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What I read in August 2021

I read a number of novels this month so you might want to check out these reviews:

As for the articles:

Will artificial intelligence be a marketer’s new best friend or foe? (Forbes)

What is it about: The benefits and downsides of AI in marketing.

What I think about it: As of the moment, Artificial Intelligence is a tool and it is only as good as the ones who wield it. The sooner we realize that labeling it a foe because of our mistake, the better. It is the same with “beating the algorithm.” What these labels do is shift the blame and mindset of people from the things they lack or they don’t do. Who could blame them when mainstream media always paint AI in bad light.

A better understanding of keywords, cybersecurity, and algorithm could perhaps assuage people’s resistance against AI.

The case for a shorter workweek (BBC)

What is it about: According to some research, cutting the number of hours employees are supposed to work in a day can help boost productivity and efficiency.

What I think about it: I do observe Parkinson’s Law in the workplace but I also know that a number of employees do not subscribe to being treated like machines. In the beginning, a shorter workweek would be welcomed with open arms but after a while, a new problem would arise e.g. the amount of work done isn’t justified by the amount of money spent or that deadlines are too rigid and inhumane. There have been issues with employees not meeting deadlines and that’s with 8 hours of work per day. Work-life balance has been a prevalent concern for decades so it is about time we examine this problem from a different angle and perhaps that human beings are social animals have to be taken into consideration as well. Cutting work hours will not stop people from gossiping or cyberloafing.

Why does quitting your job still feel so hard? (BBC)

What is it about: The article shares the different implications quitting a job has and how it affects people’s mentality.

What I think about it: Some devote their lives to their jobs and that is something to be proud of. But realizing that your job isn’t your life is also a remarkable feat. Finding that balance between loving your job and staying in your comfort zone is challenging for anyone. Gambling one’s stability for the sake of a “better-future” is frowned upon simply because not everybody can do it.

How to fight microplastic pollution with magnets (BBC)

What is it about: Ferrofluid is an breakthrough created to attract microplastic from our water sources.

What I think about it: The title can be misleading but I guess changing it to “How to attract microplastic pollution with vegetable oil mixed with iron oxide powder and subsequently attracted by a magnet” seems tacky and pretty much a giveaway. It’s a good read though and can bring hope to those who worry about the ocean.

I don’t have any book review scheduled in September nor October so far so I’m going to look for other stuff to review. Ciao.

My Thoughts on Olivia Lara’s “The Meeting Point” #TheWriteReads #UltimateBlogTour

DISCLAIMER: THE WRITE READS AND aria fiction PROVIDED ME AN E-ARC OF THE NOVEL THE meeting point BY olivia lara IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.Summary I got from Goodreads:

What if the Lift driver who finds your cheating boyfriend’s phone holds the directions to true love?

‘Who are you and why do you have my boyfriend’s phone?’

‘He left it in my car. You must be the blonde in the red dress? I’m the Lift driver who dropped you two off earlier.’

And with these words, the life of the brunette and t-shirt wearing Maya Maas is turned upside down. Having planned to surprise her boyfriend, she finds herself single and stranded in an unknown city on her birthday.

So when the mystery driver rescues Maya with the suggestion that she cheers herself up at a nearby beach town, she jumps at the chance to get things back on track. She wasn’t expecting a personalised itinerary or the easy companionship that comes from opening up to a stranger via text, let alone the possibility it might grow into something more…

Come on this 5* journey to love, laughter and back again, perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane, Josie Silver and Sally Thorne.

Amazon

Author’s Bio from her website:

As a child, Olivia not-so-quietly ‘observed’ (AKA bothered with countless questions) her grandfather — who worked for the biggest publishing house in Romania — edit hundreds of books. And when he wasn’t editing, he read. Everything, all the time. Just like her father, who wrote short sci-fi stories, and was set on building the largest library she’d ever seen and her mother who’s never found without a book…wherever she goes. Her love for words came naturally, and after studying marketing, communications & photography, Olivia worked as a journalist for a newspaper and news television network in Romania.

An unapologetic citizen of the world, she spent a few years in Greece, Sweden, France, before settling in sunny California with her photographer husband and young daughter, where she works in marketing and writes. Oh, and let’s not forget the ever-growing menagerie that completes the family: Pumpkin, the Maine Coon mix, three black cats and a siamese kitten.

When she’s not writing or thinking about writing, she reads (across genres), watches old movies and collects vintage books, vinyl records, and eerie paintings. She loves traveling (and can’t wait until she can do it again, safely), swimming, biking, hiking and of course, photography.

SOMEDAY IN PARIS, her debut, published by Aria Fiction/Head of Zeus in May 2020 became a B&N, Apple, Kobo and Amazon Top 100 Bestseller and was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel Awards 2021. Her second novel, THE MEETING POINT, a contemporary romcom set in Northern California, is set to be published as an e-book on September 2, 2021 and in paperback in December 2021 in the UK and March, 2022 in the US.

Keep up with Olivia: twitter || instagram || facebook

My Thoughts on The Meeting Point:It’s the kind of novel where the side-characters and the setting are more striking than the actual protagonists. I fell in love with Carmel. It sounds like a dream vacation. Cafe Azure looks like a place I can frequently visit where I can just sip good coffee and write.The inconsistency in Maya’s characterization puts me off. She is a wannabe-writer excited to get her big break but has never been given a chance. Spending her time observing people, writing about them, and giving them the happy ever that they may or may not deserve make her so relatable. Her martyrdom in her last relationship has made her pityful but the idea that she follows her impulse to change makes any reader root for her. However, reading the first person narration sets a very high standard particularly when the narrator-protagonist appears to be a writer. Perhaps, Maya is the kind of person who can organize her thoughts on paper but find it difficult to do so in her head. A conversation between Alisa and Maya makes it appear that she is a “organized” planner and she finds it difficult to suddenly change plans particularly with the Lift-Driver-Ethan Department. Staying in an abusive relationship and a dead-end job, taking a flight to Carmel in a snap of a finger to look for a total stranger and getting a job because fortunately a cafe needs one fail to sell the idea. The conflict looks forced. I must have lost a puzzle piece because these don’t fit together.The voices of the protagonists, who happen to be writers, sound the same. This is evident when Maya starts reading Ethan’s work. I might be nitpicking on this but Maya saying Ethan “stole her story” only for Ethan to say it in the latter chapters is tiring. Having distinct character voices would have helped make the novel better. It is a brilliant idea that was poorly executed the execution could have been better.

Raving about K. A. Hayton’s “The Other Side of the Whale Road” #TheWriteReads #BlogTour

DISCLAIMER: THE WRITE READS AND Lightning books PROVIDED ME AN e-ARC OF THE NOVEL The other side of the whale road BY K.A. Hayton IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.Summary I got from Goodreads:

How dark were the Dark Ages?
Joss is about to find out…

Shortlisted for the Chicken House Competition
2 SEPTEMBER 2021 * PAPERBACK * £8.99 *
AGE 12–15 * ISBN: 9781785632815

YOU KNOW HISTORY IS REAL WHEN IT’S RAZOR-SHARP AND AIMED AT YOUR NECK THE STORY OF KING EDMUND’S LAST BATTLE WITH THE GREAT HEATHEN ARMY BROUGHT TO LIFE FOR YOUNG ADULTS

‘The Vikings are better armed than we are. They have long, heavy axes that can take a man’s head from his shoulder. I know this because I see it happen.’

When his mum burns down their house on the Whitehorse estate, sixteen-year-old Joss is sent to live in a sleepy Suffolk village. The place is steeped in history, as Joss learns when a bike accident pitches him back more than 1,000 years to an Anglo-Saxon village. That history also tells him his new friends are in mortal peril from bloodthirsty invaders. Can he warn their ruler, King Edmund, in time?

And will he ever get home?

Other helpful link: Eye / Lightning Books

Author’s bio from the publisher’s website:

As an RAF child, K.A. Hayton grew up in various parts of Europe, arriving in England just in time for the winter of discontent.

She spent her first year of an English degree at Sheffield University studying Anglo-Saxon poetry, which sparked an enduring interest in the Dark Ages. She trained as a nurse, now works as a health visitor and is also a magistrate. She has two grown-up daughters and lives in rural Suffolk, very close to Sutton Hoo, with her husband and a Hungarian rescue dog.

She is a keen runner, sea-swimmer and supporter of Ipswich Town FC. The Other Side of the Whale Road is her first novel.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HaytonKa

First Impression:

Is this really it? There are only one hundred or so pages? Is this real?

What I like about it (or what’s not to like?)

A perfect imperfect character, Joss is a natural escapist. What happened in his past, he acknowledges but tries to stump as if they were nothing and shouldn’t touch him, but they influence how he sees his real world. He finds his new surroundings dull and boring. The struggles he encountered has numbed him from what good things real life has to offer that when beauty and kindness are offered to him, he thinks they are insincere or that he doesn’t deserve any of them.

The contrast of how he easily acclimitizes to the Anglo-Saxon village, Haegelisdun, as opposed to his new environment, Hoxne, is striking. When everything is too much, Joss manages to escape to a different world where, he perhaps can make a difference. He doesn’t hesitate to try and get along with everyone, Leofric, Merwanna, and even Wuffa, to survive. It must have been difficult coming from the conveniences of the new world and getting used to how things are done in the past yet he manages to. This alternate universe offers a lot more to him apart from modern medicine and toothpaste that when he goes back to his new environment, he doesn’t show as much enthusiasm.

Alice as Joss’s muse is the epitome of Beauty he wants to have that he can touch but has to let go for fear of spoiling it. I find it endearing that Joss’s savior isn’t Alice but himself and that he proves himself worthy, not to Alice’s parents, but to himself, his own nemesis.

I’m also impressed with how Joss going back to Haegelisdun has been handled. Given the sensitive issue that is (TW) suicide, having a character jump off a cliff to his death for no other reason but to save his Alternate Universe friends wouldn’t have been wise.

History isn’t my cup of tea and although I am not familiar with King Edmund’s (The Martyr if I’m not mistaken) fate, this book has made it easy for me to understand what kind of king he was or how history wanted to portray him.

What I immensely appreciated is despite being fortunate enough to be taken by a well-to-do husband and wife, Joss can never be fully ok. So many things have happened to him that are beyond the control of a 16-year old. However, he is on his way to recovery and the fact that he realizes this and owns his responsibility for his decisions make him a powerful character to me.

My Thoughts on The Other Side of the Whale Road

The Other Side of the Whale Road is a short piece leaving me wanting for more but that’s a part of its charm. It’s masterfully written and I’m happy that the plot wasn’t extended that it felt forced. Heck, I even adore how the words of pompous characters have been capitalized e.g. One Last Chance to show how much emphasis they put on their own words as facade. I cannot promote nor rave about this novel enough.

A Reader’s Response to Aisling Fowler’s “Fireborn Twelve and the Frozen Forest” #TheWriteReads #UltimateBlogTour

DISCLAIMER: THE WRITE READS AND Harper collins PROVIDED ME AN ELECTRONIC COPY OF THE NOVEL Fireborn BY Aisling Fowler IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW. Summary I got from Goodreads:

Lyra. Lucy. Percy. Once in a generation, a hero emerges whose story enthralls readers worldwide.

Fireborn is an epic quest, perfect for fans of the His Dark Materials and The School for Good and Evil series, that will spin readers into a magical world like no other–and introduce them to an unforgettable new heroine named Twelve.

Ember is full of monsters.

Twelve gave up her name and identity to train in the art of hunting them–so she says. The truth is much more deadly: she trains to take revenge on those who took her family from her.

But when Twelve’s new home is attacked, she’ll find herself on an unexpected journey, where her hidden past is inescapably intertwined with her destiny–and the very fate of her world.

Reading a decent number of fantasy novels and seeing a couple more movies have perhaps dulled me of the excitement for this novel.

Author’s Bio from her website:

Aisling was born in 1985 and wishes that she had grown up in a magical, mountainous kingdom, but was actually raised in Surrey on a diet of books and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her early ‘adventure’ stories involved surprisingly little action and her first novel (3 pages long) was politely declined by publishers at age 11. After earning a BSc in Biology and working as a support worker and then a nurse, the idea for her debut novel, Fireborn, came to her as she moved back and forth between London and the US. Now based in Hackney, when she is not reading or writing, Aisling loves cooking and plotting adventures (for herself as well as her fictional characters).

“I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story.”

C.S. Lewis, On Three Ways of Writing for Children

This quote lays a good foundation for my perspective in reviewing Fireborn.

Initial Impressions:

Twelve is a very angry Hermione, having the time to read while chasing some goblins, Six a docile Harry Potter, and Five a combination of Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy. Victory is a female version of Mad-eye Moody (or Barty Crouch, I’m pretty sure you know what mean).

What I like about the book:

The Protagonist. Aside from Twelve’s remarkable similarities to a fighting Hermione, she is also Inside Out’s Anger personified (Is personified the right word here as she’s not a real person? She’s real in my head though, so moving on…). The fire inside her (catch this Easter egg everyone) stirs her mood. She is an incredibly talented hunter-to-be and independent, relying on her own skills and decisions which admittedly aren’t the wisest. Another unique thing about Twelve is her preference for weapons. One would normally assume a female character to carry a staff or a bow and arrow- stereotypes, I know. Twelve carries axes, choosing melee attacks rather than long range. I only know a few fictional characters who exhibit a similar preference.

Usually in hero novels and animations, a protagonist starts as a weakling then discovers strength during his or her adventures. The drastic the development, the better. But who says only the weak get strong? Strong characters can get even stronger, too (my personal biases are leaking all over the place). This is what we see in Twelve’s development in the novel. Her imperfection, background story and her fire are endearing.

Fantastic Beasts Mythical Creatures. That a stone guardian, Dog, could talk and be hot-headed and impatient is ingenious. In many fantasy stories, guardians are represented by mythical creatures like dragons, phoenixes, unicorns or polar bears. While reading the novel I couldn’t help but think of Hachiko’s and Balto’s statues coming to life.

I highly enjoyed the parts when the group goes into the Frozen Forest and meets various creatures. Their adventure with a trapped moxie, a deathspinner, and Oakhammer reminded me of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings a bit.

World-building. As a gamer who is into Genshin Impact, I believe that only a very small portion of Ember’s map has been unlocked in the first novel. I have yet to see how big the world is, understand the connection among the different creatures and groups of people in Ember, and witness Twelve’s role in this lore.

What I don’t like about it:

The constant bickering of the characters running for several pages and chapters can be a bit tiring especially when they’d make up and unite in the end for a common goal. This might seem like a small deal since conflicts are what make a novel a page-turner but some of the arguments seem petty, repetitive, and distracting. Perhaps in the next book(s), Twelve would not be angry as often.

My Thoughts on Fireborn

Having read a decent number of fantasy novels and seen a couple more movies perhaps dulled me of the excitement for this novel. I can’t deny that there were times I caught myself ruining the experience of reading by comparing it to its predecessors- the blurb is partly to blame lol. The good points of the novel far outweigh the negative ones. There are some elements that spark that interest in me to keep wondering what happens next. How will Twelve unlock her full potential? Will Six finally confess? Will they meet the moxie again? Is Widge a mythical creature after all? With that said, I have very high expectations for the next installment.

What I read in July 2021

This is another “time flies so fast” moment for me. I have planned a number of content to be posted in the succeeding days- if you can only see my drafts lol. I also have three book reviews scheduled in August so that’s always something to look forward to. But before I give them to you, here are the articles and posts I enjoyed reading in July:

People Who Brag About Being in Back-to-Back Meetings Deeply Misunderstand Productivity (Medium)

What is it about: The article explores on how having back-to-back meetings has become a misunderstood measurement of productivity and that being busy is a sign of insecurity. More often than not, colleagues cannot find that person who can solve a problem because the latter is in a meeting.

What I think about it: For obvious reasons, I do think meeting is counterproductive particularly when it is prefaced with work or personal gossips that eat up 50% of the time. Conducting a perfect meeting is not in my KPI but effective communication is so if something can be understood and settled in a chat or an email, I prefer the latter. As I get older, the fewer meetings I get pulled in, the better.

(BBC)

What is it about: Deliberately mispronouncing a name may be a political agenda and should be taken as a sign of microagression. Many Asians have to have an English alternative to their given names.

What I think about it: This seems like a new take. People around me have mispronounced my name for as long as I can remember that I’ve decided to make things easier and cut things short by using a nickname. I don’t take it as a sign of succumbing to microaggression though. Saving the amount of time devoted to correcting someone’s pronunciation by telling others how they should call me is a bigger win for me.

Shoutout to my high school Math and CompSci teacher who made it a point to pronounce my name correctly.

These coffee snobs ban milk and sugar (BBC)

What is it about: Some coffee shops are now restricting customers from adulterating their coffee. According to the article, these coffee shops aim to re-educate their consumers in various coffee tastes. The downside of this marketing strategy is only a few coffee aficionados appreciate the idea and that regular consumers still prefer to have the freedom to choose how they want to drink their caffeinated beverage.

What I think about it: It is true that instead of tasting how the coffee is first, people just dump sugar or milk into it because it has become a part of their routine. They always do it, so why not and they like it so why change? Since I take my coffee black anyway, I don’t find it much of a big deal. In terms of preference, I still like how Starbucks or Coffee Bean have sugar packets ready when people ask for them.

The Greatest Book Blogging Myths I’ve Encountered (Avalinah’s Books, WordPress)

What is it about: This post enumerates myths Evelinah personally encountered in her book blogging journey including standards for one to receive reading copies and blog growth.

What I think about it: To be honest, before reading this post, I didn’t have a particular myth in mind that I was expecting to see in the list but reading through all those seven myths, I realized I might have had some of those thoughts in one way or another. For example, I decided to have a “schedule” for my posts some years ago when I was still unsure of my blogging niche. That included book and article reviews or anything related to learning. It amazes me though that what drives traffic to my blog is a post about INTJ 8w7.

I’ll see you guys in August.

What I Read from April to June 2021

I know I owe three months worth of articles but I also know that I don’t have the patience and the heart to cheat myself by cramming everything in one post.

Let me list what transpired in three months:

WorkRereading Harry Potter 5 and 6Reading and reviewing ARCs for The Write Reads’ Ultimate Blog TourProfessional education

Please find below the reviews I posted for the magnificent books I received from the blog tour:

Now that those four book reviews are out of the way, here are the few articles I managed to squeeze in:

Anne Lamott’s Wondrous Letter to Children About Books as Antidotes to Isolation, Portals to Perspective, and Crucibles of Self-Discovery (Brain Pickings)

What it is about: It is a very short epistle with some notes from the domain owner about the importance of reading.

What I think about it: It’s not a secret that the cheapest ticket to a different world one can have access to is a story, be it a short one or a thick novel, digital or paperback. As any other ticket one pays for, it has to be used.

Kierkegaard on Our Greatest Source of Unhappiness (Brain Pickings)

What it is about: Simply put, the greatest source of unhappiness is escapism. Some people escape to the wonderful promises of what will be (hope) and others retreat to the what was (memories).

What I think about it: Escapism is a coping mechanism that almost everyone has. By Kierkegaard’s examples though, I can say the saddest individuals are those who have lost hope in their future aspirations or those who are stuck in their regrets and can’t move on. Take my words with a grain of salt as I am not a philosopher.

How to Use Parkinson’s Law to your Advantage (Lifehack)

What it is about: This article talks about how to allot enough time for a task depending on the effort it needs.

What I think about it: As this article was recommended by a colleague, I couldn’t help but associate it to work-related tasks and not the personal ones I try to get through in order to call myself productive. Working in the tech industry, where ‘sprint’ and ‘timeline’ are common jargons, helps bring the idea close to home. Employees must aim for efficiency now more than ever. Perhaps telecommuting or the quarantines have made some complacent with the “I have more time now” idea. Well, we have more time to put this Parkinson’s Law to practice.

By and large, changing the title of this series and the overall format proved to be helpful though not an excuse to skip my monthly updates.

What are you reading these days?

An examination of PTSD in Carole Johnstone’s “Mirrorland” #TheWriteReads #UltimateBlogTour

DISCLAIMER: THE WRITE READS AND SCRIBNER BOOKS PROVIDED ME AN ELECTRONIC COPY OF THE NOVEL MIRRORLAND BY CAROLE JOHNSTONE IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW. An Additional Disclaimer, I am not a professional psychologist and my analysis of the protagonist’s mental health is only based on my extended readings.Summary I got from Goodreads:

Twelve years ago my life began again.

But it was a lie.

With the startling twists of Gone Girl and the haunting emotional power of Room, Mirrorland is the story of twin sisters, the man they both love, and the dark childhood they can’t leave behind.

Cat lives in Los Angeles, about as far away as she can get from her estranged twin sister El and No. 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh where they grew up. As girls, they invented Mirrorland, a dark, imaginary place under the pantry stairs full of pirates, witches, and clowns. These days Cat rarely thinks about their childhood home, or the fact that El now lives there with her husband Ross.

But when El mysteriously disappears after going out on her sailboat, Cat is forced to return to the grand old house, which has scarcely changed in twenty years. No. 36 Westeryk Road is still full of shadowy, hidden corners, and at every turn Cat finds herself stumbling on long-held secrets and terrifying ghosts from the past. Because someone—El?—has left Cat clues all over the house: a treasure hunt that leads right back to Mirrorland, where she knows the truth lies crouched and waiting…

A sharply crafted mystery about love and betrayal, redemption and revenge, Mirrorland is a propulsive, page-turning debut about the power of imagination and the price of freedom. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Ruth Ware, and Daphne du Maurier.

Author’s Bio from her website:

Carole Johnstone is an award-winning writer from Scotland, whose short stories have been published all over the world. Mirrorland, a psychological suspense with a gothic twist, is her debut novel.

Having grown up in Lanarkshire, she now lives in the beautiful Argyll & Bute, and is currently working on her second novel: a very unusual murder-mystery, set in the equally beautiful Outer Hebrides.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Mirrorland

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder can be developed when a person encounters a terrifying, traumatic experience that leaves lasting impression of horror and helplessness. American Psychiatric Association (APA) enumerates the following signs of posttraumatic stress disorder: intrusion, avoidance, alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and activity.

In order for a person to be diagnosed with PTSD, according to National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), an adult must exhibit these symptoms for at least a month:

At least one re-experiencing symptomAt least one avoidance symptomAt least two arousal and reactivity symptomsAt least two cognition and mood symptoms

This is my attempt in examining Cat’s PSTD as shown in Mirrorland based on those signs.

Side note: My closest exposure to PTSD is Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife’s bout against Geostigma so I know I need to tread carefully. I also read a couple of helpful articles that you might want to check out at the bottom of this post.

Intrusion

As defined by APA, having intrusive, repetitive and involuntary thoughts in the middle of a mundane activity is a common symptom of PTSD. Memories of El might have been triggered by the news of her death so it might be natural for Cat to recall those. Instances when Cat suddenly recalls her past when doing absolutely mindless routines such as climbing up and down the stairs or the more complicated activity of preparing breakfast pepper the novel and adds to the jumpscare factor. When Cat is on the prowl for more clues in El’s treasure hunt, she recalls bits and pieces of events in her first life; some of which are so vivid that she coils for suddenly hearing a castigating voice from someone who is not there.

Avoidance

Avoidance is a typical coping mechanism for many who want to get rid or escape a stressor. Some just don’t want to face their problems head on. For people suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, it is extreme.

Cat has tried to put as much physical distance as she can between El and her but that is only after the event that traumatized them. It has been twelve years since Cat left England for America and she only returns after the news about her missing sister reaches her.

Not only in distance and time does Cat avoid anything to do with El and Ross, El’s husband and Cat’s childhood friend. She has also avoided her memories that bits and pieces of El’s messages and diary entries have to urge her to remember. She disassociates herself from those memories so severely, and even as a child, she had the habit of making herself forget unpleasant things which El called her out for. What is interesting to note is Catriona can recall her childhood fantasies in Mirrorland so vividly, she can remember her disappointment when El gave her the Black Spot, threatening her of banishment from Mirrorland, yet she has conveniently forgotten important events and even existence of real people like Mouse. Only in the second part of the novel do we, as the readers, get to understand why.

Alterations in cognition and mood

Cat has altered her memories so much that horrifying details of her past only become seemingly irrational fears such as the presence of a monster in the house. She has weaved fantasies and childhood fairy tales with her real memories that she can’t identify her antagonists or where her fear comes from, that they appear to be fairy tales, a story of adventure that she once used to live in because it is easier to ‘recall’ them that way, that she and El were only running away from a make believe pirate.

As she grapples with her make-believe antagonists, she also endures threats from an unknown source. Because of her current state of mind, she finds it difficult to place her trust on other people like Marie, Vik or Detective Inspector Rafiq, often suspecting them of having hidden motivation (to be honest, her conclusion isn’t far off).

Alterations in arousal and reactivity

Spoiler: Cat has bouts of recklessness including involving herself in a sexual relationship with her twin’s husband. She knows it goes against moral principles. She knows it isn’t right otherwise there wasn’t anything for her to hide but she did it anyway. Catriona’s recklessness, not her sexual appetite, and the fact that she has always blamed her actions on her dead-or missing– twin sister, El, and the latter’s manipulating tendencies are the arousals being assessed in terms of PTSD. As the story progresses, Catriona drowns her grief and guilt with alcohol because when she doesn’t, she experiences anxiety attacks like difficulty in breathing, chest tightening and dizziness. On days when she can function and go outside, she is hypersensitive, having the feeling of being observed and followed. Even the tinkle of the special bells in the Mirror House is enough to put her on edge.

My Thoughts on Mirrorland

Mirrorland perfectly captures Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Catriona’s persona. Since she narrates the story, the audience witnesses how the mystery unravels from Cat’s addled mind. She takes us with her back to the place where her trauma is the strongest, reliving painful events and then disassociating herself using her fantasies. Through the limitation of the first person point of view, the identity of the antagonists are perfectly hidden and only through connecting Bluebeard and Blackbeard to the characters’ behavior can readers distinguish fantasies from reality.

To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of how the novel wraps up but perhaps, Cat has suffered enough and she deserves a reprieve. I’m saying this from the point of view of someone who has had her socks knocked off by the suspense. I love how it i built in the novel: I know El’s disappearance must be solved but there is something more mysterious that has to be uncovered. As a reader, I couldn’t just drop the book in the middle of reading otherwise I would get lost in Catriona’s whirpool of thoughts. The combination the ghosts of a make believe world and the horrors of real life is so effective. If I were writing a blurb for a suspense movie, words like “Spectacularly gripping!” or “It kept me at the edge of my seat!” would be expected to appear in a post and those phrases are exactly how I can describe my experience in reading Mirrorland.

Footnotes:Brewin CR. Memory and Forgetting. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2018 Aug 28;20(10):87. doi: 10.1007/s11920-018-0950-7. PMID: 30155780; PMCID: PMC6132786.NIMH » Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder [Internet]. Nimh.nih.gov. 2021 [cited 2021 Jun 26]. Available from: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/What Is PTSD?. (2021). Retrieved 26 June 2021, from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd

Another Achievement: Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification

Some information in the certificate were intentionally hidden so don’t be alarmed why the certificate number has some digits missing or that the QR code has a four-pointed star in the middle or that the initials are too far apart.

Several considerations come into play when pursuing a Master’s Degree. Does one have enough time to focus on it? Which university offers the best course and tools for one’s needs? What about resources? Can one pay for this Master’s Degree in full?

These considerations have their corresponding ideal answers. One can always make time for studying unless other aspects of his or her life demand a huge chunk of his or her time. There are a number of universities offering distance learning that also include live discussions in Zoom or other meeting platforms at an affordable price or easier mode of payment.

But there is one question that remains difficult to answer: Does one pursue his/her own interest or that which could advance his/her career? The response to this leads to another cycle of questions: Will one be willing to spend this amount of money to pursue his/her interest or should one ask for his or her employer to sponsor professional education? Will the course instructor be good or a Youtube content creator can help explain ideas better? Will it be worth the time spent on it? Will this be relevant in the next five years or so?

Welcome aboard my train of thought.

I enrolled myself in an online certification training for Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt in a platform recommended by a good friend. Apart from having an advancement in my career, my motivation was primarily to learn something that I could eventually apply not only at work but in real life and would not go to waste. I’m glad to report that the training addressed my needs for and interest in professional education:

Time – Since, the training was self-paced, I could study at ease and adjust my schedule when I saw fit.Resource – The training price was relatively cheap compared to other Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certifications available online.Trainer – The Master Black Belt trainer was commendable, and though I’m pretty sure a five-hour introduction to LSSYB is available on Youtube, he used local references to bridge concepts together.Affiliation – The platform boasted its affiliation with Council for Six Sigma Certification.Career Advancement – I received a number of tools for that I may use in my field of work. How to use these tools was also included in the training.Interest – DMAIC concepts were related to real-time scenarios for better appreciation.Long-term investment – Yellow Belt in Lean Six Sigma is only an introduction, more of an awareness stage, but it provides groundwork for higher tiers of Six Sigma.

TLDR version: The Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification does not address my want for a Master’s Degree but it addresses my need for Professional Training and Development.

It’s apples to oranges, but at least for now, I know I won’t pursue any master’s degree for the sake of finishing one and while I’m still considering things, there are other professional education options I can avail.

Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Shards of Earth” Completely Blew Me Away #TheWriteReads #UltimateBlogTour

DISCLAIMER: THE WRITE READS AND Black Crow PR PROVIDED ME AN E-ARC OF THE NOVEL Shards of Earth BY adrian tchaikovsky IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEWSummary I got from Goodreads:

The Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author of Children of Time brings us an extraordinary space opera about humanity on the brink of extinction, and how one man’s discovery will save or destroy us all.

The war is over. Its heroes forgotten. Until one chance discovery . . .

Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade him in the war. And one of humanity’s heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel, to avoid the attention of greater powers.

After earth was destroyed, mankind created a fighting elite to save their species, enhanced humans such as Idris. In the silence of space they could communicate, mind-to-mind, with the enemy. Then their alien aggressors, the Architects, simply disappeared—and Idris and his kind became obsolete.

Now, fifty years later, Idris and his crew have discovered something strange abandoned in space. It’s clearly the work of the Architects—but are they returning? And if so, why? Hunted by gangsters, cults and governments, Idris and his crew race across the galaxy hunting for answers. For they now possess something of incalculable value, that many would kill to obtain.

Author’s Bio:

Adrian Tchaikovsky was born in Lincolnshire before heading off to Reading to study psychology
and zoology. For reasons unclear even to himself he subsequently ended up in law and has
worked as a legal executive in both Reading and Leeds, where he now lives with his wife and
son. He’s the author of the critically acclaimed Shadows of the Apt series, the Echoes of the Fall
trilogy, and The Doors of Eden. Children of Time was the winner of the 30th Anniversary Arthur C.
Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aptshadow

Website: http://shadowsoftheapt.com/

How Shards of Earth impressed me

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I’ve got nothing but praises for this novel. Shards of Earth, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s first novel in The Final Architect series, has been living in my head rent-free for a week now and I can’t help but think about what is going to happen to the fictional universe or its characters while doing the dishes or exercising. In my book, that’s always a good thing. Here are the reasons why:

World Building

In his science fiction novel Shards of Earth, Tchaikovsky created a new universe where race is more complex than skin color yet politics remains to be governed by greed or need. An imaginary town or village is already impressive, how much more a universe with different planetary systems, creatures and their respective civilization? Fancy going to a planet where the only breathable air is near the core or, if you’re feeling adventurous, one where the trees- or creatures that look like them- pose a serious threat to anything that moves, this novel will take you there.

Suspense

For someone like me who believes that our solar system may be gobbled up by a black hole, the tension presented by the Architect, a destroyer of worlds that restructured the Earth into an art, is real. The novel will remind you of the imminent danger the Architects pose. Like Voldemort is to Harry Potter, Architects are the past, present, and future of the characters, primarily the Vulture God‘s crew. However, there is a bigger threat lurking in unspace and the fact that the characters, particularly Idris, can feel it watching them but can’t see what it is makes the suspense stronger.

Character Building

If I could, I would draw parallelisms between Star Wars and Shards of Earth, but I can’t so I won’t. I can share with you though that while I was reading the novel, whenever Kit and Trine were in the scene, I imagined R2D2 and C3PO, except Kit was a Hanni (crab-shaped alien) and was very much into finances.

The characters properly introduced in the novel are so fleshed out that I can’t help but root for them. I completely understand the importance of a character’s death in the plot, but killing a father figure, whose temperament can be interpreted based on the endearments he uses, in order to strengthen the bond and goal of the crew doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking. Apologies to Tchaikovsky, but I definitely think he owes me one.

Another commendable aspect of the novel is how I get to see a character’s perspectives and the situations that might have contributed to them. I understand Olli’s resentment of the Angels of Parthenon just as much as I understand Solace’s ‘priviledged’ point of view.

My Thoughts on Shards of Earth

This novel made me feel things that I usually reserve for Harry Potter and One Piece. For someone who’s not big on having crewmates and stuff in real life, loyalty tugs my heartstrings. I would need to borrow Kit’s translator to convey my feelings. If I were to rank the new novels I read so far this year, I would place Shards of Earth at the top spot. It has everything I look for in a novel: world building, fleshed out identifiable characters, the pacing of the story, and best of all, space travel. I could probably create a review that would focus on the archetypes and tropes present in the sci-fi novel but I will just wait for the next novel to be released.

210526 Leaving Penumbra (or the raw shots I took of this month’s lunar eclipse’s final stages)

progress from bottom right corner to top left corner

I had the opportunity to witness the moon as it left the Earth’s penumbra.

It made me realize two things: first, I could be quite patient with the right kind of stuff and second, my amateur astronomer self could thank the advancement in technology.

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