Chandler
I needed (and still need) time to fully process this book. It is a simple tale, yet has so many layers and potential meanings. At its core, the story follows 300-something-year-old Anyanwu (meaning Sun). Anyanwu is everything feminine. Teacher, caretaker, birthing mother, healer. She has the ability to change and control every cell in her body. She is found by Doro, who is thousands of years older than Anyanwu, and cannot die. He is everything masculine. Leader, creator, warrior, killer, controller, dominant.
The story revolves around these two as their endless romance takes them from pre-colonial Africa to the Antebellum south. Doro loves and then drives Anyanwu away. Anyanwu loves Doro then despises him and runs. This endless dance resembles that of Yin and Yang, always separate, but the two need one another.
I can see how one could see how this book is just a tale of a toxic relationship–why, oh why, does Anyanwu continuously fall for Doro with him being so toxic–however, this book highlights so many topics.
Slavery and the slave trade: Highlights a tiny bit of what it would have been like on the slade ships and being taken from your kin. Being shouted at, hit, spit on, raped, tortured, etc. all by people you have never seen and don't understand their language. Your culture and your way of life completed disrespected and thrown away. Your community completely eviscerated in a moment's notice.
Masculinity and Feminity: What does it even mean to be masculine and to be feminine? In that sense, what does it even mean to be a man or to be a woman? Anyanwu and Doro can change their bodies and become men, women, those of different races, etc. Anyanwu can change her form at a moment's notice, even becoming different animals. Does Anyanwu having a male form make her any less of a woman? Is Doro's undeviating masculinity and Anyanwu's unwavering femininity healthy and always the best response?
Love Conquers All: Anyanwu loves deeply. Doro can't allow himself to love, as all will die and as has happened in the past, he may be the direct cause of that death. Anyanwu heals and loves Doro until he, himself, starts to love again. Although this is not a How-To guide to stay with those in our lives that are toxic, it does speak to the power of love and the ability to change the world through love.
Power and Differences of “Abilities”: The book also speaks to that of the differences between humans. Some in this book are strong people, however, they do not have powers like Anyanwu or Doro. Others have abilities, including the power to control wind, hear others' thoughts, and many others. The book focuses on the fact that most of those with power and abilities go bad and use their power incorrectly. Does power corrupt, and if so, does absolute power (like that of Doro) corrupt absolutely? What must one do to be like Isaac, Anyanwu's best husband and Doro's favorite son, who has power, looks, and is kind and incorruptible?
Along with Feminism (Anyanwu being a strong, complete woman who undermines Doro's patriarchal oppression), Racism, limitations of humanity, and ethics, this book is rich.
Honestly, it was hard for me to read at times. The text is filled with detail and is wonderful writing. However, there were many moments were this book forced me to look inward at my own relationships–or more aptly, the lack thereof. I empathized with Doro and Anyanwu, as they both were incredibly lonely. They needed and wanted people around them (and rather, each other), however because they were the only ones that would not die, they couldn't get what they wanted. As someone who has lived life wanting a relationship with a man and not being able to get that, I understood that and at times, this book pulled large, frustrating, painful emotions from me.
Overall, it was fine. It's an interesting take: apply economic ways of thinking to multiple social issues or everyday situations. The author's claim is that numbers tell the full story and never lie, to which I mostly agree, however, there are instances when numbers don't tell things in the correct way or they remove the human element. Additionally, as Levitt mentions, one has to make sure they are measuring the correct thing and interpreting the numbers in the correct way.
Outdated and a bit boring overall. Would be better as a podcast, honestly.
A comical, quick book where Her Majesty, the Queen of England, stumbles upon the love of reading. A great book about books and the love and enjoyment of reading. Very fast read, only 120 pages.
Some quotes:
‘Books are not about passing the time. They're about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, Sir Kevin, one just wishes one had more of it.'
“A book is a device to ignite the imagination.”
“You don't put your life into your books, you find it there.”
“The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them or whether one read them or not. All readers were equal, herself included. Literature, she thought, is a commonwealth; letters a republic.”
Quite outdated and not much in terms of a single, looking-for-love gay man. I suppose my main takeaway from the book was:
Work to love yourself.
Don't feel like you have to be perfect
Do more to meet people and go on a lot of dates (easier said than done if others aren't attracted to me much)
From the book:
“1. Recognize that mate shopping is not necessarily fun.
2. Establish a master plan
3. Go for volume.
4. Use the Two-Hour date
5. Screen for “relationship-style-preference” first”
An engrossing mystery-thriller with an unreliable narrator. Shutter Island is a mysterious place where we are led to believe bad things are happening, however, much like I Am The Cheese, not all is at it seems and the story the reader has been following is really just the delusions of a patient at Shutter Island.
Enjoyed the reading experience. Not really worth reading again, but it was enjoyable.
Read in Arizona at the library
This book is charming and sheds a bit of light on boyhood. With sports, social situations, and girls, it is a delightful coming-of-age story. However, it also highlights how difficult it is to get out from under those in power. Power is everything. It's difficult to truly change a system and go against the current.
Quotes:
“Do I dare disturb the universe?
Yes, I do, I do. I think.
Jerry suddenly understood the poster–the solitary man on the beach standing upright and alone and unafraid, poised at the moment of making himself heard and known in the world, the universe.”
“They don't actually want you to do your own thing, not unless it's their thing too.”
The book contained interesting viewpoints for my study on masculinity. I found the book to be lacking in terms of scientific research, most of the things quoted came from the documentary, The Masks We live In. The author's experiences are valid and we're interesting to read. Definitely a heteronormative view on masculinity and femininity. Good book, not great, but good.
Rating: 3.75/5 stars
Rounded up to 4 stars
Summary: Nick Carroway moves into a small home in New York next to a large mansion owned by one Jay Gatsby. Nick gets involved in Gatsby's plan to reestablish contact and woo Nick's second cousin, Daisy Buchanan. The book highlights the American Dream, life in the roaring 20's, and the sometimes-hollow lifestyle 0f the wealthy and famous. Additionally, it highlights the impossibility of recapturing the past (and a little of how we often look to the past with rose-colored glasses).
Definitely not a page-turner until you start to understand what is happening. I am glad I reread this book when I was older and I can appreciate it more. I rated it highly, not because I am in love with the book itself, but rather I find it interesting as a social commentary. American society pushes such extreme messages of hard work, wealth, and individualism–the grind mentality–and this book makes one wonder if it's actually worth it in the end.
This is a book that my teenage self would have enjoyed. Closeted kids talking and everything working in the end. Now I largely was uninterested in Simon's world. The people in Simon's life are flat and uninteresting, and the emails between the teens are just that–between teenagers who speak and think in a very juvenile kind of way. The book is not horrible, just not what I want to be reading now that I am in a different part of my life.
Krakauer does a great job at remaining pretty objective when discussing the life and death of McCandless. Do I believe that a whole book needed to be written when Krakauer's original article would have sufficed? No, I do not. The book was interesting and I enjoyed the commentary from those who knew McCandless, however, the chapters that had nothing to do with McCandless and his story made me want to skim or stop reading altogether. Wonderfully written, but ultimately not one that I would recommend to others.
Great story-telling, great audio production, but very little in actual analysis or advice. Gladwell's main points are that we don't know people as well as we think we do. Our natural instinct is to trust that people are being truthful, yet that can get us into trouble.
While I wasn't aware of the details of many of the discussed stories, that wasn't why I was reading the book. I wanted more social science, and less entertaining stories about the atrocities of our day... as I see them already. It is very apparent that we are not good at determining whether or not strangers are who they say they are. From the small, everyday misunderstandings or betrayals to the large and terrifying ones, it is obvious that people are different and do not think the same. This book offers few points of actual advice or solution. These stories are important to hear and understand, but I don't know if this is the right book in which to tell them.
Listened to the audiobook. Definitely felt like a podcast. Good quality.
I definitely need to go out and buy this one.
I originally watched Brené Brown's TED Talk and wanted to read more of her work. This book takes some of the concepts discussed in the TED Talk and expounds on them. I listened to the audiobook, which was read by the author herself. Fantastic voice and personality, and very strong concepts. I want to get the book now to have and to reread some passages.
Favorite quotes:
“Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.”
“Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.”
“When we spend our lives waiting until we're perfect or bulletproof before we walk into the arena, we ultimately sacrifice relationships and opportunities that may not be recoverable, we squander our precious time, and we turn our backs on our gifts, those unique contributions that only we can make. Perfect and bulletproof are seductive, but they don't exist in the human experience.”
“I'm not perfect and I'm not always right, but I'm here, open, paying attention, loving you, and fully engaged.”
Read as an audiobook by Andy Serkis (highly recommend)
A fantastic start to Tolkien's vast fantasy world. It very much reads like a bedtime story filled with excitement and wonders. The only reason it isn't a 5 star book for me is because I want more depth and more explanation, but I understand that this is not where Tolkien dives into more complicated matters.
Great book and looking forward to his other works!
Summary:
Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit of high regard, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole when he is introduced to the old wizard Gandalf. Gandalf approaches him with the prospect of adventure, which he refuses, and then is subsequently almost forced into the services of a troupe of dwarves that aim to reclaim their kingdom under The Lonely Mountain. They embark on a journey, which takes them through Rivendell; through the home of a shape-changer, Beorn; through the goblin infested caves, where Bilbo Mets Gollum and finds a ring of power; through the dark forest called Mirkwood and then ultimately to the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo enters the mountain as a bugler and meets the treasure guardian and current resident of the great hall, Smaug. Smaug is defeated by Bard. Bilbo is adventurous and becomes a voice of warning and wit and is trusted as a leader with the dwarves. He finds the treasured Heart of the Mountain and pockets it. When Thorin Oakenshield begins to develop a jealousy for all gold and treasure, Bilbo appeals to the king's enemies. The mountain and it's riches are desired by many, and different enemies come to war to lay claim. Goblins appear to get vengeance for their fallen king. The armies of the Elfking, the humans of Laketown, and the dwarves attack together. Many are killed including Thorin, Fili, and Kili. Thorin's cousin becomes King Under the Mountain.
Bilbo is rewarded a share of the treasure and journeys back home with Sting, his riches, his mithril shirt, and his precious ring of power.
I have no real problem with this book and the lessons contained, however, it was nothing new and nothing profoundly deep. It's a fictional tale to teach life lessons, like working hard for your dream. It was fine, but didn't find it life changing. I agreed with some points and disagreed with others. I don't believe that a person has one destiny or obligation.
Quotes I enjoyed:
“The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”
“Because I don't live in either my past or my future.I'm interested only in the present”.”
Major takeaways (whether actually stated in the text or by my own understanding):
1) Start with yourself - no one can give more than they have themselves
2) In the first 30 seconds, add value to a friendship and to people by complimenting or being genuine to people.
3) Trust people and let them know that they are needed in your life, for your goals/dreams and for theirs.
4) We are all connected, and people are valuable.
