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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Three Daughters of Eve in Books

Sep 17, 2017

Three Daughters of Eve

Elif Shafak | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Wonderfully weaved story of past and present life

Elik Shafak has a beautiful way of writing very delicate narratives. In this case, it's a story about an indecisive Turkish woman reminiscing about her past mistakes and confusions, attempting to reconcile her faith and her disbelief at every given turn.

She is now a housewife with children, when she vowed never to be such, and she has issues with her religion and questioning her belief after living between a devoutly Muslim mother and a secular father. These issues rise up again when she studies a "God" seminar at Oxford and she is pitted against her atheist Iranian friend, her Muslim housemate and her enigmatic older professor.

It is a remarkably contemporary story, weaving political attributes and current affairs. Intriguing but could have a been a little shorter.

Kudos

ClareR (5885 KP) rated Slaughterhouse 5: The Children's Crusade - A Duty-dance with Death in Books

Apr 29, 2019

This was not an easy read, and was odd in places (but that's the point of it, right?). If I'm right, it's about the pointlessness of war, and of living and dying. Anti-religion, anti-government, anti-war, basically. The act of the main character being able to move seamlessly through time gave the impression that everything had already happened, will happen again, and is yet to happen.
Confused yet? I was. Well, I was until I read some passages several times, and flicked back to certain parts. Honestly, I'm glad it wasn't any longer. This was hard work, and decidedly harrowing in places. I'm glad I've read it at last though.
I think I must have some masochistic tendencies when it comes to reading material (and not in the erotica sense, necessarily!!). I do like a book that's a challenge!

Kudos

TacoDave (3847 KP) rated The BadChristian Podcast in Podcasts

May 14, 2019

The BadChristian Podcast

Religion & Spirituality

9.0

(3 Ratings)

Podcast Rating

Funny (2 more)

Entertaining

Theology Discussions

The language/profanity (0 more)

I love these guys, but the vulgarity is a bit much at times

I've been listening to the Bad Christian Podcast since the first episode. I was a big fan of the band Emery, and two of the hosts are members of that band, while the third is a pastor.

These guys are funny and entertaining and their guests and topics - usually centered on religion, but not always - are timely and interesting. But... through the process of "deconstructing" their faith, they have gone sharply vulgar, and it frequently makes me want to stop listening. I haven't stopped yet, but the temptation is there.

If you can handle "blue" humor and lots of swearing, there's a lot to enjoy here. And if you like emo or screamo music, I definitely suggest listening to Emery.

Kudos

Sara Becker (20 KP) rated Hyperion in Books

Jan 15, 2018

Hyperion

Dan Simmons | 1989 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

Characters, plot, settings, all of it. (0 more)

One of My All-Time Favorite Series

If you like Sci-fi and haven't read the Hyperion series yet, you're doing yourself a disservice. It has wonderful plots that intertwine with each other, vivid imagery, complex characters that are so well developed that you really care what happens to them. The series delves into many topics, such as religion, philosophy, technology, war, and science. As soon as I finished this one, I picked up the other 3 in the series, without even reading a description of them. The final book made me cry. I am just starting over with this first book again, hoping to catch things I missed the first read-through.

I can't say enough good things about Dan Simmons' detailed universe in the Hyperion Cantos.

Just read it, you won't regret it.