Books tagged "poetry"

My Work - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
August 27, 2023
by Olga Ravn, Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell

Really an exceptional piece of writing. A friend bought this for me, and at the time I didn't realise I had already read another of her books. This one is of a totally different character; basically telling the story of a woman's engagement with pregnancy, and the way society encourages it be handled. Being myself now a partner and a witness to this, I found it a very interesting perspective and helped me relate to the birth parent more. It's a stressful read, but an amazing one I think. Highly recommended!

parenting, personal, philosophical, poetry, quirky, traumatic
Banzeiro Òkòtó - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
May 14, 2023
by Eliane Brum, Diane Grosklaus Whitty

Absolutely extraordinary book. Extremely informative, powerful, emotional, inspiring, and poetic. I was struck at first by the amazing writing (which comes across really well in translation, I think, not that I've read the original ...), but stayed for the amazing story-telling and information about various illegal practices in Brazil.

It's really an impressive piece of work, I can highly recommend it, but do note that it is also, in parts, quite traumatic. Still; one of those books that you feel sad when it ends; well worth reading!

activism, climate, economics, feminism, informative, language, long-read, non-fiction, personal, philosophical, poetry, politics, quirky, racism, traumatic, travel
Experiments in Imagining Otherwise - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
May 16, 2022
by Lola Olufemi

I absolutely loved this book! It's an awesome collection of poetry and writings around capitalism, history, feminism, and other topics. In particular I really enjoyed the thoughts around how fictional histories can be a form of history; i.e. all we have is stories in any case, and lots of stories have been lost over the years; but what remains? Can things be learned, even if there is no "true" historical preservation?

Overall just a brilliant book, and I'm grateful to have been able to read it :)

activism, feminism, poetry
The Art of Patience - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
May 8, 2022
by Sylvain Tesson, Frank Wynne

Yet another book in a genre close to my heart: books featuring snow leopards in a poetic way. Naturally, I enjoyed this one. It has the feeling of a light and soft journey, filled with nice poetic titbits. One particular part of the book will, probably, blow your mind, just like it did mine. Recommended if you're into these poetic travel books.

non-fiction, personal, philosophical, poetry
The Library of Ice - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
February 27, 2022
by Nancy Campbell

Really an exceptional bit of writing. Nancy has a perfect writing style, engaging, soft, thoughtful and provocative. It's a really collection of stories of her journey into cold places; and how she and others engage with them. I loved reading this, it filled me with warmth.

climate, poetry
On Time And Water - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
January 17, 2022
by Andri Snær Magnason, Lytton Smith

Just exceptional. I've not read another book that does so well at explaining different timescales and ways to communicate the impact of the climate crisis. Done in a very engaging poetic style; this book really motivated me to learn much more details and start to make a change. Overall a very enjoyable, rewarding, and inspiring reading experience!

activism, climate, poetry
Keats - A Brief Life In Nine Poems - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
December 12, 2021
by Lucasta Miller

I picked this up, being inspired by reading the Dan Simmons trilogy Hyperion. I've never read any "classic" poetry before, and I thought that this might be a nice entrypoint, because it promised to have some poems, but also some backstory about Keats and the context in which he wrote each poem. I loved this book. It's interesting for me personally, because for the longest time I haven't really "understood" poetry. But here, while I can't say I get everything, or even most things, I did start to get a feeling for why people enjoy it. And I also got a feeling of why people like Keats' poetry in particular. It's not a particularly short book, but I did find it quite accessible, and I think it's quite a nice way to engage with poetry. I'll probably try and find more books like this.

informative, non-fiction, personal, poetry
No Friend but the Mountains - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
November 21, 2021
by Behrouz Boochani, Omid Tofighian

Another amazing book, this one was written by a refugee who was imprisoned at the time. It is about his experience in the prison; something that had been totally covered up by the Australian government. At the time the book was published he was still in prison! It's exceptionally readable, interesting and engaging, but it does have some quite traumatic sections. It's has a beautifully written style interspersed with sections of poetry. You will certainly leave with very strong feelings for what people like this have been put through by our governments. I really gained a lot from reading it.

activism, non-fiction, personal, poetry, racism, traumatic

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