aecorsilva's reviews
116 reviews

The Urge: Our History of Addiction by Carl Erik Fisher

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

fisher does a really good job of presenting an informative yet philosophical text that absolutely engrossed me in a topic i didn't think i would have any interest in, and honestly i was so close to giving 5 stars but:
  1. i found the book often jumped around a lot that made it confusing to follow, especially in the middle sections where i wasn't as familiar with the historical context, and which also prevented deeper analysis and depth in discussion and explanation (although to be fair that's not uncommon in nonfiction writing in this zeitgeist and he's not particularly worse than other authors)
  2. the referencing system for this book is horrendous - at the back, there's a small quote followed by the citation for that specific phrase, which is fine now i'm typing it out but let me tell you it was so much more difficult than it needed to be when i was reading and i wish he'd just gone with footnotes (although again i do understand why he didn't - this book is incredibly well-researched which is fabulous and allows for a great overview but also means there's an enormous amount of material to cite - an entire third of my copy was citations)

i know the long criticism section makes it sound like i'm super critical of it, but i just think those were the things i noticed the most (as opposed to the writing style and fabulous selection of statistics and anecdotes, which were amazing and therefore didn't satisfy the nitpicky cigar-smoking monocled critic at the back of my head), and overall i'm very happy i ended up reading this, and i reckon it's a good book to kick off 2024! hopefully all my nonfiction reads will be as insightful as this one :)
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Work Without the Worker by Phil Jones

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informative medium-paced

3.25

somewhat informative, but a little repetitive and certainly very utopian towards the end.
Sylvia Plath: Her Life & Work by Eileen Aird

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informative sad medium-paced

3.5

a perfectly adequate biography. should warn future readers though, it is much more focused on the work aspect than on her life.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller

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dark sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

abigail was too real for that
The Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath

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dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

We Were Witches by Ariel Gore

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Ariel by Sylvia Plath

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

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dark funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Finnegans Wake by James Joyce

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A

2.5

whatever drugs joyce was on when he wrote this, i'm quite curious to try them
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell

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hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

today, i think i'll go for a walk and just sit there and think about this book and its incredible insight. thank you ms odell, for putting words to what i couldn't voice before.