Tag Archives: Memoirs

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

November 22, 2019Book ReviewHope Jahren, Memoirs, Nature, scienceskyebjenner

Title: Lab Girl: A Story of Trees, Science and Love
Author: Hope Jahren
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Memoirs, Nature, Science
Dates read: 21st – 27th October 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Fleet
Year: 2016
5th sentence, 74th page: I started to leave, but hesitated when Bill looked up at last.

Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also so much more.

Lab Girl is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren’s stories: about her childhood in rural Minnesota with an uncompromising mother and a father who encouraged hours of play in his classroom’s labs; about how she found a sanctuary in science, and learned to perform lab work done “with both the heart and the hands”; and about the inevitable disappointments, but also the triumphs and exhilarating discoveries, of scientific work.

Yet at the core of this book is the story of a relationship Jahren forged with a brilliant, wounded man named Bill, who becomes her lab partner and best friend. Their sometimes rogue adventures in science take them from the Midwest across the United States and back again, over the Atlantic to the ever-light skies of the North Pole and to tropical Hawaii, where she and her lab currently make their home.

This book is absolutely freaking amazing!!! Not just because it is written so well and about the natural sciences. But also because I connected completely to what Hope Jahren was saying. She recalls her years in her PhD, the weirdness that is her obsession and just life as an academic in general. I might just be starting out in that life… but there was so much that was relatable. And it made me feel better about all of my multiple freak-outs and insecurities…

Lab Girl has most certainly become my all-time favourite memoir. Partly because it is in an area that I am more intimately familiar with than almost any other. But also because it deals with a lot of hidden issues in life. Talks about mental health. Focuses on what it takes to become who you want to be. Yet weaves throughout botanical knowledge and scientific principles that almost feel like coming home.

There is no one in the world that doesn’t have to deal with self-doubt. That doesn’t feel like others are judging them and querying their every move. That make them think they are somehow less. Add to that a mental health issue and being a female in a traditionally male-dominated career… it’s a tough world out there. And Jahren faces up to the realities of this fearlessly. Yet, she does so with a healthy dose of humour and light that doesn’t feel bitter and contrived. That doesn’t make you angry at the system, just understanding of the challenges faced.

Hope’s relationship with Bill is amazing. All throughout, he is her voice of sanity and reason. The person who has her back and supports her no matter what she does. We all need someone like that in our lives. Whether it is a co-worker, a friend or a lover… it doesn’t matter the amazing power of their relationship made me so incredibly jealous. I don’t know that I’ve ever had someone totally appreciate my world in that way, and it is something that I would love to find in my professional life – someone who is obsessed with invertebrates just as much as I am.

This is one of those memoirs that I’m never, ever going to forget. It is intense, wonderful and intriguing. The perfect miss of personal anecdotes, science and the telling of reality merge together fantastically. I can understand why it was on a summer reading list, and I’m so glad I succumbed to the compulsion to buy it!!!

<- A Gift from Darkness

When Breath Becomes Air ->

Image source: Wikipedia

The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish

November 4, 2019Book ReviewComedy, Memoirs, Race, Tiffany Haddishskyebjenner

Image result for book cover the last black unicorn

Title: The Last Black Unicorn
Author: Tiffany Haddish
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Memoirs, Race
Dates read: 7th – 13th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Gallery Books
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: So we started being serious and being together all the time.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“An inspiring story that manages to be painful, honest, shocking, bawdy and hilarious.” —The New York Times Book Review

From stand-up comedian, actress, and breakout star of Girls Trip, Tiffany Haddish, comes The Last Black Unicorn, a sidesplitting, hysterical, edgy, and unflinching collection of (extremely) personal essays, as fearless as the author herself.

Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles, Tiffany learned to survive by making people laugh. If she could do that, then her classmates would let her copy their homework, the other foster kids she lived with wouldn’t beat her up, and she might even get a boyfriend. Or at least she could make enough money—as the paid school mascot and in-demand Bar Mitzvah hype woman—to get her hair and nails done, so then she might get a boyfriend.

None of that worked (and she’s still single), but it allowed Tiffany to imagine a place for herself where she could do something she loved for a living: comedy.

Tiffany can’t avoid being funny—it’s just who she is, whether she’s plotting shocking, jaw-dropping revenge on an ex-boyfriend or learning how to handle her newfound fame despite still having a broke person’s mind-set. Finally poised to become a household name, she recounts with heart and humor how she came from nothing and nowhere to achieve her dreams by owning, sharing, and using her pain to heal others.

By turns hilarious, filthy, and brutally honest, The Last Black Unicorn shows the world who Tiffany Haddish really is—humble, grateful, down-to-earth, and funny as hell. And now, she’s ready to inspire others through the power of laughter.

This might be the funniest, most ridiculous, and yet serious book I have read all year. Or maybe ever. It was intense, intriguing and made me have a whole new appreciation for some of the horrors that other people, and in particular, women are forced to endure. But there was also so much humour and hope, that it was incredibly difficult to get bogged down in the tales that, if anyone else wrote about them, would fill make me cry in the most horrible way ever.

To start with, this novel is just downright funny. The first two chapters allude to some of the more difficult aspects of Haddish’s life, but mostly they’re just really funny. High school days in which a smart arse found a way to fit in, mostly by pursuing a boy that really didn’t have much interest in her. But then it gets a little, alright, a lot more serious. She talks about abuse, death and the many, many bad situations that she found herself in throughout her life. But, it’s still tempered with humour. So that when I was telling my partner about this amazing book I was reading, he just stared at me in abject horror, wondering what the hell kind of book I’d found this time…

I didn’t realise until the last few chapters that Tiffany Haddish was the woman in Girls Trip. But when I did, I not only rushed to finish the book, but I also grabbed out my remote, flicked Netflix on and settled in for a great movie. Somehow, her role and character in this movie had way more meaning because I understood a little more of the very real shit she’d been through. Like The Last Black Unicorn, Girls Trip touched on some serious issues but with so much humour that it wasn’t until afterwards that you realised it wasn’t all just a good lark. Actually, writing this review, I’ve decided that I need to watch that movie again…

The Last Black Unicorn details a life that is full of hurdles and difficulties. But they’re not told with a sense of loss or woe. Rather, Haddish tells her tales with a great dose of humour, a dark sense of humour that I absolutely adored. It was a great reminder that you can overcome almost anything, if you can find a way to move on and not be bitter (alright, not always that simple, but Haddish gives me so much hope). I am now madly in love with this woman. This is just an amazing read for everyone. No matter what your literary tastes…

<- Marley & Me

So Gay for You ->

Image source: Simon & Schuster

Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis

July 20, 2019Book ReviewAnthony Kiedis, Biographies, Memoirs, Musicskyebjenner

Title: Scar Tissue
Author: Anthony Kiedis
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Biographies, Memoirs, Music
Dates read: 18th – 25th June 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Sphere
Year: 2004
5th sentence, 74th page: So as far as they’re concerned, you and I are best friends, and we work on school stuff together, and that’s it.

In 1983 four self-described ‘knuckleheads’ burst out of the neo-punk rock scene in LA with their own unique brand of cosmic hard-core mayhem funk. Over twenty years later, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, against all the odds, have become one of the most successful bands in the world. Though the band has gone through many incarnations, Anthony Kiedis, the group’s lyricist and dynamic lead singer, has been there for the whole rollercoaster ride.

Scar Tissue is Kiedis’s searingly honest memoir – a story of dedication and debauchery, of intrigue and integrity, of recklessness and redemption. It is a story that could only have come out of Hollywood.

I read this for the first time about ten years ago. And I was completely blown away. Rereading this as an adult my mind was still completely blown. But I also felt really quite uncomfortable by the stories that Kiedis was imparting. I just can’t fathom a childhood and life such as his. Which of course made it all the more enthralling to read…

Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of those bands that I’ve always loved and will continually return to (no matter how my tastes change). Which meant that reading about the story behind their creation and beginning was absolutely amazing. The fascinating journey that they took and the struggles that were faced are completely beyond anything that I could ever imagine. The amazing insight provided into a world that I had previously known nothing about also made this book nigh on impossible to put down.

I read a lot of good fantasy and fiction books. After all, it’s easy to be swept away in a world that is just not your own. And, although I love biographies, I don’t tend to pick them up as readily. I find that the author has to be very good to sweep me away into their world. After all, I already live in this world, and it can make the stories a little boring if not written well. Luckily, and maybe not surprisingly, Anthony Kiedis is an amazing writer. He foreshadows and builds suspense. Transports you in a way that makes you feel like you’re actually there. And, probably most importantly, makes all of the insanity and bad things that have happened to him, seem like no big deal. It doesn’t have a depressive feeling to it. But one of hope and wonder.

<- An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth Review

Yami Review ->

Image source: Wikipedia

Laughing All the Way to the Mosque by Zarqa Nawaz

June 20, 2019Book ReviewBiographies, Comedy, Memoirs, Muslims, Zarqa Nawazskyebjenner

Image result for laughing all the way to the mosque book cover

Title: Laughing All the Way to the Mosque
Author: Zarqa Nawaz
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Biographies, Comedy, Memoirs, Muslims
Dates read: 21st April – 7th May 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Virago
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: ‘Too late,’ said Dr McMaster.

Being a practising Muslim in a Western society is sometimes challenging, sometimes rewarding and sometimes downright absurd. How do you explain why Eid never falls on the same date each year; why it is that Halal butchers also sell teapots and alarm clocks. How do you make clear to the plumber that it’s essential the toilet is installed within sitting-arm’s reach of the tap?

Zarqa Nawaz has seen and done it all.

And it’s not always easy to get things right with the community either: Zarqa tells of being asked to leave the DBW (Dead Body Washing) committee after making inappropriate remarks; of undertaking the momentous trip to Mecca with her husband, without the children, thinking (most incorrectly) that it will also be a nice time to have uninterrupted sex; of doing the unthinkable and creating Little Mosque on the Prairie, a successful TV sitcom about htat very (horrified, then proud) community.

You have to laugh.

I’ve not really read much about Muslim culture and religion. I’ve really only recently started to delve into the world of non-fictional books. It’s an area that is absolutely fascinating and I can’t wait to continue to find more and more stories like this. Especially written as well as this novel. Nawaz is brutally honest about her life and her religion, but tempers everything that could feel quite serious with a lot of humour. I was constantly laughing out loud throughout this story. And at the end of every long day, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up again.

Most of the biographies that I’ve read lately follow a very linear storyline. They’re the kind of tales which work in a very obvious and understandable manner. They’re not jumpy, and they tend to cover a smaller span of years. Laughing All the Way to the Mosque was completely different. Each chapter was a whole new adventure. Which made the storyline overall incredibly jumpy. Actually it almost worked as a series of short stories together, rather than one big, long journey.

Zarqa Nawaz not only sweeps you away with her humour and wit. But, she also helps to conceptualise and help you to understand the ways in which a coloured, Muslim woman sometimes struggles to fit into contemporary Canada. I may be from Australia, but I imagine that many people are in the same situation. This insight provided a great way in which to understand just how difficult life can be from someone who is a minority. And just how funny some of the gaffs made when you are trying to marry different world views together and fit into the society that you call your own…

<- The Radium Girls Review

The Fish Ladder Review ->

Image source: Amazon

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

June 15, 2019Book ReviewFeminism, History, Kate Moore, Memoirs, Non-fictionskyebjenner

Title: The Radium Girls
Author: Kate Moore
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Feminism, History, Memoirs, Non-fiction
Dates read: 30th April – 5th May 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: The girls of Radium Dial, outside their studio; forever young and happy and well.

All they wanted was the chance to shine. Be careful what you wish for…

‘The first we asked was, “Does this stuff hurt you?” And they said, “No.” The company said that it wasn’t dangerous, that we didn’t need to be afraid.’

As the First World War spread across the world, young American women flocked to work in factories, painting clocks, watches and military dials with a special luminous substance made from radium. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous – the girls shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in dust from the paint.

However, as the years passed, the women began to suffer from mysterious and crippling illnesses. It turned out that the very thing that had made them feel alive – their work – was slowly killing them: the radium paint was poisonous.

Their employers denied all responsibility, but these courageous women – in the face of unimaginable suffering – refused to accept their fate quietly, and instead became determined to fight for justice.

Drawing on previously unpublished diaries, letter and interviews, The Radium Girls is an intimate narrative of an unforgettable true story. It is the powerful tale of a group of ordinary women from the Roaring Twenties, who themselves learned how to roar.

There are books that will completely change your world. Reconfigure everything that you think, believe and feel and make the whole world slot into a new form. That’s what this book was for me. When I bought this book, when I first started reading it, I was fully expecting an intriguing tale. One that would be about some amazingly strong women in the past. But not anything beyond a really good read. I was wrong. I felt like my entire reality was shattered and then remade as I read this.

I had no idea that radium was something that was once used in industrial processes. Really, my only knowledge of this element comes from the fact that Marie Curie discovered it. That, and I know that it is very, very dangerous and kills people who come into contact with it. Beyond that knowledge, all I knew about the potential for this story was that these girls used radium paint and were all going to die. That in and of itself was going to be a tragic enough story. But then the large companies and legalities of their fight started to make its way into the storyline… cue a number of very late nights because I couldn’t wait to find out how the bad men were going to get their legal comeuppance.

We don’t think much about many of the health and safety legislations that we all tend to obey. Or at least, I know that I don’t. I don’t really worry all that much about whether my place of employment is adhering to the laws. I just figure that they are, and I’m not going to get sick and die from their activities. Mostly, I still want to believe this, but after reading about a bunch of young girls who felt the same thing, and got burned for it… I’m a little less willing to follow anything on blind faith. After all, even when the girls questioned whether their activities were safe, they were still reassured. Repeatedly. And then they died.

This story might not have had an overarching happy ending. But it did have a triumphant one. Though so many women lost their lives before they could gain compensation for their trauma, many more were able to stand on the shoulders of those before them and find a way to get justice. And their legacy remains today in every moment that makes businesses culpable for their actions. In the amount of knowledge that we now have about the long-term effects of radioactivity, and in the understanding in why it is important to fight for what’s right. Even in the face of insurmountable odds.

<- Know My Name

Laughing All the Way to the Mosque ->

Image source: Simon & Schuster

The Fish Ladder by Katharine Norbury

November 4, 2018Book ReviewBiographies, Easy Reading, Katharine Norbury, Memoirs, The Coastskyebjenner

Title: The Fish Ladder
Author: Katharine Norbury
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Biographies, The Coast, Easy reading, Memoirs
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Bloomsbury Circus
Year: 2015
5th sentence, 74th page: But if we were in the wrong place, so too had Ieuan Lleyn been, when he came here in 1799.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Katharine Norbury was abandoned as a baby in a Liverpool convent. Raised by loving adoptive parents, she grew into a wanderer, drawn by the beauty of the British countryside.

One summer, following the miscarriage of a much-longer-for child, Katharine sets out – accompanied by her nine-year-old daughter, Evie – with the idea of following a river from the sea to its source. The luminously observed landscape provides both a constant and a context to their expeditions. But what begins as a diversion from grief soon evolves into a journey to the source of life itself, when a chance circumstance forces Katharine to the door of the woman who gave her up all those years ago.

Combining travelogue, memoir, exquisite nature writing, fragments of poetry and tales from Celtic mythology, The Fish Ladder has a rare emotional resonance. A portrait of motherhood, of a literary marriage and a hymn to the adoptive family, this captivating story of self-discovery is, most of all, an exploration of the extraordinary majesty of the natural world. Imbued with a keen and joyful intelligence, this original and life-affirming book is set to become a classic of its genre.

I needed to read a book with a river on the cover. When I googled such a requirement, this is one of the few books that came up. And man, am I glad that it did. There is just something about the winding, lazy way in which Norbury tells her story that was both completely relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable. Although I have nothing to compare her adventures to, I almost feel like there is a part of me that has now been discovered and it gives me the inspiration to go forth into my own life and keep finding my own way forward.

Unlike a lot of the memoirs that I have recently read, there isn’t really a central story that is outlined here. Not one specific journey or moment of epiphany that really strikes out at me. Instead, there is the central theme of family and motherhood. The idea that even though she is adopted, there are strong familial ties between Katharine and her adoptive family. But there is also a strong tie to the woman who gave her up for adoption and it is this that really drives the feeling of longing forward and into the reader a Katharine’s beautiful words unfold.

This wasn’t one of those earth shatteringly amazing stories. It probably hasn’t changed my life in anyway. But it was incredibly beautiful. And immensely easy to read. It was a great lazy Sunday read to sink my brain into while I was trying to unwind at the end of the long day. And it certainly reminded me of how lucky and grateful I am to have the mother and family that I have.

<- Laughing All the Way to the Mosque

Becoming ->

Image source: Bloomsbury

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

October 10, 2018Book ReviewBiographies, Elizabeth Gilbert, Inspiration, Memoirsskyebjenner

Title: Eat Pray Love
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Biographies, Inspiration, Memoirs
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2006
5th sentence, 74th page: But Luca and his friends didn’t go out to a bar to cheer themselves up.

Elizabeth is in her thirties, settled in a large house with a husband who wants to start a family. But she doesn’t want any of it. A bitter divorce and a rebound fling later, Elizabeth emerges battered yet determined to find what she’s been missing.

So begins her quest. In Rome, she indulges herself and gains nearly two stone. In India, she finds enlightenment through scrubbing temple floors. Finally, in Bali, a toothless medicine man reveals a new path to peace, leaving her ready to love again.

I’ve seen the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I thought that maybe the book would be mildly interesting since the movie was something I very much enjoyed. Especially since it’s supposed to be a great book about discovering yourself and finding your path in life. And, honestly, it was. The part that really shocked me though was the fact that it was so amazingly well and engagingly written.

Gilbert’s voice is one of those that you can see lingering throughout the next few generations. She discusses issues and realities that face every woman at some point in their lives. And she does so in a starkly honest manner. I love that in a world where we are constantly bombarded with the idea of women wanting to have children, and be the perfect housewives, this is a woman who wants to travel and has no interest in having children. And it’s a great reminder that it is COMPLETELY okay to feel this way. And it’s okay to go on a massive adventure to find yourself.

I loved how this novel was broken up – 109 small stories that all worked together but could also be read as somewhat separate tales. It made it very difficult to put down, but also gave great pausing moments when I actually had to be a responsible adult. It was so incredibly nice to have a small moment in which to disappear to Italy, India or Indonesia. A great moment in which to forget all about lives problems and travel on the wings of a woman who has truly experienced life at its fullest. And now I have to wait for the next few books I’ve order to arrive on my shelf…

<- Committed Review

Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It Review ->

Image source: Book Cover Archive

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

June 16, 2018Book ReviewBiographies, Cheryl Strayed, Easy Reading, Memoirs, Strong Womenskyebjenner

Title: Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found
Author: Cheryl Strayed
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Biographies, Easy reading, Memoirs, Strong women
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Atlantic Books London
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: He unscrewed the cap and handed it to me.

At twenty-six, Cheryl Strayed thorught she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s rapid death from cancer, her family grew apart and her marriage soon crumbled. With seemingly nothing to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to walk eleven hundred miles of the west coast of America and to do it alone. She had no experience of long-distance hiking and the journey was nothing more than a line on a map. But it held a promise, a promise of piecing together a life that lay shattered at her feet…

This book was a really good journey. I had no idea what to expect from it, since I haven’t seen the movie. But it was a great tale, and I can see why it was made into a movie in the first place. It kind of had everything. Including a happy, hope for the future ending.

Cheryl’s journey to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) was just as much of the tale as her actual journey along it. Instead of breaking the two important aspects of her life apart, Strayed’s tale is filled with flashbacks along the way. Each chapter almost tells two stories – what is happening to her along the trail, and the journey that made her start such an epic (and admittedly insane) journey in the first place. Although there are many moments when I cringe at the choices that made her feel so lost, it’s such a great look into someone who really hit rock bottom. And the ways in which the self-reflection and independence provided by the trail helped her to “find” herself again.

I found Wild a little slow to start with. And as aforementioned, a little bit cringe worthy. But about halfway through, I fell deeply into the tale. There was something about Cheryl’s gumption and strength that made me unable to put her words down. And the epilogue at the end highlighted how far she had come and that even when we hit rock bottom, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Something to look forward to and hope for, even when we feel like we can’t fall down any further.

<- Hidden Figures

The Southern Education of a Jersey Girl ->

Image source: College Fashion

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterley

February 14, 2018Book ReviewBiographies, Feminism, History, Margot Lee Shetterley, Memoirs, scienceskyebjenner

Title: Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African Women Who Helped Win the Space Race
Author: Margot Lee Shetterley
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Biographies, Feminism, History, Memoirs, Science
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: William Collins
Year: 2016
5th sentence, 74th page: If Dorothy Vaughn had been able to accept Howard University’s offer of graduate admission, she likely would have been Claytor’s only female classmate, with virtually no postgraduate career options outside of teaching, even with a master’s degree in hand.

GENIUS HAS NO RACE. STRENGTH HAS NO GENDER. COURAGE HAS NO LIMIT.

The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space.

Before John Glenn orbited the earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, some of the brightest minds of their generation, known as ‘human computers’, used pencils and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.

Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War and the Space Race, Hidden Figures is a powerful, revelatory tale of race, discrimination and achievement in the modern world. Now a major motion picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst and Kevin Costner.

I bought this book because I’ve seen the ads for the movie. I, as always, wanted to read the book before I watched the movie – there’s just something far more satisfying about reading the words before watching the adaptation. And I was not disappointed in the slightest. Although this is a pretty heavy going book. At least for someone like me, who has almost no knowledge of American history and, more specifically, the challenges faced by African-Americans throughout the past.

I love the world of science and maths, you don’t agree to do an undergrad and postgrad degree in the area if you don’t! NASA, however, has always been a bit of an abstract interest – I’m more into the environmental aspects of science than the physics. But, after reading this, I want to find out more about the contributions that NASA has provided the rest of the world. The fact that it was a great way to break down social and racial stigmas kind of made it all the more appealing. And this is including the role of Langley and its conception in WWII.

One of the things that I loved about this book was that it didn’t just focus on one or two women. Rather, there was a whole slew of women who contributed to the space race, and this is reflected by the telling of their stories. Although three main women continued to appear again and again, there were a number of other individuals who were mentioned and illuminated throughout this story.

For anyone with an interest in politics, equality, science, maths, or just really likes a good story, I would definitely recommend this novel! It certainly opened my eyes (and my mind).

<- The Upside Review

Wild Review ->

Image source: Amazon UK

Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker

January 10, 2018Book ReviewBianca Bosker, Easy Reading, Memoirs, science, Wineskyebjenner

Title: Cork Dork
Author: Bianca Bosker
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Memoirs, Science, Wine
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: Or Napa Valley in California.

Professional journliast and amateur drinker Bianca Bosker didn’t know much about wine, until she discovered the world of elite sommeliers who dedicate their lives to the pursuit if flavour. Fascinated by their fervour and seemingly superhuman sensory powers, she set out to uncover what drove their obsession, and whether she, too, could become a ‘cork dork’.

With boundless curiosity, humour and a healthy dose of scepticism, Bosker takes the reader inside underground tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, mass-market wine factories and even a neuroscientist’s fMRI machine as she attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: what’s the big deal about wine? Funny, counterintuitive and compulsively readable, Cork Dork does for drinking what Kitchen Confidential did for dining out, ensuring you’ll never reach blindly for the second cheapest bottle on the menu again.

I got this book because someone who came into my work place suggested it. I work in a cellar door, and I’m constantly trying to find out more about wine. It sounded interesting, it sounded like something that could expand my knowledge, and I figured, ‘why the hell not?’ And honestly, it was so much more than I expected! This book was fascinating, engaging and enthralling – something that I couldn’t put down and taught me so much more about the world of wine.

Although the premise for this journey is a journalist attempting to become a master sommelier, there is so much more about the world of wine than I expected. I was expecting someone who entered the world of the hoighty toighty wine tasters and sellers, those who work in first class restaurants, and just saw wine as a way in which to show their class. Instead, this was an honest look into the industry of wine, how we experience it and the emotional connection that such a weirdly complex beverage can incite. Bosker doesn’t just talk about the social and economic aspects of fine wine and fine dining, but the science, the beliefs and the very act of creating this beverage.

Cork Dork is brilliantly written and a great insight into the industry. The fact that there is a whole chapter that discusses the company I work for (Treasury Wine Estates), and it helped me to conceptualise where the work I do fits into the wine industry as well. But, even if you are not a lover of wine, this is a great way to find out more about what makes people so obsessed with this drink. After all, it’s just alcoholic grape juice…

<- Six Legs Walking

The Beginning of Everything ->

Image source: Bianca Bosker

Earth and Skye

The ramblings of a bibliophile.