illtakethenightshiftx's reviews
193 reviews

I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying by Youngmi Mayer

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 52%.
This memoir is poignant and quite funny, but not for me right now. I had to DNF (52%) for now because of graphic depictions of abuse, eating disorders, and other heavy topics I don’t have the capacity to read about at this present time. I would like to return to this once I’m able to do so because the writing is whip smart and compulsively readable!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
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The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
It's been over a month since I finished this, and yet I'm still not sure if this was a book for me. I loved the way Bieker explored trauma, grief, and motherhood through Clove's experiences, but being inside Clove's head for the duration of the book was grating for a number of reasons, namely the writing style. I'm realizing that first-person pov isn't something I love and something about the way this was written added to my dislike of the book as a whole. The story within is a visceral gut punch of a story, but getting to it wasn't easy. I also wasn't a fan of the "twists" regarding certain characters and had whiplash 3/4 of the way through when it suddenly became a thriller.

Not giving this a star rating because none feel quite right
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Needful Things by Stephen King

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Needful Things isn’t one of my favorite King novels but when it’s read by King himself, it’s 10x better
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I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

I read this in one sitting and while it’s not groundbreaking by any means, it’s dark, unsettling, strange, and a bit nauseating. I didn’t think this would be for me, but I enjoyed the whirlwind I just was part of.
(this sits between 3.75 and 4)
A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A quick hit of weird, cosmic horror! I wished the Power that was described throughout the book was a bit more fleshed our, but overall it was a good read. Perfect for this time of year!
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Old Enough by Haley Jakobson

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This book has so much heart!!!! (but it took a while to get there) The first chunk is a little slow but it picks up about halfway through. I wasn’t a fan of the writing style and narrative structure. I appreciate what Jakobson was trying to do with flashback chapters (at times not labeled the best) and changing POVs, but it took me out of it trying to keep the timelines straight. I wish the characters were a smidge more fleshed out (and there weren’t so many of them). 

Rating this is hard because the story is strong and compelling, but the methods it’s told through needed significant polishing. It’s not a bad book by any stretch, but it definitely feels like a debut. 
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Family Abolition: Capitalism and the Communizing of Care by M.E. O'Brien

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
I haven’t touched this since the beginning of the month bc I truly don’t have the brain capacity for a book like this. Calling it a soft DNF bc I will most definitely be picking it back up when I have the capacity to!
Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda

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wtf did I just read
(review coming as soon as I piece my thoughts together)
Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew

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informative fast-paced

4.0

A quick, yet extremely informative, primer about disability, ableism, and the technology and systems that are intertwined together. There were some topics I wish the author delved into greater detail, but overall it was a really great introduction to learning about ableism and disability justice. I definitely recommend this for anybody, but specifically for able-bodied and neurotypical folks, who are interested in learning about disability and moving towards a truly liberated world but may not know where to start.
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