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Bhagavad Gita Discourses
Podcast
The Song Celestial unfolds a dialogue of the advice given by an avatar or God incarnate. The...
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind in Books
Nov 20, 2017 (Updated Nov 20, 2017)
A good effort to tackle this mammoth subject but ends a little disappointingly
I am slightly on the fence about this book. No doubt, it's no mean feat to attempt to describe the beginning of civilisation, but I feel the author Yuval Noah Harari may have overstretched himself.
What begins as a scientific exploration in to the separation or perhaps merging of the distinct human genuses ie. Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals, quickly becomes a political and social study. As a result, the book begins well but deteriorates as he moves away from a more analytical approach.
As the story moves towards times that we are more familiar with, it's not enough for the writer to tell us what happened, and perhaps share some of his pet theories on the sweep of history. Instead, we get increasingly speculative interpretations of what the author thinks are the big ideas in history. He takes no care to qualify these grand statements of opinion, but instead presents them as facts.
While I agree with his anthropological assertions surrounding religion as a method of homogenising populations and allowing flow of information, many reviews seem to be quite antagonistic towards this point of view and as a result there are definitely two camps of thoughts in regards to this book.
However, his whitewashing of colonialism and imperial rule is disparaging, literally explaining the benefits reaped by colonised countries from such destructive regimes, glossing over partition and genocide. Overall, I think that it is written well, but there are too many opinions and not enough evidence-based arguments.
What begins as a scientific exploration in to the separation or perhaps merging of the distinct human genuses ie. Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals, quickly becomes a political and social study. As a result, the book begins well but deteriorates as he moves away from a more analytical approach.
As the story moves towards times that we are more familiar with, it's not enough for the writer to tell us what happened, and perhaps share some of his pet theories on the sweep of history. Instead, we get increasingly speculative interpretations of what the author thinks are the big ideas in history. He takes no care to qualify these grand statements of opinion, but instead presents them as facts.
While I agree with his anthropological assertions surrounding religion as a method of homogenising populations and allowing flow of information, many reviews seem to be quite antagonistic towards this point of view and as a result there are definitely two camps of thoughts in regards to this book.
However, his whitewashing of colonialism and imperial rule is disparaging, literally explaining the benefits reaped by colonised countries from such destructive regimes, glossing over partition and genocide. Overall, I think that it is written well, but there are too many opinions and not enough evidence-based arguments.
LucyB (47 KP) rated Three Daughters of Eve in Books
Jul 23, 2017
Powerful, thought-provoking story
I was really happy to receive Three Daughters of Eve on Netgalley, as I'd recently read an interview with the author and thought the book sounded fascinating.
It certainly lived up to expectations. The book is set both in the past and the present, focusing on Peri as a student in Oxford, and as a wealthy wife (14 years later) in Istanbul. It starts with something of a red herring, focusing on Peri's attack (and almost rape) by a beggar, then develops into an exploration of her past, as a Turkish Muslim at Oxford University.
She's flanked by Shirin, a non-believer, and Mona, a devout Muslim - making them 'the sinner, the believer and the confused'. They're united by a man called Professor Azur, who has a major influence in their lives, both positive and negative.
The book is an intriguing exploration into religion, belief and culture-clash - and in particular, the scenes detailing Peri's past, with a non-believing father and a devout mother, worked particularly well. A few moments jarred slightly - for example, the sudden revelation about the twin brother towards the end, and the abrupt shift in perspective from Peri to Professor Azur (again, towards the end), but for the most part, this book was masterfully executed and beautifully sustained throughout.
I think Shafak has a strong, resonant style, combined with a philosophical approach - which works really well. I'd definitely like to read more of her books
It certainly lived up to expectations. The book is set both in the past and the present, focusing on Peri as a student in Oxford, and as a wealthy wife (14 years later) in Istanbul. It starts with something of a red herring, focusing on Peri's attack (and almost rape) by a beggar, then develops into an exploration of her past, as a Turkish Muslim at Oxford University.
She's flanked by Shirin, a non-believer, and Mona, a devout Muslim - making them 'the sinner, the believer and the confused'. They're united by a man called Professor Azur, who has a major influence in their lives, both positive and negative.
The book is an intriguing exploration into religion, belief and culture-clash - and in particular, the scenes detailing Peri's past, with a non-believing father and a devout mother, worked particularly well. A few moments jarred slightly - for example, the sudden revelation about the twin brother towards the end, and the abrupt shift in perspective from Peri to Professor Azur (again, towards the end), but for the most part, this book was masterfully executed and beautifully sustained throughout.
I think Shafak has a strong, resonant style, combined with a philosophical approach - which works really well. I'd definitely like to read more of her books
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Dividing Eden in Books
Apr 15, 2018
Dividing Eden is a little trite - it's the typical teens must compete for the throne kind of fantasy, but this time it's twins who are both guarding each other's terrible secrets. You don't LEARN their terrible secrets until almost 100 pages in, which was frustrating because they were alluded to multiple times before finally revealed to the reader. I almost stopped reading, I was so frustrated at the mention - AGAIN - of Andreus' DARK SECRET THAT NO ONE MUST EVER KNOW. Seriously. Don't do that to your readers.
The fact that they were protecting each other's secret while competing against each other for the throne was rather unique, and while I don't like Andreus much, I did enjoy Carys and her friends enough that I'll probably pick up the sequel when it comes out this June.
Everything happened very quickly, but that tends to be the case in YA. Adult fantasy seems to take its time and develop its characters more fully, which I enjoy.
The windmills and electricity was surprising, and I'd really like to know more about their religion of Virtues, and the Wind and Seeing Magic. I wish she had described her forest monsters a little earlier; they were only referred to by name for most of the book and I was left wondering if they were monsters or human raiders of some sort!
Verdict is - it's typical YA fantasy. If you're looking for a quick read, you might enjoy it.
The fact that they were protecting each other's secret while competing against each other for the throne was rather unique, and while I don't like Andreus much, I did enjoy Carys and her friends enough that I'll probably pick up the sequel when it comes out this June.
Everything happened very quickly, but that tends to be the case in YA. Adult fantasy seems to take its time and develop its characters more fully, which I enjoy.
The windmills and electricity was surprising, and I'd really like to know more about their religion of Virtues, and the Wind and Seeing Magic. I wish she had described her forest monsters a little earlier; they were only referred to by name for most of the book and I was left wondering if they were monsters or human raiders of some sort!
Verdict is - it's typical YA fantasy. If you're looking for a quick read, you might enjoy it.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Game Of Thrones - Season 5 in TV
Jul 3, 2019
For the Watch
Contains spoilers, click to show
Season 5 of Game of Thrones (or any following season) never quite hit the heights of seasons 2-4 for me, but it still continued it's run as the absolute prime show of recent television.
Season 5 has some extremely important moments - Danaerys meeting Tyrion and Varys for example - this meeting of characters made the Essos portion of Game of Thrones 100% more interesting for me, and I actually found myself completely involved in the Harpy storyline that runs throughout season 5. In King's Landing, the narrative focuses mainly on the High Sparrow, and his rise to power through religion, so much so, that not even the King has much sway over him.
This inevitably leads to one of the most infamous GoT scenes of all time - Cersei's walk of shame - truly hard to watch - even though she is a hateful character - much like Joffreys story in season 4, the writers manage to evoke sympathy for someone you've been lead to dislike.
And then of course - there's Hardhome - my personal favourite episode of GoT. A sense of dread lingers over the majority of the episode as Jon Snow journeys beyond The Wall, and we're set up for yet another brief tease of the White Walkers - but what we get instead is an insane 20 minutes of absolute Carnage, as the full force of the Night King is realised for the first time - it's an incredible episode within another decent season, which will have you hooked constantly.
Season 5 has some extremely important moments - Danaerys meeting Tyrion and Varys for example - this meeting of characters made the Essos portion of Game of Thrones 100% more interesting for me, and I actually found myself completely involved in the Harpy storyline that runs throughout season 5. In King's Landing, the narrative focuses mainly on the High Sparrow, and his rise to power through religion, so much so, that not even the King has much sway over him.
This inevitably leads to one of the most infamous GoT scenes of all time - Cersei's walk of shame - truly hard to watch - even though she is a hateful character - much like Joffreys story in season 4, the writers manage to evoke sympathy for someone you've been lead to dislike.
And then of course - there's Hardhome - my personal favourite episode of GoT. A sense of dread lingers over the majority of the episode as Jon Snow journeys beyond The Wall, and we're set up for yet another brief tease of the White Walkers - but what we get instead is an insane 20 minutes of absolute Carnage, as the full force of the Night King is realised for the first time - it's an incredible episode within another decent season, which will have you hooked constantly.
Life Of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) ( Islam Quran Hadith - Ramadan Islamic Apps )
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As the wealthiest German merchant family of the sixteenth century, the Fuggers have attracted wide...
The Great Agnostic: Robert Ingersoll and American Freethought
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A biography that restores America's foremost nineteenth-century champion of reason and secularism to...
Blasphemy: The True, Heartbreaking Story of the Woman Sentenced to Death Over a Cup of Water
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Punjab, Pakistan, June 2009. The temperature is 45 and Asia has been out picking fruit for several...