caterina's reviews
18 reviews

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Entertaining, quick read, and I figured out the secret adversary early on, but Christie did have me doubting myself for a second! I was pretty annoyed with the very negative portrayal of labor rights movements in the book (ah, truly the worst thing that could happen is a labor strike!). Slow and steady Tommy and quick and passionate Tuppence were a bit of a fun pairing, so I might read more of their books!
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Respectable: Crossing the Class Divide by Lynsey Hanley

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
Another book club book, and I loved the discussion but don't feel like I need to finish the book. I read the beginning and end and skimmed through the rest, and that was enough to get a sense of it - especially since it's pretty repetitive. As the author notes in an interview I watched about this book, if she'd written it today she would've written it differently - I would hope with more structural critique, because this was not so much the leftist memoir that I was expecting (e.g. essentially no analysis of race and gender intersecting with class).
Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou

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hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

2.5

Maya Angelou is great, but the best thing about this book is that the audiobook is read by her. I love when she's sharing stories that she learned from, and the coffee story and the rug story will definitely stick with me, but her preachy advice (e.g. all the stuff about patriotism) is not my thing and I often disagreed with her. It's a disjointed collection, and in particular her short essay on rape feels like her just taking the opportunity to throw a take out there without having done research or thought it through. Take what resonates and leave the rest!
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The Town That Was Murdered: The Life Story of Jarrow by Ellen Wilkinson

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
This was for a book club. I enjoyed the book club discussion, and I got what I hoped to get from it by reading only the beginning and the end. I didn't feel the need to finish wading through all the details in this book, especially since I'm from the U.S. and found it hard to take in all the very localized details of this town and region in the U.K.
How to Fly (in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons) by Barbara Kingsolver

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

I listened to the audio (read by the author) while reading along in the ebook, and the audio narration definitely enhanced the experience for me. These lovely poems - accessible, reflective, tender, intimate, nature- and family-loving - felt like a memoir. Some poems I loved, while many didn't capture my heart, as in many collections - but I'm glad I read it, and I could see myself rereading it someday.
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The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

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lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was a fun little lark! Twists and turns, told from the point of view of a Watson-like character who's friends with a Holmes-like character. Not a particularly sad murder, so there's more focus on clues and all the little concerns and secrets of the household. My first Poirot novel and second Agatha Christie, so I'm excited to see how she develops her skills!
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My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

So torn. There is valuable stuff in here about embodiment and racialized trauma. But also very reformist-apologist approach to police (barely made it through the "police bodies" sections), some concerning comments on physical health (e.g. fatphobia), and other things in need of critique. Yet - in the end, thinking about intergenerational trauma for both white and Black bodies and thinking about racialized trauma in bodies was worth the read. And the body practices were, on the whole, solid.
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Berkeley Noir by Jerry Thompson, Owen Hill

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A very mixed bag, and I would only consider it worth a read if you have a connection to Berkeley. As someone new-ish to the area, it was a fun way to encounter familiar places and think more about what makes Berkeley, Berkeley.
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