Such an amazing collection of voices and essays. So thought-provoking and challenging (in a good way). And I love that I finished this just in time toSuch an amazing collection of voices and essays. So thought-provoking and challenging (in a good way). And I love that I finished this just in time to read the next collection: Disability Intimacy, coming out next year wooooo. Also excited to read Alice Wong’s memoir!...more
Maybe 1.5? I am not sure. There was something whimsical and intriguing about it but also it was possibly the strangest book I have read in a really loMaybe 1.5? I am not sure. There was something whimsical and intriguing about it but also it was possibly the strangest book I have read in a really long time. Also it’s one of those books that just makes me feel stupid and confused. UPDATE: the day after I read this, I was in a meeting where I felt “unseen” and suddenly I realized what this book was about. It’s definitely weird but I get it now. ...more
Read as individual issues. This comic is AMAZING. Strong women, super diverse, curious and intriguing story, etc. Pick this one up when it comes out aRead as individual issues. This comic is AMAZING. Strong women, super diverse, curious and intriguing story, etc. Pick this one up when it comes out as a trade. You will not be disappointed.
Merged review:
Read as individual issues. This comic is AMAZING. Strong women, super diverse, curious and intriguing story, etc. Pick this one up when it comes out as a trade. You will not be disappointed....more
Read as individual issues. This comic is AMAZING. Strong women, super diverse, curious and intriguing story, etc. Pick this one up when it comes out aRead as individual issues. This comic is AMAZING. Strong women, super diverse, curious and intriguing story, etc. Pick this one up when it comes out as a trade. You will not be disappointed. ...more
Nice compilation of different people’s stories. I also learned a lot about Japanese culture and how things have changed in terms of neurodiversity. ItNice compilation of different people’s stories. I also learned a lot about Japanese culture and how things have changed in terms of neurodiversity. It seems like there are so many more supportive programs there than there are in the US, and that made me sad.
I think I would have liked to see a few different stories too — a lot of people had the same overall story: bullied, struggling, then figured things out and life is better/getting better. What about people who fought against their diagnosis? Or who tried to push through? Or who could mask everything and then got exhausted? But overall, it was really nice to see real people’s experiences....more
Conflicted on how to rate this. First of all, it broke my heart for two reasons. 1) because it depicts how brutal this regime was and 2) Maybe a 3.5.
Conflicted on how to rate this. First of all, it broke my heart for two reasons. 1) because it depicts how brutal this regime was and 2) because I’m so upset that we didn’t really learn that much about this in history class. Why? We should have learned about it. Anyway. These two things made this book really hard to read in a good way and they make me want to give it 5 stars.
But I struggled often with getting to know the characters. This story follows a family through the Khmer Rouge occupation of Cambodia and sometimes it focused on the main character’s immediate family and sometimes it zoomed out to cousins, aunts and uncles, etc. The family tree in the beginning helped, but I didn’t feel like I got a good sense of who everyone was. Maybe I should read it again. :)...more
This is a hard one to rate because there were parts in here that I absolutely loved and parts that I didn’t like as much. Part of the hesiMaybe a 3.5?
This is a hard one to rate because there were parts in here that I absolutely loved and parts that I didn’t like as much. Part of the hesitation was that I think it was just a really different experience to read something as personal as someone else’s conversations with their therapist. It was both helpful to hear how the therapist was advising her (particularly with black and white thinking) but I also felt like I should be looking away because it wasn’t advice for me. Sometimes it was awkward because I didn’t really identify as much with a particular issue. But it was still a really interesting read.
I really liked that the therapist got a chapter at the end.
As usual I wish I could have read it in its original Korean instead of translated. Always wonder what little subtleties I’m missing getting the translated version. ...more
Whoa. This book is incredible. The language is beautiful, the story is haunting and compelling. I like that the timeline is not in chronological orderWhoa. This book is incredible. The language is beautiful, the story is haunting and compelling. I like that the timeline is not in chronological order but it leads the reader along so gently and reveals so much at the perfect time. I love this conversation of female friendship and love.
I don’t love all the constant getting-in-trouble/pot-smoking/drinking but maybe I’m just boring. ...more
This might be a 4.5 or a 5. I might change my review as I process this book more.
This book is haunting and triggering and also an amazingly good descThis might be a 4.5 or a 5. I might change my review as I process this book more.
This book is haunting and triggering and also an amazingly good description of the toxic publishing industry. I also love this question of where do authors get their stories? When does inspiration cross into plagiarism?
Though I want to be clear that our protagonist June straight-up plagiarized Athena’s work. It’s frustrating because honestly there was a simple solution available. I say simple, but to June it probably would have been too uncomfortable, and June, as a white woman, has been taught to prioritize her comfort.
June… where do I even start with her? I read an interview with R. F. Kuang where she said that June was so easy to write because it’s the voice we all have in our heads anyway. “She's all the white paranoias, and suspicions, and jealousies, and arrogance that I've dealt with,” Kuang said. That is accurate. Like hauntingly accurate. Like sometimes I wonder if Kuang has been a fly on the wall of my life because June says things almost verbatim to what white women have said to me. So in that way reading this story through June’s perspective was challenging but also I couldn’t look away and I finished the book in just over 24 hours.
I feel like there are places where the story lags, but I wonder if I was just so uncomfortable with June that I was eager to get to the end as quickly as possible.
Really really excited to hear R. F. Kuang talk about this book tonight....more
Very sweet. Can’t tell what to rate this. Maybe a 4.5. Might change it later.
This is one of those books where I feel like the summary kind of ruins tVery sweet. Can’t tell what to rate this. Maybe a 4.5. Might change it later.
This is one of those books where I feel like the summary kind of ruins the story. But also it doesn’t. I still wish I hadn’t read it though.
Anyway, I liked being in Raquel’s world and feeling so bored and so invisible as she’s going through a major life event. I liked the mix of prose and graphic novel and I liked the simplicity of the drawings....more
Julia is 10 and thanks to her dad’s job, her family moves to a lighthouse on a remote island for the summer. This is great for her mom, who is on a miJulia is 10 and thanks to her dad’s job, her family moves to a lighthouse on a remote island for the summer. This is great for her mom, who is on a mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. Julia and their cat, Noodle, are along for the ride.
This is one of those books that is written for 10 year olds but is actually really good for adults. Sometimes things happened that Julia didn’t understand but I understood, and it was a little haunting to know a little more than she did about what was in store for her. ...more
This might be a 4.5. It was solidly a 4 but then the end made me cry, and that’s hard to do so major points there.
OK so first of all the art in this This might be a 4.5. It was solidly a 4 but then the end made me cry, and that’s hard to do so major points there.
OK so first of all the art in this book is stunning. Like so stunning that I almost got too distracted by it and forgot to read the story. This is not a complaint. I love reading beautiful books.
This story is told in vignettes, snapshots from mostly high school as Deb grows up. Sometimes I felt confused and tossed around in time, unsure why Deb wanted me to see a specific scene. But it all came together in the end.
Mostly I was just there with them, re-experiencing the loneliness of been a teenager and not understanding who you are and how you fit in. It’s hard and I found myself cheering for them as they started to figure things out.
I also love their depiction of their therapist as being hidden in plants.
Also this book is furthering my resolve to learn Korean....more
Um I am not sure what to say about this except I am feeling everything all at the same time. This is both incredibly heartwarming and heartbreaking, sUm I am not sure what to say about this except I am feeling everything all at the same time. This is both incredibly heartwarming and heartbreaking, sometimes literally within the same panel. I love how real the characters are. I love how childlike Kana is. I love the reactions on Mike’s and Yaichi’s faces when they realize something is suss. I love Yaichi’s arc. I. Love. The. Photos (if you’ve read this, you know what I mean omg). I think I just need to start the whole thing all over again now. <3...more
Probably a 4.5 but I read this in one afternoon so this rating might change as I get more time to process everything.
I worked really hard to acquire Probably a 4.5 but I read this in one afternoon so this rating might change as I get more time to process everything.
I worked really hard to acquire this book. I had wanted to read it during Ramadan, and of course I finally got my hands on it the day after Eid. Anyway, I am so happy I got a chance to read this eventually.
I like that this book is a memoir/travelogue done in snapshots, starting in Shubnum’s childhood and going through 2019. I like the mystery in what snapshots she chose to share, and I especially liked the chapter on heartbreak where she tells us everything and nothing at the same time. Shubnum’s travel stories don’t have that glorified singsong-y privileged feel to them, which I appreciated. Instead they made me really hungry to put on my hiking boots and go see more of the world.
I loved a lot of her commentary on writing, and as usual I felt seen in the writing of another brown girl. Her candid, self-deprecating jokes about her anxiety were both fun and inspiring, and I appreciated learning about life from a South African perspective. I not-so-secretly want to be her friend now....more
The end of the Poppy Wars trilogy. This one was creepier than the other two and honestly I am still a little creeped out. Some interesting parallels bThe end of the Poppy Wars trilogy. This one was creepier than the other two and honestly I am still a little creeped out. Some interesting parallels between this series and Babel. Can’t wait to talk to Lauren (and anyone else who’s read both) about them. :)...more
Another book I wish we had had in high school. And another Patrick Ness story that maybe takes place in the fictional Frome, WA?
Anyway, Patrick Ness Another book I wish we had had in high school. And another Patrick Ness story that maybe takes place in the fictional Frome, WA?
Anyway, Patrick Ness is so creative — telling a story even redacted words throughout. This novella is super short. The Day The World Ends comes up so fast that I was shocked. But I was just getting into this story, don’t leave me already, Ant! Ant is pretty funny, but also his loneliness is so real. Ugh, I do not miss being a teenager. ...more
Wow what an adventure. I seriously had no idea where this story was going pretty much at any point, which madI think this is a 4.5. Might become a 5.
Wow what an adventure. I seriously had no idea where this story was going pretty much at any point, which made for a glorious, though also at some points stressful, ride.
Sometimes I feel like the second book in a trilogy wanes. It’s after the crashing-down-doors first book and before the splashy grand finale of the third book. But that is not true here. I’d say that Kuang really hit her stride in this one.
Those Hesparians tho. :|||||||||||||
I stillllllllllll have questions I need answered tho, so time to go acquire book 3. :)...more
Read as individual issues. I was nervous about this arc after the last one ended but it turned out great! As usual, this arc was beautifully drawn andRead as individual issues. I was nervous about this arc after the last one ended but it turned out great! As usual, this arc was beautifully drawn and made me cry. You know, the usual.
Merged review:
Read as individual issues. I was nervous about this arc after the last one ended but it turned out great! As usual, this arc was beautifully drawn and made me cry. You know, the usual....more
Oh wow. Really well done. I love the social commentary, I love how all the characters are connected, I love how it was originally in Arabic and is unaOh wow. Really well done. I love the social commentary, I love how all the characters are connected, I love how it was originally in Arabic and is unapologetic about it. I love how haunting the end is. ...more
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