resing's reviews
167 reviews

Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Yet another creative interweaving of race with fantasy, this time in the vampire genre. The dark color of the main character's skin makes them more powerful and a target of other vampires. Loved the storytelling and creativity of Octavia Butler once again.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The introduction of a fantasy world hiding in plain sight. Like some other stories of secret clubs at prestigious universities, but with a twist. This group uses magic and has a history of slaveholding. I enjoyed the fantasy elements and the exploration of race, cast, and gender-roles.

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can understand now why Kindred is one of the books that makes Octavia Butler a legendary writer. Her words had me feeling strong emotional support for the main character, putting me, as the reader, in the shoes of an enslaved women dealing with abuses of so many kinds, yet persevering.

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The continued exploration of a Black heroine achieving more than expected despite obstacles including the intersection of racism, sexism, and classism. Very creative story with magic and creature-villains.
Can't wait for the release of the next book in the series!

Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What would life be like on earth if an intelligent life form came and tried to save us from ourselves while at the same time changing the human race permanently? This book explores an unlikely hero, a Black, alien-human hybrid baby who's human abductors become her reason to live in a mission to save the human race. At the intersection of racism with speciesism, a compelling and interesting story unfolds.

I'm continually amazed by the creativity of Octavia Butler. The world she's built in this series is entirely different than the worlds of all the other novels by her that I've read.

I'm also impressed that although I accidentally read this book out of order, I didn't even realize it till I was looking at the series as a whole and what to read next. This is the second book in the series but the first one I've read. I didn't detect any sign of a previous book like the kind of summary of what happened that's common in many book series. And I never got the feeling I missed anything, either. I'm not sure how she did that but I'm very curious to read the first book now.

Driving The Green Book: A Road Trip Through the Living History of Black Resistance by Alvin Hall

hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

An informational history of the way the Black community bonds together to create safe ways for Blacks to travel in the United States. A good reflection of how the more things change, the more they stay the same. The end of legal segregation ended a lot of Black businesses highlighted in The Green Book while travel is still dangerous.

The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks by Randall Robinson

challenging hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

The best book I've read on the need for reparations to the survivors of the United States and Europe's transcontinental slave trade of the people of the African continent.

When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era by Donovan X. Ramsey

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Challenges the popular history with well-rounded, first-hand depictions of what really happened. Amazing storytelling in a non-fiction history book. 

The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.

I wanted to like it but I didn't and couldn't force myself to continue listening. I gave it a chance.

Design for Developers by Stephanie Stimac

hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

I was surprised to find that I enjoyed reading this book cover to cover, for the most part. It caught me from the beginning, which is rare for a technical book these days. My reading pace slowed down towards the end and I was expecting a bigger payoff. It felt like it was leading up to a big finish I don't feel was delivered. Despite that, I found this to include a lot of information relevant to design, especially for web design, primarily web site design, but also web application design, in part.
Overall, I'd recommend to anyone working in web design, especially engineers who're interested in understanding design principles better.