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Angury

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Posts posted by Angury

  1. I've finished two books: You Can't Make Me Angry by Paul O. and Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman.

     

    You Can't Make Me Angry is written by a medic and member of AA and focuses on emotional sobriety and how one manages ones emotions without being dependent on others e.g. finding validation from within, placing boundaries and accepting that you cannot control others. It's written in a very easy style with a lot of relevance to day-to-day life. 

     

    Trauma and Recovery is one of the epitomes of trauma-informed care. It covers the principles of trauma and its impact on an individual and how they see themselves and the world around them, before going through aspects of trauma recovery in a well-written and thoughtful way. It is a book both for professionals and for the public and one that I learnt a lot from.

  2. Little Fires Everywhere is also on my to-read list, I'm looking forward to getting more into her writing.

     

    I just finished listening to the audiobook of Matthew Perry's autobiography: Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing. I don't normally read biographies/autobiographies but Perry has a long history of addiction and I've heard good reviews about his book and how it covers addiction.

     

    The book is brutally honest and shines a light on the horrific nature of addiction and its impact on a person's life. It illustrates just how powerful the disease is and how neither fame nor money can stop it. Perry had previously stated that he had decided to be fully open and honest about his addiction so that it might help someone else, and I have heard many addicts say that this book really helped to destigmatise their condition and to see themselves with kindness rather than blame. It's an excellent book for anyone who would like a first-person perspective on the subject.

     

    I am now back to reading Trauma and Recovery; I'm currently half way through. I'm also mixing this up with White Teeth by Zadie Smith which is a book I've been meaning to read for a very long time.

  3. I finished reading Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. I hadn't expected to read it so quickly but I had quite a bit of down time yesterday and got really sucked into the book. The book is well written and the character development is what really drives this story forwards. The book looks mainly at the themes of what it is like growing up feeling different and the impact that parents unresolved conflicts can have on their children's wellbeing. I found it to be a powerful story and it has stuck with me.

     

    I'm juggling a couple of books at the moment but am currently reading a non-fiction book by Judith Herman, a well-known trauma-focused researcher and psychiatrist, called Trauma and Recovery.

  4. I've just finished reading Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery. The novel follows a teenager as she types up a novel for Andy Warhol. It focuses on a number of themes including developing ones sense of identity and place in the world as one turns into an adult as well as friendship and independence. 

     

    I wasn't a big fan of the plot. I found it quite bland and was ready to get to the end of it as soon as possible. I do however still love Flattery's writing style. Her characters are fascinating and she has a way of conveying the brutal honesty of the thoughts that go through all of our heads but that we don't always say out loud. It's in her psychological make-up of her characters and their development where she really shines.

     

    I'm going to continue to keep an eye out for more of Flattery's works as, despite my poor rating for this novel, I have become a fan.

     

    I'm now reading Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. It was recommended to me by a friend as I was commenting on the lack of books covering integration of certain asian ethnicities within Western cultures. It focuses on a Chinese American family and how they cope following the death of a loved one.

  5. I just finished by first book of the year: A Trip Through the 12 Steps: With a Doctor and Therapist by Andrew P.

     

    The book covers the 12-step programme, a spiritual programme for addicts in recovery to help them in their sobriety. It covers each step in detail, going through the scientific research, the psychological underpinnings and the therapeutic value of each. There is a lot written on the 12-step programme and its benefits and controversies. I particularly liked this book as it is well grounded in research whilst also bringing with it the personal experience of the author. I found it particularly interesting reading about how each step is closely tied with certain therapy concepts such as CBT, mindfulness, obsessive thinking, locus of control etc. The book is well-written and is aimed for the general reader rather than the scientific community. Overall, I came away from it with a new-found respect for the programme.

     

    My next book is Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery. I recently completed her short story collection entitled Show them a Good Time and was blown away with both her blunt writing style and topics that she covered; it was refreshing. She has quickly become one of my top authors.

    • Like 1
  6. Angury's Reading & Writing Log 2024

     

    Hello. I joined this forum almost twelve years ago(!) and found it to be a haven of thought-provoking discussion and inspirational reads. I did Reading & Writing logs from 2017-2019 on this forum and found them to be a great way of motivating myself to read more and open up about my thoughts on the books I had read so far.  So, without further ado, welcome to me 2024 Log.


    The log is divided into what I am currently reading and have read so far this year (with links to be reviews), books I want to read this year (divided into Fiction, Medicine, Philosophy and Other) and my writing log. I write both fiction and non-fiction for fun and the log is my attempt to document the journey and the insights I develop along the way.

     

    Reading Log

     

    Currently reading:

    Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

     

    Books Read in 2024

    January

    • A Trip Through the 12 Steps: With a Doctor and Therapist by Andrew P. (5/5)
    • Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery (2/5)
    • Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (4/5)
    • Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (5/5)

     

    February

    • You Can’t Make Me Angry by Paul O (5/5)
    • Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman (4/5)

     

     

     

     

    • Like 1
  7. I would be interested to hear people's thoughts on booktubers. Are you aware of the group and do you follow any booktubers on youtube?

     

    For the uninitiated, booktubers are people who upload videos on Youtube about books they read, authors they are interested in, books they plan to buy/have bought as well as sharing their thoughts on upcoming books, book shops in their area, their bookshelves, and really anything bookish!

     

    There are specific types of videos that booktubers post including readathons, tours of their bookshelves, book-shopping/touring bookshops, TBR videos and interviews with authors.

     

    There are a wide range of booktubers out there from all over the world covering a wide range of genres. I think it's a lovely way of sharing your love of books being part of a community through such a visual and aesthetic experience. The booktubers that I currently follow include:

     

     

    Looking forward to hearing everyones views and potential recommendations!

  8. On 7/22/2021 at 12:28 PM, lunababymoonchild said:


    I started with Orlando by Virginia Woolf. It's short and not hard to understand, imho. From there it's practice.  Dorothy M Richardson (credited with using s-o-c first) isn't hard to understand.  I definitely wouldn't try Ulysses first.

     

    A short book is definitely a good place to start, I shall have a look at Orlando, thanks very much!

     

    I might leave Ulysses on my TBR for now..

  9. On 2/23/2021 at 9:38 PM, Hux said:


    I once read a review of the book which suggested that when young people read the novel, they are predominantly concerned with Anna's story, but when they read the novel again years later, with mature, world weary eyes, it is Levin's story that begins to resonate with them. To me, this is a rather self-congratulatory simplification. The truth is, I think the complete opposite is true

     

     

    How interesting. In that case, I must re-read this book. Similar to you, when I first read the book Levin's story really resonated with me and I found his thoughts about life and meaning to be thought-provoking. Perhaps on my second read I will have a change of heart.

  10. Yep, I fold the corners of my books to mark my place all the time (I find book marks always fall out). I also write in my books all the time - more often it is in non-fiction books when I have my own thoughts on what the author has written. I will often write my own comments on the margins or underline certain phrases. Some of my more wieldy books have post-it notes in certain pages which I wish to mark and return to at a later stage.

     

    I guess one reason I have always done this is because I don't really sell my books to charity shops/donate to libraries when I'm done with them as I prefer to keep them in my bookshelf, so it doesn't matter how much I spoil them. I also like the idea of my book being loved and used. :P 

  11. I agree with Hayley, I always interpreted it as 'seize the day!' 

     

    For me it can be very motivating as I often see one day as just another drag from another where I go to the same job, eat the same food, do the same chores, watch the same TV shows - essentially on repeat for the next 30-40 years of my life. Whereas the concept of carpe diem encourages me to see everyday as a new opportunity of shaping my life and seizing every opportunity that comes my way.

  12. 14 hours ago, Brian. said:

    On a semi related note, what Steinbeck do you lovely people think I should read after Of Mice and Men? I think I've got most of his work in my kindle collection and I have a battered copy of The Grapes of Wrath so any and all recommendations are welcome.

     

    Loved Grapes of Wrath - by far one of my favourite books. Would highly recommend it.

  13. Have to admit I have always felt rather intimidated by Shakespeare and aside from studying Macbeth at school and reading a couple of the sonnets I've stayed well away.

     

    However, the BBC have recently put up some of the Shakespeare plays on iPlayer. I watched Othello and was blown away. Fantastic actors but I was also drawn in by the speeches and the plot. It has definitely made me change my perspective on Shakespeare and I really hope to watch more of the plays on iPlayer.

     

    Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should watch next? :) 

  14. I recently finished reading Outliers and thought it was a good read. Very interesting perspective - Gladwell had clearly done his research. It certainly made me reassess how I view success and people who are at the top of their field.

    Would highly recommend it as well. :) Has anyone else read it?

  15. Has anyone read Travels with Charley: In Search of America by Steinbeck? I've noticed it on a few to-read lists and it seems to have very good reviews. Am a fan of Steinbeck's writing and have added it to my TBR list but would love to hear others views.

  16. Thanks for the review Brian. I didn't even know these existed until I saw this thread. I had a quick Google and there are quite a few online book subscriptions out there for a wide variety of genres. They sound like a great idea and a way of encouraging people to read outside of their comfort zone and introduce new authors and writing styles.

  17. 16 hours ago, willoyd said:

    Completed The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton.  A humungous book which I put down a few weeks ago around half way through (just too many books piling up for book groups etc), and to which I returned at the end of last week.  Very complex, rich and demanding.  Grew and grew on me. One I will almost certainly return to.  5/6 (Excellent).

     

    Fantastic book, glad you enjoyed it.

     

    I am just about to start reading The Topeka School by Ben Lerner. I came across an article by Lerner in the New Yorker today and after some googling came across some interesting reviews of the book so thought I'd give it a go.

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