Deux opposés qui se rapprochent. Est-ce que cela peut fonctionner? A vous de lire pour le savoir.
Très bon bouquin! Gai, triste et frustrant a tour de rôle. Je conseille d’enchainer directement sur la suite (Le caveau de famille, par Katarina Mazetti)
Très divertissant, ce livre raconte l’histoire d’une écrivain qui part à la rencontre des habitants d’une île Britannique occupée par les allemands durant la guerre. A travers des lettres échangées avec ses proches ainsi qu’avec les habitants de Guernesey, transparaissent les peurs et la solidarité qui a unis les habitants de l’île.
J’ai beaucoup aimé ce livre. Le ton est léger et agréable. Je le recommande.
Je recommande vivement ce livre. Sous la forme d’une histoire, il contient de nombreux arguments stimulants la réflexion.
Ceci est un très bon bouquin de vacances. L’histoire est captivante même si l’on devine aisément où l’auteur tente de nous mener. Le livre est très facile a lire. Il s’agit donc d’une lecture reposante.
Moonwalking with Einstein or the power of imagery in memorizing!
The author, impressed by participants in memory championships, dives into their techniques. He discovers that it is possible to improve ones memory by using memory palaces and out of the ordinary images to represent the elements to remember. The technique seems to require a lot of practice and energy. It requires to focus on the task which is likely the main requirement for memorization.
The story takes place during the first world war. What is interesting is that the main characters are from different countries, giving the reader different point of views. The story starts before the war and let us see why and how it all started. I have to say that however interesting I much preferred the « Pillars of the Earth ».
This book is more about the author’s family life and how she handles it than about yoga, even if yoga is present all along. When the author stops considering child raising as a test that she has to pass with the maximum score is she finally able to enjoy life. It is a good book.
Henrietta Lacks died very young from a cervix cancer. Her cervix cells were taken without her knowledge and consent. They contributed to significant progress in medical research but they were also used for non-pacific experiences she may never have agreed on. Her non-educated family was left in the dark for many years. They imagined the worst scenarios. They were frustrated their mother’s contribution to science was not acknowledged and to furthermore not be able to afford medical treatment themselves. Should they benefit a portion of the profit generated by these cells?
Apart from the story of Henrietta, her family, their feelings and the contribution of her cells to science, this books ends with a chapter on what is allowed regarding the blood and cells we leave behind after medical treatment. The situation did not evolve so much. These samples are considered as waste for doctors/researchers to dispose as they wish. Consent is still not required to experiment on these samples. What evolved a bit is the respect of the patients’ right to privacy.
I liked reading this book, especially at the beginning. What I enjoyed is reading about the ideas that drove the development of Facebook. I appreciated getting answers to the following questions. Why does a user have a single identity? Why does Facebook imposes sharing to all of one’s friends instead of sub-groups? How did the service and the company evolve?
When I reached the middle of the book, I got tired of it. It was fed-up about the lengthy explanations on Facebook’s money raising process.
An old guy at a nursing home remembers chunks of his life. He worked at a circus. The tale goes back and forth between his current decrepit life and his memories. The main character is a very nice, likable person despite his moods as an old man. However, I found the description of the circus life as being very violent and unforgiving. As said at the end of the book, it is a pure fiction apart from some extracts that relate to events that may have happened in some circus, like the lemonade thieving elephant.
Date: 09/01/2002