nadia's Reviews (587)

I really liked this book, namely because the stories gripped me. I didn't feel like I learnt anything especially new and I was hoping for more of a thesis/conclusion from the author than just your typical "this is hard and we all have to think about it and work on it together" but I found the writing good and easy to read, I enjoyed the that there was some nuance in some of the chapters — it wasn't wholly one-sided against AI — and it did get me thinking a lot about how we can prioritise the effective and helpful uses of AI and minimise any harmful outcomes.

Current Women's Prize 2024 Non-Fiction Shortlist rankings:

1. Code Dependent
2. A Flat Place  
3. Thunderclap

I never thought I'd enjoy a book with so much description of natural landscapes, but I did. Didn't know what to expect going in, so some of the content, especially the memoir aspect, took me by surprise (not at all in a bad way, though this isn't happy subject matter)! I enjoyed the writing and Masud did a great job of transporting me into her memories. The book got me itching to go on a hike now, especially across flat land!

Current Women's Prize 2024 Non-Fiction Shortlist rankings:

1. A Flat Place
2. Thunderclap

A solid, entertaining listen. Nothing special/standout but intriguing enough nonetheless! A little cheesy, far-fetched, and simplistic at times, but that comes with the territory, and there was a little more nuance in this one than expected!

My first read off of the Women's Prize Nonfiction shortlist and I'm surprised at how much I got sucked into this world of Dutch art! I would have never picked up this book, let alone a book about art (unless it was something about art prices or the stolen art world...), but this book has got me a lot more intrigued and inspired me to try and get out to more galleries and really look at the paintings.

I did appreciate the mix of personal memoir and art history — including the discussions around (sudden) death, limited time and how you spend it, what art says about the artist, etc., — but the balance between the two felt a little off/random at times . It's like the author wanted to write a book on Fabritius and Dutch art and a book about a her dad. There were definitely ties between the two that enhanced the message in cases, but not sure if fully hit! Perhaps the narrative structure wasn't quite there given the author's intentions? But overall, I enjoyed the book and thought the writing was great. I especially enjoyed learning more about the history of The Goldfinch, especially being a Donna Tartt fan!

Current Women's Prize 2024 Non-Fiction Shortlist rankings:

1. Thunderclap

:-D

This was a brilliant memoir, and I particularly enjoyed listening to Fern narrate her own raw, honest story.

Fascinating insight into life with autism, especially as a woman, and one that gets you thinking about social norms and how you partake, or don’t, in them.

A super solid book, with a fresh take on death, grief, identity, living a life worth living, martyrdom, love, and art. I really appreciated all of the facets of it, including the different storytelling devices (normal prose, a book within a book, poetry, etc.), the different perspectives, and the surrealist aspects, even if I didn't always fully grasp their meaning, and there were some real beautiful ideas and writing in the book too. Went into this thinking it'd be a 4.5-5-star read though, and something about it didn't pop in the way I wanted it to. But still a great book!

Was expecting something a lot juicier and drama-filled and something with new, unique insights into the billionaire lifestyle or behind-the-scenes at a hedge fund, whereas I don't think I learnt anything new here or that there was anything out of the ordinary to really mull on.

I think it's a compelling read/listen if you know nothing about the world of finance or hedge funds!

I surprisingly really liked this! I wasn't sure when I started, but I was intrigued by all of the details. It was an insight into a life and lifestyle that's so very different to mine and I appreciated the raw and honest insights Dolly provided, even if I found myself balking at times. Listening to Dolly narrate the book herself added to the experience.

What a fantastic, unique, funny, clever book!

It has a theme I often struggle with — time travel — but I got it enough to appreciate the quality of what Kiese has put together. I did spend some time trying to piece together exactly what happened when afterwards, and whether I missed something that was meant to make it all click, before realising that that's not really the important part. I got the overall gist and it was a brilliant backdrop for such important conversations.

Probably one I'd wanna reread in a couple years and I'm also excited to read more of Laymon's work.

P.S. I hear a more recent edition of this book has the book in a different structure? I've got an edition from 2013.

P.P.S. This was one of the first ever recommendations Rob's first StoryGraph rec algorithm gave to me! The model has come on a very long way since then but it's very cool to see that it was getting a lot right back then.

I went into this with low expectations and I really enjoyed it. A solid novella and I liked the structure!