sarah

i know i've been ranting a lot on here lately, and if someone else ever reads this, please tell me if i'm overreacting, but this book just gives me the ick. the (white cis) author seems to have a thing for bioessentialism (shocking, i know), and apparently also a personal vendetta against people who own crystals?? he writes with this weird condescending certainty, and it often feels like he uses his autism as a free pass to say whatever he wants. note to self: check author's tiktok next time. sadly, i didn't learn any new practical tips (and even disagreed with a few), and this mostly felt like wasted time, although it was, as always, a small comfort to see some experiences translated into words.

p.s.: i swear i can also write positive book reviews, i'm just too lazy most of the time...

i had a really hard time rating this book. here's what i liked: the chapters on hildegard von bingen and jadwiga of poland were, in my opinion, incredibly well written and honestly taught me the kind of things my history classes in school should have (my teacher was so old and tired, he just showed us outdated documentaries about von bingen). i also really appreciated that the author somehow managed to make the middle ages interesting to me, which is no small feat.

what didn't work for me: for a book about women in the middle ages, it certainly talked about men a lot (some chapters were better about this than others). the author argues that this perspective through men was necessary, but i'd have to disagree. maybe it would've made the book a bit harder to write, but not impossible. i also wished for a more geographically diverse range of stories; four out of nine chapters take place in england, and funnily enough, i found those the least interesting.

still, femina was very informative and surprisingly easy to read, even though it's quite dense at times. overall, i'm glad i read it, and i do think it's worth picking up!

rip neil postman, you would have hated the 21st century. this book is very usa-centered, which i could have known if i'd looked it up beforehand. his arguments are well made and easy to follow, and some of them will stick with me for a long time. still, i was disappointed that he didn't discuss how factors like gender, race, or socioeconomic status shape television's impact on our thinking and vice versa. and honestly, it was a bit of a bore to get through. perhaps i'm part of the problem...

maybe i'm just overly picky when it comes to non-fiction, but this book probably would've worked better as a documentary. there were definitely some interesting and fun facts, and you can really feel attenborough's love for the ocean, but i kept wishing i could actually see the things he was describing. weirdly, it felt like there was both too much and not enough information. there wasn't a lot that was new to me, but at the same time, it tried to cover so much that it got a bit overwhelming for one book. still, i really appreciate the attention attenborough is bringing to our oceans.

DNF at 311 pages.

this book is repetitive, self-indulgent, and a colonial daydream (with bonus cannibalism, apparently). after about 300 pages i just couldn't force myself through more. i'm even a little ashamed that i enjoyed the first 20%. but i'm still counting it in my year in books, i spent way too much time on this to get nothing out of it.