Financial success has come with an unthinkable price tag. There are no grey areas when it comes to survival.
This is quite a hard book to rate, especiaFinancial success has come with an unthinkable price tag. There are no grey areas when it comes to survival.
This is quite a hard book to rate, especially as it's a collection of speeches and not something with a flowing consistent plot. There was a lot of repetition which makes sense in speeches but it really started to annoy me in book from making me think this was probably not the best way to put the message of the climate crisis across. The amount of times I heard 'our house is on fire' for example, did my head in a little.
My main issue with the book however is that it gave no solutions and just repeated the same message: 'stop releasing greenhouse gases.' There was nothing about what the average person can do to reduce their carbon emissions, something that would have been highly useful to read about instead of hearing over and over that it's the fault of large global companies and now future generations have to struggle with the damage they have left. The companies are not going to read this, so to me the speeches in book form seemed kind of pointless and boring at times if I'm honest, to get through. 'We must change almost everything in our current societies', and then she doesn't explain how. The why certainly comes across but she annoyingly explains no further. Instead of publishing speeches, an informative and practical book teaching people how to be more environmentally friendly would have been so much better. Do I see this book as a cash grab? Kind of, and it sucks.
At the beginning Greta states that her speeches are not political statements which they absolutely are. At around 30% she mentions the politics we need are currently non-existent and politicians don't care. Maybe don’t include politics if you said you wouldn’t..?
Don't you think that a 16 year old can speak for herself?
I think Greta is wonderful person including everyone who supports her. There were phrases like 'Aspergers is not a disease, it is a gift', that must be amazing for young people with disabilities to hear as it can inspire them to lead actual change with the many current issues we have in the world. The book triggers an emotional response as you read which I think is what Greta was aiming for, clearly shown with the action that has come from her public appearances and protests. Being only 16 she's got more guts than most figures in positions of power having a sincere want to do things for good. The format and pointlessness of this book just wasn't it.
Although this book isn't stating anything new about the issue of climate change, it is nonetheless a powerful and inspiring collection of speeches from someone with a big heart who aims to change the world. Big love for this girl. 2.5/5 stars....more
I really loved the concept and idea of this book - a well known classic turned into poetry form with some of the authors own twists and t2.5/5 stars.
I really loved the concept and idea of this book - a well known classic turned into poetry form with some of the authors own twists and turns. I liked the structure of the writing as it was very pretty and overall its just a simple read to fly through in an afternoon. Some lines I thought were especially lovely:
’Her tiny hands shook as she began to dive deeper for this water was not fit for living souls or creatures this part of the ocean was toxic and she knew this at once from the collection of bones which were turning to dust.’
Sadly there were a few things I didn't personally end up liking. I'm rarely a fan of the instalove trope unless it comes across in a unique way which here it wasn't. There also wasn't anything that made me feel for the characters, I didn't feel any emotion for either of the two. I thought some of the rhymes were basic and some phrases just seemed like the author was trying to add anything that would make it rhyme even if it didn't make much sense to me for example:
’Why did Nikolai fear others so? when he possessed a heart of gold, yet emotion he struggled to show.’ Fearing other people isn't showing an emotion? Also I think the tenses are a bit wrong in the sentence: yet doesn't really fit with the rest.
I am definitely up to reading more from this poet however in the future as I think I'll be able to find a gold gem I'll end up loving, especially if there are more based on classic tales. Hope to see more....more
My friend gave me her copies to borrow of this series since she was really excited about the new The Umbrella Academy TV series that has just come ouMy friend gave me her copies to borrow of this series since she was really excited about the new The Umbrella Academy TV series that has just come out. She really enjoyed the graphic novels and therefore recommended them to me, hoping I'd become just as interested.
This was a nice read although confusing at times since the art style (although unique) was not the easiest to comprehend what was going on in every box. I liked the concept of the story very much but don't think the execution was as good as it could've been.
I will the checking out the new TV series after reading this. Would recommend. 2.5 stars. ...more
2.5 stars. It was good up until the end where it was a abrupt and confusing. I liked the historical element of the play with Russia’s history and was 2.5 stars. It was good up until the end where it was a abrupt and confusing. I liked the historical element of the play with Russia’s history and was overall a quick, pretty easy read. ...more
I was listening to the audiobook so I don’t know if the reading experience is any different but I found certai2.5/5 stars. Great idea, poor execution.
I was listening to the audiobook so I don’t know if the reading experience is any different but I found certain chapters in this fairly boring to get through. Story was creative, main character really annoying and the writing okay. Won’t be reading the next one anytime soon....more
2.5 stars. More complex writing in this one (for a middle grade book) and the author makes contradicting points like describing the mountains as squar2.5 stars. More complex writing in this one (for a middle grade book) and the author makes contradicting points like describing the mountains as square but also vertically sloping? However I did still enjoy it overall but it just wasn’t as engaging or interesting as some other books in the series....more
2.5 stars. You could clearly tell by the writing in this book that Schwab is aiming for a younger audience than with her other books, so maybe I’m jus2.5 stars. You could clearly tell by the writing in this book that Schwab is aiming for a younger audience than with her other books, so maybe I’m just the wrong demographic for this but the story just felt really.. simple?
The writing seemed basic to me and the plot didn’t hold much interest. I did like the characters though, even if they didn’t really stand out. This book could’ve been longer in my opinion and then it wouldn’t have felt so mediocre, but I’m still excited to read more Schwab in the future. Whether I’ll pick up the sequel when it comes out, I don’t think so....more
This was much better than Milk and Honey in my opinion, (gave it 1 star) and while poetry without a distinct form isn’t really my taste I 2.5/5 stars.
This was much better than Milk and Honey in my opinion, (gave it 1 star) and while poetry without a distinct form isn’t really my taste I did like a lot of the poems within....more
2.5/3 out of 5 stars, not too sure. This took me a while to finish, more than I thought it would and it’s because it just dragged on by the end. The b2.5/3 out of 5 stars, not too sure. This took me a while to finish, more than I thought it would and it’s because it just dragged on by the end. The beginning was so good, I was engaged and was immersed into learning about the psychology and development of humans and the way we created the society that exists today.
Chapter 8 was my favourite and honestly was so informative and made you think. A couple chapters after that, couldn’t help but start getting bored.
To get it over with, I just had it playing in the background when doing other things and I couldn’t help but barely take any of it in. It was boring about 60% onwards and I just didn’t care about what was being said.
Overall would recommend but only the first half really, because that was really good. It just slacked off from the middle till the end sadly....more
This was an okay read. I'm very familiar with the musical adaptation of the book which I enjoy to an extent and this was very similar. There were timeThis was an okay read. I'm very familiar with the musical adaptation of the book which I enjoy to an extent and this was very similar. There were times where I was interested and I thought the book was sending a good message and other moments where it just seemed a bit stupid. I didn't get bored reading it though which is good and the writing although not amazing, didn't bother me at all. I listened to the audiobook version and I really liked the addition of a song playing from the musical whenever a character sang in the book. If you want to read this, I recommend the audio for a more entertaining experience.
I bought this for I LOVE ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Wilde and thought I’d try something else of his. The title of this caught me instantly and I I bought this for I LOVE ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Wilde and thought I’d try something else of his. The title of this caught me instantly and I bought it as quick as I could as I thought it would be a nice, perhaps witty, short story. Turns out, it’s a book of quotes... not that I didn’t like it, there were a few I really enjoyed especially those around acting and art. However many didn’t catch my attention and weren’t very memorable and overall was an okay book for me. I love the idea around this though and will read more Wilde in the future....more
Quick read even though the first chapter is quite difficult to take in - as well, it is about thousands of years ago and it is heavy about stuff we doQuick read even though the first chapter is quite difficult to take in - as well, it is about thousands of years ago and it is heavy about stuff we don't know or have much interest in today. I love how the quick summaries are very detailed however small, and all give a general idea of each period of time at different places around the world. Big problem, after I finished I remembered more or less one paragraph out of the whole book for it wasn’t very memorable at all. Recommend for those interested in history if you need to something as reference but think it could also be nice for geography enthusiasts too, 3 stars.
Edit: Bringing this down to 2.5 stars as compared to other 3 Star books I have rated I definitely enjoyed this less than them. Overall, still very informative!...more
It wasn't a bad book. However I’d say it is very overhyped and the story wasn't much of a grabber overall. The Simon Snow extracts were boring in my oIt wasn't a bad book. However I’d say it is very overhyped and the story wasn't much of a grabber overall. The Simon Snow extracts were boring in my opinion and I'm not interested in reading 'Carry On' by Rowell as I think it'll just be the same. Again, not a bad book if you want something to just read making you feel no emotions and keep a bland face throughout.
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