A
Did you know that Sarah is also a careless person? Almost getting kidnapped while pregnant, volunteering to be "the body" to test if facebook workers would get arrested in other countries while having that new baby at home, ALMOST DYING during the 2nd pregnancy and LUCKY to be alive and deciding not to give a damn OPENLY about doctor's advice, husband, and risking your life while you ALREADY HAVE two children so you could have a third?! WTF are you doing Sarah??? Careless.
I'm convinced that Sarah's book is just better marketed than the previous whistleblower book AND has a bit of a streisand effect going for it. I'm all about the dish on facebook though - so if you liked this you may like The Power of One: Blowing the Whistle on Facebook By Frances Haugen. (2023).
I was so tired of Sarah's nonsense - a disaster girl. One part i'm like, stop you're in a cult and the other part I felt like i was listening in on some juicy gossip. None of this is new about facebook, i've been curbing my usage before I just decided to delete it (in 2025 - 20 year user RIP) So, i knew exactly about a lot of the functions and discussion about it back in the day. I was entranced in listening to an insider perspective.
All in all - it was an fine read and I found it compelling enough to finish.
I've heard several Gone with the Wind critiques about Mammy's role and I have never once heard or thought about the actor's experience. According to the author's note that this was the goal to showcase her life and trails and this book def. accomplished this. This historical fiction book about Hattie Mcdaniel's life provides a bigger picture to the criticisms about this film's role and the culture of that time. Hattie had an uphill battle with sexism, racism, and typical hollywood.
You get changed into a gross bug but you can't stop ruminating about how much you hate the grind.
Capitalism will ruin your life - but you'll have some money for yourself UNLESS your family is mooching off of you will also ruin your life. Both family and work do not care for you - and the family aspect become increasingly more devastating through the book. Gregor has worked for his family's overextending spending and life style, providing for 3 people, without ever thinking of them as insects. When our boy is transformed into a bug they completely dehumanize him. I exploded with rage when the father was "if only he could understand us" HE CAN you never once tried to understand him. Sweet Greggy-bug is always being misunderstood, and also perhaps misunderstanding his situations/relationships. - many themes about identity and obligation.
When I was reading this, there was a part where his new shell was too big for a door and he had to be pushed in. This detail changed my perspective on this book. I thought perhaps he had not been turned into a bug at all and that this could be about sudden disability. Unable to make money, different dietary needs, not having sufficient space for movement, being hidden away, the family waiting for him to just get better... on and on.
I cried and cried. I also live in the midwest and not too far from where this author lives, so she felt like a neighbor to me. I remember the polar vortex that had like -50 wind chill and the misery. It was so perfectly depicted with the winter, death, the frozen in time type of memory issues. The expressive panels and illustrations worked so well.
A morbid and thoughtful read.
I'm not a fan of green lantern stories in DC and i'm also not a fan or noir mystery type novels, so when someone rec. this to me I was dragging my feet to start. When I did start reading this story I DID NOT put it down! I was compelled by the world building and thought the panel layout was excellent in telling this story as well. I was pleasantly surprised! Excellent book!
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Relatable. I creep all over my husband when he faints on the floor too, girl! #BlessedGoose
Imagine the fucking boredom alone. Anyway, I didn't know that much about this piece's time period and exactly the "rest" type of treatment was. Learning more about what this treatment and who this author was - I found helpful in getting a full scope of this piece. Alone, I think this piece is great. With a little more knowledge I found this piece to be excellent. Unsettling and obsessive.
A fine read with basic level-headed advise. Good intro to preparing 101- i thought it would discuss urban settings but it didn't get into it in any capacity, so the title is extremely misleading. That's why it's ranked so low. I thought it would discuss preparation in city scapes but it must assume that you'll bug out to a more rural area.
It also has weird hang ups. There is one that was talking about not using tampons as first aid supply. Later talked about not using wasp spray as a replacement for pepper spray but use it if you are being attacked. Like??? Same for tampons if you are bleeding use whatever you have to stop the bleeding? (He had a later thing about men not carrying purses but to encourage them to carry supplies by calling it a man bag idk what the deal is) anyway, I didn't think about tampons or wasp spray until it was intentionally brought up? I'm not familiar enough with the prep community to know if these are common conversations or just random and only vaguely related.
Pairing the constitution with 100 years span of cartoon characters is a genius idea for folks who have a fondness for drawing and animation. Having the huge span and variety of toons interacting with the constitution & bill of rights like this feels like they're citizens themselves.
It made the constitution & bill of rights a real page turner because I wanted to see who was going to be next.
So rare to get a cozy dystopian ~ Wonderful and colorful art! Lots of care went into this piece. I wish I could stay with these characters longer but what a treat to finish in one sitting.
Coming of age story with two beings from different dimensions search for their homes and bravely confront issues in their own lives.
Insightful and challenging read. My understanding of caste has been expanded and this book is one that made me think about my understanding of society, freedom, and justice.
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How you would treat someone as lesser, beat them, kill them and never blink an eye. Often I hear the question of "how could this have happened?" or even worse the poorest defense of these actions (example: that pragerU pro-slavery videos) and this book really untangles everything in an understandable and no-hold back way through the USA, Germany, and India histories. This is essential reading to completely cement the ideas/understanding of what caste is, how we have participated in it, and recognize it.
Did you know it was on the top 10 banned book lists in 2010 https://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10/archive
I really don't consider this a radical book. This is everyday life to work paycheck to paycheck. The author is a tourist of this world, in the way that there is no danger from missing a meal or not having some place to stay. In this experiment she can quit any time she wants! I'm glad she stuck out as long as she did. I think she did her best and was well aware of her station and blessings in life ESPECIALLY at the end. She learned a lot and good for her! This book isn't written for me, it's for those who are at her social class level (and higher), social studies classes in the 90s, or perhaps workers looking for validation. Although, looking at some reviews this book still seems to strike a nerve with some BIG TIME. Hit dogs holler.
That being said -here's my holler. The author is still a tourist. The tone comes off completely snobbish and it makes it harder to connect with her. If she could only just save us working poor people with her phd!!!!! BUT would we shun her for being so smart????
Anyway...
How did it age? This book was in the 90s - it address a lot of the frequent stereotypes and inaccuracies i heard as a kid. It is good to see that current discussion is progressing away from them. (IMO) I think this part won't hold up as well, and maybe that's in part of this book being part of that discussion. - Good news!
The bad news are the parts that still hold up! (2025) Like, the cost of living, no adequate wages, anti-union actions, lack of or bad welfare programs, the housing crisis is on-going, and rents eat up a majority of a paycheck. So, you can still read this book and get something from it - modern day.
RIP