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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Reading this in 2025 made me feel nauseous. This was published in 2019.. and we're repeating the same shit. We were warned by intelligent activists like West and here we are again. /sobforinfinity
Some of the chapters felt like repeats after reading Shrill, -1 star.
Some of the chapters felt like repeats after reading Shrill, -1 star.
I really enjoy Lindy West's writing, and The Witches Are Coming was no exception for me. Lindy says a lot of poignant things about a lot of irritating, frustrating, and rage-inducing political topics, from mediocre white male supremacy to Twitter trolls to Ted Bundy.
If I hadn't already read [b:Bad Feminist|18813642|Bad Feminist|Roxane Gay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421292744l/18813642._SY75_.jpg|26563816], this might have been a 5-star read for me, because it was basically that without the queer, POC perspective. While many of her points and conversations were really interesting, I feel like others have already added to this conversation and this book has mostly likely just echoed in the feminist chamber.
I also disagree with her view of Goop and rich white crystal mommies being mostly silly and harmless, since they're at the centre of a very dangerous mindset that largely influenced so many anti-vaxxers around the world (I doubt that if this book were written in 2021 she'd have this same view).
Lastly, I got kind of tired of her patting herself on the back for how amazing her TV show is, Shrill (she does this across multiple chapters).
If a series of feminist essays interests you then you are almost guaranteed to like this, but be ready to hear more of the same. It's a shame that the people who need to hear Lindy most will never pick this up.
If I hadn't already read [b:Bad Feminist|18813642|Bad Feminist|Roxane Gay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421292744l/18813642._SY75_.jpg|26563816], this might have been a 5-star read for me, because it was basically that without the queer, POC perspective. While many of her points and conversations were really interesting, I feel like others have already added to this conversation and this book has mostly likely just echoed in the feminist chamber.
I also disagree with her view of Goop and rich white crystal mommies being mostly silly and harmless, since they're at the centre of a very dangerous mindset that largely influenced so many anti-vaxxers around the world (I doubt that if this book were written in 2021 she'd have this same view).
Lastly, I got kind of tired of her patting herself on the back for how amazing her TV show is, Shrill (she does this across multiple chapters).
If a series of feminist essays interests you then you are almost guaranteed to like this, but be ready to hear more of the same. It's a shame that the people who need to hear Lindy most will never pick this up.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
doing a thing where I finally read books I bought many years ago and that means I'm suddenly experiencing 2018 all over again.
It is impressive how much the world and the country (United States) has changed since 2019. It is surprising how petty and insignificant some of this analysis is. Reading this felt like an archeological dig into white pop feminism.
The odd choices for which slurs would be bleeped out, the snarky but begrudgingly hopeful outlook, the idea that language policing is praxis for a utopian society, and personal dislikes turned into ethical failures in others. In a not-so-bad essay about Twitter trolls, she rails against Twitter without taking a moment to acknowledge how much of her style and political disposition comes from being a user of it for so long.
My favorite essay was about Joan Rivers. West writes beautifully about a complicated figure, but it’s clear that the most insightful portions come from Guy Branum, her former writer who knew her personally and is a very thoughtful person himself. I would say that I wonder what that essay would look like without someone to walk her through nuance, but I don’t have to. There’s an absolute clunker about Adam Sandler, questioning if he was ever funny and even trying to pin him as a proto-alt right figure. It’s a baffling reach.
It’s not the worst thing in the world. Hardly a classic. I’d be much happier with a bit more soul excavating. I think a lot of contemporary readers will also be glad their politics have matured past this moment.
The odd choices for which slurs would be bleeped out, the snarky but begrudgingly hopeful outlook, the idea that language policing is praxis for a utopian society, and personal dislikes turned into ethical failures in others. In a not-so-bad essay about Twitter trolls, she rails against Twitter without taking a moment to acknowledge how much of her style and political disposition comes from being a user of it for so long.
My favorite essay was about Joan Rivers. West writes beautifully about a complicated figure, but it’s clear that the most insightful portions come from Guy Branum, her former writer who knew her personally and is a very thoughtful person himself. I would say that I wonder what that essay would look like without someone to walk her through nuance, but I don’t have to. There’s an absolute clunker about Adam Sandler, questioning if he was ever funny and even trying to pin him as a proto-alt right figure. It’s a baffling reach.
It’s not the worst thing in the world. Hardly a classic. I’d be much happier with a bit more soul excavating. I think a lot of contemporary readers will also be glad their politics have matured past this moment.
4/5 stars
This was a really interesting read, but nothing ground breaking.
This was a really interesting read, but nothing ground breaking.
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
