jes312's reviews
161 reviews

Nimona by ND Stevenson

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolutely adored the characters; was worried about the plot getting a bit predictable, but my fears were assuaged.

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We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans and Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff

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informative medium-paced

4.25

Not a series of humorous essays by a Native comedian -- instead, historical biographies and interviews and oral histories from Indigenous comedians reported on by a comedy historian. Big focus on Will Rogers and Charlie Hill, neither of whom I had heard of before, even though I am familiar with their contemporaries. I wish the histories/interviews had been organized chronologically, it was somewhat difficult to keep track of everyone (was this a revisit to an individual from a previous chapter or a one-off interview?).

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The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

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emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

I loved the method of using ideas/things to write a memoir. The personal element/frankness about mental illness drew me in. A little quote heavy at times, but Green acknowledges it.

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The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I wanted to like this more based on the premise; similar to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but with people who love books. But it was poorly written--to much telling, not enough showing, especially in terms of relationships between characters.

There were too many predictable and/or unnecessary subplots; one issue was introduced at the very end just to keep everything from being wrapped up a little too neatly. The thing that bothered me the most was

Autumn's death

; I felt like it was shrugged off by everyone; the author creating the contest and

only making it available to kids who did make it to the island felt disrespectful to her memory

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Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis

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challenging informative slow-paced

4.0

Transcriptions of interviews and speeches given by Angelia Davis.

Very introductory prison abolition text that speaks to the interconnection of the movement with other issues, but since this is several speeches on the same topic, it tends to get a little repetitive. Left me wanting to read more in-depth texts from Davis and about prison abolition.

The Man Who Ate Too Much by John Birdsall

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informative slow-paced

3.0

Written more like a fictional novelization than a biography, which is distracting. The audiobook didn't contain access to his sources, which left me wondering how much was imagined by the author (especially since Beard's friend was supposed to destroy any remaining evidence of his queer life after his death). Not sure if I would have finished this if I weren't reading it as an audiobook.

Author also mentions things in passing or refers back to them without having previously mentioned them in the text. Glosses over some (deeply problematic) things that need to be better unpacked, but instead are just stated. Since Beard is touted as such an influential figure in American cooking, I was hoping the epilogue would provide more of an analysis of his complicated legacy.

Descriptions of the food are vivid; author also does a good job at demonstrated the interconnectedness of the food world at this time.

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