theravenkingx's Reviews (336)

Repetitive pep talk, unnecessary positive affirmations, and incomplete anecdotes with no references to back them.

This feels like a thought vomit that the author has been collecting in his diary for years. 

This book was a shameless waste of ink and paper. It was a travesty that they killed so many trees for this rubbish that should have been a blog post or a tweet. 

I appreciate the main idea of the author, which is that challenges are not barriers but opportunities for growth. I think this is a valuable perspective to have in life, especially when things get tough. 

However, I find the author’s writing style problematic. 

Reading this book felt like listening to a motivational speaker who didn’t know what he was talking about. There was no research. The book heavily relied on bits and pieces that we read on social media about famous people. George Clooney changed his behavior and got a job. Really? Where is the evidence? How do you know that his behavior change was the key to his success? What exactly did he change and how? Did he confide in you personally? The book is full of examples that are just the author’s idealistic observation about people and situations. He was constantly telling us not to see the world through rose colored glasses, but that’s exactly what he did while writing this book. He didn’t use any scientific studies to prove his point. 

I understand his intentions with these examples. The problem is that he does not go into detail. He just skims over the main idea of the story without explaining how it relates to his argument. And how we can learn to be more like those people. What someone did in certain situations doesn't help me. I already know that staying positive when faced with difficult situations can help, but how can we achieve that ? 

Steve Jobs made his employees work non-stop for days, and I am supposed to be inspired by him? 

Field Marshal thought war was a game, and I should admire him?

For a robot named murderbot, it was very endearing and relatable. 

This book is what the first one should have been. The main problem with the first book was that it was too short to develop such a complex story and introduce so many characters. This made the characters seem flat and reduced Murderbot to a minor role in its own story.

However, this book was just chef's kiss. We got to spend more time with Murderbot. We got to know more about its past, its quirks, its fear and insecurities. We met a few new characters along the way. My favorite one was ART. He was hilarious and had a great friendship with Murderbot. He also loved watching series, but unlike Murderbot it was a wimp when it came to gory scenes. A big softie.

I related to Murderbot way too much. Murderbot was an introvert who didn’t like interacting with humans. It preferred binge-watching series over doing his job. LOL. It was so real for it.

Synopsis
In this book, Murderbot continues his journey alone. He only remembers bits and pieces of his past life and sets out to find out more about what happened in the past that made him so different from the rest of the sec units. It remembers mass murdering, but it doesn’t know how it happened, whether it was a malfunction or a result of it hacking it's own governor module. On its journey, it meets a new machine that it names ART (asshole research transport) and together, with the help of some humans, they try to figure out what happened that day when Murderbot killed all those people.

4.5 ★★★★☆

Grab your popcorn, and get ready for an exciting and action-packed adventure.

Synopsis
The protagonist is Logan Ramsay, an agent of GPA, a global organization that hunts down rogue scientists who experiment with gene modification. A few years ago, humanity was at the precipice of curing deadly diseases like cancer with gene modification, but Logan's mother caused a catastrophe that killed nearly 2 million people with her reckless project. Since then, gene modification has been banned. And Logan, bound by his guilt, has devoted his life to stopping people like her mother.

Logan's life changes when, during one of his missions, he gets infected by a mysterious virus. The virus modifies his DNA and transforms him into something more than human.

But Logan is not the only one affected by the virus. Someone has a bigger plan for the world, and Logan is the key.

This book explores the future of humanity and its possible extinction, as well as the reasons why it ignores the looming threats instead taking action.

My thoughts
I admire Blake Crouch's books. They are always entertaining and inspiring. He writes with passion and conviction, and his books are well-researched and plausible. This book is no exception. I am not a scientist, so I cannot judge the accuracy of his DNA-related details, but I learned a lot from this book. 

The plot is gripping and well-written. It keeps you hooked and curious. Blake Crouch's writing is very visual and dynamic. When you read his book, you feel like you are sitting in a theater watching a larger than life movie. He creates such a vivid and realistic world, and, in my humble opinion, he excels at writing action scenes.

I highly recommend this book. It is action-packed with plenty of heart racing moments and twists to keep you hooked, and a very inspiring message for humanity.

3.5 ★★★☆

I feel like I need a nap after reading this. It was so hard to keep up with all the surprises and revelations. I think my brain is fried from trying to make sense of it all. 😂
______________________________

This is one of those books that you should dive into blindly but with an open mind and minimal expectations. I don’t want to ruin the experience for you, so I’ll be careful with what I say in this review. Here is a spoiler-free synopsis of the book.

Synopsis
This book tells the story of Harri, a former police officer who was dishonorably discharged from her job and now lives with a baggage of shame and aimlessness. 

Her life takes a turn when she meets a mysterious old man at a cafe and finds a book about finding happiness.

Inside the book, she discovers a note from someone who seems to be in grave danger.

Driven by curiosity and compassion, she begins to investigate and traces the note to her ex-boyfriend - Ben, whom she still loves. Ben has recently become the guardian of a child named Elliot, whose mother died of cancer and whose father is missing. Ben's involvement with Elliot's mother raises suspicions.

This leads to a mind-bending, nerve-wracking, and oddly captivating mystery that concludes with an unforeseen revelation.


Positives
The book delivers a fast-paced and engaging plot. Despite its flaws and shortcomings, it will keep you engrossed till the very end. My jaw was literally on the floor during the climax. It's quite unexpected.

There is some positive Muslim representation.

The main plot twist is a bit predictable. But the climax is still complex and unexpected. It goes to places and beyond. You generally don't expect such a plot twist from crime fiction.

Negatives
The book is a mishmash of different styles and perspectives. Sometimes we are in the head of the main character, and sometimes we are watching from afar. Sometimes, we have to read letters or transcripts of trials. It's a little annoying. 

The characters are bland and two-dimensional. None of them undergo any kind of character development and growth. 

The romance in this book is unbelievable and unconvincing. I don't want to be rude, but it was cringe.
Even though it starts to make a little sense by the end, it still doesn't justify our main character's obsession with the guy. She meets him three times and starts fantasizing about her whole life with him.

Alert!! Alert !! Book fam, I have discovered a new favorite author: M.L Wang. My two most favorite books of this year are written by her. I am so looking forward to reading more of her books whenever they are available. She is so good!!!!

Sword of Kaigen is a masterpiece of fantasy literature. The author creates vivid scenes, powerful emotions and exquisite prose. She immerses the reader in a world of magic, war and family. It's an emotional roller coaster ride. This book is so cinematic, it's unfortunate that Netflix hasn't picked this up for an adaptation yet.

I can praise this book and author forever but I can't deny the fact this book may not appeal to all readers because it focuses more on the characters than the plot. The book consists of three parts: the first part introduces the world, the second part contains most of the action, and the final part deals with the consequences and aftermath of war.

The ending leaves us with more questions than answers. I learned that there is another book that follows Sword of Kaigen, but it was published before. The last chapter, which is the longest, seems to be mostly setting up for that book. I was anticipating something big, but nothing actually happened. But don’t get me wrong, the ending is more than satisfying. It just doesn’t go where I was expecting it to go. 

This book had me captivated till the very end even if it slowed down a little in the end. This book had some amazing character arcs and character development. This book did so many things right like female friendships, romances, grief and strong female characters.

I read blood over bright haven first, which is M.L wang's newer book, and my only complaint from that was the feminist message was too obvious. But in sword of kaigen she did it so well. Misaki wasn't shouting "I am strong" she just was.

If you are into character driven stories you are going to love this. This book was more about the journies of these characters than anything else.

Some parts of the book were triggering for me. They made me think about all those kids who are born in wars and are taught from the very young age how to be brave and how to defend themselves and people around them. It's a sad world that we live in.


 4.75
Writing:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
World Building: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I really love how this book is written. The author has used simple language and easy to follow structure to make the information easier to digest. I really like how you get a summary at the end of every chapter to remind you of everything you have learned in that particular chapter.

The book itself was very informative. It wasn't your typical self-help book that uses flowery and overly enthusiastic words to instill you with fleeting positivity. This book doesn't feel like that it could have been a Ted talk. The information in this book is actually useful, especially if you are trying to pick up new habits or trying to rid of old ones.

I have been following the lessons from this book and I am happy to inform you that they are working. I am getting better sleep, my dirty clothes are going right in the laundry basket, etc.

Overall, I agree with the author that small victories are just as important as big wins, if not more. When you change one small thing in your life, it has a spiral effect of positive changes that leads to a better overall lifestyle.

Summary of the Book (spoilers ahead)

The book is based on a simple framework called the Four Laws of Behavior Change which are based on the idea laid out by Charles Duhigg in his book the <b>Power of Habit</b> , which are:

• Make it obvious (Cue): Design your environment and cues to make your desired behavior the default option.

• Make it attractive (craving): Use temptation bundling, social norms, and positive emotions to make your desired behavior more appealing.

• Make it easy (response): Reduce the friction and effort required to perform your desired behavior, and use the two-minute rule to start with a simple action.

• Make it satisfying (reward): Use rewards, tracking, and feedback to reinforce your desired behavior and make it stick.

The book also explains how to apply these four laws to different aspects of your life, such as health, productivity, relationships, and finances.

One of the key insights of the book is that habits are not only about what you do, but also about who you are. Your habits shape your identity, and your identity shapes your habits. Therefore, the most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become. The book suggests that you should decide the type of person you want to be, and then prove it to yourself with small wins.

Another key insight of the book is that habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The effects of your habits may not be noticeable or impressive at first, but they will multiply over time and lead to remarkable results. The book encourages you to focus on getting 1% better every day, rather than chasing big goals or transformations.

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, explained the concept of <i>delayed return environment</i> in his book. He said that we live in a modern society where most of our actions and choices do not benefit us immediately, but only in the future. For example, studying for a degree, saving for retirement, or exercising for health are all activities that have delayed returns. They require us to sacrifice our present comfort and satisfaction for a future reward.

However, our brains are not well adapted to this kind of environment, because they evolved in a different one.

To overcome this challenge, Clear suggested that we should make our good habits more satisfying and our bad habits more unsatisfying. He proposed four ways to do this:

- Use reinforcement: Reward yourself for doing the good habit, and punish yourself for doing the bad habit. For example, you can treat yourself to a movie after finishing a project, or pay a fine to a friend if you skip a workout.

- Use tracking: Measure your progress and record your results. For example, you can use a calendar, a journal, or an app to track your habits and see how far you have come.

- Use feedback: Get feedback from others and yourself. For example, you can join a group, hire a coach, or use a mirror to get feedback on your habits and improve your performance.

- Use identity: Align your habits with your desired identity. For example, you can think of yourself as a writer, a runner, or a saver, and act accordingly. This way, you can make your habits part of who you are, and not just what you do. 

Habit stacking is a technique that helps you build new habits by linking them to existing ones. The idea is to use the cues and rewards of your current habits as triggers and reinforcements for your new habits. For example, if you want to start flossing your teeth, you can stack it on top of brushing your teeth, which is already a habit for you. The formula for habit stacking is:

• After/Before [current habit], I will [new habit].

For example:

• After I brush my teeth, I will floss my teeth.

• Before I eat breakfast, I will meditate for 10 minutes.

• After I finish work, I will go for a run.

Habit stacking makes it easier to start new habits because you don’t have to create new cues and rewards from scratch. You can also stack habit by linking things you need to do with things you want to do.

For example: working out while watching your favorite show.

Habit spiraling is a concept that describes how one positive habit can lead to another, creating a virtuous cycle of improvement. The idea is that when you make a small change in one area of your life, you create a ripple effect that spreads to other areas. For example, if you start exercising regularly, you may also start eating healthier, sleeping better, and feeling more confident. Each habit reinforces and supports the others, creating a positive feedback loop that makes you more likely to stick with them.