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tracithomas's Reviews (1.05k)
lighthearted
medium-paced
I’m an Ina fan but found this book pretty boring. I couldn’t stop listening but can’t tell you why. It was a lot of her grocery lists and real estate choices. A lot. She’s super rich and had been extremely fortunate through her life and career. I learned a lot of details about her life but nothing actually major or unexpected about her as a woman. It felt surface. And yet I finished and didn’t hate it. Ina magic I guess.
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was pretty underwhelmed with this book. It is not my kind of novel, it is a lot of musings and not a lot of plot. The way the character's musings are presented felt a lot like they could've been an essay but were thinly veiled as fiction. I loved KCV's nonfiction and feel her writing is stronger in that form and that this book was trying to do that in fiction that didn't land for me.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Johanna Hedva is a literary force. Their thinking and writing is exactly what I hope to read every single time I open any collection of cultural criticism. They are smart, funny, bold, surprising, and observe the world in ways that would never occur to me (they essay in this book on wrestling is the perfect example). I had so many “ah-ha” moments about ableism while reading this book, but more than that I had so many “ah-ha” moments about what care is and can be. This is a book about possibility. It is also a book about kink and cocks and art and hags. It is a text that I am so happy to have read and I know I will continue to reckon with it and Hedva’s words for a long time to come.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a cute little short story comic collection. I loved the group text section best. It’s a totally loving book about Black wine and friendship. It does feel a bit choppy or like the stories are unfinished but overall it’s very sweet.
informative
fast-paced
This was fine but was lacking in details it was very much a slim overview. I’m not sure there was enough to let a beginner feel confident to start growing. It’s fine and cute but minimal for sure (only features a few plants and details on soil etc).
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
This is a really great overview of what is going on with abortion and how to talk about it and combat anti-abortion talking points and policy. She explains how this happens and the language and attitudes that made abortion bans possible as well as the "why" behind it all. It is a short book, but it does feel a little redundant in parts.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I love Ellen Bass poetry. Her poems are so good. They are plain and tender and easy to understand and yet they still deliver a total gut punch.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read this book when it came out in 2019 and reread it for The Stacks Book Club now, and while it is still an amazing book, the gut punch of the first read is not relived or deepened the second time around.
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
TNC is so incredibly talented. This book sings with his skill at crafting prose essays. The arguments are not as clear as I would have liked, but he’s grappling with so much it is extremely worthy of time and thought. It ends in an unexpected place which took me out of it but overall this is a big yes. It is bold and brave and provocative (but not for provocation’s sake). His thinking on Palestine is where I felt most connected to his own humanity and struggle. It is the centerpiece of the thing and maybe didn’t need the other essays, but they’re there and they’re good.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This book is very good. The first half where she relies more on memoir was less good to me than the second half where she really digs into the cultural criticism. The criticism is there in the early parts too, but it really works in the end. So razor sharp and thought through. Pop culture treated as high art (thank god) and it really works.