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ralovesbooks's reviews
1431 reviews
Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang
2.0
Thank you to Penguin Random House for my free copy!
This quirky novel reminded me of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata with its off-center protagonist. I appreciated the thoughtful reflection on family dynamics and obligations, forming relationships as an adult, and the onset of the pandemic.
This quirky novel reminded me of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata with its off-center protagonist. I appreciated the thoughtful reflection on family dynamics and obligations, forming relationships as an adult, and the onset of the pandemic.
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
4.0
Thank you to Penguin Random House for my free audio copy!
“Can a mentally ill woman ever be trusted with her own story?”
I’ll say three things about this book:
1) Content warnings: child abuse, suicidal ideation, mental illness, and chronic illness. This book might not be safe for you, and that’s okay.
2) Yes, I recommend this book. It’s a powerful memoir about pain, anger, resilience, and growth. The author writes so poignantly about her experience with prolonged abuse and how she interrogated it journalistically to find healing. I went back and forth between the audio production (read by the author) and the print edition, and I was struck over and over by the clarity of her words in describing something so incredibly difficult. Writing this book was an act of bravery, and reading it with a listening posture is an act of witness.
3) May is AAPI Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, and it struck me that Asian culture (in my experience) is not great about conversations around mental health. Last year, I struggled with my mental health for various reasons, and I’m thankful to counseling for equipping me with tools to cope in better ways. My instinct is to “eat bitter,” as the author writes: swallow it down, be tough, push through, don’t show your weakness. So, I’m thankful for this author’s perspective on where these topics intersect.
“Can a mentally ill woman ever be trusted with her own story?”
I’ll say three things about this book:
1) Content warnings: child abuse, suicidal ideation, mental illness, and chronic illness. This book might not be safe for you, and that’s okay.
2) Yes, I recommend this book. It’s a powerful memoir about pain, anger, resilience, and growth. The author writes so poignantly about her experience with prolonged abuse and how she interrogated it journalistically to find healing. I went back and forth between the audio production (read by the author) and the print edition, and I was struck over and over by the clarity of her words in describing something so incredibly difficult. Writing this book was an act of bravery, and reading it with a listening posture is an act of witness.
3) May is AAPI Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, and it struck me that Asian culture (in my experience) is not great about conversations around mental health. Last year, I struggled with my mental health for various reasons, and I’m thankful to counseling for equipping me with tools to cope in better ways. My instinct is to “eat bitter,” as the author writes: swallow it down, be tough, push through, don’t show your weakness. So, I’m thankful for this author’s perspective on where these topics intersect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
The Life We're Looking for: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World by Andy Crouch
4.0
“We need a place where we cannot hide. We need a place where we cannot get lost.”
I haven’t had the brain space to read any print or digital books since February, but this book was the exception. It’s about being a person and belonging. The phrase “quiet alert,” about being attentive and contemplative, resonated very strongly. It strikes a chord for me this week because I’m at a conference-like event, and I’m fighting nerves about talking with so many people and being overwhelmed. But part of the point in this book is that people can become a faceless mass, but persons are individual, unique beings. So I’m trying to take this week one person at a time. The book is written from a Christian perspective, so maybe it’s not for everyone, but it was definitely for me, for right now.
One of the pleasures of my new job is that I get to be Andy Crouch’s colleague. Full disclosure: I received this advance paperback copy shortly after I started in my role, but I would have read the book anyway. I already had so much respect for Andy as a writer and thinker, and if that makes me a biased reviewer, well, there you have it.
I haven’t had the brain space to read any print or digital books since February, but this book was the exception. It’s about being a person and belonging. The phrase “quiet alert,” about being attentive and contemplative, resonated very strongly. It strikes a chord for me this week because I’m at a conference-like event, and I’m fighting nerves about talking with so many people and being overwhelmed. But part of the point in this book is that people can become a faceless mass, but persons are individual, unique beings. So I’m trying to take this week one person at a time. The book is written from a Christian perspective, so maybe it’s not for everyone, but it was definitely for me, for right now.
One of the pleasures of my new job is that I get to be Andy Crouch’s colleague. Full disclosure: I received this advance paperback copy shortly after I started in my role, but I would have read the book anyway. I already had so much respect for Andy as a writer and thinker, and if that makes me a biased reviewer, well, there you have it.
A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
5.0
There’s no comfort like middle grade fiction, and this one is delightful and heartwarming. The comparisons to The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley are apt, and it reminded me of Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian, which I read over and over when I was a kid.
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
5.0
Holy moly, this book is one of my favorite combinations: weird and wonderful. I had no idea what was going on halfway through it, but it was so beautiful and haunting. It’s like a wartime espionage romance, but make it sci-fi with time/space travel and shape-shifting.
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
5.0
I loved Ann Patchett’s first essay collection on audio, so I knew I’d love this one, too, and I did. I had a feeling that I’d end up buying a copy for myself, but then her essay entitled “There Are No Children Here” sealed the deal.
From "There Are No Children Here": "People want you to want what they want. If you want the same things they want, then their want is validated. If you don't want what the same things, your lack of wanting can, to some people, come across as judgment."
From "There Are No Children Here": "People want you to want what they want. If you want the same things they want, then their want is validated. If you don't want what the same things, your lack of wanting can, to some people, come across as judgment."
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
5.0
I loved this collection of interesting, earnest essays, and I felt that the author articulated so much of the pandemic mentality. I enjoyed how wide-ranging the topics were, and it reminded me of how much I like to learn new things.
From "Harvey": "Hope is the correct response to the strange, often terrifying miracle of consciousness. Hope is not easy or cheap. It is true."
From "Harvey": "Hope is the correct response to the strange, often terrifying miracle of consciousness. Hope is not easy or cheap. It is true."
Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann
5.0
"'Being family just means we don't have the safety of fences between us.'"
During my trip last month, I went through a streak of three 5-star books in a row, and Olympus, Texas was the middle one. (The others were Upright Women Wanted and Writers & Lovers.) It's the best novel I've read so far this year, and I've already recommended it to a bunch of people. I thought it was so well done. This mythology adaptation is clever and poignant. The modern tie-ins are smart and not too over-the-top, and the family dynamics felt true to life. The small-town claustrophobia and pettiness served as an excellent vehicle for godlike drama. I would recommend it to fans of stories about dysfunctional families or anyone who liked The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker.
During my trip last month, I went through a streak of three 5-star books in a row, and Olympus, Texas was the middle one. (The others were Upright Women Wanted and Writers & Lovers.) It's the best novel I've read so far this year, and I've already recommended it to a bunch of people. I thought it was so well done. This mythology adaptation is clever and poignant. The modern tie-ins are smart and not too over-the-top, and the family dynamics felt true to life. The small-town claustrophobia and pettiness served as an excellent vehicle for godlike drama. I would recommend it to fans of stories about dysfunctional families or anyone who liked The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker.
Ice Diaries: An Antarctic Memoir by Jean McNeil
4.0
“‘Things flourish in cold in a way they never do in heat.’ Another sentence, casually uttered, that careened around in my head long after it was spoken.”
As I’ve mentioned before, CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP reading about Antarctica! This memoir was such a great addition to my usual diet of exploration stories. The author is a writer who was accepted into a fellowship that sent artists of all kinds of Antarctica for the primary purpose of making art about their experiences. She wasn’t a scientist on base or a tourist on vacation but something else altogether, and I really appreciated her perspective. I loved how she started each chapter with a name and definition of a type of ice (like: sea smoke, rime, and brash ice) and wove in her actual diary entries and memories of growing up in Canada. Her stark descriptions and thoughtful reflections resonated with me, and I didn’t even mind lingering in the cold Antarctic setting because spring feels very reluctant to come to my region. Let’s all be cold together, shall we? If you liked Lab Girl by Hope Jahren or H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, I recommend that you give this book a try, too. Ice Diaries isn’t exactly the same, but they all feel similar to me with their straight-forward tone and introspective nature. I definitely want to find and read the author’s other books. Thank you to my dear friend Chelsey for sending me this beautiful, thought-provoking book for my birthday!
As I’ve mentioned before, CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP reading about Antarctica! This memoir was such a great addition to my usual diet of exploration stories. The author is a writer who was accepted into a fellowship that sent artists of all kinds of Antarctica for the primary purpose of making art about their experiences. She wasn’t a scientist on base or a tourist on vacation but something else altogether, and I really appreciated her perspective. I loved how she started each chapter with a name and definition of a type of ice (like: sea smoke, rime, and brash ice) and wove in her actual diary entries and memories of growing up in Canada. Her stark descriptions and thoughtful reflections resonated with me, and I didn’t even mind lingering in the cold Antarctic setting because spring feels very reluctant to come to my region. Let’s all be cold together, shall we? If you liked Lab Girl by Hope Jahren or H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, I recommend that you give this book a try, too. Ice Diaries isn’t exactly the same, but they all feel similar to me with their straight-forward tone and introspective nature. I definitely want to find and read the author’s other books. Thank you to my dear friend Chelsey for sending me this beautiful, thought-provoking book for my birthday!