jackie
i'm a big larry david/curb/seinfeld fan so was really looking forward to reading this! i felt like some of the mental health parts were so raw and reflective of certain aspects of my own experiences, especially obsessively thinking about death and fearing basically everything. however, many of these essays i couldn't get into or just felt like they were reminiscent of my junior high school diary...which to be fair, although i didn't particularly enjoy and found some parts absolutely reeking of privilege (albeit self-aware), she did give a pretty big disclaimer in the title of this book!
this book was fantastic in so many ways. for starters, i've never read a book that has resonated so much with my own experiences being fat, especially growing up as a fat child. it was really validating to read about another 11 year old who was forced to do weight watchers and experiences related to activities and the body. (a lot of it literally felt like pages from my life! like i was also only cast in theater productions as maids or lunch-ladies too before focusing on music instead!) secondly, every single page was packed full of so much important information and experiences that examine the relationship of embodiment and fatphobia in such nuanced ways. this manifesto is so powerful and crafted in a way that illuminates the atrocities of our anti-fat society and the underlying threads that contribute to it while also presenting impactful policies to strive to live by and advocate for fat people with!
i think everyone should read this book! all-around brilliant and well-done!
i like observational humor and i love seinfeld, but a lot of these jokes were so outdated and i swear 80% of them were about the differences between men and women, which to me felt not very true or relevant to modern society and very focused on outdated heteronormative/cis stereotypes focused to the point that it literally felt like i was a repressed housewife in the 80s listening to it.
then again, some of the bits were great and i will forever love jerry seinfeld's voice and delivery (i listened to the audiobook) and his love of cereal so i still found some value to this collection of jokes. just wish that it had only included some of the best ones with more autobiographical content! (i could also do without the fathphobia!)
i would've never thought that in 2020 i would spend 25+ hrs reading a twilight book, but then again, i never would've thought i'd be inside for 8+ months during a global pandemic.
the magical nostalgia of the twilight world is unparalleled for me. i was so captivated as a teen that i literally associate it with a smell and a certain feeling that is still really magical.
however, as my sister camille told me recently, “for someone who is over 100 years old, edward is pretty immature.” not going to lie, i 100% read this book for the nostalgia, rosalie, and alice!
liked:
-the writing style.
disliked:
-the sexualization of female characters (including a queer romance that just came off as a total man's fantasy, and grown men having sex with prepubescent girls...)
-no exploration into aomame's queerness. felt disingenuous and so inauthentic
there is definitely a way to write an engrossing fantasy about cults and an interesting alter universe kind of setting WITHOUT having weird and gross descriptions of problematic sex scenes with minors. i doubt this would get published today and if so, it would have to be intensely edited to omit several problematic scenes that don't add whatsoever to what makes the book any good...after soooo many pages i found this book to be quite a disappointment.
Fair warning: This book was one of the best books I've ever read on trauma. However, it can also be incredibly triggering and potentially detrimental if read during a time that you may not be able to process some of the content in a productive way. I really liked it, but it also set my mental health progress back quite a bit for a little while due to its triggering nature. Just wanted to add this note so those who might want to read it can consider if it is a good time and if they are in a good place to read it. :)
This is really comprehensive book about diet culture, healthism, and body love. My only complaint is that she doesn't acknowledge the roots of body positivity much and uses it interchangeably with self-love/body-love. This book could have also been a bit more inclusive in terms of who the term body positivity should be used for, marginalized bodies. But other than that I think it was an important read and in a format that is fun to read while very informative!
A plot that gets as exciting as falling down the stairs or the arrival of a health inspector, borderline glamorized abusive relationships, petty emotions, and constant jealousy-induced complaining. Also includes some nice passages describing food and a few monumental lines, usually borrowed from poems the character has remembered, that spark interest.
