nitroglycerin's Reviews (952)

"The natural environment has become marginalised...it's viewed as a luxury that we only concern ourselves with in times of prosperity. But the environment and wetlands in particular underpin that prosperity and our well-being, regardless of what we think is important"

This is the story of Darlingtons search for wild otters across the breadth of the UK. It would be fair to say Darlington is obsessed with otters. She travels the country looking for the elusive little creatures, who at one point were almost extinct. In 1978 they were given protected status, and have since bounced back, but they're still hard to spot due to their habit natural behaviours. Darlington spends time learning how to spot the signs that they're about in the hopes that she will spot one. She meets people who help her learn more about the challenges the otter has faced in its resurgence, and the issues they face in the current modern climate such as cars and habitat erasure. 
The book takes a look at the wider wildlife of the UK as well, and Darlingtons writing gives a real sense of the place shes in, whether that was the the Isle of Skye or her local area. The passion she has for the otter and country is evident in her descriptions.
Id recommend this book to people who are fans of H is for Hawk, as there is an element of memoir in amongst all the otter facts. I learned a lot about otters too though, and so anyone with any interest in them would love this too.

To say I devoured this book would be false, I practically inhaled it.
Good Talk is a graphic memoir by Mira Jacob, an Indian-American, inspired by the conversations she has with her young son, who is mixed-race. Children know how to ask the hardest questions to answer don't they?
Throughout Good Talk, Jacob goes through the motions of explaining the current state of America to her son, reflecting on the past as she goes. We learn about her parents immigration, and get awkward relationship advice from them. We see how her circle reacts to events such as 911 and Trumps win in the election. She reflects on growing up as the only brown girl in her grade at school, and microaggressions she experiences as a young adult stepping into the working world, and in her private family life with the in-laws. 
Not only does this book give you a touching insight into the current state of America for a Brown woman, Jacob expresses it in a charming, graphic way. The images are both static illustrations and photographs which add to the conversation so well, and combine to make something well worth investing in.
In short, read this book. 

Reasons you should read this book:
1. You're new to anti-racism and don't know where to start.
2. You've only read books about racism in the US.
3. You're a feminist.
4. You're white.
5. You don't think racism is a problem here.

This is a great introduction to racism in Britain. It starts off with an overview of the UK's Civil Rights Movement. Britain had a Civil Rights Movement? Yes, we did. Most of is don't know about it because we are not taught about it in school, and our (my) whiteness means it doesn't apply to us (me), so why would we (I) research it our(my)selves, or be taught it by our (my) family? Following this history lesson, Edo-Lodge then takes us through how racism is pervasive in politics, feminism, and class. She explains why the white default is white privilege, and why this privilege is so fragile it fears a "Black-Planet".
I describe the book as a great introduction as while Edo-Lodge covers a range of topics, she does so in a general, sweeping way that doesn't give a lot of depth. This is why I would recommend it for someone who doesn't know a lot about racism/anti-racism yet, but wants to kick-start their learning. This book will open your eyes to what you've been ignoring, avoiding, or just plain ignorant of, and will make you want to seek out deeper knowledge.
Personally, this book has been on my radar for about 18months - 2 years. I'd seen it sitting on the tables in Waterstones and kept thinking to myself, I should read that book when I get a chance. I kept putting it off though as it didn't seem urgent enough. The current BLM movement that is happening was the kick up the arse i needed to finally pick it up, and I managed to snag the last one in my local WHSmiths that was only open through lockdown as it is also a post office. 
The book has given me the background I didn't have, to go with some of the knowledge that i had been getting through social media. It has highlighted that racism is not just a US problem. That it is everywhere, where most of us (white people) don't realise because it isn't part of our reality. It has started me off on my questioning of my biases. You should read it and check yours.

When I started reading this book this afternoon, I described it as “fluff”. I needed something lighthearted and easy to read to lift me after all the horrible things that have been on the news recently. This book was the perfect antidote. 

The Switch follows Leena and Eileen Cotton, granddaughter and grandmother respectively, as they switch places in order to get over the grief of losing Leenas sister and the mess of their love lives. 
The Cotton women are both stubborn, but Leena being a career woman in London is more outspoken and forthright while her grandma is subtler and carries a quiet determination. Their switch takes them both on personal journeys of discovery, as well as impacting on the wider circles of each characters community. 

If you liked O’Learys The Flatshare, or Frederik Backmans books, you’ll like this. Strong older women overcoming the odds and finding their happy ending is what I’m all about. I haven’t laughed out loud at a book in so long, and it has left me feeling warm in my heart. If you need a book to bring you some light, I can’t recommend this more. 

How can you rate and review a memoir? It's someones life. Their memories in a book.

Maya Angelou has released seven books in her memoirs series, and this is the first. It starts when she is a small child and finishes when she's about to become a mother herself at 17. Through her eyes you see what its like growing up poor, Black and in the American South in the 1930's.
I love the way Maya writes her truth, showing her anger as well as her compassion. Her life is full of turmoil and drama. Some aspects of her story are hard to stomach, such as the abuse she received from one of her mothers boyfriends. While other parts of the book show there can be joy in between the dark, such as the relationship between Maya and her brother Bailey, which Maya writes so eloquently and poetically. You can feel the love she has for him oozing from the pages.
There are an array of difficult topics covered in this volume, aside from the abuse, there is the racism that was very much rampant in 1930's Arkansas. Angelou discusses each of these themes in such a direct and honest way. She doesn't hide away behind mystery, she shows them as they are in her memory. 
The book does end rather abruptly, as Mayas life is about to change, and I am keen to read the next volume of her story (I've already bought a copy). 

Wilding is the story of the how the Burrell family ditched intensive farming of their estate at Knepp and returned the land to the wild. 
Isabella Tree takes you through the decision making and reasoning behind all their choices, such as why they introduced certain animals, as well as describing the effects they had on the land. Hearing about all the incredible animals and critters that returned to the area when the land was left to (mostly) manage itself is inspiring. I immediately started telling my parents off for mowing the lawn! 
Tree also explains how a lot of what they have done on the land could be done on smaller scales around the country to help with flood plain management, bring back species that are struggling in the country, as well as managing farms with climate change in mind. 
My only gripe with this book is the slightly preachy tone Tree sometimes has when she talks about some of the topics she touches on. She and her husband are privileged to have such a large piece of land to return to the wild. They also seemed to find it easy to make the right contacts in the conservation world to get the right advice on what to do with the land. 
Still, the work they have done and carry on doing at Knepp is incredible, and my only hope is that people who read this are inspired to allow the wild to be. Stop cutting grass verges so much, allow hedges to get a bit wild (unless it blocks the view when driving of course, safety first), and for gods sake stop hard landscaping everything. 

Zeze, the second youngest son of a poor family living in Rio de Janeiro, is a mischievous little so-and-so. He loves nothing more than playing tricks at the expense of others, often causing chaos for those around him. He’s impulsive, a cheeky pain in the arse and as a result, the other kids don’t get along so well with him. His parents and older siblings are working so hard to put food on the table that his misdeeds often result in corporal punishment. His young life changes though when his family move and he finally makes a real friend. 
We follow him learning to love and be loved back, and grieve over the loss of something so vital to his being. Originally published in 1968, this book gives us an insight into the poorer parts of life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We learn to love, accept, change, grieve and grow.
This is the first book of four that follow Zeze’s life. I’d be happy to read more, but I can’t say I’m in a huge hurry. I enjoyed his adventures, the books are definitely aimed at children but that doesn’t detract from the experience at all.
As far as I can tell the translation is very well done. The prose flowed well and didn’t feel clunky in any way or shape.

[insert ironic funny quote from book here]

Trainspotting is one of those books isn't it. One of those ones you buy and want to read, but it sits on your shelves for years because you're either intimidated, or unsure whether you'll live it. But you feel you should. It's iconic. The movie is huge (I haven't seen that either). Thanks to bookstagram, and a group read #choosegroupreads, I finally picked this bugger up and loved it.

So a lot of other reviews comment on the difficulty reading Scottish dialect. I fell into it so easy it was like I have Scottish blood. Well I suppose I have the hair to match already. Anyway, if it looks intimidating, just give it a go. Soon enough your thoughts will come out Scottish too. There is a lot of swearing too, which might offend some people, but for someone who grew up I the north-east of England, this doesn't bother me one iota. What I found harder to grasp was the change in points of view without any warning, but it didn't take long to adapt to each person. This is a very cleverly put together book.

Trainspotting is less a novel than a series of interconnected short stories describing the lives of a loose and wide group of friends, living in Leith Edinbrough, most of whom are drug users or alcoholics. This is the main feature that runs through the book. They are the poor, forgotten people who slip through the cracks of society. They are the ones who don't vote because they cant see how voting will change anything for them. They 'use' to make life simple and avoid responsibility and stress. There are people like them in every city.

This is such a wonderful and complex book that I’m a little unsure where to start with the review. It is a book of two stories: immigration and the LGBQAI+ experience. 
The prologue of the book begins with Paz, a poor Filipino who trains as a nurse, marries Pol, a doctor and part of the powerful de Vera family. They move to the states, hoping for a better life. 
When the novel actually starts we instead follow Hero de Vera. She has just landed in the states to stay with her uncle Pol and his wife, Paz. She too was training to be a doctor in the Philippines, until a few years in she joins the anti-Marcos resistance (New People’s Resistance) and gets captured. Only her de Vera name kept her alive. Her parents wanted nothing to do with her afterwards, so uncle Pol takes her in. 
Through flashbacks we learn what happened to Hero, what it was like for her back in the Philippines, the beginning of her time with the NPA, her capture, release and recovery. 
Meanwhile the story of her time in the states is a slow, meandering, slice-of-life tale of the Filipino migrant experience. Hero has to learn to open up to people again, to let them in, especially one particular lady. 
I genuinely loved this book. It wasn’t one I could dip in and out of, but one that required a good long sit down reading session, but that makes it all the better. My only gripe was the untranslated Tagalog, Pangasinan and Ilocanos. While they added authenticity and reflect the natural way these characters would have spoke in real life (if they were real), I just would have appreciated some translations, even if they were in footnotes.