Take a photo of a barcode or cover
calarco's Reviews (760)
If you have an interest in learning about privilege and prejudice, especially as it pertains to life and culture in the United States, then I hands down have to recommend [b:White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism|43708708|White Fragility Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism|Robin DiAngelo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548478235l/43708708._SY75_.jpg|58159636]. It’s well-researched, well-argued, and something that really needs to be on more people’s radar.
Sociologist Robin DiAngelo does a great job of explaining complex social phenomenon as they pertain to larger systems, versus personal and individualized denunciations. If you are white or light-skinned, reading this work will require quite a bit of humility and self-reflection. I myself am a mixed Peruvian-Italian-American, and as a light skinned Latina who has experienced both privilege and prejudice, I definitely find her work to be incredibly true—both on academic and personal levels.
My only critique would be that given how short this book is I was left wanting more information. If you also fall into this category, and want to read more about white privilege I would also recommend Frances Kendall’s [b:Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race|929327|Understanding White Privilege Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race|Frances E. Kendall|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347620704l/929327._SY75_.jpg|914320]. For more on the history of the social construct of “race” in the United States, I super duper recommend Dr. Nell Irvin Painter’s [b:The History of White People|6919721|The History of White People|Nell Irvin Painter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349005576l/6919721._SY75_.jpg|7147568].
Sociologist Robin DiAngelo does a great job of explaining complex social phenomenon as they pertain to larger systems, versus personal and individualized denunciations. If you are white or light-skinned, reading this work will require quite a bit of humility and self-reflection. I myself am a mixed Peruvian-Italian-American, and as a light skinned Latina who has experienced both privilege and prejudice, I definitely find her work to be incredibly true—both on academic and personal levels.
My only critique would be that given how short this book is I was left wanting more information. If you also fall into this category, and want to read more about white privilege I would also recommend Frances Kendall’s [b:Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race|929327|Understanding White Privilege Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race|Frances E. Kendall|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347620704l/929327._SY75_.jpg|914320]. For more on the history of the social construct of “race” in the United States, I super duper recommend Dr. Nell Irvin Painter’s [b:The History of White People|6919721|The History of White People|Nell Irvin Painter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349005576l/6919721._SY75_.jpg|7147568].
I know the title is [b:Bleak House|31242|Bleak House|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1280113147l/31242._SY75_.jpg|2960365], but I did not realize that reading this book would also be an incredibly bleak experience. All I knew going in was that this was Charles Dickens’ longest novel—sadly I would now argue that it’s also one of his weakest.
A product of his time and place, Dickens wrote a great deal about the trials and tribulations of the haves and have-nots in Industrial and Victorian era England, when income inequality was more than a tad pronounced. In Bleak House, much of the novel’s events occur in relation to the convoluted inheritance court case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. While I believe the intention was to shine on a light on judicial injustice, I found this case to be so uninteresting that I could really care less about the outcome by the novel’s end.
The second nail in the coffin for me was the character of Esther Summerson. Most would agree that she is a modest, thoughtful, and “good” person—but her propensity to self-efface grew to be more draining and grating as the novel dragged on. Without getting into spoiler-specific details, there is very little I could say to describe this character’s personality, because I’m still not entirely sure she had one.
The first Dickens book I ever read was [b:Great Expectations|2623|Great Expectations|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327920219l/2623._SY75_.jpg|2612809] during grade school; I remember being so impressed with the meandering story and surprisingly complex characters. I also recall my English teacher telling us that much of Dickens’ work was published as serials, or in installments—the more he wrote, the more he was paid. While I did not mind this influence to his writing style in Great Expectations, it is horrifically obvious (even detrimental) in Bleak House. There are so many unnecessary subplots that have little, to no, bearing on the overall story, and included characters who are ultimately not very memorable (in addition to the unmemorable main character).
Overall, I’m afraid this one did not impress me all that much. I likely would not have picked this one up if it weren’t on the BBC Radio 4’s "The ten books we rarely get around to reading" challenge. While I do not regret reading this book, I don’t think I’ll be recommending it to anyone anytime soon.
A product of his time and place, Dickens wrote a great deal about the trials and tribulations of the haves and have-nots in Industrial and Victorian era England, when income inequality was more than a tad pronounced. In Bleak House, much of the novel’s events occur in relation to the convoluted inheritance court case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. While I believe the intention was to shine on a light on judicial injustice, I found this case to be so uninteresting that I could really care less about the outcome by the novel’s end.
The second nail in the coffin for me was the character of Esther Summerson. Most would agree that she is a modest, thoughtful, and “good” person—but her propensity to self-efface grew to be more draining and grating as the novel dragged on. Without getting into spoiler-specific details, there is very little I could say to describe this character’s personality, because I’m still not entirely sure she had one.
The first Dickens book I ever read was [b:Great Expectations|2623|Great Expectations|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327920219l/2623._SY75_.jpg|2612809] during grade school; I remember being so impressed with the meandering story and surprisingly complex characters. I also recall my English teacher telling us that much of Dickens’ work was published as serials, or in installments—the more he wrote, the more he was paid. While I did not mind this influence to his writing style in Great Expectations, it is horrifically obvious (even detrimental) in Bleak House. There are so many unnecessary subplots that have little, to no, bearing on the overall story, and included characters who are ultimately not very memorable (in addition to the unmemorable main character).
Overall, I’m afraid this one did not impress me all that much. I likely would not have picked this one up if it weren’t on the BBC Radio 4’s "The ten books we rarely get around to reading" challenge. While I do not regret reading this book, I don’t think I’ll be recommending it to anyone anytime soon.
If you are looking for some family-friendly escapism, then Louisa May Alcott’s [b:Little Women|1934|Little Women|Louisa May Alcott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562690475l/1934._SY75_.jpg|3244642] is a pretty solid pick. I have a fond memory of reading an abridged version when I was a kid, but this was my first full read-through of the original book.
Similar in terms of wholesomeness, perhaps with an added dash of saccharine flavoring, this novel reminded me a lot to Lucy Maud Montgomery’s [b:Anne of Green Gables|8127|Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1)|L.M. Montgomery|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390789015l/8127._SY75_.jpg|3464264]. Both feature coming-of-age stories of young women who experience varying highs and lows in life, though it is probably fair to say young Anne probably would not exist without her predecessors—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy.
While it’s easy to write these four little women off as caricatures of now popular female tropes, I think Alcott was pretty ahead of her time in terms of showcasing different forms of “strong” women. My favorite parts of this book centered on the conflict between the sisters—namely Jo and Amy who reminded me a great deal of me and my own sister.
Overall, this is a pretty solid story. My only critique would be with how neat and quickly quarrels could sometimes be resolved. In this respect, I may actually have enjoyed Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film adaptation more than the source material (oops). That said, this novel is definitely great entertainment, and has my recommendation.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Similar in terms of wholesomeness, perhaps with an added dash of saccharine flavoring, this novel reminded me a lot to Lucy Maud Montgomery’s [b:Anne of Green Gables|8127|Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1)|L.M. Montgomery|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390789015l/8127._SY75_.jpg|3464264]. Both feature coming-of-age stories of young women who experience varying highs and lows in life, though it is probably fair to say young Anne probably would not exist without her predecessors—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy.
While it’s easy to write these four little women off as caricatures of now popular female tropes, I think Alcott was pretty ahead of her time in terms of showcasing different forms of “strong” women. My favorite parts of this book centered on the conflict between the sisters—namely Jo and Amy who reminded me a great deal of me and my own sister.
Overall, this is a pretty solid story. My only critique would be with how neat and quickly quarrels could sometimes be resolved. In this respect, I may actually have enjoyed Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film adaptation more than the source material (oops). That said, this novel is definitely great entertainment, and has my recommendation.
Rating: 3.5 stars
True to its title, [b:A Black Women's History of the United States|45153160|A Black Women's History of the United States|Daina Ramey Berry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575339748l/45153160._SX50_.jpg|55389836] is a great resource on the subject-matter. Truthfully, I picked up this copy for a work-related book club, and am now actually using it a source for other work projects centering on American history and gender equity. Truly, it's a solid piece of research.
Perhaps my favorite element of this book, is how it tackles early history of black women in the United States. Popular historical literature tends to be sparse when it comes to ethnic minorities in general prior to the 1800s, and I have seen this all too often used as an excuse by a number of historical sites to exclude or brush over critical histories. What Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross do exceptionally well, can be seen with their analysis of early black women’s stories in America.
In the face of sparse archival information, when forming narrative history the two fill-in the blanks, so-to-speak, with really good questions. This is by no means to be confused with bold speculations. Rather, after providing factually-based context, the two then expand the conversation of different individual’s experiences with questions geared towards building understanding and challenging pre-existing narratives derived from, in some cases, the same evidence.
This is a really solid read; my only critique would be that I wish they wrote more. Each chapter evaluates a time period, and centers its narrative around (at least) one woman’s experience during that time period. There is a great deal that can be learned from these stories, both for historical knowledge, as well as general life lessons. This book definitely has my recommendation.
Perhaps my favorite element of this book, is how it tackles early history of black women in the United States. Popular historical literature tends to be sparse when it comes to ethnic minorities in general prior to the 1800s, and I have seen this all too often used as an excuse by a number of historical sites to exclude or brush over critical histories. What Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross do exceptionally well, can be seen with their analysis of early black women’s stories in America.
In the face of sparse archival information, when forming narrative history the two fill-in the blanks, so-to-speak, with really good questions. This is by no means to be confused with bold speculations. Rather, after providing factually-based context, the two then expand the conversation of different individual’s experiences with questions geared towards building understanding and challenging pre-existing narratives derived from, in some cases, the same evidence.
This is a really solid read; my only critique would be that I wish they wrote more. Each chapter evaluates a time period, and centers its narrative around (at least) one woman’s experience during that time period. There is a great deal that can be learned from these stories, both for historical knowledge, as well as general life lessons. This book definitely has my recommendation.
Influential, ground-breaking, and timeless—W. E. B. Du Bois’ [b:The Souls of Black Folk|318742|The Souls of Black Folk|W.E.B. Du Bois|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309202855l/318742._SY75_.jpg|1137159] is an amazing social analysis/piece of literature that took the world by storm. I knew Du Bois was a force of nature, but I had no idea of just how truly influential he was (and is) until I read this work.
A century before Ta-Nehisi Coates penned [b:Between the World and Me|25489625|Between the World and Me|Ta-Nehisi Coates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451435027l/25489625._SY75_.jpg|44848425] as a letter to his son on racial injustice in America, W. E. B. Du Bois asked of his fellow man, ”Between me and the other world there is ever an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it… How does it feel to be a problem? I answer seldom a word.” With these sentiments, Du Bois presents the concept of life ”within the Veil”—a manifestation of the color line—where life is split between the expectation established by hegemony, and the reality of systemic injustice.
Du Bois evaluates life ”within the Veil” throughout a number of the essays presented in this volume. Notably though, in Our Spiritual Strivings, he expands that within this context, how people form a type of ”double-consciousness”. This term, Du Bois explains as:
“After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world, — a world which yields him no self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One feels his two-ness, — an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.
In addition to offering elegance and insight, Du Bois’ social analysis, which was built on thoughtful interactions with the people he was writing about, predates the work of many prominent anthropologists first credited with “inventing” ethnographic field work. I would actually consider this collection to be one of the best ethnographic collections I have ever read. Du Bois was a man ahead of his time in a number of ways, though his work will most likely be remembered for its very real impact on civil rights in the United States.
Over half a century before Martin Luther King Jr. “had a dream,”, Du Bois questioned in his final essay, The Sorrow Songs, “Sometimes it is faith in life, sometimes a faith in death, sometimes assurance of boundless justice in some fair world beyond. But whichever it is, the meaning is always clear: that sometime, somewhere, men will judge men by their souls and not by their skins. Is such a hope justified?”
Given the current reality, I think that this question is (and will remain) one worth revisiting. This, in addition to a number of other great content, including a memorable critique of Booker T. Washington’s more conservative approaches, is why I think The Souls of Black Folk is a book worth reading. Either way, Du Bois’ resonance will persist whether or not you are aware of it.
A century before Ta-Nehisi Coates penned [b:Between the World and Me|25489625|Between the World and Me|Ta-Nehisi Coates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451435027l/25489625._SY75_.jpg|44848425] as a letter to his son on racial injustice in America, W. E. B. Du Bois asked of his fellow man, ”Between me and the other world there is ever an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it… How does it feel to be a problem? I answer seldom a word.” With these sentiments, Du Bois presents the concept of life ”within the Veil”—a manifestation of the color line—where life is split between the expectation established by hegemony, and the reality of systemic injustice.
Du Bois evaluates life ”within the Veil” throughout a number of the essays presented in this volume. Notably though, in Our Spiritual Strivings, he expands that within this context, how people form a type of ”double-consciousness”. This term, Du Bois explains as:
“After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world, — a world which yields him no self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One feels his two-ness, — an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.
In addition to offering elegance and insight, Du Bois’ social analysis, which was built on thoughtful interactions with the people he was writing about, predates the work of many prominent anthropologists first credited with “inventing” ethnographic field work. I would actually consider this collection to be one of the best ethnographic collections I have ever read. Du Bois was a man ahead of his time in a number of ways, though his work will most likely be remembered for its very real impact on civil rights in the United States.
Over half a century before Martin Luther King Jr. “had a dream,”, Du Bois questioned in his final essay, The Sorrow Songs, “Sometimes it is faith in life, sometimes a faith in death, sometimes assurance of boundless justice in some fair world beyond. But whichever it is, the meaning is always clear: that sometime, somewhere, men will judge men by their souls and not by their skins. Is such a hope justified?”
Given the current reality, I think that this question is (and will remain) one worth revisiting. This, in addition to a number of other great content, including a memorable critique of Booker T. Washington’s more conservative approaches, is why I think The Souls of Black Folk is a book worth reading. Either way, Du Bois’ resonance will persist whether or not you are aware of it.
Lately, I have been doing a fair amount of background research on the 19th Amendment for a work project related to the centennial milestone, and throughout this process I have found a number of really great stories of women fighting and advocating for their rights. Important to every social justice movement though—are its allies, including enfranchised allies in power.
This is where Brooke Kroeger sought to shine a light on these background, supporting characters in [b:Suffragents Tpb: How Women Used Men to Get the Vote|34917989|Suffragents Tpb How Women Used Men to Get the Vote|Brooke Kroeger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1494428200l/34917989._SX50_.jpg|56182187]. First off, I will admit that I feel the title of the book somewhat does the work a disservice. Really, Kroeger highlights the stories of men working on their own accord, not anyone being “used” (albeit, strategically) by women in any capacity. That said, seeing how supportive individuals used their privilege to speak and act on behalf of social justice is a story worth reading. Secondly, while these are not the most exciting stories, they did play a role in regards to the bigger picture, and are definitely worth reviewing if this is a topic that interests you.
Overall, this book is a solid source in terms of detailing how men assisted with the fight for the 19th Amendment, and I recommend it if this is a topic you are interested in learning more about.
This is where Brooke Kroeger sought to shine a light on these background, supporting characters in [b:Suffragents Tpb: How Women Used Men to Get the Vote|34917989|Suffragents Tpb How Women Used Men to Get the Vote|Brooke Kroeger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1494428200l/34917989._SX50_.jpg|56182187]. First off, I will admit that I feel the title of the book somewhat does the work a disservice. Really, Kroeger highlights the stories of men working on their own accord, not anyone being “used” (albeit, strategically) by women in any capacity. That said, seeing how supportive individuals used their privilege to speak and act on behalf of social justice is a story worth reading. Secondly, while these are not the most exciting stories, they did play a role in regards to the bigger picture, and are definitely worth reviewing if this is a topic that interests you.
Overall, this book is a solid source in terms of detailing how men assisted with the fight for the 19th Amendment, and I recommend it if this is a topic you are interested in learning more about.
Given just how impactful I found [b:Milk and Honey|23513349|Milk and Honey|Rupi Kaur|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491595510l/23513349._SY75_.jpg|43116473], perhaps unfairly, from the get-go I had high hopes for Rupi Kaur’s [b:The Sun and Her Flowers|35606560|The Sun and Her Flowers|Rupi Kaur|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499791446l/35606560._SY75_.jpg|57044162]. Comparatively, I found this second collection of poetry to be lacking and underwhelming compared to the first.
For starters (and clarification), I think that Rupi Kaur is a talented artist. I enjoyed her first book so much, I actually gifted it to a couple other people in my life, as I found it to be almost like an advanced exercise in empathy with universal value. I know her writing style has been criticized for lacking refinement, though given my own background from an immigrant family, I really enjoyed how she embraced writing in lower cases and phrases as a form of artistic storytelling. When you learn a new language, anything short of perfect diction is commonly seen as unpolished, so it was refreshing to see a style in the vein of polish-remover being utilized as its own aesthetic.
I also really enjoy her at times brutal, at times tender, brand of extreme honesty. This ultimately led to, what I considered to be, a really refreshing form of authenticity in milk and honey. Sadly, in comparison, the sun and her flowers feels almost like an underdeveloped afterthought that could have used some additional germination (terrible pun intended). I appreciate many of the sentiments Kaur shared, but this particular stream of consciousness felt unrefined in terms of any substantive direction. Rarely can style alone make up for deficient substance.
That said, I’m afraid I was not a fan of this one, though I am likely the minority opinion. I doubt this will deter me from future work from Kaur, but it does leave me disappointed in the meantime.
Rating: 2.5 stars
For starters (and clarification), I think that Rupi Kaur is a talented artist. I enjoyed her first book so much, I actually gifted it to a couple other people in my life, as I found it to be almost like an advanced exercise in empathy with universal value. I know her writing style has been criticized for lacking refinement, though given my own background from an immigrant family, I really enjoyed how she embraced writing in lower cases and phrases as a form of artistic storytelling. When you learn a new language, anything short of perfect diction is commonly seen as unpolished, so it was refreshing to see a style in the vein of polish-remover being utilized as its own aesthetic.
I also really enjoy her at times brutal, at times tender, brand of extreme honesty. This ultimately led to, what I considered to be, a really refreshing form of authenticity in milk and honey. Sadly, in comparison, the sun and her flowers feels almost like an underdeveloped afterthought that could have used some additional germination (terrible pun intended). I appreciate many of the sentiments Kaur shared, but this particular stream of consciousness felt unrefined in terms of any substantive direction. Rarely can style alone make up for deficient substance.
That said, I’m afraid I was not a fan of this one, though I am likely the minority opinion. I doubt this will deter me from future work from Kaur, but it does leave me disappointed in the meantime.
Rating: 2.5 stars
If you are (or ever have) suffered from a broken heart, then Courtney Peppernell’s [b:Healing the Heart|38507175|Healing the Heart (Pillow Thoughts #2)|Courtney Peppernell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1521370787l/38507175._SY75_.jpg|60145419] will likely have something to offer. While much of Peppernell’s mourning and grief is centered on romantic loss, I found her emotional processing to have a more-or-less universal relevance on how to heal from many forms of heart-break.
Overall, this collection of poetry is pretty interesting. Peppernell is really great at writing lyrical prose that reads like the words of a love song you could hear in a number of different genres. I am always impressed by how this type of accessibility leads to a larger form of resonance. It is worth noting though, that much of what is written is fairly obvious. For instance:
“Sometimes we fall in love with someone's potential. We ignore their behavior because we believe they can be better. But a person does not change unless they want to. Your happiness is more important than hanging on to someone else's potential.”
That said, while I have almost certainly heard and read sentiments similar to this before, these words are nonetheless exactly what I needed to read, when I needed to read it, and presented in a style that I found to be impactful. So if you are looking for a poetry collection in this vein, then I do definitely recommend this book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Overall, this collection of poetry is pretty interesting. Peppernell is really great at writing lyrical prose that reads like the words of a love song you could hear in a number of different genres. I am always impressed by how this type of accessibility leads to a larger form of resonance. It is worth noting though, that much of what is written is fairly obvious. For instance:
“Sometimes we fall in love with someone's potential. We ignore their behavior because we believe they can be better. But a person does not change unless they want to. Your happiness is more important than hanging on to someone else's potential.”
That said, while I have almost certainly heard and read sentiments similar to this before, these words are nonetheless exactly what I needed to read, when I needed to read it, and presented in a style that I found to be impactful. So if you are looking for a poetry collection in this vein, then I do definitely recommend this book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
So, I should admit upfront that I am a MASSIVE fan of the BBC series Killing Eve. I think it’s one of the most inventive, genre-bending shows on television right now, and the actors who bring these crazy characters to life are just ace in every way. So, given this incentive of sorts, especially as tensions build during the (currently airing) third season, I found myself HAVING to pick up a copy of Luke Jennings’ [b:Codename Villanelle|36546651|Codename Villanelle (Killing Eve, #1)|Luke Jennings|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1512576839l/36546651._SY75_.jpg|58534773].
Overall, this is a pretty entertaining, if standard, international spy thriller. Largely what draws me to the series are the well-developed characters, and in this short entry we are still really just getting to know them—namely Villanelle and Eve. That said, it is a fun and quick read. In particular, the benefits of the original written source material, is that the reader gets to more concretely see the earliest iteration of the two characters’ though processes. I really enjoyed comparing and contrasting the two versions, tv series and book, as character study is the drive for each.
Codename Villanelle is good fun—I’d certainly recommend it if a book about a psychopathic international assassin caught up in a cat and mouse game of psychological manipulation (and fixation) with a British intelligence agent is something you'd find appealing.
Overall, this is a pretty entertaining, if standard, international spy thriller. Largely what draws me to the series are the well-developed characters, and in this short entry we are still really just getting to know them—namely Villanelle and Eve. That said, it is a fun and quick read. In particular, the benefits of the original written source material, is that the reader gets to more concretely see the earliest iteration of the two characters’ though processes. I really enjoyed comparing and contrasting the two versions, tv series and book, as character study is the drive for each.
Codename Villanelle is good fun—I’d certainly recommend it if a book about a psychopathic international assassin caught up in a cat and mouse game of psychological manipulation (and fixation) with a British intelligence agent is something you'd find appealing.
This is a pretty strange book for which to write a review, honestly. I’ve played D&D for a few years now, and have consulted this book countless times—though with expanded free time I finally sat down and read it cover to cover. It was a fun time. If you are new to D&D, I especially recommend the official [b:Player's Handbook|22219682|Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition)|James Wyatt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403170461l/22219682._SX50_.jpg|41559233].
I think most players look to the 5th edition when consulting on game play, character build/background, some story build, and many other components to crafting the best possible game. While the most popular and reliable resource out there, the only reason I do not rate this higher is that more often than not I also find myself utilizing other online resources like Roll20, Jsigvard, or the late OrcPub2 (may their convenient character sheets rest in peace).
Overall, do not confuse my rating for this book as a rating for the game of Dungeons & Dragons on the whole. Afterall, whether or not a game is actually good predominantly relies on the effort and creativity that you yourself put into it. This is a great book, the only item I can recommend more is investing in a good set of dice, especially if you can get a lucky streak going. Do keep in mind though, that this is all coming from a chaotic neutral frame of mind, so take of it what you will.
Rating: 3.5 stars
I think most players look to the 5th edition when consulting on game play, character build/background, some story build, and many other components to crafting the best possible game. While the most popular and reliable resource out there, the only reason I do not rate this higher is that more often than not I also find myself utilizing other online resources like Roll20, Jsigvard, or the late OrcPub2 (may their convenient character sheets rest in peace).
Overall, do not confuse my rating for this book as a rating for the game of Dungeons & Dragons on the whole. Afterall, whether or not a game is actually good predominantly relies on the effort and creativity that you yourself put into it. This is a great book, the only item I can recommend more is investing in a good set of dice, especially if you can get a lucky streak going. Do keep in mind though, that this is all coming from a chaotic neutral frame of mind, so take of it what you will.
Rating: 3.5 stars