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ithiliens's reviews
119 reviews
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
5.0
This was probably the most difficult reading experience I've ever had. I had to stop many times because I was crying too much, or had to go and hug my mom. Reading it felt both like ripping off a band aid and applying balm after. So honestly written even when the truth is almost unbearable. But not unrelentingly bleak in any way. Ultimately I just want to thank Michelle Zauner for writing this. From one mixed girl to another, thank you.
Something's Wrong With Us, Volume 1 by Natsumi Andō
5.0
It's been so long since I've read an insane melodrama like this thank you ms ando for my life
Something's Wrong With Us, Volume 6 by Natsumi Andō
*RATTLING CAGE* WHERE IS THE REST OF OF KODANSHA YOU SONS OF BITCHES
Simply Magic by Mary Balogh
4.0
(4.5) Absolutely loved this. This felt quite meditative even for Mary Balogh who often writes slower paced, reflective romances. But it was so lovely because of that. I haven't read many heroes quite like Peter and I think the depth Balogh gives her leads is part of what brings me back. For some this might be *too* slow paced but I found it (for lack of a better word) so realistic of the type of relationship Susanna and Peter have. I think this may be one of her best books in terms of just absolute mastery of her craft. Will be thinking about this one for a bit.
Someone Perfect by Mary Balogh
5.0
So lovely and sweet, perfect fall/winter read. I think this may be one of my favorites in this series.
Reporter: A Memoir by Seymour M. Hersh
4.0
A few years ago, I listened to an interview with Sy Hersh describing the problem with the initial reporting on the ground during the invasion of Afghanistan. He explained how reporters were embedded with soldiers, riding in tanks with them and getting to know them personally, so that when inevitably those soldiers began killing civilians the reporters felt obliged to look the other way. That story has stayed with me as I have grown more and more disgusted with the quality of popular journalism. There have always been reporters who are happy to fawn over authority figures and, as described in this book, take their word for gospel and their press releases as fact. (Think of how many headlines about cops killing civilians are contorted into passive voice, as if the bullets acted on their own). But it feels to me like the exceptions to that, at least in the big papers of record, have grown fewer and fewer. Hersh acknowledges himself as a veteran of the golden age of journalism and indeed much of the career he describes seems impossible now.
This was not always an enjoyable read; the subject matter was often difficult to stomach, given Hersh's career and the atrocities and deception he wrote about. But it was always engaging and written with a spirit of candor. There are many events described that you almost can't believe lined up as they did-- I am thinking particularly of the truly spectacular way he tracked down the murderous Calley -- but in the end you see it is Hersh's seemingly unstoppable energy and utterly sincere dedication to the value of truth that leads him to success. There is real value in Hersh's account of the endless research, calls, meetings, etc that informed every article. For me at least, it's a reminder that the truth doesn't come easy. It must be sought.
This was not always an enjoyable read; the subject matter was often difficult to stomach, given Hersh's career and the atrocities and deception he wrote about. But it was always engaging and written with a spirit of candor. There are many events described that you almost can't believe lined up as they did-- I am thinking particularly of the truly spectacular way he tracked down the murderous Calley -- but in the end you see it is Hersh's seemingly unstoppable energy and utterly sincere dedication to the value of truth that leads him to success. There is real value in Hersh's account of the endless research, calls, meetings, etc that informed every article. For me at least, it's a reminder that the truth doesn't come easy. It must be sought.