Annie Kapur
Bio
195K+ Reads on Vocal.
English Lecturer
🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)
🎓Film & Writing (M.A)
🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd) (QTS)
📍Birmingham, UK
Stories (1962/0)
Book Review: "Tropic of Cancer" by Henry Miller
“...the monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should want roses. For some reason or other man looks for the miracle, and to accomplish it he will wade through blood. He will debauch himself with ideas, he will reduce himself to a shadow if for only one second of his life he can close his eyes to the hideousness of reality. Everything is endured- disgrace, humiliation, poverty, war, crime, ennui- in the belief that overnight something will occur, a miracle, which will render life tolerable. And all the while a meter is running inside and there is no hand that can reach in there and shut it off.” 'Tropic of Cancer' by Henry Miller
By Annie Kapurabout 21 hours ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Myth of Normal" by Gabor Mate
I had only sparsely heard of the author of this book before actually reading it and that was only through what other people had to say about him. I always knew him as the guy who talked about everything as if it was linked to childhood trauma and, though there are many criticisms I can say of his work, this book was actually pretty insightful. No, it wasn't perfect and not everything can actually be blamed on childhood trauma, sometimes I think these people are scared to admit that we don't know why certain things happen. This book though provides an insightful look into how the author thinks about processes of mental health, how wellbeing has a stronghold on our emotional health and how very serious diseases can come out of personality types rather than just lifestyle choices.
By Annie Kapur2 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "brother. do. you. love. me." by Manni and Reuben Coe
And now you're going to say, 'well, I'm glad you're back to reading fiction'. But this isn't fiction. It's a true story. It's an awe-inspiring story of brotherhood and love, complex personal emotions and understanding. A grand biography of empathy from the point of view of the brother and illustrated with heartfelt artwork by the subject of the story - this novel provides a look at some of the most quintessential things that make us human: our care for others. The story is about Manni who is looking after his little brother, Reuben who is 38 and has down's syndrome. Reuben is this kind-hearted and fun soul with a talent for drawing and as Manni explores the past and present with his brother, we as readers get drawn into a deep and loving exploration of brotherhood.
By Annie Kapur3 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Alchemy" by Rory Sutherland
The opposite of a good idea can be a good idea "Alchemy" by Rory Sutherland This book was more of a random pick-up and I know what you're going to say to me: Why are you all of a sudden reading so many nonfiction books? Well, it was my New Years' Resolution, I just didn't start acting on it until I found something I liked. Some of them have been really difficult to read because it made me realise I should have paid attention in biology at school, some of them are less difficult but more perplexing because they make me realise I've literally been ruining my own life and some of them, like Alchemy, have really interested me for some weird or unknown reason. And that's what this book is all about: weird and unknown reasons.
By Annie Kapur4 days ago in Geeks
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson was one of the foremost writers of 20th century horror with praises ranging from the everyday reviewer like myself all the way to legendary horror author Stephen King. ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ is one of the seminal works of 20th century psychological horror with a frame narrative that encompasses all the horror embodied by the main character - Eleanor. Apart from that, we have the researcher, the bohemian artist and the unlikeable heir to the house. As we move through the story, we learn secrets about everything from something the happened involving a hanging and the library holding a book written in blood. As we are reminded that ‘whatever walks in Hill House walks alone’ we are also invited into a book, published in 1959, that went on to become a foundational piece of horror writing and inspired an entire generation.
By Annie Kapur5 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Among the Trolls" by Marianna Spring
Full Title: Among the Trolls: My Journey Through Conspiracyland by Marianna Spring Marianna Spring has written her debut investigatory book into the world of conspiracy theorists and strange online beliefs, what spurs them on and why they even exist. She defines and investigates each separate theory with wit and research, giving the reader an in-depth view of the world inside these people who believe the strangest and most outlandish things. Be that as it may, she finds that these people are not all bad people in a lot of ways, but instead are people who fear that the changing world is out of their control or understanding and require someone to blame for things going upside-down. The anxieties of conspiracy theorist groups find schemes and evil plans in every facet of life and thus, spiral down further and further into a rabbit hole of oddity.
By Annie Kapur6 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker
You do not know how sleep deprived you are when you are sleep deprived. - Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker As someone who tends to have more bad sleeps than good ones, I looked into a book entitled 'Why We Sleep' by Matthew Walker to hopefully get some good tips on how to improve my sleep health. I quite possibly got a few that I can implement to some degree. But what I got first was a frightening prospect that my issues with sleep are pretty much going to work entirely out of my favour if they haven't been doing so already. Things like pouring cereal two times into one bowl, accidentally putting on two different socks and even down to packing the wrong stuff in my bag, these might be minor things that result from a lack of sleep - but I have learnt that they can have dire consequences. As someone who enjoys their time awake at night and believes that a few hours less could not do me worse - this is an eye-opening revelation that a few hours less isn't only harmful, it's deadly.
By Annie Kapur7 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Ham on Rye" by Charles Bukowski
“The problem was you had to keep choosing between one evil or another, and no matter what you chose, they sliced a little more off you, until there was nothing left. At the age of 25 most people were finished. A whole goddamned nation of assholes driving automobiles, eating, having babies, doing everything in the worst way possible, like voting for the presidential candidate who reminded them most of themselves.” - Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski
By Annie Kapur8 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "So You've Been Publicly Shamed" by Jon Ronson
I started reading So You've Been Publicly Shamed and my brother also recommended that if I am to read a Jon Ronson book then I should listen to it as well. Honestly, I cannot stand his voice, it's too slow and droning. But here we are. The book is actually really good but would have been better without his narration.
By Annie Kapur9 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The World and All That It Holds" by Aleksandar Hemon
The Holy One kept creating worlds and destroying them, creating worlds and destroying them, and then, just before giving up, He finally came up with this one. And it could be much worse, this world and all that it holds. - The World and All That It Holds by Aleksander Hemon
By Annie Kapur10 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Martyr!" by Kaveh Akbar
“For our species, the idea of art as ornament is a relatively new one. Our ape brains got too big, too big for our heads, too big for our mothers to birth them. So we started keeping all our extra knowing in language, in art, in stories and books and songs. Art was a way of storing our brains in each other’s. It wasn’t until fairly recently in human history, when rich landowners wanted something pretty to look at in winter, that the idea of art-as-mere-ornament came around. A painting of a blooming rose to hang on the mantel when the flowers outside the window had gone to ice. And still in the twenty-first century, it’s hard for folks to move past that. This idea that beauty is the horizon toward which all great art must march. I’ve never been interested in that. “As heaven spins, I fall into bedlam.” - Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
By Annie Kapur11 days ago in Geeks
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Satirical. Allegorical. Unbelievable. How ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell escaped the hammer of British censorship in 1945 is seriously beyond me. Orwell first penned the book between 1943 and 1944, the novel taking about three or four months to write and the fact that the UK was in an alliance with the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany at the time did not help. The British holding Stalin in high regard frankly made George Orwell want to vomit and though the book was initially rejected by absolutely every publisher you can think of, it was eventually published. It was then a huge success and transformed the British opinion of the state of the Soviet Union.
By Annie Kapur12 days ago in Geeks