Don't have much to say about this book, a pretty mediocre and frankly fairly forgettable experience, but did not nearly irritate me as much as the "first" book, Count the Ways.

It's because the husband is dead.

No, I'm not kidding, I think the story saw a genuine overall improvement because Cam died right at the beginning. It was like a breath of fresh air.

Toby's story did tug on my heartstrings, and I was glad to see that

he made it out relatively unscathed, I don't think I could've forgiven Maynard if she left him to suffer.

To the other reviewers whinging about "Trump bashing" because Maynard

showed how cringey, stupid, and overall poor members of society Trump supporters and January 6th insurrectionists are

, I'd tell them to not get so triggered; hurts to look in the mirror, don't it? Sad.

Anyways, book was fine. That's all I got.

I wish I could've loved this or been impacted by this novel as much as other people seem to have, but unfortunately it didn't. I think, personally, a large part of it was that I've been an atheist my entire life, and this story had a very strong religious undertone/overtone/tone? which I just... Couldn't connect to, for obvious reasons. The writing of Earthseed felt... Basic? I'm trying not to sound mean, genuinely, but just trying to put into words the emotions I was experiencing while reading these passages in the book. I think the overall connection to nature and the earth that Lauren expressed during the tumultuous times she lived in was strong. When the earth is burning around you, you want to fight even harder to save it. But the connection back to a God fell flat for me, I couldn't connect.

I hope that this connection (or disconnect, I should say) makes sense, because I've been sitting and parsing over my reactions to the Earthseed stuff for months and still haven't found a good way to explain it. It just didn't impact me. For me, nature should be respected and loved for just being nature, and living on the same planet as us, being our home and our cradle. God, I'm gonna sound awful saying this, but putting in God as a middle man felt... Weird? I don't know. I think I'm going to move on from this point.

So I read this book in February of 2024. Why does this matter? The book begins in February of 2024. Sadly, that month and year have come and passed, so no one after me can experience the visceral feeling of reading a book written in the 90s about the year, the month, the day you are currently living, and it being right. The Parable of the Sower is fiction, but it still hit me like a fucking brick wall.

When I was 15, I marched on my state capitol with thousands of other teenagers to defend strict gun regulation after one of hundreds-thousands-of school shootings occurred. To be that age, to fight to live, and it being your only option, and possibly the only one that will work, is a rare feeling that only so many in society have experienced. But at the same time, too many have experienced. The fact that change in our society is often on the onus of literal children is sickening, devastating, and has been true since damn near the founding of America. This feeling of desperation that many children experience-children who can't vote, pay taxes, run for offices, work in industries that are positions expected to make a real tangible change to society-is despicable and an intrinsic part of American society. Butler was able to grasp these feelings and real experiences and put them on display in fully horrid detail.

Another extremely common theme throughout the book that Butler excelled at was the human condition, or more aptly, how the human condition fundamentally deteriorates under pressure, stress, and desperation. To be desperate is, in my opinion, one of the worst things that can happen to a human being, or any living creature. They will act violently, without reproach, in the name of survival. There is no thinking, there is no consideration of morals, or boundaries, or what is even right. A desperate human is the most devastating human, and I think that's why these speculative fiction novels, especially Butler's, hit so goddamn hard for me. Desperation is a core theme, because who the fuck wouldn't be desperate under these conditions? We are least like ourselves, we are least like humans, when we are desperate.

The Parable of the Sower is a harrowing novel, and one that I hope becomes required reading in many schools. It was less a warning from Butler and more an observation and expectation. We all know that our society, American society, is fragile. There are but a few strings holding us as a nation together, and they've already been snapping. I only hope that what Butler foresaw in the near future will be not just evaded, but completely impossible. A woman can wish.

A very cute book for a little bit of existential dread about the realities of late stage capitalism on modern civilizations but also, like, cats! Like that one Eric Andre skit with Daymond John, but the dude in the freezer is a talking cat.

Anyways! Scalzi has a very funny and immature (compliment) voice in his writing that is very relatable, especially for younger adults (20s/30s). At times it felt a little too immature, or the story was a little too silly to work with, but overall I had a lot of fun. This is a really fast read, I'm talkin like 5 hours total. I adored the thesis of the work, with a very satisfying ending. The Northwestern slander had a special place in my heart as a fellow B1G girlie-actually, the dolphins in general where just a real high point.

Overall, a cute, quick read that sometimes can be a bit heavy-handed with its approach, Scalzi isn't a fan of "subtle" I suppose. The humor also wasn't always there for me, but I would be lying if I said I didn't laugh a few times. My personal favorite:

Oh, and no cats are harmed, thank god. 3.5/5

 

I read Grann's novel in tandem with watching Scorsese's film, which only intensified both works' emotional impact on me. Grann's novel, which he spent over a decade researching, focused on Tom White's investigation into the 20-year terrorization of the Osage Nation. White recognized 24 murders associated with this reign, but Grann offers a significantly higher total: 60+. Throughout the novel, Grann offers many options for motives to these murders, but he offers you the above quote: money, power, greed, stolen through a government, a culture that was not only blind to it but complicit to it.

Although passionately researched by Grann over many years, my main gripe with the novel matched the opinion of DiCaprio: Upon reading the screenplay directly adapted from Grann's novel, DiCaprio realized how focused on White, and the true crime/procedural aspects of the novel. Thus, for the film, he offered that the story focuses more on the Osage themselves, specifically on Mollie Burkhart. This, emotionally, is where Grann stumbles the most. While packed with true crime intrigue, the novel focuses the vast majority of the pages on White, his history, and his contributions to the growth and development of the FBI.

This isn't to say that it was poorly written or didn't have a clear emphasis on empathy and self-awareness (of ourselves and the privileges we receive from our culture and system of government). Grann leads us through the mystery in such an intriguing way I could not put the book down for two days straight. His writing style, while simple, was straightforward in all the ways it needed to be. There was no beating around the bush on how horrible these people were. Not to mention, Grann pressed on to meet and interview many Osage families and connect tens more murders to the original "outbreak". It felt cathartic as a reader, and I hope it was even more so for the families that had been waiting a century for closure.

"Killers of the Flower Moon", the film and the novel, are heavy, heart-wrenching works that every American should be exposed to. The sheer nakedness of greed is still occurring today, with the same amount of deeply ingrained racism. Grann's novel taps into these ideas with beauty and tact, and both his and Scorsese's work. I only wish one day these stories will be told by American Indians themselves. 

This book was an undeniably aggravating read. I read it throughout a vacation where I spent over 5+ hours in a car, and I would update my mother on the goings-on of the story as she drove. Needless to say, my mother asked me, "Are you sure you want to keep reading this? Maybe you should put it away," because of just how frustrated I was getting.

The story focuses on a woman, Eleanor, who meets and swiftly falls in love with artist and pseudo-farmer Cam. They are married within 8 months of meeting and have 3 children in two years. And, Jesus Christ, I wish this story didn't exist. Cam is the most obvious horrible person, watching basketball with his buddy while his wife is in active labor in the room over. And I get it, I get it! When you're in a relationship you don't see those red flags, but Eleanor was acting so... Dumb, I wanted to roll my window down and throw this book out on the highway, but I respect my library too much to do that.

Beyond the first day, Cam and Eleanor's relationship is a toxic mess, with Cam being neglectful and mean and Eleanor being unyielding and a doormat. Even after "the Incident", for which Eleanor solely blames Cam, she does nothing but lie down and take it. She places the blame solely on Cam, then refuses to even sit down and discuss the issues with him, to you know... Work as a team to support their children was the single most frustrating thing I've read in recent memory. Is it realistic? Yes, apparently. My mother herself said that she knew a couple who had a child with brain damage and a year later they were divorced. Doesn't mean that reading this miserable dissolution of love and care between two people is any fun.

I guess that's how I can sum up this book: Miserable. Maybe I'm not cut out for this genre, but reading 500 pages of an absent, unfaithful father and a bitter, spiteful mother swapping petty remarks in front of their children is about as enjoyable as it sounds. God, not to mention the last 100 pages are like a bad 'Days of Our Lives' script.

Can all the things in this book happen in real life? Sure, absolutely. Is it relatable? In some parts, yeah. Was it a fun romp? Hell fucking no. I don't think I could recommend this to people unless they enjoy depressing family stories, but hey if that's your forte go for it. Yeesh.