Perhaps my expectations were too high for this, but I wasn’t as taken with it as I thought I might be. I feel like this would be a good gift for someoPerhaps my expectations were too high for this, but I wasn’t as taken with it as I thought I might be. I feel like this would be a good gift for someone who has anti-refugee or anti-migrant tendencies – if you’re already of the mindset that humans are all equal though, the messaging here is a little less enthralling. ...more
I wasn’t quite ready for this book to end! It’s a mesmerising book, full of all-too-real people and lives, multiple tales mixed up over different timeI wasn’t quite ready for this book to end! It’s a mesmerising book, full of all-too-real people and lives, multiple tales mixed up over different times and places, but somehow in a natural way. Gorgeous read, highly highly recommended. ...more
Wow. This is a gorgeous combination of memoir, science/nature, poetry, and sometimes fiction via short stories. It's not what I expected, in the best Wow. This is a gorgeous combination of memoir, science/nature, poetry, and sometimes fiction via short stories. It's not what I expected, in the best way - since I finished reading this, it's made me think a lot about not just my relationship to the earth and the world around me, but the way that I approach problems. This book sits at the intersection of scientific logic and rational thought, and listening to the world around us, caring, leading with heart, not head. It's full of fascinating facts and knowledge about plants and ecology, and also manages to be a beautiful read. ...more
I loved this book!! Such a thoughtful, engaging and insightful analysis. As a linguist-by-training who works now on tech/society issues, I’m pretty soI loved this book!! Such a thoughtful, engaging and insightful analysis. As a linguist-by-training who works now on tech/society issues, I’m pretty solidly in the target audience for this, and it was just as brilliant as I was hoping. It makes the topic accessible, at times funny, and definitely memorable – it’s made me think and rethink how I write online, from messages in Signal or WhatsApp, to emails and Twitter. I especially appreciated the non-prescriptive approach to explaining emerging norms and trends. Truly one of my favourite books this year, I’ll be gifting this on a lot! ...more
What satisfaction, to pick this up, dive in and see what happened next in a tale that has been mentioned so, so many times in recent years especially.What satisfaction, to pick this up, dive in and see what happened next in a tale that has been mentioned so, so many times in recent years especially. It's as good as I had hoped, extremely readable (despite being pretty long, it flew by) and highly recommended. ...more
The story behind this is gripping - the writing style wasn’t quite for me, though. It felt a little abrupt and more focused on pushing the storyline fThe story behind this is gripping - the writing style wasn’t quite for me, though. It felt a little abrupt and more focused on pushing the storyline forward, than it did on beauty of the words and style. Fantastic imagination and fantasy world, though! ...more
I enjoyed this! I was looking for books in translation (for women in translation month) - and came across this as a dystopian sci-fi book. It’s fairlyI enjoyed this! I was looking for books in translation (for women in translation month) - and came across this as a dystopian sci-fi book. It’s fairly dark but in a matter-of-fact way. ...more
I’m not sure this is quite sci-fi, but it’s definitely dystopian something. It reminded me of the Handmaid’s Tale, and also (in plot line only, not stI’m not sure this is quite sci-fi, but it’s definitely dystopian something. It reminded me of the Handmaid’s Tale, and also (in plot line only, not style!) of the Unbreakable Kimme Schmidt, for having women in a bunker. I really enjoyed this book, would recommend it for being able to transport the reader far from this reality, and for the story of strength, courage and learning. ...more
I’m such a fan of this book! It feels so timely and important, and covers such a wide range of research and topics. I’m so glad it exists, and have alI’m such a fan of this book! It feels so timely and important, and covers such a wide range of research and topics. I’m so glad it exists, and have already recommended it a lot (and am beginning to reference it in my own work too, as i feel like a lot of the conclusions about race science are also just as valid for technology that touches on race/ethnicity.) hugely recommended! ...more
This was a fantastic read, truly. It provides a thoughtful analysis of the role that English is playing in the world today, and the consequences not oThis was a fantastic read, truly. It provides a thoughtful analysis of the role that English is playing in the world today, and the consequences not only for Japanese speakers, but for other (formerly) major world languages. Some of the framings introduced (eg. 'english supremacy', and the idea of local, national and universal languages) are valuable tools for thinking things through. As someone who's studied languages for much of my life, I found it to be an excellent overview of the consequences of our increasing focus on English as a mode of knowledge-sharing. ...more
Ich bewerbe mich im Moment für die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft, und dieses Buch fühlt sich als viel besser Vorbereitung, als der Einbürgerungstest, deIch bewerbe mich im Moment für die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft, und dieses Buch fühlt sich als viel besser Vorbereitung, als der Einbürgerungstest, den ich machen musste. Ich wünsche mir nur, dass mehr weiße Deutsche es lesen würden. Sehr empfehlenswert!...more
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