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alisarae's Reviews (1.65k)
If you like Anne Lamott or Elizabeth Gilbert, then you will probably sink really quickly into the ideas in this book. In a nutshell, this book is about prayer—how to access deep, honest prayers to heal wounds in your life. The author is woo-woo Christian, but she was careful to make this book accessible to anyone who believes in a higher power.
In church, I was always taught that there are different types of prayers: adoration, intercession, confession, petition, and thanksgiving, and ssooooommeeetimes in some corners you hear whispers about meditation (to be honest, I've only heard about Christian meditation through books and podcasts, never in a physical church). At the same time that I was taught to follow a checklist making sure to hit every kind of prayer, I was also taught that prayer is a conversation. It's really hard to have a deep conversation if you have a checklist dictating your time. This book focuses on the conversation part, and specifically on personal petitions. This is not about praying for other people or with other people. This is about confronting heart issues in your own life and working together with God to heal them. It's also about cultivating a rich, deep personal relationship between you and God where nothing is left unsaid and no stone is left unturned (do you ever have certain thoughts that you would never actually pray about because the thought of exploring those thoughts scares you? I do). The book is really hands-on and gets down to business. No frills, no fuss, no excuses.
I highlighted about 50% of this book and I so wish I had a physical copy to keep around as a reference. There are so many good questions (hundreds of questions) and ideas. I kept thinking of things I want to pray/write about as I was reading it. Skeptics might not be ready to give this sort of prayer-journaling a try, but I believe this vulnerable prayer-style works:
1) The author's own life story is incredible. I was laying down on the couch while I was reading it, but after the first page I literally had to sit up and pay attention. It is that amazing.
2) Personal experiences of prayer-writing have gotten me into being connected to God faster than just normal oral prayers, and left me with strands of connection throughout the day.
3) 95% percent of this book aligns with what the Bible teaches about God's desire for a personal relationship with each individual.
I know that actually doing the follow-thru work of the daily praying and asking God reveal the source of my issues will not be comfortable. But I also know that it is completely worth it. I want to be the strongest, wisest, most grounded person that I can be, and I'm willing to do the work to get there.
In church, I was always taught that there are different types of prayers: adoration, intercession, confession, petition, and thanksgiving, and ssooooommeeetimes in some corners you hear whispers about meditation (to be honest, I've only heard about Christian meditation through books and podcasts, never in a physical church). At the same time that I was taught to follow a checklist making sure to hit every kind of prayer, I was also taught that prayer is a conversation. It's really hard to have a deep conversation if you have a checklist dictating your time. This book focuses on the conversation part, and specifically on personal petitions. This is not about praying for other people or with other people. This is about confronting heart issues in your own life and working together with God to heal them. It's also about cultivating a rich, deep personal relationship between you and God where nothing is left unsaid and no stone is left unturned (do you ever have certain thoughts that you would never actually pray about because the thought of exploring those thoughts scares you? I do). The book is really hands-on and gets down to business. No frills, no fuss, no excuses.
I highlighted about 50% of this book and I so wish I had a physical copy to keep around as a reference. There are so many good questions (hundreds of questions) and ideas. I kept thinking of things I want to pray/write about as I was reading it. Skeptics might not be ready to give this sort of prayer-journaling a try, but I believe this vulnerable prayer-style works:
1) The author's own life story is incredible. I was laying down on the couch while I was reading it, but after the first page I literally had to sit up and pay attention. It is that amazing.
2) Personal experiences of prayer-writing have gotten me into being connected to God faster than just normal oral prayers, and left me with strands of connection throughout the day.
3) 95% percent of this book aligns with what the Bible teaches about God's desire for a personal relationship with each individual.
I know that actually doing the follow-thru work of the daily praying and asking God reveal the source of my issues will not be comfortable. But I also know that it is completely worth it. I want to be the strongest, wisest, most grounded person that I can be, and I'm willing to do the work to get there.
Julia is a first-gen American whose is dealing with the pulls between her traditional Mexican parents and growing up as a Chicagoan. Then, when her perfect older sister dies in a car accident, life spirals downward and forces the family to open up and share more of their secrets.
I liked the concept of this story and I bet a lot of people would like this book a whole lot. Julia's first-person voice felt juvenile-authentic and was the way that I and a lot of my friends talked as teens.... except for when the author butted in with patronizing words of advice that came through Julia's mouth. So annoying and is exactly the sort of BS that I could see right through even as a kid.
Julia herself is why I had such a hard time getting into this story. I almost stopped half-way through. If it had been written in 3rd person, I think I would have liked it a lot better, and it would have forced the author to show relationships more subtly instead of filtering everything through Julia's diary-voice. I stuck it out though, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I like the final 25% of the book.
I liked the concept of this story and I bet a lot of people would like this book a whole lot. Julia's first-person voice felt juvenile-authentic and was the way that I and a lot of my friends talked as teens.... except for when the author butted in with patronizing words of advice that came through Julia's mouth. So annoying and is exactly the sort of BS that I could see right through even as a kid.
Julia herself is why I had such a hard time getting into this story. I almost stopped half-way through. If it had been written in 3rd person, I think I would have liked it a lot better, and it would have forced the author to show relationships more subtly instead of filtering everything through Julia's diary-voice. I stuck it out though, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I like the final 25% of the book.
My favorite memoir format is the graphic memoir. This book is prime example of how wonderful the genre is. The author+illustrator Derf Backderf recounts his middle-school and high-school experiences as a friend of the future serial killer Jeff Dahmer. Frequently referenced are the similarities in their lives: besides living in the same town and attending the same schools, both were bottom rung on the social ladder, both had dads who were chemists, both were the oldest sibling to a younger brother, both lived in practically identical homes... so where did their lives diverge? If I were the author, I would have started obsessing over that too. But through lots of research, Backderf shows that their family relationships could not be more different. Why is it always the mom that sparks a serial killer?
The only way this story could be more interesting is if it included more of Dahmer's life, but as the focus of the book is the author's personal interactions with Dahmer, that would be out of the scope. I'm super excited to watch the movie based on this book that came out last year.
The only way this story could be more interesting is if it included more of Dahmer's life, but as the focus of the book is the author's personal interactions with Dahmer, that would be out of the scope. I'm super excited to watch the movie based on this book that came out last year.
The ending to this series was satisfying. It was nice to read a story with courtly intrigue, pirates, basically set in a fictional Europe during the Enlightenment, but without any fantasy elements.
Though I liked this series, I found it a bit repetitive—let's watch Jaren pull off an unlikely trick and outsmart everyone once again! And again! And yet again! Repetitive both inside this third book and across the series as a whole. I know that I'm not a big middle-grade fan...when I was an actual tween this probably wouldn't have bothered me.
The audiobook narrator was annoying as all get-out though.
Though I liked this series, I found it a bit repetitive—let's watch Jaren pull off an unlikely trick and outsmart everyone once again! And again! And yet again! Repetitive both inside this third book and across the series as a whole. I know that I'm not a big middle-grade fan...when I was an actual tween this probably wouldn't have bothered me.
The audiobook narrator was annoying as all get-out though.
What drew me to this book about K2 is that I am just sick of Everest-this, Everest-that and I wanted to hear about a different mountain for once. This book will spoil all other K2 books though, so be ye warned (maybe read those other K2 books first).
The author Ed Viesturs is a professional mountaineer who has summited all fourteen 8,000m peaks. Besides telling of his own experiences on K2, which is what I had originally thought the entire book was about, Viersturs pulls together the stories of all significant expeditions onto the mountain and gives his professional insights about what went wrong, what he would have done, etc. And what stories there are to be had! K2 is further north and more remote than Everest, which results in much colder climbing, less knowledge about the mountain, and less people on the mountain at a time. The death rate of K2 climbers is 1 in 5; Everest is 1 in 19.
There are three main categories of problems that kill people on K2:
1. Nature. You can't predict storms, avalanches, hidden pits, melting ice, etc.
2. Unpreparedness. Surprisingly to me, a lot of "experts" who have attempted K2 were simply not physically, technically, or materially prepared for it and made many stupid mistakes. I realize that altitude affects the decision-making abilities of people, but there were many just plain bad judgement calls. For example, two guys trying to get back down off the mountain would have been fine just downclimbing. Instead, they decided to repel off of a ski pole. Yes. A ski pole.
3. Ego. Gosh, what is with mountaineers and their egos?? Viesturs frequently points out dangerous decisions that were made with only pride as the explanation. From individual decisions to a complete breakdown in teamwork that led to death, it seems that ego is the number 1 killer here.
The reason why I said this book will spoil other K2 books for you is, besides the spoilers in the expedition stories, this book draws from a variety of sources (articles, letters, conversations) to get a well-rounded picture. Most books are written from the perspective of just one side... but there is always another side. I found it very helpful that the authors did all the leg work of gathering various sides to the stories and Viesturs's professional insights to be able to make an educated guess about what really happened up above 20,000 feet. Some people think this results in the book being a gossip rag, but I found it all super interesting. If lack of teamwork and ego are the top killers on the mountain, gossip is an integral part of understanding the mistakes. I want to read more mountaineering stories, but I will be thinking, "Yes, but what REALLY happened??" the whole time.
Near the end of the book, Viesturs laments the commercialization of mountain climbing and his fears of how that will change K2. Well, he wrote that nearly a decade ago, and you can see online that his fears have become much of a reality. A quick google search brought up many results for commercial tours that made summiting K2 seem like an adventure vacation: personal tent—no sharing required! 50kg of personal baggage permitted! Team chef that prepares three tasty meals per day! 1-1 Sherpa! I am not kidding you. Google it yourself. While I would not want to pay upwards of $40,000 to go on a torture fest for 2 months, it does make me sad that such a majestic thing has become so trivialized. It seems like not much is left of the sacred in the world.
One last small thing I wanted to bring up: Viesturs names the Sherpa in the stories when possible, but sadly many of the men and women who are most deserving of our awe remain anonymous to history.
The author Ed Viesturs is a professional mountaineer who has summited all fourteen 8,000m peaks. Besides telling of his own experiences on K2, which is what I had originally thought the entire book was about, Viersturs pulls together the stories of all significant expeditions onto the mountain and gives his professional insights about what went wrong, what he would have done, etc. And what stories there are to be had! K2 is further north and more remote than Everest, which results in much colder climbing, less knowledge about the mountain, and less people on the mountain at a time. The death rate of K2 climbers is 1 in 5; Everest is 1 in 19.
There are three main categories of problems that kill people on K2:
1. Nature. You can't predict storms, avalanches, hidden pits, melting ice, etc.
2. Unpreparedness. Surprisingly to me, a lot of "experts" who have attempted K2 were simply not physically, technically, or materially prepared for it and made many stupid mistakes. I realize that altitude affects the decision-making abilities of people, but there were many just plain bad judgement calls. For example, two guys trying to get back down off the mountain would have been fine just downclimbing. Instead, they decided to repel off of a ski pole. Yes. A ski pole.
3. Ego. Gosh, what is with mountaineers and their egos?? Viesturs frequently points out dangerous decisions that were made with only pride as the explanation. From individual decisions to a complete breakdown in teamwork that led to death, it seems that ego is the number 1 killer here.
The reason why I said this book will spoil other K2 books for you is, besides the spoilers in the expedition stories, this book draws from a variety of sources (articles, letters, conversations) to get a well-rounded picture. Most books are written from the perspective of just one side... but there is always another side. I found it very helpful that the authors did all the leg work of gathering various sides to the stories and Viesturs's professional insights to be able to make an educated guess about what really happened up above 20,000 feet. Some people think this results in the book being a gossip rag, but I found it all super interesting. If lack of teamwork and ego are the top killers on the mountain, gossip is an integral part of understanding the mistakes. I want to read more mountaineering stories, but I will be thinking, "Yes, but what REALLY happened??" the whole time.
Near the end of the book, Viesturs laments the commercialization of mountain climbing and his fears of how that will change K2. Well, he wrote that nearly a decade ago, and you can see online that his fears have become much of a reality. A quick google search brought up many results for commercial tours that made summiting K2 seem like an adventure vacation: personal tent—no sharing required! 50kg of personal baggage permitted! Team chef that prepares three tasty meals per day! 1-1 Sherpa! I am not kidding you. Google it yourself. While I would not want to pay upwards of $40,000 to go on a torture fest for 2 months, it does make me sad that such a majestic thing has become so trivialized. It seems like not much is left of the sacred in the world.
One last small thing I wanted to bring up: Viesturs names the Sherpa in the stories when possible, but sadly many of the men and women who are most deserving of our awe remain anonymous to history.
I love reading stories by Nnedi Okorafor. She is so creative. Don't knock this series just because they are novellas--I guarantee this is the most original tasting sci-fi you have ever read. A+ Afrofuturism.
Binti learns to accept the various aspects of her identity. Okwu shows more personality. Third Fish has a cute baby. A very satisfying ending to this super creative space odyssey.
FINALLY FINISHED THIS BOOK THAT NEVER ENDS. Liike, it took me 11 days to read this book which is a very long time in my world. I was bored. The sci-fi concepts were so interesting, but the slow, plodding narration that drew me in in the first book weighed down the story by the third book. Normally a story speeds up as you get closer to the monster, right? Not here. Zzzz. Although I understand this was a deliberate stylistic choice to mirror the movement of the Crawler... still.
The author grew up and lives in the Southwest, so a lot of these poems came with a weary sense of familiarity for me. Diaz writes about identity, poverty, her meth-addicted brother, and wounds.
The poems were interesting to read because I have a grasp of the place. I didn't understand all of the references, but I liked when I could pick out what was being referred to. There is quite a bit of Spanish in here, and I was happy that I got all of it without looking anything up. The poems about the destructiveness and helplessness that comes with living with an addict were the most interesting to me.
I could tell that each poem was carefully crafted and labored over--many of the words were just so thoughtful and perfectly honed for the context. A lot of popular poetry is clever or emotional, but it's harder to find a collection that is somberly sincere, comes from a deep emotional place, and is knowledgeably thinking like this collection is.
The poems were interesting to read because I have a grasp of the place. I didn't understand all of the references, but I liked when I could pick out what was being referred to. There is quite a bit of Spanish in here, and I was happy that I got all of it without looking anything up. The poems about the destructiveness and helplessness that comes with living with an addict were the most interesting to me.
I could tell that each poem was carefully crafted and labored over--many of the words were just so thoughtful and perfectly honed for the context. A lot of popular poetry is clever or emotional, but it's harder to find a collection that is somberly sincere, comes from a deep emotional place, and is knowledgeably thinking like this collection is.
This is my absolute favorite chef (many of her recipes are found on the NY Times cooking website). I would cook everything in this book. Everything. Exactly my tastes and food style -- 1 pot meals for the most part + carb base (rice for me, usually) + salad. The recipes take about an hour from start to finish, with the occasional advanced marinade prep.
I don't consider any of the ingredients here to be out of the ordinary, but I cook a lot of asian food so I generally have everything on hand. There are a few northern hemisphere foods I can't get, but those recipes can be adjusted or skipped.
I got this from the library but will certainly buy it when I get the chance.
I don't consider any of the ingredients here to be out of the ordinary, but I cook a lot of asian food so I generally have everything on hand. There are a few northern hemisphere foods I can't get, but those recipes can be adjusted or skipped.
I got this from the library but will certainly buy it when I get the chance.