It's a tricky task to write a biography of an extremely famous man about whom relatively little is actually known for sure.
But I think this author didIt's a tricky task to write a biography of an extremely famous man about whom relatively little is actually known for sure.
But I think this author did a dang good job of it!
This was a wonderful read, with as much detail as one could hope to have about a towering yet elusive historical figure, and with a terrific structure and smooth fluctuations between a micro and macro lens on Shakespeare's life and world. I appreciated how well Greenblatt weaves in the plays and sonnets and finds all the little connections, both certain and supposed, to Shakespeare's personal life as well as to the larger world of Stratford, London, England, and Europe. And I am always a sucker for interpretations and analyses of certain characters or scenes or lines in his plays, because since we don't have much of the man's own thoughts on his works, it leaves so much room for one's own suppositions. Obviously sometimes those can be absurd and clearly wrong, but I think Greenblatt for the most part was very logical and eloquent in his explanations and understandings.
Because there is little solid fact about certain aspects of Shakespeare's life, any biography is going to have a lot of hedging words: "It's likely that he..." and "He possibly..." and "It might be that he..." and so on. But in this text, I felt like all of those maybes were well-founded and backed up with reasonable details and information. Moreover, there are times where he's open about simply not knowing something and leaving it open-ended, which in a case like this, is actually more satisfying than someone refusing to leave any loose threads and shoehorning in an answer that might have come out of thin air.
There were a few times where I felt he went off on some tangents regarding contemporaries of Shakespeare. It was fine and necessary to discuss the other figures in his world, but sometimes those discussions felt a bit too detailed and I just wanted to get back to the main dude, because I am a simp for Shakespeare and everything I read about him makes me feel a tiny bit closer to the man himself. Very well-researched and a clear labor of love on the part of the author....more
I do not think I could be anywhere near this eloquent if I had survived someone stabbing me in the dang face.
This is one of the those books where it fI do not think I could be anywhere near this eloquent if I had survived someone stabbing me in the dang face.
This is one of the those books where it feels wrong to say you enjoyed it, so instead I will say that I appreciated it very much. Recounting everything he went through -- during the attack, in the immediate aftermath, and even months later -- must have been painful in a whole different way, but it's clear that it was also, for Rushdie, an essential part of healing and moving through it. He does not gloss over any of the details (so fair warning, there are some graphic descriptions of his injuries and the operations and treatments afterward), and I think that was probably both part of that coming-to-terms process as well as a way to get the reader to understand, as best as anyone who has not been through a similar experience can, his reaction to everything and his thought processes and such. I also was grateful for the exploration of his public life ever since the fatwa was first pronounced against him 35 years ago, and how ever since, he has had to live as though an attack just like this was always in the offing.
I've only read one of his novels--the fatwa-inducing The Satanic Verses. I admit that I struggled with it and don't think I fully got it, so to speak. But reading this memoir and his poignant and graceful way with words even about something so horrifying makes me want to give his fiction another try. (If you have a recommendation of where to go next, let me know!)
I did think that the rather long imagined conversation with his assailant was...well, I don't want to say "unnecessary" because it's not my place to decree what was and wasn't necessary for his needs here. But for me as the reader, it didn't do much in terms of shaping my grasp of things. I also wish there had been maybe a little more about his past, considering how much it informs the present chapter of his life we're reading about here. But a very moving and thoughtful book nonetheless....more
Whew. Well, that didn't exactly escalate quickly, but it sure escalated muchly.
First off, kudos to Kate Quinn for being a historical fiction author whWhew. Well, that didn't exactly escalate quickly, but it sure escalated muchly.
First off, kudos to Kate Quinn for being a historical fiction author who actually -- GASP! -- knows that there is more to history than World War II! Yes, writers! It is true! History did not end when Hitler croaked and did not begin the first time he stroked his mustache, gazing out the window over a plate of sausages, and said: "You know who really annoys me? Jews." As one of said Jews, I long ago grew weary of authors using my people's tragedy as the backdrop for their usually formulaic tales of trite bravery and predictable love. So when I see a historical novel set in literally any other time period, I'm automatically going to be at least a smidge interested.
And thankfully, I was much more than a smidge into this one. I really enjoyed the way Quinn plotted this out, and how well she drew her characters, such that even with a rather large ensemble cast, everyone had unique personalities and backstories and you almost felt like this was your own real group of acquaintances. You could tell how different women in the house would respond to certain things and hear distinct voices in their dialogue. And I think setting this group during the McCarthyism era was smart because you combine the relief and optimism that must have been present after the war with the tension and trepidation spread by the Chicken Little Communism Freakout going on in government and across the country. All of the women had reason to be happy and reason to be fearful, and that blend creates some great moments.
For a while, I did wish that Quinn had given us a little bit more detail and insight into the 1954 portions of the story in between the flashback sections with each of the women, but as the book went on, I realized why she did it the way she did, and it ended up working out wonderfully. The final couple of sections are propulsive and gripping, and I definitely didn't see everything coming. It is a WILD ending, but a good one.
I do think a couple of the sections dragged a bit, because for me, not all of the characters' stories were equally engrossing. I think some of them could've been trimmed down just a bit, and there were a few moments that felt a little contrived. But I really liked this a lot and would recommend it if you too are tired of the "we fell in love while walking past swastikas" trope in historical fiction....more
I'm a pretty intelligent person, but it's kind of fun to read a book written by someone who is so clearly a total genius that you wonder "wow am I actI'm a pretty intelligent person, but it's kind of fun to read a book written by someone who is so clearly a total genius that you wonder "wow am I actually a dummy" because you know your brain will never brain as well as their brain.
This was freaking great, and what's extra great is that I will freely admit I did not understand everything in all of these stories, and yet for the most part I still loved them. I especially appreciate how it feels like Chiang is not asking and answering questions for us in his writing; rather, he is simply posing possibilities and ideas and thought experiments, and following certain paths, while allowing the reader to follow whatever other paths and have their own opinions on what is being presented to them. It's like: "I don't know anything for certain, but here is what I think, let's see how you might match up." And the various scenarios he gives us might not be anything that could happen tomorrow, but they are things that could happen at some point in the future, and so musing about them now feels less like daydreaming and more like prognosticating.
I also loved the sense of tension and urgency in some of the stories, because even though as I said I didn't always fully comprehend everything being discussed, I was still so invested and couldn't wait to see how things would turn out. Particularly in my two favorites, Understand and Hell Is the Absence of G-d (my censoring, not the author's), I was just enjoying the heck out of the reading experience and especially what the stories were making me think and feel, and I was so eager to follow the arcs Chiang was laying out for us. The latter of those two hit home for me a lot, and I don't know what Chiang's own religious views are or what he meant to convey about the validity of belief or whatnot. But as someone with a strong belief in G-d but also a conception that is probably quite different than what many others hold, for me that story spoke to a lot of my own personal views of things like faith and devotion and free will. And as a Jew, the way the afterlife was portrayed was much more palatable than what we usually get.
The collection was almost a 5-star overall, but there were a couple of stories that just were a bit off the mark for me. However I am still quite blown away by the whole of it and definitely plan to read everything else Chiang has written. Also I would like to know his IQ.
Individual story ratings: Tower of Babylon: 5/5 Understand: 5/5 Division By Zero: 4/5 Story of Your Life: 5/5 Seventy-Two Letters: 3/5 The Evolution of Human Science: 3/5 Hell Is the Absence of G-d: 5/5 Liking What You See: A Documentary: 4/5...more
I feel like this story and its themes could be metaphors for like a dozen different things. And each one would be equally believable.
I really enjoyedI feel like this story and its themes could be metaphors for like a dozen different things. And each one would be equally believable.
I really enjoyed this. The way Okorafor blends sci-fi with mythology with semi-dystopia is fascinating and makes for a singular reading experience. I also really liked her choice to make Sankofa a young girl in the beginning, because children, and especially girls, are the most vulnerable in our society, and yet here is one forced to set out on her own but with this inner literal power that can beat back anything and anyone that might try to harm her. And yet she is still never settled, never fully safe, because people fear her, which makes them angry, which makes her a target. She didn't ask for the ability she received, and yet because others don't understand it, they choose to make her a villain rather than a victim.
There were a few moments that I didn't fully understand, and I wish that it had been just a bit longer so that certain elements of the story could have had more substance. But it's kind of a good thing when you want more from a book!...more
Not me glancing curiously toward the closet where my broom lives while reading this book...
This was a really fun read, and also educational. I love leNot me glancing curiously toward the closet where my broom lives while reading this book...
This was a really fun read, and also educational. I love learning about lore and traditions that I'm not familiar with, especially ones with a magical or spiritual aspect, so it was really enjoyable to learn alongside Del while reading this story. I loved the world-building Royce does here on the island and with the school and its history, as well as how that history entwines with Del's family's history. I thought the author explained things really well, in a way that is accessible for the young kids in the target age-range, but is also substantive enough for older readers (or in my cases, much much much older readers) to stay engaged. I also appreciated that while there are a few times when things get a tiny bit scary, it was never overdone and you never felt worried for the kids' safety or anything.
Del is a great character, and I really liked what a smart and grounded girl she is, and how much she clearly cares for her family. She's thrown into something really weird and uncomfortable at first, but she finds a way to be at ease with it, especially once she realizes she might be able to help her grandmother out through the knowledge she gains at the school. I did think it was a little odd that she is very disbelieving in the conjure magic for a long time but is also not all that thrown off when magical-type things happen. There was just a bit of dissonance there, but it wasn't anything that ruined the plot.
Very fun and intriguing read, even if I am a bit let down that my broom is just a broom....more
Well, that was something. I'm not sure what, but definitely something.
No, but I actually quite liked this. It's super weird (but good weird, not GOP wWell, that was something. I'm not sure what, but definitely something.
No, but I actually quite liked this. It's super weird (but good weird, not GOP weird) but set in a version of our world where it's normal, which makes it almost end up feeling not-weird?? I'm not making sense, but hopefully you kinda get what I mean. Helen was an intriguing character, the way she approaches her work all chill and pragmatic. "Ho-hum just photographing bloody sigils and hunting vampires and trying to save my literal soul. Like you do." I also appreciated how basically no one in this book is who you think they are at first, and who they really are is, let's say, COMPLEX. Plus I always like when authors portray demons as being catty little bitches, because you know they would be.
I did wish there was a bit more clear world-building in the beginning. We're just kind of dropped in to everything and it takes a while before you know what anyone is talking about, and even halfway through I still felt like I was missing a few things. Also the writing style could get a bit overdone at times. Not purple or anything, but the author was going for a particular style, to the point that some sentences were just so oddly worded that I wondered if they had written them in their sleep.
Here's a ~*wild*~ idea: If you don't like a certain band...don't listen to them!
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It really is that easy. But moral scolds aren't satisfied withHere's a ~*wild*~ idea: If you don't like a certain band...don't listen to them!
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It really is that easy. But moral scolds aren't satisfied with that and never have been. This book does a great job of showing what a long and unfortunately deep history there is behind music censorship in this country. I was aware of a lot of it, but there was so much more, especially occurring before I was born in 1980, that was new to me. It seems like as soon as music started having words put to it, the pearl-clutchers were out in force looking for any lyrics that they could deem inappropriate, even in some laughably thin cases. I really appreciated what a well-researched and thoughtful look Nuzum provides here, especially showing how arbitrary most of this was. Like, who gets to determine what counts as "obscene" or "inappropriate" or even "violent"? I mean, technically when Queen Latifah sang "I punched him dead in his eye" that was a "violent" phrase, but I doubt most people would say it was worthy of censorship. And when do allusions to sex go from PG-13 to R to X? It's all subjective, and thus it's absurd to try to create objective rules about it.
I don't know how strong the music-censorship crusades are these days (this book was originally published in 2001), but I'm sure they're still out there. The thing is, you have every right to choose what you listen to and what your kids listen to (though, trust me, whatever you tell your kids NOT to listen to, they will find a way to do so behind your back). If you own a music store, you have every right to choose not to stock certain bands or albums. But as Nuzum shows, these folks would not accept stopping at their own front door. The fact that they wanted federal legislation against what they considered "bad" music is kind of wild, TBH. And I also appreciated that he reiterates many times that correlation is not necessarily causation. Just because a kid who died by suicide listened to certain music doesn't mean the music made them do it, even if that music talked about death.
I mean, the Bible is chock fucking full of death and destruction. Just sayin'.
I did wish there had been a concluding chapter kind of summing everything up and giving a "where do we go from here" perspective. Nonfiction texts usually have something like that, but this one didn't, and it felt sort of abrupt. Part II of the book is just a chronology, a timeline essentially, of all of the various censorship efforts starting from the first half of the 20th century, but most of them had already been discussed in the book, so it felt a little superfluous because he went into a lot of detail about some it in the chronology, too. I would have liked that to be cut down a little and to have had a conclusion. But I still really enjoyed this and found it fascinating how ridiculous people can be while thinking they're the only NON-ridiculous person in the room....more
Events in this country today honestly made me a little jealous of Finlay and Vero transporting corpses and stealing cars from gangsters.
Another fun anEvents in this country today honestly made me a little jealous of Finlay and Vero transporting corpses and stealing cars from gangsters.
Another fun and hilarious entry in this series, and I appreciate that Cosimano manages to be just the right amount of ridiculous. And by this point in the series, no matter what these two women get up to, you're just like...yeah, makes sense. The added elements of the setting and all of the other characters being around made everything both more tense and also more absurd, although damn was I ever hoping Finlay would finally kick her ex in the junk. What a loser of a man.
I liked seeing so much more of this continuing plot occur, although I will say I thought the suspension of disbelief aspect was a bit too much at times, and it could have been slightly less convoluted. I'm still not entirely sure how every element in here fit together, but that's okay. All I needed today was distraction, and this provided that, along with a number of literal LOLs....more
In the Last Week Tonight episode on Monkeypox, when John Oliver is discussing how the US had begun stockpiling smallpox vaccines after 9/11 because ofIn the Last Week Tonight episode on Monkeypox, when John Oliver is discussing how the US had begun stockpiling smallpox vaccines after 9/11 because of fears that the disease could be used as a bioweapon, he runs a news clip from 2002 featuring, as he said: "There he is, Anthony Fauci, the Forrest Gump of catastrophic contagion!"
Honestly, it's a fair assessment!
Dang, Dr Fauci has lived enough life for like 15 people. This was a really enlightening and surprisingly engaging read. I say "surprisingly" simply because you don't imagine a long retrospective of the life of a scientist to be all that page-turn-y, but it really was, unfortunately largely because of all the horrible events he not only lived through but was at the forefront of the fight against. I really liked learning more personal details of his life and background, and what drew him to medicine and science, and also seeing the beginnings of his storied career. I appreciated how forthright he was about not just his successes but also his flaws and foibles, and the honesty with which he approaches his work and the world around it. And it was also painfully intriguing to learn more about some of the epidemics he worked on which I was too young at the time to fully comprehend.
When he gets to the point in the timeline of the first medical journal article regarding an odd occurrence of pneumonia among five gay men, it is difficult not to have your heart in your throat, since as a modern reader looking back, we know what's about to happen. A few months later, he sees another article on the same issue, now impacting 26 gay men in another city, and he mentions getting goose bumps from it. And yeah, same, Fauci! I was so impressed with how he handled HIV and AIDS, and especially how much empathy and understanding he showed to activists who did not exactly hold him in the highest regard. He never took it personally, and he never dismissed them. He brought them into the fold, he listened, he gave them a platform. You can tell that he was fully dedicated to doing whatever he could to fight this disease, at a time when a lot of people, including in the federal government, didn't really give a shit because gay men dying was of no concern to them.
And the same dedication to the public good is on display throughout his career, which makes the disgusting hateful attacks on him and his family from the right-wing all the more atrocious. Fauci shows quite a strong level of self-restraint in how he talks about it, because if it were me, I'd be calling those bottom-feeding morons every name in the book.
I will say that there were a few times where I thought he went a bit too into the weeds of one topic or another, a little more detail and play-by-play than was maybe necessary, and so sometimes it got a bit bogged down. But overall I thought this was a terrific overview of a pretty significant man and life.
Also one of his daughters is named Alison so bonus points, obvs....more
Hazel dear, if you and I had been the same age (and, you know, if you were real), I wouldn't have cared if you were Goat Girl, Skunk Girl, Earthworm GHazel dear, if you and I had been the same age (and, you know, if you were real), I wouldn't have cared if you were Goat Girl, Skunk Girl, Earthworm Girl, whatever, I would absolutely have wanted to be your friend because you are awesome.
This was so sweet and a really enjoyable read. Definitely the kind of middle grade I think anyone could enjoy, and the kind I'd love to put in a lot of kids' hands. Hazel is a great character, and I appreciate that she's a little bit of a weirdo without veering into "not like other girls" territory. Because in middle school, it really doesn't take much to be "not like other girls" (I speak from experience!) so it doesn't feel as trite. She's bright and curious and big-hearted, and even when she behaves a bit poorly, it's never out of brattiness or meanness, but rather uncertainty or just simple awkwardness. I really felt for her as she tried to grapple with the fears around her mom having another baby, after the two heartbreaking miscarriages. And I loved that even when kids made fun of her, she never let that make her think she had to change herself to please them.
Her family is lovely, too, and I appreciated how straightforwardly the author approached their situation, regarding Hazel's father and the babies and such. I also thought the handling of the trans girl, Carina, was done quite well. There's no long, soapboxy explanations, and the reader can see right away that Carina being allowed to be Carina is the best thing for her, that she's happy and comfortable now because this is who she was supposed to be. In addition, I liked that Yosh being in a wheelchair wasn't the only defining trait about him, but it also wasn't shunted aside as though it didn't have any impact on his life.
I know some people were disappointed that the words asexual and aromantic weren't used on page in the book, but as someone on those spectrums, I'm totally okay with it. The author talks about it in a note at the end, saying that she couldn't figure out how to work into the story a scene of Hazel learning about and understanding the terms. I do think there were ways she could have done it, but at the same time, Hazel is only 13, and a 13-year-old not having crushes and not being curious about sex is totally fine and normal. It's not necessarily prescriptive -- yes, that 13-year-old might indeed turn out to be aro/ace but they also might just be a bit of a late bloomer, and that is completely fine. 13-year-olds shouldn't be actively thinking about having sex, anyway!
Very sweet and well-written, and now I want to live on a goat farm. But only if someone else milks them because gross....more
Not often a book can make you literally laugh out loud and then also just pages later make you sniffle like a little baby.
This was a delight and an ovNot often a book can make you literally laugh out loud and then also just pages later make you sniffle like a little baby.
This was a delight and an overall very enjoyable reading experience. I appreciate so much how well the author blended everything together here, the humor and lightness and the grief and difficulty. I also really like that we see various kinds of grief through various eyes, because mourning is something every single human being experiences (well...I guess except for sociopaths and also Trump, but I repeat myself), and yet it looks different for every one of us. And I thought he did especially well with the children, because it's completely believable that they might go from feeling sad and scared to suddenly wanting to go swimming or visit a theme park. Patrick's hesitation around taking his niece and nephew in is also very realistic, and I thought his progression with them was great and made him seem just so human.
Patrick as a character is definitely a bit much at times, but having known a few gay middle-aged men in various aspects of show business...honestly, he rang completely true. I loved how he struggled to figure out how to talk to little kids who don't get any of his references, and instead of thinking he needed to learn stuff, he was like, ugh what's wrong with you children. Mood. The kids were fun and only got on my nerves occasionally (in real life, kids gets on my nerves more than occasionally, which is why I don't have any), but even when they did, it was just normal kid shit. I do wish the author hadn't felt the need to write Grant's lisp into his dialogue the whole time, but...you know.
The story is in third person POV from Patrick's perspective, which I liked, although I was annoyed that a few times we would suddenly head-hop for like two sentences into his sister Clara's head whenever she was on the page. I don't like when authors do that because it feels lazy, and also the editor should have caught it and fixed it.
A very sweet and surprisingly moving book, and now I kind of want a caftan. But I'm barely 5 feet tall so I feel like it would drag behind me like a wedding gown train or something....more
The problem is not that we live in a world with authoritarians. The problem is that we live in a world with their supporters.
Because as the author makThe problem is not that we live in a world with authoritarians. The problem is that we live in a world with their supporters.
Because as the author makes clear many times in this book, strongmen would be nobodies if nobody cared about them, if nobody admired them, if nobody aided and abetted them by supporting and amplifying them. There are a lot of people who want to be strongmen themselves but lack the capabilities required to do so, so the next best thing is to blindly and rabidly prop up someone who does, especially since much of their reason for doing so is out of bigotry and fear and anger, and the person they get behind not only shares those beliefs but makes them mainstream and tells the people they're right to have them.
I mean, at this very moment, we're facing an absolutely ludicrous situation in this country, where a lying, cheating, hateful, crazy felon has a decent shot at getting back into the White House even after orchestrating a coup against the country when it voted him OUT of the White House...all because the other guy in the race is a little old and a little slow. Millions of people are so ensconced in their prejudices and avarice and meanness that they gleefully support someone whose main goal is to become History's Greatest Dictator, and a whole lot of others are like "Well gee, I don't know, wouldn't it be worse to have a guy who stutters sometimes" because they refuse to confront the reality of what we're facing.
And I think this book could be useful reading for them! Not the cultists, because for one thing most of them probably wouldn't pick up a book unless you paid them, but also there is literally nothing anything could say to get them to stop chugging the Kool-Aid. But those wishy-washy people who act like Biden stumbling over a word here and there is just as concerning as Project 2025 (fucking read about it and wake up) really really need to read this. The author does a terrific job not just of explaining who these men were and what they did, but crucially how they are all connected. I had varying levels of familiarity with the main people she discusses in here, so I learned a lot along the way, but the thing that really stuck out was just how much sameness there was amongst them. Their words and behaviors and methods of obtaining power and interactions with others and beliefs about themselves...so much of it just echoed through the decades that she covers. The way some of them almost mimicked each other too was notable, including because it really makes it clear what pathetic insecure little fuckboys they really are. Like, you have so little personality you gotta steal Mussolini's? Come on.
I also appreciated how she highlighted the ways that these men would commit atrocities out in the open once they had a strong enough grip on power, because it really shows how much of the onus and the blame is on the people under them. None of these men were subtle or secretive about what they were doing. They're incapable of being so because they need the adulation and even the outrage to fuel them. And to be candid, the people today saying "Oh Trump wouldn't really be that bad" are 1) stupid as fuck because we already had him for four years and he WAS that bad and with another four he would be exponentially worse, see the link above; and 2) sure sound a whole lot like German citizens in the 40s claiming they had no idea where all the Jews went. Keep trying to convince yourselves of that, but unless you've been in a coma for the past eight years, history will not believe you.
As is often the case with books of this type, I do think there were a few points where she went into maybe too much granular detail, and others where I would have liked a little more. I also wish the conclusion had maybe looked at some efforts in this country and around the world to try to combat disinfo and hate groups and such. But this is a very well-researched, well-written, and thorough look at this existential threat that just won't die...because too many small-minded hateful people are keeping it on permanent life support....more
Don't let's read too much into why I am so often drawn to the creepy semi-evil weirdo type love interests in books, mmmkay?
This was really fun and quiDon't let's read too much into why I am so often drawn to the creepy semi-evil weirdo type love interests in books, mmmkay?
This was really fun and quite clever. I love this type of setting, where it's mostly a normal version of the world but there's also these currents of magic, some innocuous and some very much not, simmering underneath everything, and I think Bardugo did a great job with that. There's always this level of tension surrounding the characters, which the reader often understands better than they do. And the way it starts out small and seemingly like a lark but then grows into something massive and nearly world-ending was excellent.
Luzia was a really interesting character, and I appreciated that she's not one of those "Oh my, I had no idea at all that I had any magic abilities" kind of female characters of whom I've grown weary. She knows she has these powers, but what she doesn't realize is the depths of them, or rather the depths they could reach to with the right guidance. At first, she's forced into her performances, but she learns to take the reins of her life back, and uses her wit and resilience to her benefit even when powerful people think they can best her. And Santángel was honestly kind of delectable as a love interest and an equally powerful figure. At first, he just creeps you out, and you kind of wonder how on Earth Luzia would ever end up involved with him. But then...you understand. Or at least, I did. Maybe I'm a weirdo. (I am definitely a weirdo.) He seems like a fully evil figure, but as you learn his story and his desire, you realize that a lot of what seems evil about him is simply to drive to survive.
I did think the pacing was a bit off, especially in the middle of the story, and I wish things had been moved along a bit better there and that we'd gotten a little more near the end regarding what exactly Luzia managed to do and the results of it. (Trying to be vague here!) But overall I really enjoyed this and think it was worth the hype....more
It's a nice change of pace when a hate-to-love trope starts with the characters having actual valid reasons to loathe each other and then have believaIt's a nice change of pace when a hate-to-love trope starts with the characters having actual valid reasons to loathe each other and then have believable reasons for falling for each other.
This was a really fun time, and it worked for me largely because Shupe executed this trope much better than it's usually done. I typically don't like hate-to-love because the explanations for both the "hate" and "love" parts are generally so thin and lame, and also because I don't like the old "he's only mean to you because he secretly likes you" idea, the bane of my existence in middle and high school. (Trust me, none of those boys liked me. They just wanted to make fun of the chubby girl with bad skin who dressed like a wannabe roadie for Nirvana.) But in this book, it's actually quite logical why Preston and Kat want nothing to do with each other. And then the way they end up getting together also makes sense, because they didn't even realize who the other was, since it was a costumed ball. Then once they do find out, it's like, uh-oh we already got freaky and it was great.
I also appreciated the backstory between Preston's family and Kat's father, and seeing Preston's sort of evolution over the course of the story, realizing that he was trying to stay in this pigeonholed role because he simply didn't even try to envision anything else. I liked that Katherine called him out for being so dense about it and got him to see that he did actually want more from her than just a fun time. It was a little annoying how long that took, but you know...men.
Also if anyone wants to copy Preston and start leaving me fresh-baked muffins at my door every morning, I wouldn't say no. I mean, I'm not gonna bang you for it, but I'll send you a thank-you ecard or something. ...more
LOOK. My life is garbage and so is the world and sometimes you just need something sweet and easy and comforting. LET ME HAVE THIS.
I absolutely loved LOOK. My life is garbage and so is the world and sometimes you just need something sweet and easy and comforting. LET ME HAVE THIS.
I absolutely loved Beatrix Potter books as a kid, and I thought it would be fun to revisit them, especially since I have only the barest recollection of the actual stories. (I am old.) I appreciate how she wrote the animal characters -- almost like human children, but not fully, so they never come across as too cloying one way or the other. I also thought she always did well at writing her stories in a way that very young children would understand, but not so oversimplified so that it would be tedious as an adult. And yes, Peter is a bit of a rascal, but...he's a bunny, and bunnies gonna bunny.
I was also very glad that the ebook on Libby had the beautiful color illustrations from Wendy Rasmussen because they add so much to the story. I always like when the illustrations include specific things mentioned in the text, because I know for the young kids in the target demographic, it's a lot of fun to read or hear the words and then find those things in the pictures.
A very fun and lovely trip down memory lane...and now I'm tempted to order a full box set of the tales....more
Yet another book I wish the putin-fluffers in Congress and elsewhere would read, except that they all have zero capacity for learning and growing as pYet another book I wish the putin-fluffers in Congress and elsewhere would read, except that they all have zero capacity for learning and growing as people.
This is a really excellent and up-close look at not just the Battle For Kyiv at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but also the lead-up to the war and the city of Kyiv itself. Ponomarenko's love for his city is palpable and poignant. It makes the reader feel like they love it too, even if they've never been there, as I have not. And being a journalist means that he has an ear toward all sectors of the country and the events, from government to the front lines to everyday civilians. Seeing all of this directly through his eyes was very compelling, most especially in the weeks before the full-scale war began, as Ukrainians were having to live every day as though it might begin that night. For most of us, it is impossibly to fully understand what that experience would feel like, but I think this account gets us as close as we can to understanding.
I also appreciate what a light this book shines on the might and resilience of the Ukrainian military, a force which so many around the world doubted preemptively and who proved them all wrong ten-fold. And I'll tell you what, if the US and other Western nations had fully backed Ukraine from the very start, and given them the weapons and supplies they needed without all this handwringing and hesitation, this war could likely be over by now with Ukraine victorious. Sadly, I don't think any Western leaders will learn the key lesson from this.
I did have a few minor quibbles, none of which touch on the actual reporting itself or the rightness of Ukraine in the war. The book is definitely written in a conversational tone, which for the most part works well but at times almost felt a bit too irreverent and sometimes a little forced. (There was no need to use the word "dude" so often.) It's also a bit scattered in its structure, where we sort of hop back and forth in the timeline a little, especially in the first third or so, and it can be a bit confusing. I don't think it needed to be in a completely linear format, but I think it could have been smoothed out just a little.
And then...look, I would never ever tell Ukrainians how they should feel about their own country or military or government, and I fully recognize that the adulation and hero-worship many in the West showed toward President Zelenskyy might have been a little overboard at times and probably annoyed Ukrainians a bit. I happen to admire Zelenskyy greatly and think he proved himself to be the leader the country needed, but I am also aware that his pre-2022 presidency had not been perfect, that he'd made some mistakes and bad moves, and that he did not always live up to the promises he'd made in his campaign and upon his election. There is nothing wrong with valid criticism of a president even in wartime. But it really felt like Ponomarenko just despised him, and did not hold himself back from exhibiting that. I have a few acquaintances in Ukraine who have expressed that they got irritated with Western media constantly referencing Zelenskyy's past as a comedic actor, as though that's all there was to him. But Ponomarenko repeatedly referred to him in the first half or so as "the actor" or "the comedian" or even a clown one time. He sneered at things like a Christmas display being up for too long past the holiday and cast every decision made as wrong, often without any explanation. Now, once the full-scale war began and Zelenskyy declared he was staying in Kyiv, he was staying with his people, and he was ready to do whatever needed to get Ukraine the help they required, the tone does shift, and Ponomarenko does acknowledge the leadership and bravery, although still while calling him a comedian-turned-president. Again, it is 100% his right to feel about the man however he does, and he certainly has far more information and understanding and experience of him than anyone outside the country. But it just felt like a little too much personal animus seeping through, and it didn't really serve the narrative in any way I could see.
But again, those are all minor issues, and overall this was a gripping and forthright account of a time of paramount importance, not just to Ukraine but the whole Western world. I am generally not someone who celebrates the death of even the worst people, and I know that whatever monster comes after him will probably be as bad if not worse, but I admit...the day putin shuffles off this mortal coil will be a good one.
Every single person's grief is different, and yet when you read someone's account of their own grief, you still see endless reflections of your own wiEvery single person's grief is different, and yet when you read someone's account of their own grief, you still see endless reflections of your own within it, as though you were standing in a mirrored room.
This was a really moving and heartbreaking read, and I can't imagine the anguish the author must have gone through anew during the writing process over the loss of her sister. I really appreciated her desire to both shine a light on the crime of femicide in Mexico, the general lack of concern about it among many in power, as well as on who her sister was aside from just "murder victim". So often when you read about homicides of any kind in the news, the person feels as two-dimensional as the paper on which you're reading about them. Through the author's memories as well as those of other friends and relatives, and Liliana's own words from her journal entries and letters, we get to know the young woman whose life was cruelly cut short by an angry man who thinks that if he can't have something he wants, then no one else can either...even if that something was a living, breathing person.
The exploration of grief, especially coupled with the frustration in the early portions of the book over the seemingly futile task of trying to get access to the file on her sister's long-cold case, was very raw and honest. I appreciated that the author kept going back to the issue of intimate partner violence, how poorly understood it often is, how it functions, how it escapes notice, etc. Too many people have such a superficial view of the issue and it often leads them to show derisiveness or spite toward victims, which is really freaking twisted. And I will just say -- if you have a poor understanding of IPV because you have never experienced it yourself, thank your lucky stars. And then do some damn reading.
I will say that I thought this got a little unfocused and disjointed at times. I don't think it needed to be perfectly linear and clear, but it would have benefited from a bit more structure. I also wish there was more time in the present with the author's search for the files and information, as well as what led her to finally, nearly three decades later, take up this effort. And while some of Liliana's journal entries and such were intriguing windows into who she was, I thought there was too much of it, and a lot of them were just about her friends and gossip and such.
But I do think this is a striking work, and I hope that perhaps the author's efforts here might give encouragement to others in a similar situation to undertake their own journey for justice. ...more
Me: I'll take "Places You Could Not Pay Me Enough To Take One Step Into" for $500, Alex.
Alex: The answer is: This massive underground cave is filled wMe: I'll take "Places You Could Not Pay Me Enough To Take One Step Into" for $500, Alex.
Alex: The answer is: This massive underground cave is filled with millions of fucking actual human bones.
(Yes, I know Alex is gone. I'm old and nostalgic.)
When I was 11, my family took a tour of the Oregon Caves while on vacation and that was freaky enough when they turned the lights out and it felt like the darkness was a physical thing that had completely engulfed my eyeballs for all time. BUT THOSE CAVES WEREN'T FILLED WITH BONES. At least...as far as I knew. Props to Cassidy and her family for having the cojones to go into the Catacombs, though, because it did make for some spookily fun reading.
I really enjoyed this sequel to City of Ghosts, and while I don't think it was quite as good as the first one, I think it was a great continuation of the story. I like that we're in a different location and that the reader gets to experience some of these Paris attractions vicariously (the only way I'll ever experience any part of Paris, sadly). Cassidy is allowed to be both brave and also scared, and I think that's important in a middle grade book. Sometimes she makes some rash decisions, like any kid her age would, but you understand why she does and she's always aware of the potential dangers. I also continue to love her friendship with Jacob and how much it means to both of them, even though he's a ghost and can't always fully enjoy the usual things kids would do for fun.
Like with the first one, I do think this is more for the upper end of middle grade, because I could certainly imagine a kid around 8 or 9 being a little too scared of some of the happenings and, you know, all the bones. Particularly because Cassidy has a number of rather unsettling and creepy nightmares, which might lead to a very young reader having similar ones. Also, why did they choose to always put the cat on the cover of these books when the cat is, sadly, only a minor presence in the stories? Why not a ghosty outline of Jacob next to her? Weird.
But yeah, a lot of fun, even if it was just a bit ICK ICK HELL NO at times for my wimpy ass. Still looking forward to reading book three, of course. Maybe the cat will get to shine next time....more
Dang, it's not often that I both laugh out loud and get teary-eyed while reading a historical romance.
As per usual, Tessa Dare is always a good idea. Dang, it's not often that I both laugh out loud and get teary-eyed while reading a historical romance.
As per usual, Tessa Dare is always a good idea. This was another great story from her and I really enjoyed it overall. Her usual sense of humor was very present, such that I giggled so hard I snorted a couple of times. I also really liked Pauline as a heroine and how straightforward and confident she is. I appreciated that it's not the usual "she has no idea how beautiful she is" kind of thing. She doesn't necessarily see herself as beautiful, but she's not constantly lamenting how ugly she is, and her reasoning for not thinking she and Griff can be together is more about class and status, not that she's just too much of a homely toad for him or whatever. She's smart and resilient, and knows her worth even if she also knows where she sits in the rigid class structure of English society at that time.
I also really liked Griff, and I appreciated that the traumatic event in his past which we don't learn the details of for a while was something kind of unusual in romances and really made sense as far as why he was acting the way he was. When he finally tells Pauline about it, I definitely got a little misty and it made me care for him even more because you know it's not the typical "I'm a terrible man so I'm gonna push women away" kind of thing we usually get in historicals.
I will say that the plot is fairly predictable--you know all the plot points the story will hit, and it hits every one of them. But it's still a very fun and engaging time...especially when Pauline, in a fancy ball gown, chases after a jewel thief shouting curses at him. Boss bitch....more
Alison Rose
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