renatasnacks's reviews
2411 reviews

House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday

3.0

HMM. I think, when all is said and done, perhaps I did not totally understand this book. I enjoyed the poetic prose very much. And I enjoyed the shifts in perspective. And I think I got the gist of the native closeness to the land vs white American consumerist shit. But overall it just didn't grab me the way it should have--and I think I lost patience with it and didn't pay it the attention it deserved.

Still, I think I value this book more for its contributions as a forerunner of the contemporary Native American literary movement than I did as a book to read.

Slow Man by J.M. Coetzee

3.0

Hmm. Hmmm. I feel weird about giving this book three stars; it seems like it should have more, but according to GR three stars means "I liked it." And I didn't "really like" or "love" this book. So three it is. But it was good. I *loved* Elizabeth Costello, and Elizabeth turned up as a minor-ish character in this novel, which I was excited about. But the protagonist viewed her as kind of a joke. Which I did not like. But she treated the protagonist as a joke, too. I don't know. I did like the exploration of disability and immigration and "home." And I do like the way Coetzee writes, the artistry of the individual sentences. And this was a pretty quick-paced read.

Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities by Alexandra Robbins

2.0

So... I mean, I didn't even go to a school that had sororities or fraternities on campus. All I know about sororities is from TV and magazines and etc. Ms. Robbins claims to have spent a year embedded into two sororities, but I'm pretty sure she knows the same amount of information about sororities as I do. Like throughout the book she keeps asserting that she doesn't want to perpetuate sorority stereotypes but then she does exactly that? I don't understand why she chose the (alleged) biggest "party" sororities on campus? Also in theory I like that she chose four specific sorority sisters to follow throughout the book but actually it turns out that if I cared about lame boyfriend drama I would watch Gossip Girl or sign into MySpace. Surprise!! Some sororities have big parties!! Surprise!! Some sororities are full of rich girls!! Shocking thesis!!

I was moderately interested in her discussion of black sororities vs white sororities but that was only like 5% of this book.

The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things by Barry Glassner

3.0

HMM. I agree with the basic thesis of this book (that the media is manipulating us) while also noting the way Glassner chose to manipulate the reader (don't be afraid of X, be afraid of Y!! PS: Y is guns). It's not a bad book, but I think maybe if I had read it when it first came out I would have been more into it. As is, I felt like I already knew a lot of these points.

The Maytrees by Annie Dillard

4.0

I think I am still digesting this book days after finishing it. I am still savoring individual sentences in my mind. I think that I will think about this book as I age.

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa

3.0

First of all... does anyone REALLY ever have the kind of memory problem the professor has (ie he can only remember the most recent 80 minutes of his life)? I suspect not. But whatever. This was an enjoyable read, but I'm not sure if I would strongly recommend it to anyone, unless you are super interested in memory problems. Or math. IDK.

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

4.0

I know this is unfair, but: I didn't like this as much as I liked Poisonwood Bible. But I LOVED Poisonwood Bible, so it took me awhile to come to terms with the fact that this is still a good book. I connected less with Harrison, the protagonist, than I did with the characters in PB. But partly that is by design... he's a more distant, reclusive character. Possibly... I liked the Mexican-American history, and the Red Scare, etc. but I already knew more about that history, whereas in Poisonwood Bible I knew very little about Congolese history so it was more of a surprise to me. Not that I have to compare those 2 books, but it's hard not to. Anyway... good book!

Paper Towns by John Green

4.0

Whew! At first I was nervous about this book because it seemed like Margo was a cliche Manic Pixie Dream Girl, but, without going into details, that trope was subverted. Thank God!

I liked the ongoing mystery, I liked the characters, and I liked the obsession with Wikipedia (highly relatable). A fun, well-constructed coming-of-age novel.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

4.0

A lot of fun. I love books about nerds and roadtrips. And this is about nerds on a roadtrips, so, A+. Great characters, mildly cliche self-realization but that's what YA lit is for, right?

Civil War X-Men: A Marvel Comics Event by David Hine, Yanick Paquette, Aaron Lopresti

3.0

Augh too confusing for a mere dabbler in the Marvel Universe :/