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alisarae's Reviews (1.65k)
I finally read this book! I didn't read a whole lot of contemporary YA when I was a teen (Stargirl, Holes, and Esperanza Rising being notable exceptions thanks to a fantastic youth librarian trying her hardest with rural homeschool teens). At the time, even the title of this book seemed a bit sacrilegious.
Reading it now, I can see how this book really was revolutionary when it was first published in 1970. Straight talk about periods, first lessons about gossip, secret crushes, interacting with boys, secret societies with your girl friends, trying to figure out religion and how God is present in our lives—it's all important! And the authenticity of the situations are just spot on. For example, a boy that seems cute from a distance turns out to be a disappointingly ordinary 11-year-old boy when Margaret interacts with him.
Some of the conflicts are dated: "If you're not Jewish or Christian, how will you choose to enroll in the YMCA or the Jewish Club?" Or like, Margaret rides a bus by herself from New Jersey to downtown NYC.
Times have changed, but it's delightful to see that some things about being a pre-teen have not.
Reading it now, I can see how this book really was revolutionary when it was first published in 1970. Straight talk about periods, first lessons about gossip, secret crushes, interacting with boys, secret societies with your girl friends, trying to figure out religion and how God is present in our lives—it's all important! And the authenticity of the situations are just spot on. For example, a boy that seems cute from a distance turns out to be a disappointingly ordinary 11-year-old boy when Margaret interacts with him.
Some of the conflicts are dated: "If you're not Jewish or Christian, how will you choose to enroll in the YMCA or the Jewish Club?" Or like, Margaret rides a bus by herself from New Jersey to downtown NYC.
Times have changed, but it's delightful to see that some things about being a pre-teen have not.
For #LeiaMulheres book club.
This story about fertility and motherhood really wrapped me up in the narrative more than I expected it to (I don't really care about those things very much). The plot-twisting revelations were such a great addition to the story, though the story crafter in me was disappointed that the stakes weren't high enough for one of them. The book was engaging and the pacing was great.
I am continually impressed by the Nigerian novels that I read. I am slowly picking up more about Nigeria's history along the way. This one is set in the 70's turmoil post-civil war (see Half a Yellow Sun) and during a coup that followed. Interesting.
This story about fertility and motherhood really wrapped me up in the narrative more than I expected it to (I don't really care about those things very much). The plot-twisting revelations were such a great addition to the story, though the story crafter in me was disappointed that the stakes weren't high enough for one of them. The book was engaging and the pacing was great.
I am continually impressed by the Nigerian novels that I read. I am slowly picking up more about Nigeria's history along the way. This one is set in the 70's turmoil post-civil war (see Half a Yellow Sun) and during a coup that followed. Interesting.
This book explains how we perceive time (lots of quotes from literature, poetry, and philosophy) and what science knows and doesn't know about time. It is a thin book, and it is precisely and beautifully written. It is meant for a regular person to be able to read and understand.
I did not understand most of the non poetry parts (i.e. the science parts) but I think I could if I saw some visuals... maybe on youtube? I really gave it a try though, listening to some passages multiple times. Bennedict Cumberbatch reads the audio in a very soothing voice so I didn't mind listening even when I didn't understand what he was telling me. I wonder if I could understand the author's other book: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics.
I did not understand most of the non poetry parts (i.e. the science parts) but I think I could if I saw some visuals... maybe on youtube? I really gave it a try though, listening to some passages multiple times. Bennedict Cumberbatch reads the audio in a very soothing voice so I didn't mind listening even when I didn't understand what he was telling me. I wonder if I could understand the author's other book: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics.
5 stars because this book is an important documentation of the Trump era. Kendzior has a PhD in West Asian autocracies and returned to freelance journalism after many of the jobs in her field were eliminated. In this book she skillfully and clearly demonstrates the ties between individuals in Russia and the US government that goes back decades (she quips: "'It's all in public record!!' will be on my tombstone."). She has a secondary thesis in the book, which is to show that Trump voters and red states are not a monolith and voted for Trump for a variety of nuanced reasons--none of which included the destruction of national parks and heritage sites, the enrichening of Trump's friends and family with government money through nepotistic contracts, allowing foreign hostile actors to shape national policy, or the infiltration of US institutions like the FBI and the Treasury with documented Russian agents. She has clearly lost hope of any return to our deeply flawed democracy as we used to know it and has focused her energies on preserving a historical record of America as beautiful and diverse before the winners have a chance to rewrite history.
Kendzior writes from a place of love for her country, her state, and her children. She is not afraid to face the flaws (Missouri appears to be a lawless hellscape), yet she remains a loyal patriot... albeit one who needs undercover bodyguards when she speaks in public.
Kendzior writes from a place of love for her country, her state, and her children. She is not afraid to face the flaws (Missouri appears to be a lawless hellscape), yet she remains a loyal patriot... albeit one who needs undercover bodyguards when she speaks in public.
I enjoyed the character of Maisie Dobbs. She is like Sherlock Holmes but uses empathy and body language to see the psychology behind what people are saying with their words. I also liked the setting: interwar England. The mystery in this book wasn't soooo hard to figure out, and was a small part of the plot overall. As such, the book is more about Maisie's backstory and setting up her relationships with recurring characters. I have a feeling that the other books in the series will be more focused on clues and crimes.
RUBY DOYLE GAAAAHH
I went into this book thinking "sherlock holmes but woman" and since this book is on all thebliterary snob lists I adore, all the fantastical elements took me by surprise. The humor caught me off guard too--nearly every side character is humor relief. Also, Bridie is a WAY cooler character than Sherlock. And Ruby Doyle is the steamiest ghost I've ever heard of. Really wonderful characters all around.
I went into this book thinking "sherlock holmes but woman" and since this book is on all thebliterary snob lists I adore, all the fantastical elements took me by surprise. The humor caught me off guard too--nearly every side character is humor relief. Also, Bridie is a WAY cooler character than Sherlock. And Ruby Doyle is the steamiest ghost I've ever heard of. Really wonderful characters all around.
This memoir starts out so full of despair--an older couple in rural England loses their family farm that is full of memories, they lose their livlihood and financial assets and home, and the husband is diagnosed with a degenerative terminal illness all in one swoop. I was literally sobbing.
So they decide to go walking and wild camping along England's South West Coast Path (630 miles), surviving on the 40-something pounds a week in financial aid they received. It is, in short, amazing. The writing is so delicate and bluntly honest (how is it both?) and you can sense hope slowly dawning on them like a new leaf budding in spring. As they come to accept their situation--homeless, hungry, stinky, old, unwelcome, unable to participate in the society they used to be a part of--they start to let go of bitterness and fear and fully embrace reality for all it's worth. The transformation is beautiful.
This is one of the most inspirational books I've ever read. I hope that if I am ever in a situation as dire as theirs, I learn the grace that they have.
So they decide to go walking and wild camping along England's South West Coast Path (630 miles), surviving on the 40-something pounds a week in financial aid they received. It is, in short, amazing. The writing is so delicate and bluntly honest (how is it both?) and you can sense hope slowly dawning on them like a new leaf budding in spring. As they come to accept their situation--homeless, hungry, stinky, old, unwelcome, unable to participate in the society they used to be a part of--they start to let go of bitterness and fear and fully embrace reality for all it's worth. The transformation is beautiful.
This is one of the most inspirational books I've ever read. I hope that if I am ever in a situation as dire as theirs, I learn the grace that they have.
#AlisaReadstheWorld: Oman
I was quite excited that this book won the Booker Int'l Prize in 2019 because it meant more exposure and opportunities for Arab women to be published. Plus, on a personal level, it helps my quest to read a book by a woman from every country/territory in the world.
In the translator's note at the beginning of the book, there is a very fair warning: the narrative structure is "innovative." Quite honestly, I prefer conventional narrative structures. I've come across a lot of inventive and creative structures in my read-the-world quest, and I haven't liked any of them. But part of the personal challenge is to gain exposure to narrative styles of the global south.
Celestial Bodies is made up of vignettes from a huge cast of loosely-related characters, jumping from first-person to 3rd-omniscient, skipping back and forth from different periods in their lives. For a book that clocks in at a mere 250 pages, it is immensely difficult to follow. I started thinking of each chapter written as an independent short story, and the book became more palatable to me after I stopped trying to keep track of the characters and their relationships to all the others. Because of Oman's rapid ascension into the ranks of wealthy nations, keeping track of where the characters are in history hardly matters—both Bedouin lifestyles and college educated Porsche drivers are in living memory, and not enough time has passed for traditional patriarchal ways to have changed.
Overall, I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this book. I've spent a bit of time in Oman but never really got to know any Omanis. As with all Khaliji nations, the culture is rich, ancient, and diverse.
I was quite excited that this book won the Booker Int'l Prize in 2019 because it meant more exposure and opportunities for Arab women to be published. Plus, on a personal level, it helps my quest to read a book by a woman from every country/territory in the world.
In the translator's note at the beginning of the book, there is a very fair warning: the narrative structure is "innovative." Quite honestly, I prefer conventional narrative structures. I've come across a lot of inventive and creative structures in my read-the-world quest, and I haven't liked any of them. But part of the personal challenge is to gain exposure to narrative styles of the global south.
Celestial Bodies is made up of vignettes from a huge cast of loosely-related characters, jumping from first-person to 3rd-omniscient, skipping back and forth from different periods in their lives. For a book that clocks in at a mere 250 pages, it is immensely difficult to follow. I started thinking of each chapter written as an independent short story, and the book became more palatable to me after I stopped trying to keep track of the characters and their relationships to all the others. Because of Oman's rapid ascension into the ranks of wealthy nations, keeping track of where the characters are in history hardly matters—both Bedouin lifestyles and college educated Porsche drivers are in living memory, and not enough time has passed for traditional patriarchal ways to have changed.
Overall, I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this book. I've spent a bit of time in Oman but never really got to know any Omanis. As with all Khaliji nations, the culture is rich, ancient, and diverse.
Fascinating. I liked learning about specific black women in US history, both famous and not. Even famous ones, like Rosa Parks, I was surprised to learn a lot of info about. I was also happy to learn about Mary Church Terrell, whose archives I am helping digitize at the Library of Congress but didn't really know all that much about her big-picture life contributions. What life was like for the average black woman during different periods of US history is also covered. It's nice to have such a personal and intimate lens to look through—most of my history classes were presidents and wars.
