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shane_the_reading_rat's reviews
1010 reviews
Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
4.0
gonna be honest i dont even really know what to say about this book but it’s awesome. easily my favorite magical realism book ive read (usually me and magical realism severely do not mix).
this was gorgeous go read it
this was gorgeous go read it
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
this was definitely a good book, and i mostly enjoyed it, but some aspects just weren’t really for me. ironically for a space thriller, i was much more interesting in the boarding school ten-years-before timeline than the space thriller plot.
the dynamic between Asuka and her mom was really really interesting, just the contrast ofa member of an eco-terrorist group and her spacefarer daughter was cool. i love the letters between them at the end .
so yeah, interesting enough but some of it i just was not drawn to.
the dynamic between Asuka and her mom was really really interesting, just the contrast of
so yeah, interesting enough but some of it i just was not drawn to.
Girlmode by Magdalene Visaggio
2.5
makes me sad that basically all of these characters (except phoebe’s dad and Surfer Girl) have zero redeeming qualities. mackenzie telling her friend she will “make you get an eating disorder” (or slightly different wording i dont remember) will stick with me for a while in a bad way
Hostage by Guy Delisle
5.0
one of the best graphic novels i have ever read
where this really shines is in the simplicity of the artwork. it makes the words so powerful, and upon reaching the panel whereChristophe has escaped and Aslan is washing his feet , i genuinely started crying out of joy for Christophe’s safety.
really really really powerful story. man graphic nonfiction can be incredible
where this really shines is in the simplicity of the artwork. it makes the words so powerful, and upon reaching the panel where
really really really powerful story. man graphic nonfiction can be incredible
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
2.0
read this for one of the book clubs im in :) otherwise likely would not have ever picked this up, never been much of a star wars guy and didn’t know much at all about carrie fisher.
from this book i think she would have been very fun to interact with, but the book itself was just not for me. very all-over-the-place, with so many jokes it’s a bit exhausting to read. nonetheless glad i read this, gave some cool insight into what it was like to film the first Star Wars movie.
from this book i think she would have been very fun to interact with, but the book itself was just not for me. very all-over-the-place, with so many jokes it’s a bit exhausting to read. nonetheless glad i read this, gave some cool insight into what it was like to film the first Star Wars movie.
Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman by Abby Chava Stein
4.0
stellar memoir, zoomed through it and could hardly put it down :D ended a tad abruptly but thats okay
[the rest of this review is more personal, so feel free to just read the above and skip the rest if you’re not interested in me yapping lmao.]
while i grew up in a different-but-slightly-similar environment to Abby Stein (conservative christianity for me), a lot of what she said felt like it heavily paralleled my own journey as a trans man. as a kid i vaguely knew that i was called and treated as a girl, but figured eventually people would just realize they had gotten it wrong and i was actually a boy. obviously didnt work that way, which upon my realization of that in middle school sent me down a spiral of depression and anger at everything and everyone (partially exacerbated by getting to play the beast in a beauty and the beast play in 6th grade and realizing “oh. that was incredible. i want to be called he and him all the time. ive never been happier.” and then having to go back to Normal Girl Life). im just glad i had internet access and was able to 1: fucking deconstruct the homophobia and transphobia that had been drilled into me 2:figure out i was trans and didn’t have to just be confused and angry for longer than i did.
thank you abby stein for writing this memoir, it hit me hard
[the rest of this review is more personal, so feel free to just read the above and skip the rest if you’re not interested in me yapping lmao.]
while i grew up in a different-but-slightly-similar environment to Abby Stein (conservative christianity for me), a lot of what she said felt like it heavily paralleled my own journey as a trans man. as a kid i vaguely knew that i was called and treated as a girl, but figured eventually people would just realize they had gotten it wrong and i was actually a boy. obviously didnt work that way, which upon my realization of that in middle school sent me down a spiral of depression and anger at everything and everyone (partially exacerbated by getting to play the beast in a beauty and the beast play in 6th grade and realizing “oh. that was incredible. i want to be called he and him all the time. ive never been happier.” and then having to go back to Normal Girl Life). im just glad i had internet access and was able to 1: fucking deconstruct the homophobia and transphobia that had been drilled into me 2:figure out i was trans and didn’t have to just be confused and angry for longer than i did.
thank you abby stein for writing this memoir, it hit me hard
Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle by Michael Andor Brodeur
1.5
i really did not like this :/
i was much more interested in analysis of the manosphere than the other topics in this book, and the description makes it seem like it will be substantially about the manosphere and modern masculinity, but it’s really not. the three large topics here (Brodeur’s life, history of gyms/weightlifting, and manosphere) are not blended well to say the least.
this also had a writing style i deeply disliked. lots of overusage of the term “beefcake” and i dont know if i have ever seen butts mentioned more in one book.
.5 star because there were a few spots where Brodeur had some good insight. but not many.
i was much more interested in analysis of the manosphere than the other topics in this book, and the description makes it seem like it will be substantially about the manosphere and modern masculinity, but it’s really not. the three large topics here (Brodeur’s life, history of gyms/weightlifting, and manosphere) are not blended well to say the least.
this also had a writing style i deeply disliked. lots of overusage of the term “beefcake” and i dont know if i have ever seen butts mentioned more in one book.
.5 star because there were a few spots where Brodeur had some good insight. but not many.
Metal From Heaven by August Clarke
3.5
gonna be honest, i genuinely have almost no clue what happened in this story. despite that being almost never my vibe, i already want to reread this but physically?? so honestly my rating of this might rise in the future.
interesting to have read this book about murdering a ceo at a time when there was Much Discussion about,,, yknow,,, a man who did That who shares a name with a very popular nintendo character. if you know what i mean
this book was very much a fever dream and again i still barely know what to make of it. also vico ortiz’s narration is overall fine, but i might just have to avoid books narrated by them because of how often they mispronounce words (mispronunciations take me out of the story so badly). this has been consistent in both audiobooks ive listened to narrated by them :/
anyway, overall liked this but it was hard to get back into every time i started listening again and the writing is very blurry, if that makes sense. but as someone who has recently begun watching Arcane i really really can see the comparisons of Metal From Heaven to Arcane
interesting to have read this book about murdering a ceo at a time when there was Much Discussion about,,, yknow,,, a man who did That who shares a name with a very popular nintendo character. if you know what i mean
this book was very much a fever dream and again i still barely know what to make of it. also vico ortiz’s narration is overall fine, but i might just have to avoid books narrated by them because of how often they mispronounce words (mispronunciations take me out of the story so badly). this has been consistent in both audiobooks ive listened to narrated by them :/
anyway, overall liked this but it was hard to get back into every time i started listening again and the writing is very blurry, if that makes sense. but as someone who has recently begun watching Arcane i really really can see the comparisons of Metal From Heaven to Arcane
This Land Is Our Land: a Blue Beetle Story by Julio Anta
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
picked this up on a whim from my library recently, i knew almost nothing about the Blue Beetle character but got this because it was made by the same duo who made one of my favorite graphic novels ever, Frontera
i really loved this!! my favorite superhero stories are ones that can balance real-world issues with superhero antics, and this did that splendidly. this also had some of my favorite ever commentary on the right-wing pipeline (in a way that wasn't cringy to read).
would definitely recommend this even if you're overall not much of a superhero fan, because discussion of the right wing pipeline and immigration seemed to me like the main topic and the superhero stuff secondary, and i thought it was done extremely well
i really loved this!! my favorite superhero stories are ones that can balance real-world issues with superhero antics, and this did that splendidly. this also had some of my favorite ever commentary on the right-wing pipeline (in a way that wasn't cringy to read).
would definitely recommend this even if you're overall not much of a superhero fan, because discussion of the right wing pipeline and immigration seemed to me like the main topic and the superhero stuff secondary, and i thought it was done extremely well