en-US Sat, 07 Jun 2025 12:37:32 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7635501874 Sat, 07 Jun 2025 12:37:32 -0700 /review/show/7635501874 I Read, Therefore I Blog gave 3 stars to Flowers Over the Inferno (Hardcover) by Ilaria Tuti
Ilaria Tuti’s debut thriller (the first in a trilogy and translated from Italian by Ekin Oklap) draws on an actual event as the basis for this uneven story of child cruelty and village secrets. Battaglia held my interest with her health issues, the hints at previous spousal abuse and her attempts to deal with the onset of Alzheimer’s but the profiling feels very old-fashioned and her relationship with the under-developed Marini doesn’t convince. ]]> Review7625268234 Tue, 03 Jun 2025 14:42:46 -0700 /review/show/7625268234 I Read, Therefore I Blog gave 4 stars to Breaking Bread: How Baking Shaped Our World (Hardcover) by David Wright
David Wright is a baker, writer and presenter. This thought-provoking book examines bread and its role in society and the economy, its impact on health and the environment and industry challenges (which is particularly strong and draws on Wright’s own experiences with his family bakery). I wanted more on how gluten intolerance decreases when “proper� bread is eaten and Wright constantly repeats his credentials but it definitely held my interest. ]]> Review7619162092 Sun, 01 Jun 2025 14:28:32 -0700 /review/show/7619162092 I Read, Therefore I Blog gave 4 stars to While We're Young (Paperback) by K.L. Walther
If you’re familiar with FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF then there’s a huge amount to enjoy in K. L. Walther’s YA frothy romantic comedy, which couples a lot of Easter egg references with wry narrative voices and is as much about friendship as romance. There are some fun moments to be had but I did find it difficult to keep the various families straight in my head and I worry that there’s more here for readers aged 35+ than there are for target teens. ]]> Review7599153327 Sun, 25 May 2025 15:30:40 -0700 /review/show/7599153327 I Read, Therefore I Blog gave 2 stars to Capitalism: A Conversation in Critical Theory (Paperback) by Nancy Fraser
Nancy Fraser is Professor of Political & Social Science at the New School for Social Research and Rahel Jaeggi is professor of practical and social philosophy at the Humboldt University, Berlin. This highly academic book, framed as a conversation between the authors uses (and assumes that the reader is grounded in) critical theory to explore what capitalism is, how it’s been viewed in history, how it can be capitalised and how it can be defeated. ]]> Review7579870327 Sun, 18 May 2025 14:29:07 -0700 /review/show/7579870327 I Read, Therefore I Blog gave 4 stars to Spy Agency Puzzle Book–The Hidden Hacker: Solve puzzles, crack codes and take on a top secret mission (Paperback) by Collins
This entertaining puzzle book for readers aged 8+ works imagines that the reader is a secret agent who has to complete their training at Spy HQ before they go out in the field. It has a good mix of logic and graphic puzzles - certainly something for everyone - and is a good way of introducing young readers to puzzle solving techniques but the black and white illustrations prevent some of the visual puzzles from working quite as well as they should. ]]> Review7563044963 Mon, 12 May 2025 08:34:56 -0700 /review/show/7563044963 I Read, Therefore I Blog gave 2 stars to The Vengeance (The Vampires of Dumas, #1) by Emma Newman
Emma Newman’s fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) is a sapphic romp featuring vampires, werewolves and pirates but while there’s fun to be had with Morgane’s ignorance of social mores and colourful swearing, Morgane is one of those annoying characters who doesn’t ask questions and rushes into things without thinking. The plot is uneven, the antagonist two-dimensional and Lisette an insipid love interest whose introduction comes too late. ]]> Review7545342196 Mon, 05 May 2025 11:02:37 -0700 /review/show/7545342196 I Read, Therefore I Blog gave 3 stars to Why Social Media is Ruining Your Life (Hardcover) by Katherine Ormerod
Katherine Ormerod is a fashion journalist, social media influencer and a fashion beauty and lifestyle brand consultancy. Published in 2018 this readable book aimed at young women is ripe for an update, mixing academic research and anecdotes from influencers to explain why social media is so bad for your well being but it downplays the role of the mass media in feeding into trends and is quiet on solutions to abuse within the fashion industry. ]]> Review7523255249 Sun, 27 Apr 2025 10:40:42 -0700 /review/show/7523255249 I Read, Therefore I Blog gave 4 stars to The Trading Game: A Confession (Hardcover) by Gary Stevenson
Gary Stevenson is a former Citibank trader turned YouTuber and anti-inequality activist. This is an absorbing memoir of his life as a top trader at Citibank but the sections setting out how he rose from a working class upbringing in Ilford, Essex to become a top trader making millions of pounds in bonuses are more convincing than the final section, which charts how he became disillusioned with his job and its role in fuelling societal inequality. ]]> Review7504382403 Sun, 20 Apr 2025 14:18:02 -0700 /review/show/7504382403 I Read, Therefore I Blog gave 3 stars to First Space Activity and Colouring Book (National Geographic Kids) by National Geographic Kids
National Geographic’s activity book for readers aged 5+ (part of a series) mixes facts about the solar system with plenty of fun activities to keep young readers busy, including maze puzzles, dot-to-dot pictures and pictures to colour. If you have a young reader who’s interested in space then this will definitely keep them entertained but I would have liked more facts than are given and more cohesion (e.g. there is nothing on the ice planets). ]]> Review7485039410 Sun, 13 Apr 2025 07:40:33 -0700 /review/show/7485039410 I Read, Therefore I Blog gave 3 stars to Rebel Dawn (Kindle Edition) by Ann Sei Lin
The conclusion to Ann Sei Lin’s YA fantasy trilogy delves deeper into the mythology of her Japanese-inspired world and focuses on themes of grief, loss and guilt. However there’s too much plot here for the length of the book, which means that some storylines unfurl in too perfunctory a way and don’t have the room they need to give the emotional punch Lin wants readers to experience, which is a real shame in the case of one specific character death. ]]>