rebeccazh's reviews
2078 reviews

The Problem with My Normal Penis: Myths of Race, Sex and Masculinity by Obioma Ugoala

challenging reflective medium-paced

4.5

4.5 stars. I came across this while holidaying in London and it was in one of the huge Waterstones, on display. The title was intriguing. This is a series of very thoughtfully written essays by Ugoala about being a Black man in Britain. He talks about his experiences with racism, fetishism, masculinity, internalized racism, misogyny, the whole gamut, and situates it in the broader context of race in the UK and its colonial legacy, with references to the US. I really enjoyed how articulate the essays were. I hope to read more books by men of color writing about the intersection of gender and race.

No Visible Bruises: What We Don't Know about Domestic Violence Can Kill Us by Rachel Louise Snyder

challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.0

I almost skipped this because I thought See What You Made Me Do was comprehensive enough. I'm glad I didn't and this reads well together. In many ways, this covers similar areas - victims, batterers, and solutions - but this book goes into quite a bit of detail of a few selected case studies to then talk about the larger trends. It makes me feel like I knew all the people Snyder was writing about, and it feels more personal, in a way.

As usual, this topic is harrowing. It is always upsetting and horrifying to read about these women who are being tortured and abused. (Part of the anguish of Dorothy and Michelle's deaths is that it seemed so preventable)

One part I really appreciated was the second part, about the batterers. Why do they behave like this? (Or as Neil Websdale asks, 'why do they stay?') is a question that the second part tries to address. We get a bit of a glimpse into their lives and it's a very sad reality that an environment of poverty, toxic masculinity, and other issues like mental health etc, create a toxic effect on men. One of the examples that sticks with me is Donte (?) who went through the intervention programme and learnt to be better was in situations where aggressiveness and violence were prized and keeps him alive. So he went right back into it. 

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

First time reading Karin Slaughter and the prologue has some really good and tense writing. Found the middle part slow and the ending anticlimatic though.

Living in Denial: Climate Change, Emotions, and Everyday Life by Kari Marie Norgaard
Did not finish book.

Not what I expected. Almost like a sociological/anthropology paper or something you'd expect from an enthnography journal.

Born Into This by Adam Thompson

challenging medium-paced

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

4.5

4.5 stars. Short story collections are usually a hit or miss to me but I was really blown away by the quality of this collection. Through very varied short stories, Thompson is able to give a very comprehensive look at the lives of Aboriginal Australians in the present day, living under the shadow of centuries of colonialism/genocide and present-day institutional and widespread oppression/racism. There are some really memorable stories (my fav is Descendent) but there isn't one that I found boring or lacking -- which is rare in a short story collection. I highly recommend this book.

When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut
Did not finish book.

At first glance, I thought this was similar to Figuring. The prose is clear and coherent and it isn't bogged down by insignificant details like Figuring was. I loved the first chapter. DNF-ing because I found out through skimming reviews that the author starts to fictionalize the lives of these scientific greats. Not in the mood for historical fiction.

All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I've became interested in the culture surrounding death and then read Sue Black's very outstanding Written in Bone and became more interested. This is a very fascinating book - I found the prose a bit unnecessarily descriptive sometimes - but the spotlight that Campbell shines on death workers is fascinating, eg the bereavement midwife, the organization that deals with large scale mortality (disaster, accidents etc), embalmers... Really fascinating stuff. Wish I could've seen some of it in visual form.

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez

funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.0

3.5 stars. Very interesting premise. I definitely struggled with the slow pace, prose (felt very detached to me), and numerous Spanish phrases without translation, which left me disengaged at times, but I enjoyed the colorful cast and stories that are all interweaved together. For some reason, I found the first person chapters (Bienvenida and Manuel) more engaging than the third person chapters. It was also interesting to see the untold/'dead' stories weave into the living characters lives. I'll probably give this author's other novel about the Mirabel sisters a try.

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

challenging emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I kind of went in with mismatched expectations. I thought this was a romantasy but is actually more of a political fantasy with themes of power, trauma, oppression etc, and the romance was a very minor focus. While well-written, I found it quite predictable. Don't think I'll be reading book 2.

Heartstone by C.J. Sansom

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

3.5 stars. Sansom is good at writing tense mysteries and I was engrossed and intrigued by the mystery surrounding Hugh - small family dramas hiding deep, ugly secrets are a trope I enjoy a lot. However, I find it quite uncomfortable to read about the investigations into Ellen's traumatic past. The many repeated instances in this series of women being crazy or evil was never clearer than in Ellen, the hysterical and crazy rape survivor. Really left a bad taste in my mouth. Also the pace lagged quite a bit in the beginning and middle parts.