Reviews and Comments

Primo Natura

PrimoNatura@books.theunseen.city

Joined 2 years ago

My BookWyrm Account.

Occasional reader of books on topics such as geology, geoscience, sustainability, climate change, technology and privacy. I am using Bookwrym as a platform to track and encourage myself to read and/or listen to more books.

Website: primonatura.co.uk

This link opens in a pop-up window

Frank Abagnale: Scam Me If You Can (Paperback, 2019, Portfolio) 3 stars

Are you at risk of being scammed? Former con artist and bestselling author of Catch …

Introduction to Scams

3 stars

The book is focused around the American day-to-day life, as indicated by what cards you do/don't need to carry and the case study examples. I felt these will be useful to convey how anyone can be scammed, not just online, but in-person as such as identity theft. Furthermore, the quiz near the start of the book can quickly help assess how knowledgeable you are about scams, which could be revisited at the end.

On the contrary, I felt it was poor the scammer was referred to as he, though the book, as this could give the opinion only scammers are male. Likewise, I didn't feel hooked to keep reading and the deadline on the audiobook from the library was the only thing holding me accountable.

Regina Wong: Make Space (Hardcover, 2017, Skyhorse) 3 stars

An Okay Introduction to Minimalism

3 stars

Make Space explores the minimalist lifestyle exploring how it has changed Regina Wong (the author). The book explores a wide range of areas such as work and lifestyle with activities inside the book to evaluate your current standing. The book has a lot of quotes, though many are attributed to anonymous sources.

For me the book didn't teach me anything I didn't know, granted I have read a few of Marie Kondo's books prior. Though I did appreciate a different side where the author talked about work and our time being precious, as minimalism is not just looking at 'things'.

Sadly, I felt some parts were elitist such as when she spoke about being able to buy a house with cash, rather than take a mortgage and being able to buy a coffee shop because it’s been her dream job. I feel this is unreasonable for many people and could …

Georgina Wilson-Powell: 365 Ways to Save the Planet (2023, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Incorporated) 5 stars

Step up your sustainability and unlock your full eco potential with 365 easy, trackable changes. …

Impactful Daily Advice

5 stars

Georgina Wilson-Powell's book features colourful graphics and pages with a years worth of advice (one per day for 365 days). While the advice is not organised into categories, there is an index at the page of the book which is useful. Furthermore if the advice was grouped being advised to tackle similar areas day after day could feel repetitive, therefore the randomness is probably intentional.

Each day explains a piece of advice you could try and implement, explaining reason why, and the emissions you'd save if applicable. What it does not do is say "you should do this", which is great as not all swaps are relevant or achievable. Likewise the reasons why you could try the advice are a few short paragraphs at most, which makes for an easier read and reduces the sense of overwhelm.

At the back of the book are links to every statistic used offering …

Mike Berners-Lee: How Bad Are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything (2020, Profile Books Ltd) 5 stars

How Bad Are Bananas? was a groundbreaking book when first published in 2009, when most …

The Book of Interesting Facts

5 stars

Finished this book last year and it seems I never marked it as complete on here. Nevertheless, here is my viewpoint.

Mike Berners-Lee's book is best used for referring from as opposed to reading from front to back. Personally, I borrow most of my books from the library however, this is one of the few environmental books I own. The book is filled with statistics which is useful for bloggers, content creators or anyone who likes data, I have referenced his work in my blog.

His book is broken into several chapters starting with small and ending with large carbon emissions. Such examples include the emissions from a glass of water or paper tower to a flight on a plane. Mike Berners-Lee's book does not lecture anyone; instead, it offers advice.

Peter Wohlleben, Tim Flannery, Jane Billinghurst: The Hidden Life of Trees (2020, Greystone Books Ltd.) 4 stars

A visually stunning journey into the diversity and wonders of forests. In his international bestseller …

The Life of Trees Uprooted

5 stars

Peter Wohlleben explores why forests are important and how trees communicate through the wood wide web, as opposed to our world wide web. Peter also explores the concept of symbiotic relationships between trees, explaining the reasons why they do it, even if the trees are of different species. Finally the author explains why tree leaves are green, silver birches bark is light coloured and the speed water and nutrients move in tree trunks.

reviewed The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, #1)

Marie Kondo: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Hardcover, 2014, Ten Speed Press) 3 stars

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes …

The philosophy of tiding

4 stars

Having read one of Marie Kondo's books previously and having watched her series on Netflix a lot of the content mentioned in this book was not new. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up focused on her history from a young child and how her passion has existed since a young age. What will be reassuring for many is the use of her own mistakes which can reassure you that an expert in the field of tiding makes mistakes and has since learnt from them. This could support people who may feel overwhelmed before, during or after the tiding process. The book is an easy listen and broken into 30 minute chapters at most making it easy to delve into. There are times during the book where I question her methods and I think that is perfectly fine. The overarching ideology is treating your belongings with respect and care. This is …

Japanese decluttering guru Marie Kondo has revolutionized homes—and lives—across the world. Now, Kondo presents an …

Organised Living

4 stars

A book for those who wish to minimise their belongings and are unsure what to do or where to start. This book explores what 'joy' means, how to fold clothing, organise and provides real life examples of clients Marie Kondo has worked with. As someone who was aware of her methodology beforehand, I was aware of a lot of the books content however, it was a good listen regardless.

John Lewis-Stempel : Secret Life of the Owl (2017, Transworld Publishers Limited) 5 stars

Uncovering The History of The Owl

5 stars

John Lewis-Stempel's book about owls is a short and pleasant read, 96 pages or 1.52 hours as an audiobook. The introduction to the book briefly explains how owls have become a symbolic animal. They feature in popular films such as Harry Potter and other novels. Yet an owl is a mysterious animal synonymous with witches and potions. The Secret Life of the Owl, also unpicks the history of these birds and how humans have utilised them to hunt other birds.

The book concludes by by discussing how owls were used to predict weather, and medicine and a weird truth serum. Some of the beliefs are on the more unusual side such as dreaming of an owl was a sign of death. I just hope listening to a book about owls does not bring such fate.

Cal Newport: Digital Minimalism (2019, Penguin Books, Limited) 4 stars

Most of us know that addiction to digital tools is costing us both productivity and …

Digital Detox

3 stars

Cal Newport's book explains the philosophy of Digital Minimalism; showcasing how technology can negatively harm our social interactions. Personally I listened to this book from the local library in an audiobook format and felt the chapters were way to long. Some chapters were up to 70 minutes in length. I personally prefer shorter chapters as it allows someone to dip their toe into a book for 20 - 30 minutes. I often put the book to rest and picked it up the next day trying to pickup where I left of.

The book cites examples of how peoples experiences with technology before his 30 day programme. It talks about how parents may miss out on quality time with their friends and family and what can be done. Cal offers advice throughout the book though some of them are more basic. The range of advice allows the reader to pick and …

Geoff White: The Lazarus Heist (2022, ‎ Penguin Business) 5 stars

Cyber Espionage

5 stars

This book written by Geoff White follows the hacking from within North Korea. Geoff's book follows the episodes of the BBC World Service podcast which he hosts. Personally I listened to the podcast before the book was released so I knew many of the events before reading this book. Despite that I enjoyed looking at the events that have unfolded at my own pace with this book. Each of the fifteen chapters describes the events that have taken place and how they executed their attacks.

If you like technology, hacking and cyber crime this story is for you.

Christiana Figueres: The Future We Choose (Paperback, 2020, Manilla Press) 5 stars

Discover why there's hope for the planet and how we can each make a difference …

A lesson for the future

5 stars

This book was written by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, architects and lead negotiators of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Christiana and Tom discussed how they used their power to bring change at the Paris Agreement. They discuss the politics that is played behind the scenes and how the summit nearly ended due to national security. Despite the concerns raised they continued battling due to the uncertainty of another summit occurring.

This book predicts what the future may look like with the inventions of technology and lack of resources like water. How autonomous vehicles may help the environment but act as trackers to repressive countries.

Each chapter showcases a problem and solution to the crisis from fake news on social media and conformation biases to climate doom and why we need to be optimistic when talking about the changing climate. Christiana and Tom draws on politicians, companies and us to bring …

Andy Greenberg: Sandworm (2019, Doubleday) 4 stars

A chilling, globe-spanning detective story, tracking an elite group of Russian hackers and the future …

Informative

4 stars

I felt the book was a bit slow at times however it was very informative and it is clear the author had researched the topic well. While I knew some of the details around Sandworm I enjoyed listening to the book where I found out extra details and quotes from the people involved. The author built tension by describing the events vividly and showed the extent of the damage through statistics.

Joshua Becker: The Minimalist Home (Paperback, WaterBrook) 4 stars

Minimalism Makeover

4 stars

This book will show you how to declutter and improve your life with proven techniques that have brought families together. Statistics are used throughout to back up the minimalism lifestyle or to highlight consumerism. I found the book to be informative and showcase the power of minimalism!

I listened to this book whilst decluttering which helped me along the way. While I did not use all the recommendations, a wide range were mentioned which supports people new to the concept, while pushing those who have already began! The chapters break down the 'normal' home which allows you to focus on one area, or skip a chapter if it does not apply to your current situations. Personally I found this book was slanted to the American audience, after all it was written by an American, so I found the financial savings less than ideal as they were all in dollars. Despite …