What The Faux

The idea is quite interesting - the middle-ages setting gains more depth as some "artifacts" of the ancients are discussed. Those artifacts are items of everyday use such as fragments of glass and an iPhone...

The main character, a priest, arrives at a remote village to conduct burial ceremonies but quickly learns that there are more layers to what apparently seems like a natural death. 

This novel had huge potential. Setting that initially reminded me of "The Name of the Rose", mysterious catastrophe in the  but despite that I never felt too involved in the story while I was following it.

I've been an avid fan of basketball for years so this book felt like an obligatory choice. What I value most from it was the fascinating account of Wilt Chamberlain - Bill Russell rivalry and a pretty obvious conclusion as to why Bill should be ranked as the best ever. Apart from it there is the famous "pyramid", a ranking of 50 top players in the NBA history. Language at times feels a bit blunt and a bit too colloquial but overall a very good read that I'd recommend especially to those who value some of today's players who excel only at one end of the floor ;)

Basketball has always been a game I enjoyed both playing and watching most. This book is a story of how one of the most popular Polish websites about the NBA came to be. It also adds a highly personal touch as the author digs deep into his personal experiences along the way. 

Plenty of stories about players and organizations that show how passionate the author is about the NBA. No chapters and sections, written in a steam-of-consciousness-like style.

Highly recommended read for all basketball fans out there (in Polish only unfortunately!).

This collection of 4 stories by King is probably the best I've read from him in years. Each one is distinctly different both in content and in style.

"Mr. Harrigan’s Phone" is the one that immediately made me feel at home as a Constant Reader. A story of growing up, great portrayal of suburbs. The unnatural/horror elements are subtly introduced and don't break the flow of the narrative in any way. 

"The Life of Chuck" has a unique structure as it's divided into 3 parts that move from present to past. A bit puzzling but immensely engrossing. It features King's rare philosophical approach to life and more abstract pondering on the nature of life and death.

“Rat” is another story by King in which the main character is a writer. It seems to me that he really excels in such situations. Here we have questionable sanity of a man who locks himself up in a remote house where he wants to write a new novel. He becomes ill and we are left to guess which parts are feverish hallucinations and which are actually there.

“If It Bleeds” can be treated as a direct continuation of "Outsider". Anyone who enjoyed this cast of characters and detective + supernatural fiction will enjoy it. I'm not a huge fan but it was a pretty enjoyable read nonetheless.

This book has a strong Orwellian feel to it. 26 young boys are locked in a tower with very limited access to terrain around it. They are brought up by a figure called D.A.D. and educated to a very high standard by an assembly of teachers. They are trained to be prodigies and life in the Tower is all they are allowed to know. They have no knowledge of the outside world and of the opposite sex. 

The novel starts around the time when boys reach puberty and curiosity is a natural instinct for them. Some start asking questions and begin considering their limitations, which inevitably has significant consequences.
One has to appreciate the effort Malerman has put into creating some unique vernacular. Similarly to great classics of Utopian fiction, those words used to reinforce the brainwashing process really sink in while reading.

It's a solid read and similarly to "Bird Box", we observe humans put under extreme conditions. Definitely an interesting study of a twisted social experiment. I have to admit the ending took me a bit by surprise and the way things unfold in the end brings a good closure to the main plot but also leaves the reader to ask more questions and consider next scenarios.

I read the first part a couple of months ago and enjoyed it thoroughly, so reaching out for #2 was a no-brainer. I'm a huge fan of Slavic folklore and this one is filled with it. There is a short background on even more unusual creatures here and the book is filled with wonderful illustrations. I really like the structure here as all are prepared by the same person, which gives the whole thing a sense of coherence. However, it feels like some of the creatures presented here are like an extension of what has already been presented in the previous one and reading about them didn't seem as fascinating as about the ones in book #1. Nonetheless, I will be definitely checking out the other books by these authors.

This book reads very well although it's not great by any measure. It feels more like a collection of thoughts on various aspects of the game of basketball; training, maintaining your body, injuries, attitude, fans, opponents. I particularly enjoyed reading sections in which Kobe described his on and off-court relationship with other players. It felt like being taken behind the curtain to where things were actually happening and left lasting impact. Coupled with great pictures it makes a good read for fans of Kobe and those who appreciate learning about different layers that go into becoming one of the best in the game. 

I grew up watching and supporting Kobe. Ever since his dunk contest win I saw something special in him. The way he embraced competition and constantly sought opportunities to fine tune different aspects of his game was nothing short of exceptional. For me, this book felt very deep and personal despite lack of wider narrative construction and coherence and this is something that can put people off. For me it was an interesting way of getting more insights into daily challenges and understanding Kobe as a professional better. His passing really hit me hard and I do miss his positive energy, smile, and the ability to make everyone and everything around him better.

The fact that services like Facebook keep track of all our interactions in order to aggregate specific data describing behavior, beliefs, and other pieces on information is pretty much well known. What is not widely known is how deep it actually goes and how much of ourselves we leave at the fingertips of large organizations. It is  mind blowing to realize that we actually let go of more information  to FB willingly than we would reveal during torture. It's scary but definitely worth reading to understand the history behind Cambridge Analytica and what it had means so far.

‘Admissions’ are filled with insightful comments of an experienced British brain surgeon as he approaches the end of his professional career. Having worked in completely different counties such as Nepal or the Ukraine, he has seen both the best and the worst practices. His reflections on the current state of medicine and his past are strikingly honest. I found his comments of handling worst cases where patients are either dying (and not always aware of it ), or face serious and lasting consequences of surgery such as loss of eyesight or loss of... personality due to severe brain damage.

I’ve read some novels by Greg Iles before so I quickly felt at ease when I started reading ‘Cemetery Road’. Familiar setting of deep south with its inherent racial and social inequalities is a common theme that he tends to explore. It’s no different here but it’s contrasted with the protagonist, a Pulitzer award winning journalist from Washington, who returns to his hometown, Bienville. Marshall comes back unwillingly to accompany his seriously ill father in his final days. He soon finds that the past catches up with him as he meets his former lover who has married into the Matheson family. They are one of the 12 influential patriarchs who have been pulling the strings in Bienville part of the Infamous Poker Club. The town is about to be changed with a huge investment from the Chinese who plan to build a paper mill there. In these settings, a body of Marshall’s old friend is found close to the building site.

Iles has a knack for creating credible, round characters. In this novel he often reverts to events from distant past, which have formed the protagonists and significantly impacted the relations between them. The plot goes back and forth and the big events that happen along the way do not feel forced but rather carefully planned incidents that connect the past to present.

I watched the movie shortly after it’s release all those years ago and still have vividy memories of how good it was. Tom Hanks’s portrayal of Forrest was absolutely spectacular and he deservedly received an Oscar.

A while ago I read somewhere that the novel the film is based on is remarkably good too and much more complex. Indeed, it presents Forrest as much more complex character. Here he is more of a savant trapped in athlete’s body than a simpleton. As a narrator, he presents the world in a charming, heart warming and slightly naive tone. Here his adventures are actually much more complex and borderline unbelievable (such as being sent on a space mission, playing chess with elaborate chieftain of wild tribe ) but still absolutely enjoyable to read.

I’ve been a big fan of Monty Python’s Flying Circus for as long as I can remember. After reading Eric Idle’s book last year, I had no doubt I’d be reaching for more when I get a chance. John Cleese’s biography is wonderfully written. Rich, eloquent and highly entertaining narrative takes the reader on a journey from his early childhood to post-Python times. He has undeniable talent in portraying people in a highly sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek manner. Even reading about seemingly insignificant characters is pure pleasure. Definitely a must for any Python fans out there ! And the audiobook version is read by the author himself so all the more reasons to enjoy it.

Judas Coyne, legendary rock-start,has a peculiar hobby of collecting morbid memorabilia. When he is contacted about an opportunity to purchase... a ghost, he can't pass. Soon afterwards strange events begin to unfold that cause him to rethink his life and the circumstances that led to the unfortunate purchase.

As naive as this sounds, the story is actually quite coherent and well structures. What I liked the most wast he ambiguity as none of the characters in the novel can actually be called good.

Basically it's a "who slept with who" story that has several twists in it but nothing overly complex :)