nadia's Reviews (587)

Really enjoyed every part of this one! 😍

A few out-loud chuckles, a few out-loud "awwww"s.  🥰

The last volume to get 5 stars from me was Volume 1! (But all of the others have been within the 4-5 star range.)

I've heard quite a few people say that they were disappointed in this classic book — they say it's a great concept, disappointingly delivered. Or that it's just boring.

I guess it's good I went in with low expectations as I enjoyed this book, my first ever Bradbury and a book that's been on my TBR for about 10 years at this point (Yay — I get to check off the "Read one of your 5 oldest To-Read books" on The StoryGraph's Onboarding 2020 Reading Challenge.) (Yes, I'm taking part in the onboarding reading challenge for my own website...why not? 🤓) . 

It's not the most straightforward of reads and it is rather dull in places, but I felt that the pace kept up decently enough, and there were some tense, exciting moments. I also, as I'm sure all readers do, loved the reflections on books and the value they bring to people and the societies they live in.

I hear that this one isn't often the favourite amongst Bradbury fans so now I'm looking forward to other books by him!

I am so disappointed in this book, especially as the founder of Goodreads, Otis Chandler, says it is "the best self help book any entrepreneur could ever read. Perhaps the only one they need to."

Initially I wasn't even sure I was reading the right book, so confused I was by the content and tone. I had to go on a little research hunt to check I was indeed reading the business classic that people rave about.

I am aware that this book is a product of its time (published in the late 1930s), but I found it a difficult read. For a start, nearly everyone is a man and the overwhelming majority of the pronouns are "he/him". The first time a non-man is mentioned is to tell an anecdote of a "coloured girl" who dared speak up to a white man. "From where did someone in such a lowly position (i.e. not white and not a man) get such confidence?", Napoleon Hill wants his readers to wonder.

At a later point in the book, when Napoleon Hill calls out people who "complain that this is man's world", he says that women "owe it to themselves" to "study carefully" the life of Wallis Simpson who stopped at nothing to secure the world's most desirable bachelor in the world (King Edward VIII). In a business book that ultimately ignores anyone who isn't a man, it was a great shame that the best example Napoleon Hill had for others striving to succeed was a non-business one.

Apart from that, I found the tone was patronising and irritating.

The 1.5 star rating is because I did agree with some of the messages that Napoleon Hill espouses, including those around determination, persistence, and believing wholeheartedly in the successes you want for yourself. But just the packaging of the message — no, thank you.

There was one part I surprisingly really enjoyed, and that's when Hill discusses his "Cabinet of Invisible Counselors". Each night before bed, he'd shut his eyes and have imaginary meetings with a range of characters, some dead, some alive, including Thomas Edison, Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, and Henry Ford. The point of the meetings was to rebuild his own character inspired by the strengths of each council member. Hill goes on to explain some of the meetings in detail, down to the mannerisms of the imaginary people, so it felt like a fun, fictional interlude.

I also started to think about who my own cabinet would consist of. Maybe Madam C.J. Walker, Serena Williams, and Beyoncé to start... 🤔

Who would be in yours? 🤓

Ummm....wow....?

It's a very slow book. And normally this would bug me, but with Robin Hobb and these books, I find that I just don't care too much. I'm here for it.

Where is the third book gonna go?! 

I'm like: 🤯

I was hoping to be utterly captivated by this book and...I wasn't. I was certainly intrigued and curious to keep reading, but I didn't feel that 'wow' effect that I was hoping for.

Red at the Bone is a very quiet, reflective novel and  I think I was in the mood for something a bit more exciting. Woodson is an excellent writer and I really appreciated all of the themes discussed in the book: motherhood, family, identity, race and racism, social mobility, grief, and more — it just didn't all come together for me with the impact that I think Woodson was trying to achieve and that I know countless other readers have experienced.

If you enjoy a more character-driven novel with multiple points-of-view, and the themes I mentioned above pique your interest, this is definitely one you should pick up!

What a great book this was: equal parts emotional and funny, and incredibly eye-opening.

I was surprised by how much specific medical terminology was included (which really wasn't that much overall), and while it took me a little bit of time to get used to the flow of the diary entry being broken up by explanatory footnotes, I came to appreciate the extra detail.

I already respected and appreciated our NHS workers,  but This Is Going to Hurt just takes that to another level. I feel like it's a must-read for everyone in the UK. 

But it's not for the squeamish though! 😅

Now I'm onto book 4 of my reread, the lighthearted, nostalgic comforting feeling is now being dominated  with constant emotional foreboding.

The Goblet of Fire was always a brilliant instalment though, and I loved the adventure. I also thoroughly enjoyed the more mysterious flavour that this book has. What was particularly fun was trying to match up the things I remembered with the pieces I'd forgotten.

This is my first ever reread, and first time reading them as an adult. I always said book 6 was my fave and book 2 was my least fave. These are my current rankings:

1. Prisoner of Azkaban (#3)
2. Goblet of Fire (#4)
3. Chamber of Secrets (#2)
4. Philosopher's Stone (#1)