alisarae's Reviews (1.65k)

That was cute, but super short! I liked the Tea Dragon Society better because the story was longer and the characters were more nuanced. But I'm still happy I read this.

First read: Nov 2012
Second read: Mar 2018
Third read: Nov 2021

HP is such a classic. It got better on the re-read.

Yancey is a favorite author of mine, but I haven’t read Soul Survivor and thus had no idea about his background. I never would have guessed that he grew up impoverished, frequenting fundamentalist Baptist churches in the heart of the KKK south. This memoir is primarily about his childhood and formational years as a young adult. He witnessed, suffered, and actively participated in much abuse; yet against all odds and even his own will, he experienced glimpses of the divine.

TW: violent racism, child abuse, animal abuse, verbal abuse, spiritual abuse, suicide ideation, self harm

Such rich visuals and a deliciously creepy story. I loved the concept. It reminded me a lot of Stranger Things but in a jungle swamp.

Quite shocking!! Gertrude Beasley was a firecracker and wrote honestly and explicitly about her life, dreams, and experiences. Throughout her life she advocated for women's education, suffrage, and reproduction rights. It's a shame that the world lost her voice so early when she was locked in a mental institution until her death, all because she spoke too loudly.

J'ai lu ce livre pour pratiquer le français. Très bien pour pratiquer la prononciation!

This book moved me in ways I wasn't expecting. The characters are so true and real; if you've lived in the Southwest, you know who they are. They struggle, they make bad decisions, they get lost, they love. The Five Wounds is literary but doesn't forget to tell a story, doesn't forget to make you care.

I've listened to enough podcasts about QAnon that nothing here was really new, but if you are curious about where it got started and how it spread, this is a good primer. The best part was at the end: supportive answers for concerned friends and family members whose relationships have been destroyed. It boils down to general cult advice:
1. Don't argue, it's useless and only entrenches someone further in their beliefs. Facts obviously don't matter to someone who believes this stuff, so there's no point in bringing them up.
2. If you feel up to it, try to find a point of common doubt about the Q universe. The book gives several ideas, but one example is: Why did Q use a janky porn message board to communicate this very important information? I'd like to think of more questions like this for Q-fringe believers, eg people who believe the stuff peddled on Fox but don't realize that it comes from QAnon and don't even understand what Q is exactly.
3. Keep communication open - you might be the only link to reality that this person has if they ever do have a doubt they would like to talk about. But this doesn't mean you have to accept listening to the latest conspiracy theories or politics. Try to stick to conversations about good memories you had together in the past (preferably pre-Q).
4. Go outside with them. Literally. Try to get out of cell signal range and connect with nature.

Good luck this holiday season, folks!

Beautiful, deliberate writing and a good story but it took me so long to finish! Nothing was compelling to finish and I kept falling asleep. The ending was a surprise though.

Great resource. I didn't expect much since it was a free e-book.