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logarithms's reviews
167 reviews
New Animal by Ella Baxter
2.0
ok this is what the book club i just joined is reading but tbh i wouldnt have picked up this book otherwise
im gonna need a doesthedogdie.com/categories/does-the-mum-die page for this shit i keep accidentally picking up books where the mum dies and u know....i cannot Take It....
this book was a pretty weird exploration of grief, which im sure could appeal to certain ppl, but not meeee. personally i found the whole thing very performative and not genuine (and honestly that might be the goal since the main character was constantly thinking about how others should see her grief, so maybe she played up the drama and imagination to make her grief a more engaging performance? tbh i dont know) and all the characters were so FLAT idk even the main character somehow there was no substancial 'personhood' i could read into any of them? this is especially reflected in the dialogue - it doesnt sound like ppl talking to each other, its so scripted/staged/PERFORMMEED (and im australian so this isnt a cultural shift problem ok)
i thought...the baby at the end was gonna be revealed to be hers lmao....idk why i just expected a random plot twist thrown in
i liked the imagery of her stress dream where her mum pulls out her heart and they sit in a pool of blood....not to be a total weeb but all i pictured in my head was a cross between end of eva and sarazanmai...
(pelase understand:)
(if any of u were taking this review seriously i hope the addition of anime screencaps has convinced u that my opinions r not valid)
the severely differing experience of grief here kinda makes me wanna write my own book tho (thousand grains of salt w this one i could never write something cohesive)....like have u ever had a breakdown because u were sweeping ur parents bathroom and found strands of ur dead mums hair which u couldnt stop thinking about after u threw it out because what if tmr its announced that theres a new technology that lets u bring ppl back to life from dna and u just threw out the last of ur mums, huh? what then? what if they discovered a cure for cancer the day after she died from it? hold up i shouldnt be putting this in a goodreads review
SIDENOTE i read this on international asexuality day which made everything REALLY FUNNY>. like sorry mate im no two headed beast im just one of many bugs crawling under this log
im gonna need a doesthedogdie.com/categories/does-the-mum-die page for this shit i keep accidentally picking up books where the mum dies and u know....i cannot Take It....
this book was a pretty weird exploration of grief, which im sure could appeal to certain ppl, but not meeee. personally i found the whole thing very performative and not genuine (and honestly that might be the goal since the main character was constantly thinking about how others should see her grief, so maybe she played up the drama and imagination to make her grief a more engaging performance? tbh i dont know) and all the characters were so FLAT idk even the main character somehow there was no substancial 'personhood' i could read into any of them? this is especially reflected in the dialogue - it doesnt sound like ppl talking to each other, its so scripted/staged/PERFORMMEED (and im australian so this isnt a cultural shift problem ok)
i thought...the baby at the end was gonna be revealed to be hers lmao....idk why i just expected a random plot twist thrown in
i liked the imagery of her stress dream where her mum pulls out her heart and they sit in a pool of blood....not to be a total weeb but all i pictured in my head was a cross between end of eva and sarazanmai...
(pelase understand:)
(if any of u were taking this review seriously i hope the addition of anime screencaps has convinced u that my opinions r not valid)
the severely differing experience of grief here kinda makes me wanna write my own book tho (thousand grains of salt w this one i could never write something cohesive)....like have u ever had a breakdown because u were sweeping ur parents bathroom and found strands of ur dead mums hair which u couldnt stop thinking about after u threw it out because what if tmr its announced that theres a new technology that lets u bring ppl back to life from dna and u just threw out the last of ur mums, huh? what then? what if they discovered a cure for cancer the day after she died from it? hold up i shouldnt be putting this in a goodreads review
SIDENOTE i read this on international asexuality day which made everything REALLY FUNNY>. like sorry mate im no two headed beast im just one of many bugs crawling under this log
The Art of Frozen 2: (Disney Frozen Art Book, Animated Movie Book) by Jessica Julius
this was a very boring artbook tbh im glad its only a library copy
rip frozen
rip frozen
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
2.0
no stars for the writing all stars for the art? storylines were very inconclusive idk there was a lot going on and nothing happened with it
i liked the line weight a LOT, such cool movement and flow
i liked the line weight a LOT, such cool movement and flow
How to Be Everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don't Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up by Emilie Wapnick
3.0
it was p good but didnt quite have the info i was looking for. (and honestly im at a low rn i feel like what i need is 'how to be anything: guide to just doing something literally Anything At All with your life')
the first half of the book was most interesting imo
this quote sparks joy: "be everything without having to monetize everything"
the first half of the book was most interesting imo
this quote sparks joy: "be everything without having to monetize everything"
Planet of the Bugs: Evolution and the Rise of Insects by Scott Richard Shaw
5.0
(this is a 5 stars for my personal enjoyment...note it is pretty specialized and also the conclusion chapters have severe tonal mismatch to the rest of the book) (but come on the guy did astrophysics and entomology what a cool combo)
yea i liked it a lot and it was fun reading the story of life on earth from a pov that isnt human centric :D
notes and tabs (the spoiler is just for length lol. the concept of spoilers for a nonfiction book is v funny tho) :
"When insects invented wings there were no other flying animals, and they completely mastered the air for more than 150 million years before any other organisms evolved the ability to fly or could chase them in the air." FUCK YEA
this note was super interesting (as a math nerd...):
"There is a fundamental reason to use six legs. With six legs it is possible to translate and rotate in all three directions. Also, six-legged creatures can resist forces and torques in all directions. The stability of six legs is well known in the field of robotics."
"Upside down walking on inverted surfaces is possible because insects are so small that the forces of surface tension and cohesion are proportionally greater. Attachment to both smooth and rough surfaces is improved by a variety of microscopic adaptions at the tip of the insect foot, including claws, hairy pads and adhesive secretions."
"Mass extinctions appear to be periodic and repeat on a somewhat cyclical basis. On average, it looks as if an extinction event of varying intensity occurs about once every twenty-six million years. Granted, this could just be a coincidence, but it prompted scientists to speculate about how and why such events might regularly repeat. The dominant notion is that the earth is getting hit by asteroids, and that something out there with gravitational pull is affecting their stable orbits, as well as the orbits of comets, on a cyclical basis, about once every twenty-six million years. Perhaps either a remote small planet or dark star with a broad twenty-six-million-year orbit perturbs them whenever it passes near to our solar system."
"Maybe it's perilous to divide the history of life into separate ages, but in this case perhaps we can indeed pick one singular moment when the Paleozoic era came to an end. I'd choose the particular day when the final trilobite died. What other creature better symbolizes the entire era than the trilobite?"
"One might try to rationalize this situation by thinking that there are millions of insects, so why would it matter if any of them are lost? Some might think, who cares if one fly or bee goes extinct, if that fly or bee belongs to a species that has not been catalogued? But what if that fly - or bee, or wasp, or beetle - were a specialized pollinator of an epiphytic plant? The fall of that one insect species might cause a subsequent loss of plant species, and also of other insects that depends on them." (cascade effect)
"Each living species is unique. Each fills a distinctive ecological role, and each encodes, in its genes, some qualities not found in other species." brb crying
"Setting aside the utilitarian perspective, living species are also intrinsically interesting simply because they exist." (see note above)
yea i liked it a lot and it was fun reading the story of life on earth from a pov that isnt human centric :D
notes and tabs (the spoiler is just for length lol. the concept of spoilers for a nonfiction book is v funny tho) :
Spoiler
"When insects invented wings there were no other flying animals, and they completely mastered the air for more than 150 million years before any other organisms evolved the ability to fly or could chase them in the air." FUCK YEA
this note was super interesting (as a math nerd...):
"There is a fundamental reason to use six legs. With six legs it is possible to translate and rotate in all three directions. Also, six-legged creatures can resist forces and torques in all directions. The stability of six legs is well known in the field of robotics."
"Upside down walking on inverted surfaces is possible because insects are so small that the forces of surface tension and cohesion are proportionally greater. Attachment to both smooth and rough surfaces is improved by a variety of microscopic adaptions at the tip of the insect foot, including claws, hairy pads and adhesive secretions."
"Mass extinctions appear to be periodic and repeat on a somewhat cyclical basis. On average, it looks as if an extinction event of varying intensity occurs about once every twenty-six million years. Granted, this could just be a coincidence, but it prompted scientists to speculate about how and why such events might regularly repeat. The dominant notion is that the earth is getting hit by asteroids, and that something out there with gravitational pull is affecting their stable orbits, as well as the orbits of comets, on a cyclical basis, about once every twenty-six million years. Perhaps either a remote small planet or dark star with a broad twenty-six-million-year orbit perturbs them whenever it passes near to our solar system."
"Maybe it's perilous to divide the history of life into separate ages, but in this case perhaps we can indeed pick one singular moment when the Paleozoic era came to an end. I'd choose the particular day when the final trilobite died. What other creature better symbolizes the entire era than the trilobite?"
"One might try to rationalize this situation by thinking that there are millions of insects, so why would it matter if any of them are lost? Some might think, who cares if one fly or bee goes extinct, if that fly or bee belongs to a species that has not been catalogued? But what if that fly - or bee, or wasp, or beetle - were a specialized pollinator of an epiphytic plant? The fall of that one insect species might cause a subsequent loss of plant species, and also of other insects that depends on them." (cascade effect)
"Each living species is unique. Each fills a distinctive ecological role, and each encodes, in its genes, some qualities not found in other species." brb crying
"Setting aside the utilitarian perspective, living species are also intrinsically interesting simply because they exist." (see note above)
Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy
3.0
some pretty good tips! a little outdated (in terms of some of the examples and the structure of working life and just in general opinions ppl have on what their life should look like) (and the technology chapter lol. oh brian if only emails and blackberry's were the worst of it...U_U sigh)
but yea i did like the tips, nice and actionable. also his writing is surprisingly kind and not weirdly condescending like a lot of self-help tends to be. the way he keeps emphasizing that everything people do is learnable/achievable no matter where u are right now is very reassuring ;_; (cough i have terrible problems w procrastination) (although the line "if you aren't getting better, you're getting worse" really came in and grabbed me by the throat. i guess i needed that?)
i dont really like the whole 'successful people vs unsuccessful people' division (i think more modern books have really moved past it since all the discussions of how definitions of success vary, is success the only goal in life etc etc)
but yea i did like the tips, nice and actionable. also his writing is surprisingly kind and not weirdly condescending like a lot of self-help tends to be. the way he keeps emphasizing that everything people do is learnable/achievable no matter where u are right now is very reassuring ;_; (cough i have terrible problems w procrastination) (although the line "if you aren't getting better, you're getting worse" really came in and grabbed me by the throat. i guess i needed that?)
i dont really like the whole 'successful people vs unsuccessful people' division (i think more modern books have really moved past it since all the discussions of how definitions of success vary, is success the only goal in life etc etc)
The Legend of the Golden Raven by K. Ancrum
3.0
vibes are stored in the writing
i shouldve read this closer to when i read the wicker king smh
maybe i'll do a reread...? only if its a buddy read w jule (if ur seeing this read this book w me)
i shouldve read this closer to when i read the wicker king smh
maybe i'll do a reread...? only if its a buddy read w jule (if ur seeing this read this book w me)
No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
2.0
2.75
i kinda...don't get it...
this didnt feel like hell at all? like are they really torturing each other? they're just talking. it felt like the characters were getting worked up about literally nothing. (probably this is all more effective in the play form, since the delivery/tone impacts the 'hellishness') (starting to think i've gotten too apathetic. somehow my only guiding principles in life have become the "when there's too much drama at school, just walk awayayay" and "calm down. its relaxation. chill out. stop screaming" vines...)
maybe if they all came to terms with their own lives, they could talk normally and subvert hell (so hell isnt actually other people...its yourself...? since the 'hell' part of these other people was that they told you things that you didnt want to hear because they messed with your self image...?)
and how was this even torture for inez? she's doing what she loved (being mean). hell is having to be stuck in a room with straight people trying to bang...? (mood, but still)
honestly the ending felt like they escaped hell - cause sure hell is other people but so is life, yknow? (as in life is other people. i guess by a->b->c logic then life = hell) so they started a new take on living?
this quote was cool:
"Your scare me rather. My reflection in the glass never did that; of course, I knew it so well. Like something I had tamed...I'm going to smile, and my smile will sink down into your pupils, and heaven knows what it will become."
i wish i could get into the mind of past me and find out what compelled me to add this to my tbr - then i would atleast know what i was trying to gain from reading :-(
(ok i THINK i added it cause i read that it was a major inspiration for the good place. hm. the good place is way better (atleast until the start of season 3. i havent watched the rest) :P)
most torturous part of this version of hell is not having a window to stare out of tbh. like how can u daydream and/or think without a window
i kinda...don't get it...
this didnt feel like hell at all? like are they really torturing each other? they're just talking. it felt like the characters were getting worked up about literally nothing. (probably this is all more effective in the play form, since the delivery/tone impacts the 'hellishness') (starting to think i've gotten too apathetic. somehow my only guiding principles in life have become the "when there's too much drama at school, just walk awayayay" and "calm down. its relaxation. chill out. stop screaming" vines...)
maybe if they all came to terms with their own lives, they could talk normally and subvert hell (so hell isnt actually other people...its yourself...? since the 'hell' part of these other people was that they told you things that you didnt want to hear because they messed with your self image...?)
and how was this even torture for inez? she's doing what she loved (being mean). hell is having to be stuck in a room with straight people trying to bang...? (mood, but still)
honestly the ending felt like they escaped hell - cause sure hell is other people but so is life, yknow? (as in life is other people. i guess by a->b->c logic then life = hell) so they started a new take on living?
this quote was cool:
"Your scare me rather. My reflection in the glass never did that; of course, I knew it so well. Like something I had tamed...I'm going to smile, and my smile will sink down into your pupils, and heaven knows what it will become."
i wish i could get into the mind of past me and find out what compelled me to add this to my tbr - then i would atleast know what i was trying to gain from reading :-(
(ok i THINK i added it cause i read that it was a major inspiration for the good place. hm. the good place is way better (atleast until the start of season 3. i havent watched the rest) :P)
most torturous part of this version of hell is not having a window to stare out of tbh. like how can u daydream and/or think without a window
City of Trees: Essays on Life, Death and the Need for a Forest by Sophie Cunningham
4.0
an interesting collection of essays! the few toward the end about historic expeditions were kinda boring, but otherwise a good read! it was cool to read about melbourne and learn more about where i live (though it did reinvigorate my hatred for our politicians <3)
tabs and quotes: (spoilered for length)
"The centre is failing, and we're left to maintain traction in the chaos. Or perhaps the situation is this: we're falling off a cliff in slow motion. Me, I grab at the trees I see on the way down in an attempt to break the fall. I look at what I see around me as I tumble, for I want to remember it all - the landscapes, the animals that may not survive the impact."
ok rip my heart out on p13 thats fine
"In their plight I recognise our own. It is not just the crabs that are being left to float aimlessly in ruined seas. It is not just the dogs we live with, poison, walk with, experiment upon, that are to whine; to take the jolt."
the way she ends essays is just...v compelling
"Did it matter if those trees, more than a century old, died? They were not, after all, from that place. It's a hard question to consider when almost all of us now - flora, fauna and humans - are from somewhere else."
"- we had loved him, he had loved us. We forgot, for a while at least, all the rest."
oh. yea. uh huh. i felt that...
"It is hard to convey the intensity this particular tree emanates as it stands, like a sentinel or ancient god, looking across the land, without sounding slightly crazy." the thread of this theme of trees as spiritual/gods was so good...the way the collection ends with: "She holds a Leadbeater's possum in her hollow like an orb, she brandishes her branches as a sceptre, as a sword. I honour you, I say. I pledge my allegiance to you, to this city - to our planet - of trees."
"My nerve began to fail me. Having undertaken to bear witness to what humans are doing to this planet, to all that lives upon it, I found I was beginning to look away."
"I was struck by the similarity between trees and whales. Both have a capacity to feed an ecosystem for years and decades after they have died."
i tabbed this one cause it makes me wanna paint a diptych....or something...
tabs and quotes: (spoilered for length)
Spoiler
"The centre is failing, and we're left to maintain traction in the chaos. Or perhaps the situation is this: we're falling off a cliff in slow motion. Me, I grab at the trees I see on the way down in an attempt to break the fall. I look at what I see around me as I tumble, for I want to remember it all - the landscapes, the animals that may not survive the impact."
ok rip my heart out on p13 thats fine
"In their plight I recognise our own. It is not just the crabs that are being left to float aimlessly in ruined seas. It is not just the dogs we live with, poison, walk with, experiment upon, that are to whine; to take the jolt."
the way she ends essays is just...v compelling
"Did it matter if those trees, more than a century old, died? They were not, after all, from that place. It's a hard question to consider when almost all of us now - flora, fauna and humans - are from somewhere else."
"- we had loved him, he had loved us. We forgot, for a while at least, all the rest."
oh. yea. uh huh. i felt that...
"It is hard to convey the intensity this particular tree emanates as it stands, like a sentinel or ancient god, looking across the land, without sounding slightly crazy." the thread of this theme of trees as spiritual/gods was so good...the way the collection ends with: "She holds a Leadbeater's possum in her hollow like an orb, she brandishes her branches as a sceptre, as a sword. I honour you, I say. I pledge my allegiance to you, to this city - to our planet - of trees."
"My nerve began to fail me. Having undertaken to bear witness to what humans are doing to this planet, to all that lives upon it, I found I was beginning to look away."
"I was struck by the similarity between trees and whales. Both have a capacity to feed an ecosystem for years and decades after they have died."
i tabbed this one cause it makes me wanna paint a diptych....or something...