alisarae's Reviews (1.65k)

A silly little book that is Paris' answer to Sex and the City. All the advice that your saucy French grandmother never told you.

After reading this book you will have serious ethical inhibitions voting for Republican candidates, so be ye warned.

Several times this quote by Louis D. Brandeis appears: "We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." Out of context, this may sound like something that is super pro-socialist, but the book does a very good job of showing how true it is.

The final chapter gives a few relevant numbers regarding estimated spending during the 2016 election cycle:
- Democratic Party - $1 billion
- Republican Party - $1 billion
- Koch bros and billionaire friends (minus Trump, btw) - $889 million
Those numbers alone should make you do a double-take and question what the motivation is, because they obviously believe they will get good returns on their investment.

(note: 4/5 stars because sometimes Mayer uses language that is obviously biased and it's hard to see what her sources are... describing the expressions of people, quoting bloggers without giving specifics, etc)

Meu namorado adora qualquer coisa que Neil Gaiman faz, e ele tem tentado me convencer a gostar também. Eu já li vários livros de Neil Gaiman, e reconheço por quê ele é importante e por quê muitas pessoas gostam dele. Objetivamente, eu entendo que Sandman: Noites Sem Fim é criativo, artístico, tal, mas pessoalmente, não gostei muito das histórias.

Different from the first book, Parable of the Sower, this book is written as a mix between the journals of Olamina and commentary on the journals by her daughter Larkin. Larkin is trying to piece together her personal life story because she was adopted and raised to believe that they cult started by her mother, Earthseed, was if not satanic, not healthy for the community. Larkin also grew up in a slightly more peaceful world than her mother did, though the country was still cleaning up the aftermath of a Donald Trump-like president and a civil war with Alaska and Canada. This book also shows more of the leadership aspirations and thoughts of Olamina, including realistic how-to's on evangelizing and indoctrinating. I think it was nice that the author showed us a different side to Olamina through the eyes of her unbelieving daughter and brother.

Questions I answered by reading this book:
1. Did Harper Lee prepare this book to be published?
No.

2. Is Atticus racist?
Yes.

2b. Is racist Atticus like an alternate universe Atticus, or has he always been racist?
He has always been racist and the book does a good job of explaining it.

3. Do I like adult Scout?
Ehhhhhhh. She is the same age as me and yet supremely naïve. I found it hard to believe. See #1.

4. Will I regret reading this? Will it change my enjoyment of TKAM?
No. TKAM is not tainted and I don't regret reading this. I'm glad I made true on my promise to not read it until after Ms Lee's passing, though. See #1.

One of the most remarkable, beautiful, honest, and authentic explorations about grace that I have ever read. It's critical in today's polarized political climate, where people are brimming to the breaking point with rage, or perhaps have already been broken by apathy, that we end the cycle the only way it can be ended: with grace.