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jansendotsh's reviews
152 reviews
Night Train by A.L. Snijders, A.L. Snijders
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
These "very short stories" were a refreshing and quick read with moments that both made me stop to think and opportunities to actually laugh out loud. I loved this a lot, making no bones about its unvarnished style while still coming across moments of great importance.
Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Did the audiobook version of this due to the full cast and while it's funny to listen to NOT Dave Chang, I loved this since it was genuinely reflective and shared the life of a man who wasn't perfect but did so much to help people see just how much alike we all are as global citizens. It obviously gets into the darker moments towards the end of his life and the decisions that precipitate that however I'm just glad it doesn't pull any punches while giving the opportunity to reflect on his style and outsized impact on everyday people. None of it was ever really about the food and this underscores that.
Related media:
- Roadrunner (https://letterboxd.com/film/roadrunner-a-film-about-anthony-bourdain/)
Related media:
- Roadrunner (https://letterboxd.com/film/roadrunner-a-film-about-anthony-bourdain/)
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I guess I wasn't expecting the Great Gatsby fanfic where everything it tried leaning on in the blurb was secondary.
A Force So Swift: Mao, Truman, and the Birth of Modern China, 1949 by Kevin Peraino
5.0
As people reading about the past, we tend to silo things in our minds rather than understanding the larger picture along with the context that it exists within. Having spent a bit of time reading about Chinese history and in particular, the founding of the People's Republic, I'm very guilty of this.
Luckily, books like this come along that better illustrate the connections between actors on the world's stage. There's something here that I haven't gotten from other sources that I believe would help Americans make better sense of the world we live in and how our fingerprints have shaped it. Of course, this is a very small slice of history but if you find this scratching an itch, there are many more helpful sources for you to dig in with.
Luckily, books like this come along that better illustrate the connections between actors on the world's stage. There's something here that I haven't gotten from other sources that I believe would help Americans make better sense of the world we live in and how our fingerprints have shaped it. Of course, this is a very small slice of history but if you find this scratching an itch, there are many more helpful sources for you to dig in with.
At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a fairly quick read that I found thanks to Obama's summer reading list. Wasn't sure what to expect when going in and didn't do much research, but what I found was a brush with grief and what it means to be an adult. Before you even know much of the setting, you feel the weight of Alfa being unable to perform a mercy killing of his boyhood friend. The storytelling is masterful, only briefly allowing you to stray from that enveloping grief.
Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Steve Coll
challenging
4.0
Based on the title and the early framing, I assumed this would dig into a bit more of the Pakinstani intelligence agency that was supporting extremist organizations while the Pakistani government outwardly said that they weren't aligning with them. While this book has the most about this organization that I've been able to read so far, a lot of it ended up centered around American mismanagement of the war in Afghanistan. I think I made an accident of not reading Coll's other book, "Ghost Wars", prior to this entry but it's a very specific slice of history of the war in Afghanistan and didn't seem to make this entry harder to understand.
Overall, I struggled a bit with this book which might've just been issues with the way I was reading, feeling significantly more dense than other books that I've recently read. I wouldn't hold it against the book since it's billed as a very specific segment of time during the conflict, although it's very detailed and seemingly well sourced. I feel the wiser for reading this even if I was hopeful it'd have a bit more of other components. Perhaps some of the writing could be more digestible and some assertions challenged but I understand Coll is a very traditional journalist and historian. Sometimes, that's exactly what you need.
Related media:
Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror (Netflix)
"The Afghanistan Papers" by Craig Whitlock (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56898213-the-afghanistan-papers)
Overall, I struggled a bit with this book which might've just been issues with the way I was reading, feeling significantly more dense than other books that I've recently read. I wouldn't hold it against the book since it's billed as a very specific segment of time during the conflict, although it's very detailed and seemingly well sourced. I feel the wiser for reading this even if I was hopeful it'd have a bit more of other components. Perhaps some of the writing could be more digestible and some assertions challenged but I understand Coll is a very traditional journalist and historian. Sometimes, that's exactly what you need.
Related media:
Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror (Netflix)
"The Afghanistan Papers" by Craig Whitlock (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56898213-the-afghanistan-papers)
An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination by Cecilia Kang, Sheera Frenkel
informative
medium-paced
4.5
A lot of the books about big tech are typically written by experts in one field or another, while this actually takes a moment to step back and provide an exhaustive view of the entirety of Facebook's history and its series of scandals. That gives you a top-down view to a tech company in which the leaders herald interaction above all else, stating that it "creates a better world" while at best, failing to understand the world beyond their bubble and at worst, cynically driving the worst interactions solely for the way in which it helps the bottom line.
The writing here is organized well, with each chapter providing a clear and well-written data point that can be independently worth another book unto itself. I'd say this is a great read for folks interested in learning a bit about the world we live in, the tools we use to facilitate it, and the people responsible for them.
Related media:
- The Facebook Files at the Washington Journal (https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-senate-hearing/card/AxUJ0Sioqe4Px8YzsGuc)
- "Mindf*ck" by Christopher Wylie (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52269471-mindf-ck?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=v31DGttMiT&rank=5)
The writing here is organized well, with each chapter providing a clear and well-written data point that can be independently worth another book unto itself. I'd say this is a great read for folks interested in learning a bit about the world we live in, the tools we use to facilitate it, and the people responsible for them.
Related media:
- The Facebook Files at the Washington Journal (https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-senate-hearing/card/AxUJ0Sioqe4Px8YzsGuc)
- "Mindf*ck" by Christopher Wylie (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52269471-mindf-ck?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=v31DGttMiT&rank=5)