nitroglycerin's Reviews (952)

When Kim Hyun Sook gets invited to a book club, she didn’t realise it was a Banned Book Club. In 1983 South Korea was under a tough military regime, and this is the backdrop to this tale of discovery. 
Fast paced, well crafted and well illustrated, Banned Book Club is a great toe in the door to the history of South Korea’s fifth Republic and an inspiration to the people on the power of protest. 

Damn I love hi-score girl. Yaguchi is absolutely hopeless. Video games are all he cares about. Oono is so distant. Gaming helps her handle her stressful and overworked schooldays. Hidaka is best girl. The only one who knows what she wants. 
Heartwarming and nerdy and wistful and nostalgic. So many feels. I love it. 

A fascinating overview of many interesting tree species from all over the world. 
The author tried to remain very unbiased when discussing the causes of many issues the trees have with regards to their survival, namely deforestation caused by European explorers and settlers. A rather romantic view of European botanists was presented too, which is understandable when the book was wrote with the Gardens at Kew involved. I personally would have preferred a harsher criticism of this, as it is the actions of our ancestors that have dramatically reduced many tree populations to where they are, and while modern Kew is vital for the regeneration of tree species, it was originally part of the problem.

Well that was a book wasn’t it? Hard hitting and horrifying, Eliza Clark explores female sexuality, mental health (or personality disorders- you decide) and living in the North vs living in London. This is too good to be a debut.
I’ve read a few reviews comparing Boy Parts to American Psycho. I’ve only seen the film but in my opinion a strong case for this. Irina is a modern, female, Bateman. She is sharp, witty, smart which makes her inner dialogue both amusing and even darker when she goes down that alley of her mind. Her relationships are a train wreck. She is hard to like but even harder to hate. 
I don’t want to give away the plot but this book is DARK. It 100% should be classed as a Horror (which makes it a very appropriate read for October). This book is fabulous. It’s a must read.

Full of ideas for what to do with hedgerow finds. Some surprising plants included. 

DNF 50%

I struggle with Sci-fi. This didn’t engage me. I wasn’t interested in the “game” aspect. It was a lot of waffle. Too many things started without any semblance of them moving forward. Characters didn’t engage as you don’t spend enough time with any to “feel” for them. 

Further to this was finding out how much the author align a himself with the Chinese government which has policies I don’t agree with, and I found them showing through in the work. 

A disturbing insight into the failure of institutional care, local authorities and government, as well as racism in Britain in the 1960’s. 
From his first months Lemn’s life was in the hands of local authorities. He was taken from his mother as she was an unwed student. She didn’t want to give him up, but that isn’t the story he’s told by his foster mum, who eventually gives up on him when, it seems, a combination of Lemns strong personality and his Blackness is too much to handle. From there Lemn is passed pillar to post in care homes and institutions ill suited to care for any child. Through all this he is questioning his identity, wanting to understand where he is from; his heritage. 
Lemns story will leave you angry. Angry at the systems that took him from his mother. Angry at the heads of authorities that didn’t take advice of those who knew Lemn best and denied him so much. Angry at the people who are meant to run care homes but don’t care at all. 
I short listen, and narrated by Lemn himself, I’d definitely recommend to people wanting to understand the failures of the British government and racism prevalent in the country.