Book 1 & 2 - 2015
Book 1: Westminister Abbey: Official Guide by Dean and Chapter of Westminister - 120 pages
Description:
Being a guide book, there is no description for this.
Thoughts:
This was probably the most boring guide book I have ever read (and I’ve read a ton of them, cause I’m a weirdo like that). It just lists room after room at Westminister Abbey and what people are buried where in said room. Maybe to some this is the definition of a guide book, but to me, a guide book needs to give some depth and history to a place beyond a list of names, and this book certainly did not do that. I wouldn’t waste my money again, unless you have some great desire to know exactly where every famous dead person from the last 1000 years is precisely/maybe/possible/once was buried.
1 / 50 books. 2% done!
120 / 15000 pages. 1% done!
Book 2: Sunshine on Sugar Hill by Angela Gilltrap - 310 pages
Description from goodreads.com:
From Bondi Beach to the backstreets of Harlem, Angela Gilltrap hilariously recounts the culture shock of transplanting herself in New York. In a story that even she will admit borders on the surreal, Angela Gilltrap, ex-Strictly Dancing star, finds herself living in Sugar Hill in Harlem, New York City. For a performer who has always sung soul, jazz and gospel music, it is a dream come true. Sharing a six-floor walk-up with her boyfriend, a composer/musician and international chess champion, she suddenly has to adjust, not only to her new city, but to the nuances of her new surroundings - which happen to include the occasional drive-by shooting, drug deals and daily arrests.
Thoughts:
Another book I picked up from the cheap table at a local book store. I love the United States, having been there four times (I’m going back in a month!), so I thought I’d enjoy this book about an Australian moving to New York. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t as compelling as I’d hoped. Angela, an Australia, meets and falls in love with an African American man when on holidays in New York and decides to up and move over there to live with him. Of course, matters don’t quite work out quite that cleanly, and anyway, her new beau lives in Harlem, and she’s not exactly traditional Harlem material. I felt like Angela’s stories were pretty pedestrian and she made a bigger deal out of certain things than they actually were for amusement’s sake (which fell flat). There were a few interesting moments but otherwise, this was a book I really had to drag myself through. Apparently Angela still lives in New York, though I’ve been unable to confirm whether she’s still with the boyfriend she moved over for. Probably a good read if you’ve never been to States, but for me, it was exactly illuminating.
2 / 50 books. 4% done!
430 / 15000 pages. 3% done!
Currently reading:
- The Queen of Zombie Hearts by Gena Showalter - 442 pages
- Work’s Intimacy by Melissa Gregg - 198 pages
- DB30Years: Special Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary Magazine by Michael LaBrie - 315 pages
And coming up:
- The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Volume 3: White Gold Wielder by Stephen Donaldson - 500 pages
- The Odyssey by Homer - 324 pages
- One for the Money by Janet Evanovich - 290 pages
Description:
Being a guide book, there is no description for this.
Thoughts:
This was probably the most boring guide book I have ever read (and I’ve read a ton of them, cause I’m a weirdo like that). It just lists room after room at Westminister Abbey and what people are buried where in said room. Maybe to some this is the definition of a guide book, but to me, a guide book needs to give some depth and history to a place beyond a list of names, and this book certainly did not do that. I wouldn’t waste my money again, unless you have some great desire to know exactly where every famous dead person from the last 1000 years is precisely/maybe/possible/once was buried.
1 / 50 books. 2% done!
120 / 15000 pages. 1% done!
Book 2: Sunshine on Sugar Hill by Angela Gilltrap - 310 pages
Description from goodreads.com:
From Bondi Beach to the backstreets of Harlem, Angela Gilltrap hilariously recounts the culture shock of transplanting herself in New York. In a story that even she will admit borders on the surreal, Angela Gilltrap, ex-Strictly Dancing star, finds herself living in Sugar Hill in Harlem, New York City. For a performer who has always sung soul, jazz and gospel music, it is a dream come true. Sharing a six-floor walk-up with her boyfriend, a composer/musician and international chess champion, she suddenly has to adjust, not only to her new city, but to the nuances of her new surroundings - which happen to include the occasional drive-by shooting, drug deals and daily arrests.
Thoughts:
Another book I picked up from the cheap table at a local book store. I love the United States, having been there four times (I’m going back in a month!), so I thought I’d enjoy this book about an Australian moving to New York. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t as compelling as I’d hoped. Angela, an Australia, meets and falls in love with an African American man when on holidays in New York and decides to up and move over there to live with him. Of course, matters don’t quite work out quite that cleanly, and anyway, her new beau lives in Harlem, and she’s not exactly traditional Harlem material. I felt like Angela’s stories were pretty pedestrian and she made a bigger deal out of certain things than they actually were for amusement’s sake (which fell flat). There were a few interesting moments but otherwise, this was a book I really had to drag myself through. Apparently Angela still lives in New York, though I’ve been unable to confirm whether she’s still with the boyfriend she moved over for. Probably a good read if you’ve never been to States, but for me, it was exactly illuminating.
2 / 50 books. 4% done!
430 / 15000 pages. 3% done!
Currently reading:
- The Queen of Zombie Hearts by Gena Showalter - 442 pages
- Work’s Intimacy by Melissa Gregg - 198 pages
- DB30Years: Special Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary Magazine by Michael LaBrie - 315 pages
And coming up:
- The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Volume 3: White Gold Wielder by Stephen Donaldson - 500 pages
- The Odyssey by Homer - 324 pages
- One for the Money by Janet Evanovich - 290 pages