Scan barcode
julis's reviews
538 reviews
Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
In the genre of paranormal kitchen sink loose “murder” “mystery”, except somehow missing any charm, most of the mystery, and quite a bit of the worldbuilding. Was briefly interested in several characters but they failed to get fleshed out.
Fast read, plot hung together tolerably well, but very…hollow.
The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico by Miguel León-Portilla
Okay so: This is a collection of (largely) primary source documents written in (mostly) Nahuatl by (primarily) central Mexican authors about the conquest of central Mexico, ~1519-1522. There’s a short history of the Aztecs at the beginning and some post-conquest documents in Nahuatl at the end.
Unfortunately because Leon-Portilla initially wrote it in 1959, it comes from very early postcolonialist theory, and makes a lot of very limited assumptions about why the Mexica etc acted that way, wrote these things, etc. Big example: Taking the writers of the Florentine Codex at their word when they say that Moctezuma thought the Spaniards were gods/representatives of gods and was honoring them when he sent them tribute. Which is like…such a loaded exchange, written down at least 40 years after the fact, by highly educated survivors of a catastrophic defeat and with a Franciscan friar overlooking the writing…
Again, fine analysis for 1959 but there have been some developments in postcolonial theory in the last 50 years! Leon-Portilla added several post-conquest documents to the new edition but did not otherwise update his commentary?
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Another book hamstrung by being written in 1959; this was the 2006 edition and while I’m happy to give a 1959 edition 5 stars, 50 years later it’d be nice to update some of the commentary as well as add more translations.
Okay so: This is a collection of (largely) primary source documents written in (mostly) Nahuatl by (primarily) central Mexican authors about the conquest of central Mexico, ~1519-1522. There’s a short history of the Aztecs at the beginning and some post-conquest documents in Nahuatl at the end.
It’s great, and a very clear look at a literate society that lost/was absorbed into another culture; it helped highlight the specific turning points in 1519-21 where history could very easily have gone a different route.
Unfortunately because Leon-Portilla initially wrote it in 1959, it comes from very early postcolonialist theory, and makes a lot of very limited assumptions about why the Mexica etc acted that way, wrote these things, etc. Big example: Taking the writers of the Florentine Codex at their word when they say that Moctezuma thought the Spaniards were gods/representatives of gods and was honoring them when he sent them tribute. Which is like…such a loaded exchange, written down at least 40 years after the fact, by highly educated survivors of a catastrophic defeat and with a Franciscan friar overlooking the writing…
Again, fine analysis for 1959 but there have been some developments in postcolonial theory in the last 50 years! Leon-Portilla added several post-conquest documents to the new edition but did not otherwise update his commentary?
Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder by John J. Ratey, Edward M. Hallowell
I try not to review books based on what I think they should be but as what they are; unfortunately the last 13 years have been so big for ADHD/neurodiversity research & social shifts that the book is very nearly out of date.
Like any good ADHD book it’s slightly repetitive (under the impression that much of the target audience won’t read it straight through) and occasionally stops entirely to give nicely formatted tables or lists. Sometimes the authors succumb to their own desires for Completely Comprehensive Lists and so then we get absurdities like a 100 point list for adult ADHD.
Reading this solidified my belief that I’m not ADHD, all my ADHD traits are more adequately explained by autism & PTSD, but it did have some good tips and tricks for living with ADHD that are useful for autistic ppl as well.
Big minus 1 for talking about a very, very specific subset of comorbidities (anxiety, depression, OCD) and not autism. Autism comes up twice both times in passing. Also for not questioning whether there are 3x as many men with ADHD as women because women are conditioned into suppressing the symptoms and so don’t get referred to a psych in the first place.
informative
medium-paced
4.0
My single biggest problem with this book is that it was last revised in 2011.
I try not to review books based on what I think they should be but as what they are; unfortunately the last 13 years have been so big for ADHD/neurodiversity research & social shifts that the book is very nearly out of date.
Like any good ADHD book it’s slightly repetitive (under the impression that much of the target audience won’t read it straight through) and occasionally stops entirely to give nicely formatted tables or lists. Sometimes the authors succumb to their own desires for Completely Comprehensive Lists and so then we get absurdities like a 100 point list for adult ADHD.
Reading this solidified my belief that I’m not ADHD, all my ADHD traits are more adequately explained by autism & PTSD, but it did have some good tips and tricks for living with ADHD that are useful for autistic ppl as well.
Big minus 1 for talking about a very, very specific subset of comorbidities (anxiety, depression, OCD) and not autism. Autism comes up twice both times in passing. Also for not questioning whether there are 3x as many men with ADHD as women because women are conditioned into suppressing the symptoms and so don’t get referred to a psych in the first place.
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The big problem of reading books by Lewis and Tolkein is that I then need to read some dry nonfiction so that I don’t judge anyone else’s prose by theirs.
This is a retelling of Cupid & Psyche from the point of view of one of the sisters, which I absolutely would never have picked up unless it was by Lewis or similar because that could’ve gone so many #edgy #realistic places and instead it’s just diligently researched (by 1950s standards) and remarkably non-sexist? Even by more recent standards.
This is a retelling of Cupid & Psyche from the point of view of one of the sisters, which I absolutely would never have picked up unless it was by Lewis or similar because that could’ve gone so many #edgy #realistic places and instead it’s just diligently researched (by 1950s standards) and remarkably non-sexist? Even by more recent standards.
Antigone by Jean Anouilh
4.0
Once again wondering why this wound up on my list.
I was assigned to read it in high school, think I read it (or at least did adequately on the exams), then for unclear reasons put it on the TBR list at the library. Got it, read it, it was…fine? It was fine. The commentary was interesting, lots of thoughts about why Anouilh hates teenage girls, but ultimately…fine.
I was assigned to read it in high school, think I read it (or at least did adequately on the exams), then for unclear reasons put it on the TBR list at the library. Got it, read it, it was…fine? It was fine. The commentary was interesting, lots of thoughts about why Anouilh hates teenage girls, but ultimately…fine.
Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland
Is this accessible and a relatively unbiased (aka: hates everyone equally) overview of 130-43* BCE? Sure. Did it tell me anything I didn’t already know? No, and it skipped over a lot of bits I did know.
But I try to rate books as what they’re trying to be, not how disgruntled they made me, so it loses a star for uncritically taking some VERY CONCERNING BITS OF ROMAN HISTORY at face value: rampant orientalism, less rampant but still present attitude towards Gauls as being primitive alcoholics, outright stating that there was a sex discrepancy in Roman nobility due to the high rate of infanticide for female babies [CITATION NEEDED].
*Holland doesn’t seem to be clear on whether he wanted to end with the Ides of March, Cicero’s death, Philippi, Actium, or 27 BCE. The narrative moves steadily along to 15 March 44 and then suddenly we’re doing massive time jumps through the 30s to wind up at 27.
informative
medium-paced
4.0
The problem with being a Rome Girl TM (not a girl) is that family members think they can get Roman pop history books for me and they’re wrong.
Is this accessible and a relatively unbiased (aka: hates everyone equally) overview of 130-43* BCE? Sure. Did it tell me anything I didn’t already know? No, and it skipped over a lot of bits I did know.
But I try to rate books as what they’re trying to be, not how disgruntled they made me, so it loses a star for uncritically taking some VERY CONCERNING BITS OF ROMAN HISTORY at face value: rampant orientalism, less rampant but still present attitude towards Gauls as being primitive alcoholics, outright stating that there was a sex discrepancy in Roman nobility due to the high rate of infanticide for female babies [CITATION NEEDED].
*Holland doesn’t seem to be clear on whether he wanted to end with the Ides of March, Cicero’s death, Philippi, Actium, or 27 BCE. The narrative moves steadily along to 15 March 44 and then suddenly we’re doing massive time jumps through the 30s to wind up at 27.
Plenty in Life is Free by Kathy Sdao
There is a religious element, but it’s not overwhelming and Sdao is clear about where and how it influences her.
medium-paced
5.0
This has been on my to-read list for years and, unlike some books on this list, it absolutely lives up to the hype.
Sdao is an accomplished behavior consultant, but this is a book for trainers–not owners. It’s about training philosophy, about how to broach training issues with clients, and about giving your dog space to be a dog.
Sdao is an accomplished behavior consultant, but this is a book for trainers–not owners. It’s about training philosophy, about how to broach training issues with clients, and about giving your dog space to be a dog.
There is a religious element, but it’s not overwhelming and Sdao is clear about where and how it influences her.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Once again several years late to the trend. Murderbot! I’m not sure how I feel about the novella format. It feels rushed and uneven at points, and there were definitely too many researchers for me to care about most of them. Buuut overall, good writing, fuck capitalism, etc.
The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel
challenging
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
Probably a little overkill for where I’m at in my Jewish journey, but beautiful language and compelling thoughts. A poetry book with citations.
The Greek Alexander Romance by Pseudo-Callisthenes
(Special shoutout to the island of Rhodes, though, which went on a 4 paragraph digression in Alexander’s will about how special they were.)
Stoneman does his best with some very divergent manuscripts, although there are definitely points where inclusions/exclusions are by author fiat rather than any other reason (his footnotes are periodically commentaries on the text’s writing quality). Which is valid! But you’re not so much reading one text as a chimera of three (or more).
Translation is very readable. The text itself is insane but that’s the whole point.
challenging
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
4.0
At some point, probably not long after Alexander the Great died, people started expanding on his life. Some of the expansions were reasonable and building on things he did or said he was, and some of them…were not. Then at some point, somewhere (before 300 CE, probably in Alexandria) these things were compiled into a text. After a thousand years of telephone, we get this text–or rather, several texts, because everyone liked to add their own variations.
(Special shoutout to the island of Rhodes, though, which went on a 4 paragraph digression in Alexander’s will about how special they were.)
Stoneman does his best with some very divergent manuscripts, although there are definitely points where inclusions/exclusions are by author fiat rather than any other reason (his footnotes are periodically commentaries on the text’s writing quality). Which is valid! But you’re not so much reading one text as a chimera of three (or more).
Translation is very readable. The text itself is insane but that’s the whole point.