User Profile

Delia Locked account

feijoatrees@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 9 months ago

Pakeha New Zealander, trying to read more and be a bit more grounded in the real. Huge Goodreads fan but also a fediverse fan and keen to try this thing out. Grateful to the volunteers with their ethos that have established all this.

This link opens in a pop-up window

2025 Reading Goal

19% complete! Delia has read 8 of 41 books.

Margot Morrell, Stephanie Capparell: Shackleton's Way (2002, Penguin (Non-Classics))

Dated yet excellent (at least 2/3 of it)

So a book from the early 2000s is going to have some hilarious commentary on what it’s like since the baby boomers have found themselves in executive leadership, and the role of the internet in the world. It was a book in chronological chapters of Shackletons ordeal with learning points as summary and then reflection from modern leaders. It could have done without the latter - most especially glaring when comparing the last part of Shackletons journey across an island with two other men; frostbitten and starving, making the call to careen down a sheer glacier simply because there was no other way; closely followed by the CEO of Jaguar making record profits by encouraging staff to push themselves to the limits? Uh-uh - not a match!! But the bits about Shackleton himself were well written accessible and compelling, and I’m grateful for his story to be nestled in the …

Charlotte McConaghy: Once There Were Wolves (Hardcover, 2021, Flatiron Books)

Inti Flynn arrives in Scotland with her twin sister, Aggie, to lead a team of …

Love the Cairngorms, don’t recognise them here

On one hand, loved (some of) the writing, read the book within a day- loved (some of) the themes. Passed the placenta test… but the twin trope was awful and the violence and hypocrisy about responses to violence; had too many happy endings for too many difficult topics

Bruce Pascoe: Dark Emu (2018, Magabala Books)

Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for precolonial …

Game changer

I’m hoping in time this book will age out, as criticisms of Australian society become unfair, and further knowledge about aboriginal land management informs new industry and preservation… at times feels a bit brow beating but it’s (for me at least) a new perspective, entirely new and exciting

Rebecca Priestley: End Times (Paperback, 2023, Te Herenga Waka)

Priestley’s new memoir explores the complications of living in a world under threat across two …

Do not fear uncertainty

A great romp through what was essentially deconstruction, circa 1987. Well written and compelling and an enjoyable read and reflection on NZ society in snapshots; almost 40 years apart. Will be recommending to others

Dervla Murphy: Full Tilt (Paperback, 1987, Overlook TP)

Made me feel more justified for the rides where I walk up the hill and ride down

First up, there are several times where she is astonishingly racist. However, there is such depth and pluck and wonder in so much of her writing that I feel we can learn from her writing and thoughts both good and bad.

Sharee Johnson: The Thriving Doctor (Paperback, 2021, Hambone Publishing)

Will be worth reading again periodically

A fair amount of this is “well, duh” but where it isn’t it is really helpful for providing tools and ideas for changing how we can cope with situations even if we aren’t able to change the situations. Heavily leans on precepts of acceptance and commitment therapy - being comfortably with being uncomfortable - but also serves well as a reminder of why work is so hard at times. Here’s to having some kind of flow state! 😅