sareidle's Reviews (180)

Honestly, I had a difficult time with this book. The prose is written in Southern dialect and frequently includes the n-word. I had to slow down to figure out what was being communicated for the first third of the book, and the repeated racial slurs were tough to see again and again. The purpose of the book was clear, and you could see the same patterns repeating with different characters as Jane's life progressed. While this makes a powerful point about how slavery died in name but not in practice, it made it hard to connect to new characters as I knew their fate would not be pleasant. I did enjoy a few passages of Gaines' writing, especially Ned's sermon on the river. In conclusion, while this book is important and uses the lens of one woman's (long) life to show how much has stayed the same from 1863 to 1963, it was not a book that fully connected with me.

Murderbot is fantastic! I love how their main priority is watching content and having some downtime, but humans keep pulling them into complications. Artificial Condition is a pleasant sci-fi story that I would recommend to just about anyone!

A very informative and moving description of life with autism. Paige describes how her thoughts and experiences are shaped by autism, in a very visceral and creative way. The content is quite dark, as Paige details her struggles with mental health and social isolation even after being diagnosed with autism. I'm glad I read it, but I recommend it with caution due to the heavy topics covered.

Emily Lynn Paulson provides a unique perspective to the MLM story as someone who made it to the highest ranks of the business. The story moved quickly until she realized some of the major problems with "Rejuvinat," yet continued to make excuses for why she couldn't leave. I don't think she has fully reflected on the harm she caused to others by bringing them into the MLM and persuading them to stay even when they were losing money. Further, she lacks depth when it comes to discussing white supremacy in MLM culture. Beyond citing a few studies about racial demographics, she doesn't engage with how and why white supremacy goes hand-in-hand with direct selling companies. In conclusion, Emily's story, while interesting, does not provide the depth that the subtitle "Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy and Other Lies..." indicates. 

A very charming and reflective read. I highly recommend listening to the audio version read by Chenoweth as she's vulnerable and adds a lot of emotion to the text.

Wow! This book is simply incredible in its atmosphere, tension, and character-building. I was reminded of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, in which the main character is isolated and the estate looms large in the plot. Noemi is a plucky and determined protagonist, so even when I didn't agree with her individual decisions, I was rooting for her overall success. I'm looking forward to reading other books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia!

While the concept of this book is exciting, the execution is quite poor. Especially for an official book at this price point, the editing was rushed and I doubt that they reviewed a prototype before creating copies for sale. The focal point of several pictures (Taylor Swift) is placed in the center of the spread, resulting in her face being in the gutter as this book does not lay flat. In time, I may have the benefit of nostalgia and appreciate this book as a tour memento.