literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Book Review: "Katherine Swynford" by Alison Weir
I did a series on the book Henry VIII: King and Court by Alison Weir. A book of many pages, deep and incredible research and I cannot lie, I was immersed from start to finish - my heart and mind was full. Truly a brilliant experience that dropped you deep into the heart of the Tudor realm with all of its politics and intrigue. I then wanted to buy a book that was perhaps about lesser known women and so, I went with her book on Katherine Swynford, the wife and mistress of John of Gaunt. I didn't know what had tempted me to the book apart from the fact that Alison Weir had written it.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Perfect Child" by Lucinda Berry
Lucinda Berry's books seem to have captured me in the way very few thrillers often do. Ah who am I kidding, I get into overwhelmingly dark and thrilling books so often it's actually difficult to get out of them once I'm in. I often get upset or jittery if I get disturbed in the midst of them purely because I really want to know what happens next. The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry is dark like Saving Noah, but not in the same way. It has that multiple narrator on-beat pacing and a strange, twisted story. For a long time, you genuinely don't see what's going on - until you finally do.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Best of Friends" by Lucinda Berry
Lucinda Berry's books are quite an exciting discovery for me. I started off with Saving Noah and I can honestly say that it will haunt my soul until I die. Filled with family intrigue and brutally grey moral areas, the book scared the crap out of me without it even being a horror novel. One of the best books I have read all year and so, it would definitely lead me to check out her other books. I didn't actually realise I had this book on my phone. Best of Friends isn't just about three teenage boys who are the best of friends when something horrific happens to them, but it is also about three best friends with a past that led to all these events: their mothers. Now, one of the boys is dead, one is in a coma and the other is traumatised beyond words as he hasn't been speaking lately...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "New Poems Book 4" by Charles Bukowski
"we are all museums of fear" - Charles Bukowski Bukowski's poetry is growing on me and I don't know why but here we are. New Poems Book 4 is a terror-riddled nightmare fuelled horror story of what I think the reader is to believe is his everyday life but I genuinely think if you lived like this every single day you would be dead long before Bukowski died. I think that Bukowski rather did exaggerate his experiences but there's nothing wrong with that. As I learn more about his life I am shocked at the fact he was married for a second time after his first wife left him. Be that as it may, he is a terrible human being but that doesn't mean he is necessarily wrong about everything and this book is what will prove that point for you.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Stranger in the Woods" by Anni Taylor
It was just a bit of thinking I was doing recently where I found out that reading a thriller set in a remote location with folklorish vibes would be able to make me feel a bit happier in my soul. Stranger in the Woods by Anni Taylor is such a clever and brilliant book and though I have to admit that I guessed who was responsible long before it was revealed at the end, the way the author seemed to drop weird and unusual hints through language and action was such an incredible talent. It wasn't lost on me that the whole point of this book wasn't just what the author was saying, it was what they were not saying...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Your Face Belongs to Us" by Kashmir Hill
Kashmir Hill writes this book as an almost warning to us, I say almost because she also clearly demonstrates that throughout history, we have already been warned about these people. These people who, under the guise of what she aptly identifies as 'security theatre' actually practice far-right aligning politics reaching to the cusp of eugenics. Your Face Belongs To Us is a nonfiction masterpiece of that history, covering the way in which privacy and anonymity has been eroded over time in the name of this security theatre. And, as more and more companies align with it, what this could potentially mean for the future of facial recognition. The real question therefore is not purely 'when' but it is also 'why'. The 'why' though is a question that is worth asking as they definitely don't want to answer it.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
The Patriot Games: A Totally Original, Definitely Not Dystopian, Celebration of American Athletics
Is This the Reaping? We have finally reached a period in the timeline of our universe when idiocracy is at an all-time high. A recent announcement from the current administration has sparked a ripple effect of discourse among our population. A discourse of excitement from one side and a sign of distaste from the other. Unfortunately, preparations are in order for fall 2026, as a four-day athletic event promises to showcase the “best” of American high school talent.
By Nozomi Rose4 months ago in Geeks
How My Hero Academia Should Have Ended
From both inside and out, Midoriya and Shigaraki’s blows to All for One connect, resonating as wielders of One for All. Light erupts at the sight of the conflict, as All for One’s immense quirk factors begin to degrade, and conjured debris begins to crumble. Blown backwards from the force of the connection, Midoriya sees a light falling in the distance….the One for All embers within Shigaraki’s battered and broken body. Midoriya, with an ember burning within, races to catch Shigaraki, and as he reaches him, they both tumble to the ground with a great impact.
By Cobe Wilson4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "You Get So Alone At Times That It Just Makes Sense" by Charles Bukowski
I don't know what made me buy Bukowski's books, in the past I haven't enjoyed him all that much. Two years' ago I gave Ham on Rye a 2/5 for simply just not being interesting in the slightest.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Death of an Ordinary Man" by Sarah Perry
When I read this book I thought perhaps I wouldn't have enough to say about it to write a full-length review. However, I have proven myself incorrect and here we are. I am a big lover of beautiful prose and I think that the style of the prose in certain books can be like the strokes of a brush by a painter. It shows control, the ability to portray complex imagery, feelings and philosophies whilst also telling us a compelling story filled with genuinely wrought human emotions. I was surprised at this book for the fact it was simply so good. Death of an Ordinary Man is exactly what you think it is about and now, let's start at the beginning.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Background and Context: I read "Les Miserables" for the first time when I was in my teens and I am not ashamed to say that it took young teen me a whole month to read. Not only was the language a bit difficult but there were so many characters to remember and then you had the fact that there were a lot of outdated and rather archaic sayings etc. that were littered about. All of this and then, you have all that history of the French Revolution to contend with. When I exited the book though, I was pretty much a teen expert on the political landscape of the French Revolution. I have to say that if you come out of "Les Miserables" (the book, not the musical or the movie) and you aren't an amateur expert on the French Revolution then you haven't really been reading it properly.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Young and Damned and Fair" by Gareth Russell (Pt.3)
It's probably been said by me too many times at this point, but I think that Cahterine Howard's story is perhaps one of the saddest of all of the Tudor Women because she was not only so young, but she was also the most inexperienced when it came to court life. Women like Jane Seymour had been ladies of the court since the time of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn had also been a lady of the court at that time. As for Anne of Cleeves, she was a princess in her home country and thus, had tons of experience with the court as did Catherine Parr - the final queen. Catherine Howard had perhaps 6-8 months of court life before becoming infatuated with the king and so, her wrecklessness towards her own standpoint was almost predictable. Gareth Russell writes her story as a woman who still wants to experience things before she gets bogged down in the role of Queen of England and yet, her actions and her husband's temper means she will never actually get there.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
