lewisalex10's reviews
169 reviews

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

I’ll be thinking about, when Ocean Vuong said, “You are something made, then made to survive—which means you are somebody's son,” for a while.

Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) by Dean Spade

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

This is going to be my new gift book for people. Challenging, clear, compassionate. Another world is possible—if we fight for it and organize towards it.

There There by Tommy Orange

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I didn’t know much about this book coming into it, and I can honestly say I’ve never read a book like it. I really like how it’s written and the way the different perspectives converge.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer by Rax King

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.25

As an appreciator of things people often find ridiculous, who tends to think deeply about the personal connections I have to those things, this book spoke to my innermost being.

1919 by Eve L. Ewing

fast-paced

4.0

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

After listening to the audiobook last year, I’m really glad I picked up the paperback so I could take of every sentence and eat. This book makes me want to write.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

She gave DRAMA. SUSPENSE. THRILL. I stayed up to finish this book with a little less than half of it left because I had to know what happened. Curious to see how they bring it to life in the HBO show.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Saw this book described as “cheesy and perfect”—and yes that’s it exactly.

Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone by Sarah Jaffe

challenging hopeful informative inspiring slow-paced

5.0

This book transformed the way I look at work. Now it’s one of the books I can’t help but want to revisit as much as possible as a reminder that there’s more to life than work and another world is possible.

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino

informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

I appreciate that Jia Tolentino doesn’t present herself, or her opinions, as a complete product. She makes poignant observations throughout the book while also acknowledging her complicity in the systems she’s observing. This honesty is what resonated me when I first listened to the audiobook a few years back and now returning to it in e-book form.