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erinelizabeth's reviews
1310 reviews
Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
essays. nature. life seasons. the south. family. elder care.
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
nonfiction. depression. rest. memoir. winter
Mixed feelings! I love the parts where the author stuck to the concept of wintering, but so much of the book is basic memoir things that feel unrelated to the wintering concept. Going on vacations, visiting Stonehenge, stories about hanging out with her kid, or friends. I put other books on hold because I thought this was going to be the perfect isolation read.
She has a section where she talks about community using ants, grasshoppers, and bees for her metaphors. She talks about the importance of being able to retreat and rest when we are dealing with depression and that it is part of the regular cycle of being a person, and we should make space for it, but she leaves out any political, economic, and societal barriers to this. She was in a position to be able to retire early and retreat with family, good for her, but she doesn't talk about the practicality of this on a societal level.
Mixed feelings! I love the parts where the author stuck to the concept of wintering, but so much of the book is basic memoir things that feel unrelated to the wintering concept. Going on vacations, visiting Stonehenge, stories about hanging out with her kid, or friends. I put other books on hold because I thought this was going to be the perfect isolation read.
She has a section where she talks about community using ants, grasshoppers, and bees for her metaphors. She talks about the importance of being able to retreat and rest when we are dealing with depression and that it is part of the regular cycle of being a person, and we should make space for it, but she leaves out any political, economic, and societal barriers to this. She was in a position to be able to retire early and retreat with family, good for her, but she doesn't talk about the practicality of this on a societal level.
The Last Days of New Paris by China Miéville
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
"If this was Durer, maybe, or Piranesi. Schongauer? He's important, but I don't think he's core enough to manifest spontaneously. I think someone invoked this deliberately."
Manifestations of Surrealist art and poetry on the streets of occupied Paris. At the hands of Mieville it works. The fantastical imagery using historical artworks did it for me, and kept this from being a pulpy retread of yet another occultish WWII alternative history. Great section of notes at the end detailing the sources of the manifs.
Manifestations of Surrealist art and poetry on the streets of occupied Paris. At the hands of Mieville it works. The fantastical imagery using historical artworks did it for me, and kept this from being a pulpy retread of yet another occultish WWII alternative history. Great section of notes at the end detailing the sources of the manifs.