Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their Godfathers
Roberto Saviano and Anabel Hernandez
Book
Narcoland describes a disastrous 'war on drugs' that has led to more than 80,000 deaths in half a...
Business as an Instrument for Societal Change: in Conversation with the Dalai Lama: Business as an Instrument for Societal Change
Book
Business as an Instrument for Societal Change: In Conversation with the Dalai Lama is the result of...
Inside Apartheid's Prison
Book
This important book, now with a completely new afterword is available again. First published in...
Data Driven Business: Use Real Numbers to Improve Your Business by 352%: 2016
Book
Every organisation likes to think it makes decisions based on evidence. Not just any evidence, but...
iFlyingStars
Productivity and Utilities
App
Joey Yap's iFlyingStars Tap into the positive qi of any house, property or building to greatly...
Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends - Series 2
8.1
Rate It
TV Show
Documentaries by writer and presenter Louis Theroux which delve into the weirder fringes of American...
ClareR (5726 KP) rated Future Imperfect in Books
Dec 4, 2023
In this atmosphere, Helen and Isha are attempting to return to the UK when their home in Arles is flooded, but as Isha is deemed to be Ugandan (her grandparents came from Uganda as refugees) only Helen can enter. Which for them is unacceptable. So Helen decides she must stay with Isha, and the two of them decide to make for Switzerland and an old friends mountain chalet.
But this is a world where everyone is constantly monitored, and as the weather and climate worsen, so do the actions of the French and Swiss governments. To be caught is to potentially be killed.
Jana, Helen and Isha’s adopted daughter, decides to follow her parents. Unlike them, she is permitted to be in France, so her journey, whilst difficult with her small daughter, is much easier.
AI is needed for every aspect of life in this world, and it’s the ideal way to track those who really don’t want to be tracked. Everything needs to be paid for using this method as well. Fortunately, Helen and Isha meet a terrorist organisation who agree to help them. They’re not the only ones to help the women. It just goes to prove that there are good people everywhere in times of need, they just need to be brave enough to step forward.
There’s a lot to think about in this story and a lot of what happens is already happening to a lesser degree (so far!): floods, fires, famine. The future this novel paints is not a good one.
Oddly, I really enjoyed this, as I do with all of these imperfect future novels. There were parts in the story where I didn’t really want to read on, because I didn’t want bad things to happen to these good people, but I’m so glad I did.
Read with The Pigeonhole.
BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated What Did I Do? in Books
Nov 4, 2018
This is an odd book, but despite its haphazard beginnings, by the three-quarter mark I was hooked and could not put it down!
The first chapter runs from the viewpoint of the somewhat mentally disturbed Kristin, who has recently immigrated to Sweden following the death of her husband, Brandon, which she suspects that she caused (cause of death being an allergic reaction to nuts).
The following chapter runs from the viewpoint of Frank, who has just returned from a holiday with his wife, Birgitta, to learn that his son, Anders, has been murdered. The couple suspect that Anders was murdered by his sister, their daughter Sofia.
Frank hires a private to track down Sofia, who, it transpires, is Kristin by another name. Frank and Birgitta also immigrate to Sweden. Despite Frank’s anger at Sofia, he wants to confront her personally rather than hand her over to the police.
Interspersed between chapters on Kristen and Frank, are chapters taken from the viewpoint of a young woman who finds herself the victim of an organisation of pimps, and feels trapped in an unwanted lifestyle. For a long time in the book, it was hard to see how this had any relevance to Kristen’s or Frank’s story, but it all came together at the three quarter point, and the action heated up as characters found each other.
While reading the earlier chapters, I had a strong feeling that there had been a lot going on behind the scenes and that characters were often unaware of the whole story.
There were some characters and elements to the story that, although they were critical to the plot, often felt unnecessary, such as Kristen’s therapy sessions, and chapters from the viewpoint of a neighbour.
What was good about this book was the believability of the story telling, which I imagine would be hard to pull off, given that the subject matter includes murders and sex trafficking.
I had chosen this book hoping it would be like Memory Box by Eva Lesko Natiello where the protagonist uncovers clue after mysterious clue, but in this book the clues were few and far between.
I don’t normally make educated guesses as to who is the culprit in a mystery, but on this occasion I did and I was partly right (no spoilers).
The story’s ending and epilogue left me feeling satisfied that justice had been served.
Overall I did enjoy the book, but I’m not inclined to read more from the author. Although the writing kept me interested, it felt like reading 3 different stories that barely linked together.
Beyond Shareholder Wealth Maximisation: Towards a More Suitable Corporate Objective for Chinese Companies
Book
Corporate objective, namely, for whose interests should a company be run, is the most important...