literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Book Review: "Esther is Now Following You" by Tanya Sweeney
I didn't know quite what I was expecting when I first opened this book, I sort of bought it for no reason other than I was just looking for something fun to read. It was, at times so funny I was actually crying, so sad that I was very nearly crying and so volatile that I could not tear myself away. Esther is Now Following You is a story that looks at celebrity obsession, missed opportunities, what happens when you live a lie and of course, when your expectations don't meet the reality of the situation. Esther is such a relatable character and at the same time, we can recognise she is perhaps not the best of people. A reaction to her poor mental health, her boring relationship that the reader has no idea why she's trying to keep alive and something terrible that happens to her in the book - this text really explores the depths of volatility and the consequences of actions that spin out of control.
By Annie Kapur5 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Love in a Dark Time" by Colm Tóibín
I haven't read much by this author but I can assure you that I will definitely be on the lookout for more after completing Love in a Dark Time. An anthology of stories regarding the LGBTQIA+ community of artists including Thomas Mann and Oscar Wilde, Colm Tóibín takes us on a journey of strength, resilience, darkness and hope. Again, I purchased this from the Queer Lit Bookshop in Manchester and if you ever get the chance to pop into it and buy some great books, sit and have a coffee (or a tea) and read - I would highly recommend that you do just that. It is one of the most perfect places on this planet.
By Annie Kapur5 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Blake" by Peter Ackroyd
Peter Ackroyd is definitely back on my menu after my reading of the essays of Christopher Hitchens in which Hitchens recommends reading many of Ackroyd's works. Blake is about the 18th century British poet, William Blake - a staple of schools in England and a massively underrated and under-read writer. I personally didn't realise that Blake's life was so interesting having only encountered him as a slightly looney religious man who thought he had visions and failed so badly at writing his family was almost resigned to poverty even though he was a print-maker. Who knew the life of Blake was actually pretty complex and that social issues were everywhere in his life, poems and relations. Peter Ackroyd's book reveals a side to William Blake that we often do not see as we choose the more rebellious writers: Byron, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley and even to some extent, Thomas de Quincey. But Blake was definitely a man of his time - a time of great upheaval and revolution.
By Annie Kapur6 months ago in Geeks
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
Written by 1940, Koestler was living in Paris when this book was published in its original German. A former member of the Communist Party, the author wrote this book as a indictment of Stalinism especially during the Moscow Show Trials. Based on entirely real people, many of the characters are directly representative of actual personalities and figures in the era. Jonathan Cape in the UK picked it up in 1940 and translated it for English readers, it would be published by Macmillan in the USA, making it a hugely successful read during the World War 2 years.
By Annie Kapur6 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Do Let's Have Another Drink" by Gareth Russell
Gareth Russell is a fantastic writer, possibly one of my favourite writers of the year so far. I have read and reviewed his books including: The Palace and Queen James with this review on Do Let's Have Another Drink my third of his bibliography. I am looking forward to having enough money to buy his book Young, Damned and Fair soon too. Gareth Russell's books are not just nonfiction historical pieces, they are entertaining to read with a great level of tone, dark comedy and often snide comments that are like a joke that only he and the reader are in on. His writing definitely makes the whole atmosphere of royal gossip come alive and this is why I am so addicted to reading his books.
By Annie Kapur6 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Woman From Book Club" by Carrie Hughes
So I have something to admit: I actually do really enjoy the typical 'female' novel. You know what they entail: crimes, cheating husbands, quirky black comedy and stock characters such as 'pick me' types and 'plain Jane' figures. The Woman From Book Club was recommended to me via Amazon and so I read a bit of it at first, thinking not a lot of it. Perhaps an hour or so later, I found myself thinking about the book again and before you know it, it appeared on my Kindle. Yes, I bought the book. And I read it in one day. That last part may not be surprising but this book was definitely one of those that you simply cannot put down.
By Annie Kapur6 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Establishment" by Owen Jones
Owen Jones is a familiar name to anyone who pays attention to the winged stratosphere of the political internet. But his book The Establishment, I have to admit, has been sitting around in my drawer for around two months (please don't hate me). I even picked it up at one point in these months intending to read it only to get side-tracked by another book. Eventually though, you will be glad to learn that I turned to Owen Jones' 'bestseller' and 'phenomenon' sooner or later and that's why we're here. I think many of the points in this book seem rather obvious and the writing sometimes drags points on longer than they are welcome, but it is still an interesting read.
By Annie Kapur6 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Chaucer" by Peter Ackroyd
I love Chaucer and I love Peter Ackroyd (except for his book on King Arthur which got me thinking whether I should continue with his bibliography, though I did absolutely consume Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem faster than a competitive eater working a hotdog in the first thirty seconds of a competition. Nice save Ackroyd). I've now chosen that putting together Chaucer and Peter Ackroyd is probably my next great idea. It actually came from reading Arguably by Christopher Hitchens in which I read an essay about Peter Ackroyd. Hitchens goes on to mention and (quite formally) gush about the best books by the author, toeing the line of a fanatic (go on, laugh about the irony). But anything that Hitchens states you should read, you should perhaps read. It will feed your soul.
By Annie Kapur6 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Freely Determined" by Kennon M. Sheldon
I was genuinely missing my books about the human mind. I am planning to write quite a controversial article regarding my thoughts on mental health but I'm not sure on whether to publish it. It could make some people not like me at all but, that's also why it's called 'unpopular opinions'. Be that as it may, I really just wanted to read something about the human mind and how it works. In Freely Determined we get some of the ideas made popular by Robert Sapolsky's Determined. A theory regarding determinism is always a good way to show us how free will not only doesn't exist, but human behaviour is massively more predictable than we realise. Doesn't that simply mean that all our choices mean nothing? How do you interpret that? It's interesting.
By Annie Kapur6 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Letters to My Younger Queer Self" by Daniel Harding
This book was a rare find in one of my favourite bookshops in the world: Queer Lit Manchester. I actually wrote about this place some time ago and how much I love it. I discovered it about two years' ago and if you're ever in Manchester I would say it is the place to go.
By Annie Kapur6 months ago in Geeks
