[REVIEW] T-Rex Trying

T-Rex Trying by Hugh Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is so good! So appropriate for T-Rex lovers <3

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National Book Awards 2020

Os vencedores do National Book Awards foram anunciados no passado dia 18 de Novembro. Vejam a lista abaixo:

Não-Ficção: “The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X” escrito por Les Payne e Tamara Payne Ficção: “Interior Chinatown” escrito por Charles Yu Poesia: “DMZ Colony” escrito por Don Mee Choi Literatura Traduzida: “Tokyo Ueno Station” escrito pory Yu Miri e Morgan Giles Literatura Jovem: “King and the Dragonflies” escrito por Kacen Callender A cerimónia foi gravada e podem assistir ao vídeo clicando aqui. Estou muito tentada a comprar o do Malcom X...

The Booker Prize 2020

Aí está ele, finalmente, o principal prémio literário no mundo da língua inglesa, que há mais de 50 anos traz reconhecimento, recompensa e leitores à ficção.
O Booker é concedido anualmente ao melhor romance do ano escrito em inglês e publicado no Reino Unido ou Irlanda.
Em 2020, ano de pandemia, o Booker foi adiado cerca de um mês, mas finalmente temos o vencedor, o escritor escocês Douglas Stuart e "Shuggie Bain" é o seu primeiro livro!

[REVIEW] My name is Lucy Barton

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

not for me...
I understand that the author needed to capture the difficult relationship between mother and daughter somehow, but I felt I just spent 50% of the audiobook hearing them talking about other people´s lives and that is something that bores me to death, also in real life...
Maybe it was the audio?
Maybe hearing a grown up mother asking "mommy, do you you love me" over and over again is just not for me...
Maybe if I would know more about the father or the brother would make me feel more connected to the story...?
well, main conclusion --> not for me.

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[REVIEW] Transcendence

Transcendence by Shay Savage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this book in 1 go and I wouldn’t be able to take a full day of Beh and Ehd if I hadn’t liked it this much...
The beginning is hilarious when Ehd is complaining about the mouth noises the woman does!! It’s nice to see how their relationship develops, super steamy pages, but the way Lah goes and comes (I cannot say more without spoiling it) made the book lose 1 star, so I am giving it 3 stars.
Very entertaining for a rainy Sunday, if you are up to a little romance.

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[REVIEW] Born a crime

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am giving 5* to this audiobook, narrated by Trevor Noah himself.
I got a bit lost a few times with the timelines and his age in the different chapters, but i got used to it quite fast.
His memories and the way he talks about them are very compelling, very funny at times, but also shocking, sad, outrageous...
Finally, what a good way to write a love letter to your mom <3 maybe I get my inspiration from this memoir...
Now I will try to convince my husband to listen to it! Wish me luck!

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[REVIEW] Your money or your life

Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved the book and I understand now its huge success. It´s an exercise that you need to be willing to do (it´s a lot of work) but it gives you so much clarity and makes you feel accountable for your choices.
Life is not happening to you, you are in charge.
It gives a lot of alternatives and examples of people who managed to find and accept their "enough" --> how much is enough for you?
I also gives a glimpse that there is more to life than this and the "more" can be defined by us (if we are willing to do the work).
The writing is very simple, for a non-native it´s fine & understandable, but I can imagine natives cringing at some points.

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[REVIEW] The Lessons of History

The Lessons of History by Ariel Durant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I was 10-16 y.o. I hated History as a subject --> positive side: it helped me realize I absolutely wanted to practice an exact science.
Now, getting closer to my 40s and watching (what the hell is wrong in) the world, I am more and more curious about this subject.
Sapiens came and I had to give in a little "ok, this is actually interesting..." so I decided to give this book a try, recommended to me by readers whose brain I respect... And the first chapter grabbed me: "History is a laboratory where hundreds of thousands of experiments were made". How come no one has ever told me this before?!
I really enjoyed reading it, but some parts I had to take with a pinch of salt: this book is old and Will Durant has very strong opinions about subjects that today I find sexist, racist, etc... but that didn´t stop me from reading and reflecting why I do not agree with him -- it was a great exercise and I will definitely re-read it!

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[REVIEW] On the come up

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this YA book: we meet a teenager who wants to be a raper and bad-ass just like her father, without really understanding the consequences just because she´s naïve... or should I say, just a teenager...
The family struggles a lot, mainly because of prejudice, which is nice to see through the eyes of the teen and how she feels responsible for "saving" her family at 16 y.o..
I am in a phase where YA books need to be read with care and in very slow doses, otherwise I spend the whole time rolling my eyes... I tend to forget how teenagers are really dumb, just like I was!

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Prémios Nobel 2020

Estamos em época de prémios Nobel e este ano não podia deixar de expressar a minha satifação ao ver que o Prémio Nobel da Química foi atribuído a duas mulheres cientistas (Emmanuelle Charpentier e Jennifer A. Doudna) pelo desenvolvimento de um método para editar DNA de forma precisa, com a técnica CRISPR/Cas9.

Emmanuelle Charpentier	Jennifer A. Doudna

Como sempre, atribuir um prémio deste dimensão a mulheres atrai sempre alguma forma de controversia, com alguns opositores a defender que o prémio devia ter sido atribuído ao inventor da técnica (um homem, pois claro).

Vamos agora salientar o Prémio Nobel da Literatura, atribuído à poetisa americana Louise Glück, “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”

--> traduzir esta frase seria um insulto, já que eu não conseguiria fazer justiça às palavras escolhidas para descrever o trabalho da poetisa.

Louise Glück

Mais um nome para adicionar à lista!

Ou me reformo aos 40, ou não vou conseguir ler tudo o que tenho na minha lista TBR (to-be-read)...

FONTE: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2020. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2021. Fri. 9 Oct 202o.