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The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman [BOOK REVIEW]
Read this review and more on www.diaryofdifference.com
I haven’t read much classic reads this year, and a few days before the end of 2018, I decided to go for a classic short story, and I chose The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

This classic has been written by a woman in the 19th century. A time when women weren’t treated the same way as today. A difficult time, where women couldn’t express their opinion as they wished, but they were suppressed by the male authority in the family.

When The Yellow Wallpaper came out, it was considered a Gothic Horror Tale. It is hard to believe for me, knowing the world we live in today, and how we, as women can express our opinions openly. But back in the days, this is how it was. It wasn’t easy for the woman, and I am glad we have a lot of brave women from that time, that gathered the courage to tell stories for the next generations.

This is a story about a woman, who seems to suffer of post-partum depression (a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth). She has been forced by her husband and doctor to stay in her room until she is ”mentally capable” again to take care of her baby. I am not a mother, but I can imagine the pain and suffering of not being allowed to see and hold your unborn child. And people thought this was okay?

The woman is constantly staring at the yellow wallpaper and the window, constantly reassuring herself that this is all happening for her own good, and that the husband and doctor know best, until a point where we are not actually sure if she is in her right mind anymore.

She starts to see a woman inside the wallpaper, and believes the woman is struggling to break free. I loved the metaphor used, as her subconscious knows she is trapped, and the end is so painful to read, but oh, so powerful.

Even though such a short read, The Yellow Wallpaper is an impressive view on cultural traditions, and the position of women in the family. A classic and a must-have for every woman!
  
    Lure: Read Chat Fiction

    Lure: Read Chat Fiction

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    Lure features a huge collection of chat fiction; short stories told with text messages, like if you...

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Ross (3284 KP) rated Legion in Books

Sep 4, 2017  
Legion
Legion
Brandon Sanderson | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was a very interesting idea - the notion of someone with extreme schizophrenia being able to use his distinct personalities in order to gain knowledge he didn't have (or didn't know he had).
This appealed to me greatly - showing how someone with true photographic memory might deal with it by pretending to themselves that something they had read years ago and somehow memorised were actually the input from experts in that field (who are dreamt up out of necessity) - so the madness actually arises in order to stay sane!
The book was quite short for my liking, it felt a little like Sanderson dipping his toe to test the waters in the real world.
A really interesting concept, not given the time and effort it might have merited.
  
Ms. Jenkin’s shares her story of traveling from what was seemingly a normal life to addiction to jail to sobriety in a way that is eye opening and entertaining offering hope to the reader that life can be good again. (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
This book, a true life story, is written in a way that reads like fiction and engages from the beginning. It is short and easy to read but full of valuable lessons to the reader of what jail is like and what it feels like to both have messed up and hurt those you love as well as successfully navigated recovery. There is some “mature content” (drug use, language, lesbianism) but it isn’t gratuitous. Ms. Jenkins book is as funny, touching, and insightful as her blog, “Juggling The Jenkins”.
  
2C
20th Century Ghosts
Joe Hill | 2005
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This turned out to be an ideal read for the Halloween season. While many of the short stories here have a pretty "literary" feel, and some don't necessarily qualify as horror, they each have a haunting quality about them. The characters are always engaging, and I found myself caring for most of them, which is quite a feat given how few pages some were given in which to develop. And don't mistake my earlier comments to mean there is nothing scary in this book. There are quite a few tales here that left me creeped out enough that I will likely remember them for some time to come. This collection isn't perfect, but it really shows the promise of just how great a storyteller Mr. Hill would ultimately evolve into.
  
The Book Thief
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.8 (129 Ratings)
Book Rating
This novel was recommended to me by an old high school friend. This is definitely not my typical book. I like the fast paced suspense/romance and I tend to stick with those novels. I'm glad that I picked up this novel.

This novel was very interesting. It's a collection of short stories narrated by death. It follow the life of a young German girl during the time of world war 2. It's told in a different way by having "Death" as the narrator.

This was a pretty quick read. It makes you think too. It's one of those novels that will make you think about the depravity of human beings and give you some hope along side of it.

All in all, it was a good novel that deals with World War II.
  
Ghost Camera
Ghost Camera
Darcy Coates | 2014 | Paranormal
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting concepts (0 more)
Lacking in depth and likability (0 more)
Kinda Meh!
When Jenine finds an abandoned camera in a lighthouse, she takes a photo for fun. But there's something very, very wrong with the picture: it contains ghosts.

Jenine and her best friend, Bree, realise the camera is capable of capturing the dead. But with each new photo taken, the spectres become more aware and more alert, and begin following the friends. Desperate, Jenine seeks the help of a paranormal researcher. He only has bad news, though: they've meddled with something far beyond their control, and the ghosts won't stop... not until Jenine and Bree are dead.

Very interesting theory, and whilst it is a short read I found it skipping over details. The characters were lacking in depth and likability.
  
Medusa’s Master (Medusa Project #3)
Medusa’s Master (Medusa Project #3)
Cindy Dees | 2011 | Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Storyline (0 more)
Mills & Boon Ninja??
Captain “Kat” Kim, leader of the all female Medusa Squad, lives by a warrior code. When she pairs with Special Forces Captain Jeff Steiger, she faces new danger. Steiger is all-American, from his blue eyes to his sun-streaked hair, his laid back manner goes against Kat’s control freak ways. When the two hunt for a high end art thief, their opposite styles combust!

A quick easy read... Dees has a well thought out storyline, but limited to the standard short form of a mills and boon. Characters were slightly underdeveloped and there was a few gaps that could have done with some further follow up as the story and Kat and Jeff’s relationship progressed. Some funny moments, the odd heated moment. But overall fairly average