When I picked up It’s the World’s Birthday Today, to be honest, I didn’t know who Flake, the author, was. Of course I knew who the band Rammstein were – I grew up with their music being quite popular with the rock crowd. But they were not a band I’d ever listened to, personally. I was a rock chick too,…
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The Lady Astronaut’s Saga Continues The Relentless Moon (Lady Astronaut #3) by Mary Robinette Kowal, ★★★★☆ 4 stars
A few years ago, when I read the first book of The Lady Astronaut series, I fell in love. The initial story was wrapped up with the first two books, so I didn’t really think there would be a sequel. To my big (and pleasant) surprise, 2020 saw at least one good thing happen (okay, one more good thing besides…
Continue Reading→A Book That Reminded Me How Magical Our Bodies Actually Are The Remarkable Life of the Skin by Monty Lyman, ★★★★☆ 4 stars
Have you ever wondered how our skin works? I have. So I read a book about it. The Remarkable Life of the Skin taught me that the name of the book truly stands up – our skin IS remarkable. It made me feel so much reverence to the miracle that is our bodies! I need to read more books like…
Continue Reading→It’s High Time I Reviewed Another Astronaut Memoir! How to Astronaut: Everything You Need to Know Before Leaving Earth by Terry Virts
It’s been a while since I reviewed an astronaut memoir. Knowing how much of a space book buff I am, it’s a wonder. I swear I have at least 20 books about astronauts on my Kindle, a few of them memoirs for sure. I should really pick them up more often! And having just finished How to Astronaut by Terry…
Continue Reading→Cats + Science = You Definitely Want To Read That Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics by Gregory J. Gbur, ★★★★✬ 4.5 stars
Gosh I loved this book! Science + cats? Oh hell yes. How wouldn’t I like it? When you read the blurb or otherwise learn about a book that somebody has written on falling cats and the science around it, you inevitably think – wait, is this for real? This is seriously a book? You’d be tempted to think it’s ONLY…
Continue Reading→Do You Think Barbie Is Timeless? And Do You Know Her History? Barbie Forever: Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy by Robin Gerber
Did you have a Barbie when you were growing up? I suppose most of us did, at least the ones in the West. Although at the time when I was growing up, my country wasn’t “the West” yet at all. It was just coming out of the Soviet days. But that made Barbie all the more of a miracle for…
Continue Reading→What If Jules Verne’s Nautilus Was Actually Built? Well, Someone Looked Into This The Design and Construction of the Nautilus by Demetri Capetanopoulos, ★★★★✬ 4.5 stars
It’s hard to even start reviewing The Design and Construction of the Nautilus, because its so unique and just so stunning. Have you ever wondered what would happen if the machines from your favorite scifi could be brought to life, at least in the form of blueprints and calculations? Of course, some of those might be well off limits –…
Continue Reading→It’s Mini-Review Time! Real Story: Woman Saves Her Jewish Family In WWII Managing Bubbie by Russel Lazega, ★★★★★ 5 stars
Managing Bubbie was a fast and very enjoyable read. It’s got two layers – the story is told in alternating chapters of Bubbie Lea’s old age in the United States and her impossibly hard youth, navigating nazi Europe and looking for a way to keep her family alive. The story is masterfully written – I couldn’t pry myself away. And…
Continue Reading→Traveling From Your Living Room: Another Camino de Santiago Memoir I Loved Walking to the End of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino De Santiago by Beth Jusino
I finished Walking to the End of the World several weeks ago, but I am still feeling a reading hangover, so to say – I still wish I was reading it. I keep catching myself stuck in how I imagined the places the book talked about the the way it made me feel. It’s like I almost went there myself.…
Continue Reading→The Best Moon Mission Book I’ve Ever Read, Without Doubt Moon Mission: The Epic 400-Year Journey to Apollo 11 by Sigmund Brouwer
This book was awesome! So awesome, in fact, it was like a breath of fresh air in my several-months-long reading and blogging slump. It’s Moon Mission that got me out of my hiatus, because I was actually so excited to write the review! Let me start with the fact that while it may be written with teens in mind, its…
Continue Reading→A Story of Love, Friendship And Spirituality – In A Magical Setting The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak, ★★★★★ 5 stars
The Forty Rules of Love has been on my wish list for a long time, and I wish I had got to it sooner. I instantly fell in love with it! Although, when I think about it, maybe it’s best to read books when you’ve forgotten even the blurb. This is how I picked up the forty Rules of Love…
Continue Reading→Heavy Flow by Amanda Laird: How Much Do You Know About What Happens To You Monthly? And Why Are We So Uncomfortable When It Comes To Talking About Menstruation?
I’ve noticed that when it comes to books for review, I often enjoy nonfiction the most – and Heavy Flow by Amanda Laird was no exception. I think this is an absolute MUST READ for every woman (in this case, I mean biologically). There are so many things we don’t talk about that make up the experience of being a…
Continue Reading→To the Edge of the Sky by Anhua Gao, ★★★★★ 5 stars Exploring The Depths Of Human Existence Through Hardship
Now that I look back, I realize I should have read To The Edge of the Sky much sooner. But for some reason, it took me a year to get to it. I got it after I read a great review by a friend, but reading real stories from 20th century China is usually quite depressing, so maybe I just…
Continue Reading→The Things That A Year of Living Kindly by Donna Cameron Taught Me How Kindness Is Not A Weakness, But A Strength
We’re living in a world that severely lacks kindness. From doors having to be locked to ensure safety to the cold shouder given to a stranger who needs help – we do not practice kindness often enough, thinking it only makes us weaker. Which is quite the opposite! Kindness is not weakness – on the contrary, kindness is a superpower…
Continue Reading→Reasons to Read What Would Boudicca Do by Beth Coates and Elizabeth Foley And The Women In It That Have Inspired Me
Despite championing the cause of feminism and equality, we often find ourselves hazy on a lot of achievements by women – especially non-contemporary women. Why is that? Perhaps because history is written by the winners, and those who rebel have often been erased. Well, the book What Would Boudicca Do? sets out to right this wrong, and it does it…
Continue Reading→I’ve Been Thinking (And Reading) About Anxiety And Worrying Featuring The Worrier's Guide to the End of the World by Torre DeRoche
Is there a season for worrying, do you think? A GIF of the full moon with a cloud passing over it Is there a season for worrying, when we’re more anxious than at other times? Perhaps for most people, it’s the full moon, or maybe spring, when the seasons are changing. For me though? Life is the season for worrying.…
Continue Reading→Theatre, Acting, Positivity and a Dash of Reality The Town in Bloom by Dodie Smith and Playing to the Gods by Peter Rader
Oddly enough, although I have nothing to do with theatre and go to one very rarely, my vacation time was uncannily theatre-themed last month. First of all, I spent the start of August in a kids camp where my boyfriend works, and the camp is being led by an actress who owns a theatre. So there were a few plays by…
Continue Reading→[Nonfic] There Is Magic In Our Universe, And It’s In Science Real Quanta: How the World of Particles Is Becoming More and More Commonplace by Martijn van Calmthout
Ah, physics, my love. It’s so easy to forget you. You make yourself a tough mistress to keep – one has to always pay you attention to even remember how to talk to you or read you. But when one does, there is such a big reward. Check out on Goodreads Get at Book Depository ★★★★☆ 4 stars Real Quanta…
Continue Reading→[Nonfiction] A Harrowing Account Of Escaping Domestic Violence No Fourth River by Christine Clayfield
When I was asked to review this title, I was both captivated, and also a little apprehensive – captivated, because all the reviews seem to be SO GOOD! If you look at the Goodreads or Amazon pages for No Fourth River? It all seems to be 4-5 stars. Why apprehensive then? Because this book talks about a very sensitive topic –…
Continue Reading→[General lit] Vicious..ly Odd, But Really Good? + Added Reality For Kicks Vicious by V.E. Schwab + Real Life Super Heroes by Nadia Fezzani
Trying my first V.E. Schwab book, I wasn’t sure what to expect – her books seem to be really big in the community, and yet I didn’t even know which kind of books they were. Would it be funny, sad, jokey or filled with adventure? I should have known better. I mean, I know the book world now mostly goes…
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