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lanternheart's reviews
453 reviews
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Discovering Epitaphs by Geoffrey N. Wright
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
A swift, often dryly humorous little look through the graveyard customs and epitaphs of Britain's churchyards. It's an interesting introductory read, though it rarely lingers on the depth of its symbols, instead providing an overview of a variety of types of graveyard poetry and verse.
The Girl in The Tower by Katherine Arden
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Catholica: The Visual Culture of Catholicism by Suzanna Ivanic
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
While informative, I did find this book lacking in some specifics, and wish it had been formatted with those in mind — a glossary of some terms unfamiliar to the layperson (such as monstrance, etc.) would have been handy. That being said, I was able to understand these terms through context clues and close reading, taking notes as I progressed. I also wish the insets had been formatted better with their accompanying text — some broke paragraphs, while others did not, and it made the flow of the book stilted at times.
Nevertheless, I found it interesting as an introductory book into Catholic iconography and artwork — a good refresher for a former art history student, and I'd consider buying a copy in the future if I can find one for reference.
Nevertheless, I found it interesting as an introductory book into Catholic iconography and artwork — a good refresher for a former art history student, and I'd consider buying a copy in the future if I can find one for reference.
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey Into the Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
4.75
A riveting and increasingly absorbing account of Antarctic exploration — and more specifically, the people who were able to find a way to survive it against a barrage of horrific odds. I came out of this book not just with an inspiration to read more about the Antarctic and Heroic Age of Exploration, but an understanding of why it's a topic that enraptures so many minds.
The later-life failures and stories of Cook, especially, were an interesting coda to the Belgica's exploration — he comes out (perhaps rightfully so) as something of a hero in keeping the expedition's men alive, having diagnosed and largely correctly treated a fatal scurvy outbreak to the best of his ability, as well as creating the most-effective channeling method through the pack to render the Belgica able to move once again. Even if the latter effort largely turned to nature's lead, that he became so maligned in the press was difficult to square with this picture of earlier intuition — though perhaps a point in how it can get to anyone's head to survive against unthinkable odds if given enough time. Amundsen's own friendship to Cook, beyond and through everything, was deeply moving, and his disappearance and later exploits will doubtlessly prove fertile ground for future reading.
The later-life failures and stories of Cook, especially, were an interesting coda to the Belgica's exploration — he comes out (perhaps rightfully so) as something of a hero in keeping the expedition's men alive, having diagnosed and largely correctly treated a fatal scurvy outbreak to the best of his ability, as well as creating the most-effective channeling method through the pack to render the Belgica able to move once again. Even if the latter effort largely turned to nature's lead, that he became so maligned in the press was difficult to square with this picture of earlier intuition — though perhaps a point in how it can get to anyone's head to survive against unthinkable odds if given enough time. Amundsen's own friendship to Cook, beyond and through everything, was deeply moving, and his disappearance and later exploits will doubtlessly prove fertile ground for future reading.
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
While there were elements of this book which felt simplistic to me as a reader in my twenties, it nevertheless impacted me like a punch to the gut — which, I'd hazard, is exactly as seems intended. The brutality and gore of White's descriptions of violence (especially Isabella's attempt at a self-administered abortion with a knife ) took me by surprise, and as a person with a rough stomach for descriptions of pregnancy, I did have to steady myself a bit in those pages. The way he writes around and yet leaves a perfectly telling space for Silas' assault by Headmaster was also difficult to read, yet I'm still glad I did.
If I'd read this book as a teenager, I think I'd have seen myself in SIlas — and to an extent, as an adult, I still do. The interplay between his neurodivergence and gender in his mind, unable to extricate one from the other, the desire for masculinity while knowing that society's version of it is deeply unappealing and horrific, as horrific as being forced into a gender that doesn't fit, those descriptions and experiences especially hit home. The way in which White writes about Silas' autistic traits was empathetic, recognizable, and if there was anything I wish we'd got, it was a resolution on the character of the groundskeeper, whose name we never learn — Silas doesn't have the time, and admits as much in the rush of the book's final chapters, but it still felt a pity not to put a name to the only other definitively (implicitly) autistic character in the book.
It takes a great deal of work, violence, and blood for Silas to bare his teeth against his conditioning, everything that has ever called him sick and monstrous, and while it was a harrowing journey (and at times a rocky one), I'm glad I finally set aside the time to read this. If I'd read this as a teen, I think it would have been a macabre lifeline.
If I'd read this book as a teenager, I think I'd have seen myself in SIlas — and to an extent, as an adult, I still do. The interplay between his neurodivergence and gender in his mind, unable to extricate one from the other, the desire for masculinity while knowing that society's version of it is deeply unappealing and horrific, as horrific as being forced into a gender that doesn't fit, those descriptions and experiences especially hit home. The way in which White writes about Silas' autistic traits was empathetic, recognizable, and if there was anything I wish we'd got, it was a resolution on the character of the groundskeeper, whose name we never learn — Silas doesn't have the time, and admits as much in the rush of the book's final chapters, but it still felt a pity not to put a name to the only other definitively (implicitly) autistic character in the book.
It takes a great deal of work, violence, and blood for Silas to bare his teeth against his conditioning, everything that has ever called him sick and monstrous, and while it was a harrowing journey (and at times a rocky one), I'm glad I finally set aside the time to read this. If I'd read this as a teen, I think it would have been a macabre lifeline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Gore, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Vomit
Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Come as You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.75