skeltzer's reviews
271 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 Diana Moronta, Alyssa Brissett

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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

challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism

Finding Me 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 Chelsea Heinbach, Erin Rinto, Rosan Mitola

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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Racism, Xenophobia

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

Minor: Suicide, Transphobia, 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