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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
medium-paced
I am going to be thinking about this book for a very long time.
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
this book took me so long to read. I found it hard to get through, honestly probs cause some of the references and writing were above my pay grade, and I feel like only part of that is on me
Castillo is clearly knowledgeable and has a great mastery over language and expressing her perspective on reading (reading as an act of engaging with the world) and I thoroughly enjoyed learning through her. I found that she articulated a lot my thoughts in ways I wouldn’t be able to, and I definitely had a few favorite essays/essays I enjoyed more (Reading Teaches Us Empathy, and Other Fictions; The Limits of White Fantasy; Autobiography in Asian Film, or What We Talk About When We Talk About Representation; The Children of Polyphemus)
I came away from this wanting to engage with a lot of the literature and tv/movies she references throughout. the issue is that my lack of familiarity with them made reading large sections a slough. her writing style could also come across sometimes as very highbrow and my brain would just only compute so much
would be interested in reading her debut novel! and I do think reading her essays are worth it, as she leaves you a lot to nibble and ponder on
Castillo is clearly knowledgeable and has a great mastery over language and expressing her perspective on reading (reading as an act of engaging with the world) and I thoroughly enjoyed learning through her. I found that she articulated a lot my thoughts in ways I wouldn’t be able to, and I definitely had a few favorite essays/essays I enjoyed more (Reading Teaches Us Empathy, and Other Fictions; The Limits of White Fantasy; Autobiography in Asian Film, or What We Talk About When We Talk About Representation; The Children of Polyphemus)
I came away from this wanting to engage with a lot of the literature and tv/movies she references throughout. the issue is that my lack of familiarity with them made reading large sections a slough. her writing style could also come across sometimes as very highbrow and my brain would just only compute so much
would be interested in reading her debut novel! and I do think reading her essays are worth it, as she leaves you a lot to nibble and ponder on
Rounded up from 3.5. Castillo is a ferociously intelligent and well-read young writer; there's much here to enjoy here and her usually on-point rightous fury on the state of modern literature and criticism is engaging in the main.
Her close analysis of films/books/TV series, although detailed and well-considered, left me a little cold as, well, I usually hadn't read or seen what she was talking about. Some writers can still keep that interesting, but I didn't find it here. For a first collection of essays though, this is pretty great and I'm on board for whatever comes next.
Her close analysis of films/books/TV series, although detailed and well-considered, left me a little cold as, well, I usually hadn't read or seen what she was talking about. Some writers can still keep that interesting, but I didn't find it here. For a first collection of essays though, this is pretty great and I'm on board for whatever comes next.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I really loved some of these essays and others felt a little bit in the weeds. But the ones that were great were REALLY great! A lot to think about.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Smart and fascinating book. I actually love Didion, but Castillo skewers her with great accuracy and fairness.
challenging
informative
fast-paced
Not 100% a win for me, but the essays that killed it were really fantastic.
challenging
informative
reflective