Nonfiction Archives - Luke’s Blog

27Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

When Your Family Says No by Laya Martin book review

I was contacted a while ago asking if I would like to review When Your Family Says No by Laya, a memoir on a Jewish woman who grew up a devoutly orthodox Jewish family with strict rules and how as she grew up she fell in love with a non-Jewish man and how it turned both hers and her family's lives upside down. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. When Your Family Says No tells the real-life story of Laya Steinberg and her upbringing in a strongly Jewish family where…

04Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen book review

Book reviews, Memoir, Nonfiction

Girl Interrupted is a memoir by American author Susanna Kaysen of her time when she suffered with depression and was sent to a psychiatric unit with other women during the 1960s. It's an interesting reminder of how far we have come with the support for mental health. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. I'll be honest, I didn't know this was a memoir going into and I still didn't even know when I finished it. That's the deal with some of these memoirs, they're often written with such detail that…

22Jun 2023 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Did Atomic Habits by James Clear actually change anything about my life?

Book reviews, Nonfiction

I recently read through (and listened through) the entirety of Atomic Habits by James Clear. It's the first book I've read in the 'productivity'/'self-help' genre and so I thought, rather than my usual review where I try to break the book down into a review of the plot and a review of the characters and then round it off with a summary, I'd try something a bit different. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via any of the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. For those of you who've not heard of it, Atomic Habits is one of…

17Apr 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington book review

Book reviews, Nonfiction

I have watched the An Idiot Abroad TV series multiple times and am always happy to throw it on as a light and easy TV series to cheer me up. Therefore when scouring through my local charity shop, I found the actual diary he wrote during his ventures I knew I wanted to pick it up and read it. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products using the links below, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. As I said above, I absolutely love the An Idiot Abroad TV Series and so I wondered if Pilkington's humour would be able to translate through…

20Jan 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Spare by Prince Harry book review

Book reviews, Memoir, Nonfiction

I can tell you now this book is one of the most talked-about books I've ever read. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have divided the world. Their whole relationship has been "front-page news" since its reveal. In this book Prince Harry takes you through his whole life, admitting a lot and also revealing so much about how the Royal Family is run. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Harry is often referred to as the "spare" which is a play on the fact that his brother William is the "heir".…

13Jan 2023 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry book review

Book reviews, Memoir, Nonfiction

I've always been a massive fan of Friends, it is without a doubt one of my favourite shows of all time and I'll put it on almost any time of the day. When I saw Matthew Perry had released a memoir, I was very keen to read who the real Chandler was. I knew about his addiction but only on a very surface level "Ooh, did you know Chandler was apparently addicted to drugs during his time on Friends" sort of level but wasn't aware of the horrible and harrowing depths to which the addiction took over his life. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra…

04Nov 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss book review

Book reviews, Nonfiction

Before you worry, this isn't a book written by our former prime minister - this is Lynne Truss, an English author, journalist, novelist, and radio broadcaster and dramatist. She's currently a book reviewer for different publications. Eats, Shoots & Leaves is a non-fiction book published back in 2003 in which Truss, who had just finished hosting BBC Radio 4's Cutting the Dash radio show, bemoans the state of punctuation and how it should be being used. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Eats, Shoots & Leaves came at a time…

08Mar 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book review of This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay

Book reviews, Nonfiction

Working in the NHS, I've wanted to read This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay for quite some time. I finally picked up recently and it was so interesting to read from the point of someone who has worked in the NHS for about 2.5 years now. Pin me to Pinterest! This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay is essentially a book of chosen diary entries from Kay himself of his time working for the NHS as a Junior Doctor from 2004 to 2010. It's a fascinating look into the workings of the NHS and the less-than-glamorous lives that the majority of doctors actually work in the NHS. This Is Going To Hurt plot - 5/5 How do you rate the plot of a book that is literally…

20Dec 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

Book reviews, Nonfiction

If you didn’t know - like the big kid I am - I absolutely adore all things Dinosaurs. Admittedly my interest hasn’t spread out into much more than simply reading up about them and watching films/documentaries about them. But either way - I love these enormous, dangerous creatures that lived millions of years ago. [caption id="attachment_1524" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] That’s why, when I saw The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte on sale on Amazon, I just had to pick it up. In all honesty, I wasn’t 100% sure what I was purchasing, I’d just seen it was a celebrated book and had quite an appealing front cover. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is actually a non-fictional telling of the… well… the…

Category: Nonfiction