justinlife's Reviews (916)

More memoir than mystery. 

Parks has a great writing style and she uses a mystery into the past to accept/discover her own identity and make peace with it. 

I’d you liked Educated, this story of a young queer journalist trying to find information on a woman who lived as a man while also remembering and recounting some of her trauma might be for you. Being poor, queer, and small town southern with a parent who at times seems to enjoy a substance more than their family felt too familiar and left me like “ok and…” I know that’s not fair to the author and speaks more about me. It’s how I felt though. 

There are avenues I wished she had explained in her own life that left me with more questions, particularly around her dad and brother. 

The mystery of understanding Roy is the highlight of the book. It made me wish this was a couple chapters shorter. Some of the memories of her mother didn’t seem to fit the overall motive of the book. 

Overall though, a solid read and I’m glad she put it out. People need to realize that we’ve been in the south, that we’ll continue to be there, and that their stories need to be told as well,

This was fine. The last 25% made up for the first 75%. 

I’m not a fan of first person narrative where the character is highly anxious, has low self esteem, and speaks negatively about themselves. To me, romance should be a fantasy, an escape. That motif is really hard to sit through.

I've had this book on my reading list for awhile and I'm glad I got to it. It's an incredible work that showcases how one can use dialect and dialogue convey to paint a picture of the world around them. Because a lot of it is written as it should be spoken, I strongly recommend picking up the audio to accompany it. Ruby Dee does a great job giving this novel a voice.

Hurston creates moments that are vivid and full of emotion and character. The story of Janey isn't just hers but of those around her. We see her grandmother's history. A woman born into slavery and wanting her granddaughter to have a life that makes her safe. We see first and second husband, both trying to accumulate wealth, but not seeing her. Rather, she is a part of their wealth. We see the town of Edenville and the characters and the people in it. All feel so life like because the conversation felt so natural. We get to participate in the gossip and watch as Janey's life moves and changes.

While this is a short novel, Hurston conveys so much- how the lack of education impacted former slaves, the mobility that education can provide, the way Black people survived and thrived during Jim Crow. We also see a story about a woman finding a path.

It's truly incredible. Loved this book.

I don't want to yuck other people's yum but this was awful. Some of the laziest writing and researching I've ever read. It made me feel bad for straight people. Like people like this and think this is great when it's just not. I'll keep y'all in my prayers. Y'all need better. It's the only way to improve as a society.

This book made me extremely happy to be gay. It made me thrilled that I don't have to participate in straight culture. This book also made me question why I haven't written a book when this passes as a book. If you're a lover of this author, demand better. The bones are there. The research, character development, editing, romance, well written characters are not.

This book is a lot and the title is somewhat misleading. 

I expected a book that focused more on the ancient avenues of the Silk Roads and maybe a more developed local history. This books is not that. I mean it is, but it's more. It places this region of the world at the center and describes how politics, trade, religion, and empire building affected it and how control for this region affected the world. 

I was a little annoyed when I got 60% in and it started discussing the 20th century. I didn't want to read 40% about the World Wars and 20th century politics. Once I got in though, I found the information he presents to be fascinating and it gave me a opportunity to view European and American colonization/meddling from a different lens. It helped me find that signal through the noise and see how American Middle Eastern Foreign policy affected the region in ways that I didn't consider. 

The first 60% was still really fascinating, though. There's a lot that Frankopan covers and moving the focus to the Eurasian Steppe rather than Western Europe helps the reader see a bigger picture. When he discusses decades in sentences, I felt that everything our society is going through (global economic collapse, recession, depression, pandemic, and wars) has already happened many times over. It's both reassuring and sad. 

I really learned a lot from this book. I didn't really put trade in the categories for shaping the world as much as religion or nationality, but it's right there and Frankopan let's the reader know how important trade has been to the world. 

My only issue with this book is that while the focus isn't supposed to mainly be Europe, it's still Eurocentric. I wanted more information of the East's relationship to this area rather than how this area impacts European politics. 

If you do take this book on, try and do a chapter at a time. There's a lot to take in and it can be overwhelming. I used the audiobook to help and it felt like I took a crash course in world history. I definitely feel like a got an education from it. 

Sometimes I need reminded that while I enjoy reading critically, some books are just fun. 

A Marvelous Light is a lovely romp though magical England in the early 20th century. Think Downton Abbey but like magical. Marske successfully fits in a M/M romance, a murder mystery, and the foundation of a magical realm. I appreciated how she approached magic and it’s uses. In her world, magic is like a contract, which was a neat take. What I didn’t like is the trend I’ve seen recently magic blood purity and how much magic someone has is what they have. This is my least favorite fantasy trope. Fortunately it’s used minimally and usually by people who aren’t necessarily good. One of the aspects of her magic that I did enjoy was the use of Fae magic. While not in the forefront, it makes it interesting to see how that has impacted the magical community of this world. The magic users aren’t necessarily good people, which I appreciated. 


When it comes to the romance of the story, I found it entertaining that she basically wrote an athlete/nerd, m/m romance in magical Downton Abbey. Robin, a brave boxer, ends up as a magical liaison through a clerical error. While Edwin, a bookish guy who barely has magical ability is the person he should liaise with. It’s a fun story with some steamy moments. When those moments happen is funny b/c the first time it seems to come out of nowhere and BAM- sexy times! 

The book is still dealing with a homophobic culture so seeing the characters navigate that and find a way to come through it and find something meaningful was refreshing. The focus wasn’t on the homophobia, though. It was there. It was about finding a connection through it. 

Overall, this is a great read. It’s lots of fun, interesting, and nicely paced. It’s a breath of fresh air. There’s some great cheesy dialogue and creative twists and turns. Would recommend for a breezy good time.

Yes, I’m reading this out of order, but from what I can gather, it doesn’t matter. I’m really intrigued with this concept of short vignettes in a super hero city. This collection we get legacy drama, a lawyer figuring out spell contracts, an old villain deserted on an island and a super kitty. All the stories are interesting and play in this incredible world. I look forward to reading more. 

My first exposure to Astro City happens to be the last volume. I saw this at the library and picked it up. From my understanding, the series is more of vignettes of people and superheroes living in the town and isn't really a cohesive story. 

This was a fun and surprisingly emotional collection of three stories dealing with loss in a superhero city. The first is about G-Dog- a man and his dog who, because of an amulet, combine bodies and become a superhero.  The second is about a daughter trying to find her dad. The last is about a man who runs a support group for people who've lost loved ones due to superheroes. All of these stories deal with various aspects of loss and moving on. They are poignant and well written. 

The art reminded me of the Watchmen or earlier superhero comics. Having that hyper stylized feel to stories with depth gave the script room to breathe. 

Overall, I would recommend. I look forward to reading more.  

Savannah is one of those cities that has its own mythology and romance to it. There aren't many of those in the US. Green sets his mystery in Savannah and uses all of the charms of the city to his advantage. 

There are lots to like about this book- he captures southern familial drama well. The mystery is well paced even though he allows the audience to get ahead of his characters a couple of times and doesn't use that to his advantage. He describes the city and the history in ways that make the reader feel apart of it. He writes the family of the Musgroves well. I'm intrigued by their relationships. Morgana, the matriarch, the southern dame, rules over her family and her businesses in ways that are detrimental to all those involved accept her. Her children loathe her but still deal with her in their own ways. If he were to write another book in the series, I'd be down to read. There's a lot of family dynamics that don't get explored but could be expounded on. 

Another aspect of the book I liked was how he included the unhoused communities as a part of the community instead of talking around or shaming them. They play central characters and aren't given to the stereotypical tropes one expects with the unhoused. 

While there's a lot to enjoy about this book, there are some flaws that don't go unnoticed. He doesn't really write people of color well. All the characters felt flat to me and it came across that he didn't want to offend or get a consultant. 

Overall though, I enjoyed reading this book. He takes Savannah history, the good, the bad and the ugly, and weaves a story that continues to add charm to a city that has a lot already.