Scan barcode
bookedbymadeline's reviews
895 reviews
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Slow start but by a third of the way through I was hooked, reading 100+ pages a day đ€
It was so atmospheric and adventurous! I loved being in this world and getting to know Scottish folklore. It can be really dark at times because of the violence but overall I enjoyed it just as much as the show. Iâll eventually check out book 2 but Iâm in no rush seeing as my library doesnât have it (and I have so many other-shorter-series to still finish)!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Blood, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide
Queens of Themiscyra by Hannah Lynn
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
Itâs sooo boring đ go on Lynn give us nothing for pages at a time! And after reading reviews Iâd rather not push through for some more internalized misogyny âhe kidnapped me but I love him nowâ bullshit
Alt-Right: From 4chan to the White House by Mike Wendling
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
I was honestly just bored and not engaged. Itâs not anything new so far that I havenât already learned so unfortunately the book is already a bit dated and surface level compared to other sources. Which I fear may be the case for a lot of the Pluto Press books I picked up (and still have to read) back in 2021/2022
You Are Not a Before Picture: How to Finally Make Peace with Your Body, for Good by Alex Light
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Discusses history of diet culture, mediaâs influence, how to overcome your own issues around body image, and is also part memoir as Light shared her own experiences around body image and eating disorders.
I liked that itâs inclusive in addressing the racism rooted in fatphobia as well as classism of labeling food as âgoodâ or âbadâ and issues like food deserts. I will say as someone with health problems, i had a more difficult time with the âview your body as a vessel and how it functions rather than an objectâ when for me and maybe many others who are disabled or chronically ill can feel angry at our bodies sometimes for not âfunctioning or being healthyâ like others. But the author said herself she is coming to this from a perspective of being straight, cis, and able bodied so she mostly touches on that experience since she canât speak accurately on others.
Overall itâs a good starter book if youâre new to this journey! Iâve read other books on the subject, one of which she quotes from, so most of this information wasnât new to me. Itâs good to serve as a reminder/refresher though and Iâd recommend if youâre starting your recovery journey and not ready to read a heavier/more niche book (like ones that focus exclusively on intuitive eating, fatphobia culture, etc) just yetđ©·
I liked that itâs inclusive in addressing the racism rooted in fatphobia as well as classism of labeling food as âgoodâ or âbadâ and issues like food deserts. I will say as someone with health problems, i had a more difficult time with the âview your body as a vessel and how it functions rather than an objectâ when for me and maybe many others who are disabled or chronically ill can feel angry at our bodies sometimes for not âfunctioning or being healthyâ like others. But the author said herself she is coming to this from a perspective of being straight, cis, and able bodied so she mostly touches on that experience since she canât speak accurately on others.
Overall itâs a good starter book if youâre new to this journey! Iâve read other books on the subject, one of which she quotes from, so most of this information wasnât new to me. Itâs good to serve as a reminder/refresher though and Iâd recommend if youâre starting your recovery journey and not ready to read a heavier/more niche book (like ones that focus exclusively on intuitive eating, fatphobia culture, etc) just yetđ©·
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco CantĂș
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.
Author shares stories of his time as a border patrol agent. He says he joined to work outside and try to âunderstand the border.â Although he doesnât shy away from the inhumane actions of BP agents, he detaches himself from it sort of like saying âthis is what happens and what other agents do BUT NOT MEâ đ
Disjointed with bouncing between facts/history, CantĂčâs personal stories, and his dreams with no transitions or chapter breaks.
This man worked here for years to uphold the system instead of question or challenge it, which goes to prove that no matter your good intentions youâll only become part of the unjust system. He had a college degree studying the border but felt like he had to work the field to âbetter understand itâ as if studying it doesnât already teach you about the inhumane policies that youâll be enforcingâŠanyways fuck border patrol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder
A Bookshop in Berlin: The Rediscovered Memoir of One Woman's Harrowing Escape from the Nazis by Françoise Frenkel
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Author details her experience in Occupied France under Germany and the collaborationist Vichy government, as a Polish Jewish woman. First chapter felt rushed and had a lot of info dumping. I wouldâve loved to take more time getting to learn about the bookshop and how Frenkelâs work was affected during the 1930s. This often read like a novel, moving quickly and holding my attention for long periods of time after I got through the hump of the first chapter.
It was strangely never discussed but she had a husband the whole time?! They got separated and he ended up being killed in one of the camps but he was never mentioned in the book which felt sad and confusing, especially since she made a comment to a friend about needing to marry for French citizenship when she was apparently already married.
The book mainly focused on how Frenkel had to escape Paris and went into hiding, moving around France, for much of WW2. Overall an emotional, moving story about her escape and the kindness of those that helped her! It feels like a very important book to remember that community and organizing together can make a difference đ©·
Iâd highly recommend if you want a short memoir!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Violence
Minor: Child death and Suicide
Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild
In 2017 a neo nazi group marched in Pikeville before the infamous Charlottesville March. The area has seen loss of jobs as the coal mines close as well as an increase in opioid drug use/overdoses. Hochschild looks at the residents from 2016-2023 and how they went from Democrats to Republicans so rapidly, while also looking at the history/culture of the region.
This book offers an empathetic view of why many rural residents, specifically in this district, have voted republican. Trying to bridge the gap of republicans and democrats, to approach a conversation and understand each other. Where many interviewees have expressed their feelings of shame and blame from liberals calling them names and stereotyping them as âhillbilliesâ as well as using ableist language as insults towards them. Hochschild offers a view into their lives to explore the culture and community of eastern Kentucky and how the pride paradox has caused a rift in the US political landscape.
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Thank you netgalley and The New Press for the eARC!
As someone who studied both sociology and political science, I was really excited to read this. It was very readable and easily accessible, sometimes reading like a novel.
As someone who studied both sociology and political science, I was really excited to read this. It was very readable and easily accessible, sometimes reading like a novel.
Hochschild interviews residents across different backgrounds- white, Black, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, middle aged, elderly, youth, republicans, liberal, moderates-across Kentuckyâs 5th Congressional district, namely Pikeville. KY-5 is the second poorest and whitest district in the USA.
As she interviews people from all backgrounds to get a full picture, it also meant she interviewed neo nazis like the leader of the March. It was difficult to read his sections because of all the hate he had and denial of things like slavery and the Holocaust.
As she interviews people from all backgrounds to get a full picture, it also meant she interviewed neo nazis like the leader of the March. It was difficult to read his sections because of all the hate he had and denial of things like slavery and the Holocaust.
In 2017 a neo nazi group marched in Pikeville before the infamous Charlottesville March. The area has seen loss of jobs as the coal mines close as well as an increase in opioid drug use/overdoses. Hochschild looks at the residents from 2016-2023 and how they went from Democrats to Republicans so rapidly, while also looking at the history/culture of the region.
This book offers an empathetic view of why many rural residents, specifically in this district, have voted republican. Trying to bridge the gap of republicans and democrats, to approach a conversation and understand each other. Where many interviewees have expressed their feelings of shame and blame from liberals calling them names and stereotyping them as âhillbilliesâ as well as using ableist language as insults towards them. Hochschild offers a view into their lives to explore the culture and community of eastern Kentucky and how the pride paradox has caused a rift in the US political landscape.
One of the most interesting concepts was the âPride paradoxâ- where they blame themselves for failures and have the âpick yourself up by the bootstraps mentalityâ (Protestant Ethic) and the pride of being hard working, wanting the American dream, and hometown pride as most of the residents have been there all their lives. Essentially âif I succeed itâs because of me, and if I fail itâs my fault.â
I learned a lot of Kentucky and their politics, such as how the state gerrymanders the number of reps they get in the House by including prisoners while still excluding their eligibility to vote which was infuriating.
Author and subjects look at issues around race, social class, and privilege. One person talked about his feeling shame and anger at stereotypes about being racist because heâs white, poor, and rural and he doesnât feel heard by any politicians because of his social class (ârepublicans are rich and racist and democrats donât seem to care about anything except race, gender, and sexual identityâ). He also discussed the idea of privilege and how he feels he has more in common with poor black people than other white people of varying social classes, but because heâs white, people assume he doesnât know what itâs like to struggle. For this itâs easy to understand because of course he has white privilege compared to POC but he doesnât have privilege when it comes to social class, but if you just say âprivilegeâ not everyone understands the varying levels and how different it can be even within your own race. Many in the area associate privilege with having an easy âhoity toityâ life and they havenât as many worked hard labor, suffered through addiction, lost jobs, etc.
Some interviewees even discussed how they feel like they have more in common with blue collar Black people and immigrants because of their shared class and economic struggles. But they still vote for trump because he wasnât like other politicians. Itâs a confusing paradox to be sure but it also makes some sense in a way because if your region is hard hit and politicians have been ignoring you/abandoning their constituents until election season, why wouldnât you take a chance on someone outside of politics?
As much as I personally disagree with Trump and will never understand how people can ignore how racist, sexist, homophobic he is and still vote for him, I can empathize with their feelings of isolation and hopelessness. Many had lost their jobs, living in poverty, and felt alienated by the Democratic Party as the candidates pushed for things like clean energy whereas these people dedicated their entire lives for generations to coal.
Iâd highly recommend if you want to understand the politics and culture of Eastern Kentucky, specifically the Appalachian hollers, and the shift they had from blue to red.
As much as I personally disagree with Trump and will never understand how people can ignore how racist, sexist, homophobic he is and still vote for him, I can empathize with their feelings of isolation and hopelessness. Many had lost their jobs, living in poverty, and felt alienated by the Democratic Party as the candidates pushed for things like clean energy whereas these people dedicated their entire lives for generations to coal.
Iâd highly recommend if you want to understand the politics and culture of Eastern Kentucky, specifically the Appalachian hollers, and the shift they had from blue to red.
TW/CW: racism, holocaust (and holocaust deniers), slavery, child abuse, violence, drug abuse, classism, alcoholism, addiction, suicide, domestic violence, death
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, and Slavery
Minor: Domestic abuse and Suicide
Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers by Jean Strouse
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
I love art history and was very excited to learn more about John Singer Sargent and his relationship/work with the Wertheimers! Unfortunately this did not work for me. The author clearly did a lot of research but at times it felt completely unnecessary to tell the story, causing the book to be slow, with dry academic writing. At times it felt like I was reading a textbook and I can appreciate the effort to create a full picture of the time period but then why discuss the parents of these figures and their familial history? Too much information led to the main âmeatâ of the story to be bogged down. Iâd recommend if you have a background in art history either via a degree or itâs your career field, but as a casual enthusiast of art history this will not be an enjoyable read
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism
Change Me Up by Caitlin Klassen
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Thank you Caitlin for the eARC! She has doen it once again with such a cute as hell romance đ„čđ
Looove the banter! I was laughing and cheering on Rhys and Paige. I related so much to them both especially Paige, she made me feel so seen as someone with ADHD!
Looove the banter! I was laughing and cheering on Rhys and Paige. I related so much to them both especially Paige, she made me feel so seen as someone with ADHD!
This is my first CEO romance and itâs something I didnât know I liked until this book đ The character development is well done as we watch them grow as individuals and also as a couple! Their relationships was so cute and light, YAY FOR NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP.
I highly recommend this book and the rest of the series if you love found family, neurodivergent and mental health rep, and donât want third act breakups or miscommunication đ
TW/CW: death of parent (off page), sexual content
Rep: ADHD and anxiety, biracial MC (white and Japanese)
Tropes: CEO/billionaire, found family, he falls harder, workplace romance
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent
Those Opulent Days by Jacquie Pham
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the eARC!
Intriguing start that pulled me in right away! Those Opulent Days is a historical murder mystery set in 1920s French colonial Vietnam (often referred to as Annam because of the French colonization of the region). We get switching POVs told in third person narration, mainly following the 4 friends Duy, Phong, Minh, and Edmond. But we also get some chapters from the perspectives of the women in their lives; Tattler, Hai, Marianne, and Madame Nuhr. Because of all the switching chapters it could be confusing at times- thereâs just too many POVs for my taste đ
The mystery kept me engaged as we follow the characters from the night of the murder and flashing back to the few days leading up to the tragedy! Pham creates an atmospheric drama filled with glamour, violence, and wealth. It was difficult to read at times due to the unlikeable characters, especially with how cruel Minh and Edmond could be. And two of the twists I could see coming from the beginning but it was an interesting, unique story nonetheless!
This was a strong debut novel and taught me a lot about Vietnam during the French Colonial period! I canât wait to read more from Pham in the future.
Intriguing start that pulled me in right away! Those Opulent Days is a historical murder mystery set in 1920s French colonial Vietnam (often referred to as Annam because of the French colonization of the region). We get switching POVs told in third person narration, mainly following the 4 friends Duy, Phong, Minh, and Edmond. But we also get some chapters from the perspectives of the women in their lives; Tattler, Hai, Marianne, and Madame Nuhr. Because of all the switching chapters it could be confusing at times- thereâs just too many POVs for my taste đ
The mystery kept me engaged as we follow the characters from the night of the murder and flashing back to the few days leading up to the tragedy! Pham creates an atmospheric drama filled with glamour, violence, and wealth. It was difficult to read at times due to the unlikeable characters, especially with how cruel Minh and Edmond could be. And two of the twists I could see coming from the beginning but it was an interesting, unique story nonetheless!
This was a strong debut novel and taught me a lot about Vietnam during the French Colonial period! I canât wait to read more from Pham in the future.
TW/CW: death of parent, murder, animal death, colonialism, physical abuse, classism, rape, starvation, vomit, death, grief, racism, blood, self harm, alcoholism, infidelity (brief mention), medical trauma, pregnancy, childbirth
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Rape, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity, Slavery, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy