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Nathan John Cooper

nathanjohncooper@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 3 months ago

Animation Student at Arts University Bournemouth

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Nathan John Cooper's books

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The Babysitter (EBook, 2014, Penguin) 5 stars

'She arrives at 7.40, ten minutes late...' She babysits for Mr and Mrs Tucker. She …

Completely Original

5 stars

Content warning Spoilers.

Living Mountain (Hardcover, 2019, Canongate Books) 4 stars

'The finest book ever written on nature and landscape in Britain' Guardian In this masterpiece …

Naturally Poetic

4 stars

Nan Shepard has this way of writing that is just so naturally poetic and unbelievably vivid. With each word, you can feel the intellect and passion behind Shepard's personality. Although this may be rather controversial (and could be for a number of factors), I think I still prefer Robert MacFarlane's literary abilities. Which, might I add, is not a critique of Shepard but is a testament to MacFarlane. There is just something about the cold, harsh terrain of Scotland that I often find somewhat less captivating than the bucolic, freshness of the South. Overall, both authors are beautifully talented and never fail to affect onto me a newfound appreciation for nature.

The Alchemist (2014, HarperOne) 3 stars

Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns …

Timeless Story

3 stars

There's just something about this story that feels so timeless, classical, and eternal. Everything is so allegorical, metaphorical, symbolic, and polysemic and I can't help but feel this is the kind-of book that should be re-visited serveral times throughout one's life. The only thing that brings it down somewhat, for me, is the occasionally confusing writing style. I'm sure this is most likely my fault and that I wasn't paying enough attention but there was a few times where the author jumped into a past story with little indication. The result of this was an overflow of confusion as to where the characters were and what they were doing.

Brief Answers to the Big Questions (Paperback, 2020, John Murray Press) 4 stars

Brief Answers to the Big Questions is a popular science book written by physicist Stephen …

'We take death to reach a star' Vincent van Gogh

4 stars

This book made me really quite emotional. To hear Hawkin talk about AI (which is now more prominent than ever), the development into a multi-planetary species (which we are now closer to than ever), and fusion power (which has had recent and vast breakthroughs) without being here to witness their developments in rather upsetting. Steven Hawkin died in 2018, I was just fourteen years old. Weirdly, though, I remember crying a lot. I had heard lots about Hawkin, seen him on the news, and really enjoyed listening to the small news segments that would show clips of him talking. Five years later - and during the afterword to this short book - I found myself crying again. There is something so beautiful about Steven Hawkin's life and I find his story deeply inspiring. I am so grateful for the impact that he had on this world

Nineteen Eighty-Four (Paperback, 2012, Penguin Books) 5 stars

Newspeak, Doublethink, Big Brother, the Thought Police - the language of 1984 has passed into …

Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad.

5 stars

Content warning Spoiler Alert.

Animal Farm (Paperback, 2000, Penguin Books) 4 stars

'It is the history of a revolution that went wrong – and of the excellent …

Revisting this Classic

4 stars

I first read this in year seven or year eight at secondary school. Back then, we would stop after each chapter and analyse what we had just read. I think back to those classes with much intellectual happiness and greatly miss being able to hear everyone's opinions about the different characters and their narrative directions. I asked a group of my friends the other day what they thought about Orwell and none of them knew who he was. I, then, mentioned Animal Farm and 1984 and got the same response. I'm not writing this to speak negatively on them (for I, still, have not read 1984) but I just think it's an interesting direction that society may be going towards. On another analyse of this same situation, I think it's also fascinating to understand the different books everyone had to read during their schooling. For me, it was predominantly Animal …

This grandfather of all people-skills books was first published in 1937. It was an overnight …

Slightly Stretched

3 stars

I understand that this book was written in an entirely different period all-together, however, the pace following each point is far too slowed. Carnegie tells multiple stories for every argument he makes in relation to the human psyche and these all help to sell said arguments but also slow the book's overall pace down as you already know what the outcome of each story will be. Definitely some fascinating arguments and, given how short it is, I would absolutely recommend people to read How to Win Friends and Influence People but it is slow.

Fahrenheit 451 (Paperback, 1953, HarperVoyager) 5 stars

Fahrenheit 451 is a 1953 dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. Often regarded as …

Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were heading for shore.

5 stars

There are so many quotes that I have taken away from this book and that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I think one of the main (or, most impactful) ones is 'if you drown, at least die knowing you were heading for shore' - such a beautiful way of saying die doing what's right. It reminds me of the quote from Stéphane Charbonnier who stated, 'I'd rather die standing than live on my knees' (he was later killed by Islamic terrorists who did not agree with the viewpoints he published). I know that many people reading this review might argue that I should have read this book earlier in my life (and they're likely right) but I want to attempt to rebut this by saying that I think, if I were to read Fahrenheit 451 at any younger age, I might not have been …

Hitch-22 (2010, McClelland & Stewart) 3 stars

Over the course of his 60 years, Christopher Hitchens has been a citizen of both …

Another Side of the Hitch

3 stars

There are so many quotes from this book that I would love to present to you now but I think it's probably best you just read it. I feel that, in the modern era, Hitchens is predominantly known for his views on religion and his debates on the same topic. That is one of the many reasons I loved this book, it provided a completely different side to Hitchens whilst also explaining the context behind his religious viewpoints. Despite occasionally skipping over details that I think would have been rather fascinating and lingering on details that seem unimportant, this book is a rather good memoir.

Meditations (AudiobookFormat, 2011, Naxos AudioBooks) 4 stars

One of the most significant books ever written by a head of State, the Meditations …

A Little Dense

2 stars

I'm well aware that books this old are going to be a little dense but I think the combination of this translation specifically and the medium of audiobooks doesn't combine well. It leaves you with a book that is too dense and continues at a pace that does not linger on words nor allow for any reflection of their meaning. I will make sure to return to Meditations again in the future but I may have to try another translation/version... I've heard the Penguin Classics one is rather good. That being said, for a free audiobook from Audible, this wasn't too bad at all and I'm always happy to receive a free read/listen.

Miyazakiworld (2018) 4 stars

"A thirtieth-century toxic jungle, a bathhouse for tired gods, a red-haired fish girl, and a …

Wonderfully Intellectual and Eye-Opening

4 stars

Okay I spent a little time reading this one... Although I should mention that about 75% of the book was read in the last week (4th - 11th). Miyazakiworld is a fantastically intellectual recount of the world-renowned director's life and work, told through the analysis of his many films and their connections to Miyazaki's pivotal life occurrences. Whilst the book was brilliantly intelligent and fantastically in-depth, it did occasionally feel a little disjointed or incongruous through it's structure that traverses it's readers film-by-film, through Miyazakiworld.

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle (The Complete Classics) (2007, Naxos Audiobooks) 5 stars

Japan’s most highly regarded novelist now vaults into the first ranks of international fiction writers …

Absolute Perfection

5 stars

I am vaguely new to listening to audiobooks and just reading in general so my thoughts are not backed by much experience but from the few books that I have listened to and read in the past, this is by fast the best.

The narrators voice is incredibly soothing and calm while pronouncing every word with impeccable accuracy this makes the experiencing much easier when compared to some other narrators whose voice you have to pay an extreme amount of attention to so that you can understand the words being read.

The story is amazing and creates such a beautiful and clear view in the listeners mind as to what the world surrounding our characters is like. It's the kind of descriptions that takes a location and turns it into a character.

This book is simply incredble. The story, the characters, the beautifully described locations from 'enveloping moonlight' to the …

We Should All Be Feminists (Paperback, 2014, Vintage) 4 stars

In this essay -- adapted from her TEDx talk of the same name -- Chimamanda …

More of an Adaptation of a Speech, but Concise and Appropriate.

5 stars

For a little while now I’ve been wanted to read more feministic literature but I hadn’t gotten round to it till today. I decided that We Should All Be Feminists should the start of my journey through feministic literature. Above all else this book started a desire within me to take up public speaking, to speak for those who have no other means of public communication, to speak to those who otherwise won’t or don’t listen, and most of all, to share, further, and develop ideals that should be globally accepted.

One point in the book that really stood out to me was the mention of the differences between referring to yourself as an egalitarian rather than as a feminist. To quote Adichie, ‘to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that …

Never Let Me Go (2006, Vintage International) 4 stars

From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were …

A Memory

4 stars

Content warning Spoiler Alert.