Good Reads
I met up with my Sister this week and we got talking about the books I'd read this year.. namely 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It also got me thinking about the other books that I've read recently which got me thinking about writing a blog post about them, since, although I have posted them on my Instagram page, under the hashtag #tweekesreads - I have yet to post thoughts about each on my blog or Facebook page.. So here goes.. 
The Memory Of Time is a collection of contemporary photographs from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, America as seen through "the lens of time". This is a picture book with writing... One that would sit stylishly on a perfectly ultra modern coffee table. This was a birthday present all the way from New York and when I opened it, I thought the silhouette on the front cover was me for a minute haha.. I have yet to read all the words between the photographs but the photographs inside are amazing. A perfect present that I would recommend. Shit London is another photobook. I picked it up when I was in The Photographer's Gallery while I was in London. The title made me laugh. It's full of interesting pictures with a sense of humour again I would definitely recommend. Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou. Wow! What an amazing book this is. My Mum gave me this book for my birthday. When I eventually got around to reading it, I literally read the whole thing in one afternoon. It is based on the author's relationship with her Mum and tells the story of her upbringing and her various trials and tribulations and colourful career. Eat That Frog by Brian Tracey slips into the category of self-help I would say since the aim is to get you to help yourself be better with time management. A friend gave this to me after we were both procrastinating about what we should be doing... He said this book helped him. I'm going to be honest, I only read the first couple of pages..but they were very good. Common sense stuff really, but stuff that is always worth hearing again, like doing the task that has the most value and reward first on your to-do list even though it may be the one you want to do last. I'm going to read it all one of these days! Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. My good friend, Safrana gave me this book on our way back from Malaysia. When I read the summary on the back I thought, this book sounds perfect! I'd also heard a lot of good things about it. It's about a women who has the "perfect" life in New York with the husband to match but is not happy or content, she ends up getting divorced (bitterly) and goes off travelling for a year to find herself going from Italy to India and then Bali. The general story is amazing and I could really identify with the main character and overall, after I finally finished reading it (it took me ages)..I would say it's a great book, I just wished there was a bit less waffle. There is also a film version out as well which I watched on my way to New York.. 1984 by George Orwell is a classic. This was given to me by a friend who insisted I read it. It took a while...it wasn't easy reading, but he is right - it is amazing. It was from this book that the concept of "Big Brother" came about. It's definitely worth reading once. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was given to me by the same friend who gave me 1984 and it is in the same vain. It is one of those books that makes you think about the world we are living in just like 1984 and you can't help but draw parallels. It's quite a deep book that you could discuss and dissect for hours. Hope On A Tight Rope by Cornell West was another present. I love Cornell West and his way with words..he is outspoken and direct and thought provoking. This book is a collection of his thoughts and wisdom on various subjects. Life: Selected Quotations by Paulo Coehlo is one of those books that is great to dip in and out of for inspiration and musings on love and life. I never tire of reading quotes from Cohelo. I need to check out his other books. I have to thank my friend Safrana again for this one.