panickedhonking's reviews
178 reviews

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

I had so much to say reading the book but I couldn't stop reading long enough to say it. No other piece of media has given me feelings really? I never _felt_ the stories like I did with their other books and RCW, but I was laughing and racing to the next page and gasping. I think this was my favorite quote though,

"Behind everybody's sanity mask is someone who is unalloyed batshit in one way or another. This is the truth of human nature, Baltakan." He polished off the last dregs of beer. "When I say 'one absolute madman, that's not somebody less sane, because nobody's sane. That's just somebody who's decided that leaving his mask off gets him where he wants to be, which is usually somewhere really weird that nobody expects him to go."

(Pg 383). We have done so much work to unmask and take a lot of pride in what most people would call insanity. We appreciate Avra's genuineness in a way we couldn't have growing up. We're so glad we get to be ourselves and it was nice to have that validated by a character we adore.
This is one of the best experiences I have had reading a book full stop.

Over All the Earth: A Tale of the Chants by Alexandra Rowland

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely beautiful. It's fascinating to be in one of the little stories Ylfing would tell and see all those details.

Unexploded Remnants by Elaine Gallagher

adventurous fast-paced

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

4.0

Quick little read. Action story with some mystery, reading a little bit like a murderbot fanfic, which is anything but a bad thing.

Autistic World Domination: How to Script Your Life by Jolene Stockman

adventurous challenging hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

Feels like a more millennial Brene Brown. It's good, it feels a little overly positive and can mix personal experience with generalizations about autism which is problematic. I definitely would recommend this to some people as a starting point.

Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane
Did not finish book. Stopped at 36%.

I just didn't click with the plot. It's good, it's a story transfemmes don't really get to be in often, it just wasn't for me.

Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman
Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.

You can't hide behind a journalistic neutrality when you're creating a historical narrative, particularly when the harms done to the people you're writing about are so profoundly horrible. Silberman makes some implications, and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions about wretched abuses which at times read as non-objecting or passively supportive. 
Praising Hans Asperger as an unbridled hero and treasure, and failing to comment on the harms of outpatient therapies in the 60s and 70s in parallel to the inpatient shows either an acute lack of understanding or deliberate ignorance, and after a few glaring omissions I don't feel like this is a great way to learn about my history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation

Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind by Annalee Newitz

dark informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

It's a fantastic book and I wish it went more in depth. It touches on so many things that it feels overwhelming to try and follow up on anything specific, however it was still a great source of information and has me thinking about how to be more critical of the media I take in.

Rocannon's World by Ursula K. Le Guin

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.0

It feels like an early fanfic by someone who would later write novels. Curious to read more.

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Never seen better disability rep in any book. I'm furious I have to wait for more.

Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew

challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

3.25

It's good as an intro for people who aren't well versed on disability but I think the topic needs more in depth work. Feels like the wrong topic for the wrong audience but still good for both?