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dobbsthedog's reviews
1729 reviews
Salma Makes a Home by Danny Ramadan
I’m choosing to not give this a star rating because I really don’t know how to rate a fairly easy MG novel.
I am now making my way through Danny Ramadan’s kids books, because why not? Despite the reading level of this book being quite low, Ramadan’s lovely way with words is still on full display.
This book is about Salma, who is a newcomer to Canada, coming to Vancouver from Damascus, Syria. I think it does a really great job of clearly explaining how difficult it can be for families who are leaving their home countries, especially when the whole family is not able to flee together.
The illustrations throughout by Anna Bron are lovely and really bring the story to life.
I am now making my way through Danny Ramadan’s kids books, because why not? Despite the reading level of this book being quite low, Ramadan’s lovely way with words is still on full display.
This book is about Salma, who is a newcomer to Canada, coming to Vancouver from Damascus, Syria. I think it does a really great job of clearly explaining how difficult it can be for families who are leaving their home countries, especially when the whole family is not able to flee together.
The illustrations throughout by Anna Bron are lovely and really bring the story to life.
Given, Vol. 7 by Natsuki Kizu
3.0
I found this volume a bit confusing, because it kept jumping around between the two bands. Still good, but mildly confusing. 😅
Cold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas
3.0
Solid, low angst romance.
Though, this was the least rakish rake I think I’ve ever read! 😅
Though, this was the least rakish rake I think I’ve ever read! 😅
This Skin Was Once Mine by Eric LaRocca
5.0
Received from NetGalley, thanks!
Holy shit, what did I just read?!?
I’m not sure that I’ve ever read horror quite like this before. This is a collection of four short stories, and one of them actually made me viscerally feel sick. Which is not something I’ve ever had happen before while reading.
In all four stories, while horrific in and of themselves, each have a twist ending that you really don’t see coming, and that just adds to the horror of it all.
This was an incredible book, but damn, so fucked up.
Holy shit, what did I just read?!?
I’m not sure that I’ve ever read horror quite like this before. This is a collection of four short stories, and one of them actually made me viscerally feel sick. Which is not something I’ve ever had happen before while reading.
In all four stories, while horrific in and of themselves, each have a twist ending that you really don’t see coming, and that just adds to the horror of it all.
This was an incredible book, but damn, so fucked up.
When the Owl Calls Your Name by Alan Syliboy
This is a really lovely little book about Mi’kmaq spirituality and death and the afterlife.
I love Alan Syliboy’s artwork and this book is just filled with beautiful illustrations.
I love Alan Syliboy’s artwork and this book is just filled with beautiful illustrations.
The Clothesline Swing by Danny Ramadan
5.0
Oh my god, this book utterly destroyed me. But the writing was so damn beautiful, I couldn’t really care.
The story is about a couple, who are Syrian refugees, and they’ve now been living in Canada for forty years, and one of them is dying. Each night he asks his partner to tell him a story, which he does. It’s a take on 1001 Nights, but instead of Scheherazade telling a story each night to keep herself alive, our Hakawati is telling stories to keep his partner alive one more night.
It is so sad, but the writing is so beautiful, which actually makes it even more sad. If I hadn’t somewhat hardened my heart while reading, I likely would have just cried through the entire book.
Through the storytelling we get to learn more about these men’s lives, mostly prior to coming to Canada; their childhoods in Syria, some glimpses of their time spent in Beirut, and more.
What I found really interesting thought the book is that our narrator and his partner don’t have names. The narrator is often referred to as Hakawati, which means storyteller in Arabic. And the narrator never calls his partner by name, it’s usually ‘my love’ or something similar.
Throughout the book and the stories, death is almost always there, waiting, as a third character that is regularly interacted with. I think that really added to the feeling of urgency of the book, that the partner really is close to the end.
This book is absolutely remarkable as a debut novel. It just absolutely blew me away, and I’m honestly feeling a bit bereft, now that I’ve read all of Danny Ramadan’s books. Even though The Clothesline Swing was emotionally exhausting to read, I would reread it in a heartbeat.
The story is about a couple, who are Syrian refugees, and they’ve now been living in Canada for forty years, and one of them is dying. Each night he asks his partner to tell him a story, which he does. It’s a take on 1001 Nights, but instead of Scheherazade telling a story each night to keep herself alive, our Hakawati is telling stories to keep his partner alive one more night.
It is so sad, but the writing is so beautiful, which actually makes it even more sad. If I hadn’t somewhat hardened my heart while reading, I likely would have just cried through the entire book.
Through the storytelling we get to learn more about these men’s lives, mostly prior to coming to Canada; their childhoods in Syria, some glimpses of their time spent in Beirut, and more.
What I found really interesting thought the book is that our narrator and his partner don’t have names. The narrator is often referred to as Hakawati, which means storyteller in Arabic. And the narrator never calls his partner by name, it’s usually ‘my love’ or something similar.
Throughout the book and the stories, death is almost always there, waiting, as a third character that is regularly interacted with. I think that really added to the feeling of urgency of the book, that the partner really is close to the end.
This book is absolutely remarkable as a debut novel. It just absolutely blew me away, and I’m honestly feeling a bit bereft, now that I’ve read all of Danny Ramadan’s books. Even though The Clothesline Swing was emotionally exhausting to read, I would reread it in a heartbeat.
In Repair by A.L. Graziadei
4.0
Received from NetGalley, thanks!
CW: sexual assault (historical, not on page), suicidal ideation, dissociation, more
This was a really tough book to read. It deals with a lot of really heavy topics and I think it does a really good job discussing those topics, but I certainly wouldn’t say that I enjoyed this book. If you decide to read this book, please do take a look at the content warnings, because this book is A LOT.
This book is about Nathaniel and how his past trauma and guilt have completely shaped the person he is now. As I said, it’s really tough to read, because, as Nathaniel is the POV narrator, we are seeing how very not okay he is, but how desperately he’s trying to be. Or at least trying to appear okay.
I really liked this little friend group, who were able to at least partially see past the mask he was constantly wearing. I liked how he was able to reconnect with a friend he’d thought he’d lost.
I likely would have given this five stars, except that I just couldn’t buy anything positive to do with his family.The way they initially reacted when they found out that his cousin had been sexually assaulted by their uncle (they didn’t believe her at all and defended the uncle), how they constantly blamed Nathaniel for acting out without ever asking why he was acting out. Throughout the book Nathaniel is saying that his family never asked the right questions, and they didn’t. So, to see their reaction when he disclosed that he was also sexually assaulted by the uncle, their outrage didn’t seem believable to me. The way they couldn’t accept Nathaniel in any way except for the way that they wanted him to be (forcing him to dye his hair to it’s natural colour, removing his nail polish and jewelry) and forcing him into situations that he said he didn’t want to go to. As a parent of an older teen, I can’t imagine doing any of those things. His parents just seemed really terrible, so to have them just accept everything and be super supportive when he disclosed; I just didn’t buy it.
This is a very different book to Graziadei’s first book, which isn’t a bad thing, just something to be aware of.
CW: sexual assault (historical, not on page), suicidal ideation, dissociation, more
This was a really tough book to read. It deals with a lot of really heavy topics and I think it does a really good job discussing those topics, but I certainly wouldn’t say that I enjoyed this book. If you decide to read this book, please do take a look at the content warnings, because this book is A LOT.
This book is about Nathaniel and how his past trauma and guilt have completely shaped the person he is now. As I said, it’s really tough to read, because, as Nathaniel is the POV narrator, we are seeing how very not okay he is, but how desperately he’s trying to be. Or at least trying to appear okay.
I really liked this little friend group, who were able to at least partially see past the mask he was constantly wearing. I liked how he was able to reconnect with a friend he’d thought he’d lost.
I likely would have given this five stars, except that I just couldn’t buy anything positive to do with his family.
This is a very different book to Graziadei’s first book, which isn’t a bad thing, just something to be aware of.
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
This book was recommended to me when I speaking to an acquaintance about having trouble sleeping. I honestly found the book to be fascinating, but it felt like it was right on the edge of quackery. Like, some of the things the author discusses about the power of breath and breathing is kind of bonkers?
I have ZERO medical training/knowledge, so that’s why I chose not to give this a star rating. I truly don’t know if I should be at all thinking any of the suggestions in this books are good or not, because, you know, breathing is pretty fucking important and I really don’t think that breathing in a certain rhythm with cure asthma (which I do not have). But then it seems like the benefits of changing the way you breathe are quite positive: better stamina, better sleep, lower blood pressure, fewer headaches, etc.
Overall, I think I will pick and choose what I take from this book and approach everything with caution. You know, trying to focus on breathing through your nose rather than your mouth seems pretty safe to me. Attempting to limit air intake while running, not so much.
I have ZERO medical training/knowledge, so that’s why I chose not to give this a star rating. I truly don’t know if I should be at all thinking any of the suggestions in this books are good or not, because, you know, breathing is pretty fucking important and I really don’t think that breathing in a certain rhythm with cure asthma (which I do not have). But then it seems like the benefits of changing the way you breathe are quite positive: better stamina, better sleep, lower blood pressure, fewer headaches, etc.
Overall, I think I will pick and choose what I take from this book and approach everything with caution. You know, trying to focus on breathing through your nose rather than your mouth seems pretty safe to me. Attempting to limit air intake while running, not so much.