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katiekarnehmesh's reviews
686 reviews
Readings from the Book of Exile by Pádraig Ó Tuama
I love Padriag's poetry. He makes me like rhyming poetry again, and he's witty, and thoughtful, and then he turns around and breaks your heart in one line.
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
4.0
I think this is a good book to read, especially if you have family/cultural connections to Appalachia (or the locations they migrated to) as long as you realize this isn't the whole story of Appalachia. As someone who grew up in Dayton and now lives in a rustbelt town in Indiana, Vance's story made sense of a culture I just barely understood, and sometimes found disgusting. My favorite parts where when Vance focused on his story--my least favorite parts were when he preached a pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps gospel. Read with some context and awareness that Vance's story isn't the only one, but it offers a useful perspective.
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Funny and enlightening. Mary Roach is a hero for doing this work so other writers don't have to.
The History of Last Night's Dream: Discovering the Hidden Path to the Soul by Rodger Kamenetz
4.0
Lovely, fascinating book that's part memoir, part research on the history of making meaning out of dreams.
Voyage of the Sable Venus and Other Poems by Robin Coste Lewis
5.0
Gorgeous, thought-provoking, surprising.