skeltzer's reviews
251 reviews

Cod by Mark Kurlansky

informative slow-paced

3.0

The author made cod sound interesting and it got me thinking about what I'm eating. Took a weird turn at the end and I couldn't quite believe if the author was advocating for a return to whale hunting and commercial fishing. The ebook version is awful. The images are illegible and the formatting is all over the place. Stray punctuation, italics out of nowhere. Really poor job.

Practicing Social Justice in Libraries by Alyssa Brissett, Diana Moronta

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

They Called Us Enemy by Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, George Takei

challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

Absolutely understand why she won the Grammy for the audiobook. It is an incredible performance. All the trigger warnings for this book.

Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Aleksandra Crapanzano, Aleksandra Crapanzano

informative

3.0

Dismantling Deficit Thinking in Academic Libraries: Theory, Reflection, and Action by Rosan Mitola, Erin Rinto, Chelsea Heinbach

challenging informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

Smitten Kitchen Keepers: New Classics for Your Forever Files: A Cookbook by Deb Perelman

informative lighthearted

4.0

A Visible Man by Edward Enninful

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.75

Picked this up on a whim and really enjoyed it. I knew who EE was generally before reading and got to know him much better through the book. What an interesting slice of life from Ghana to 80s London to today. I learned so much about fashion too. He's a great writer. Only thing I didn't like was how small the photographs were! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Racism, and Addiction

Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

A quick read that feels very dated. Lots of Baltimore references, which are fun but I can't imagine people not from here understanding it all. Very unsexy sex scenes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Grief, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexism, Antisemitism, Fatphobia, Blood, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicide, Transphobia, and Vomit

Ayiti by Roxane Gay

challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0