Book-Reviews

Title: Invisible Cities Author: Calvino, Italo Publisher: Harcourt Pages: 165 Date Read: 08 September 2023 Bookshelves: read My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐ You can immediately tell that Calvino is a fantastic writer 5 pages into this book. However, I did not enjoy the book, mainly because I did not appreciate what the book was about. While I enjoyed the dialogues between Polo and Kublai, I did not derive much satisfaction from reading descriptions of far-flung cities, hard as I tried. ...

Title: The Joys of Motherhood Author: Emecheta, Buchi Publisher: Longman Pages: 224 Date Read: 08 September 2023 Bookshelves: read My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A very sad book indeed. In this book, Emecheta writes about a culture that ties a woman’s worth to the responsibilities of motherhood. First, you must be a mother. Then you must bear sons to carry your husband’s family name. And while raising these kids almost singlehandedly, languishing in penury because your husband went to fight in another man’s war, you must take responsibility for the failures and share none of the successes. You learn early on that the only reward for motherhood is a promise. A promise that your male children will be successful and take care of you. And if they eventually become successful and do not remember to repay your kindness, your task as a mother is to continue to wish them well. To be wholly content that you raised a success story. After all, you did not just birth a child; you birthed a male child. That is what you must aspire to be: a mother to male children. In the eye of culture, you are far better than a woman with no sons; or worse, a woman with no children. ...

Title: The Art of Thinking Clearly Author: Dobelli, Rolf Publisher: Harper Pages: 384 Date Read: 03 July 2023 Bookshelves: read My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book keeps its promise on what it sets out to accomplish: which is to aggregate scores of thinking fallacies and suggest methods to keep us aware of these errors and strategies to help mitigate their unintended consequences. It was well-written. And I learnt a lot from its pages. Particularly knowing the technical terms of fallacies and scenarios I encounter very frequently. ...

Title: [A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms]: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills - 2020, 2nd Edition [Paperback] Author: Jiwel, Jiwel Publisher: Independently published Pages: 488 Date Read: 27 June 2023 Bookshelves: read My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent content and written in accessible language. Essential first read for folks with no experience in data structures and algorithms or those who seek a more relaxed understanding of the subject. ...

Title: Carrie Soto Is Back Author: Reid, Taylor Jenkins Publisher: Ballantine Books Pages: 384 Date Read: 27 June 2023 Bookshelves: read, favorites My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ There are authors whose books I read once per year. I do this because excellent writing is always in short supply and must be rationed accordingly. TJR is one of 2 authors (as of 2023) that occupy this elite list. You only need to read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo to quickly understand why. ...

Title: Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad Author: Kuku, Damilare Publisher: Masobe Books Pages: 254 Date Read: 27 June 2023 Bookshelves: read My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐ The first story was descriptive in a way I genuinely enjoyed. The other stories, however, only served to reinforce my reasons for avoiding the genre of short stories on principle.

Title: Strategize to Win: The New Way to Start Out, Step Up, or Start Over in Your Career Author: Harris, Carla A. Publisher: Avery Pages: 256 Date Read: 27 June 2023 Bookshelves: read My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A very well-written book. There’s something for everyone at any stage of their career. Definitely learnt a lot from this one. You probably will too.

Title: The Architect’s Apprentice Author: Shafak, Elif Publisher: Viking Pages: 424 Date Read: 27 June 2023 Bookshelves: read, favorites My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐⭐ In this book, as usual, Shafak holds the reader spellbound by the excellence of her words. Here, she writes about the Ottoman Empire, the art of construction, apprenticeship, war, plagues, and death. She writes of Sinan, the legendary architect responsible for the construction of some of the most famous mosques that stand to this day and the philosophy that guides his approach to design. She writes of Chota, a white elephant gifted to the sultan from the king of a faraway land. She tells of how decades of service and spectacle wove her into the very fabric of the city. She writes of Jahan, the elephant keeper, who would later train under Sinan and eventually raise buildings of his own. She writes of his search for love, his want for meaning and his quest for legacy. With an abundance of characters that stretch through decades, wars and plagues, this book was a slight departure from how a typical Shafak book would read. ...

Title: The Dhandho Investor: The Low-Risk Value Method to High Returns Author: Pabrai, Mohnish Publisher: Wiley Pages: 183 Date Read: 27 June 2023 Bookshelves: read My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐ Decently written. Started reading with no expectations. So I felt no hurt when the book neither wowed nor displeased me upon completion. A solid 3.

Title: The Man in the Red Underpants Author: Green, A.R. Publisher: nan Pages: 45 Date Read: 27 June 2023 Bookshelves: read My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐ Decently written. Makes a case for Islam as the only route to God. The arguments put forth in this text weren’t strong enough to sway one who didn’t already share an ideological bent as the author. I, therefore, think the book will mostly benefit believers and is unlikely to benefit anyone else. Which is ironic because believers are not the target audience of the book.