Retired Brazilian Woman Reviews 1,348 Books for an Online Store in 1,000 Days for Free

11/09/2015 - 08h47

On February 4, 2013, Leila de Carvalho e Gonçalves sat in front of the computer to write her first review for the Brazilian Amazon. She gave Agatha Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" five stars.

1,000 days later, completed on the 31st of October, the 57 year old retiree is one of the top reviewers on the brazilian site of the online retail company, with 1,348 critiques-all of them written with no payment involved.

Leila's saga began in Christmas of 2012, when she won a Kindle. She didn't think that she would adapt to the reading platform-a normal fear for someone who, at the time, had over 5,000 hard copies of books in her private library.

The fear didn't last and, after two months, Leila had reviewed her first work. And hasn't stopped since.

A tragedy led Leila to have free time to keep up with the hobby. When she was 43, she discovered that she had primary sclerosing cholangitis -a genetic disease of the liver. Five years later, she received a transplant and retired due to disability.

At the time, she managed family companies in Jundiaí (SP). Unable to work, she decided to focus on literature. "I read six to eight hours a day. It's like a job", she says.

Translated by SUGHEY RAMIREZ

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	Eduardo Knapp/Folhapress
	Leila's hobby began in Christmas of 2012, when she won a Kindle