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svjak's reviews
90 reviews
Becoming by Michelle Obama
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I don't think there's much I can say about this memoir that hasn't already been said. This was a good memoir and I learned a lot about who Michelle is as a person and the challenges she faced when she was trying to make change happen as the first lady.
I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook version narrated by Michelle herself. There's something about listening to someone tell their own story, especially someone as articulate as Michelle Obama, that really adds another layer of authenticity and emotion.
I was blown away by all of the rules she had to follow, what she could and couldn't do, none of which were legal rules, just society's odd habit of putting people and things in a box and labeling everything outside of that as 'improper.' I can't imagine how frustrating it must have been to watch her husband and family become part of public discourse when Michelle never wanted that in the first place.
This memoir is a story of a mother's love, a resilient woman who loves her husband and his dreams, and an advocate who cares about the wellbeing of women and children.
My number one takeaway from this memoir is to dare to do the things you want. Make the change. Stand up for what you believe in. And don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something just because others haven't done it before.
I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook version narrated by Michelle herself. There's something about listening to someone tell their own story, especially someone as articulate as Michelle Obama, that really adds another layer of authenticity and emotion.
I was blown away by all of the rules she had to follow, what she could and couldn't do, none of which were legal rules, just society's odd habit of putting people and things in a box and labeling everything outside of that as 'improper.' I can't imagine how frustrating it must have been to watch her husband and family become part of public discourse when Michelle never wanted that in the first place.
This memoir is a story of a mother's love, a resilient woman who loves her husband and his dreams, and an advocate who cares about the wellbeing of women and children.
My number one takeaway from this memoir is to dare to do the things you want. Make the change. Stand up for what you believe in. And don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something just because others haven't done it before.
The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I finished Mistborn Era 1 almost a year ago and it took me a while to pick up The Alloy of Law after that. I was worried about having strong expectations going into Era 2 so I needed some time away from Era 1 before I could come back to this with some semblance of impartiality.
And I'm honestly sad it took me this long, because this book was fantastic!
I LOVED all of the little references to the original crew (some of which I'm sure I missed because I waited so long to start reading it.) We've got Elendrel, mentions of the Cett family, Demoux Promenade... I love it so much. It's a nice touch to throwback to the original gang, and it makes me feel kinda bittersweet about moving on to a new series knowing they're all long gone.
As a whole, this book was pretty low stakes, which is very different from Sanderson's other novels. I felt so relieved that the heroes in this book (Mr. Waxillium and Mr. Wayne) had weaknesses and were not perfect. Following a series like Mistborn, where all of the characters are mega-powerful, it was nice to see society taking a step back in terms of mystical all-powerful beings rather than pushing forward and finding ways to make them all even more powerful.
The more I read about the characters, the more I loved them. Especially Wax. And I think that's a pretty common theme in Sanderson's books. Wax and Wayne had so much personality right from the beginning and I thought they were a lot more likeable than some of the characters in the OG Mistborn crew. You can definitely see a big difference in Sanderson's writing from one series to the other.
At first I wasn't sure what Brandon was going to do for his surprise twist at the end of the book. I couldn't fathom what he could possibly have in mind, but I'm so so excited to continue reading this series after finding out what he had up his sleeve.HONESTLY SERIOUSLY MARSH IS STILL THERE??? I never saw that coming and I cannot wait to see where this is going. I'm begging for the return of the mistborn and I'm hoping that you-know-who has something to do with it.
And I'm honestly sad it took me this long, because this book was fantastic!
I LOVED all of the little references to the original crew (some of which I'm sure I missed because I waited so long to start reading it.) We've got Elendrel, mentions of the Cett family, Demoux Promenade... I love it so much. It's a nice touch to throwback to the original gang, and it makes me feel kinda bittersweet about moving on to a new series knowing they're all long gone.
As a whole, this book was pretty low stakes, which is very different from Sanderson's other novels. I felt so relieved that the heroes in this book (Mr. Waxillium and Mr. Wayne) had weaknesses and were not perfect. Following a series like Mistborn, where all of the characters are mega-powerful, it was nice to see society taking a step back in terms of mystical all-powerful beings rather than pushing forward and finding ways to make them all even more powerful.
The more I read about the characters, the more I loved them. Especially Wax. And I think that's a pretty common theme in Sanderson's books. Wax and Wayne had so much personality right from the beginning and I thought they were a lot more likeable than some of the characters in the OG Mistborn crew. You can definitely see a big difference in Sanderson's writing from one series to the other.
At first I wasn't sure what Brandon was going to do for his surprise twist at the end of the book. I couldn't fathom what he could possibly have in mind, but I'm so so excited to continue reading this series after finding out what he had up his sleeve.
Spy x Family, Vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
I've only read the first volume of this manga, but I'm already in love with it.
Spy x Family is a found family story about (you guessed it) a spy family. We follow the main character, a spy who goes by the moniker Twilight, as he finishes up one assignment and gets a new one. A more long-term assignment where he has to pose as a posh family to get close to his target. To do this, he has to take on a wife and a child, both things that he swore he would never do.
I don't want to go to far into detail and spoil it because the best parts of this manga are in the details. His new wife and child bring so much warmth and humor to the story, and there is so much more to them than I can say here without spoiling the plot.
I'm really not really much of a manga reader. I used to be when I was in middle/high school, but it's been many many years since I've picked up a manga and now I'm regretting it hard. This was absolutely fantastic. And it was great for this time of year because post-holiday depression hits me hard sometimes. This series was a nice little pick-me-up that reminded me not to take everything so seriously.
Spy x Family is a found family story about (you guessed it) a spy family. We follow the main character, a spy who goes by the moniker Twilight, as he finishes up one assignment and gets a new one. A more long-term assignment where he has to pose as a posh family to get close to his target. To do this, he has to take on a wife and a child, both things that he swore he would never do.
I don't want to go to far into detail and spoil it because the best parts of this manga are in the details. His new wife and child bring so much warmth and humor to the story, and there is so much more to them than I can say here without spoiling the plot.
I'm really not really much of a manga reader. I used to be when I was in middle/high school, but it's been many many years since I've picked up a manga and now I'm regretting it hard. This was absolutely fantastic. And it was great for this time of year because post-holiday depression hits me hard sometimes. This series was a nice little pick-me-up that reminded me not to take everything so seriously.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Abandonment
In terms of content warnings, there is a ton of violence depicted in the images. Obviously the main character is a spy and his job is fighting the bad guys, so there are a lot of guns and blood. However, this is very much a humorous take on an action/adventure spy story and much of it is exaggerated to get that effect.
One of the main characters continually faces bigotry and bullying from some minor characters in the series. This is explicitly shown on page, but the bullies are depicted as the bad guys.
The main character talks about his experiences with abandonment and there is another character in the book that has a history of abandonment. Explicitly, these are talked about briefly, however, there are a few instances where it's brought up in a more subtle way because it adds context to a character's thoughts or actions. All that to say, at least in this first book, abandonment is a common theme that more than one character has to come to terms with and learn to cope with.
The Death of Ivan Ilych: ANNOTATED by Leo Tolstoy
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Did not finish book. Stopped at 78%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 78%.
I had to give up on this one. I wanted to finish it (and I got so close to the end) but I'm trying really hard not to force myself to read books I'm not enjoying, and I just really wasn't having a good time with The Darkness Outside Us.
I picked up several science fiction novels after reading (and loving) Project Hail Mary earlier this year. I've really been trying to branch out and read more sci-fi after realizing how much I really love the genre, but I was struggling so much trying to get through this book.
I think it was just too slow paced for me. There were points where a lot of stuff was happening and it was exciting, but it felt like the first 25% of the book was just Ambrose complaining about Kodiak, explaining backstory/context, and missing his family. So by the time anything actually happened I was already incredibly bored and zoned out. It's honestly a miracle I didn't DNF it then. I'm still trying to get better about conceding when I'm really not meshing with a book.
This book just wasn't for me. I was expecting action and excitement, energy, drama, intrigue, romance, emotions?? And I just wasn't feeling it.
I picked up several science fiction novels after reading (and loving) Project Hail Mary earlier this year. I've really been trying to branch out and read more sci-fi after realizing how much I really love the genre, but I was struggling so much trying to get through this book.
I think it was just too slow paced for me. There were points where a lot of stuff was happening and it was exciting, but it felt like the first 25% of the book was just Ambrose complaining about Kodiak, explaining backstory/context, and missing his family. So by the time anything actually happened I was already incredibly bored and zoned out. It's honestly a miracle I didn't DNF it then. I'm still trying to get better about conceding when I'm really not meshing with a book.
This book just wasn't for me. I was expecting action and excitement, energy, drama, intrigue, romance, emotions?? And I just wasn't feeling it.
Will by Will Smith, Mark Manson
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
3.75
The primary reason I picked up this memoir was because it was narrated by the author (always a huge bonus for me) and because I love Smith's narrative voice. I wouldn't say I'm a 'fan' of his work, per say, but I have enjoyed several of his movies.
I had to place a lot of faith in Will Smith when I got this book because I bought it despite Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (a book I absolutely despised), being the writer for this memoir. I was a little worried that this would become a regurgitation of Manson's other works and he would overshadow Will's experiences with his self-help nonsense, and he kinda did a little bit, but Will's narration lent authenticity to his story that kinda balanced it out for me.
It was intriguing getting to learn more about this actor. I always struggle with celebrity memoirs because a lot of them can start to sound like the same 'roughs to riches' Hollywood success story, but Will really stood apart as something special.
As I expected from a Manson book, there was a heavy focus on the life lessons learned throughout Will's life and at times I didn't feel like it was necessary to always put a positive spin on things like that. Sometimes it's good to tell a story you have conflicting (or even negative) feelings about and it doesn't always need to be followed by a monologue on what you learned or gained from it. Life isn't always good times and you don't have to spin every bad moment into something positive. I think this element of the book is what bothered me the most and it's why I rated it 3.75 stars. All of the 'life lessons' read like Manson's other self-help books and it felt like it didn't really fit with the narrative style of the rest of the story.
However, Will Smith's narration of his life and experiences was fascinating. Parts of this book read like fiction because I was so engrossed into the stories Will was telling. Right from the beginning when he's talking aboutbuilding that wall brick by brick, and the narrative choices used to convey how perpetual it all felt until he slowly settled into a routine, going out there day after day, until one day he realized it was completed. That was brilliant.
Narrative choices aside, the stories themselves were also very impactful, being absolutely hilarious at times and heartbreaking at others. I LOVED all of the insight on Will's experiences with Fresh Prince and transitioning from his music career to acting. Some parts of this memoir felt deeply personal, such as when he talks about his relationship with his wife, Jada, or his relationship with his family members.
What really sold me on this memoir and made it such a good book for me was the narration. Will Smith telling his own story, in his own words, did far more to make this an impactful book than any of the 'life lesson' tidbits squeezed in there. Honestly if I were reading the print version I may have ended up DNFing it. Manson can be a bit overbearing with the toxic positivity self-help guru crap and I really have nothing positive to say about his work.
I wouldn't say reading this gave me a more positive or negative impression of Smith, but it did show a little bit of who he is behind the massive celebrity persona of Will Smith the actor.
I had to place a lot of faith in Will Smith when I got this book because I bought it despite Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (a book I absolutely despised), being the writer for this memoir. I was a little worried that this would become a regurgitation of Manson's other works and he would overshadow Will's experiences with his self-help nonsense, and he kinda did a little bit, but Will's narration lent authenticity to his story that kinda balanced it out for me.
It was intriguing getting to learn more about this actor. I always struggle with celebrity memoirs because a lot of them can start to sound like the same 'roughs to riches' Hollywood success story, but Will really stood apart as something special.
As I expected from a Manson book, there was a heavy focus on the life lessons learned throughout Will's life and at times I didn't feel like it was necessary to always put a positive spin on things like that. Sometimes it's good to tell a story you have conflicting (or even negative) feelings about and it doesn't always need to be followed by a monologue on what you learned or gained from it. Life isn't always good times and you don't have to spin every bad moment into something positive. I think this element of the book is what bothered me the most and it's why I rated it 3.75 stars. All of the 'life lessons' read like Manson's other self-help books and it felt like it didn't really fit with the narrative style of the rest of the story.
However, Will Smith's narration of his life and experiences was fascinating. Parts of this book read like fiction because I was so engrossed into the stories Will was telling. Right from the beginning when he's talking about
Narrative choices aside, the stories themselves were also very impactful, being absolutely hilarious at times and heartbreaking at others. I LOVED all of the insight on Will's experiences with Fresh Prince and transitioning from his music career to acting. Some parts of this memoir felt deeply personal, such as when he talks about his relationship with his wife, Jada, or his relationship with his family members.
What really sold me on this memoir and made it such a good book for me was the narration. Will Smith telling his own story, in his own words, did far more to make this an impactful book than any of the 'life lesson' tidbits squeezed in there. Honestly if I were reading the print version I may have ended up DNFing it. Manson can be a bit overbearing with the toxic positivity self-help guru crap and I really have nothing positive to say about his work.
I wouldn't say reading this gave me a more positive or negative impression of Smith, but it did show a little bit of who he is behind the massive celebrity persona of Will Smith the actor.
Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is probably my least favorite of Sanderson's novels I've picked up. I really loved Lift and it was refreshing to have a humor break and some lighthearted fun, especially when it comes to the really drawn-out, dark stories in the Cosmere.
I love the way Sanderson develops his supporting characters so thoroughly and getting to see little tidbits like Lift's story in Edgedancer adds so much to his series. With each new book I read from the Cosmere it's like the magnitude of this world keeps expanding and I love that element of epic fantasy. Sanderson executes it well.
Lift is such a cool character in her own right and I have so many questions about how she uses her power and what exactly is going on with her. I hoped to get a lot of my questions answered in this book but... no dice.
At the same time, I'm not much a fan of the way Lift's story is written in particular, and I know part of that is down to who Lift is as a character. She's fleeting and kinda all over the place at times. She struggles with commitment and has a lot of energy. All of that reflects in how Sanderson writes her as a character and in the narrative choices he made for this novel.
Compared to the typical Sanderson, Edgedancer felt a bit hectic, which is pretty on-brand for Lift, but I don't think I liked that change in tone so despite loving the story itself, I struggled some when it came time to pick this novel back up.
I love the way Sanderson develops his supporting characters so thoroughly and getting to see little tidbits like Lift's story in Edgedancer adds so much to his series. With each new book I read from the Cosmere it's like the magnitude of this world keeps expanding and I love that element of epic fantasy. Sanderson executes it well.
Lift is such a cool character in her own right and I have so many questions about how she uses her power and what exactly is going on with her. I hoped to get a lot of my questions answered in this book but... no dice.
At the same time, I'm not much a fan of the way Lift's story is written in particular, and I know part of that is down to who Lift is as a character. She's fleeting and kinda all over the place at times. She struggles with commitment and has a lot of energy. All of that reflects in how Sanderson writes her as a character and in the narrative choices he made for this novel.
Compared to the typical Sanderson, Edgedancer felt a bit hectic, which is pretty on-brand for Lift, but I don't think I liked that change in tone so despite loving the story itself, I struggled some when it came time to pick this novel back up.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I know so many people who absolutely loved this book... buuuuuttttt I didn't.
I hate to be that person. Whenever everyone else is raving about a book that makes me want to love it too. But honestly, there was just nothing about this book that got me excited or interested in turning the page.
I cared very little for any of the characters. It just seemed like I would start to maybe sorta care for someone and then their story is over. On to the next one. And I never really got the chance to sit down and meet the characters, which is ironic given the topic of the book.
It seemed to me like we were supposed to see little glimpses into each person's life and grow to care about them through their story, but I just found myself feeling resentful about having to listen to stories about men who didn't care about their wives and women who felt trapped. And nobody ever felt familiar in the way that makes me care about them and their story.
This book was also pretty slow-paced, which I don't like *at all.* This was clearly not the book for me, but it might be for you if you enjoy a slower paced novel and don't mind feeling distanced from the characters a bit.
I hate to be that person. Whenever everyone else is raving about a book that makes me want to love it too. But honestly, there was just nothing about this book that got me excited or interested in turning the page.
I cared very little for any of the characters. It just seemed like I would start to maybe sorta care for someone and then their story is over. On to the next one. And I never really got the chance to sit down and meet the characters, which is ironic given the topic of the book.
It seemed to me like we were supposed to see little glimpses into each person's life and grow to care about them through their story, but I just found myself feeling resentful about having to listen to stories about men who didn't care about their wives and women who felt trapped. And nobody ever felt familiar in the way that makes me care about them and their story.
This book was also pretty slow-paced, which I don't like *at all.* This was clearly not the book for me, but it might be for you if you enjoy a slower paced novel and don't mind feeling distanced from the characters a bit.
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Tuck Everlasting was my first ever one-sitting read. I was an unfortunate 'gifted kid' in elementary school and my teacher gave me this book to read. We were going to be reading it as an assignment in a few weeks but she let me read it and do the assignments on my own because I was way ahead.
I sat down behind our small in-class library (it was literally two of those half-height square cubbies stuffed with books) and I read through the entire book in that one afternoon. I was absolutely enthralled by the concept of a magical spring.
I'm sad there's so much of this book I don't remember. This is one that I need to add to my reread-someday shelf.
I sat down behind our small in-class library (it was literally two of those half-height square cubbies stuffed with books) and I read through the entire book in that one afternoon. I was absolutely enthralled by the concept of a magical spring.
I'm sad there's so much of this book I don't remember. This is one that I need to add to my reread-someday shelf.
It's Not About the Burqa by Mariam Khan
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Wow! You wanna talk about eye-opening, thought-provoking, boundary-pushing, multi-faceted approaches to 'controversial' issues?
This is it. This is the book.
I place 'controversial' in apostrophe marks because in a perfect world these topics would not be controversial per say, they would just be opinions. But given our current circumstances and the way of the world they are nonetheless viewed that way.
I have to commend this collection for several things. Firstly, for publishing, in one single book, stories that foundationally oppose one another but which are both equally true and valid in their approaches. Each one of these essays in this collection are penned by a different author and each one of them has a unique and refreshing take on different topics. And even if I found myself shaking my head as I started one essay, by the end of it I was usually nodding along, even if my own views differed.
And the reason for that is because of context. When women are given the opportunities to speak about ourselves and our own opinions freely, without fear of someone stopping us from speaking or dismissing our opinions, we have a chance to offer perspective, background, and share our experiences - all of which inform the way we think. All of which improve the Umma as a whole.
And yeah, there were some essays I still find myself disagreeing with, there were some authors that would seem to dispute their own argument in their essay, but as a whole this collection brings about the wider issue of inclusivity and ability of women. We can speak for ourselves. It's time the world sit down and let us.
This is it. This is the book.
I place 'controversial' in apostrophe marks because in a perfect world these topics would not be controversial per say, they would just be opinions. But given our current circumstances and the way of the world they are nonetheless viewed that way.
I have to commend this collection for several things. Firstly, for publishing, in one single book, stories that foundationally oppose one another but which are both equally true and valid in their approaches. Each one of these essays in this collection are penned by a different author and each one of them has a unique and refreshing take on different topics. And even if I found myself shaking my head as I started one essay, by the end of it I was usually nodding along, even if my own views differed.
And the reason for that is because of context. When women are given the opportunities to speak about ourselves and our own opinions freely, without fear of someone stopping us from speaking or dismissing our opinions, we have a chance to offer perspective, background, and share our experiences - all of which inform the way we think. All of which improve the Umma as a whole.
And yeah, there were some essays I still find myself disagreeing with, there were some authors that would seem to dispute their own argument in their essay, but as a whole this collection brings about the wider issue of inclusivity and ability of women. We can speak for ourselves. It's time the world sit down and let us.