A review by hello_lovely13
All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

challenging informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

This was one of those books where you basically want to underline everything. I annotated a good deal in my edition (mostly underlining, with a few notes). I will definitely be rereading this, even if it is just to go to some of the sections I highlighted. I liked each of the essays, though a few didn't quite match up to what it is titled. The discussions on the influences of the patriarchy and capitalism on how people view and interact with love was very interesting, so "Greed" and "Values" are two of my favorite essays in the collection. The recurring discussions on the fantasy of love versus the reality, as well as accepting the idea of love as an action, rather than just a feeling, idea, or ideal, were also some of my favorite parts of the book. This does deal a lot more with spirituality than I expected, which took me out a bit. The same goes with the discussions on how to raise children with a more dynamic, action-centered idea of love because, although it makes sense, I didn't find those sections as interesting as the parts discussing the actions and behaviors of adults. I liked the continuous discussion about the "ingredients" of love: care, affection, recognition, respect, commitment, trust, and honest and open communication (all of which should be present in true love, and lack of one does not actually depict love). I definitely would recommend this for everyone to read. I am just a bit disappointed that, though I enjoyed this, I didn't love this as much as I was expecting.
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