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kimreads14's reviews
180 reviews
The Murders at White House Farm by Carol Ann Lee
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
3.5
The Editors by Stephen Harrison
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
3.25 ⭐️ rounded down to 3⭐️ for goodreads and NetGalley.
This book stands out in its originality. I don’t think I’d ever read something set in this “universe” of online editors for an open-source encyclopaedia.
Overall a good thriller that discusses the very real and contemporary issue of misinformation online.
Writing multiple POVs can be tricky and not every author hits it right. In my opinion in this occasion, all but one of the characters were really well portrayed. I had an issue with how Alex was represented and the sort of “voice” the author chose to give him… I’m also very much wondering if it had anything to do with that one line “maybe he was on the spectrum?” As uttered by Morgan… it just… I guess rubbed me the wrong way 🤷♀️
Still enjoyed it though! Thank you to Stephen Harrison, Inkshares, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book stands out in its originality. I don’t think I’d ever read something set in this “universe” of online editors for an open-source encyclopaedia.
Overall a good thriller that discusses the very real and contemporary issue of misinformation online.
Writing multiple POVs can be tricky and not every author hits it right. In my opinion in this occasion, all but one of the characters were really well portrayed. I had an issue with how Alex was represented and the sort of “voice” the author chose to give him… I’m also very much wondering if it had anything to do with that one line “maybe he was on the spectrum?” As uttered by Morgan… it just… I guess rubbed me the wrong way 🤷♀️
Still enjoyed it though! Thank you to Stephen Harrison, Inkshares, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
slow-paced
2.25
Me: “there’s no way you can publish a 450+ pages book of the same story over and over and over again. You cannot have the same 50-75 pages repeat and make it a best-seller”
Amor Towles: “Hold my drink”
This is beautifully written, and had it been a novella it would have been 5/5. But god how can so much repetition be going on for so long! If you want to read this book, you can read the first 50-75 pages and you’ll have gotten the whole story. Don’t bother with the 400+ remaining pages, it’s just the same thing repeated differently, packed up with nice prose.
Amor Towles: “Hold my drink”
This is beautifully written, and had it been a novella it would have been 5/5. But god how can so much repetition be going on for so long! If you want to read this book, you can read the first 50-75 pages and you’ll have gotten the whole story. Don’t bother with the 400+ remaining pages, it’s just the same thing repeated differently, packed up with nice prose.
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
challenging
informative
reflective
3.0
Writing a review about a book like this is, I feel, sort of like walking on a tightrope. Let's make something clear about DiAngelo's work: it is a book by a white author directed at a white audience!
This is NOT revolutionary work. Others, actual BIPOC authors, have written much better books on racism and how to change society to lessen the impact of racism on BIPOC communities.
What this book IS, is the starting point, handholding sort of work that most white people who have a hard time understanding their white privileges and how the system is made FOR them, BY them. It is the kindergarten version of critical race theory, to start having people that look like me think about how every single aspect of our lives are made to accommodate US and not people of color.
Reviews for this book are both very high and very low. I don't entirely find this surprising. Here is why:
If you are a white person, your reaction to this will depend on where you are in your journey of educating yourself to be a better human being who has been taught Western social constructs.
It will depend on whether this is the first time ever you start asking yourself: "Did I really just cross the street because a black man was walking towards me? Why?". If that's where you are, this will probably help you. This will seem like a good entry-level for questioning yourself and your interactions, or lack of interactions with BIPOC people.
However, if you've reached the point where you are aware that, as a white person, you cannot and should not assume the role of white savior, and believe that YOU are the solution to fix experiences that you cannot comprehend and that the only way to actually find solutions is by platforming BIPOC voices, then I think you can skip this.
DiAngelo is, honestly, at times condescending in her writing. While her work cannot be undermined as a social worker and trainer, this book reads very much like someone giving themselves a tap on the back and saying "good job".
She has a lot of stances that are hard to agree with in my opinion. Who are you, as a white woman, to say that Black History Month is not good? Who are you to center Black Firsts around whiteness? Is it important to look at why it was a first, and what part of the system made it so that the first black president wasn't elected until 2008: of fing course! But you do not get to tell the black community that celebrating black firsts doesn't help "their cause". This sort of opinion is judgmental and takes away from what a community wants to mark as important for themselves and their culture.
Overall, if you read this book to educate yourself, I would suggest you check out Lois' review on G*odReads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2517377176 (which is one of the most liked reviews) because she offers a comprehensive list of seminal books by BIPOC authors on race and racism.
This is NOT revolutionary work. Others, actual BIPOC authors, have written much better books on racism and how to change society to lessen the impact of racism on BIPOC communities.
What this book IS, is the starting point, handholding sort of work that most white people who have a hard time understanding their white privileges and how the system is made FOR them, BY them. It is the kindergarten version of critical race theory, to start having people that look like me think about how every single aspect of our lives are made to accommodate US and not people of color.
Reviews for this book are both very high and very low. I don't entirely find this surprising. Here is why:
If you are a white person, your reaction to this will depend on where you are in your journey of educating yourself to be a better human being who has been taught Western social constructs.
It will depend on whether this is the first time ever you start asking yourself: "Did I really just cross the street because a black man was walking towards me? Why?". If that's where you are, this will probably help you. This will seem like a good entry-level for questioning yourself and your interactions, or lack of interactions with BIPOC people.
However, if you've reached the point where you are aware that, as a white person, you cannot and should not assume the role of white savior, and believe that YOU are the solution to fix experiences that you cannot comprehend and that the only way to actually find solutions is by platforming BIPOC voices, then I think you can skip this.
DiAngelo is, honestly, at times condescending in her writing. While her work cannot be undermined as a social worker and trainer, this book reads very much like someone giving themselves a tap on the back and saying "good job".
She has a lot of stances that are hard to agree with in my opinion. Who are you, as a white woman, to say that Black History Month is not good? Who are you to center Black Firsts around whiteness? Is it important to look at why it was a first, and what part of the system made it so that the first black president wasn't elected until 2008: of fing course! But you do not get to tell the black community that celebrating black firsts doesn't help "their cause". This sort of opinion is judgmental and takes away from what a community wants to mark as important for themselves and their culture.
Overall, if you read this book to educate yourself, I would suggest you check out Lois' review on G*odReads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2517377176 (which is one of the most liked reviews) because she offers a comprehensive list of seminal books by BIPOC authors on race and racism.
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I don't particularly have any strong feelings about this book. While the plot was your typically well-written murder mystery within a school, it wasn't mind-blowing when it came to the overall story. It was enjoyable, if not predictable.
What I did enjoy, however, and kept me reading were all the scenes depicting plays. I found myself fascinated with the choices that were made by the author in how to "direct" all these Shakespear classics, and the 'tradition' that the college has in setting up plays for other students during holidays. I thought that was actually a very clever way on Rio's part to move along the narrative and the timeline.
The characters weren't particularly original, I guess it was the drama-school version of the jock, the bombshell, the nerd, the pothead, etc. Some of the characters in the main group also felt like they didn't entirely need to be around... They didn't really feel like they added anything to the story other than maybe some extra words for the page count.
Finally, I actually enjoyed the narration and the idea that Oliver is telling the story to the detective. In other words, the reader becomes Detective Colborne. I always enjoy it when authors find 'original' ways to bring their stories to life.
Overall, I enjoyed this quite a bit ☺️
What I did enjoy, however, and kept me reading were all the scenes depicting plays. I found myself fascinated with the choices that were made by the author in how to "direct" all these Shakespear classics, and the 'tradition' that the college has in setting up plays for other students during holidays. I thought that was actually a very clever way on Rio's part to move along the narrative and the timeline.
The characters weren't particularly original, I guess it was the drama-school version of the jock, the bombshell, the nerd, the pothead, etc. Some of the characters in the main group also felt like they didn't entirely need to be around... They didn't really feel like they added anything to the story other than maybe some extra words for the page count.
Finally, I actually enjoyed the narration and the idea that Oliver is telling the story to the detective. In other words, the reader becomes Detective Colborne. I always enjoy it when authors find 'original' ways to bring their stories to life.
Overall, I enjoyed this quite a bit ☺️