the writing style of this was so conversational and the book itself so short that this was a super easy read that was still thought-provoking. it struthe writing style of this was so conversational and the book itself so short that this was a super easy read that was still thought-provoking. it struck a great balance of personal anecdotes and larger discussions about microaggressions and white privilege. overall i enjoyed reading it but it didn't introduce anything groundbreaking, so i would recommend this to people who might be intimidated by larger or more academic books on the same topic....more
withholding a rating because it feels pretty dystopian of me to rate this author's trauma on a scale of 1 to 5.
i must have been living under a rock bewithholding a rating because it feels pretty dystopian of me to rate this author's trauma on a scale of 1 to 5.
i must have been living under a rock because i'd never heard of this case before. i listened to it on audio because jaycee narrates it, and finished this all in one day if that tells you anything....more
i listened to this in a day and totally understand why it went super viral around the release. jennette narrates the audiobook and i could not put it i listened to this in a day and totally understand why it went super viral around the release. jennette narrates the audiobook and i could not put it down, even when it got super hard to read and you really get to know what was happening behind the scenes of the roles she's known for. i wish we'd gotten to know more of what she plans to do in the future and how her recovery is going, but honestly that might just be something she's continuing to figure out. highly recommend if you're on the fence about this!...more
this is one of the most beautiful books i've ever read. i hate that it had to be about this.
i was taking a women and gender studies course in collegethis is one of the most beautiful books i've ever read. i hate that it had to be about this.
i was taking a women and gender studies course in college when the brock turner rape trial was occurring, and i remember all the women in the room commiserating over his sentence and the unfairness of it all. revisiting it all to hear chanel's story increased that pain tenfold, but the journey she takes the reader on through grief and recovery was stunning. i listened to the first half of this on audio, listening to hear recount her experiences, but switched to reading it physically since i found i preferred to soak in every word and reflect on the absolute power this book contains.
i really don't have the words to talk about how immaculate and soul-wrenching this book is-- i'm already having a hard time thinking of adjectives. you would really be doing yourself a disservice by not picking this up. it's a new top favorite of mine and i can't wait to see what chanel accomplishes next....more
wow, you can definitely tell this book was written by a poet. i was so nervous in the first half that i wasn't going to give this the love it deserveswow, you can definitely tell this book was written by a poet. i was so nervous in the first half that i wasn't going to give this the love it deserves because the formatting was so similar to a disjointed poem, and it's hard for me to comprehend a lot of poetry in that style. but by the middle of the book, it flattened out into a solid storyline, and by the third "act," i was hooked.
even though this was just a brief glimpse into the main character's life, it painted a complete picture. vuong being a poet makes for a lot of hard hitting lines in this book, and even the ones i didn't quite understand because his life has been so different and so far less privileged than mine, you feel the heaviness of it all nonetheless.
i loved the storytelling format of this as a letter to his mom, and the last half captured me so completely that it really made up for the fact that the first half read more like a poem than a novel. i could see myself rereading this down the road when i'm older and wiser to pick up on some nuance and themes i may have missed now....more
I love that this book took place at a camp; it was the perfect summer vibes. Also liked this story about discovering sexuality and your first love andI love that this book took place at a camp; it was the perfect summer vibes. Also liked this story about discovering sexuality and your first love and how the confusion of that doesn't always end with closure. The main downfall of this book was just that it felt a little bit long for what it was, and the art style was incredibly primitive and simplistic, almost like I could have drawn these panels in color pencil with the same artistic ability. I liked the message, but it's my least favorite art style I've ever encountered in a graphic novel....more
Thanks to Fierce Reads for the advanced reader's copy!
This is one of the quickest books I've read all year, including graphic novels. It's not even 15Thanks to Fierce Reads for the advanced reader's copy!
This is one of the quickest books I've read all year, including graphic novels. It's not even 150 pages and all the short stories are 5-10 pages, so it really flies by. I really liked hearing about a specific group of people's struggles on their way to immigrating to America, especially the forces in action that caused them to need to leave their home countries and what they have to persevere through to get where they are. Because of that informativeness, I think this was a valuable read.
However, I'm not sure I loved the format of this. The author interviewed multiple teens and young adults and then spun their answers into first person short stories that grasped the heart of their journey and struggles but lacked any meaningful emotion or detail. It offered a good overview of a selection of different teens, but I think I would have preferred hearing one fleshed out story rather than 10 glimpses of other stories just because I don't think this was super memorable in the end because it only scratched the surface.
Still, if you want to learn more about Central American teens coming to America for a better life and the hardship they had to deal with surrounding that, I think this author faithfully translated their stories without exploiting them at all....more
I didn't realize this was a memoir until literally the second I was about to start it, so upon adjusting my expectations, I think this felt a bit 3.5
I didn't realize this was a memoir until literally the second I was about to start it, so upon adjusting my expectations, I think this felt a bit flat for me. I know it's a memoir so it's discussing the author's journey with her career in skating, but it felt a bit monotone and I was struggling to grasp its purpose. Maybe it lacked enough of a resolution, but although I liked the art and the story fine, it didn't really grab me or connect with me....more
Thanks to Roaring Book Press for the free review copy!
I enjoyed this book a lot more than Shane's first one! This collection really delves into his exThanks to Roaring Book Press for the free review copy!
I enjoyed this book a lot more than Shane's first one! This collection really delves into his experience with SMA and how his perception of himself has shifted from being a burden to being a boyfriend and someone who is loved. Whereas his first book was really self-centered and had the tendency to look down on other people with disabilities in order to exalt his own experience, this one had a lot of great anecdotes that were then connected to the entire disabled communities and the ways that they still experience injustice and judgment. In that way, I think this book is equal parts humorous memoir but also a great educational resource.
Even if you don't watch Shane's youtube, this book is quick, fun, and informative enough to be worth the read and you should totally give it a try if you want to read more ownvoices books about disability, specifically SMA or being in a wheelchair....more
I picked this book up because I love Shane and his current girlfriend's youtube channel, so for what this is, I had a really great time learning aboutI picked this book up because I love Shane and his current girlfriend's youtube channel, so for what this is, I had a really great time learning about Shane's history and childhood and the way his disease has progressed over the years. This book is told in Shane's famed humorous style, as he uses that sarcasm and joking manner to spin what others see his life as a tragedy into something more meaningful. Although I enjoyed my time reading this book, there are two major hindrances that caught my eye. First, I don't know how interesting this book would be for someone who doesn't know Shane from YouTube, unless you're interested in an ownvoices book that talks about disability. Second, this book has three chapters that talk about mentally disabled people in a disturbing light. In these chapters, he attempts to separate himself from mentally disabled people even though he was lumped together with them a lot in school and activities due to them being in a wheelchair, which is fair. But this book used those other disabled students he was around as an insult or a joke far too often, sometimes even making fun of them for things they couldn't help or things that were normal about them. It reads as highly uncomfortable and wrong like he thinks he's above other disabled students because of how highly functional he is, so if you're sensitive to reading negativity about people with mental disabilities, I would avoid this one.
Despite that, I began his second book of essays after finishing this one and it's already so much better in terms of talking more widely about disability in a way that doesn't shame other members of the community. I definitely think some of his jokes were just in bad taste, where otherwise his book did a great job discussing that living in a wheelchair with a terminal disease isn't the tragic and mopey lifestyle a lot of strangers assume it is. Although this book wasn't my favorite, I did like reading more about Shane and it was actually super quick....more
it's difficult to review this because how do you put a rating on someone's trauma? what i can say is that i stopped listening to audiobooks because thit's difficult to review this because how do you put a rating on someone's trauma? what i can say is that i stopped listening to audiobooks because they would typically go in one ear and out the other, but when i picked this up on audio just to try it, i was absolutely hooked.
this book reminds me a lot of the glass castle by jeanette walls, which i also really, really enjoyed. tara's journey from ignorance and misery to enlightenment and freedom is one i wish upon all women, and this book handled it with such class and nuance. it feels like every chapter i experienced a new heartbreak, but it made me all the more proud that tara endured it and then turned around to tell the story.
I read Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig during my 2017 relapse, and I devoured it. I absolutely love Haig’Thanks to Penguin for a free review copy!
I read Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig during my 2017 relapse, and I devoured it. I absolutely love Haig’s writing style and the way he weaves anecdote into advice, and how closely our experiences relate. I especially like how in this book, he talks about how social media and technology can exacerbate anxiety, which is certainly true for me as well.
I was initially fearful that this book would be a preachy “just get off your phone” type of book, which isn’t what I was anticipating nor did I want to hear—because let’s be real, social media is fun and useful and literally one of my jobs. I quickly realized that despite his message of logging off, he was also all for social media in a nuanced way I think a lot of people tend to miss. I think Haig perfectly located the need to log off when the internet or the news or whatever becomes too much—or even just a clutch for boredom—but not when it’s a source of joy or fun. To see someone who sees technology as so dualistic instead of strictly good or bad was refreshing, so it made me a lot more willing to internalize his advice.
I underlined SO many lines in this book because Haig is a gorgeous writer, but also he includes a lot of quotations and makes a lot of great points of his own about technology usage, remaining unique, relinquishing stress, and other ideas to reduce stress born from technology. If you’re someone who struggles with internet usage and anxiety, this would definitely be a valuable tool to remind yourself of your worth in a technological environment that tries to remind you that you’re worthless as a marketing ploy. I loved the encouraging tone of it, and in the end, it was a great reminder to make sure I’m taking care of my mental health by not abusing my phone or Internet usage. ...more
i enjoyed learning tan’s backstory but his advice chapters are shaky. never wear sweats around your significant other? if you find something you like,i enjoyed learning tan’s backstory but his advice chapters are shaky. never wear sweats around your significant other? if you find something you like, always buy more than one? im trying to be gracious that we have lots of cultural differences but it definitely made me go hmmm......
also he makes sweeping statements about fashion like “boot cut jeans look bad. blue hair and long hair are ugly” and i could only think really dude??? i liked tan on the show but the tone of this book edged toward condescending more often than not. i hope it’s a case of bad word choice and editing and that he’s not actually like that....more
This is the first collection of feminist essays I've read that's specifically focused on black 4.5 stars
TW: bullying, racism, mentions of rape/assault
This is the first collection of feminist essays I've read that's specifically focused on black women's experiences and how their experiences are distinguished from the general movement of feminism. And I loved it. This book was never info dumpy; it actually was quite anecdotal and would discuss a lot of the author's life and personal experiences and then transition from that storytelling format to a discussion of black women and prejudices and how they are defined in a white majority and white-governed society. I was tabbing in this book quite a lot because I think her discussion between black women and white women was really valuable, especially in the ways that white feminism neglects to recognize black women and what needs to be done to recognize their experiences without trying to force empathy. I also think this would be a great resource for other black women because it talks about the ways in which other black women perpetuate white supremacy, and though i'm not black and can't use that information personally, i think the discussion it merits is important.
This collection talks about topics from black women's hair to sex and dating to Beyonce, and I loved most of the essays. My only critique is that sometimes the essays would be quite meandering where she would start on one story but then skip around and discuss multiple situations and fluctuate between them within one essay, and I would have preferred chopping up those longer essays into shorter, more succinct ones. still, this book was an excellent exploration of one black woman's life and how she's come to terms with intersectional feminism, which I think has created a great resource for women of any race. I found despite our experiences being quite different, I was still able to relate to her (especially in her chapter about men and sex). I highly recommend it if you're looking to diversify your feminist shelf....more
If I hadn't been reading this for class and skim reading it at 4 AM in a panic to find lines to talk about during class, this would definitely be fiveIf I hadn't been reading this for class and skim reading it at 4 AM in a panic to find lines to talk about during class, this would definitely be five stars. But of all the classics I've read--especially essay collections that are usually dry--this one was actually immensely enjoyable! Thoreau created such a complex and interesting blend of social commentary, memoir, and call to action. It revealed a lot about myself that I need to improve on, and it also brought new perspectives of appreciating nature that I hadn't considered. My favorite quote in the entire book--though there are DOZENS I highlighted--was this:
The stars are the apexes of what wonderful triangles! What distant and different beings in the various mansions of the universe are contemplating the same one at the same moment! . . . Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?...more
I loved this book!! When I read celebrity memoirs I go into it only expecting some light entertainment and a fun audiobook, but I was pleasantly surprI loved this book!! When I read celebrity memoirs I go into it only expecting some light entertainment and a fun audiobook, but I was pleasantly surprised by how talented Rainn is at writing and fleshing out his backstory. It felt like we were let into his life in a very authentic style without the arms'-length "i'm famous and here's my success story" tone that other celebrity memoirs tend to have. His voice and humor was very genuine and his rags to riches story was charming without being self-congratulatory. I enjoyed learning new things about Rainn, from his spiritual upbringing, his background in Broadway, and behind the scenes of The Office.
If you enjoy The Office or Rainn's other works, this is a hilarious and worthwhile read, and the audiobook is very enjoyable....more
I'm putting this one on hold right now. It's not bad, but the first two essays started out SOOOO good, but then after that it just turned iDNF at 53%.
I'm putting this one on hold right now. It's not bad, but the first two essays started out SOOOO good, but then after that it just turned into stories I couldn't really relate to so it wasn't as funny. I think i'm gonna wait until this comes out and it's available on audiobook, then I'll enjoy it much more as a memoir then....more
TW/ rape, sexual assault, abuse (esp. graphic mutilation and domestic violence), extreme content warnings relating to the harm women's bodies4.5 Stars
TW/ rape, sexual assault, abuse (esp. graphic mutilation and domestic violence), extreme content warnings relating to the harm women's bodies and
Your dying, my dying is necessary and irrelevant and inevitable. Do not be afraid, no, death will not be our end. Indifference will be, disassociation will be, collateral damage, polar caps melting, endless hunger, mass rapes, grotesque wealth. The change will come from those who know they do not exist separately but as part of the river."
I had this on my TBR shelf and as an audiobook on Scribd, and when I saw it, I honest to God was about to just unhaul it because I didn't think I'd ever get to it. I ended up turning on the audiobook for a few minutes just to give it a try, and I'm so glad I did. This book has some great feminist quotes like "Hysteria--a word to make women feel insane for knowing what they know." This book is dark and revealing and goes far beyond discussing Eve's body and feminism.
The chapters in this were short and gripping. I often found myself turning off the audiobook and reaching for my physical copy to be able to underline passages and internalize the message fully. Her writing and descriptions were so lush, and when she described being in the Congo, I could taste the fruit and see the colors on the women's clothes. I will certainly pick up anything Eve publishes in the future, and this book's uncensored prose will probably linger with me for some time.
The parallels between her sexual assault as a young girl and how she was treated as a cancer patient in the hospital was haunting. This isn't just a woman telling her story of survival; it reveals patterns in our society that transcend medicine, namely corruption, abuse, and disregard for the environment and humanity. It's as much a story about the world's issues at it was about Eve's body and her experience with healing, and she uses her circumstance to reveal a larger truth about the dangers of the world we live in. The last chapter was startlingly effective as a call to action, which I was not expecting of this book. If Eve went into politics, she could probably move mountains. I envision myself thinking about this book often in the future....more
This is the first book I've read by Sedaris, but I will certainly be picking up more in the future! He writes witty essays about his life, this collecThis is the first book I've read by Sedaris, but I will certainly be picking up more in the future! He writes witty essays about his life, this collection specifically focusing on a period when he moved to Paris and was learning French, with other stories sprinkled in. His writing was funny without trying to be too edgy, punny, or forced. The audiobook is narrated by him, and there's even certain parts of it that are recordings of live readings. I really enjoyed this because you got to hear his delivery of the story, as well as how he interacts with an audience. My only gripe is that the audiobook weirdly omitted some stories that were in my physical copy of the book. Still, all of these were easy and fun to read, not requiring too much brain power, but still offering a good message....more
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