Jessica

I thought a lot about [b:The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas 92625 The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas Ursula K. Le Guin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1739034156l/92625.SY75.jpg 89324] while reading this. I know that was not the intention here, but it definitely colored how I viewed the actions and culture of the wajinru. A beautiful story though. I feel certain I will think about it often.

All I could hear is Vizzini talking to me. An interesting collection of thoughts, but I just can't be completely down with the idea that cowardly, greedy, evil people just have no choice and are not deserving of our contempt. He just kind of takes the inequality argument / exercise a bit too far....

Started reading this on Feb 12.

My dad died Feb 18. So I had to put it aside.

I tentatively reached out to my estranged sister Feb 26.

Picked the book back up March 8....

To say this hit close to home is the understatement of the century.

So hard to remember that most of these stories are EIGHTY years old. (Until they are horrified about trashing $30K on a robot – like that is some astronomical sum!) Lots of food for thought here, though. (Revised rating to 3 because I want to give myself more space on the upper end.)

A fairytale.

Hilarious. Very much in the vein of Good Material.

“You can't see it but these equations of yours are worn out and full of cheating.”

This book is what would happen if The Hunger Games had a baby with Anne Rice's Beauty books and decided to write an x-rated BDSM Pygmalion. But updated for Millennial / Gen Y sensibilities. Also really made me think of The Mars House a lot as well.

To me, it just reads: Battered. Spouse.

Everything just happened but didn't feel organic.

The incessant self-recrimination of Elisha was pretty nauseating. And the relentless doe-eyed naïveté. Maybe that was the whole point, but it got old. All I wanted was for him to be more spirited. He just folded so so fast you barely got any sense of the boy with rage that sold himself to protect his baby sister.

And Alex... Don't get me started. No hard work for his change at all.

Any way. Just not really for me.

So. Good. Just so good. Such incredible storytelling. Beautiful symmetry and mirroring. Foils on foils. Rich Louisiana culture. Truthful, subtle time-setting in the 60's - 80's. Explorations of racism, classism, sexism, white privilege. Absolutely none of it heavy-handed. Basically couldn't put it down.

I am usually the master at untwisting mysteries. This one eluded me. But very tight and satisfying. No gimmicks. Just a very, very, well-told story.

Delectable. Very stick to the ribs!

The food descriptions made me so. so hungry. Very very American Psycho meets IDEK what is the best foodie book there is.

Minor quibble, she did not do her research on the human / medical part of things. THE ESOPHOGUS DOES NOT HAVE RINGS. THAT IS THE TRACHEA!

I have a lot of ambivalence about this book. So so so so much insight. Some just incredible observations.

I find first-person narratives generally fall into one of two categories: the self-flagellators and absolute narcissists. The protagonist here falls squarely into the second camp – so, so self-absorbed – basically no ability (or even desire) to think outsider herself.

Brace yourself for lots of ICK. Mostly of the second-hand embarrassment kind but also of the this-is-supposed-to-be-shocking-but-is-just-...not variety. But maybe I am just old and prudish, and it was really all very hot and sexy....

But back to DAMN... this one will stick with you. Can't stop thinking about it. 100% recommend. May come back and bump to 5 stars if the ick fades and the absolutely amazing insights remain. :)

Laugh out loud funny. Almost a 4.5 (round to 5) but not quite for me. Definitely could see this as a miniseries. Not sure why I always mention that, but it has something to do with how clearly the author paints things. 100% recommend for anyone who has ever been heartbroken and needs a laugh at the same time.

I did a lot of crying while reading this book. The window into the loneliness of damaged souls.

“Even in memory she will find this moment unbearably intense, and she's aware of this now, while it's happening. She has never believed herself fit to be loved by any person. But now she has a new life, of which this is the first moment, and even after many years have passed she will still think: Yes, that was it, the beginning of my life.”

Tracks. A good companion to [a:David Baddiel 144909 David Baddiel https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1312559764p2/144909.jpg]'s [b:Jews Don't Count 52710961 Jews Don't Count David Baddiel https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1608039721l/52710961.SY75.jpg 88917384].Some quotes:I had mistaken the enormous public interest in past Jewish suffering for a sign of respect for living Jews. I was very wrong. You already know this story has to end badly. Like almost every place Jews have ever lived, Harbin was great for the Jews until it wasn't In other words, hating Jews was normal. And historically speaking, the decades in which my parents and I had grown up simply hadn't been normal. Now, normal was coming back.

The story about the grandmother's dress. OMG. The storytelling is first rate.Really reminds me of [a:Trevor Noah 15149526 Trevor Noah https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1555600819p2/15149526.jpg]'s [b:Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood 29780253 Born a Crime Stories From a South African Childhood Trevor Noah https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1473867911l/29780253.SY75.jpg 50150838]. Memoirs like these of extreme poverty told in this very neutral, non-accusatory way are always so eye-opening. I spend a lot of time thinking about the mothers in these scenarios, presented without judgment or condemnation, but also without excuse or glorification. And I wonder how they raised these good, resilient men.

Deeply resourced and dense. Should be required reading for absolutely every white American. I consider myself relatively knowledgeable, but, my god, the depth, pervasiveness, and RELENTLESSNESS of white rage and its effects in this country is overwhelming. Will 100% need to read again in order to absorb it all.

Shorter than the first 3. Still fun, but definitely felt more like a bridge. On to the last. Hope it does not disappoint.

Honestly this series is just more and more of a romp as it goes. This volume has a big dash of American Gods or Percy Jackson thrown in. Fun.

1-3 def stronger. But glad I finished it up. Never can understand what makes something YA or not - I guess maybe because the protagonists are not adolescents? This is very solidly PG - lots of actions but chaste and relatively non-violent. Cute and fun. Good for recovery after Paradais!

Fun little series. Would make a cute Netflix series for sure.

An onion. The best possible kind.

This book is the embodiment these lines from Wicked:
We believe all sorts of things that aren't true.
We call it history.
A man's called a traitor or liberator,
A rich man's a thief or philanthropist.
Is one a crusader or ruthless invader?
It's all in which label is able to persist.
There are precious few at ease
With moral ambiguities,
So we act as though they don't exist.

JFC. I thought The Road was bad, but this may be the most nihilistic thing I have ever read. Gripping, but OMFG.

Fun little time-traveling, multiverse, Indiana Jones romp.

Nice, quick bit of background for [b:Lock In 21418013 Lock In (Lock In, #1) John Scalzi https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438701397l/21418013.SY75.jpg 26115712]. Much like the movie Contagion, the beginning hits a little close to home obviously. But shows just how deeply thought it was. [a:John Scalzi 4763 John Scalzi https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562613145p2/4763.jpg] writes science fiction like a great mystery/noir.