Lauren
I read this book as part of my bookclub. It's my introduction to [a:Beverly Jenkins 199260 Beverly Jenkins https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1509684481p2/199260.jpg], though I actually have [b:Forbidden 25760151 Forbidden (Old West, #1) Beverly Jenkins https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436290539l/25760151.SY75.jpg 45264426] on my Kindle somewhere.I love the theme: an African American Historical Western Romance? Yes please to all of those things! But when we get to the brass tacks of this book, there was one major thing that bothered me. Let me explain. Regan is fugging awesome. Seriously, I could not ask for more in a romance heroine. She comes on the scene as a mail-order bride, and maybe I expected more of a [b:Sarah, Plain and Tall 106264 Sarah, Plain and Tall (Sarah, Plain and Tall, #1) Patricia MacLachlan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327254558l/106264.SY75.jpg 2674739] situation, but I could be into this. (Granted, once we find out she's actually independently wealthy, I'm not very sure on her motivation for needing to be a Mail-Order Bride in the first place, though maybe that's explained in previous books) She's cool: she knows how to shoot a gun, she's unconventional, she's not afraid to get her hands dirty. Her “intended” is Colt Lee - a poor, but a well-loved and well-respected doctor. Here's the thing though: Colt is a total square. I could be into a smart, kind doctor too, but good grief! Everything that makes Regan so awesome is totally suspicious to him. Yeah, sure, I get it: “historical accuracy.” But for this reason alone I kind of doubt their chemistry. The fact that his immediate internal reaction isn't “WOWZA!! I've never met a woman like her before!” but more of a “This will never do! Even in the wild west where we're all just trying to survive...” makes me think, “Regan, I love you, but is this really worth the trouble? Take you're money and become an eccentric old patron of the arts or something.”
I loved [b:The Hate You Give 53522062 The Hate You Give Angie Thomas https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1613832668l/53522062.SY75.jpg 49638190] and I love [a:Angie Thomas 15049422 Angie Thomas https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1471998209p2/15049422.jpg] (though I guess I missed [b:On the Come Up 35887567 On the Come Up Angie Thomas https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518828924l/35887567.SY75.jpg 56364068] - unimportant)Based on what I already knew about Maverick's story, I was prepared for this to be a dark and difficult book. And while it was, I definitely didn't expect to laugh as hard at these little dorks as I did. It reminded me of the antics from my high school classmates (which I hadn't realized I missed until now) However, young Mav's predicament is something I've known so many kids have found themselves in - yet Maverick is inspiring. Maverick was a train wreck, don't get me wrong, but it was interesting to watch him get his redemption. Thomas could have gone with a lot of stereotypes, but that would have been lazy and not like her at all. Instead, we can watch as some dumb teenagers act like fools, but still take heart in knowing that they grow up to become amazing people and their teen years weren't at all mistakes.
Oh My Lanta, how I loved this book!
I think the best way to put it is just “cozy”: but it felt much more personal to me. I really felt like this could have been “my story” or what I'd have liked my story to be like if that makes any sense. Anyway, it wouldn't be fair just to label this book as a simple “love story” - because though it is that, it's a story about falling in love with places, family, and tradition as much as it is about falling in love with any one person. Also - there's the food: this book is absolutely a love story to food - namely Cuban baked goods and your grandma's kitchen. If anything, “explore the world and eat everything” is the moral of this book. Don't read with an empty pantry.
Here's a book I could easily describe as “screamingly delightful” (or even “squealingly” - because I did do a lot of that while reading it). It's just not often enough that I can find a book that makes me so happy that any moment spent not reading it just reminds me that I could be reading it instead of doing whatever it is I'm doing instead.
As far as love stories go, it's just purely satisfying - there are ups and downs - real moments of “will they? won't they???” right up to the bitter end. Even though there were some very intentional cliches and silliness, I'd still say this was a believable and lovely romance. Especially in regards to characters' flaws and mental health re: trust issues.
This book has been on my TBR for long enough that I've plumb forgotten what it's doing there in the first place. I vaguely remember... being really geeked about it? It's possible that I took a shine to it because it was a more successfully pulled off version of my own OC and Head AU. For that reason alone, I'm very biased about this book. Whereas a lot of readers seemed less than enthused about it, I'd already had my own back-log of research I'd done five years ago for a very similar story I wanted to tell.
The Bone Witch is the first in a trilogy (but personally, I felt like it was strong enough to stand on it's own, if you don't intend to read all three novels).
Tea is a simple village girl who accidentally raises her brother from the dead. Necromancy is an especially unusual ability in Tea's world, and once it's discovered, an Asha (witch) collects her and her brother and trains her to become a “Bone Witch.” Bone Witches are valuable, but also feared and ostracized - and though Tea works very hard, she still struggles against her own self-restraint.
There is another perspective in this book, but I found them easy to ignore altogether. A lot of readers didn't enjoy the changes in POV, but I chose to skip them altogether. This will probably come back to get me in the end if I finish the series.
I really love that Asha are basically Geisha. It was the main appeal for me, which I'd reference before. As a Westerner, there's a lot I don't know about Geisha, but I know enough to know it isn't what Americans typically think they are (Arthur Golden lied to us). Because there is a lot of very intentional mystery surrounding them, they're pretty safe as models for some original fantasy. Asha aren't just entertainers and artists - nor are they witches. They are, primarily, warriors. (!!!) I love that these women are well-rounded. In fantasy especially, women are typically damsels in distress or the absolute polar opposite - masculine in every way but their feminine bodies. I love to see feminine women who are also tough!
There's a very diverse cast of characters, and I'll love to see what is done with them all as the series progresses.
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I'm a big fan of [a:Anne Bogel 6537850 Anne Bogel https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1560950150p2/6537850.jpg]Anne Bogel's blog, Modern Mrs Darcy, and I've read almost all of her published books. I feel like, in a lot of ways, we're kindred spirits. As for this book, which I read out of obligation, I just couldn't relate to the message. I'm getting a major libra ♎︎ or virgo ♍︎ read from her.So here's what's up - Anne Bogel is essentially a Xian Mommy Blogger - yes, one with a brand that I find especially appealing, but when we get really right down to it, half of her target audience excludes me. Including, as it happens, being indecisive. However, she's not exactly an expert on indecision or psychology. A lot of her stories were not really backed by anything substantial and purely anecdotal.Look, it pains me to have to give Ms. Bogel's book a poor review - she's one of my blogger heroes. But that's just it: it probably could have just been a series of blog posts rather than a full-fledged book and still stuck the point. Extending out into book-form is where the “virgo-ness” comes out: it's sort of bossy and impertinent. That's cool that you have all this advice for people with the same problem as you, but what makes you an authority on it? Besides, I just can't relate to this problem: I make a choice and just sleep well knowing that it's a done deal. If it's a big decision, then I do research until I'm satisfied that I've made the best decision. And if I didn't? Que Sera, Sera.Gosh, this makes me sound like a huge jerk - I'm really sorry, Ms. Bogel! You are, truly, one of my biggest heroes. I love, love, loved [b:I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life 42188130 I'd Rather Be Reading The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life Anne Bogel https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538757778l/42188130.SX50.jpg 60141215]. I learned so much from [b: Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything 36369986 Reading People How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything Anne Bogel https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507398315l/36369986.SY75.jpg 55893901]. I adore your podcast, I love your blog (obviously) - but I just wasn't the right person for this book. If you think it might appeal to you, I don't want to diminish the help you might get from it, so give it a shot.
Earlier this year - when 2020 was shiny, new, and still comparatively young and hopeful - I read [b:Get a Life, Chloe Brown 43884209 Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters, #1) Talia Hibbert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553318108l/43884209.SY75.jpg 66903616] for my library Romance Novel book-club and it was my favorite book that we had read thus far. This book was published very shortly after, and the other members of the book-club read it on their own and raved about it. I decided these were a couple of Jones I'd need to keep up with for once, so to speak, and added myself to the library holds list. Three months later, I finally got my chance!Danika Brown is a Ph.D. candidate who knows E.X.A.C.T.L.Y what she wants right now, and a “serious relationship” is not exactly circled and highlighted in sparkly gel pen anywhere in her Erin Condren planner. (Yes, I imagine Dani would have a meticulous, over-priced, name brand planner) I mean it - she's fine with flings, but she views a real relationship with the utmost suspicion.Zafir Ansari is a retired professional rugby player turned University security guard with a serious RBF but a soft spot for romance novels... and Danika Brown, as it turns out. However hard he struggled to keep that a secret, he finally gets a break to act on it. ...Sort of.You see, during a routine fire drill, Dani gets trapped in the elevator and Zaf has to help her out of it. Except, things get a wee bit out of hand and he carries her out like, well... And not surprisingly, it caused a bit of a scene. A few phone cameras trained their way, social media magic, and voilà! You have a viral video and hashtag #DrRugBAE. (There's some obvious chemistry) Because Zaf has a struggling youth charity that could benefit from the free publicity, he convinces Dani to play along with him and pretend to be his girlfriend. And, well, you get it.While reading it, I was reminded again and again why so many people trivialize the Romance genre - still. And how very, very excruciatingly wrong they are. I'll be honest, it really burns my ass up. [a:Talia Hibbert 17088554 Talia Hibbert https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1544037896p2/17088554.jpg]'s books are just evidence that the Romance genre is going into a new, better, and non-toxic direction. But yet there are still very intelligent women who feel like it's all trash that's going to give them brain-worms and ruin their lives. In Talia Hibbert's novels, as well as so many other current romance novels I've read published since (let's say) 2013, authors are by and large very careful about discussing mental health, disabilities, healthy relationships, very diverse casts of characters (including race, the LGBTQ+ community, a variety of kinks in a positive and healthy way, etc.) It's incredibly frustrating to me that this stigma is still prevalent and tittered over by grown-ass women. Sure, we have a few outliers - unfortunately, those tend to be the ones most often brought up. However - and pay close attention here - the women reading these books are adult women. They aren't imbeciles. They're allowed to enjoy whatever kind of fiction they like. Yes, even if it's morally corrupt and unsavory. Fiction is still fiction. I'm frigging GRAY-ACE and I read romance novels - it would be incredibly stupid of you to assume that I would read something like 50 Shades and jump into the first red-flag relationship I find. So I'd love it if we'd stop:1. Expecting the worst from Women's fiction, namely Romance.2. Infantizing and/or slut-shaming the women who enjoy them.But anyway ahem Why did I love this book so much? Because it's like Talia Hibbert read the above paragraph, made a check-list of all my concerns and interests, and figured out a way to include them into her novels - in a very unpretentious, natural way. I did mention that Zaf reads romance novels, right? Well, he also has a teenaged niece that he allows to borrow from his collection because it's “good for her.” A lot of Dani and Zaf's foundation for their relationship - their real relationship - is built on vulnerability around their mental health. Both of them have sad and realistic, histories and they work through their issues together in an astoundingly healthy way. This romance novel isn't just a guaranteed HEA, it's a breath of fresh air.
This book was one of the titles recommended to me by the fine folks over at the OSRBC book club when I was looking for something comparable to [a:Sarah J. Maas 3433047 Sarah J. Maas https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1582137198p2/3433047.jpg]' books because I just happened to have a hankering for her particular style of writing. It caught my interest above the other books mentioned (though never fear, I did add every title recommended to my library hold's list as long as it was available) because it was both an established, and a continuing series, all without being too long. Also, like most romance novels and unlike fantasy trilogies, each novel can be read as part of the series or as a stand-alone, as far as I can tell. I did enjoy this book very much, so I will be reading the rest of the trilogy/series over time.Grave Mercy, the first book in the “His Fair Assassin” trilogy - a series about femme fatale nuns in Medieval Brittany (a corner of modern day France). Now, Medieval Brittany has it's own delectable history and culture, and your research into it should not begin and end here. Remember this is essentially still fantasy, so expect the author to have taken plenty of liberties. However, though La Fevers plays fast and loose with the facts, she actually did do her homework. So if you're into this sort of thing - or you're like me and you didn't realize you were into that sort of thing until you read a badass YA romance set in it, then I like to believe this review has already done it's job (Lazy, Lauren! You're lazy!)Ismae Rienne escapes from an abusive and ill-suited arranged marriage and is spirited away to a convent that worships Death and is trained to become an assassin under the title “Death's Handmaiden.” Her first assignment is to journey into the heart of court with one of the Duchess Anne's counselors in order to help sniff out who is betraying her. The short answer is everyone. More to the point, The Duke promised Anne is many, many suitors - and when he died she was just twelve years old.In the fore-front, Ismae is growing more and more confident in her skills, court intrigues, and her love for Duval (the man she was sent to spy on/assist in spying with). Things do get obviously rather complicated, but I didn't think they were convoluted and needlessly so. I was a bit put off by the fact that Ismae had to save Duval's life by basically having sex with him. I find this less and less in fiction these days, and this is an older book, but I still wish it would go away completely.All in all, I enjoyed this book very much. I'm almost certainly going to continue reading the rest of the series if I can get ahold of them all.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++If you enjoyed this review, you can find it and others like it here.
If you're a new kid in town, you may not yet know what a Jane Austen fangirl I am. Yet - I am the gross and goblin-esque sort of fangirl, not the cutesy fangirl. In the case of Jane Austen, you'd expect a fangirl to, idk, drink tea in antique teacups, wear knitted shawls, and, Idk, positively swoon over that dashing Mr. Darcy. Sure, I appericate this image, but I take the same approach to my Jane Austen fandom as I do to all my other fandoms - ie, I'll take the cringe with the fluff. Basically, I'll read/watch anything and everything that is a nod to Jane Austen, no matter how trite and over-done. Sometimes I'll even coyly feign interest, but I'll almost always end up reading (or watching) it.
So, it was no surprise that I was going to read “The Jane Austen Society” sooner or later. Only... Here's the thing I wish I'd known going into it: this is historic fiction, but it leans heavier on the fiction than it does the historic. It's fine that a large part of the story is entirely of Ms Jenner's imagination, but it's always been a pet peeve of mine in historic fiction when authors flirt around with actual historic people with their own stories and identities, but basically throw the whole thing out the window and write a fiction that have could stood on it's own without needing to stand in the place of the real person. I perfectly understand why people do it - just because these obscure people existed doesn't mean that history has a means of remembering them fully, but I still think it's a pretty ballsy move.
The Jane Austen Society is, in fact, a story inspired (and therefore “loosely based”) on the community of people who came together in the 1940's to protect the remaining estate of the famous authoress. But really, the story is actually about a small English community who share a common love for Jane Austen's books, and discover their own blooming romances. I would still have read the book if it was actually about the community that rescued Austen's legacy and created a tourist's Mecca for book-lovers out of their sleepy town. I would also still have read about a group of people who are falling in love with each and are inspired by Jane Austen in the process. Regardless, this book makes itself a perfect Book Club book.
Here's what I loved and found exciting about this book: it's perfect for an Austen nerd, because every character's hot takes on the novels I've wanted to say myself for years and years (I have a lot of Austen and Brontë hot takes). I loved Evie Stone - the brilliant and precocious scullery maid who took advantage of her position to dig up some of Austen's personal artifacts (because she reminds me of myself. But I also love the underestimated heroes.) I also loved how the relationships mirrored the relationships in many of Austen's novels - which apparently was not something the author originally intended, but when she saw the set up forming on it's own organically, she embraced it and went with it.
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If you enjoyed this review, you can find it and others like it here.
I do read a lot of books by black and immigrant authors, mostly as a means to expand my perspectives. It's a meager attempt on my end that I hope boosts the awareness to get it in the right hands of the ones who will resonate the most with it. It's incredibly rare for these stories to single me out, because I am a Southern Christian White American Woman. But this one turned a corner and swung back into some Very Personal territory.
Transcendent Kingdom was one of September 2020's Book of the Month's selections, and I had a hard time picking the book I wanted that month. In the end, I picked something else but put Transcendent Kingdom on my library hold's list instead.
☞ Btw, about Book of The Month Club - if you aren't already a member, here's the sitch: basically, you're given an option every month of five new, hardcover books. You pay a flat rate of about $15 for your first book, and $10 for any additional book you add after that. Everyone is different, of course, but so far I haven't gotten any titles that were duds. Worst case, they simple didn't thrill me, but still kept my interests. So really, it's totally worth it! ☜
Transcendent Kingdom is about Gifty - the first generation daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, born in Alabama. Gifty is currently a PhD candidate studying neuroscience at Stanford - this is world's away from her childhood spent in a Southern evangelical church, growing up with her older brother Nana - a basket ball protégé and her single mother. But that was then. Nana has since over-dosed on OxyContin. Her once strong and domineering mother is now a husk of her former self, as she struggles with depression after losing her son. Gifty's work now focuses a more in the interest of addiction and depression, obviously inspired by her family.
However, as a reader I was struck by - and most interested in - how Gifty struggles to discern her place in science while also acknowledging her religion. As a practicing Christian and someone who “isn't a dummy,” to put it lightly, I seem to confound the people around me who have long since thrown in their towel's vis a vis religion. There is a lot to say on the matter of being spiritually and educationally homeless, and honestly, no one I know seems to be objective or non-biased enough to actually listen. In this way, Transcendent Kingdom was a revelation for me. Yaa Gyashi may not have said what I would want to say, but at least she has been able to breech the topic in a way I have never been able to before, and for that I am very grateful.
I'm really behind on my reading goal so far for 2020 (by about 27), so it's absolutely vital that I just start shot-gunning some quick reads. 2020 hasn't been the most generous year, but I mainly have myself to blame for the fugue state I've been in.
To know me is also to know that I am deeply ambivalent about Amazon in the nicest of terms. Still, desperate times call for desperate measures and I find my hand forced towards the Amazon Original Stories. I've also never read anything by Caroline Kepnes until now either, so this is a nice warm-up.
Shelby is a new mom who has been lying to her husband and live-in mother about the job she was fired from. Despite the fact that her husband is loving, if emotionally unavailable, she feels compelled to follow some flirty bread-crumbs a mysterious texter has been dropping for her. She's also obsessed with Hallmark Channel Original Movies – which the story both takes digs at and glorifies [the type of women who loves them – I can't really tell which.] Shelby is then kidnapped by her catfisher and sent to live in a dystopian commune meant to turn her into a Hallmark Movie Heroine. – Yes, that's a spoiler, but the book is literally less than 50 pages long.
Like, obviously this short story is meant to be:
A) Included in a collection of short stories by this already popular fiction writer some years down the road. and...
B) A commentary on The Modern American Woman – wither good or bad, I can't personally tell. I love short fiction because they carry a heavier burden than novels usually can do: I think of them as conceptual sandboxes for writers. Maybe it's to hammer out some characterization, or as with this story, make a commentary on a niche aspect of society.
I can see that Kepnes is saying something, but I haven't taken a college English course in some years and so my interpretation radar is pretty rusty. Would I read more of the titles in this series? Possibly, but it's unlikely. If I did it would be to get a broader picture of what this project is trying to accomplish, but since the series is very varied and left up to the interpretation of many other authors – rather than a continuation of the one story – it wouldn't be for much. I honestly read it because I needed something quick to read for my 100 Book Reading Goal (for which I am miserably behind on)
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This book is a continuation of my education in African American history – this time via applied zoning laws as a means of social segregation. I personally know many people who would bristle under the presumption that they both take this for granted and benefit from it. Because I feel like my anti-racist education can't go forward without this topic being explored, I needed to read this book.
While a lot of what I learned from this book made me really hot under the collar, I can't dispute anything I found in it especially because it's based on what I already knew to be true. Still, I think this book could have been a bit more concise and as someone who doesn't understand “legalese” I didn't pay much attention to everything I was reading. Not that this book is just for lawyers – but I feel like the topic might be more self-evident to someone who works in civics. I know when I'm out of my league and under-exposed; I know when to throw in the towel.
Without going too far into it, where I was raised, segregation and racism is normalized even in 2020 even more obviously than it is in a lot of places in the United States. It is perfectly normal her for “Black Churches” and “White Churches,” “Black” Gas stations and “White” Gas stations. We do go to the same basic public buildings – schools are inter-racial because they are smaller and serve more rural areas, but we have made national news at least twice in my life-time for having segregated High School proms. Still, I understand that this is neither normal nor the exception.
With this book, you can illustrate the current state of socioeconomic in American cities, and give your anti-racist education a little flavor. Otherwise, the book offers very little by way of solutions except through awareness. It's a bit dry on it's own, and repetitive, but it does the job.
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I'm just tickled that this book exists, y'all. You don't quiet know this much about me yet, but the Regency era is my shit. Yes, it's because of reading Jane Austen at a young age and then devouring every Austen Adaptation since, but also it's just what I've become comfortable with.
Emily McGovern is probably better known for her Harry Potter spoof webcomic My Life As a Background Slytherin. This is an original story, however.
A few years ago, my friends and I were obsessed with Gail Carriager‘s books – up until that point I'd had an impossible time getting them to see how interesting the Victorians, Edwardians, and the Late Georgians (aka, Regency) were! But they took to Carriager's books, so that's how I was finally able to break through to them. If you, too, are especially fond of Carriager's steampunk series' – as well as the Brontë's and Austen – then you miiiight want to pick up this comic.
Bloodlust & Bonnets is about a girl named Lucy who is searching for the Vampire Queen of London, Lady Violet Travesty, who easily convinced her that she was something special and would make a great addition. Together with the famous Lord Byron (from books!) and butch vampire hunter Sham, they constantly get in their own and accomplish very little.
I guess... That's the thing that bothered me about this graphic novel. It wasn't the simplistic art style – which as you can see from Emily McGovern's other comics, she's mastered the expressive stick-figure. It was just unnecessarily long and could have been wrapped up in under 200 pages. The jokes might have been funny at first, but I got tired of the whole thing long before the half-way point. I know opinions seem to be split down the middle, but I really do kind of regret wasting my time with this book, whereas a lot of other readers found so much joy in it – which in turn, makes me feel about for not liking as much. So I'm not going to try to discourage anyone else from reading it – like I've said previously, I'm exactly the right audience to appreciate this book, and yet it still wasn't for me.
If you enjoyed this review, you can find it and others like it here
This book has been sitting at the bottom of my TBR pile some time after it's release. Unlike a lot of it's readers, I knew nothing of Arundhati Roy's previous success. I just heard “LGBTIQ+ Representation,” “India,” and “Man Booker Finalist” and that's really all I needed from there. Of course, just because a book has positive allocates doesn't mean it's actually a good book. That is left up to the reader, and I must say... if GoodReads' reviews are anything to go by, the readers really didn't like this book. This honestly surprised me, but then again, it kinda didn't either.
If a lot of the readers are coming from her previous successful novel, The God of Small Things, which I haven't yet read and so I have nothing to compare this book to except it's self.
This book was incredibly difficult to read. On that, nearly everyone can agree. If I wasn't listening to the audio book, I might have bailed on it a lot sooner like most people, or it would have been a millstone that took me 6 months to finish. It's long, tedious, and there are a lot of characters who are either coming or going – it's really difficult to tell which. I think we all can agree that it went over everyone's heads most of the time. Ms. Roy very intentionally made it difficult to see the forest for the trees, as it were. This book is like a bowl of noodles – there are a lot of seemingly false starts and no clear direction. Frustrating as it was to read, I do respect her for this. I like a little chaos now and then. There are a lot of characters that are introduced in great detail, and then dropped as though forgotten. And then there are others who spring back in at random (and you're grateful you'd been paying attention). Again, I think this is interesting. As a reader of a lot of tropey fiction, I place a lot of value in fully realized back ground characters.
It is a Picaresque novel, I believe, or at least it has some of the elements of one even if it isn't a true picaresque. So, there is no plot or very much character development. It's dark and prickly, but obviously satirical and I did laugh out loud a few times. What made it so especially inscrutable for me is that, while I was thrilled to get a chance to read a very Indian novel by a Indian woman, I had to admit that I was completely out of my element. I had to be honest with myself upon reading this book that I honestly knew next to nothing about true Indian culture. I knew very little about the types of characters Roy was satirizing. I thought I knew something of Indian religions and life, when really I knew about them and only very little. Truly, it's possible that this was the first time I've ever really read real Indian fiction. I didn't even know enough about the culture to be offended by any of it. This isn't a great novel to start with that cultural education unless you learn best by having someone drop you directly into the deep end of the pool.
So while I had been challenged by this difficult book, I still have a favorable opinion of it. I may not been very knowledgeable about modern India before or after reading this book, and she did very intentionally make this a murky novel, I at least think I understood the author's intent enough to respect her work and see that she is a brilliant writer. I'm self-aware enough to understand that my experience with this book was restrained by my own limitations and knowledge.
If you enjoyed this review, you can find it and others like it here
This one took me a little while to get into – it's super sweet and adorable, but I had some trouble getting a feel for it because, though I'm an adult who loves YA, it felt more childish than what I've become used to. This doesn't take points away from it, though! 15 years ago, it would have been my favorite, and I will gladly recommend it to the teenaged girls I know (especially the weebs). I Love You So Mochi is a sweet first love story. As I've already said, it's a bit too silly and juvenile for my tastes, but I don't think that it was bad.
Kimi is a Japanese American high school student who is under some pressure to accept the position at the prestigious art college her mother is really excited about her attending. The problem is, Kimi isn't as excited about painting as her mother is. Then, her estranged grandparents from Japan send her a ticket to visit her over spring break. Kimi takes them up on the offer as an excuse to figure out what she really wants to do with her future. While there, she befriends a cute Japanese boy who has made it his mission to help her figure out her destiny. And there's mochi involved. That's the long and short of it.
I'll be honest, what I found so frustrating about this book is something I know a lot of it's readers won't even bat an eye at, possibly because it's too relatable to them. I feel like Kimi's protestations about “not being able to figure out her passion” was so frustrating because it was so obvious to me: fashion design is totally art. Coming from someone who holds a fine art degree and who works with pastoral care and student services at an art college, I deal with “kids” who are as oblivious to their talents and passions as Kimi – so with my background, I just want to take all the little Kimi's of the world and kind of give them a good shake. Then again, even as an artist, I get hung up with self-doubts about “is this allowed?”
Second of all, I'm jaded. I'm 32 years old and I know exactly where Kimi and Akira's relationship is going to go once this novel is over, and it's not going to stay happy. I'll leave it up to you if their relationship his staying power, though.
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This book had been the talk of Romance Novel Book Club this summer, so obviously I needed to check it out. And, BOY AM I EVER GLAD THAT I DID.
Beach Read has been very easily one of the best books I read so far in 2020 – not least because 2020 has been an absolute hellscape and most of what I've been reading has, unfortunately, been more informative nonfiction than light, fluffy escapism. What I'm saying is, I've been exposing myself to a lot more doom and gloom. So maybe part of why I loved this book so much is because I desperately needed to read it right when I did. But more on that in a bit.
Beach Read is a genuinely romantically comedic romantic comedy. (In college, one of my guy friends said he hated the name “rom-com” because they were never funny – while I'm choosing to ignore the inherent sexism and pompousness of that statement, I'm now self-conscious that my rom-coms are verifiably funny.)
January Andrews is in a lurch – she's broken-hearted, broke, her father recently died and left her with his secret love-nest, and – oh! And to make matters worse, she has writer's block
Summer 2020 has been an especially difficult time in America – this is an undeniable fact. As such, I've found myself reading a lot more books to attempt to learn more about the wheels and cogs manipulating the system. I would recommend this practice for just about anyone – though I personally know it isn't going to be a very popular one.
I previously read Stamped – the YA edition of Stamped from the Beginning – which is another title from the author, Mr Ibram X. Kendi. I, however, did not realize this until I was about a quarter of the way through this book. (I felt pretty stupid about it, lemme tell ya).
Stamped is an excellent book to share with your children, should you be home-schooling and aren't especially satisfied with the Euro-centricity of the materials – I'm just saying – there are no rules against teaching your own children your own history, especially if there is a source material out there for you to work from... hint, hint
How to be an Antiracist is one of Kendi's more personal works, it is half memoir and half African American history – though some of the same material as in Stamped (and presumably Stamped from the Beginning). Having read something like White Fragility and feeling reasonably unimpressed by it, I can say Ibram X. Kendi has become my hero. There is a right way to handle identity politics and a wrong way, and I put a lot of stock in what Kendi says because he has gently and thoroughly explained in detail the way things are. Mr. Kendi writes a semi-memoir as a black man, struggling against his own internalized racism – and contrasts it to America's history with internalized racism. The result is nuanced, stern without being callous, direct, and yet sympathetic. A quiet passion is threaded throughout his words – he is a true Teacher.
Because of this, not only do I trust his insights, I believe in his work. He is very honest and frank enough to say “even though I am a black man, I see where I've made my mistakes.” In the midst of Cancel Culture, it is good to see someone own up to past, faulty thought behaviors, put it out there for everyone else to see, and say I've learned from it. And we can call learn from that – thereby becoming anti-racist, and anti a lot of “Isms” ourselves.
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I have had this book on my TBR list for a while – 2020 is just the kind of year where you just have to dip more and more into my stock-pile of books I've collected over the years, rather than go out and buy more books.
While I was sleeping on this book, however, Netflix turned around and made a movie adaptation of it. Though I enjoyed the book a great deal, I'm cautious about watching the movie now, so I'll leave that up to you.
Brain on Fire is kind of a miraculous book. Sure, I don't know why I let it sit in TBR Purgatory for so long – it was a really quick read, and so, so interesting – thus, well worth my time. But really I mean that this book could just as easily never been made. Susannah Cahalan went from a very intelligent and talented journalist and over the course of a few months slipped backwards into a very mysterious mental illness that completely altered her personality, and even her memory.
Throughout the ordeal, her parents and boyfriend were tireless in seeking help for her, and because of this she was able to find answers for her ailment that actually made big progress in the medical field. In the end, the illness went away almost as quickly as it came – and she's very lucky for it. It's truly amazing that she was able to recover and write this book, as well as bring this ailment to popular attention because of her work. Because this ailment, though rare, is as old as humankind and we're only now starting to discover it.
This book is what it is – a memoir by a survivor of an unusual mental illness. It's well written because the memorist is a professional writer. In the case of memoirs, after all, I never hold it against the writer if their writing skills aren't up to my standards. If you have a particular interest in psychology and unusual illnesses, this book will interest you as well. While this may or may not be a good thing, don't expect there to be in-depth medical explanations. However, this book is well researched and fascinating.
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I'm gonna say right away, I have a hard time talking about this book. More than anything, I had a hard time pinning it down and trying to figure out my own feelings towards it.
So much so, until I really sat down and confronted myself on what it's even about – that even though it's not that complicated, I couldn't have even told you that much. It's an overwhelming work that's struck me dumb – and I've created for myself a problem in forcing myself to talk about it honestly.
A few years ago I'd decided to participate in NaNoWriMo, but at the same time, happened to be reading Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, which I found her use of language and idea so much more vastly brilliant, I found myself “tongue-tied,” discouraged, and pathetic. I lost my enthusiasm for my own story because I knew I could never compete. Yes, I knew then, and now, that that's silly. Atwood is probably one of the greatest writers of the era, and it should have nothing to do with what I had to say – I know as well as anyone else that creativity isn't a competition. But, as they say, it was too hard an act to follow – even if the stage was all in my head.
Ocean Vuong is like that: I'm humbled and inadequate before someone who's use of his second language is so beautiful, I can't even summon the words for it in my first language.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is quite literally, a letter to the author's mother. Or rather, his matriarchs. It is “autofiction,” which I'd never knew had a name until now (auto-biography wrapped up in fiction). The layout – and reason, I guess, why this book baffled me so much is because it is written like a bunch of memories that pour out from you. It's not linear. If anything, it's circular.
Little Dog, as he is called, describes his life as a poor Vietnamese immigrant growing up in nail salons where his illiterate Mother works, being raised by his grandmother who suffers from dementia and schizophrenia, and falling in love with the broken grandson of the tobacco farmer he spent his Summers working for.
This novel is told in Kishotenketsu, which is ultimately a means to say – there is no conflict, heroes, or villains. At least, not in the traditionally Western sense. Poverty, madness, homosexuality – desperation – are textures to the story. No one is really to blame, though the grudge is with Mother Rose, who will never read this book even though it is intended for her. As a matter of fact, a friend sent me an article written about the book and it's author printed shortly before the book was published. In it, we find out that Ocean Vuong's mother had recently been diagnosed with cancer. The timing, the closure – if that is the correct word for it – is almost a prank from God, though having worked her life in a nail salon inhaling toxic fumes, it was always inevitable.
This book is obviously brilliant, but I admit to my own shortcomings as a reader who is a Caucasian woman living in America. I know that it resonates the most with other readers who have had a similar background as it's author. As such, it is a very important, diamond of a book. More so, as it exposes poverty in an intimate way that will jar many of it's readers.
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Brilliant! The hold line for [b:Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America 25898216 Stamped from the Beginning The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America Ibram X. Kendi https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440457523l/25898216.SY75.jpg 45781103] at my local libraries (yes, libraries.) was out of this world, which is a pretty wonderful thing all in all! However, I know for sure one friend who was holding a copy and to that, I give her a Big Ole Side Eye. But this edition was available and I picked it up instead.Boy am I ever glad I did. While this is a “remix” for young readers, it touches on all the important parts. I'd like to think I'm still hip and cool and with it and still totally in tune with what the kids are into. ...right?So, knowing fully what I was getting myself into, I feel like the language wasn't trying too hard and it was pretty relatable. If I were a school teacher, I'd be thrilled to include it in my lessons and spark up conversations around it. Even as a book for young adults, it's lifted the veil for me in a few ways and has made me consider a lot of history. If I'd have read it as a child, I might have not have been able to digest some of the cultural information just yet - [a:Harriet Beecher Stowe 26242 Harriet Beecher Stowe https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1229626652p2/26242.jpg], anyone? But the present me appreciates some new-found heroes, like [a:Audre Lorde 18486 Audre Lorde https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1591713286p2/18486.jpg].At the present time, many parents are home-schooling their children and are having difficult conversations about current events. I think this would be an invaluable book to use as a learning tool.If you liked this review, you can find it an others like it here
Her essays are relatable. She's what happens when a mother of two admires David Sedaris and writes her own memior-essays, but it's quite David Sedaris - but then again none of us are, try as we might.
It's a fun and adorable book! If you Rachel Hollis, I would recommend this book before either of her books, and especially to people who liked Hollis' books as a better alternative. (Seriously. Don't give Hollis any more of your money.)
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I don't cry easily for books. I don't know what my problem is - I swear I'm not a narcissist or a sociopath. I didn't know what part of [b:Where the Red Fern Grows 10365 Where the Red Fern Grows Wilson Rawls https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518702249l/10365.SY75.jpg 115] was supposed to make me sad. I didn't get the appeal of [b:The Fault in Our Stars 11870085 The Fault in Our Stars John Green https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360206420l/11870085.SY75.jpg 16827462]. I think [b:Steel Magnolias 243308 Steel Magnolias Robert Harling https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387751060l/243308.SX50.jpg 235723] is incredibly stupid. But Other Words for Home wrecked me. I closed the book only 20 minutes ago, and I have a hole in my heart you could drive a Semi through. This book consistently made me chuckle and then, in turn, grasp my chest in something very near to physical hurt.I hope very many teachers share with their students to this wonderful book, as well as librarians and parents. I hope it opens up the floor to some very genuine conversations. I hope children see themselves in the wonderful Jude and her hopes, and sadness, and vulnerabilities.
This is a tremendously wonderful book to begin your quest for “anti-racism” - but it's only the start.I read this, most recently, after reading [b:Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot 36687229 Hood Feminism Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot Mikki Kendall https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577489813l/36687229.SY75.jpg 58481445] and I feel like that book did more to challenge my hidden biases than this one did. As many other reviewers have mentioned, DiAngelo did little more than present the fact that whites have a stockpile of tried and true defenses when the topic of racism is breached. Which is obviously true. However, I wish she would have expanded the conversation more. I'm not satisfied with “see you in the next 400 years when hopefully racism in America is past us!” She seemed stuck on the over-reactions white professions have when “blamed” for being racist. There's no mention of the thousands of contemporary examples of upper-middle-class whites calling the cops on their black neighbors for... existing. There's no mention of how deeply and aggressively White biases affect men, women, and children in their daily lives. There are absolutely no solutions - which is very unsatisfactory, but also, given the author's background in academia, not totally surprising.I'm not totally sure if the fact that this book being written by a white woman for whites is actually helpful. Yes, every time I read a book on racism I've sought out authors who aren't white, and I've benefitted better for it. But because the premise is a bit more of a spin on how White People deal with racism, I thought maybe for once this will be ok if I heard it from a source. No. All that's really happened in this book is that a white woman is saying exactly what generations of blacks have said repeatedly, but in a more Academic and Centered tone.