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writesdave's Reviews (364)
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
emotional
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
I've lost track of the number of music-in-a-time-and-place books I've read, but I'm always interested to see what conditions (social, cultural, educational, environmental) gave rise to a "scene."
Here, we learn the origins of the silly, arty pop of the B-52s, and the high-concept pop-rock of R.E.M., as well as a few others that should have made it, if you ask those in the scene. No real surprises here if you lived through that period of time anywhere, and if you paid attention to culture at large; admittedly, I didn't hear R.E.M. until "Shiny Happy People" and "Losing my Religion," and I never encountered the B-52s until "Love Shack."
Okay, one surprise. Athens hasn't always been the sophisticated model college town of its repute, and only after the emerging bands thrust it in the spotlight did the cosmopolitan haze descend thanks to the masses crowding the town, hoping to catch a glimpse of The Next ™ or be a part of it themselves.
Under the current circumstances, I cracked this one open to be transported, and Brown did just that. He might have needed another edit, and he admitted his memory of some of those nights is hazy, but even if he wasn't sure he knew exactly who to ask, like a good researcher.
The simple explanation comes at the very end in the afterward—Athens is a college town with a yearly influx of enthusiastic, courageous, optimistic and creative people, pushing each other to greater heights in their art. You could say that about any college town, really, but for some reason Athens really caught that wave in the late 70s and early 80s. Brown skillfully brings it all to the page.
Here, we learn the origins of the silly, arty pop of the B-52s, and the high-concept pop-rock of R.E.M., as well as a few others that should have made it, if you ask those in the scene. No real surprises here if you lived through that period of time anywhere, and if you paid attention to culture at large; admittedly, I didn't hear R.E.M. until "Shiny Happy People" and "Losing my Religion," and I never encountered the B-52s until "Love Shack."
Okay, one surprise. Athens hasn't always been the sophisticated model college town of its repute, and only after the emerging bands thrust it in the spotlight did the cosmopolitan haze descend thanks to the masses crowding the town, hoping to catch a glimpse of The Next ™ or be a part of it themselves.
Under the current circumstances, I cracked this one open to be transported, and Brown did just that. He might have needed another edit, and he admitted his memory of some of those nights is hazy, but even if he wasn't sure he knew exactly who to ask, like a good researcher.
The simple explanation comes at the very end in the afterward—Athens is a college town with a yearly influx of enthusiastic, courageous, optimistic and creative people, pushing each other to greater heights in their art. You could say that about any college town, really, but for some reason Athens really caught that wave in the late 70s and early 80s. Brown skillfully brings it all to the page.
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
In a world presently closed off in large swathes yet begging for exploration, Judith Schalansky's richly researched and wonderfully presented book hits the spot. Her personal story feeds the narrative (see elsewhere) and inspires anyone else who has ever sat for hours with an atlas open on your lap, working over the pages with your fingers and imagining what those places look like in 3D. This book takes you literally to the ends of the earth.
These days I seek out books with a strong sense place that indulge wanderlust, hence the name of the list where I've chronicled this book. This book checks both boxes and will remain a staple on my shelf.
These days I seek out books with a strong sense place that indulge wanderlust, hence the name of the list where I've chronicled this book. This book checks both boxes and will remain a staple on my shelf.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Fascinating academic look at the history of woman athletes—well, you see the subtitle. I got educated these past few weeks, though I knew of the recent struggles to have world-class women's football in Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Did you know women's football was illegal in Brazil as recently as the 1980s? Yeesh.
The book serves as a reminder (as if we needed more) of women's resilience and the fight to belong and succeed in the face of systemic misogyny. And this doesn't just apply to sports. It applies to every corner of the culture, and it applies at every level, from the pitch to the executive suite.
"Futbolera" would work wonderfully as a text in classes on Latin American history, women's studies and physical education (especially for teachers in ethnically diverse areas). Overall, excellent read for open-minded sports nuts.
The book serves as a reminder (as if we needed more) of women's resilience and the fight to belong and succeed in the face of systemic misogyny. And this doesn't just apply to sports. It applies to every corner of the culture, and it applies at every level, from the pitch to the executive suite.
"Futbolera" would work wonderfully as a text in classes on Latin American history, women's studies and physical education (especially for teachers in ethnically diverse areas). Overall, excellent read for open-minded sports nuts.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The prose is stunningly beautiful and the stream-of-consciousness style takes you on a psychedelic journey into the mind of a dissatisfied wife. That said, within the first three chapters I thought, 'I liked this a lot better as "The Awakening."' At least "The Awakening" had a resolution at the end.
Fresh in my mind was a tweet I saw decrying the notion that if a man's wife is happy, then the marriage is not normal. The unhappy wife trope dominates television, movies, literature, the arts generally. So maybe I should have waited to read this until I had brushed the taste of that social media post out of my mouth. I also have to consider the time period and the expectations levied upon women, especially in South America, and perhaps I should realize that in a life like Joana's, there is no resolution. No one in a marriage ends up happy, even if you change your situation.
I'll give Lispector's short stories a shot.
Check it out for the prose—providing the translator got it right. And understand in this listing that the translator (Giovanni) is listed first.
Fresh in my mind was a tweet I saw decrying the notion that if a man's wife is happy, then the marriage is not normal. The unhappy wife trope dominates television, movies, literature, the arts generally. So maybe I should have waited to read this until I had brushed the taste of that social media post out of my mouth. I also have to consider the time period and the expectations levied upon women, especially in South America, and perhaps I should realize that in a life like Joana's, there is no resolution. No one in a marriage ends up happy, even if you change your situation.
I'll give Lispector's short stories a shot.
Check it out for the prose—providing the translator got it right. And understand in this listing that the translator (Giovanni) is listed first.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
I didn’t enjoy reading this book, which is kind of the point. Long before a book printed the “Lies my Teacher Told Me,” Dee Brown got started on the task by culling hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, interviews, reports and newspaper accounts representing both Indigenous peoples and their white conquerors, all to chronicle how the west was lost. Over time, we all learned the U.S. military did some bad shit in stealing the land from those who were there first, but you couldn’t imagine the depths of the government’s depravity. Anything to shed light on the atrocities and debunk some of the myths of exceptionalism, I’m in favor.
This book is mandatory reading, the kind of book that makes a certain segment of the population impotently angry at seeing those myths crash down on their heads like stones. Those people should have it read to them by elders, the only ones who can do justice to Brown’s rhythmic prose.
I fell in love with the American West and lived there more than a decade and a half. But whose West did I fall in love with—the wild, wide-open, untamed vision of Geronimo, Crazy Horse and Black Elk? Or the clear-cut, tamed and sanitized vision of L.L. Bean?
This book is mandatory reading, the kind of book that makes a certain segment of the population impotently angry at seeing those myths crash down on their heads like stones. Those people should have it read to them by elders, the only ones who can do justice to Brown’s rhythmic prose.
I fell in love with the American West and lived there more than a decade and a half. But whose West did I fall in love with—the wild, wide-open, untamed vision of Geronimo, Crazy Horse and Black Elk? Or the clear-cut, tamed and sanitized vision of L.L. Bean?