Skip to content

glenjenreads

"So many books…so little time"

Home
About
Contact
Reviews

Goodreads

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 29 other followers

Follow glenjenreads on WordPress.com

Instagram

Book Review 🇺🇸 The Audacity of Hope ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🇺🇸 “The audacity of hope. That was the best of the American spirit, I thought - having the audacity to believe despite all the evidence to the contrary that we could restore a sense of community to a nation torn by conflict; the gall to believe that despite personal setbacks, the loss of a job or an illness in the family or a childhood mired in poverty, we had some control - and therefore responsibility - over our own fate. It was that audacity, I thought, that joined us as one people. It was that pervasive spirit of hope that tied my own family’s story to the larger American story, and my own story to those of the voters I sought to represent.” 🇺🇸 The Audacity of Hope is Barack Obama’s bestselling 2006 book and his second after his 1995 memoir Dreams from my Father, which became a bestseller after it was reissued in 2004. In The Audacity of Hope, Obama discusses politics and his hopes for a different America with different policies. He writes about Republicans and Democrats, the Constitution and political life. He also discusses faith, race, family and opportunity and provides an in-depth insight into America and its issues, such as poverty, class, education and employment. 🇺🇸 Having loved Dreams from my Father, I wasn’t surprised to read another eloquently written book by Barack Obama. The book is dense with knowledge and facts, especially with regards to politics. It was interesting to read the book now and consider all that has changed in Obama’s political career since writing the book. The former president proves himself to be someone who forges a career path in politics for the greater good and to make a difference and is someone who is conscious of the struggles of the everyday American citizen. 🇺🇸 Interspersed amongst the political stories are moments of his family life and glimpses of incidents which are relayed with much more detail in Michelle Obama’s Becoming. Overall, this is an excellent book that offers an informative view of politics and American life. It serves as a reminder that there are good people in the world trying to make a difference, even in politics. 🇺🇸 #glenjensbookreviews

Slightly Foxed Sunday featuring this amazing @foxedquarterly collection that I received in my winner’s goodie bag at the @bookstagramhay Meet Up! I’m so in love with this bag, which conveniently is big enough for lots of books! 😜📚 Have you ever had a Slightly Foxed subscription or read any of their books? 🐣 Also, happy Easter! I’ve finished two books today, woohoo! I finished Elizabeth Day’s How to Fail, which was amazing! I also finished Barack Obama’s The Audacity Of Hope, which I started ages ago, but had to put down as I couldn’t concentrate on it during my lunch break at work. Too many distractions to focus! 😂 Do you ever find certain books require more attention than others? Hope you’ve had a lovely Easter Sunday and get to enjoy tomorrow off too!

After our readalongs of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre last year, @theartfulelle @literarianlife and I are back with another #brontereadalong! We will be reading The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall in May, with a discussion to be held at the end of the month. Excited to be returning to the Brontë literary world! Do you fancy joining us?

Film Friday... 🎬 Film Review 🎬 Homecoming ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🎬 Written, directed and executive-produced by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Homecoming is a musical documentary chronicling Beyoncé’s now legendary 2018 Coachella performance from creative concept to iconic production. Homecoming is a celebration of black culture, education, female empowerment and music. Beyoncé became the first black woman to headline Coachella and addresses this significant moment in the documentary. The immersive live performance is interspersed with quotes from revered black leaders, intellectuals and authors such as Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Malcolm X, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Audre Lorde. The documentary emphasises the importance of the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), seen most notably in the documentary’s title Homecoming, which Beyoncé likens to her return to the stage after the birth of her twins. 🎬 Having had to cancel her Coachella appearance the previous year due to her unexpected pregnancy, Homecoming sees the struggle of the star’s return to work after a difficult pregnancy and labour. The documentary offers glimpses into Beyoncé’s life behind the scenes by including footage of her family, such as tender moments of her feeding her babies in between rehearsals. 🎬 Homecoming is a carefully curated piece of film by Beyoncé, whose creative control is evident throughout the documentary, which only ever offers a biased narrative. Every detail is meticulously thought out by a star who remains conscious of crafting a body of work that will one day become a musical legacy. Homecoming is a testament to Beyoncé’s sheer hard work, determination, ambition and all consuming professionalism. All hail Queen Bey! 🎬 I’ve been lucky enough to see Beyoncé three times in concert and she is without doubt the greatest performer I’ve ever seen. Swipe right for a Flashback Friday to those concerts featuring some of my up close footage! 🎬 #glenjensfilmreviews

“If you’re reading this, I’m dead.” 📚 Rose Shaw’s life is in disarray as she tries to cope with insomnia and being estranged from her family. When she discovers a journal after colliding with a stranger one evening, she is determined to discover what happened to its author Finn Matthews. It appears that Finn was convinced someone wanted to kill him and the police are not investigating his disappearance, despite a recent spate of murders. But what will it cost Rose in her attempts to uncover the truth? 📚 Thriller Thursday featuring Night by Night, which was #gifted to me by @jackjordan_author. I loved Before Her Eyes last year, so can’t wait to read this one! 📚 Apart from Saturday, I am now off work until Tuesday and I am so excited to have so much free time to read and relax! I’m just about to watch Queen Bey’s Homecoming documentary on Netflix, which I’m really looking forward to seeing! Have you watched it yet? Do you have any extra reading plans this Easter weekend?

Book Review 📚 The Little Shop Of Happy Ever After ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 📚 “Books had been her solace when she was sad; her friends when she was lonely. They had mended her heart when it was broken, and encouraged her to hope when she was down.” 📚 Bookworm Nina dreams of running her own bookshop. When she loses her librarian job in Birmingham due to cutbacks, she decides to takes the plunge to follow her dream after seeing an ad for a van for sale in Scotland. Her visit to the beautiful highlands of Kirrinfief helps turn her dreams into reality as she makes the choice to move after quickly falling in love with the Scottish village. As Nina attempts to win the locals round with her bookshop, she begins to realise that it’s not just the village that’s stolen her heart... 📚 The Little Shop Of Happy Ever After was a recent book club read and one that is not our typical kind of read, so it was a big surprise to discover that many in the group actually enjoyed it! Even some of the most cynical members of the group admitted to liking it, which was really unexpected. It was actually the most we’ve laughed in ages and in a good way, not in a nasty way laughing at the book. 📚 The Little Shop Of Happy Ever After is cliched and predictable with a paper thin plot, yet it is really enjoyable. It was never a chore to pick it up to read during my lunch break and I quickly sped though it in a few days. The bookshop element enhanced the story and descriptions of the Scottish landscapes were very appealing and had me dreaming about future plans to visit Scotland. While this may be a slightly forgettable story, this is a cute little book that celebrates the love of reading. 📚 In keeping with the reading theme, this gorgeous Hay-on-Wye mug was given to us at the @bookstagramhay Meet Up by the @hayfestival and it goes perfectly with this book and its theme. Thank you Hay Festival! It is the perfect souvenir of such a special weekend. ❤️ #glenjensbookreviews

April 2019
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Nov
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

Navigation

Home
About
Contact
Reviews

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Flickr
Instagram

Blog at WordPress.com.