Tag: Autobiography / Biography Books Reviews

Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills bag”. In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father’s junkyard.

To be very honest here, I didn’t know anything about this book nor the author before going into this book. All I knew about this book was that it was very popular on Goodreads. Which might be the reason for the low rating I gave this book.

This review will be very unpopular. And this entire review is from my opinion, so if you don’t agree with anything I say here you don’t need to post some mean comments, you can just keep scrolling. This review is what I think about the book, and I know that not a lot of people will agree with me and you have to do the same just agree with the fact that not everyone will have the same opinion about as you.

I personally had very hard time reading this book because I found it boring and uninteresting but at the same time I couldn’t believe how hard time the author had while growing up in the family she has.

This book is for sure very eerie due to the emotional and physical abuse the author went through in her life on the hands of her family. Which really is terrifying how some people, who you call family can treat you like shit due to their’s believes.

Even thou I didn’t like this book, there is a part of me which doesn’t want to criticise a book of someone’s life.  But for a honest review you need to do some hard things.

This book only focused on the real bad things in the author’s life, and often skipped months at a time, which really annoyed me because its like the author is telling us that she her entire life was super bad without a single good things happening. 

And the sense of intense violence which were in this book were way too frequent. She really made me point how fucked up her family is with the first of these moments and we didn’t need 50 of them to understand it.

Another things which really annoyed me about this book, was the miracles of getting back to full head when her father, mother and brother got injured. It was like on one page they were very injured and on the next page they were back to full health. And the author didn’t even bother telling us how they got back to health or anything like this. It was more like Boom and the next morning they woken up being back to full health.

Other things which I found bad about this book was her school education. She was homeschooled until she was accepted to a university. And her education at home was very, very far from a proper education. All she learned during her home school was how to read and that was it. And when she was accepted to university she was on perfect student getting As on all tests and exams. How is that possible ? Someone who only learned how to read and do some very basic math which children in kindergarten can do is randomly an A student in a university. 

When I read nonfiction books or biographies I want logic and things making scenes not what happened with the author’s education in university or her family members randomly healing up over night after getting injured.

And the last thing I will mention about which really annoyed me about this book. Is that the author taken like 3 singing lessons and overnight she was the musician which everyone looked up to in town. It’s almost like the author wants us to believe that within 3 singing lessons you can go on a stage and be the next Taylor Swift.

I Give This Book 1 / 5

It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on. For Harry, this is that story at last.

It very important to say at the beginning of this review that this book wasn’t written by Prince Harry but rather it was written by a ghost-writer named J.R. Moehringer.

This book being written by a ghostwriter is the first red flag about this book. Because during the release of this book, there was one interview with Prince Harry where he said that he have written this book himself which was bull shit because it wasn’t written by him.

The another red flag about this book is how Prince Harry is trying to paint himself as the angel amongst humans who have never done anything bad in his entire life. And instead he is painting Prince William as the devil who is the ultimately evil and jealous person.

The third flag in this book is that Prince Harry paints himself as the victim of everything rather than admitting to his own mistakes. Like that time when he went naked and smoked Pot in Las Vegas, in this book he says that he didn’t want to do it but his friends and alcohol made him do it. Jesus, take some damn responsibility for your own actions and don’t play the victim card.

In this book Prince Harry also talks the majority of the time how much he is insulted about having a role in the royal family but that role not being the primary role. And very good example of this is already at the beginning of this book at page 6. This part really made me pissed off, because most of us aren’t born into the royal family and not get to live in castles, travel the world, get paid for doing nothing but we don’t complain about this. But Prince Harry complains that he gets to do anything he wants to, and where money isn’t a problem for him but not get to be a king. 

When we get to the last part of this book, Prince Harry starts to complain how his brother Prince William and his wife didn’t answer his text immediately after he had texted either of them. I don’t know if Prince Harry understand this but people get very busy at times and can’t answer your text or call right away. Prince William and his wife have kids and probably have things to do which means that they can’t always answer him right away.

Another red flag about this book is how he tried to portray himself as the true heir of Diana. Because there are many times where this book goes “I inherit this from her, my eye colour is just like hers, I have the same passions as her and I don’t like the same things as her”. This really make me sad for him, because of how pathetic he is. 

I Give This Book 1 / 5

When Carrie Fisher discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved–plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté, and a vulnerability that she barely recognized. Before her passing, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon was indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her costar, Harrison Ford.

Ever since I’ve found out that this book was in the process of writing, I was dying to read it. Because a die hard fan of star wars as I am, I need to get my hands on everything star wars themed and this memoir of Carrie Fisher who plays Leia was on that list.

A huge part of this book is about Carrie’s life while filming the first Star Wars movie. And there is a lot of talk about Carrie’s affair with Harrison Ford, but don’t get too excited because we only get fed a cracker on this without getting know much. But to be honest I didn’t know about Carrie’s affair with Harrison Ford until I read this book.

We get to know more about Carrie Fisher and her journey through the first star wars movie, and her thoughts on the process of becoming one of the well known actress almost over night after the first star wars movie was released back in 1977. 

The writing style here, was very easy and simple to read. Which really made this whole book to a quick read. 

In this book we get to read a little bit of Carrie’s journal which she kept while filming the star wars movie in 1976. Which was really amazing and fun to read. Because we get to learn what it was like to be a part of the greatest franchise of all time.

A part of me wished that this book was longer, and that we got the chance to read more of Carrie’s journal. which might be the reason for a low rating.

I Give This Book 3 / 5

Mary Trump spent much of her childhood in her grandparents’ large, imposing house in the heart of Queens, where Donald and his four siblings grew up. She describes a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse. She explains how specific events and general family patterns created the damaged man who currently occupies the Oval Office, including the strange and harmful relationship between Fred Trump and his two oldest sons, Fred Jr. and Donald.

This book is promoted as a Donald Trump biography / nonfiction book but in fact it is rather a book about the Trump family history. 

This book makes some good points about how dysfunctional the Trump family might have been according to the author but it comes from a person who wasn’t the biggest fan of her family so everything is to be taken with a grain of salt. 

About 60% of this book is about the author’s father but the advertisement of this book says that it is about Donald Trump. This book felt like the author trying to work through her emotional pain rather than this book being about Donald Trump.

This book started with sort of trying to psychologically diagnose Donald Trump and then in the next chapters until the last it became the Trump family history book of sorts. And the last chapter became sort of the roasting chapter from the author on how stupid, bad, childish and dysfunctional Donald Trump is. This didn’t go well with me personally which explains the low rating due to my political views but this website is neutral when it comes to politics so we won’t discuss any politics on this website.

The writing style was very light and it actually made this book fun, enjoyable, interesting, quick and easy to read. The writing style made this book more likeable in my opinion. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5

From his breakout role in Die Hard to his outstanding, multifaceted performances in the Harry Potter films, Galaxy Quest, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and more, Alan Rickman cemented his legacy as a world-class actor. His air of dignity, his sonorous voice, and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate audiences today. But Rickman’s ability to breathe life into projects wasn’t confined to just his performances. As you’ll find, Rickman’s diaries detail the extraordinary and the ordinary, flitting between worldly and witty and gossipy, while remaining utterly candid throughout. He takes us inside his home, on trips with friends across the globe, and on the sets of films and plays ranging from Sense and Sensibility, to Noël Coward’s Private Lives, to the final film he directed, A Little Chaos.

This book took me awhile to finish but I finally finished it.

I enjoyed this book a lot but at the same time I feel like this book shouldn’t have been published. Because this book is of all the diaries Alan Rickman had throughout the years. All his thoughts and choppy notes were for himself and he makes some few brutal comments about things and some actors.

Reading this book felt like taking a look at Alan Rickman’s mind throughout the years and during his cancer battle and years. 

It was amazing to learn what he truly thought about some of his acting projects as Harry Potter movies and Die Hard. 

This book and the diaries in this book gives us an amazing look into a very talented mind and his opinions.

Overall this book was super interesting and enjoyable.

I Give This Book 4 / 5

Heavier Than Heaven traces Kurt Cobain’s life from his early days in a double-wide trailer outside of Aberdeen, Washington, to his rise to fame, fortune, and the adulation of a generation.

You might not know that but I’m a fan of Nirvana so this book was a must read for me. So when I saw this book at the bookstore I knew that I needed to read this book. 

For the most part it was a decent book, but there was couple of parts which was boring and the book would be much better if these parts were cut short of they were not in the book.

The author does a pretty decent job at putting together Kurt Cobains’ life and his quick rise to fame. So I need to give the author point for that.

The writing style could be much better. I lot couple of biographies and this one is far from them because of the writing style was poor. 

The last chapter was pretty fucked up (excuse my language if you got offended here). I don’t want to spoil anything for people who haven’t read this book yet.

This book feels like Courtney Love approved versions of “actual events” which really made me pretty angry. Because I picked up this book to read about Kurt Cobain and his life and not read Courtney Love’s version of Kurt Cobain.

However this book gives us couple of cool facts about Kurt Cobain and his life which I didn’t know about, so of course I needed to give this books points for that. 

I give this book 2 / 5

Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius’s life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance uses Musk’s story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition? He argues that Musk is an amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs. More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy.

If you are like me and you are a big fan of Elon Musk and a big geek of Tesla and SpaceX, you will enjoy this book. Because this book provides us with a lots of information about Elon Musk and what kind of a person he is in his comapnies and behind closed doors.

This book is excellent and inspiring. It might also give you motivation about following your dreams and make cool projects no matter the odds against you. If you are afraid of taking action because you think that your business will not make it than remeber that Tesla had very small chances to succeed back in 2003 but look at it now.

This book shows that being reckless like Elon Musk helps. Elon Musk was reckless in two areas: in the risks he took, and the way that he manages his companies.

The attitude which the author took with hounding to Elon Musk and wearing him down till he agreed to cooperate with this biography, was amazing but still there are couple of things which this book could be better.

There are moments in this book which the author is like”Holy crap, Elon Musk is CRAZY”. And thats the thing every genius is in their own way crazy untill everyone sees that they are actually not that crazy after all.

Elon Musk’s comapnies are also the most exciting companies ever. And the fact that you can read about their early struggles at the beggining are amazing, and really brings a light that every company have the change to succeed no matter what.

The writing style itself is pretty good but there are times where the writing could be much better than it actually was. But I think that in this asspect and in this book that doesnt matter that much because of the whole concept of this book and idea behind it.

Even if you are not the biggest fan of Tesla, Space X, Solar City or Elon Musk you will at least have the opinion that this book is pretty decide and worth reading. Because there are always something to learn when it comes to big and important people like the goat himself aka Elon Musk.

Elon Musk is an important innovator of our times, but the author could take different take with this book. Of course the author had many interviews with Elon Musk and it would be very dope if he had mentioned stuff about there interviews and his feelings he got out of these interviews. It would have been also very dope if the author had involved some of these interviews in this book and not just talk about Elon Musk and his dope companies.

Of course this biography isnt the best one which you can find. But still you will learn something from it and most of you will enjoy it.

I give this book 4 / 5

By day he made thousands of dollars a minute. By night he spent it as fast as he could, on drugs, sex, and international globe-trotting. From the binge that sank a 170-foot motor yacht and ran up a $700,000 hotel tab, to the wife and kids waiting at home, and the fast-talking, hard-partying young stockbrokers who called him king and did his bidding, here, in his own inimitable words, is the story of the ill-fated genius they called.

This book has a lots of hatters coming after it which should happen. Because this books isnt half bad as many other books which have been reviewed on this blog.

If you are triggered by drugs, violence or lots of sex maybe dont read this book, because this book has a lots of these things and even more.

Two of the central themes of this book are finance and market manipulation, which make a lots of people pissed off. But the central themes which people also forget about when it comes to this book is how money can ruin people, and how being in charge can go south.

The story is told mostly in dialogue which is pretty much a unique way to do it. And it really gets funny and super interesting at many times throughout the book.

The whole book is about Jordan Belfort and how he was able to manipulated the market to his own advantage. There are many describsions of how some of the money was laundered.

For the most part this whole book is a roller-coaster sort of a ride. Because there are a lots of times where you are like “he will get caught really soon”. But all these times you think so, it doesnt happen.

The lifestyle which Jordan Belfort has in this book makes the whole book more interesting to read. But yes some people will not like the book and his lifestyle will make it worse.

It’s a tale of excess and hedonism. And all these hardcore feminists will hate this book because there are times (a lots of times) where women are treated badly.

The writing style was actually good. It was simple, humorous and descriptive.

One of the best parts about this book is that Jordan are calling his life as “rich and dysfunctional”, which could mean that he knows that the shit he have done wasn’t okay.

This book is about his sturggles with various things like drugs, Feds after him and how to laudry more cash. I personally read a lots of nonfiction books and I found this book refreshing because for once a nonfiction book wasnt about how people got into fame. This book starts when Jordan Belfort first day at Wall Street and in the next chapter it goes forward when he is the boss of Stratton Oakmont, Inc.

However there are times while reading this book where you will feel like you are a drug addict yourself. Because of the way how Jordan Belfort describes things and explain things.

I give this book 4 / 5