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madameroyale's reviews
1121 reviews
The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel
3.5
This book makes for an entertaining overview of the history of textiles. I very much enjoyed the tangents on things like the extended production time of sailcloth (it took longer to make the sails than it did to build the ship itself!), the endlessly specific kinds of fines levied on Florentines' clothing (married women had to pay to embroider their hemlines), France's hobbling of their own textile industry (via outlawing more popular fabrics from abroad like calico), and the details of thousands of years of selective breeding that created the sheep whose wool we use today (we stopped them from molting naturally!). But for all the interesting historical tidbits, this book falls woefully short in its goal to show how textiles shaped civilizations "for good and ill".
Postrel bends over backwards and even turns herself into a corkscrew so she doesn't have address anything "ill" at all. Every difficult topic surrounding fabric production—from slavery to environmental pollution and everything in between—is skated over in a manner that, by the end of the book, comes across as quite irresponsible. In one scene, Postrel even joyfully discusses the wonder of her $8 T-shirt with the head of the company that produced it, seemingly unaware that to buy clothing at that kind of rock-bottom price means someone else down the production line earned pennies for it, likely in a sweatshop.
The Fabric of Civilization is full of fun historical facts but given its blinders, and particularly the lack of deep discussion on how slavery powered the global cotton industry, it does not feel like a serious endeavor.
Postrel bends over backwards and even turns herself into a corkscrew so she doesn't have address anything "ill" at all. Every difficult topic surrounding fabric production—from slavery to environmental pollution and everything in between—is skated over in a manner that, by the end of the book, comes across as quite irresponsible. In one scene, Postrel even joyfully discusses the wonder of her $8 T-shirt with the head of the company that produced it, seemingly unaware that to buy clothing at that kind of rock-bottom price means someone else down the production line earned pennies for it, likely in a sweatshop.
The Fabric of Civilization is full of fun historical facts but given its blinders, and particularly the lack of deep discussion on how slavery powered the global cotton industry, it does not feel like a serious endeavor.
Others Like Me: The Lives of Women without Children by Nicole Louie
3.0
I so wanted to love this book, as the subject matter is incredibly close to my heart. But this just did not work for me. You have to be a really strong writer to make a memoir compelling, especially when you are a regular person, and there was honestly not a single point that I felt impressed by the writing here. This book felt more like the first draft of a book where, in the final version, at least half of the memoir is cut out. Reading this book made me realize what I really want to read when it comes to childfree women is more of a fact-focused sociological book and not this kind of strung-out memoir with random interviews peppered in.
All that said, I very much appreciate the author’s quest to show all different types of childfree women and to normalize a life path that is too often demonized or deemed pitiable by others who assume motherhood is the pinnacle of womanhood. A couple of the interviews were interesting, particularly the story of all the hurdles a woman is made to go through to achieve reproductive autonomy via tubal ligation. But by and large, the interviews did not hold much insight beyond things I’ve already felt or experienced as a woman who is not interested in having children. Still, it’s nice to have such a collection out in the world if only to be a comfort to those women who feel isolated by society, and to expand others’ views of what kinds of lives are possible for women beyond motherhood. The memoir aspect was not for me, but maybe others will love it.
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir
dark
mysterious
tense
4.5
So fantastically creepy. Knútsdóttir builds the suspense expertly throughout, and I loved how the sparseness of the text fed into the mystery. Really enjoyed the whiplash between minor quotidian concerns and the all-consuming horror lurking behind every page. So many thrillers have tried to make their name off the lost-time/blackout gimmick but this is the first book I’ve read that actually gets across how terrifying this kind of experience would be to reckon with inside your own mind, and how far you would go to pretend nothing’s happening.
You're the Problem, It's You by Emma R. Alban
3.5
Very cute and sweet. This book and couple did not grab me as much as Gwen and Beth in the first book, but it’s still a nice little read!
Dashiell remains the ideal man, though Albie’s giving him a run for his money in the best way.
Dashiell remains the ideal man, though Albie’s giving him a run for his money in the best way.
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan
3.0
I’ve been meaning to read this book for 15 years, so maybe it’s inevitable that it ended up being underwhelming. Waited too long!
Life on Svalbard: Finding Home on a Remote Island Near the North Pole by Cecilia Blomdahl
4.0
Such a nice little relaxing read. I loved all the small everyday details of life there, and bits of history that have become modern traditions.
A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Is Maddek’s characterization all over the place in a way that makes zero sense beyond meeting the author’s very specific and contradictory kinks? Absolutely! But hey, that’s what romances are for, so I can let it slide in this case. It helps that the writing was pretty strong besides that, and I liked his relationship with Yvenne, as well as that with his company of soldiers. I especially appreciated that Yvenne wasn’t a snarky, one-eyebrow-arching hashtag girlboss who just so happened to be exceptional at every little thing she put her mind to (…unlike a few other fictional fantasy leads I could name). Her characterization was much more consistent than Maddek’s throughout, to Vane’s credit. And Vane is perhaps the only romance author I’ve read that actually used the lack of communication trope in a way felt appropriate given the circumstances.
All that said… This book is way too long and way too plot-heavy for a book with a half-naked man on the cover. Is the plot better crafted than most romantasy books? Sure. But that does not mean it held my interest over 500-plus pages when Vane’s strength was clearly in the romantic scenes. The story is literally about a big barbarian warrior and a virgin princess forced into an arranged marriage for the purposes of enacting bloody vengeance against their common enemy… You expect me to care about the plot??