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marginaliant's reviews
1060 reviews
When Art Isn't Real: The World's Most Controversial Objects under Investigation by Patrick Degryse, Andrew Shortland
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I found the writing style to be a slog, especially since so many of the artworks in question in this book have been extensively and vibrantly covered elsewhere (recommended reading: The Last Leonardo by Ben Lewis; The Art of the Con by Anthony M. Amore; Making the Mummies Dance by Thomas Hoving.) I didn't think that the book added anything new to the conversation about these works, but it also didn't make for an interesting intro to the topic either.
The Deep by Nick Cutter
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Strong promise, good writing minute-to-minute (if a little over reliant on obvious tropes) but too much going on to build effective tension and horror. It felt like it was breathlessly running through the big book of phobias (“is this scary? what about this? how about this!”) and ran out of ideas. By the time the bees came up I was totally checked out of any horror. What I really wanted was for it to pick one thing and dig its claws in. The ending / resolution is the goofiest bit of all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail
Reductionism in Art and Brain Science: Bridging the Two Cultures by Eric R. Kandel
challenging
medium-paced
4.0
At An Early Age by Red Jordan Arobateau
challenging
dark
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence
The Ship Beneath the Ice: The Discovery of Shackleton's Endurance by Mensun Bound
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, and the Renaissance of Venetian Painting by Elizabeth Walmsley, David Alan Brown, Sylvia Ferino-Pagden, Peter Humfrey, Salvatore Settis
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy by Judith C. Brown
informative
medium-paced
3.0
An Art Lover's Guide to Florence by Judith Testa
5.0
I genuinely enjoyed this book, as it was an informative and comprehesive history of Florence combined with a catalog of some of the greatest artistic archievements to be found within it. And, it did all this without falling into pretentious art-world cliches. I can't wait to find more by Judith Testa, what she created here was truly marvelous.
The National Gallery: An Illustrated History by Alan Crookham
3.0
This book makes me want to visit the gallery, and what else can you say about a book that's very clearly intended as a grandiose advertisement? To be fair, the history is fairly well written, but it's not well organized, but there's some interesting information (and a very, very funny anecdote about the acquisition of one painting.) And if the evacuation of the gallery during WWII doesn't tug at your heartstrings, I don't know what to do about you.