Annie Kapur
Bio
200K+ Reads on Vocal.
Secondary English Teacher & Lecturer
🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)
🎓Film & Writing (M.A)
🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd) (QTS)
📍Birmingham, UK
Stories (2008/0)
Book Review: "Grey Dog" by Elliott Gish
“A good woman. How odd that the phrase has such a particular meaning. One might say “a good man” and mean anything — there are as many ways of being a good man, it seems, as there are of being a man at all. But there is only one way to be a good woman. It is such a narrow, stunted, blighted way to be that I wonder any woman throughout history has been up to the task. Perhaps none of us ever have.” - "Grey Dog" by Elliott Gish
By Annie Kapurabout 8 hours ago in Geeks
1984 by George Orwell
Published in the 8th of June 1949, George Orwell’s novel ‘1984’ is possibly one of the most famous novels of all of 20th century literature. Described as a dystopian novel and a cautionary tale against totalitarianism and surveillance, the repressive society of a superstate called Oceania takes shape as being a form of Great Britain in perpetual war. The constant propaganda and the requirement to obey certain messages and discard known histories plays on similar themes to Orwell’s earlier novel ‘Animal Farm’ when it comes to how knowledge and language is manipulated for the sake of maintaining power. Known for his messages criticising both extremes of the political stratosphere, George Orwell was a passionate democratic socialist who wove into his books the characters and plot lines which represent the abuses of power which have only unfolded into our modern times as a reality. Aren’t we all just Winston Smith?
By Annie Kapura day ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Calling Bullshit" by Carl T. Bergstrom and Jevin D. West
“Nothing that you will learn in the course of your studies will be of the slightest possible use to you, save only this, that if you work hard and intelligently you should be able to detect when a man is talking rot, and that, in my view, is the main, if not the sole, purpose of education.” - "Calling Bullshit" by Carl T. Bergstrom and Jevin D. West
By Annie Kapur2 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "James" by Percival Everett
“With my pencil I wrote myself into being. I wrote myself to here.” - James by Percival Everett I have been waiting for this book for a long time. When it came out, I initially decided not to get it because it was fairly expensive. Having read some of the other books of the same author, I actually could not wait for James to be released. I was absolutely itching even though it was out of my price range. However, I ended up buying it when it came down in price slightly from a bookshop and ultimately, got to reading it when I arrived back home. From reading one of the best novels of the last 10 years, The Trees, and other great books like Damned if I do, Percival Everett is proving to be a really exciting voice in the world of literary fiction. In James, he takes one of my favourite novels: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and writes the first person narrative of one of the most intense and carefully crafted characters in American Literature: Jim.
By Annie Kapur3 days ago in Geeks
My Day at the Hay Festival
As you can probably tell, I went to one of the most famous literature festivals in the world: The Hay Festival. It was the bank holiday and so, everything else was closed and, on top of that, John Boyne was in conversation on one of the stages. John Boyne is an author that I have read profusely and I decided to take my mother since her favourite book is also by John Boyne: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. I had spent the days before checking out what he had done in Bath and listening to his episode of Desert Island Discs in which he doesn't only list his favourite music but also gives us an insight into his writing process.
By Annie Kapur6 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Cardiff, by the Sea" by Joyce Carol Oates
“Live like it’s your life.” - Cardiff, by the Sea by Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates is quite possibly one of the finest writers of the past fifty years and has had a great range of novels to lend her name to. Apart from her novels though are her short stories. Now, I have always loved investigating her short stories - I have reviewed them often. 'Zero-Sum' was probably not her best but 'The Doll Master and Tales of Terror' was brilliant. This book named 'Cardiff, By the Sea' is a little bit different in the fact that it is a book of four short novellas rather than just short stories. They are well-written and in a classic Joyce Carol Oates style, deal with a woman's struggle in the world and how they have to bear the brunt of everyone else's bad decisions - including those of men. It is one of her better books in my opinion - every problem is rubbed raw and revealed to the reader as a series of sad vignettes.
By Annie Kapur6 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Soldier Sailor" by Claire Kilroy
I have no idea how I actually came across this book. It was pretty much by chance. I liked the idea of the book, I liked the look of the book and I had seen it advertised in a couple of places on X. I read the blurb over and over again of what was advertised and thought to myself: I have to read this. Then I put it aside again and carried on. This went on for about a week before I gave in and bought the book. I am so bloody glad I did because reader, this book was a new level of extreme. The emotion that Kilroy conveys through the narrator is nothing short of a long-winded breakdown of emotion and nerves. It is fantastic, angry and feels like electricity is coursing through the veins of the protagonist, being beamed upon the reading public in sprays.
By Annie Kapur7 days ago in Geeks
- Top Story - May 2024
Go Tell it on the Mountain by James BaldwinTop Story - May 2024
Published on the 18th of May, 1953, ‘Go Tell it on the Mountain’ became the book that James Baldwin is probably most famous for. Including the very real impacts of violence upon the African American community during a time of turbulence for Civil Rights, James Baldwin became an absolute superstar not just of his race, but of the oppressed in every situation, in every country, all over the world. From Palestine to the Civil Rights Movement, from the LGBTQA+ to Muslim Migrants from war-torn countries, James Baldwin is the voice of the oppressed not just through the way he presents the division, but the way he presents a reality that the oppressors could not possibly be aware of. A reality in which every day is a fight to survive. What makes this even more real is that this is a semi-autobiographical novel. In my personal opinion, James Baldwin was the most articulate man in history.
By Annie Kapur8 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "When We Were Silent" by Fiona McPhillips
Sometimes, I do understand the term 'doom-scrolling' but I wonder whether it counts if I'm doing it on the Penguin Books website. This is where I found the book When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips, it just dragged me in automatically. I read the description, the short snippets of reviews and looked intently at the cover whilst I contemplated whether to get it. But whilst I was doing said contemplating, I had already hovered over the 'buy' button and bought it. Thankfully, I bought it on my Kindle and so, I wouldn't have to wait to read it. From a woman who has to confront her past to the same woman who becomes frightened when her daughter wants to join a swimming club.
By Annie Kapur9 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The List" by Yomi Adegoke
“That was the irony; men feared false accusations, but survivors were the ones being wrongly smeared. No matter how much evidence there was to support an allegation, for months afterwards accusers were demanded to #ThinkFirst” - The List by Yomi Adegoke
By Annie Kapur10 days ago in Geeks