sunn_bleach's Reviews (249)

The Collected Schizophrenias

4.0

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

Kinda lost me on the last two chapters on the mysticism side. That stuff is just nonsense. But as someone who identifies with a history of PTSD and ADHD, I have a ton of appreciation for every other part of this book. Especially discussions on having children, the ephemera of diagnoses, etc. Awesome and recommended reading for most.

Content Warnings

The Adventurists

Richard Butner

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Butner’s stories reminded me Shirley Jackson in the slow dawning horror of it all. But where Jackson examined small town life and a woman’s place, Butner examines the traps of nostalgia and thinking life was better when. Amazing stuff, a true “finish the book and stare at the wall for a bit” kind of thing.

Content Warnings

Ranters and Crowd Pleasers: Punk in Pop Music, 1977-1992

Greil Marcus

3.5

informative reflective medium-paced

I slowly became quite fond of Marcus’s writing and reflections on social/political/human theses in the lens of pop music. The “survivor” column initially struck me as terrible taste but then I realized how true it was. “I Am A Cliché” (the story) is an exercise in Burroughs but in a bad way, and I think Marcus knew it.

Content Warnings

Double or Nothing

Raymond Federman

3.5

challenging funny mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Absolutely bizarre book in a good way - very JG Ballard but as a concrete novel. My theory is what we are actually reading is a man who is traumatized from WW2 desperately attempting to push it away and restart, hence why restarting is the omnipresent theme as the past keeps on resurfacing. I could have done without the sex scenes - I get their use as escapism, but given the time of writing, it’s hard to read even in context.

Content Warnings

Ordinary Wolves

Seth Kantner

3.75

adventurous challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Kantner quite fascinatingly weaves his (fictional) protagonist's upbringing outside a native town where being a white boy in a native town meant you experienced a lot of racism, but it's never in a "oh the white man is the real victim" way - it's portrayed as a sad demonstration of how much the Alaskan state government and the federal government failed Alaskan Natives. This book, for me as someone who both lived in Alaska and struggled with a dual life of mountains and not, was simultaneously inspiring and immensely sad.

Content Warnings

Catalyst Vol. 2 No. 2

Vivek Chibber

2.5

informative reflective slow-paced

Jacobin Foundation has the reputation of being champagne socialists. Lots of arguments wrapped up in jargon from distinguished spaces. Catalyst - their in house journal - is no exception, but individual articles can be fascinating nonetheless. Rojas’ essay on Latin American Pink Tide causes was borderline unreadable in its immense and unending technical language and theory. Ghodsee & Mead’s essay needed to be double its length to properly tackle the nuance. I strongly enjoyed Brownlee and Lachmann’s point-counterpoint discussion on US counterinsurgency defeats.

Content Warnings

A Canticle for Leibowitz

Walter M. Miller, Jr.

4.75

challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Come for the goofy Fallout-esque premise, stay for the catholic intrigue. Then prepare yourself for seriously considering the parallels of the Fall, mankind’s self-destruction as a cycle, and whether there’s dramatic irony in a church rediscovering conservatism or being a keystone in the world.

Content Warnings

Severance

Ling Ma

4.25

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Don’t believe the blurb on the back - this is NOT a “The Office”-like parody of work culture. This is a frequently sad, often tense, and occasionally whimsical view into the millennial struggle of never being at home. “Severance” takes on many meanings here, and all of them hit hard.

Content Warnings

The Philip K. Dick Reader

Philip K. Dick

4.0

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

PKD’s ideas are always better than his prose. The prose is workmanlike at best, but damn if the ideas don’t hit well. “Second Variety” was legitimately scary.

Content Warnings

The Stonewall Reader

The New York Public Library

4.5

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

An amazing selection of oral histories, essays, prose-poems, monologues, interviews, and letters by gay rights activists written before, during, and after the Stonewall Riot. I would go so far as to say something like this could be mandatory reading for anyone even remotely interested in LGBT history in the USA, with no shying away from the horror and fear. Even more important for straight allies who would like a window into understanding what it could possible be like to be persecuted for your love.

Content Warnings

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