frogwithlittlehammer's reviews
237 reviews

Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber

informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

Bruh he yassssssified the academic paper. He was straddling the line between pop psychology and crowd sourced testimonial anthropology and for once I feel preference for the former. I really think Graeber is brilliant but maybe not the best at long form. Or maybe I just couldn’t relate bc I’ve never had a bs job 💅🏼 I do like him in that he always attempts to give at least some conclusion chapter addressing what can be done, possible material solutions, etc., as little water that they hold. 

Also… NOT here for the Vonnegut slander. And c’mon was no one supervising my man the narrator he mispronounced every other proper noun bless his heart. 

Le Testament Français by Andreï Makine

emotional reflective slow-paced

3.75

Je trouve que les Français ont une façon de créer des œuvres (surtout des lectures) qui sont plus grandes que la vie. J’ai vachement eu du mal avec celui ci, mais j’espère le relire à l’avenir pour en profiter même plus.

Anyone for gulli-danda? by Marjorie Garber, Terry Castle, Amia Srinivasan, Heathcote Williams, Gabriele Annan, Jane Holland, Tariq Ali, Karl Miller, Benjamin Markovits, David Runciman

funny informative reflective

4.0

I’m not sure why I find sport so sexy in its complexities. Perhaps because it’s a veritable spectacle rather than a game. There also exists a rather amusing obsession with some round bit or ovish bob or invisible line; assigning incredible importance to something that becomes a pile of flap once deflated and all that Barthesian jazz. Maybe they’re so sexy because sports have the power to move and break down even the most odious of men. The rawness of the game, the down bad desire to win, well it’s just too seductive for anyone to resist. 

My favorite essay was about doping, because I was always a staunch believer in that if you were willing to do it, why should you be punished for wanting it the most? Barthes would say that it’s tempting fate, basically interfering with god’s plan/esprit. Which is fitting anyway because sports are a religion—though at the same time they can be socialist (as one essay points out, associations such as the NBA and NFL redistribute the wealth aka talent to the teams who have the greatest need.) 

The “did they/didn’t they” element of doping is also part of the mythification of sport. Sports have a natural gift of creating narratives out of nothing, first made evident to me in Don DeLillo’s teleological tome, Underworld. So that’s pretty sexy too. I’m rambling now but it’s because I’m trying to figure out  why I adore sports culture so much, even though I rarely partake. What I do know for certain though is I miss playing tennis with my friends 😓

Zazie dans le métro by Raymond Queneau
Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.

C’est assez drôle, et l’utilisation du langue est marrant. Cependant, il est trop slapstick pour moi, un peu comme des films nouvelle vague mais sans profondeur. 

Le vieil incendie by Elisa Shua Dusapin

emotional reflective

4.5

Un autre livre sur les papas. Qu’est ce que cela signifie… Cette fois j’ai en fait pleuré un peu pourtant.

Une conte qui se déroule au cours de la vidange d’un maison d’enfance. Une sœur est muette et l’autre dialoguiste. C’est une hantologie à la fois chronologique et nostalgique, plein de belle images des paysages de la Dordogne. Tout ça crée l’air glaciale mais quand même accueillante, il m’a bien plu le livre, étonnamment. 

La place by Annie Ernaux

reflective sad

4.5

Je veux tenir la main de mon papa 😭 (il n’est pas mort, il est juste à Las Vegas)

Un certain sourire by Françoise Sagan

emotional reflective

5.0

Ces derniers temps, je trouve que des femmes apathiques me plaisent tellement. Françoise Sagan est parfaitement ça. Et c’est marrant que la plupart des écrivaines avec lesquelles je m’identifie, je suppose qu’elles sont simplement gays mais à la fois assez crues pour profiter de la tendresse et assez précoces pour accepter le défi intellectuel, desquels la femme en a plein. C’est parlant..? De quoi dieu sait. Alors peut être que c’est vrai, la femme n’existe pas 😗

Persepolis, Volume 3 by Marjane Satrapi

4.5

Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan

emotional funny reflective

4.5

Pourquoi lire putain de Lolita alors que cet roman existe?

Mars: récit by Fritz Zorn
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.

Homme est valable mais insupportable 🍼