"Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?"
Given all the hype this book got on Bookstagram, I thought it was going to be way better! But Bookstagram recs definitely been tossups for me, and it looks like this was another one of the disappointments. It wasn’t terrible, per se…just very underwhelming. I feel guilty for saying this, but the first thought I had after finishing was, “A decade of reporting and investigating for this?”
I listen to a lot of podcasts – a lot! – so I started a series rounding up the most interesting episodes I’ve heard recently. And I’m really enjoying these podcast roundups! I go through so many that oftentimes I worry that I don’t really internalize them and remember their contents, but jotting down short notes here helps with that a lot. This week, I learned about the amazing artistry and customization that went into the music of Seinfeld, one way to get to Mars that everyone’s overlooking, and super creepy Victorian Christmas cards.
Continue reading “Weekly Listens, #5”
I can’t lie, guys – I kind of hated this book for how depressing it is. Don’t get me wrong, it’s objectively well-written and I’m impressed this is Ma’s debut novel, but on a more personal level, it made me want to scrub all memory of reading this from my brain because it’s just that depressing…not to mention it’s EERILY SIMILAR to the coronavirus pandemic breaking out right now!
Continue reading “Severance – Ling Ma”I listen to a lot of podcasts – a lot! – so I started a series rounding up the most interesting episodes I’ve heard recently. And I’m really enjoying these podcast roundups! I go through so many that oftentimes I worry that I don’t really internalize them and remember their contents, but jotting down short notes here helps with that a lot. This week…
Continue reading “Weekly Listens, #4”
What an insanely powerful book. When we think of Native Americans, we tend to think of 19th-century Cherokees on horseback and shooting arrows at bison, or perhaps something vague about moccasins and canoes and totem poles, maybe with colorful, feathered headdresses thrown in – all hopelessly dated stereotypes. Orange wrote this book to address this exact issue after noticing there’s next to nothing about modern-day Native American life in art/literature/general culture, and wanted to share what their lives really look like while putting it in the context of a novel. And the result is just devastating.
Continue reading “There There – Tommy Orange”
I was itching for a classic fantasy read so it only seemed natural to pick up one of the most classic books in the genre – Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. She gets a lot of love on /r/books so I figured it was as good a choice as any, but it turned out to be just meh for me.
What I liked:
What I didn’t like (and oh how much there is):
Continue reading “Assassin’s Apprentice – Robin Hobb”I listen to a lot of podcasts – a lot! – so I started a series rounding up the most interesting episodes I’ve heard recently. There were some great shows this week! Among others, there was America’s high school math curriculum and whether it works or not, the history of a polygamous “utopia” that turned into a famous tableware company (seriously), and the massive problem of millions of feral hogs running loose in the country. Yep, feral hogs.
Continue reading “Weekly Listens, #3”
Mossflower Cove 