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rachelmurphy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
aleenasbooks's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
tdem122's review against another edition
4.0
[1st read from 10/5/2023 to 14/5/2023] — 4⭐️
— reallyyyy enjoyable collection with some very accessible writing. some essays were definitely better than others (pure heroines is so well written it makes me jealous it wasn’t me who thought of writing it first) but not any new or groundbreaking subject.
though not an old collection, it does feel a bit outdated as it was published pre covid but i still really enjoyed this and tolentino’s sharp writing !
— reallyyyy enjoyable collection with some very accessible writing. some essays were definitely better than others (pure heroines is so well written it makes me jealous it wasn’t me who thought of writing it first) but not any new or groundbreaking subject.
though not an old collection, it does feel a bit outdated as it was published pre covid but i still really enjoyed this and tolentino’s sharp writing !
ciella__'s review against another edition
1.0
i was very disappointed because i waited for a long time to read this book but i found it awfully boring and frustrating to read
maybe it's because of the cultural difference (i'm from europe) since it mostly talks about the us but still, it was so boring, i really tried, but i ended up dropping it 10 pages before the end, i know, i should've finished it maybe but i was so tired of reading something that hardly tried to make a point and reading a series of newspaper-like paragraphs summing up an event and trivial stuff that was there just to fill the gaps -- it's the kind of stuff that if you remember, you can boast a little about it in a party but that will be forgotten the day after
i don't even remember what the book was talking about since it didn't make a clear point, just reading someone who over-researched and a series of examples -- i was so lost in them, i just didn't understand it was trying to say...
maybe it did talk about feminism, capitalism, religion, technologies but again, i was so lost in the examples, i couldn't make sense of what was being tried to be said i felt like reading the draft of an essay, it's good to have examples but when you have too many of them, it just doesn't make sense, it's better to focus on a few, but VERY relevant ones, it's useless to cite many studies, authors, newspaper article, events just to fill the gaps and say "SEE I KNOW THINGS", because when someone knows things/ is educated, it doesn't have to be told through a number of examples, it just shows, it can be seen and that's it.
maybe it's because of the cultural difference (i'm from europe) since it mostly talks about the us but still, it was so boring, i really tried, but i ended up dropping it 10 pages before the end, i know, i should've finished it maybe but i was so tired of reading something that hardly tried to make a point and reading a series of newspaper-like paragraphs summing up an event and trivial stuff that was there just to fill the gaps -- it's the kind of stuff that if you remember, you can boast a little about it in a party but that will be forgotten the day after
i don't even remember what the book was talking about since it didn't make a clear point, just reading someone who over-researched and a series of examples -- i was so lost in them, i just didn't understand it was trying to say...
maybe it did talk about feminism, capitalism, religion, technologies but again, i was so lost in the examples, i couldn't make sense of what was being tried to be said i felt like reading the draft of an essay, it's good to have examples but when you have too many of them, it just doesn't make sense, it's better to focus on a few, but VERY relevant ones, it's useless to cite many studies, authors, newspaper article, events just to fill the gaps and say "SEE I KNOW THINGS", because when someone knows things/ is educated, it doesn't have to be told through a number of examples, it just shows, it can be seen and that's it.
ainsleyc's review against another edition
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.75
I think this book is like the Barbie movie of cultural criticism, if you're at all online more than average you've probably heard of some of the points Tolentino is talking about, if you want to intoduce someone to post 2016 cultural criticism this is a great book to give them.
I think Tolentino has some really great lines in this book, and her prose is sharp and biting, and overall really well written, so even if you have heard of what she talks about, there is still things you can get from her craft of these essays. I also think that her criticism has become part of a foundation for some cultural criticism we see today, and I think it would be fascinating for her to do a retrospective on some of her essays.
I think Tolentino has some really great lines in this book, and her prose is sharp and biting, and overall really well written, so even if you have heard of what she talks about, there is still things you can get from her craft of these essays. I also think that her criticism has become part of a foundation for some cultural criticism we see today, and I think it would be fascinating for her to do a retrospective on some of her essays.
jordeeny's review against another edition
3.0
I kinda slogged through this because the essays were pretty hit or miss. I think the one about religion was my favorite because it’s a topic that interests me.
michellefeif's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
zatulasma's review against another edition
I loved the first essay.
The rest just didn't give
The rest just didn't give