Annie Kapur
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I am:
🙋🏽♀️ Annie
📚 Avid Reader
📝 Reviewer and Commentator
🎓 Post-Grad Millennial (M.A)
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I have:
📖 280K+ reads on Vocal
🫶🏼 Love for reading & research
🦋/X @AnnieWithBooks
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🏡 UK
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Book Review: "Bowling Alone" by Robert D. Putnam
As you can probably see, I am riding another deep-dive train and this time I'm looking at how our own age is basically destroying us. One thing I can honestly say by now is that the kind of books I've been reading were written back in the 90s and 2000s and so, seem to project the idea that this has been around for far longer than the simple social media/AI age. Bowling Alone is a cornerstone of this kind of literature. As I was making the rounds about Reddit - not posting, just looking - I was trying to find a book which looks at this from an individual perspective rather than a technology perspective or one that deals with the group of us as a population of users and consumers. So, Bowling Alone was the highest recommendation. Let's take a look at what the book was about and what I thought about the major points it made.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman
Neil Postman is an interesting author whom I'm reading quite a bit of lately mainly because I've been hearing about his books online. I first read his book Technopoly which deals with the fact that these massive companies have absolutely no regard for how their technology and market monopolisation will impact the average person. But Amusing Ourselves to Death is something far more sinister than this. I have been itching to read this book (yes, that is a thing that happens to me) and I spent some time compiling my thoughts into workable paragraphs so that you can understand as much of what is going on as possible. I would urge you to read this book for yourselves though, it is so important.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Unbound" by Richard L. Currier
You know how I love a good deal and so, I got this one on my phone again, on the cheap. Well, in reality I got it for free but that story is for another time. I'm not hugely into books that go so deep into anthropology that I can't really understand them philosophically speaking but I took my time with this one and it was pretty enjoyable. The book is actually well written, although at the beginning it was fairly hard to get into. However, even though I did feel like I was ploughing through it from time to time, I came out of it alive and pretty well-informed too. So, this book is getting some good marks.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "An Angel at My Table" by Janet Frame
This book, bought on the cheap, was perhaps one of the most moving and heartbreaking reads I have read this year. An Angel at My Table features an introduction by the director of the incredible movie Bright Star, Jane Campion and is written in a beautiful, almost overtly atmospheric style. I was pretty sure from the moment that I saw this book that I wanted to read it but I had no idea how it would destroy my soul. It quite literally took me away and honestly, I never knew about some of these experiences. It is one of the best books I have read this year and if I can recommend any book to you it is most likely going to be this one.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Selfie" by Will Storr
You're going to hate me but I got the idea for reading this book from a YouTube video where I heard of the book. Do I think the person in the video had read the book themselves? Well, before I managed to read it I would've said yes, but afterwards my answer is probably not - or at least they had cherry-picked things to read. The book was a lot more expansive and had a lot more depth than I found by ways of the video. Anyways, I still like the fact that it had pointed me towards reading this deeply philosophical and psychological book about why selfies became a cultural phenomenon.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Berlin, Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
Alfred Döblin’s Berlin, Alexanderplatz, first published in 1929, is regarded as one of the greatest modernist novels of the 20th century. Döblin, a German writer of Jewish descent, was deeply influenced by expressionism, psychoanalysis, and the political turbulence of Weimar Germany. His background as a practising physician, particularly in psychiatry, gave him a great perspective on the psychological and social struggles of marginalised individuals, this is something we see over and over again in his literature.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Doors of Perception" by Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley is probably best known for his controversial, but brilliant book Brave New World which in some ways, rivals George Orwell's 1984 in its depiction of dystopia. I have enjoyed other works by Aldous Huxley and I have to admit it, I've read Doors of Perception before. I just found a free copy of it and made the snap decision to give it a reread. I was always quite surprised by this book because it seems so different to the usual requests of Huxley's works. Instead of it being a probably future or a social commentary, this is an actual experience. This is an observation of a whole different kind. It is fantastic.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Fran Lebowitz Reader" by Fran Lebowitz
I've wanted to read this book for a while, but you know me, I need to find it for cheap before I go any further. Even Amazon wasn't really doing it too cheap as when I looked at it. I ended up finding it on a used bookstore again and thus, buying it. I didn't know it was a hardback when I bought it, I tend to steer clear from hardbacks because they are a) harder to store and b) not great if you want to carry them around. I prefer paperbacks or even books on my phone or Kindle. Anyways, the bluntness of one Fran Lebowitz is something to behold...
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "A Book Forged in Hell" by Steven Nadler . Top Story - December 2025.
I have to admit that even when I was studying my modules of Western Philosophy whilst doing my Master's Degree, Spinoza was not my strong suit nor did he interest me very much. I knew a bit about his philosophy and his rationalisations and I had read parts of the book that The Book Forged in Hell speaks of. But I think the one thing that this book did is reignite a want to know more about philosophies I perhaps need to learn more about. I may not have had that much of an interest before, but this book has definitely created somewhat of a curiosity in me. Yes, before you ask - I read it on my phone...
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Chicken and Vegetable Pie Recipe
There's nothing like a winter warmer and well, this is about as warm as it gets. It's also the reason I need someone around to taste the pie because I despise pastry, so I never know if it tastes good because to me, it'll always taste terrible. But, of course I wouldn't miss the chance to make mince pies as well whilst all this is going on. Check out my mince pie recipe here. The pastry for a chicken and vegetable pie is fairly similar but I like this pastry to be a bit harder so it can hold more liquid. I'll do it in steps again, so that you can follow along as you make it. It's fairly simple if you break it up, there's just quite a few steps.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Feast
Book Review: "Mrs Miniver" by Jan Struther
The used bookstore is getting full near Christmas and so I thought I would treat myself to a few books. There's also a lot out on the Kindle Store and other places that I want to have a look at. I tend to read books on my phone as well as paperback, but I think you'll be happy to know I not only had this book in paperback, but it was also my free book in a deal of 'buy three get one free'. Mrs Miniver is about an upper-class English woman and well, there's no reason as to why I have been told to read this over the years. I can't believe I just got around to it.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Dancing in the Streets" by Barbara Ehrenreich
I like cheap books yes, but free books is something I don't think anyone can resist and so, I got this from the little haul. I had no idea what it was about when I downloaded it to my phone - it just had a cool title and I have to say, I did a bit of 'cover judging'. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised though. We get to see tribal dances, carnval, we learn about the celebrations to Dionysus and all these great and celebratory dances that are sometimes misunderstood by us. Honestly, it was great and should teach you to go for things you don't know even more. I would say 'do it scared' but I do everything scared so I don't know whether this counts.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
