please......for the love of all that is good and holy....stop making me read books for school
especially when I don't have time to read non-school bookplease......for the love of all that is good and holy....stop making me read books for school
especially when I don't have time to read non-school books. it's just upsetting.
I don't normally find certain writing styles hard to read, at least not to an extent that it's off-putting, but this...hoo boy. this one was a toughie.
also there was a weird treatment of whiteness in this. like, recognition that imperialism is bad, but also a concept that a wealthy white woman is able to step away from her privilege and operate totally outside of the processes of globalization. which, uh, no.
bottom line: this was unpleasant!!! and I just forced myself through half of it in a sitting!!! and I am exhausted, emotionally and physically!! that is all....more
anyway, i looooved the beginning of this book, and then began to hate it once it used its sole female chI FINISHED A BOOK!!
if school books even count.
anyway, i looooved the beginning of this book, and then began to hate it once it used its sole female character as a manic pixie dream girl-esque object for the forwarding of the protagonist's character arc, and then continued to hate it (with an ever-growing hatred) once that only became truer.
tragic, because the ending of this was so cool. if only all that sexism didn't get in the way.
------------ pre-review
of COURSE when I FINALLY have a singular SECOND to read I have to spend it on BOOKS I am ASSIGNED for SCHOOL...more
reading a book in one day, and then writing a report on it the same day, and then turning that paper in the next day? it's called THRIVING
anyway maybereading a book in one day, and then writing a report on it the same day, and then turning that paper in the next day? it's called THRIVING
anyway maybe it's that i was reading this with an ~Analytical Eye~ so i can write a bunch and tear it to shreds, but i thought this was so poorly structured. also, unbelievably boring considering how objectively fascinating the subject matter is.
if Joyce and Hemingway and Fitzgerald in a Parisian bookstore in the 1920s (not to mention the Nazi shutdown of said bookstore during WWII) can't keep my attention, something is wrong.
bottom line: meh!!! (i have a paper to write.)...more
this is a very dark, kind of cool, super noir book that does some cool things with perspective. got a pretty strong female character for the time it wthis is a very dark, kind of cool, super noir book that does some cool things with perspective. got a pretty strong female character for the time it was written.
i'm more excited to watch the french new wave adaptation (also for class) than i was to read this book. i know! it's like, who even am i? revoke my bookworm card already.
bottom line: yeah i have very few feelings about this. sure. it's fine....more
I mean seriously, oh my god! It's funny. Flora (our protagonist) is a feminist queen of getting sh*t done and not taking anything fTHIS BOOK RULES!!!!
I mean seriously, oh my god! It's funny. Flora (our protagonist) is a feminist queen of getting sh*t done and not taking anything from any man ever in the history of time. All the characters are hilarious. The language and voice are unreal. I want to live inside this book!!!!!
Well, just kidding. All of my trying-to-move-in-and-permanently-inhabit-a-fictional-world energies are currently taken up by the film Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again (2018). I am really tryna become Lily James as a young Meryl Streep Donna. I am purely certain that I could handle the whole Sam situation much better and end up with him in the end but also still get with Harry and Bill in the interval.
SOMEONE TALK ABOUT MAMMA MIA WITH ME I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH I LOVE IT.
But the book! I love the book, too.
Bottom line: Stella Gibbons you are a goddess among men and this book is DOPE AS HELL. Sorry it's the only thing you're remembered for in spite of a long and productive career as a novelist but also can you blame reading audiences the world over??? This is good sh*t....more
If there are any aliens reading this who are looking for a body to take over, hmu. Living is hard and I am ready to hand over that responsibility to sIf there are any aliens reading this who are looking for a body to take over, hmu. Living is hard and I am ready to hand over that responsibility to some other life form. I will not (repeat: NOT) attempt to save the world through any self-destructive means necessary like these buffoons.
Just let me know.
Anyway this book was mildly entertaining but had a really awful boring female character (read: love interest) who almost never did anything except to cling to Our Hero's elbow and, like, make him carry her and cry into his chest and dumb damsel sh*t like that. Hated it.
She came up with a plan once, and it was referred to as "Becky's flimsy notion" and honestly even if that wasn't the way it was handled one plan is not enough for 206 pages of full-on DAMSELING, BECKY.
Whatever.
Bottom line: No thank you, 1950s gender roles!!!!!!! I'm not interested bye!!!! (But to the aliens: I definitely am interested still please message me for my contact info my inbox is open kthanksbye.)...more
in place of a review of this whole book, i'm just going to write about this single line in Inferno that i full on cannot stop twhoa this book is wild.
in place of a review of this whole book, i'm just going to write about this single line in Inferno that i full on cannot stop thinking about. warning: this is completely nasty. blame Dante. also: all credit goes out to my literary foundations professor. i'm essentially regurgitating his argument.
in Canto XXXIII, the pilgrim encounters Count Ugolino. Ugolino, a former governor of Pisa, is feasting on the neck of Archbishop Ruggieri. in life, Ruggieri betrayed him, leading to his imprisonment. Ugolino was trapped in a tower along with his four sons. as days passed and Ugolino and his sons began to hunger, Ugolino bit into his own hands. his children bade him to eat them before he'd eat himself: "Father, it would be far less painful for us if you ate of us; for you clothed us in this sad flesh it is for you to strip it off."
on the fourth day of imprisonment, the first of his sons died. the remaining three died over the next two days. Ugolino concludes: "Then hunger proved more powerful than grief."
CAN. YOU. BELIEVE. THAT. DOUBLE. MEANING.
either this guy should have died of his grief, but rather died of starvation, or - you know what's coming - homeboy ate his sons.
I MEAN.
that's impressive stuff, but it's not even over!!
Dante is often called a "theological poet." however, theology and poetry are opposed when it comes to the trajectory of Inferno. if it's a theological work, then we should feel less compassion for the people we encounter as we progress, because Dante is descending in hell and meeting more and more sinful people. but if it's a tragedy (or poetic), then we should feel more compassion, because the peak of pity has to occur toward the end of the work for the sake of catharsis. so which side of Dante is the dominant side when it comes to Inferno? it's been the subject of scholarly argument for centuries.
the really impressive, unbelievable, can't-stop-thinking-about-it thing: this entire argument comes down to this single line - Canto XXXIII, line 75: "Then hunger proved more powerful than grief."
because either Ugolino is a story of immense tragedy, a story of near-faultless suffering, and we should pity him immesnely - or he's committed the horrifying, grotesque sin of eating the bodies of his children when cannibalism would not aid his long-term survival, and we should be largely unable to pity him! and it's completely ambiguous. we'll never know.
Here is the long and the short of it: - This is a book of profiles. - The profiles are written by Susan Orlean, probably one of the most interesting andHere is the long and the short of it: - This is a book of profiles. - The profiles are written by Susan Orlean, probably one of the most interesting and interested people I can think of. - In its introduction, it contains the words "It's just that people are so interesting."
Here is how I feel about those things: People are just so goddamn interesting. People and their stories are the best part of being alive, and it's not close. It's why I read so much. It's why in my breaks from books, I read the internet. I just love people and I never stop being curious about them.
Susan Orlean is an amazing fantastic writer, and yes, a few hundred pages of her writing goes down a little tougher than 10 pages in a magazine, and the quality and your interest will surely wax and wane, but overall:
If you like people, read this. And if you don't like people, why are you reading in the first place!!!
Bottom line: A book good enough to out me as optimistic and earnest.
------------------- currently-reading updates
have you ever realized a book is going to be exactly what you want it to be?
that's how i feel after reading the sentence "It's just that people are so interesting" in the first section of this book.
clear ur sh*t book 62 no quest, just seeing how many more i can finish
------------------- tbr review
i had to buy this for school only to be assigned TWO CHAPTERS. out of the whole thing!
so for years, i've pretended i'll read the rest. to make up for it.
who knew i'd find a nonfiction account of the epidemiological history of cholera more interesting than most YA fantasy??
this book was disgusting. it wwho knew i'd find a nonfiction account of the epidemiological history of cholera more interesting than most YA fantasy??
this book was disgusting. it was also SO FUN. well, the first hundred or so pages were the funnest ever (five star level for real). then the next one hundred were like...eh. and the last fifty were "uhhh i think i'm just going to skip this i'm here for plagues and infectious disease not self-indulgent waxing romantic on the future of the city as a concept?????"
but still.
lot of question marks today, huh. even more than usual.
this is an impressive book and you should, at the very least, read the first hundred pages of this and then john snow's wikipedia page or something.
bottom line: i guess i like historical nonfiction sometimes?? who knew!!!!!...more
The school reading I’m used to is, like, white dudes with sharp writing styles from the mid-twentieth century. Or whitGoing to artsy college is weird.
The school reading I’m used to is, like, white dudes with sharp writing styles from the mid-twentieth century. Or white dudes with clunky writing styles from the nineteenth century. Or the occasional lyrical white dude from ancient Greece.
There’s some of that at artsy college. But there’s also this.
Yes. I read this book, about bloggers in a zombie apocalypse, for a real, human class. For credit. This book got me that one extra step toward graduation.
Does it seem like I lead a legitimate existence to you? Because I question it sometimes myself.
Unfortunately, I didn’t like blogger zombie book. It’s crazy long, for one thing. 599 pages!!!
Those six hundred minus one pages are mostly made up of the same descriptions over and over, which makes for a notoriously fun reading experience. Not that many zombies, but I definitely heard about the protagonist’s need for light-blocking sunglasses 599 times. (Once per page. Like clockwork.)
I have also never, in my whole life, read worldbuilding quite like this. This is what the entire book was:
Little bit of plot -> dialogue -> 10-15 pages of worldbuilding -> continuation of presumed-dead conversation -> little bit more plot -> 20 pages of worldbuilding -> Emma just punching herself in the face to feel alive.
This went on for 600 pages.
Minus one.
Just, like. The most unlikable characters of all time. Plot holes that looked like someone drove a semi truck through the climax. (Probably me! I would love to drive a tractor-trailer through this book please!!!) Not a lot of zombies but a whole lot of explanation of the pseudo-science that allowed curing the cold and cancer to create a zombie virus.
I put reviews off for as long as humanly possible. Consistently.
It’s what I do! I procrastinate. And then I finally post a review and I’m adorably likI put reviews off for as long as humanly possible. Consistently.
It’s what I do! I procrastinate. And then I finally post a review and I’m adorably like “look at me post this three months after I read it lolol” and everyone loves it and we all hug and drink tea or whatever.
That’s a usual occurrence.
But I have now outdone even myself.
I am writing this review a year after I read the book.
Yes, you read that correctly. One calendar year after I read this book, I am attempting to share my thoughts on it with you.
All that I remember about this at this point is the circumstances in which I read it and the overall feeling it gave me. So let’s talk about those two scintillating things.
This is, in its simplest terms, a book about the Vietnam War. Its protagonist and most of its characters are Vietnamese, and portions of it take place in Vietnam.
I read the majority of this on the thirty-six hour plane voyage it takes to get to and from Vietnam. So honestly I don’t think I could’ve given this book a better chance to be totally goddamn awesome, other than if I had read it while I wasn’t getting up from my window seat every hour on the hour for the dual purpose of having cute, classy panic attacks while sitting on a plane toilet and escaping the guy next to me, who was actively having a mental breakdown and hadn’t stopped talking in three hours.
That is actually true. I know I love to exaggerate for the sake of humor, but some of the worst moments of my life took place while I was trapped in a tin can for eighteen hours with only the first five movies of the Fast and Furious franchise to keep me company. (Great film selection on that plane, too.)
Anyway.
We covered circumstances: let’s talk Overall Emotion.
This book made me feel Bad. Mainly uncomfortable. It’s incredibly violent, with moments of really strange humor. Despite being told from the perspective of a spy (what’s the name for a spy who’s pretending to be one side but is really on the other? DOUBLE AGENT. Nailed it) it’s not very thrilling or sneaky or spooky. There’s a lot of talk of alcohol.
But overall, I see the Literary Appeal (capital letters very important) of this book. It just wasn’t myyyy kind of literary appeal.
I spent a lot more time talking about a plane ride I took once than the actual book in this review. Seems about right.
Bottom line: Not for me!!! For you, maybe??? ...more
This book is quite a feat, either way. You can read essentially ANY THEME into this novel: good and evil, race, religion, gender, science, wealth, power, abstinence, war, colonization. More, probably, but it’s a Monday and I had four hours straight of math tonight and I’m sleeeeepy. Anyway, that all sounds peachy keen, right? Emma, I imagine you saying, what do you mean it could be shitty? Look at all those themes! It’s the great Irish novel, maybe! I know, imaginary reader. I hear ya. But there are things about this book that are even weirder than that quasi-sex scene. (The joke is that you can’t tell which one. There are a million symbolic moments of characters gettin’ it on. Truly wild.)
BUT OKAY. It’s not just that there are a bajillion themes. Because that would be cool. No, it’s that you can make an argument for either side of every theme. Sexist or feminist; condemning religion or supporting it; racist or accepting; et cetera et cetera. The book is also straight up teeming with stuff like repetition that can either be thematically significant or just a bad job. (Can you imagine being the editor of this book? “Uh, Bram?…Hey buddy. So, you use essentially the same passage describing Dracula’s powers three times in one chapter, so – I was, you know, wondering – are you a genius or a total dumbass?” If I achieve my dream of being an editor/publisher I’m only editing YA. Too scary.)
The upside of all this was that this book was such a blast to discuss in class. (A substantial f*cking improvement from slogging through boring old Huck Finn everyday for two weeks.) We would spend like an hour on a page, trying to discern sexism from feminism and desperately seeking homosexual overtones. (OH BOY DID WE FIND THEM, AND OH BOY DID WE LOVE DOING IT.) Anyway. In-depth textual analysis is like, my favorite thing.
This shindig was intermittently a blast (ohmygod! Vampires were fun even in 1897!) and soooo boring (ohmygod. What is up with plotlines from 1897). Still, I gotta give mad props to this book, because I read it EXCLUSIVELY by forcing myself through it in 110-page chunks in one work-study shift…and I still enjoyed it most of the time. That never happens! Sure as shit didn’t happen with Huck Finn.
The characters really sucked, but that happens a lot with classics. Weird that a handful of these endured, though. I won’t miss them even if I end up missing reading this. (It’s been a big part of my life for a while! Okay, like a couple weeks, but that’s a long time for me.)
But I do think this book is sexist, and I don’t think it’s close to perfect, and there are creepy issues with consent and metaphoric sexual assault and gender roles, and I wanted to write a paper on this book being an allegory of the battle between science and religion (religion won, guys!) but was FORCED to write on gender, the most clichéd topic of them all. Still, though, this book impressed me. (To clarify I wasn’t excited that religion won. I’m excited that said conclusion fit with my hypothetical essay.)
Bottom line: I think I liked this? I definitely recommend it. It’s cool to see what started (not actually but don’t @ me) all our cultural whatnot with vampires. (Still not that into them though. I say while technically currently reading some dumb book about them.)...more
this was once "required reading" i had in a "textbook" sense and it was truly one of the most boring, useless, and annoying books i have ever encountethis was once "required reading" i had in a "textbook" sense and it was truly one of the most boring, useless, and annoying books i have ever encountered in an academic setting.
it's almost impressive, to be all three.
part of a series i'm doing in which i review books i read a long time ago...more
mini-review because i have to go to work in ~4 minutes: not my favorite shakespeare - weirdly, it felt as though not a lot happened - but as beau3.8/5
mini-review because i have to go to work in ~4 minutes: not my favorite shakespeare - weirdly, it felt as though not a lot happened - but as beautifully written as they all are. some of the themes seemed a bit iffy (not entirely sure what lesson Caliban's character portrays in terms of slavery :/) but others were spot on (i'm looking at you, negatives of colonization and nature's superiority to man!). i also loved the motifs of the sea and the heavens. & if i can force myself to forget her romance, miranda might be my favorite shakespearean lady!
bottom line: really quick read and so lovely-ly written. check it out!...more
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