According to this book, my family is an statistical rarity. Out of eight people, at least six of us are definitely introverted. So, there's a higher introverted rate in our home than in most of the world. This book does an interesting analysis of what being an introverted in this world (heavily extroverted-biased) means. Which is good, I think.

In a world in which introversion seems like a disadvantage in a lot of things, this book uses research to show that this perception is wildly off. It's no about whether introvers or extroverts are inherently "better" at whatever. The point is more like we have different ways to deal with things, and that's fine. I believe that knowing what your strengths are plays a huge role in your personal development. Everyone has weak spots, and learning about them is the easiest way to figure out how to overcome it.

Also, I had no idea that Rosa Parks was a introvert and it's such a cool fact. And it makes sense, as she is famous for pacifically opposing discrimination. She didn't do anything grandiose or said an inspiring speech in front of millions. I loved that the author used her as a tangible example of someone who was able to lead while being an introvert.

Jeanette Winterson is one of those writers who constantly blow me away with her use of language. She also always makes me think a lot about her topics.

This book wasn't an exception.

While this is marketed as a retelling of Frankenstein, I'm not sure that's a good description. Half of the novel deals with the amazing Mary Shelley in the process before and after writing her most famous novel. The other half is about Ry Shelley, a trans doctor who becomes involved with Victor Stein, a scientist working in Artificial Intelligence and is trying to test the limits between human and machine. So, more than a retelling, I'd say there's a sort of a dialogue between this book and Frankenstein . I loved these parallels, that made me think deeply about all sort of issues with AI (I often think it's a bit creepy, because it's so close to humanity, but very uncannily so).

While I enjoyed this book a lot, I have a small caveat about it. I was enjoying the 19th century sections a lot more than the "present day" sections. Largely because I absolutely adore the Romantics, and of course I wanted to read more about them. Not that Ry's parts werent' good (they were great), but my personal interests leaned towards Mary.

If you like imaginative, creative, and utterly beautiful prose, Winterson is always a great choice.

Confession: I'm really far away from being working class or living in the US. I grew up in a fairly well-off family and, even when my father lost his job when I was 12, we never had to struggle to make ends meet. But I'm very aware of my privilege in that regard, and reading this book reminded me that a lot of things I take for granted (education, proper nutrition, healthcare and even the dentist) are not available for a lot of people, even in countries that are developed. I think Sarah Smarsh does a fantastic work at portraying how grating poverty is and how it becomes a cycle that is very difficult to break in this system that is allegdly a meritocracy.

Also, I appreciate how Sarah Smarsh expressed the ways in which gender shapes the experiences of poverty and how she acknowledges that things can be harder if you're a person of colour or an immigrant. Because life is way more complicated than just one aspect of it defining how you stand. And while it's not a competition, some people do have it worse than others and we need to acknowledge this and work towards making EVERYONE more free and happier.

I'm probably not the best person to review this book, because what I know about poverty is mostly second-hand. I haven't lived any of these things, but I know that this is a reality for most of the people in this world, and I know we need change to allow people to break away from these cycles of poverty that have basically kept the system as it is now for generations.

I love Angela Carter's fiction and have been waiting to read this book ever since I read about it in Edmund Gordon's [b:The Invention of Angela Carter: A Biography|28501482|The Invention of Angela Carter A Biography|Edmund Gordon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1466343851l/28501482._SY75_.jpg|48654559]. I haven't read Sade, and I don't really intend to, because all his books sound awful. But I wanted to understand how Carter read him, and it was really a very interesting perspective.

The first chapter, the introduction, discusses pornography as a art, because if we consider it an "art", we can being to question the ideology behind it and its aesthetics. And I think that this is probably the most relevant chapter today. This book came out in 1979, way before the internet has made porn widely available and became most men's sex education (there are studies about it!). So I think that her interrogation of porn's gender and power dynamics and the way in which they are part of a cycle of both reflecting and influencing society is even more important today than when it was first published. Angela Carter argues that there is a possibility of pornography being in the service of women. Now, I'm not sure I can agree with that, but that's beyond the scope of this review.

She sort of argues that Sade was the model for "model pornographer" since his pornographic writings appear to subvert the gender dynamics of 18th century France. Again, I haven't read these books and I don't want to. What Carter describes are stories that degrade women, but are in different in the way Sade puts their characters' attitude towards being degraded. While Justine resists it and is punished because of this, Juliette embraces being sexually abused. I hardly think that anything written by a rich aristocrat in 18th century France can truly be revolutionary in its treatment of women, but the idea that a woman is not actually defiled for having sex and enjoying it does sound like a surprising take for the time.

But the whole point that Angela Carter makes is that pornography has to be analysed to see how it reflects society and how women are treated. And it's definitely an interesting take, because popular discourse around certain porn stars kinda glorifies this idea of being "sexually liberated" but in a way that mostly benefits male. So, I appreciate what Carter did here, because it is a topic that needs to be examined way more deeply than it has, especially in academic circles.

No soy experta en estética japonesa, pero este ensayo me pareció muy interesante por el contraste que plantea entre la obsesión occidental con la luz y la forma en que el arte japonés está hecho para jugar con las sombras. Me parece una idea que me gustaría explorar mientras leo más literatura japonesa y trato de acercarme a la cultura de este país, que me parece fascinante y llena de contrastes.

This is a beautiful exploration of grief and teen-hood (is that a word?). Leigh, the main character, deals with the death of her mother and the depression that lead to it throughout many years. It rang true, with a positive and charming undertone. Something I particularly appreciated was the way in which the "normal" issues of adolescence are present throughout: love, friendship, feeling lost, trying to become your own person. I felt it painted a very realistic picture of what would be being a teen with a severely depressed mother.

The main character is a synesthete, and the way in which her feelings are often colour-coded felt very interesting and a good way to maybe convey the way in which people with this type of perception see the world.

A lovely YA, that I'd totally recommend.

Of course, this is not as good as Ella Enchanted , which is one of my favorite children's books EVER. But I really enjoyed reading about the earlier generation of Kyrrian characters and about the relationship of Ella's parents (which is definitely more complicated that anything that showed up in the other book). Evie was a charming, if somewhat boy-obsessed, narrator. Though in her circumstances, maybe the boy obsession can be a little bit justified. A fun, light, and charming read.

I know we're getting films for A Darker Shade of Magic (#YAY), but I really need Netflix to pick these books up and make a series about them because OMG. This is one interesting and fun superhero story. I started reading it in a 12-hour-long bus trip and I basically didn't sleep for reading this (#NoRegrets). I loved how this book dealt with the consequences of the events in Vicious, and the way the characters changed as well, in particular Victor, who now has to deal with the fact that there's people he actually cares about. Sydney's very slow growth and her dealing with grief over her sister, as well as trying to find herself, was also very compelling.

Also, Marcella is a great villain and her power is terrifying. Loved her backstory and honestly, WHY IS THIS NOT A TV SHOW NOW????

No sé bien qué estaba esperando de este libro, la verdad. Pero me gustó. Creo que la autora logra capturar ese mundo nostálgico de la infancia y ese Chile que ya prácticamente no existe. Además, la relación entre M, la protagonista, y D, su padre, me pareció muy interesante y compleja, a pesar de que no hay largas conversaciones entre ellos. Gran parte de la novela está en lo que se deja entrever, como pasa con el trasfondo de la dictadura, a la que no se refieren directamente, pero está ahí, amenazante y silenciosa.

Una historia sencilla que esconde tantas capas que creo que tendré que leerla varias veces para poder descifrarla completamente.

Creo que he dicho varias veces que amo las biografías de autoras, así que cuando encontré este libro me pareció muy interesante. Además, está escrito por la fantástica Mariana Enríquez, que es una autora en la que uno puede encontrar ecos de Silvina Ocampo.

Es una biografía que definitivamente tira más a lo literario que a lo factual, aunque es todo basado en hechos y en la investigación que Enríquez hace sobre la vida de Ocampo. También hay algo de discusión sobre su obra, aunque me parecieron más bien pinceladas un tanto superficiales.

Es una fantástica introducción a Silvina Ocampo, especialmente en lo que refiere a la personalidad de esta escritora y el mundo en el que estaba inserta. La pluma de Mariana Enríquez ayuda a ilustrar y entender, de forma muy entretenida, el estilo y la obra de Ocampo.