Book Review: Kindred by Rebecca Wragg Sykes

Contents

1. Book Description
2. Discussion Questions
3. Quotes
4. Takeaways
5. The Pros and Cons
6. Closing Thoughts
7. Further Information
8. Book Information
9. Find It Here

Neanderthals were sometimes thought of as primitive, dumb, or barbaric. That is how many of us picture them– just as we’ve seen in movies and TV shows featuring a primitive man covered in animal skins, walking hunched over, and uttering two-syllable words in a guttural voice.

But the book, Kindred, tells us a different story. It doesn't only describe the physical, social, and cognitive aspects of Neanderthals but also provides significant information about who truly they were based on Neanderthal bones, rock shelters, tools, and other evidence that were discovered in caves from Europe to Central Asia. Contrary to common beliefs, Neanderthals walked upright, were intelligent, and were creative in their own way.

Kindred is written by Rebecca Wragg Sykes, an archaeologist and writer who is passionate about human history and prehistory. She focuses on the lifestyle, behavior, and ancient technology of early humans, especially Neanderthals. She aims to make history easy to understand through her books and talks and to bring people together. 

Book Review: Just Want You Here Meredith Turits

Contents

1. Book Description
2. Discussion Questions 
3. What I Loved The Most
4. What I Loved The Least
5. Summing-Up
6. Further Information 
7. Book Information
8. Find It Here

Imagine you were 28 years old, alone, and broke…

Left by the man you loved for 10 years – the man you thought would be your husband in the end. 

You were confused and lost…

How would you reclaim your life? How would you build your life from scratch? 

Book Review: Keep Going by Austin Kleon

Do you do creative activities such as writing, painting, crocheting, graphic designing, or even vlogging?

If you do, perhaps you are aware that,  aside from the joy and deep satisfaction that comes with creative work, there is also frustration that can stop you from continuing your work. 

Book Review: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Contents

1. Book Description
2. Discussion Questions
3. Quotes 
4. The Pros and Con
5. Summing-Up
6. Further Information
7. Book Information
8. Find It Here

Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez, known as Gabriel García Márquez, is a master storyteller. He was born on March 6, 1927, in Aracataca, Colombia, the inspiration for the fictional place in his book, One Hundred Years of Solitude.  He was a journalist, screenwriter, short-story writer, and novelist. Recognized for his literary genius and as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, Marquez won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982  One Hundred Years of Solitude in which he popularized the use of magical realism that made Macondo and its people spellbinding. This put the Latin American literature on the world stage. 

Marquez’s style of storytelling in this book was greatly influenced by her maternal grandfather and grandmother who introduced him to two different worlds of stories — factual and superstitious, real and magical. One Hundred Years of Solitude was his groundbreaking novel that sold millions and earned global recognition. He wrote seven books, including Love in the Time of Cholera, La hojarasca and Del amor y otros demonios.

Marquez died on April 17, 2014 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Book Review: The White Album by Joan Didion

I was hesitant to write this book review for several reasons. 

I am not an American. 

I don’t live in California and I’ve never been there.  

I was not born in the 60s. 

And I am not a writing expert. 

I am not in a position to comment on people, events, counterculture, and other prominent issues mentioned in the book nor criticize this book’s writing technicalities. 

But I could share one thing for sure…

How this book made me feel while and after reading it.  

The first time I heard about Joan Didion, I was watching a video lesson on writing. The coach showed her favorite books and one of the books was Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Curious, I took note of the author, and when her book, The White Album, was on Kindle Deals, being the frugal bookworm that I am, I grabbed the opportunity to buy it. In my mind I said, finally, I could read her after many months of waiting.😅

Going back to Joan Didion, I learned that she was an American writer and journalist who was one of the trailblazers of New Journalism characterized by using first-person narrative, immersive reporting, literary techniques, and subjectivity.  She started her career in the 1950s after she won an essay contest sponsored by Vogue magazine. 

Throughout her career, her essays appeared in major magazines such as Esquire, The New York Review of Books, and The New Yorker. 

Some of her major achievements were the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2005 and being a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for The Year of Magical Thinking. 

She received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama in 2013. 

Book Description