[REVIEW] The Richest Man in Babylon

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 stars, it’s ok — the message is clear and even important, I would say… but the language made me turn to other books instead and my motivation to keep this one up decrease a lot…

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[REVIEW] My year of rest and relaxation

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Let’s admit it — the main character is not likable at all. But she’s funny as hell.
This lady finds herself without job, in a very unhealthy relationship, and tired of living. But surprisingly enough, she doesn’t want to die. She just wants to sleep!
So she finds a bad shrink that loves psychotropics and takes a lot of notes but seems not to read them before the appointments — the doctor herself is hilariously incompetent.
So the story goes on during her full year under the effect of psychotropics and shows us glimpses of her (traumatizing) childhood and how she got to this point.
If you like a sarcastic character who is not afraid of pooping in an art gallery as a protest, this is for you LOL

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[REVIEW] Les Loyautés

Les Loyautés by Delphine de Vigan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

C’était mon premier roman de Delphine de Vigan et je suis étonnée par la façon simple qu’elle écrit — possible de se faire comprendre par quelqu’un qui n’est pas natif — mais simultanément complexe pour décrire les émotions des enfants et des adultes.
C’était géniale de lire les adultes en première personne du singulier et les enfants en troisième personne du singulier, vu que la perspective de l’enfant est toujours difficile d’imaginer… et difficile de trouver un auteur qui arrive a bien représenter la réalité…

J’ai aussi trouvé très poignant la description de « l’opinion publique » sur les femmes aux foyer:
“Tout se passe comme si la femme au foyer était, par définition, assigné à résidence et que son cerveau, ayant souffert d’avoir été privé d’oxygène, fonctionnait au ralenti.”

et l’incrédulité de Cécile sur ce qui les gens sont capables d’écrire sur des les médias sociaux sans se faire connaître!
“Drôle le monde qui nous laisse déverser ici et là une parole anonyme, ambivalente ou extrême, sans jamais nous faire connaître.”

Je vais sans doute suivre Delphine de Vigan !

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[REVIEW] The Wellness Syndrome

The Wellness Syndrome by Carl Cederstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting point of view about this wave of wellness we see all around us, and how the people that do not fit in (unhappy people, fat people, non-entrepreneurs or non-leaders, etc etc) are seen as incapable, unproductive, lazy...
I am curious to know which syndrome comes next... and if we manage to be part of the herd or not!

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[REVIEW] The Silent Patient

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a holy guacamole book!
I have to confess I did not predict the end, which was something that does not happen often due to the huge amount of thriller I have read in the past -- but hey, I didn't see this coming and I loved it!

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[REVIEW] Ghost Wall

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Easy read: the book is short and the writing is beautiful! Tough themes like domestic violence are featured and the 17 y.o. main character is super smart, I loved her comments and her shy personality.
Definitely an author I will revisit!

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[REVIEW] O vício dos livros

O Vício dos Livros by Afonso Cruz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Alguns ensaios melhores do que outros, mas para quem gosta de ler livros e de coleccioná-los, é um prazer viajar nestas paginas!

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[REVIEW] Educated

Educated by Tara Westover
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Now I get why this book is on everyone's TBR or everyone's favourites.... It's a memoir that reads like a thriller, which makes it even more creepy!!!
"holy guacamole, this is not fiction, this lady really lived through this"

I am not summarising the book, many people did that already and in a much better way.
What I will say, however, is that I've been thinking for a long time that education is the solution for most of humanity's problems, but I never quite understood why most people don't like to learn, are not curious, don't use the amazing source of knowledge we have today in the tip of our hands! (yep, I am from the pre-cell phone era, guys)
But this book showed me a glimpse of the isolation people feel when they start changing, shifting, learning and questioning... at some point, in your learning process, you have to decide if you step out of your comfort zone into the unknown (alone, probably you will suffer some of aggression), or if you stay where you are...
Today, I think differently, but the idea is not completely settled in my head... I would say something like this "most world's problem would be solved by the willing of brave people to be educated..."

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[REVIEW] Blue Horses

Blue Horses by Mary Oliver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“There couldn’t be a more splendid world, and here l am existing in it”
How can someone not LOVE Mary Oliver’s words?


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[REVIEW] Unshakeable

Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook by Anthony Robbins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this one!
Don’t buy it for poetic words on how to start planning for your financial freedom, he writes the same way as if he was in a coffee shop across the table from you.
But, if you are just starting to think about the money topic, start here!
Then, if you want to know more, there are plenty more books that deep dive in.
Last pages are really precious!

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[REVIEW] The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beautiful drawings, beautiful messages about friendship. A book to revisit once in a while!

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[REVIEW] The Great Alone

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holy Guacamole...
What this book does so well is to describe the decay of Leni's father mental health with the reduction of sun light... It also shows how difficult it is to live in extreme weather, but humans are amazing creatures and adapt...
Respect for Alaska, honestly. By reading this book I felt like a city girl (which I am), screaming at the smallest spider (which I also do) and completely unable to adapt and survive in temperatures below -10C (also true).
I am curious now, is it possible for anyone in Alaska to be vegetarian?


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[REVIEW] Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked it, the message opens up a few "windows" and lets you understand that mindset and drive are key for success.
But if the neoliberalism typical of some Americans irritates you, skip this one --> it's all me, me, me at all costs.
Also, not the best language ever, but the topic is not literary fiction or poetry, so don't expect more than a coffee table talk.

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[REVIEW] Faithful Place

Faithful Place by Tana French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What I think Tana French does really well in this Dublin Murder Squad series is the fact that we´ve met all protagonists in the previous books, so it´s like we already have a relationship with them and in each book we get to know them better...
In this particular book, I cared for Rosie and Francis, I cared for the whole Mackie family who has been trapped in the consequences of alcoholism for their entire lives...
I won´t give away anything from the plot, just say that it is a nice entertaining story to read on raining sunday afternoons or at the beach.


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[REVIEW] Good Talk

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was excellent! Super easy to read, engaging, original and addressing the hot topic of race. Really loved and recommend it to everyone!

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[REVIEW] NW

NW by Zadie Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my first novel from Zadie Smith and I have seen many reviews stating that Smith's best work are essays not novels. I think I understand why -- this book is not completely easy, in particular for a non-native. It changes structure several times, it introduces us to a character that we end up liking, to later not referring to him again at all... Was that really needed? Maybe yes, to show how everyone knew everyone in that NW neighbourhood...
It also explores the lives of 2 girls, best friends, where 1 is able to be herself with her best-friend, but the other ends up having a (somewhat weird) parallel life. All this is shown, not told, so I think I understood the reasons, but I'll never be sure. Also, the end of the book does not bring closure to many topics and I got the feeling of something almost done but not completed... I cannot explain it better than this...
Basically, I think I got it (but I am not sure LOL) still, I really liked it, enough for a 4 stars rating :-) however, I would definitely NOT recommend this book to everyone.

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[REVIEW] The Client

The Client by John Grisham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was my first re-read! ever!
I remember being at home, 12 or 13 years old, and desperate to find something to do on a rainy week day, during holidays. And suddenly I saw on my mother's bookshelves these "compiled editions" from Reader's Digest. This was one of the 4 stories in that book and I think it was the one that made me fall in love with reading and with mysteries & thrillers...
At that time I might have thought about this book as 5*, today (and 300 books later) it's a 4* but the clear--no bullshit--writing style is still amazing and even comforting...
How different it would be to write this story in a time where 11 year olds have smartphones, ha!
It was a nice travel back in time.
PS - I am not becoming a regular re-reader, too many books to read in life and too little time.


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[REVIEW] The Likeness

The Likeness by Tana French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nice mystery/thriller, it kept me engaged until the end... I find it hard to believe how someone can be someone else entirely in a few days, but for the purpose of the murder story behind it, I pretend I believed it...

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[REVIEW] Men explain things to me

Men Explain Things to Me: and Other Essays by Rebecca Solnit
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved all Solnit´s essays in this book, from the men who like to explain things to her, to the Pandora box, or closets, which hopefully will never be closed again.
An essay that particularly struck me was about obliteration... how women are obliterated from family trees, and from family names, how you can follow a family lineage and go back even hundreds of years but you will ONLY find the men... however I happen to be reading Sapiens at the same time and the paradox is fascinating: how despite so much effort to obliterate women, nature is actually preserving us --> the only genetic code preserved through time is actually from mothers, inside our mitochondrias, so the origin or root science can actually follow is from the first mother, also known as "Mitochondrial Eve"...
I highly recommend this book, very fast read but very rewarding --> and I came to love Solnit´s writing style!

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[REVIEW] A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

For a few weeks, I tried to gather my thoughts around this book. In particular, how could a book rated as 4 stars on Goodreads, could actually be a 1 star reading for me... But that's the amazing power of books, they depend so much on the story and the writing style, as they depend on the reader's mood, favourite genres, etc...
There are other reviews than summarise the book much better than this one --> for the moment I will just say that this book did much more "tell" than "show" (for example, it tried to convince me the vampire was dangerous, but we only saw him doing yoga, not doing any killing) and it is full of patriarchal elements:
- the most powerful witch ever born is not able to defend her self at all
- the woman's purpose is to have babies
- the woman's life is in danger so the man meets with other man (behind closed doors) to decide what she will do, while she waits outside and knits (... eyes rolling...)

But, hey, there are positive things: the main character is an historian that focused on alchemy --> I am a chemist, so I could I not like this? But I learned very little, so I will focus on alchemistry books instead of this fantasy series.

So, as a summary, and with all due respect for the author and fans, this book is not for me.

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[REVIEW] In the woods

In the Woods by Tana French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was my first Tana French, and it had been a long time since my last mystery/thriller... So right before the book ended, I was thinking "wait a second, there are not enough pages to figure out everything that happened in this book..." and apparently that's the way Tana French's books are --> the characters are flawed, they make mistakes, not all their issues are solved and they definitely do not live happily ever after.
This is kind of refreshing for me, much more realistic!
So in this one, Rob is a troubled guy, something terrible happened when he was young and it basically ruins him. He might be a good cop, but at some point he let's his fears and emotions gets in the way.
I am giving 4 starts to this book, because it managed to make me angry and frustrated with some characters while keeping me engaged in the story.
I am definitely going to read the rest of the Murder Squad novels!

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um 2021 com muitas vacinas, poucas redes sociais e boas leituras

é o que eu desejo a todos sem excepção!

Gostava imenso que em 2021 as pessoas começassem a passar tanto tempo com livros como o tempo que passam no Instagram, mas já sei que é pedir demais...

OK, segunda tentativa: por favor leiam o Digital Minimalism ou vejam o Social Dilema na Netflix. E mais não digo...

Gostava que em 2021 as livrarias independentes em Portugal deixassem de viver no século XX e apostassem no serviço digital. Nove meses no meio de uma pandemia e ainda há livrarias que não têm um motor de pesquisa decente no site, ou não têm loja online, muitas delas não têm sequer website... amigos, páginas de facebook e blogs não contam... Dói-me na alma querer ajudar o comércio tradicional português e não poder fazer nada online a 2000 km. de distância...

Gostava imenso que em 2021 os telejornais portugueses deixassem de perder 20 minutos com futebol. Que deixassem de mostrar resultados do campeonato de futebol inglês, espanhol, italiano, francês... esqueci-me de algum? É por demais!