiction. I'm not too bothered about what I read next so I may just randomly pick a book off my TBR shelf and see where that takes me..
  4. Ooh, no I didn't - just had a google and couldn't find anything. Would be interesting to read if you still have the link.
  5. Ah, don't let me change your decision. I've always struggled with Tolkien so for me The Silmarillion is a difficult (and dry) book to read. But I know plenty of people who really enjoyed it - if you're a fan of Tolkien you should give it a go. (And then tell me afterwards that I was right.. )
  6. Sounds like you guys are reading some interesting books (apart from The Silmarillion ). I'm about half way through Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman. I've received several comments on how big the book is but it's actually very easy to read. Would recommend.
  7. I'm about half way through Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize this year and I'm really enjoying it. I've never read anything like it. It's basically 1000 pages made up of about 4 sentences.
  8. Well done Chrissy! Also I can't believe it's already been a year since you took over Hayley. I can't imagine the amount of time and effort that must go into this forum - thank you for your dedication. This is one of the few forums I check up on regularly. The people are always so engaging to talk to and I always feel like I'm learning something new about the world of literature.
  9. No thoughts? Overwhelmed that such a scheme can exist and prisoners can be treated like human beings? I finished reading Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. This book has been on my TBR list for years. I was walking through Waterstones with a friend a few weeks ago and kept coming across this book. We both agreed it was a book we were interested in reading yet never got round to.. and I thought, I'm going to go home and read this book right now! Little did I know that it would be take me a long while to finish it.. To be honest I am a bit surprised at how popular this book is because it's a tough read. Kahneman explains concepts well and links them to everyday life in a way that you can use the knowledge after you've finished the chapter, but it is pretty dense. You're not reading a story or any sort of plot. - you're reading about studies and how Kahneman was able to learn and grow from these. It is definitely an interesting book and one that you can learn a lot from. I am glad that I read it but I would be hesitant to recommend it to everyone because I know a lot of people would give up quite easily (including myself if I had read this last year instead of now). I am now just about to start reading Ducks, Newburysport by Lucy Ellmann which has been shortlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize. Out of all the books on the list, this is the one that I've read the most fascinating reviews about - it sounds unique. It is also over 1000 pages long. But I will keep this thread updated with my thoughts (alongside my writing goals) as I make my way through it. Would be interested in hearing if anyone has read/planning to read any of the other shortlisted books for the prize. I have my eye on quite a few..
  10. https://thebookerprizes.com/news/2019-shortlist-has-been-announced The 2019 shortlist is: Margaret Atwood - The Testaments Lucy Ellmann - Ducks, Newburyport Bernardine Evaristo - Girl, Woman, Other Chigozie Obioma - An Orchestra of Minorities Salman Rushdie - Quichotte Elif Shafak - 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World Has anyone read any of the books or planning to? I’ve heard Atwoods ‘The Testaments’ hasn’t even been released yet so the reviewers must have really loved it. Ive also heard some very interesting things about ‘Ducks, Newburyport’ - mainly that it’s one of the oddest yet brilliant books that many people have read. I have subsequently bought it online and am excited to see what the fuss is all about. I find the Booker Prize quite helpful as I am trying to discover more contemporary authors and different styles of writing. Some of my favourite authors were found through the Booker Prize.
  11. Last day of August. I'm currently 2/3 of the way through Thinking Fast and Slow/ by Daniel Kahneman. It's a popular book and very insightful but quite heavy. I can only read one chapter at a time.
  12. Thanks both - it's always nice to receive feedback on writing. I am moving to London this August and really hope to join a writing group. The more I write the more I realise how important it is to share your ideas and writing pieces. I finished a book called An Introduction to Psychotherapy by Anthony Batemen two days ago. It's a well-known book to both psychiatry & psychology trainees. It's written in simple language (which can be difficult to do in this area!) and gives a good historical basis to psychotherapy and how it is relevant to the modern day. I am starting my psychiatry training in August so wanted to have a basic idea of psychotherapy and how my communication with my patients can be used in the best way possible. I am now just about to start reading Orfeo by Richard Powers after falling in love with his recent novel, The Overstory which won the 2019 Man Booker Prize. I'm also aiming to write a short reflective piece (possibly creative) based on a 'taster week' I did last week where I shadowed psychiatrists working in a prison, custody and in a forensics unit. It was a very thought-provoking experience and really made me question the types of prejudices that I have about the criminal justice system and criminals in general. Speaking of which, I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this recent BBC Article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-48885846
  13. Just saw it today. Loved the movie - better than Toy Story 3 in my opinion. Also was not expecting the ending. Some great humour and cute new characters. They've also done really well in keeping the old characters consistent throughout the franchise. I think you'll have a good time watching it.
  14. I found it very helpful actually. It took me about an hour to read, is written in a very simple style and offers examples to give you an idea of how to put the authors ideas into practice. I was very much in a rut when I started reading that book and it was exactly what I needed to get me started again. I think self-help books can be useful if you know what you're looking for and can put things into practice. I find it's very easy to sit and scroll through motivation posters without actually getting on and doing anything. Anyway, I'm quite surprised at the amount of books I've managed to read so far this year. I've been trying to make a habit of reading just before I go to bed and it seems to have helped. I am currently reading The overstory by Richard Powers. Not sure if you guys recognise the author but he is new to me and made me realise how many fantastic writers there are out there whose works have received multiple awards but are still not known to the general public. Richard Powers has indeed won multiple awards for his books and it seems he deserves them whole heartedly. I really like his writing style; it is imaginative and detailed without being too thorough. I am half way through The Overstory and have already bought two more of his books to read next: The Echo Maker and Orfeo. My writing is also picking up, thanks in part to Kleo's self-help book. I had quite an intense night shift last week and had to deal with a couple of dying patients. One of them really stayed with me so I decided to do a bit of creative writing practice: https://www.angury.co.uk/the-night-shift/ I am also currently writing an essay for an Essay Competition on the theme of Sexuality. I have decided to write mine on Paedophilia. I've only just gotten an idea of its structure so will spend the next few weeks (hopefully) writing. The deadline isn't until August though so I should be fine. Also, we have finally started to have some nice weather here in Devon - here comes the summer!
  15. Interesting replies. Do you guys read back on the things you have written in your notebooks? I found that my notebooks just stacked up in my room and were never read again. Whereas if I uploaded a document on my google drive with ideas for writing, I was more likely to check it on a regular basis.
  16. Has anyone seen the new season yet? I haven't had time unfortunately but very excited to finally sit down and binge watch.
  17. Joanna Cannon has been popping up quite a lot on my social media recently. Would you recommend her novels? What is she like as a writer?
  18. Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy Milkman. Interestingly I find stream of consciousness novels difficult to get on with as well but loved Milkman. What did you think of the overall plot and how the story dealt with The Troubles?
  19. Once again I am getting ready to move house; the third time in two years. Having packed and re-packed the same things, finding random pieces of paper under my bed and unopened notebooks lying in the corners, I've decided to [try and] go paperless. I recently bought the Notability app for my iPad and this started off my journey. I am now able to scan documents using just my phone or iPad, edit them online which includes writing on them with my Apple Pencil () and store everything that is important in my life on Google Drive where I know they won't become lost. Even better, I can take them with me everywhere just by carrying my phone. I started by scanning all my important documents on to Google Drive. Some of these are documents I need a paper copy of anyway but I'd rather have both. I then changed all my magazine subscriptions to online-only, and my bills to paperless (which most of them are anyway). I am currently studying a part-time LLM in Mental Health Law so I now upload all the books I need as eBooks - which again I can edit using my Apple Pencil (). I read all my lectures online and save them on my Google Drive. I've started reading almost all my books on my Kindle although do prefer to keep paper copies of my favourites as I like having a pretty bookshelf. Finally, I've turned to Google Calendar for my everyday life and this fantastic app called Notion for basically everything else; to-do list, recipes, finances, inspiration, books to-read etc. And now I feel so light. I never realise how many unread magazines and notebooks I have until I start to pack, but I hope this will help to keep all that hoarding at bay. I've also found it so, so much easier to keep everything online. Anyway, I wanted to hear other people's experiences. Are you guys paperless? Half and half? How do you organise your lives - diaries, calendars.. nothing?
  20. What is it about that quote that stands out to you as unique? (Not arguing with you, just interested in your point of view!).
  21. Apologies, I didn't clarify the context. The article was for a question entitled "What is the purpose of children?" So I wasn't arguing against having children, I was talking/writing about their purpose in modern society, which from my PoV is to give meaning to our lives, but that meaning can come from a lot of different places and as more people receive these opportunities we have less children. That was the gist of the argument anyway. I have now added a new author to be favourites list - James Baldwin. Not sure if any of you guys have heard of/read his work, he seems to be quite well-known. I came across his book "Giovanni's Room' in Waterstones. To be honest the two main things that struck out were 1. How short it looked (I was travelling at the time) 2. The cover: How can that not attract your attention? I'm a sucker for book covers. Anyway, I read it during my train journey and was hooked. I've never had such a quick journey before. The writing is eloquent without being overly detailed and the characters are vivid. I found Baldwin was particularly good at iliciting emotions from the reader; despite such a short book you become very involved in the story. The novel is a tribute to the power of words imo. After this first date with Baldwin I picked up 'Go Tell it on the Mountain' which is one of his more popular books. Again, the writing is exquisite and I've underlined several sentences that are unique and create such a vivid image in your head. The plot reminds me of The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck and I can see why it's such a famous book. Anyway, I had initially moved on to 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' by Betty Smith which is a book that has been on my TBR list for a long, long time but then came across this: I don't read self-help books but one of the Youtubers who I follow recommended it. He said that it motivated him to go from being a typical university student to taking the leap and sharing his creative work online. I think this is a fear many people identify with, and despite the advantages of the Internet it is daunting to open your work to others. So I'm in between two books at the moment which is what I normally do anyway. I often have certain 'reading moods' - for example, I might have a day where I feel like reading a story and will turn to Smith's novel and other times where I feel like I can't concentrate on a plot and want to read something in non-fiction. Not everyone seems to read multiple books on the go though - would love to hear what other people do!
  22. As you've said, at the moment it would be better if we adopted/fostered children who have no family of their own rather than have children ourselves. I basically argue that the purpose of having children for (some) people is to have meaning in their lives and is a selfish act (which is not a bad thing!) but that you can find meaning in your life in other ways as well.
  23. I thought the finale was magical. It tied together loose ends without making things appear dramatic; despite the end of the series it felt like the characters lives were just beginning. Lovely music, beautiful scenery and some nostalgia from the first series.
  24. Well my argument was mainly against having children so may be a bit unpopular. I just finished reading Becoming by Michelle Obama. I'm not one for autobiographies and even less enthusiastic about celebrities but I came across an interview with Michelle and became drawn in to what she was saying about life as a woman/ethnic minority/from a poor background and the constant question through life of "am I good enough?" This is exactly what her autobiography covers. It's not an advertisement of her glamorous life in the White House or her celeb friends - it's a very touching and personal book about what it means to grow up being loved and fighting the stereotypes from others and ourselves. I think a lot of us can empathise with her. My next to-read is Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. I actually have no idea what it's about - it just came up on my Instagram feed and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive so I thought I'd see what all the hassle was about.
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