simone3993's reviews
37 reviews

Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon

challenging funny hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

I learned so much while reading this book. I loved how the author wove the story of how our evolutionary changes overtime lead to the current state of human affairs across the globe. 

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

challenging dark hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I loved how this book typical tropes but did them through the lens of the black American experience. 

White Magic by Elissa Washuta

challenging dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

It's hard to articulate the affect this book had on me. It made me think about things I never had before also helped me empathize with folks in a new way. I loved the subtlety and yet the direct way the author writes. She leads the audience very clearly where she wants but still allows enough space for you to still wonder. I really enjoyed this book and thank the author so sharing so much of herself with us. 

Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This book made me feel a lot. It also made me think about forgiveness in a different way, which I appreciated. 

Entitlement by Rumaan Alam

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book was well written. There were times when a line would give me goosebumps. The book touched on several topics related to wealth, social status, goodness, relationships, consumerism, worshiping wealth, and other similar topics. But in a way that left you with more questions than answers mostly. Like a meditation or possibly cautionary tale of the dangers of worshipping wealth and how easy it is to get sucked into the lie that wealth is good and wealth is something good people deserve but in like an atypical source of that lesson. Idk, hopefully that makes some sense 😅. Anyway I def enjoyed it. Though this book is not in a preferred genre, I would recommend it to folks who are into pondering. 

Magical/Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy, and Borders by Vanessa Angélica Villarreal

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

The writing made me cry and think of things in a way I never considered. There were times were I was like oh wow that line was amazing then the next line would blow me away as well! So many parts of this book resonated with me in ways I can't even fully articulate. I plan to buy a physical copy and read it again and highlight the words that spoke to me the most. My experience of reading Magical Realism is why I read books in the first place: to learn, grow, and feel in new ways! As that famous quote, goes through books you can can live many lives, and this one felt rich and familiar in uncanny ways.

There are some drawbacks. When the author compares her experiences to pop culture such as games and a celebrity couple. While I appreciated the analysis I think it ran long a bit in those parts. But those chapters weren't boring enough for me to not give it 5 stars! 

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo

dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book is a great illustration of how insidious misogyny goes and how it can have such a detrimental effect on women's mental health. 

Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence by Kristen R. Ghodsee

hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

This was a great book! I have it four starts because it got a bit lecturey at times. But I plan to read another book by this author so obviously it wasn't enough of it to stop me from enjoying the book. I learned a lot reading this book and it was a good reminder that who writes history controls it. 

Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-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

5.0

Wow that was quite the ride! This is one of the most beautiful books I have read in awhile. It was full of metaphors and similes you would expect from the genre. But like done the best from the genre, if that makes sense. When I listened to this, I felt like I was watching a play with how descriptive and emotive the words were. I really hope the author write more queer novels because this was amazing.

Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs by Camilla Townsend

challenging dark informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. It was def a hard read but also hopeful in a sense? As a black queer woman in America it really helps me feel connected to the global movement of indigenous folks and anyone else marginalized by the colonial capitalist empire. Also gave me another reminded me that folks who lived in the 1400s were not that different than us. And a reminder that humans have been doing humans things for truly a long time. I gave it 4 stars because it was hard for me to keep track with the names, it felt drawn out at times, and got lecturey in some parts. But also keep in mind this is not a preferred genre for me, so take everything I saw about this with a grain of salt. I also enjoyed the authors commentary. I think she wrote the book for any layperson to understand. She also understood the importance of the story being told, due to colonialism not valueing the viewpoints of indigenous folks. I appreciated that a lot.