Check Yo Shelf

Reading date - September 2020 I got this book as part of the reading club at my old job.  It was the last book I got before I left, which was in December.  It's been lolling around on my shelf for ages and only read it when a friend of mine started reading it and said it was really good.  My reading has slowed down a lot recently...I always go through phases like this, I read everything I can get my hands on and then it slows down.  I think this is the only book I've read in September..I am currently reading The Year of the Runaways and I'm taking my time with it.  I don't want to be reading it just to get it finished because it is about something that has never been written about before but is something very close to my heart. Anyway, what's this Lincoln in the Bardo like? Firstly, I keep reading it as Lincoln in the Bando.. I had no idea what "in the bardo" meant so I googled it.  It is taken from Tibetan culture, Wiki says: "used loosely, "bar...

Reading date - August 2020 This book held so much promise..and then turned into a massive chick-lit fest.  I really dislike chick-lit because it comes with the connotation that women are more suited to reading light, fluffy books with no substance bar drama.  I mean god forbid we be intelligent beings who like being educated by the books we read. This is my first disappointment with this book.  My second disappointment was the fact that it was all a bit too try-hard.  You can tell this book is written by someone who studied English and is desperate to get out everything they've learnt into a book, there are some places where there is way too much description.  For example, nobody needs an in-depth description of a washing up sponge.  The book also tries way too hard to be super modern and down with the kids. The basic premise is easy to guess even before the twists are revealed.  There are spoilers ahead... The book is called Heatwave because the story...

Reading date - August 2020 When I first started reading this book, it didn't really stand out to me.  The more I read, the more uncomfortable I felt because it spoke to experiences non-white people face - the touching of hair, the slight whispers you get behind your back.  Nobody can tell me I am imagining things when I hear them.    Your experiences are not mine.  I also read one review on Amazon which really annoyed me where the guy was banging on about him being prejudiced because he was born working class.  You're still born white, you can't compare that with being called a Paki.  You cannot.  Nothing anyone says will convince me.  And...it's not as if black and brown people are born without a class.  You can work hard or rip people off and beat your working class roots, the colour I was born is the colour I will die.   I liked this book but it is tough going and can get quite boring and tedious as it's basically a collecti...

Reading date - August 2020 I love watching programmes about serial killers and Nazir Afzal is often featured on these shows.  This is basically an autobiography detailing how and why he got into law and how he managed to bring around changes in the law that maybe people from other backgrounds would have been unable to do. The book begins with his childhood and how both his parents became pillars of the community giving advice and getting justice for the people who couldn't trust the police.  Being ethnic myself, I fully understand this and respect his parents for doing this.  When you're new to a country where nobody rates you, you need to stick together until you're strong enough to understand the laws and take on the establishment yourself. The book details his trips to Pakistan, his time at uni, his first job, how he moved from Birmingham to London and then to Manchester.  He covers how he managed to change the law around honour killings and then the grooming case...