blrobin2's reviews
550 reviews

Yellowface

R.F. Kuang

4.5

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

June is difficult to stomach. Chapters 2-5 are hard—chapter 6 pulled me right back in. It's still rough until chapter 11, which is so cathartic. And on it goes to its appropriate ending.

The book has the most accurate depiction of online discourse around race and representation I've read. It teases out the nuances of ignorance, white privilege, racism, and coincidence by watching June's internal mental gymnastics play out against the extremes of the Twitterati. June gets so close to understanding what she's done that she loses the thread in her victim complex and human desire for control.

It's so funny that June wonders if Reece Witherspoon will option her next novel, and this book is on Reece Witherspoon's book list.

Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict

Tsultrim Allione

5.0

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

National Treasure: Nicolas Cage

Lindsay Gibb

3.0

funny informative fast-paced

I agree with the book's thesis that Cage is a genius, but don't find the book's arguments compelling for anyone who doesn't already agree.

The Man in the High Castle

Philip K. Dick

3.0

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Age of Cage: Four Decades of Hollywood Through One Singular Career

Keith Phipps

3.5

informative lighthearted fast-paced

As a diehard Cage fan, I appreciate how much this book covers. If anything, it covers too much, getting lost in covering Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Bay, and other would-be auteurs. Still, the author understands why Cage, unironically, is a good actor.

Lincoln in the Bardo

George Saunders

DID NOT FINISH: 13%

The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself

Michael A. Singer

3.0

emotional reflective medium-paced

Some tremendous material obscured by attempts to blend Christian orthodoxy with Buddhist philosophy. As a result, the book includes nothing in the way of practical application of the thought exercises—only the repetition that life is easy if you just let go. How? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯