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ralovesbooks's reviews
1431 reviews
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2.0
Thanks to Penguin Random House for my free audio copy.
I can see why so many people enjoyed this book, and I'm glad I listened to it on audio instead of reading it in print or digital, but I kind of hated all of the characters, and I wasn't invested in their stories, so it didn't resonate. The reveal toward the end of the book just made it worse. I thought I might want to watch the adaptation, but not now.
I can see why so many people enjoyed this book, and I'm glad I listened to it on audio instead of reading it in print or digital, but I kind of hated all of the characters, and I wasn't invested in their stories, so it didn't resonate. The reveal toward the end of the book just made it worse. I thought I might want to watch the adaptation, but not now.
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
2.0
This novel was interesting and had its moments of clarity and beauty, but it was overshadowed by the harmful things that the author has said about other trans/nonbinary people. I read it because I thought I wanted to be an Adichie completist, but even as I read it, I knew that I don't need to be.
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She had not learned the art of silent crying; she had not needed to.
I was busy locking little parts of me up...
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She had not learned the art of silent crying; she had not needed to.
I was busy locking little parts of me up...
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
4.0
Thank you to HarperAudio and Libro.fm for my free audio copy.
I was impressed by this novel in its consistency of voice and nuance of plot. The story's not easy, but the protagonist is easy to root for. He's so clear-eyed about himself and his circumstances that there's no trap of easy pity. It's just a hard situation of poverty, pain, and addiction, and what are we going to do about it? It reminded me of Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell. I need to do more research about how this novel is being received in Appalachia and the community of opioid addiction survivors. And Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe is waiting for me.
I was impressed by this novel in its consistency of voice and nuance of plot. The story's not easy, but the protagonist is easy to root for. He's so clear-eyed about himself and his circumstances that there's no trap of easy pity. It's just a hard situation of poverty, pain, and addiction, and what are we going to do about it? It reminded me of Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell. I need to do more research about how this novel is being received in Appalachia and the community of opioid addiction survivors. And Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe is waiting for me.
The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin
2.0
In the acknowledgments of this book, NK Jemisin talks about how difficult it was to write, and I could feel that strain throughout. In her Broken Earth trilogy (which I now want to reread), there's so much imagination and craft in her world-building, but in reimagining New York City, a place that already exists, she felt stilted to me. The first book in the duology felt like a big build-up to a big battle, and then the pacing of this second book was so strange and uneven. I was ready for it to be over, sadly. For the author's sake, I'm glad the series is not a trilogy. Of course, the writing is sharp, and the dialogue is clever. I just think the concept should have maybe stayed in short story form.
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Any New Yorker can feel like a god whether they're an avatar or not. ... They just need a rooftop and time. (172)
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Any New Yorker can feel like a god whether they're an avatar or not. ... They just need a rooftop and time. (172)
The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative by Vivian Gornick
5.0
This book was very helpful to me in understanding the difference between essay and memoir (not just length), as well as acclimating me to the concept of personal narrative as a genre. I'm grateful for the recommendation of this book and would like to have a copy for myself for reference.
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... in fact, without detachment there can be no story; description and response, yes, but no story. (12)
Every work of literature has both a situation and a story. The situation is the context or circumstance, sometimes the plot; the story is the emotional insight, the experience that preoccupies the writer: the insight, the wisdom, the thing one has come to say. (13)
It took [J.R.] Ackerley thirty years to clarify the voice that could tell his story -- thirty years to gain detachment, make an honest man of himself, become a trustworthy narrator. The years are etched in the writing. (20, referring to My Father and Myself)
...the writer was possessed of an insight that organized the writing, and in each case a persona had been created to serve the insight. (23)
...it wasn't their [?] voices I was responding to, it was their truth-speaking personae. By which I mean that organic wholeness of being in a narrator the reader experiences as reliable; the one we can trust will take us on a journey, make the piece arrive, bring us out into a clearing where the sense of things is larger than it was before. (24)
"He and I" is an essay rather than a memoir because the writer is using her persona to explore a subject other than herself: in this case, marriage. If it had been a memoir, the focus would have been reversed. (77)
But a memoir is neither testament nor fable nor analytic transcription. A memoir is a work of sustained narrative prose controlled by an idea of the self under obligation to lift from the raw material of life a tale that will shape experience, transform event, deliver wisdom. Truth in a memoir is achieved not through a recital of actual events; it is achieved when the reader comes to believe that the writer is working hard to engage with the experience at hand. What happened to the writer is not what matters; what matters is the large sense that the writer is able to make of what happened. For that the power of a writing imagination is required. As V.S. Pritchett once said of the genre, "It's all in the art. You get no credit for living."
Book recommendation: Clear and Simple as the Truth (162)
How does the writer of personal narrative pull from his or her own boring, agitated self the truth speaker who will tell the story that needs to be told? (165)
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... in fact, without detachment there can be no story; description and response, yes, but no story. (12)
Every work of literature has both a situation and a story. The situation is the context or circumstance, sometimes the plot; the story is the emotional insight, the experience that preoccupies the writer: the insight, the wisdom, the thing one has come to say. (13)
It took [J.R.] Ackerley thirty years to clarify the voice that could tell his story -- thirty years to gain detachment, make an honest man of himself, become a trustworthy narrator. The years are etched in the writing. (20, referring to My Father and Myself)
...the writer was possessed of an insight that organized the writing, and in each case a persona had been created to serve the insight. (23)
...it wasn't their [?] voices I was responding to, it was their truth-speaking personae. By which I mean that organic wholeness of being in a narrator the reader experiences as reliable; the one we can trust will take us on a journey, make the piece arrive, bring us out into a clearing where the sense of things is larger than it was before. (24)
"He and I" is an essay rather than a memoir because the writer is using her persona to explore a subject other than herself: in this case, marriage. If it had been a memoir, the focus would have been reversed. (77)
But a memoir is neither testament nor fable nor analytic transcription. A memoir is a work of sustained narrative prose controlled by an idea of the self under obligation to lift from the raw material of life a tale that will shape experience, transform event, deliver wisdom. Truth in a memoir is achieved not through a recital of actual events; it is achieved when the reader comes to believe that the writer is working hard to engage with the experience at hand. What happened to the writer is not what matters; what matters is the large sense that the writer is able to make of what happened. For that the power of a writing imagination is required. As V.S. Pritchett once said of the genre, "It's all in the art. You get no credit for living."
Book recommendation: Clear and Simple as the Truth (162)
How does the writer of personal narrative pull from his or her own boring, agitated self the truth speaker who will tell the story that needs to be told? (165)
On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
4.0
Thanks to HarperAudio and Libro.fm for my free audio copy!
I had a hard time getting into this book because I struggled so much with the character names, between three sisters, their mother, and a bevy of neighbors and relatives. But once I got a handle on it, the story of this family in the midst of change compelled me to keep going (and the expert voice of Robin Miles certainly helped). Recommended for fans of The Turner House by Rebecca Flournoy and The Travelers by Regina Porter.
I had a hard time getting into this book because I struggled so much with the character names, between three sisters, their mother, and a bevy of neighbors and relatives. But once I got a handle on it, the story of this family in the midst of change compelled me to keep going (and the expert voice of Robin Miles certainly helped). Recommended for fans of The Turner House by Rebecca Flournoy and The Travelers by Regina Porter.
Ghost Music by An Yu
2.0
Thanks to Recorded Books, Inc. and Libro.fm for my free audio copy!
I love a weird book, and this is definitely one, but I don't think it quite hung together. I was never sure how the fantastical elements figured in the story -- figments of the narrators imagination or actual supernatural happenings? I also didn't understand the motivation of many of the characters, so their actions didn't make a lot of sense to me. But the story still manages to be evocative, drawing out emotions like yearning and dissatisfaction. It reminded me of Braised Pork, which I just realized is by the same author, and that makes total sense.
I love a weird book, and this is definitely one, but I don't think it quite hung together. I was never sure how the fantastical elements figured in the story -- figments of the narrators imagination or actual supernatural happenings? I also didn't understand the motivation of many of the characters, so their actions didn't make a lot of sense to me. But the story still manages to be evocative, drawing out emotions like yearning and dissatisfaction. It reminded me of Braised Pork, which I just realized is by the same author, and that makes total sense.
All the Names They Used for God: Stories by Anjali Sachdeva
5.0
Oh, I loved these weird, wonderful short stories. They reminded me of St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell (one of my favorite collections of all time) and Tenth of December by George Saunders. With each story, the author plunges you into a new world to get acquainted with, and she asks questions about identity, place, belonging, and relationships, in ways that feel eerie and resonate. I would love to have a hard copy for my shelves.
Shrill by Lindy West
4.0
I've had this book on my digital shelf for ages, but I finally read it after watching the television series adaptation with Aidy Bryant, which I really enjoyed. This collection of essays was entertaining and thought-provoking, although a little coarse to my ear, but that's not a dealbreaker. I recommended it to my husband right away because it gives more dimension after having seen the series, although they are totally separate entities. I just think it's interesting to see the source material and what things stayed or changed. Reading these essays fostered admiration in me for the author, especially dealing with horrific trolls online. It reminded me of reading about Gamergate in The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley, especially her relationship to comedy.
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... you can't advocate for yourself if you won't admit what you are. ("You're So Brave for Wearing Clothes and Not Hating Yourself!"
The social conventions that keep human beings separate and discrete -- boundaries, etiquette, privacy, personal space -- have always been a great well of safety for me. I am a rule follower. I like choosing whom I let in close. ("The End")
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... you can't advocate for yourself if you won't admit what you are. ("You're So Brave for Wearing Clothes and Not Hating Yourself!"
The social conventions that keep human beings separate and discrete -- boundaries, etiquette, privacy, personal space -- have always been a great well of safety for me. I am a rule follower. I like choosing whom I let in close. ("The End")
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
4.0
Thank you to Penguin Random House for my audio copy!
I was pleasantly surprised by this story, which I totally judged by its whimsical cover and fully expected the science to be trash. The science, though long outdated due to the setting, was not trash. The protagonist was pragmatic, clear, and well-rounded. The dialogue was funny and frank. I appreciate how well the author navigates what is basically a feminist manifesto in a fresh, thought-provoking way. Fascinating how the main character is this completely qualified scientist who is then thrust into a contrived domestic set (literally). I found a copy in my local Little Free Library, and I'm glad to have a hard copy of my own after enjoying the audio production so much.
I was pleasantly surprised by this story, which I totally judged by its whimsical cover and fully expected the science to be trash. The science, though long outdated due to the setting, was not trash. The protagonist was pragmatic, clear, and well-rounded. The dialogue was funny and frank. I appreciate how well the author navigates what is basically a feminist manifesto in a fresh, thought-provoking way. Fascinating how the main character is this completely qualified scientist who is then thrust into a contrived domestic set (literally). I found a copy in my local Little Free Library, and I'm glad to have a hard copy of my own after enjoying the audio production so much.