Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Book Reviews

Traveller's Handbook 7th edition - A must-read for all travellers because it covers every single facet of travelling and every type of traveller will find their kind listed here . Information such as how to handle a kidnap , how not to offend religious sensitivities , how to take better pictures , and almost everything a traveller would want to know is found in this book . Visit this link if you wanna read this book online - Traveller Online.

Around The World In 80 Days - Not the Jules Verne book , though references abound as Michael Palin together with the BBC team attempt to circumnavigate the globe roughly following Phileas Fogg's (the fictional character in Verne's book) route . This travelogue is largely witty and Palin's descriptions bring the characters and places to life . It is rather interesting as you read how Palin tries his darnest to complete the circumnavigation in 80 days .

How to Take Good Pictures : A Photo Guide by Kodak - A wonderful book for amateurs to get started on photography . Many photo techniques are covered and many tips on producing better pictures are given . And for reference , just look at one of the illustrations within .

The World's Most Dangerous Places - I think that this book has a rather candid and unique take on travel . Other guidebooks will extoll the beauty and wonders of travelling . This tells you the dangers that might befall a traveller .A good read even if you have no intention of ever going to the places mentioned . However some information within is geared more towards the American reader . The online edition of the book is available here .

Culture Shock! Successful Living Abroad: A Globe Trotter's Guide : The lesser version of Traveller's Handbook . This book basically covers tips on travelling in that class called 'Deluxe Economy' by authors who have spent the past quarter century travelling . Read if you have no time to finish Traveller's Handbook and need some travel tips fast .

Lonely Planet Unpacked - This consists of a collection of travel disaster stories. Some stories are fascinating but others are rather ordinary and mundane and don't exactly qualify for the term 'travel disaster' . That said , however , all the stories are nonetheless , well-written and provide a glimpse into different cultures and the work put in by lonely planet writers .

Lonely Planet on the Edge - Basically this book follows the fortunes and misfortunes of travel writers around the world and there's even a story on the moon. This book has some rather interesting stories while others are a little disconnected from the contexts from which they were extracted from, thus resulting in an uneven quality. Otherwise, this book is great as a travel companion when moving from point to point as stories are short.

The Tesseract - This is a story whereby three sets of characters come together finally in a bloody finale. The narrative structure is interesting as it never keeps to a linear pattern, forcing you to keep reading while characters weave in and out. It is a gritty take on modern Manila and the characters are realistically written. In short, it is an intriguing, complex and intelligent book.

The Beach- Garland's first novel which turned out to be extremely engaging and imaginative. And besides, while that Leonardo movie had great visuals, it does not show the thoughts of the protaganist which is why reading the book is far more rewarding. The book captures the reasons why we travel- escapism, adventure, desire for freedom, etc but towards the end, we are shown how paradise descends to hell in just a short span of time.

The books below are all my Literature texts .

Hamlet , Prince of Denmark - Depicts the tragedy that befalls Hamlet , the death of his father , the usurpation of the throne by his uncle , the overhasty marriage of his mother to his uncle who may of may not be his father's murderer , an apparition that appears to him taking the form of his father in purgatory asking him to seek revenge for his untimely death , his lover Ophelia's death and so on . Hamlet's procrastination , coupled with his uncle's treachery eventually led to his downfall . The text is rich in imagery and metaphors and is an interesting read and footnotes at the bottom of each page in this version makes it easier to comprehend Shakespeare's language .

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born - This book by Ayi Kweh Armah depicts the corruption in Ghana , and the seemingly hopelessness of everything . It is a melancholic , depressing , at times humourous story of how a man tries to fight corruption and is torn apart by the corruption and greed of his society which leads to conflict between him and society , him and family . However there is some optimism that things will take a turn for the better in the future . Armah's descriptions bring the book to life though sometimes through crude imagery .

A Streetcar Named Desire - A play about Blanche Dubois whose last attempts at happiness are cruelly destoyed in the counterplay between new and old , fantasy and reality . She comes to live with her sister , tries to establish a new life but alas , her past catches up with her and her rape by her sister's husband seals her downfall leading her to madness . There is vivid use of imagery and the many conflicts between the characters and Williams' style makes the play very interesting and fascinating .

Waiting For Godot - "Nothing happens , nobody comes , nobody goes , it's awful ". This is a play whereby nothing much happens . Two characters sit and wait for something or someone named Godot who , till the end of the two acts still does not appear .The two acts are seemingly similar yet is different . This is a play about existentialism and at first read might be described by the quote above . However repeated readings makes one realise that this is in fact a tragicomedy . Necessary to read with an open mind and dispel whatever notions one might have had about plays needing plot , character ,etc . Often described as a modernday classic .

As You Like It - This is a romantic and light hearted comedy . There are girls dressing up as guys who falls in love with other guys , real women falling in love with fake guys , and yet everything ties up neatly at the end . As usual , Shakespeare's imagery enriches the text and elevates it above being merely a romantic comedy .

Scars upon My Heart : Women's Poetry and Verse of the First World War - This is a collection of poetry and verses written during the 1st world war . The anthology written by a large number of poets brings together many themes and enables us to understand what these people felt during the war . There are the pro-war , the anti-war , the women whose family perished in the war , women who had to produce weapons for the war , etc . Anyone who is interested in the war and wants to know what the people felt should get this anthology .

Macbeth - Another Shakespearean tragedy . This is about Macbeth , a general who is drawn into murder , treachery and eventual tragedy after a prophesy by 3 witches promises great things for him . After usurping the throne through murder , he has to kill those who are suspicious of how he came to ascend the position but he eventually buckles under his guilt . This story is quite thrilling and is full of intrigue and murder .

Jude The Obscure - It tells the story of Jude Fawley whose childhood dreams of studying in the universities of Christminster are thwarted once and again ,his early marriage and his socially unacceptable , star-crossed love affair with his cousin . This novel is painfully sad with the hopelessness of all but yet is achingly beautiful . Hardy writes in a way that makes you want to root for Jude , that he will attain his dreams somewhat and finally find happiness but he never does so . A book that will stir your emotions .

Heart of Darkness - A young Englishman , Marlow goes to Africa to seek his fortune and searches for Kurtz, an ivory trader and member of a colonial trading company that has gone into the jungle and apparently been corrupted by his power . Heart of Darkness explores the darkness that lurks in every man . This novella though relatively short , is the toughest book to read in this section . The writing style is different from the kind authors use nowadays and must be re-read to truly understand what Conrad is trying to say . But it's complicated themes and depth make for an absorbing read .

Reload This Page

� Jeremy's Domain , travel.to/jeremyk