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ClareR (6253 KP) rated Humankind in Books

Jun 9, 2020  
Humankind
Humankind
Rutger Bregman | 2020 | Essays, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Science & Mathematics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Humankind sets out to prove that human beings are essentially nice people who want to help other people. Except over the centuries, philosophers, politicians and other influential people have told us the complete opposite - to the point that we believe it. I think Bregman is successful at this as well. Help does come in the most unexpected places, as we’ve seen recently in towns and cities across the UK during the coronavirus pandemic. Yes, there are those who take advantage of others, but I’d like to believe that they’re in the minority.

This is a really engaging, easy to read book, with some great examples. Bregman looks at studies and experiments that all types of scientists have done, and also looks at some real life examples.

This book left me feeling very positive about the state of humanity, and I hope that the good people in our societies will always outnumber the bad.

I really do highly recommend this if you’re prevaricating over whether to read it or not. It’s a great read.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and Rutger Bregman for reading along!
  
Symptoms of Being Human
Symptoms of Being Human
Jeff Garvin | 2016 | LGBTQ+, Young Adult (YA)
9
9.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Very informative about a gender fluid teen and the daily struggles. (0 more)
No problems that I noticed (0 more)
Adorable! Highly recommend!!
Very well written, and is great to show people the gender fluid/ non-gender side of LGBT. ? it shows struggles and how they deal with it. Also there isn't a romance here, which most LGBT do have some kind of romance plot, but this book doesn't. Which is great for those who don't want mushy stuff or romance. ??? VERY highly recommend!!!
  
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Eleanor (1463 KP) created a post in Smashbomb Feedback

Jun 14, 2019  
Just a suggestion here, why not add the ability to recommend similar movies, books, games etc to what you are reviewing. A box that would then serve as a link to those recommendations might help people find other items that they may enjoy. If a particular thing has multiple suggestions that it is similar to something that could then be added to the main page of the item. For example Gone girl might have a link to something like Girl on the Train.
  
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Eleanor (1463 KP) Jun 24, 2019

Probably of more general use on the item page. Then if you are browsing, for example to find a film you u might want to watch now, you can go to one you have previoysly liked for suggestions.

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Bird (1704 KP) Jun 24, 2019

Ok, thanks @Eleanor :)

    Bucci Radio

    Bucci Radio

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    The Bucci Radio Podcast was created with the purpose of diving deeper into health, fitness, mindset,...

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Malin Akerman recommended Annie Hall (1977) in Movies (curated)

 
Annie Hall (1977)
Annie Hall (1977)
1977 | Comedy, Romance

"Love Annie Hall. Everything is so random in his films but it’s also so grounded, and it’s so nice to watch. I like when you watch a film and you feel like you’re a part of somebody’s life for an hour and a half. It feels all improvisational, but it’s interesting, it moves along and it has a good story. And it’s just nice to see those people, because there are, you know, mistakes, which becomes the magic of the film."

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The Muddleheaded Wombat
The Muddleheaded Wombat
Ruth Park | 1990 | Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"This was the first in a series of books that feature a mouse, a vain cat, and a wombat. Everything the wombat says is nonsense (“Oh wonderful, fish—my favorite fruit.”), and it made me howl with laughter as a kid. I was brought up in East Africa, and was at school with all the international kids. We’d all been given our copies of A.A.Milne and Dr. Seuss, but people know those books. The Muddleheaded Wombat deserves a place among them."

Source
  
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Mia Farrow recommended Worse Than War in Books (curated)

 
Worse Than War
Worse Than War
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"In Worse than War, Goldhagen lays out the elements; in order for genocide to take place, certain key components must be present: a leader with a political agenda who is able to use people’s existing fears, grievances, convictions or prejudices to convince them that another group poses a threat to their own security and well-being. Details are organised and put into action. Ordinary people choose to participate. Those with the power to halt the killing choose to do nothing."

Source
  
The Secret Midwife
The Secret Midwife
Soraya M. Lane | 2023 | History & Politics
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I find books about the Holocaust difficult to review and rate because anything that highlights and keeps the memory alive of all those who perished under that despicable regime is deserving of 5 stars from me and The Secret Midwife is no different.

Although a work of fiction, the author bases her characters on real people who went through the horrors of World War II some of whom miraculously survived when millions of others did not.

The Secret Midwife focuses on the stories of Emelia and Aleksy. Emelia is a midwife who risks her life supporting ALL women regardless of race or religion to give birth safely. Aleksy is a doctor who tries to save his town during occupation. Unfortunately, both were discovered and transported to the hell-hole that was Auschwitz however, they continued to try and care and help their fellow prisoners despite having no resources or equipment and the ongoing risk of immediate selection and execution.

As you can imagine, this is an emotional, harrowing and heart-breaking story but it's also one of bravery and how, despite the ongoing threats, some people did everything they could to help ease the suffering of those around them and whilst Emelia, Aleksy and some of the other characters aren't real people, they and their story will stay with me for some time.

Highly recommended to those of you who enjoy reading historical fiction; this is a must read and I have to thank Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Secret Midwife.