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alexenjoysthings's Reviews (383)
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
This is a great read for fat girls that want to enjoy nature but have been held back by everyone that makes it seem like it's not for us.
The book includes tips on enjoying the outdoors, finding the right equipment, finding community, and is full of stories about fat girls who love to hike. The profiles of fat girls who hike was my favorite because I really haven't seen representation like this before. The people in the book have become role models. There are specific trail guides and beautiful pictures. It has made me want to experience the outdoors even though I've always preferred the indoors.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The book includes tips on enjoying the outdoors, finding the right equipment, finding community, and is full of stories about fat girls who love to hike. The profiles of fat girls who hike was my favorite because I really haven't seen representation like this before. The people in the book have become role models. There are specific trail guides and beautiful pictures. It has made me want to experience the outdoors even though I've always preferred the indoors.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
informative
slow-paced
It's easy to tell the author is very passionate about this subject. Unfortunately, passion does not equal a good reading experience. From the start, the writing is very inaccessible; it is very history heavy and reads like a textbook. The author repeats herself a lot, inputs unnecessary quotes, and jumps from topic to topic in a way that makes no sense. From what you can plant your herbs in, to city foraging, to the history of buttercup, to the definition of an herb with certain medicinal herb uses sprinkled in, all within 5 pages. Despite the title, this book doesn't seem very heavy on modern witchcraft/neo-paganism; it's more about historic folk magic. Another issue I had was the author seemed to have a negative view on modern medicine. In one section she states: "if they [herbs] are combined with the modern penchant for pharmaceutical drugs, there can be potentially fatal consequences. It is actually the pharmaceutical drugs that are dangerous" The 3rd chapter was my favorite as it was a list of herbs with how to make simples their uses, and some background history. This part felt more organized and polished than the rest of the book and makes for great reference. Overall, I would not recommend this to modern witches unless they love academia and history.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
I’ve heard of El Deafo by Cece Bell often; it’s on almost every list of own voices disability books. I thought it was a children’s picture book, but it’s more of a middle-grade graphic novel. It follows anthropomorphic bunny child Cece as she adjusts to losing her hearing and wearing hearing aids. It was overall a good and cute read and I think it showed issues like well-meaning but offensive people very well. It was a very realistic story (probably because it’s based on the author’s real life). The only issues I had with it were that it seemed to dismiss disability, especially in the author’s note at the end. Disability is not a bad thing and disability activists are why we have the rights we have today. I would still recommend reading it, though with a critical eye.
informative
fast-paced
I’ve read the other Quick & Easy Guides, but Sex & Disability by A. Andrews is my favorite of the collection. It’s quick and easy as the title promises. The beginning focuses on dispelling myths and telling disabled people that we can be beautiful, attractive, and sexual. The second half is helpful accessibility tips, most of which I’d never actually heard of before. It’s so short and educational, it’s absolutely worth picking up.
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
I previously read Rachel Ignotofsky’s Women in Science, so I was excited to see she had other books! Women in Sports was a perfect read for me because I know so little about sports or sports history, but with all the bigotry trans women in sports are facing, I wanted to form a basis of knowledge to better support them. Rachel Ignotofsky’s message is very clear in this book: women are not weak, fragile things and keeping them out of sports is just for the male ego. The art was beautiful as expected and the writing was easy to follow and made me cheer for these wonderful women.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
I usually don’t agree with “everyone needs to read this” reviews, but everyone needs to read Ace by Angela Chen. The first few chapters were a bit more basic for those who haven’t been on tumblr as long as I have, but the other chapters explore so many different things and offer so many different viewpoints that I genuinely believe everyone would benefit from reading this book and working on reflecting on how they see relationships and sexuality in society.
lighthearted
fast-paced
The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag is a cute, queer selkie romance. The art and story are adorable and I was definitely rooting for the characters. The romance happened very fast, but it seemed realistic for sapphic teens. I’d recommend it to anyone interested, but keep in mind it’s for a younger audience!
adventurous
fast-paced
Veronica Fish’s art in Slam! was fantastic and really added a lot to the comic. Pamela Ribon’s storytelling, however, was lackluster. The characters were hard to connect to and were very flat and the plot was almost nonexistent. It was a confusing and disappointing read. I had high expectations because I love roller derby, so maybe that made it easier to be let down. I will read the second volume sometime in the future to see if it improves.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder was touching because Feder really showed the audience who her mom was when she was alive and how much love their family shared. Feder also utilizes some great jokes and relatable stories throughout that keep the book from being too depressing.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It’s an allegorical horror reminiscent of Silent Hill. It was the kind of horror that’s less visceral and more “Oh, there’s so much wrong with society,” but the drawings and story did spook me in a nice way too. I think it wrapped up too quickly and I would’ve liked it to be longer, but it was overall really good and I’m excited to read the rest of Machado’s work.