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thecafeconlecheproject's reviews
38 reviews
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
3.0
This book was.. interesting. Don’t get me wrong, the story is intriguing from the jump. It’s written in a very readable style that makes it easy to get immediately sucked into. However, I guess it just wasn’t what I expected? Lol I kept waiting and waiting for what I just knew was going to be a crazy plot twist but it.. never.. came. Despite this, in all honesty, I was never bored throughout this story, and I know it has to do with the fact that immersing myself in someone else’s weird ass problems was a very welcoming distraction from my own troubles given everything thats going on.
I think its also rather intriguing to read about someone fully succumbing to their deepest desires. At the end of the day, thats probably something we all hope to be brave enough to do - maybe just not with things as dark as what she did.
Side note: this protagonist is so dang unlikeable but it just works & keeps the pages turning. If you have a sardonic sense of humor & are willing to read something a lil dark, dangerous (& maybe pointless?) than this is the book for you.
I think its also rather intriguing to read about someone fully succumbing to their deepest desires. At the end of the day, thats probably something we all hope to be brave enough to do - maybe just not with things as dark as what she did.
Side note: this protagonist is so dang unlikeable but it just works & keeps the pages turning. If you have a sardonic sense of humor & are willing to read something a lil dark, dangerous (& maybe pointless?) than this is the book for you.
The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
4.0
“Your schooling is your voice, child. It will be speaking for you even if you didn’t open your mouth to talk. It will be speaking till the day God is calling you come.”
Reading this book was a comforting moment of love & light needed to brighten this moment of darkness. This book is a worthy reminder that the things we take for granted are things that some people, not much unlike ourselves, will go through the fight of their lives for.
One of my greatest takeaways from Abi Dare’s debut novel that I haven’t really seeen anyone speak about yet is that in America, education is spoken about as an institution that marginalized people want no part of when this is entirely untrue. This has always been about a matter of lack of access & resources - never has it been about a lack of desire.
Reading this book was a comforting moment of love & light needed to brighten this moment of darkness. This book is a worthy reminder that the things we take for granted are things that some people, not much unlike ourselves, will go through the fight of their lives for.
One of my greatest takeaways from Abi Dare’s debut novel that I haven’t really seeen anyone speak about yet is that in America, education is spoken about as an institution that marginalized people want no part of when this is entirely untrue. This has always been about a matter of lack of access & resources - never has it been about a lack of desire.
Socialism . . . Seriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation by Danny Katch
4.0
I don’t consider myself to be someone that is well versed on this subject but I do consider myself someone that is eager to learn! Danny Kach dumbs it down just enough to make this a super knowledgable & enjoyable read.
“Past failures of socialism don’t prove that they are impossible anymore than the history of dozens of failed slave insurrections proved that slavery would never end.”
“Past failures of socialism don’t prove that they are impossible anymore than the history of dozens of failed slave insurrections proved that slavery would never end.”
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
5.0
“When I scan the room, I see men lighter & darker than my father, some older, most younger - they speak harsher, softer, mumbling, or sung, but I see my fathers face in everyone, and I know this astigmatism will always be with me; the light will always fall this way.”
Reading this sequence of words brought tears to my eyes as a matter of fact, reading something of sort about the hard work that fathers subject themselves to always makes me cry. Maybe its because it reminds me of the time that my dad told me that even now, years & years later, he physically feels a *tingle* in his hands when we drive past fields because it reminds him of the years that he spent picking whatever harvest was in season to provide him with just enough to stay alive. Or maybe its because as the years go by & I can see the hairs on his face & hair become a lighter shade of gray - he continues to go to work like its the greatest gift he’s ever been given, because it means that he’s been able to give us everything we’ve ever needed & more.
I’ve seen some beautiful reviews about this book so I won’t waste your time with another. I just want to say how great it feels to now be a part of a generation that is able to put our history into words for all of the little brown kids that were made to feel like their voices and their stories didn’t matter, and if you’re someone that grew up feeling like that, support those voices brave enough to tell our stories in any way you can.
Reading this sequence of words brought tears to my eyes as a matter of fact, reading something of sort about the hard work that fathers subject themselves to always makes me cry. Maybe its because it reminds me of the time that my dad told me that even now, years & years later, he physically feels a *tingle* in his hands when we drive past fields because it reminds him of the years that he spent picking whatever harvest was in season to provide him with just enough to stay alive. Or maybe its because as the years go by & I can see the hairs on his face & hair become a lighter shade of gray - he continues to go to work like its the greatest gift he’s ever been given, because it means that he’s been able to give us everything we’ve ever needed & more.
I’ve seen some beautiful reviews about this book so I won’t waste your time with another. I just want to say how great it feels to now be a part of a generation that is able to put our history into words for all of the little brown kids that were made to feel like their voices and their stories didn’t matter, and if you’re someone that grew up feeling like that, support those voices brave enough to tell our stories in any way you can.
The Long Term: Resisting Life Sentences Working Toward Freedom by Erica Meiners, Jill Petty, Alice Kim
5.0
If you are a person that works in the legal or criminal justice field especially ( or just a living, breathing human) I HIGHLY recommend this book. Seriously its about $5 as an ebook on Haymarket Books & wayyy underpriced if you ask me in contrast to the amount of knowledge & passion that you’ll get from it.
It took me twice as long as it normally would take to read this book because of the amount of time I spent annotating & marveling at the amount of emotion, power, & inspiration this book emits.
This book is presented as a powerful collection of essays, poetry, personal reflections, art, love stories, & conversations.
At its core this work is a call for an abolitionist vision advocating for the dismantling of the institutions & practices that hurt us & to instead call for the willingness to imagine & work to create new freedoms that move beyond reformist limitations & build strong communities that don’t rely on the state violence that is inherent in systems of imprisonment & policing.
It took me twice as long as it normally would take to read this book because of the amount of time I spent annotating & marveling at the amount of emotion, power, & inspiration this book emits.
This book is presented as a powerful collection of essays, poetry, personal reflections, art, love stories, & conversations.
At its core this work is a call for an abolitionist vision advocating for the dismantling of the institutions & practices that hurt us & to instead call for the willingness to imagine & work to create new freedoms that move beyond reformist limitations & build strong communities that don’t rely on the state violence that is inherent in systems of imprisonment & policing.
Loose Woman by Sandra Cisneros
5.0
Don’t y’all love reading something that reaffirms why someone is one of your favorite authors?
These just really make me think “wow”, like *time stopping* wows. Not just the wow you say to someone that hasn’t gotten the hint yet. People can really make people *feel* like that with just their worlds. Not that is powerful.
These just really make me think “wow”, like *time stopping* wows. Not just the wow you say to someone that hasn’t gotten the hint yet. People can really make people *feel* like that with just their worlds. Not that is powerful.
Running by Natalia Sylvester
4.0
I awoke to some tragic news Thursday morning & amidst all of the commotion that immediately ensured i did the only thing I’ve ever known to do when I don’t know how to even begin to process my emotions, I read.
I want to thank Natalia Sylvester & NetGalley for providing me with this eARC & for the much needed opportunity to be able to begin to decompress, process, & for the beautiful memories.
When I saw this book cover a while back I remember thinking - Latinas, politics, & family drama - what could be more *me*? (& while yes, it does have all of these things, I was blown away by the direction that she posited with these matters). Picture your usually coming of age story with strong familial ties, now picture it honing in on the overall well-being & character development of Mari - our first born, (come on, I know all my first born Latinx friends will understand the magnitude of what I’m implying by this) Latina daughter of a temperamental father thats running for a seat in the Oval Office.
I want to highlight what stood out to me the most & thats something that I don’t see done quite often as well as Natalia was able to execute it - & that is the fact that she truly gives the young characters she writes about a *voice*. I cant tell you how empowering it felt to read about these kids learning to find their voices, learning to stand up for themselves, & learning what & to whom their willing to stand up against, no matter the outcome.
As a young Latina woman, I know how daunting it can feel to have differing ideas, opinions, etc & how much harder it can be to voice said opinions in an environment that isn’t as receptive to change. Reading this book felt like a lyrical power move against those systems used to oppress us. So while yes, this is a book about politics, in a more traditional sense, this is a book about discovering what you’re willing to fight for.
I want to thank Natalia Sylvester & NetGalley for providing me with this eARC & for the much needed opportunity to be able to begin to decompress, process, & for the beautiful memories.
When I saw this book cover a while back I remember thinking - Latinas, politics, & family drama - what could be more *me*? (& while yes, it does have all of these things, I was blown away by the direction that she posited with these matters). Picture your usually coming of age story with strong familial ties, now picture it honing in on the overall well-being & character development of Mari - our first born, (come on, I know all my first born Latinx friends will understand the magnitude of what I’m implying by this) Latina daughter of a temperamental father thats running for a seat in the Oval Office.
I want to highlight what stood out to me the most & thats something that I don’t see done quite often as well as Natalia was able to execute it - & that is the fact that she truly gives the young characters she writes about a *voice*. I cant tell you how empowering it felt to read about these kids learning to find their voices, learning to stand up for themselves, & learning what & to whom their willing to stand up against, no matter the outcome.
As a young Latina woman, I know how daunting it can feel to have differing ideas, opinions, etc & how much harder it can be to voice said opinions in an environment that isn’t as receptive to change. Reading this book felt like a lyrical power move against those systems used to oppress us. So while yes, this is a book about politics, in a more traditional sense, this is a book about discovering what you’re willing to fight for.