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reading_to_write's reviews
175 reviews
The Meth Lunches: Food and Longing in an American City by Kim Foster
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
This is a unique way to uncover and write about the various systems of power that exist in our world / nation and the complexities that causes. I recommend it, just make sure the author’s voice coincides with your vibe first. In reality, I did not finish this book, but that’s because by the middle of it, I found the present-tense short sentence cadence of it distracting (and maybe also reductive given the subject matter). But that’s more of a personal preference.
Severance by Ling Ma
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Im sure there are people who love this author and appreciate the nearly-400 page deep dive into her mind and circular researched ruminations on our current world. I am just not one of them.
The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War by Jeff Sharlet
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Second time reading this book in a year, in large part because I read it so quickly the first time (I was very engaged). Many might find this moody or dark/ heavy, but I found it to be entirely true, like a through-the-looking glass cross-country trip through the wonky wide right turn that’s (seemingly) unfolded over the last few years among the religious right and those more recently recruited (but in fact started long ago…).
And while this starts off in religion, it by no means stays there, ultimately becoming a treatise on “if (when?) we fall” and what hope there may remain, a ribbon of hope that starts unfurling in the last section as one big metaphor.
Speaking of metaphor: both times I read this I felt like the book started out at normal pace, slowed down as it got more granular (in The Undertow section) and then sped up quickly at the end- enough so that I’m convinced this was a craft decision by the author.
And while this starts off in religion, it by no means stays there, ultimately becoming a treatise on “if (when?) we fall” and what hope there may remain, a ribbon of hope that starts unfurling in the last section as one big metaphor.
Speaking of metaphor: both times I read this I felt like the book started out at normal pace, slowed down as it got more granular (in The Undertow section) and then sped up quickly at the end- enough so that I’m convinced this was a craft decision by the author.
Made in China: A Memoir of Love and Labor by Anna Qu
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
5.0
A groundbreaking approach to writing about abusive relationships. This book to me is what literary nonfiction is supposed to do- bring the felt experience of a thing to the reader, rather than providing a blow-by-blow accounting. Structuring it as fairy tale makes a hard subject an interesting reading adventure.
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
2.0
I did not finish this book, mostly because the premise was easy enough to understand and I didn’t feel the need to read to drill down on the specifics, but more so because EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE the author used of specialists/success stories who worked deeply were MEN. There are plenty of women to hold up as examples. This white-male-centric view was pervasive enough that I stopped reading.