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:
📖 300K+ reads on Vocal
🫶🏼 Love for reading & research
🦋/X @AnnieWithBooks
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🏡 UK
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Book Review: "The Plague" by Albert Camus
Albert Camus is one of those writers I don't read often and the reason for that is because there's so much talk about his works on the internet already, sharing my views may be like beating a dead horse. Well, I first read The Plague some years ago and back then, I have to admit I didn't think much of it - but since I've returned with a little bit more time - I've managed to reread it, revisit my old thoughts and make sure I've become clear with my point of view. Here's my point of view very clearly: I don't think much of The Plague still, and I don't think it is Albert Camus best effort at a philosophical novel. However, I am quite understanding when it comes to the fact that this book is important to modern literature.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Carrot and Coriander Soup
I'm back with another recipe and well, if you've been paying attention - I like to make soup as well as bake biscuits and cakes. Recently, I tried my hand at carrot and coriander soup, making something I am fairly proud of. I don't actually eat soup, but the opinions of people who do have been pretty good! This soup isn't too difficult even though it might sound like it takes forever. I promise that absolutely anyone can make this soup even though it might look like there are a lot of ingredients...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Feast
Book Review: "Selected Poems" by Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a great poet, I think we can all accept that. Recently, in the 'used book shopping' I do, I have had some interesting finds and one of them was this book by Charles Baudelaire with the French and English written on opposite pages. I've often read these types of books with Lorca and even with Neruda (probably because they're a bit more modern than Baudelaire) but, let's investigate exactly how good these selected poems are. Remember, when it comes to an editor selecting poems for an anthology, it's also about the order it's been put together in, not just the poems they've chosen...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Blueprint" by Robert Plomin
This book wasn't on my radar at all and I didn't want to just dive into another science book (you'll see what I'm talking about if you stick around to see what's on in 2026). But it was cheap so here we are. I'm more about reading things that contain ideas I find interesting - which means it is weird that I chose this book because when I was at school, I hated science. I was also really bad at it, I could never understand what was going on but, as I've aged I've developed quite an interest in aspects of it. Learning about us humans is something that I like to read books about (again, stick around for 2026 and you'll see where this is going) and well, Blueprint may have been all about DNA - but I still found it a great read.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Meeting Dr Johnson" by James Boswell
The Life of Samuel Johnson is a book that needs tackling and probably annotating. I have so far tried to dip my toes in it now and again to find out what it is like. As you probably know, I have some stuff lined up for 2026 and I would like Samuel Johnson's life to be a part of it somehow - if not in 2026 then the following year (if all goes to plan and it doesn't crash and burn). Of course, during his own lifetime, Dr Johnson had the reputation of being a sage and a brilliant mind, though he was also known to be abrasive and a bit arrogant as well. When we come to looking at this strange friendship James Boswell describes though, we get to see another side to him, one that people rarely got to see.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Feast" ed. by Simon Winder
I like to read odd books every now and again so one of the things I tend to do is buy a book I've never even heard of. I was looking for books on a used bookshop website and found someone selling this book. No idea what it was about, hadn't heard anything about it and I even reufsed to read the on-screen summary. I just bought it. This is about as adventurous as I am willing to get. Do this with food and I will be anxious as hell, often refusing to eat. Do this with my everyday life and I will actually have a panic attack. Do this with my coffee and you will probably summon a demon. But books are my safe space.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhail Bulgakov’s novella Heart of a Dog (Собачье сердце) was first written in 1925, though it was not officially published in the Soviet Union until 1987, several decades after Bulgakov's death. The work was written during a time of intense political and cultural terror in the Soviet Union, following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent rise of Stalin's regime. The novella represents Bulgakov’s true feelings about the Soviet machine, especially in its attitudes toward social engineering, the intelligentsia, and the flawed implementation of Marxism.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Sister Carrie" by Theodore Dreiser
Theodor Dreiser is not someone I have explored many times, one or two perhaps and my writings on his book An American Tragedy was well-received. Since then, I have made it my business to read and reread more of his novels, including the often overlooked Sister Carrie. Once I started reading this book I absolutely could not stop. An enthralling story which often shocked me as it was written in a time where perhaps these stories of nonconforming women were still not taken seriously, it is a fantastic narrative even if the main character's morals are shifty at best. Carrie is definitely one of those characters we look forward to learning more about as she experiences more of the world. But, that doesn't mean we like her...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Nobody's Girl" by Virginia Roberts Giuffre
Content Warning: The following review discusses topics of child abuse, rape, drug/alcohol addiction, human trafficking and suicide. Take these into account when considering if and when you will read the review. Continue with caution if you hold any sensitivity to the topics mentioned.
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "How to Change Your Mind" by Michael Pollan . Top Story - November 2025.
I had the entirely wrong idea about this book. I was reading on my phone when I finished the last book and wanted to start a new one. Thus, I quickly bought this on the cheap and started reading. I thought it was going to be about changing your mind, like actually changing it by using therapy techniques and the like. It's about LSD and psychedelics. But it's also about depression, anxiety, dying, terror, mythologies of humanity etc. Interesting and actually pretty well-written - I have absolutely no regrets of not reading the blurb when it came to this book even though I don't particularly agree with everything within. Let's take a look at what it is about then...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Oleander, Jacaranda" by Penelope Lively
“When you do not know what to expect of the world—when everything is astonishing— then anything is possible and acceptable. Children are aliens in a landscape that is entirely unpredictable; they are required to conform to the dictation of a mysterious code while finding their way around a world which is both dazzling and perverse. I wanted to see if it was possible to uncover something of this experience”. - "Oleander, Jacaranda" by Penelope Lively
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning" by Laurie Lee
Cider with Rosie I admit, did not move me too much - though I have to admit it was good. But when it comes to sequels I have to say that As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning is probably one of the better examples of one. It is a testament to travel and self-discovery and of course, I read books like this because I hate travelling and self-discovery is something of a side-note for me. I prefer to read about other people who take trips to find themselves philosophically, however unbelievable I think it would be to actually do in real life unless you ran into something like a war-zone and saw someone die (see: Orlando). Let's take a look at what makes this book extra special...
By Annie Kapur4 months ago in Geeks
