Becca
Some of my friends are pregnant and I'm determined to buy only (but also all of) the best board books and picture books for their home libraries. Also I'm counting these for my yearly reading challenge because it's that kind of year (aka, it's rough out here).
Authored by a licensed psychologist, Empathy is Your Superpower is about how to gain insight and caring into how others feel. It breaks down empathy and compassion into simple terms and uses lots of examples to help little kids figure out all the forms empathy can take and why it is important. There are also activities and discussion questions at the back of the book. Overall, I thought this was great.
Because I adored [b:The House in the Cerulean Sea|45047384|The House in the Cerulean Sea|T.J. Klune|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569514209l/45047384.SY75.jpg|62945242], I went into this with high expectations. I started it a while back and it didn't keep my interest, but the same thing happened to me with The House in the Cerulean Sea, so I didn't write it off. But now having finished Under the Whispering Door, I am mad.
When we are introduced to Wallace Price, the protagonist, he is immature, selfish, and cruel. He prioritizes money and winning over compassion. He feels no remorse for the harm he causes others. When he dies, few come to his funeral, and everyone in attendance spends the whole time talking about how he was the worst.
For Wallace, death represents an opportunity to reconsider the way he lived. I have no problem with that, in and of itself. I'm not opposed to redemption arcs or stories about how people can change. I love a zany The Good Place or Miracle Workers setting. I just don't think this was executed well. It was kind of a combination of “the love of a good woman softens man so he stops being horrible to everyone” and the Magical Negro trope.
Wallace's disposition changes rapidly. Who he was before is framed as “not who he really is,” and sometimes played for laughs. The actions he takes to show he's changed address individual fringe characters who were not present for the last several years of his life. He is made the exception to many rules: Allen is not given the same chance for redemption as he was, for example.Wallace is brought back to life in some weird Abraham/Isaac test, when he didn't even want to be. I think the story would have been more compelling if Wallace HAD gone through the door and Hugo stayed back. A more open-ended conclusion would reinforce the argument that there are many stages to existence, all of them brimming with capacity for change and growth, but involving a certain amount of loss as people move to different stages at different points. (Unnecessary, if you ask me) amends are made with Wallace's ex-wife months before Wallace addresses someone he unceremoniously fired whose husband was recently laid off and whose daughter was relying on a college scholarship provided by Wallace's law firm .
Other various complaints: the book is dialogue-heavy and slow-moving. Hugo is a static and boring character who will not stop saying that he never claims to be perfect and he's made mistakes. The dismissive attitude towards Christian understandings of the afterlife while in essence setting up the same outcomes with different names is strange. The setup is too similar to Cerulean Sea, and the word cerulean is used obtrusively. Klune's work is generally sentimental, but sometimes it goes from comforting to saccharine. I listened to the audiobook, and I wish it had been full cast, or at least used different voices.
Despite all this, because I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea so much, I'll probably still give [b:In the Lives of Puppets|60784549|In the Lives of Puppets|T.J. Klune|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1653059893l/60784549.SY75.jpg|74580318] a go.
If you are ever trying to read [b:a nonfiction book about horrific yet largely erased racism in America 551619 Buried in the Bitter Waters The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America Elliot Jaspin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1175728258l/551619.SY75.jpg 2143228], and it's too much for you in this moment because of everything else happening in the world, try reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for the first time. Better yet, listen to the audiobook read by Stephen Fry.I don't really know how to review classics like this, because I assume most have already read it, and some could take criticisms or comparisons personally. This is an absurd, whimsical book and a reminder of how much I like SFF that does not take itself too seriously. I liked it enough that I'm going to try the whole series, but we'll see if it holds my interest. Sometimes you need a break from important hard-hitting titles, new releases getting buzz, or whatever other nonsense that makes reading feel like an obligation. Sometimes you just need fun escapism.No one get mad at me for comparing this book to others, please, this is just how I usually end my Goodreads reviews. This reminded me of the Murderbot series, the Nevermoor series, [b:The Phantom Tollbooth 378 The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558858485l/378.SX50.jpg 1782584], maybe [b:The Martian 18007564 The Martian Andy Weir https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413706054l/18007564.SY75.jpg 21825181] or [b:The Humans 16130537 The Humans Matt Haig https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353739654l/16130537.SY75.jpg 21955852]. Now I'm just listing humorous science fiction authored by men. Anyway. I had a good time, as expected.
I have a soft spot for abrasive unsympathetic women protagonists, so I should have loved this. But I also have boundless disdain for ennui-filled literary fiction, so I did not.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation has a gorgeous cover and great title. Julia Whelan did an excellent job with the audiobook. The writing is descriptive. The characters feel human and real and flawed. Dr. Tuttle was my favorite. So irresponsible, so scatterbrained, so disinterested. I like that the narrator is so determined and decisive in doing nothing. She knows exactly what she wants and how to go about it.
Yes, the writing is descriptive, but the descriptions are gross. This book is gross. Yes, the characters are flawed, but ultimately, not in a compelling way. I don't need or want a redemption arc. I don't mind a slow build. But I want...something to happen. I want the listlessness to build to something, or at least to have some impact. When I read a book, I want something to be going on.
The protagonist sucks. She's awful to herself. She's awful to Reva, the only person in the world who cares about her. Trevor sucks. I hate him. The narrator's hibernation venture is couched in privilege available to very few. All of the above is intended and obvious. 9/11 looms over the book like a dark heavy shadow as soon as the setting is established. It's finally addressed at the very end, in a tragic but offhand way. You don't really get any closure, any indication of what the motivation was behind any of this, whether it was worth it, what's next.
This book kind of put me in a funk while I was reading it, but I haven't thought about it much since wrapping it up. Reading is a very subjective experience, and I know this struck a chord with many. Maybe there's something there that I'm not sophisticated enough to appreciate. But in the end, I found this annoying more than anything.
I really struggled with this one. I am a tough sell on thrillers in general, in that I really like [b:No Exit|39938177|No Exit|Taylor Adams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541624527l/39938177.SY75.jpg|56940541], but also I only like [b:No Exit|39938177|No Exit|Taylor Adams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541624527l/39938177.SY75.jpg|56940541]. I went into this thinking it would be like [b:The Husbands|54860592|The Husbands|Chandler Baker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600741982l/54860592.SY75.jpg|85600099] meets Ingrid Goes West. It was a touch of both, but it was mostly just not at all my cup of tea at all I did not like it.
The Hunting Wives has a good cover and name, and that is where my praise begins and ends. Cobb's writing is just an endless list of telling you what is happening beat by beat. The timeline is sometimes out of order but not in a way that adds intrigue or complexity; it just doesn't make sense. The characters are mostly miserable, but again, not in a way that feels compelling.
There are a few Good Guys who are just boring (Graham and Erin), and Sophie's betrayal of them is inexplicable. Speaking of Sophie, I hate her. She is a static figure in the midst of increasingly high stakes, and is so flummoxed and slow on the uptake it is impossible to pull for her. Every choice she makes is such a bad call it did not even occur to me as a potential course of action.
Her fixation on Margo is her only consistency, but is poorly explained. She is also, if you ask me, a pedophile. You won't believe this, but she's not even the only or main pedophile. The way this book talks about sex is so deeply troubling and off. And not in a salacious dark way, just like, Bad. The obvious examples are Brad and Jamie, who are never cast as victims of older predatory women, and are often described as rippling with strength and confidence and touting sexual experience. Gross! Gross. I'll say it again: gross. They are babies. Infidelity is rampant and casual, and while I am all for exploring options outside of monogamy, cheating on your spouse every weekend in front of your friends is not that.
What really gets me is, Sophie asked to move here. She'd lived in this place before—she knows what it's like. She may be bored and looking for excitement, but it's only been eight months. It's not like her ugly unhelpful husband dragged her to the countryside and she's been trapped gardening for years until Margo waltzes into town. Graham is cast as an involved, doting, attractive partner. She loves him and their son. She seems to like a lot about her life! None of it makes sense.
To each their own, and I feel mean when I dislike a book this much. But the more I type the more irritated I become. It feels like a man wrote this, and I mean that as an insult. Do not read this.
Cultish is hard to review, because it's about so many things. And yet I am about to write an incredibly long review.
Cultish is about America, abuse, social media, critical thinking, and how earnest your involvement has to be in a group, no matter how high the stakes are in theory.
Montell looks at the various American ideals and policies (or lack thereof) that prime our culture for embracing cultish beliefs. Ours is a nation founded on the right to form and join new, experimental belief systems. Ours is a consumerist culture. Ours is an individualistic, laissez-faire culture. All of these factors prime America for, just, so many cults.
Safety nets are exchanged for convictions that life is what you make of it and everyone is personally responsible, if not for where they were born, for where they end up. Because Americans lack interdependent understandings of self, and because America lacks many of the publicly funded supports built into other nations, many of us feel on our own unless we seek out communities and structure.
We need to imbue our lives with meaning in some way. We like to feel part of things bigger than ourselves. Things that will last after we're gone. Things that will change lives for the better, and not just our own. Cults sell these ideas. Cults sell meaning. Cults sell hope.
Montell also looks at how cults target the lonely, the isolated, and the displaced. How the internet and social media create these echo chamber pockets, and apply pressure to pretend things are going better than they are. How coercion and abuse are the same, whether in individual relationships or carried out by massive organizations. How being part of one cult can make it easier to be swept up in others. The usefulness of the term “cult” at all. And how, ultimately, people are more discerning than we give them credit for, even from a young age.
But still, what do we do about the fact that otherwise “smart” people get roped into LuLaRoe? What do we tell ourselves to soothe our worries about falling for the same thing? How do we get through to friends and family who are being taken advantage of and lied to?
And what about the people who join cults, knowing they are cults and not caring? At what point does something go from innocuous if strange, to violent and deadly? How do we stop people and groups from tumbling to that point?
I kind of like that Montell leaves us with big questions to ponder. I think more nonfiction should be open-ended; a starting point rather than a closed specific argument. Cultish gives you a lot to think about. It is very timely, somehow fun, and the cover is glorious. If you are someone who exclaims “I love cults!” only to realize you might want to phrase that differently, if you are someone who has received an Instagram DM or Facebook group invite from an acquaintance for weird essential oil ventures, or if you just want to think through belief systems in a tumultuous digital age, read Cultish. The audiobook is great, if you prefer to listen.
Ari works as a meteorologist for a TV station in Seattle. She's admired her boss since childhood, but actually working for her has turned into a nightmare as said boss and another high-ranking employee loudly navigate a combative divorce.Ari's coworker Russell commiserates as both long for more support—or at least peace—in the workplace. Together they hatch a plan to reunite their bosses, and can you believe it, in so doing another spark ignites.This was...cute, I guess? I wanted to like it a lot more. In the beginning and middle I liked it fine, but my patience wore thin as it went on. I think it just wasn't for me, which makes me feel bad in rating it so low, especially because Jewish representation of this sort is so hard to come by.It just felt trite and surface-level. And I know, romance is fluffy and light. But in the Dear Reader intro, Solomon makes it clear this rom-com has substance and darkness to it. Topics like mental health and parenthood and body positivity are important to address! I was just underwhelmed by how they were addressed. The surface-level spoonfeeding of how we're supposed to feel about Serious Real Things was jarring alongside play-by-play sex scenes. Like [b:Chloe Brown 43884209 Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters, #1) Talia Hibbert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614273529l/43884209.SY75.jpg 66903616], there is also one line I will never get over, and that line is (click to reveal at your own risk, I was and am outraged by this): “What do you want me to do to your pussy, Weather Girl?” I wanted to omit this from the review, but this sentence will haunt me for the rest of my days, and I cannot bear this burden in silence.As workplace dynamics “improved,” really they just got codependent and weird. In a sense they had to, because Ari didn't have any friends. Why didn't Ari have any friends? The pacing was all over the place. The epilogue also contains two of my pet peeves in one: 1) proposals during someone else's wedding, and 2) public proposals in front of large groups of strangers. I get that just because I don't want something for myself, doesn't mean it's inherently bad. But also, I do be me. I do be myself. And I do dislike both of those things.I think for others, Weather Girl is probably equally good to curl up with on a rainy day with some tea, or to lay out reading with a tropical cocktail on the beach. It's easily digestible and allows Ari room to grow without the stakes getting too high. If you like [a:Beth O'Leary 13038484 Beth O'Leary https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1546818419p2/13038484.jpg], [a:Christina Lauren 6556689 Christina Lauren https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1554664497p2/6556689.jpg], [a:Sarah Hogle 18914276 Sarah Hogle https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], or weirdly, I'm gonna say, the show New Girl, you could give it a shot. I am just unimpressed. Sorry to be a romance genre Grinch, but Ari taught me it's better to be negative and authentic than fake and cheery. Time for a nonfiction book about cults.
Are you excelling at work but exhausted at home? Do you worry you're letting people down or seem unambitious by saying no? Do you feel impossibly behind, no matter how much you get done? Do you blame yourself for not having the energy or time management skills to do more?
Do you put off starting tasks until you can do them to your perfectionistic standards? Do you create work out of thin air, then resent others for not appreciating things they never asked for? Do you extend compassion and understanding to everyone but yourself? Should I stop asking questions?
If you relate to any of the above, pick up Laziness Does Not Exist. It is an affirming and validating read that lets you off the hook for being a human being instead of a machine.
This is my kind of self-help. Not too preachy. Research-based. Offers concrete ideas and solutions to the issues it describes. But also, Dr. Price clearly acknowledges the impact of structural factors, so not all onus is placed on individuals to overcome or opt out of forces far bigger than any one of us. Instead, the focus is on what is in our control, and on asking yourself questions about your current obligations and lifestyle.
Laziness Does Not Exist emphasizes asking yourself what you need and asking others what they need, in a way that feels direct and honest, instead of corny and strange. It breaks down academic/feminist concepts about household labor like the second shift, social reproduction, and the mental load to be accessible. It looks at how unlearning judgmental stereotypes about mental illness, addiction, and homelessness can in turn help us stop judging ourselves, because compassion for others begets self-compassion. It's a pretty beautiful and useful read.
I can't say enough good things about this book, or stop recommending it to burnt out friends. It's a standout in its genre. I really enjoyed Em Grosland's audiobook narration, too. I even liked the boppy intro/outro music. Read it!
The Girls I've Been opens with an awkward trip to deposit a check at the bank. Nora is muddling through with her girlfriend Iris and her ex-boyfriend Wes. Thirty seconds later, they're hostages in a bank robbery. That's when we begin to find out who Nora really is. Or rather, who Nora has been. Nora's mom is a con artist. Throughout her childhood, Nora was involved in different cons orchestrated by her mom. In each of them, she was assigned a specific role to play. A new sense of style, a new personality, a new name. Eventually Nora managed to escape, but she is far from safe. But she also has a lot of experience doing what it takes to survive—defying the odds and making tough choices to make it out of horrible circumstances alive. And that is what Nora spends the book doing: trying again and again to survive.This will probably come as no surprise, but this book is dramatic and intense. It covers heavy topics such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, and endometriosis. It ends with a list of crisis line numbers, which I took as an indication that the author understands both the weight of these issues, and that sometimes young people are faced with trauma no kid should have to live through. The book does a good job at covering healing, therapy, and chosen/found family. It is a pretty unusual genre and premise for YA. I found the audiobook narrator grating and over the top at times, but I think I may just be getting old y'all.I'd recommend this to fans of [b:The Female of the Species 25812109 The Female of the Species Mindy McGinnis https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455917180l/25812109.SY75.jpg 45668311] and [b:Sadie 34810320 Sadie Courtney Summers https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556559178l/34810320.SY75.jpg 56026767]—like The Girls I've Been, both are about fiercely loyal sisters. Also [b:No Exit 39938177 No Exit Taylor Adams https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541624527l/39938177.SY75.jpg 56940541] and [a:Kristen Lepionka 15613182 Kristen Lepionka https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1480818152p2/15613182.jpg].
It turns out, evil schemes require spreadsheets. Hench's protagonist, Anna, is a temp who does data entry for actual villains. She's roped into attending a press conference for her latest boss, who is concerned about proving his staff are appropriately diverse while broadcasting a ransom video. He may have kidnapped the mayor's son, but he's no sexist.
When the press conference takes an abrupt and chaotic turn, Anna suffers considerable injury. This is more or less her origin story, and if you ask me, an unexpectedly poignant look into how disability can awaken new political consciousness. Often the people our society hurts the worst are the same people we are most eager to leave behind, treat as burdens, or blame for what happened to them.
Hench is an intriguing look into what differentiates heroes from villains. What separates two groups with immense power and reach, whose actions cause upheaval and harm? What core values might these groups share? Could it be that the villains are more honest than the heroes, with both themselves and the world about the impact of who they are and what they do?
Hench is also stupid and funny and snarky. Its characters are realistic mixes of competent and terrified, loyal and severe, intimidating and pathetic. It is about friendships beginning and ending, how emotions get wrapped up in work we are passionate about, and how being surrounded and supported by those who believe in us can make all the difference.
My main gripe with this was the audiobook narrator. I found the voices used for most of the characters unpleasant and grating. I think this would work wonderfully with a full cast, a la [b:Sleeping Giants|25733990|Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1)|Sylvain Neuvel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459785141l/25733990.SX50.jpg|42721200]. As it stands now, I recommend the print format.
I don't read much about superheroes or supervillains, as I'm not a big Marvel or DC person. So this basically reminded me of any other book I've read with heroes: [b:Dreadnought|30279514|Dreadnought (Nemesis #1)|April Daniels|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1466970667l/30279514.SY75.jpg|50755147], [b:Refrigerator Monologues|32714267|The Refrigerator Monologues|Catherynne M. Valente|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1477836652l/32714267.SY75.jpg|53293963], and [b:Vicious|40874032|Vicious (Villains, #1)|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532011194l/40874032.SY75.jpg|19250870]. At times it reminded me of Netflix's Jessica Jones series, and the movie Megamind (which is excellent, and you can fight me on that). It also feels similar in tone to [b:All Systems Red|32758901|All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)|Martha Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631585309l/32758901.SY75.jpg|53349516] and [b:Finna|44081573|Finna (LitenVerse #1)|Nino Cipri|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563304090l/44081573.SY75.jpg|68548236].
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a book about power and sexuality, and the sacrifices it takes to get what and whom you want in a society that may not welcome either.
What parts of yourself do you have to exaggerate or hide to make it big in a sexist, racist, world? What trades do you have to make? How do you make sure that you're even still you by the time you're a household name?
Can you weaponize your own objectification? Can you game systems that degrade and oppress you without reproducing harm? Without harming yourself? Who gets to decide the answer to that?
I can see this used in a gender studies course to unpack ideas about sexual agency and consent, as well as sustainable alternatives to the nuclear family. It's also a good entry point into questions about queerness throughout history, in decades and cultures where it has been erased and/or criminalized.
These questions fascinate me more than most, but even still, I'm not convinced I liked this. There are a few reasons why:
First, I listened to [b:Daisy Jones|40597810|Daisy Jones & The Six|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580255154l/40597810.SY75.jpg|61127102] first. The stories are more similar than I realized. But the audiobook production for Daisy Jones is far superior, and the two ending reveals in Evelyn Hugo were obvious to me beforehand. So, two letdowns there.
Second, Celia St. James is such a static and boring character compared to Evelyn and Harry, or even Don, an abusive ex-husband. I wanted to find more depth there, so I could fully buy into why they were soulmates. I bought that Harry and Evelyn were best friends. I felt like I understood them. I didn't get Celia on her own, or Celia and Evelyn together. And this is supposed to be, like, The Love Story. The last line gave me chills, but the relationship itself never did the same. Third, and the main thing. I keep getting stuck on how the only Black characters were more or less collateral damage to rich and famous white (passing) Hollywood elites. Evelyn let Monique's father have his reputation ruined. She dropped a truth bomb on Monique and then promptly killed herself. I don't want to get into my views on euthansia mid-Goodreads review, I'm just saying, in this context—it was like she dumped all her secrets onto Monique and saw herself out. I am grasping at what purpose it served. What points it made that could not have been made any other way. And well, I'm just stuck on that. I don't care for it, and I think it could have been handled differently.
I think this is a glamorous and unique slow build, and I do see why people love it. Despite myself I will probably read [b:Malibu Rising|55404546|Malibu Rising|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618293107l/55404546.SY75.jpg|74581401].
I will hack Goodreads so I can give this book six stars. And yet, I don't even know how to summarize it well.
As a library worker who's put together more than one Pride display, pickings are slim for the ace/aro spectrum, to say the least. This is complicated further by the fact that while some nonfiction topics are relatively static, gender and sexuality evolve rapidly. I was delighted to see this and [b:How to Be Ace|54403237|How to Be Ace A Memoir of Growing Up Asexual|Rebecca Burgess|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1602700467l/54403237.SX50.jpg|84893786] come out in recent years, but am just getting around to reading one myself.
I went in thinking this would have a “Ace 101” feel with a lot of basics, terminology, and education. And it did have some of that, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. I am so impressed by the scope and nuance of this text.
For a book about a niche minority, its appeal and relevance are universal. Meaning, this is not only for people who already know they are—or wonder if they or someone close to them might be—ace or aro. It can be about that, and I don't want to diminish that at all. But what I learned most of all is that taking the time and making the effort to understand asexuality can help everyone progress towards open communication about desire and intimacy.
Suffice it to say, this was a really eye-opening and compelling listen (and I quite liked the audiobook narrator, too!), which is probably obvious by this long and varied list of books it reminded me of at different points: [b:The New Jim Crow|6792458|The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness|Michelle Alexander|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328751532l/6792458.SX50.jpg|6996712], [b:How to Be an Antiracist|40265832|How to Be an Antiracist|Ibram X. Kendi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560163756l/40265832.SY75.jpg|62549152], [b:Hood Feminism|36687229|Hood Feminism Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot|Mikki Kendall|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577489813l/36687229.SY75.jpg|58481445], [b:Killing the Black Body|229445|Killing the Black Body Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty|Dorothy Roberts|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388801372l/229445.SY75.jpg|222199], [b:Reproductive Rights and Wrongs|29633769|Reproductive Rights and Wrongs The Global Politics of Population Control|Betsy Hartmann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470694935l/29633769.SX50.jpg|1273040], [b:Not All Dead White Men|38240525|Not All Dead White Men Classics and Misogyny in the Digital Age|Donna Zuckerberg|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524483798l/38240525.SY75.jpg|59922909], and [b:The State of Affairs|34017010|The State of Affairs Rethinking Infidelity|Esther Perel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1495687620l/34017010.SY75.jpg|55014433].
I like to go into books blind. I don't want to know about the plot, I don't want to know the Goodreads rating, I don't want to read others' reviews until I'm done writing my own. All of these things help me feel like I'm forming my opinion in enough of a vacuum that I'm reasonably sure my thoughts are my own. This is why I picked up Normal People thinking I was in for a Little Fires Everywhere or Such a Fun Age type read. Three hours later I'm listening to the worst BDSM sex scenes imaginable on my commute to work. A wild twist, to be sure. If you are one of my coworkers, read on at your own risk.
Normal People is about how people end up tangled in each others' lives. The strange evolution of relationships that begin in hometowns. Some relationships stay the same, no matter how much time it's been. Others feel different to any other bond, no matter how much time it's been.
How family dynamics carry over into romantic and sexual ties (no pun intended, and I hate myself for leaving this in). How other people and our relationships with them can so drastically impact our sense of self, and, ultimately, whether we feel worthy, loved, understood. Whether we even know who we are. Whether we even like who we are.
Also, Normal People includes a whole slew of fictional men who I would love to physically attack. In fact, pretty much all of them are deserving of my wrath. They are a despicable lot and Marianne should try dating women. Or dating no one. Anything is better than this.
The main issue I have is hard to articulate. Some of the underlying messages about the roots of Marianne's desires felt reductive, or maybe even harmful. I don't feel qualified enough to speak definitively on this; it just felt a little off to me. Like, oh, of course she wants Connell to hurt her. The men she grew up with hurt her. Feels a little convenient. Feels a little Freudian.Are we supposed to believe that Marianne wants to be submissive because of her past? Or that it's something that exists separately, that just happened to be muddied by some men with controlling, violent tendencies? Or is the message that only some men are qualified to dominate women, if they're responsible and sensitive and take seriously the weight of the power they hold?I feel like this is a key point with potentially high, real-life stakes and ripple effects. I get leaving fiction open to interpretation, but also, if you're going to talk about these issues, how careful do you have to be about weaving in takeaway messages? How much do you have to help readers parse out what is and is not healthy? Idk y'all.
My broken pop culture brain wants to compare this to Sammi and Ron on Jersey Shore plus the familial abuse in Tara Westover's Educated. Pick this up if you want to have a weird start to your year.
Not super sure about this one. I find myself regarding some of Nestor's claims as I do MLM essential oils (I don't know why I'm not just saying Young Living) that talk about how diffusing peppermint eradicates plantar fasciitis. It's all a little too one-sided, unfounded, and convenient for my personality.
I think it is interesting to look at how the way humans breathe has (literally) evolved over time, and how respiratory health connects to other aspects of health. Certainly this is an overlooked area of US medicine, and I do believe the focus of our healthcare is often more reactive than proactive or preemptive.
I think the other way this fell flat for me was that it was so individually focused. I'm more interested in structural and institutional context than tunnel vision on personal responsibility. Other qualms: it was repetitive. There were noticeably few women interviewed in the book. Also, I just found out this author was on Joe Rogan's podcast? That is the nail in the coffin of my derision.
Living through a respiratory pandemic as someone who gets bronchitis all the time, many of the claims are alluring in their simplicity. And when I've been coughing for four months, I'll try anything to get my back to stop hurting from the exertion of hacking up my lungs because my body can't figure itself out. So hey, maybe I'll circle back to try some of Nestor's breathing exercises in future moments of desperation. But for now, I am unimpressed.
Well, when McQuiston said their second book would be different they weren't kidding. I've somehow been paying so little attention I didn't even realize it was SFF.
One Last Stop is a funny, sweet book about two women a little bit lost in space and time, who find their footing in each other. August is drifting from place to place in a “scared to finish college but tired of racking up student loan debt” limbo phase of young adulthood. Her mom is fixated on a decades old missing persons case that has warped August's upbringing and their relationship. Jane is...well. Jane is well and truly stuck. OR IS SHE
In some ways, One Last Stop is similar to [b:Red, White & Royal Blue|41150487|Red, White & Royal Blue|Casey McQuiston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566742512l/41150487.SY75.jpg|61657690]. A queer new adult book full of characters mature and immature all at once; i.e., believable 20-somethings. Insecure main characters taking forever to see the obvious, secondary characters you would kill or die for, and most of all, fluffy romance galore.
Setting also really shines in this book. The ties people have to places that outlast decades. How different senses can bring us back in time, or, if needed, forward. But what stands out the most is the optimistic tone and ending. The undercurrent in everything I've read by this author is so stubbornly idealistic, so decidedly hopeful. Her writing is a balm to the soul in fragmented discouraging times, and these are those.
I didn't love this quite as much as McQuiston's debut, but that's a high bar. I'm eagerly awaiting [b:I Kissed Shara Wheeler|58756420|I Kissed Shara Wheeler|Casey McQuiston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632381679l/58756420.SY75.jpg|92496375]. If you like [b:This Adventure Ends|27779275|This Adventure Ends|Emma Mills|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455111092l/27779275.SX50.jpg|46885088], [b:Turtles All the Way Down|35504431|Turtles All the Way Down|John Green|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503002776l/35504431.SY75.jpg|21576687], or the Netflix show Russian Doll, you might like One Last Stop.
I was excited to read more Gailey after liking [b:The Echo Wife|52379735|The Echo Wife|Sarah Gailey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588791809l/52379735.SY75.jpg|73056559] so much, but Magic for Liars didn't quite match that energy for me.
Magic for Liars follows twin sisters Ivy and Tabitha Gamble (okay, the names are great). Magic is real, and Tabitha has it. For whatever reason, Ivy does not. She works as a private investigator, mostly discovering infidelity. But then, Ivy is asked to look into a gruesome death at the magic academy where Tabitha teaches.
The Gamble twins struggle to make sense not just of what happened to the deceased, but also their relationship. How do you reconcile magic excluding you when it looped in your twin? How do you deal with the insecurity and jealousy that provokes?
This reminded me a bit of the Wayward Children series, with hints of Truly Devious and Roxane Weary.
Like Wayward Children, it just felt, and I feel mean saying this, but it didn't feel done. Some of the twists were odd and could have been interesting, but didn't feel well-justified. It felt like we were finally getting into it as it abruptly wrapped up. In the end, I just wasn't convinced or compelled.
Not my favorite, but I'm still interested in reading more Gailey.
This is feminist fiction at its best. Exploration of power dynamics, autonomy, the role of mothers and fathers, husbands and wives. But what I really like is that while it is dark, it's also a lot of fun. It's not just bleak literary fiction about how abuse seeps everywhere. It's both disturbing and entertaining. I'm going to steer clear of plot summary because there are a lot of twists and turns that I don't want to ruin for anyone. I'd go in knowing as little as possible. Very generally, it is about cloning technology and relationships.If you like the movies Ruby Sparks or Ex Machina, the Netflix series Dead to Me, any other [a:Sarah Gailey 15045277 Sarah Gailey https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1612480065p2/15045277.jpg], or [b:The Murders of Molly Southbourne 34417038 The Murders of Molly Southbourne (Molly Southbourne, #1) Tade Thompson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1495129861l/34417038.SY75.jpg 55520132], I bet you'd like this. It's a new favorite for me.
A meta, disturbing exploration of the publishing world.
Nella is a young Black editorial assistant at Wagner, a prestigious publisher that, decades prior, put out Burning Heart, a book by two Black women that lit up the world, before one of its editors mysteriously vanished.
For years, Nella's been in a delicate tug-of-war, trying to push for diversity at work while not endangering her career. Then suddenly, she's given the bare minimum: another Black girl to work with. Hazel.
I thought this was going to be more [b:Such a Fun Age|43923951|Such a Fun Age|Kiley Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557181911l/43923951.SY75.jpg|63995465], then it turned out to be more [b:We Cast a Shadow|40163362|We Cast a Shadow|Maurice Carlos Ruffin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533657073l/40163362.SY75.jpg|62303738]. It veers from contemporary into more thriller territory, and I can't tell how I feel about the twist. It's supposed to invoke unease, but it feels a little...silly? Which makes me feel evil to say.
Regardless, I think the questions it raises are unique and important.
Is it harder to be the sole Black employee, or to be constantly compared with the only other Black person? What is the psychological toll of not being able to be fully yourself at work, of having to assimilate to an environment set up to exclude people like you? What are the long-term impacts of having to filter yourself for a third of your life, just to be able to afford food and shelter?
What do you have to sacrifice to get in the room with the table you want a seat at? What principles do you have to sideline? Who do you have to let down, or leave behind? How much of yourself can you bring to the top? What personal concessions do you have to make to reach the glass ceiling you want to shatter?
The Other Black Girl is a piercing look at the failures of the publishing world, but also America as a whole, as onus is placed on Black Americans to pretend the white spaces alienating them are doing a good enough job. As Nella's perspective is simultaneously sought out and shut down. As diversity is embraced as an abstract concept by people who burst into tears when handed tame criticism wrapped in plenty of coddling. It's a look at who needs to change what about themselves, in order for things to finally, actually change.
Enemies to lovers, except you're already engaged, his mother-in-law is making wedding planning even more stressful than normal, and entry-level jobs all require graduate degrees and five years of experience. This is the premise of You Deserve Each Other, and it's a lot of fun.Naomi is a highly dramatic protagonist who knows exactly how she feels and what she wants. Nicholas is a dentist who eats Skittles in bed, and frankly I worry about how often he's described as tasting like candy. Stop eating this much candy.The combination of moving in together and in-law drama have turned a once exciting relationship into a minefield of both aggression and apathy. The couple finds themselves in a game of chicken wherein whoever calls off the engagement loses, even though neither want to get married anymore, not even a little bit.You Deserve Each Other is an outrageous and funny book about consciously choosing to be with who you're with. It imparts an optimistic message about many relationships being salvageable even when they seem in dire straits. Inexplicably, stampeding into the woods also helps the couple a lot, and I want to hate that, but their house is magical, so I'm in a tug-of-war with myself. However, what Nicholas did to Jason is unforgivable and an automatic dealbreaker, and while Naomi may have forgiven him I will never. I'd say this is good for [a:Christina Lauren 6556689 Christina Lauren https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1554664497p2/6556689.jpg] fans.
The Husbands and [b:Stepford Wives|52350|The Stepford Wives|Ira Levin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554371721l/52350.SY75.jpg|1534281] pose the same questions:
How is household labor divided by gender? Whose career aspirations are treated as an inevitable priority, while the others' are collateral damage? Who is ultimately to blame when things don't get done? What does it take to make both spouses happy with the effort the other is putting in on a daily basis?
This was entertaining and I flew through it. Admittedly, the social commentary is incessant and hamfisted. I found the broad questions raised kind of compelling, but I can see how others might find it grating, and I don't know that it would win over anyone unreceptive.
Great cover and good audiobook production. I wish it had been in first person instead of third. Some twists were kind of predictable letdowns, but that's not the first time I've felt that way about contemporary thrillers (see also Gone Girl and The Woman in the Window).
If you like [b:Little Fires Everywhere|34273236|Little Fires Everywhere|Celeste Ng|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1522684533l/34273236.SY75.jpg|52959357], [b:Such a Fun Age|43923951|Such a Fun Age|Kiley Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557181911l/43923951.SY75.jpg|63995465], [b:Big Little Lies|33516773|Big Little Lies|Liane Moriarty|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559835163l/33516773.SY75.jpg|27570886] (cards on the table, I watched the first season on HBO but haven't read the book), [b:The Mere Wife|36332136|The Mere Wife|Maria Dahvana Headley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1517581442l/36332136.SY75.jpg|58009682], this graphic novel about [b:The Mental Load|39196352|The Mental Load A Feminist Comic|Emma|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529064620l/39196352.SX50.jpg|60776633], or the movie Get Out, you'll likely have fun with The Husbands. I may try [b:Whisper Network|41555931|Whisper Network|Chandler Baker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562758669l/41555931.SY75.jpg|61072596] soon.
Why was this so good? I didn't expect this to be so good?An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is like if Sleeping Giants was narrated by a young bisexual disaster of a woman instead of a smug older nameless man. You've got your giant mysterious alien robots that our main characters feel a weird but committed affinity for, you've got your cobbled together team far too wrapped up in themselves and one another, you've got your reveal of a US president who is—surprise—a lady, can you believe it.What I quite like about the book is Green's commentary on the relevance of fame and social media to humanity's response to massive historical events. His firsthand experience allows him to offer up commentary that insists on the fundamental goodness of both the internet and humans, while also not shying away from how each can erode the other. He talks about fearmongering and radicalization leading to material harm. He talks about manufactured outrage and false equivalence. He talks about power dynamics warping personal and professional relationships; how we can hold power over others without wanting or realizing it.Why does something so trivial overshadow a story about actual aliens, one might ask. But is it really so trivial? Why isn't social media real? Why isn't it important? What happens when humans become a brand, when an image they project becomes something others consume, something they profit from? How do we balance being authentic online with nothing online being authentic?Anyway. I liked this a lot. If you like [b:Sleeping Giants 25733990 Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1) Sylvain Neuvel https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459785141l/25733990.SX50.jpg 42721200], [a:Alice Oseman 7789423 Alice Oseman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1603122242p2/7789423.jpg]'s work on fandom, Emma Mills' stories about young people getting in over their heads on adventures, or the movie Ingrid Goes West, try this out.
I adored this. What a whimsical and endearing exploration of so many important topics: citizenship, disability, trauma.
There are a lot of lessons in this book. Hatred and fear overlap, a lot. Stereotypes undercut humanity and potential. The people we surround ourselves with can drastically impact both how we see ourselves and the course of our lives. If you're not the target of discrimination, it can be difficult to even recognize it happening, let alone your role in it. Sometimes you grow up to be to others the kind of support that you desperately needed but lacked when you were growing up.
I could talk about this book for as long as Chauncey talks about being a bellhop, but I just suggest you read this one. I promise you will fall in love with the story and everyone in it.
(Especially if you like series like Harry Potter, Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children, Jessica Townsend's Nevermoor, Rick Riordan Presents, maybe even Fantasy High? Ooh, and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends! Just read it.)
Sleeping Giants is an engrossing full cast science fiction audiobook that reminds me of the heartbreakingly good movie The Iron Giant more than it should, basically only because, big robot.
A group of genius misfits, each with their own niche interests and skills, are herded into a team by a mysterious unnamed man. The team's mission is simple in theory but complex and often deadly in practice: 1) unearth and 2) understand the scattered pieces of an immense metal being governed by advanced technology.
Neuvel provokes questions about the ends justifying the means, what happens when professional and personal relationships overlap, and how work on a project with stakes high enough to end humanity as a whole warp one's ego and value of human life. Work where every choice is simultaneously carefully weighed and outrageously reckless. It's also about how emotions seep into whatever we do, no matter how high the stakes, for better or worse.
I think the main pitfall of Sleeping Giants is something I'm considering making a Goodreads shelf for: “male SFF author introduces really cool premise only whoops he can't write women and makes everything about sex which is a boring letdown.” I'm workshopping the name.
Overall, an entertaining ride about a painfully dedicated group of characters, with some interesting twists. Really fun to listen to. We'll see if I continue the series.
I don't usually do audiobooks, but my commute recently increased and I've been in a reading slump, so I decided to try to force myself to read while driving. And folks, it worked. It worked so well.
The production of the audiobook itself gets eleven stars. It lives up to the rave reviews. The actors? characters? readers? have such perfect voices for their roles. Raspy, passionate, almost (I'm kind of embarrassed to use this word) sultry. They sound like singers, if that makes any sense.
The book itself kept my interest and included multiple gasp-aloud twists, especially at the end. It's a book about addiction, to both things and people. Like [b:Little Fires Everywhere|34273236|Little Fires Everywhere|Celeste Ng|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1522684533l/34273236.SY75.jpg|52959357] or [b:Such a Fun Age|43923951|Such a Fun Age|Kiley Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557181911l/43923951.SY75.jpg|63995465], things just slowly turn into more and more of a mess as peoples' lives overlap and relationships become simultaneously more intertwined and dysfunctional.
I have hang ups, though they are abstract. Is Daisy Jones a manic pixie dream girl, or does she face that accusation head-on and upend it? Is Camilla boxed into the (I believe actually dangerous) idea that the love of a good woman can reform a man with selfish, destructive tendencies? Does the book present Daisy and Camilla in reductive contrast to one another, one as someone who accepts Billy as he is, but the other as someone who believes that he can be a better version of himself? Does Daisy only become worthy of Billy when she becomes sober like he did, and do both of them only become sober because of Camilla, who is killed off unceremoniously to provide a chance for Daisy and Billy to try again?If Billy is going to be so prominently featured, why is he so boring (I sound like Eddie lol)? Is that intentional, to make him more static and reactive than the two women in this weird love triangle?
Anyway. This is a flawed but compelling story about flawed but compelling people. I'm not sure how much I would have enjoyed it in print, but in this format it really shines. If, like me, you don't think you're an audiobook person, start with this one.