THE READING MINDSET

  Book Review: Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel Author: Emily St. John Mandel Genre: Speculative Fiction / Dystopia For whom: For readers who appreciate philosophical, multi-layered puzzle-box narratives and don't require linear, neat endings to enjoy a story. Rating: 7/10 The plot opens in a fractured, near-future 2031 Los Angeles following a political collapse. While the initial setup of an "Exit Party" celebrating the lifting of a curfew creates an immediate, tense hooks, the overarching narrative rapidly shifts away from its dystopian baseline into a complex web of parallel timelines and shadow worlds. The transition from a grounded political thriller to high-concept speculative fiction is sharp, which may disorient readers looking for a traditional post-collapse survival story. Mandel’s characters, particularly the 48-year-old former prisoner Ari Waker, are deeply flawed and meticulously human. However, because the book chooses to split its focus across shift...

  The Keeper by Tana French – A Quiet, Unsettling Crime Novel About Loyalty and Truth Who is this book for? For readers who prefer slow-burn crime fiction over fast-paced thrillers. If you enjoy atmospheric mysteries, psychologically complex characters, small communities full of secrets, and stories where tension grows through conversations rather than constant action, The Keeper should be a very good fit. It is especially suitable for readers who already know Cal Hooper from The Searcher and The Hunter . What is it about? Cal Hooper has tried to build a quieter life in rural Ireland after leaving his career as a Chicago detective behind. But peace in Ardnakelty is always fragile. When Rachel Holohan disappears and her body is later found, the village once again becomes a place of suspicion, old grudges and uncomfortable questions. Cal is drawn into another investigation, but this time the case feels deeply personal. The people around him are no longer strangers. They are friends...

  The Propaganda Industry and a Dormant IPN: 10 Books Shamelessly Distorting Polish History The Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) remains completely dormant while global book markets shamelessly and profitably trade in historical falsehoods. This is a staggering testament to the systemic helplessness of an institution that consumes millions in taxpayer money every year. Other nations aggressively protect their image. Many Western countries legally compel publishers to print clear disclaimers on covers, warning readers that a text is merely historical fiction. Meanwhile, Poland's IPN prefers publishing niche brochures for the already converted instead of driving a fierce, international correction campaign. The result? The world learns history from cheap, distorted bestsellers that equate Poles with Nazis and reduce the genuine agony of our ancestors to a flashy, commercial pop commodity. Here are 10 titles that shamelessly falsify or slander Polish history, conquering global ...

  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ UNFILTERED HOLIDAYS — VOLUME ONE A summer escape that turns into something far more dangerous Unfiltered Holidays: Volume One by Katarzyna Szczepkowska starts like the kind of novel you expect to read beside a swimming pool: a woman travelling alone to Croatia, a luxury hotel on the Makarska Riviera, cocktails, sunshine, flirtation and the promise of seven days away from ordinary life. Then the photographs begin to tell a different story. Julia Sadowska is thirty-four, exhausted by her job in social media, newly separated from a man who spent years undermining her confidence, and determined to prove that travelling alone does not make her lonely or unsuccessful. Her first small act of rebellion happens before the plane even leaves Warsaw, when she finally blocks her ex and switches her phone to airplane mode. That seemingly simple beginning establishes one of the strongest themes of the book: the difference between the life we actually live and the version we present to ot...

  Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan — Book Review Genre: Contemporary Romance / Women’s Fiction Published: May 26, 2026 Rating: 8/10 Annabel Monaghan’s Dolly All the Time is a warm, witty summer romance about a woman who has spent most of her life taking care of everyone except herself. Dolly Brick is thirty-nine, a single mother and the kind of person people call whenever something needs to be fixed. After her mother left the family, Dolly became responsible for her father and siblings far too early. Years later, she is still carrying other people’s worries as though they belong entirely to her. When Dolly returns to her seaside hometown of Whitfield, Rhode Island, with her young son, she plans to spend the summer helping her father and brother save the family home. Then she meets Stewart Whitfield, a wealthy local businessman recovering from a humiliating public breakup. Stewart needs a respectable girlfriend to accompany him to a season of social events, and Dolly need...

  Rated :8/10 The Summer I Chose Myself is a warm, uplifting women’s fiction novel about courage, emotional freedom, and learning to make choices without asking anyone else for permission. Dorota is thirty-four and has spent years living carefully, quietly, and according to other people’s expectations. Her decision to travel alone to the seaside may seem small, but for her it becomes the beginning of a personal revolution. She creates a list of challenges: speak to a stranger, sit alone at a bar, wear something she would normally hide in, and allow herself to be noticed. What follows is a summer filled with new friendships, flirtation, difficult boundaries, and several very different possibilities for love. What I enjoyed most was Dorota’s emotional development. Her transformation does not happen through one dramatic event. It grows through small but meaningful decisions: ending an uncomfortable phone call, saying no without apologising, starting a conversation herself, and reco...

  10 Books About Political Scandals, Power and the Price of Truth Political scandals are rarely only about one person. They are about systems: parties, media, money, secret networks, public image, fear, ambition and the machinery of silence. A good book about a political scandal does not only ask: “Who did it?” It asks something deeper: “Who benefited?”, “Who looked away?”, “Who protected the story?”, and “What happened to the people who tried to tell the truth?” Some scandals bring down presidents. Some expose the hidden influence of money. Some reveal the abuse of state power. Others show how public memory itself can become a battlefield. The best books in this field are not just sensational. They help readers understand how power works when nobody is watching. Here is a subjective list of ten books about political scandals, secrets, manipulation and the long fight for truth. 1. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein — All the President’s Men This is the classic book about the Watergate...