Book Reviews By Doc

Claire Dougherty

6.23.20

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Some of you may be familiar with the Instagram account, @bookreviewsbydoc, of which I am the proprietor. This account was originally started as a way to fulfill my creativity requirements for CAS. As the requirements changed, and frustratingly to me, dancing no longer counted as creativity because a tangible product was required. I begrudgingly decided to create a review account stemming from Mrs. Buchovecky’s idea of a movie review account, but in this case, reviewing books. This is the story of how a graduation obligation turned into a passion. 

I’ve always been a lover of books. My mom read to me long after I learned how to read. Since we’ve always regarded books as a topic to bond over. Even now, I tend towards books that my mom has recommended because I know they’re bound to be good, and I love to talk about them with her. However, sometimes we disagree about the virtues of a certain story. For example, my mom really likes memoirs, while I typically find them boring. Also, I loved the suspense of Bram Stoker’s  Dracula, but my mom got bored halfway through the book. Our differing opinions partially inspired me to take the step in sharing my opinions with the world because everyone’s bound to have different views anyway. 

People have always asked me why I talk so weirdly or make fun of me (lightheartedly) for using words like “surmise” instead of “guess”, but it’s entirely due to the fact that I read - a lot. I seldom get to discuss books with my friends unless they’re school books with mandatory discussions, so as I began to “force” myself to reflect on books I had read on my own and actually think about the facets of the storytelling. I actually began to enjoy it because it was like telling a friend about everything I enjoyed about the book, as well as everything I didn’t like. By taking this extra step and creating an Instagram account to feature the reviews, I was finally able to share my thoughts with the world, and the world could share their thoughts back with me. I am so grateful for being pushed into this opportunity because it has allowed me to practice my analysis of writing and reflect on books I’ve read rather than just moving onto the next one. So if you’re interested in my opinions about books, and/or want to share your opinions with me, or simply need some information about school-assigned books, check @bookreviewsbydoc on Instagram!

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Here are some of my favorite reviews :

10.17.19

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto: i just finished Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. i really enjoyed this book; despite the simple language, the emotion and mood of the story was entrancing. kitchen tells the story of a young woman “adopted” by another family and the everyday reminders that life isn’t fair. it was an easy read but thought-provoking because the surface level topics of death and family provoked bigger issues such as existentialism and internalized struggles. 📖📖📖📖 (4/5) stayed tuned for Dracula by Bram Stoker next!

1.1.20

Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom: i flew through this book. just a classic well-told historical fiction novel. i thought it was super interesting because it tells the story of a mixed man passing and living as white in Philadelphia, after being raised believing he was white on a southern plantation. it really shed some light on how ingrained racism was in the deep south because even after he learned he was part African-American, it took a while to shake him from his previously held beliefs. the story picks up when he has to go back down south to save a boy who was kidnapped into slavery, he becomes hunted and sees the other side of things. interwoven in the novel is a love story as well as feats of bravery from many average men and women of the early 19th century. 📖📖📖📖📖 (5/5) stay tuned for Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes next!

1.13.20

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes: finished Flowers For Algernon on Wednesday. this was one heartbreaking book, but also so interesting and well-written. it tells the story of a man with very low i.q. who undergoes an experiment to drastically increase it - to supergenius level. however, the experiment has some fatal flaws and the newly-made genius is the only one who can recognize them. basically, he knows he only has a limited amount of time left before he regresses and it’s incredibly sad as all of his newly found intelligence and world views start to drift away. interestingly, i actually noticed some similarities between this story and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. for example, in a bid for scientific greatness, a superior man is created (somewhat problematic), additionally, paradise lost by Milton was featured as a learning tool in both stories. along with the sadness of the plot, there is a doomed love story and some biblical allusion which is then tied to the previously mentioned paradise lost. 📖📖📖📖 (4/5) stay tuned for A Good Year by Peter Mayle next!