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anfitzpatrick99's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Some parts of this book were great, others I was left disappointed. In the beginning I felt like I was really going to learn something but as the book progressed this felt more like a collection of essays all on a similar topic with not much direction. Perhaps some of this is just too outdated at this point. I didn’t appreciate the spiritual/religious tie ins and wasn’t expecting that when I picked this book up. At many points I was left wondering how any person could practice love the way she suggested!! And perhaps we would all be happier if we accepted that love is not this rigid pre defined thing that can only exist in one way. Overall I liked some chapters and hated others.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
murder_unicorn's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
takarakei's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I will be buying this for everyone I know :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Grief, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Addiction
shellroch285's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
If you want to reflect upon your ideas of love and have them completely revolutionized, you need to read this book. While hooks generalizes things in terms of gender a lot, I still believe that what she’s saying can allow us to look at our society today and understand what we need to do to create stronger interpersonal and community bonds. I’m so glad I picked this up and am thankful that I am one of many people who have found solace in this text.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I'm glad I read this, and love bell hooks' reflective and earnest writing style in these essays. A few essays stand out for me (in particular, Honesty: Be True to Love, is one I'm still thinking about). I would note that this was originally published in the early 00s, and modern readers (like me!) may struggle with how hooks engages with gender essentialism (challenging it but ultimately still writing within its assumptions and constructs, which tracks for the early aughts) and Christianity and spiritualism. There are broad assumptions made about men and women in M/F relationships, in particular (and some odd commentary on and apologism for Bill Clinton that doesn't sit particularly well today), but I suspect that this is a generational difference, as the audience she was writing for had a different set of cultural touchpoints and childhood experiences in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. I think there is a lot of value in these reflections for readers who recognize the different challenges early feminists faced and the constructs they were still largely fighting against. And ultimately, hooks' thoughts are a gift for us as we look back and forward, and I appreciate her thoughts on community care and living by a love ethic, that have so much relevance for us today.
Notes on the audio specifically: I really struggled with the audiobook, honestly. I loved the narration by January LaVoy, but the book itself is incredibly difficult to navigate. None of the chapter titles included in the print book are included in the audiobook's visible chapter titles, and the audiobook numbers the preface, introduction, etc., meaning that the chapter numbering in the audiobook never aligns with the individual essays. I constantly felt confused about where I was, and I feel frustrated that this was sloppily done.
Notes on the audio specifically: I really struggled with the audiobook, honestly. I loved the narration by January LaVoy, but the book itself is incredibly difficult to navigate. None of the chapter titles included in the print book are included in the audiobook's visible chapter titles, and the audiobook numbers the preface, introduction, etc., meaning that the chapter numbering in the audiobook never aligns with the individual essays. I constantly felt confused about where I was, and I feel frustrated that this was sloppily done.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexism, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny
Minor: Infidelity
kirstenf's review
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Racism, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexism
ambergenesis's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
nataliebootlah's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
First book of 2024! ❤️🔥
This quick, six-hour audiobook had me going back and forth between “this feels too woo-woo for me” and “wow, that was really profound”.
bell hooks is best known for her writings on race, feminism, and class, focusing on the exploration of the intersectionality of race, capitalism, and gender. All About Love, unsurprisingly, focuses on love, our misguided expectations of it, and how flawed our understanding of it can be.
I’m not a self-help book girl most of the time, so I struggled through parts of this. It’s broken down into thirteen chapters ranging from values, romance, spirituality, community, loss, and commitment among a few others. The community chapter resonated with me the most and I think everyone should read it. Other chapters lost my interest pretty quickly either because they weren’t personally applicable to me or felt too subjective. That being said, I appreciate how open hooks is about love and her thoughts on how it can change the world. We need something to do just that and loving one another more freely, especially those from outside our circles, certainly can help.
If you’re an introspective person who wants to better understand love and improve your relationships (and don’t mind self-help vibes), you’ll likely enjoy this one.
This quick, six-hour audiobook had me going back and forth between “this feels too woo-woo for me” and “wow, that was really profound”.
bell hooks is best known for her writings on race, feminism, and class, focusing on the exploration of the intersectionality of race, capitalism, and gender. All About Love, unsurprisingly, focuses on love, our misguided expectations of it, and how flawed our understanding of it can be.
I’m not a self-help book girl most of the time, so I struggled through parts of this. It’s broken down into thirteen chapters ranging from values, romance, spirituality, community, loss, and commitment among a few others. The community chapter resonated with me the most and I think everyone should read it. Other chapters lost my interest pretty quickly either because they weren’t personally applicable to me or felt too subjective. That being said, I appreciate how open hooks is about love and her thoughts on how it can change the world. We need something to do just that and loving one another more freely, especially those from outside our circles, certainly can help.
If you’re an introspective person who wants to better understand love and improve your relationships (and don’t mind self-help vibes), you’ll likely enjoy this one.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Sexism
meemzala's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
I’m sad to say I didn’t connect with this book as much as I had hoped to. I’ll continue to read bell hooks’ works. While it may be an unfair critique, her use of heteronormativity and the binary gender construct took me out of the book. I agree that the patriarchy exists, that all people suffer under it, that both men and women exist, and that there is a majority of cisgender heterosexual people in the world. But I disagree that so much of this book needed to focus on that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Child abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Cancer, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Toxic friendship and Grief
ashleybeereads's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Homophobia, Classism, and Physical abuse
Minor: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt