tracithomas's reviews
1009 reviews

Animal Farm by George Orwell

dark funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I never read Animal Farm in school. I had some idea it was about animals and that it was an allegory of power run amok. I hate to say it, but this novella is good good. Razor sharp. Funny and fucked up. Doing a lot while also going down smooth. I wish I had been taught Animal Farm in school, because I know there is plenty to unpack around mid-century politics, satire, and allegory, and with the right teacher this book must bang hard. I know it wasn’t written for today, but Trump is trying to make Animal Farm great again.

A Better Ending by James Whitfield Thomson

adventurous dark reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

This was a really good reported crime memoir. I loved the tone he struck in investigating his sister's death. It is very straightforward and engaged without being too sentimental or intense. It is a simple book, nothing special, but it does what it sets out to do so well it makes it look easy.

Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories by Torrey Peters

challenging funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Overall I liked this collection a lot. I loved how Peters was challenging gender and how it shows up in much more complicated, messy, and nuanced ways. I loved the way she also was exploring stereotypes and playing with the sinister side of gender politics and performance. Also a lot of play with genre constraints and tropes. Fun. The title novella was a bit long and schiticky for me, but still solid. The 2nd and 4th stories were my standouts. 

Abundance by Derek Thompson, Ezra Klein

informative fast-paced

2.0

This was a pretty big let down for me, I wanted to feel inspired and excited by the thinking in this book. Their thesis is very thin and feels more like two guys lecturing the reader on all that is wrong than actually providing a vision for a world of abundance instead of scarcity. Mostly it is a few essays expanded and tacked together, which is a bummer because we could use real rigorous thinking about how to create better futures and systems. The writing is good but the arguments are lacking.

Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is a slow moody novel with some messy scenes and bad decisions. The chaos is there but the tempo makes it much more of a character than a plot book. There are some really great scenes that I enjoyed. I was less interested in the quarter life crisis stuff (both around job and relationships), too much thinking/internal monologue for me. The kind of debut that makes me want to read whatever this author does next though, because the book is super solid.

The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman

dark informative sad medium-paced

3.0

I read this book after finishing LOLITA and I liked it. I think the book really could be an article. I appreciate the author wanted to give more detail but the details of the story are so limited there is a lot more around what actually happened and also about Nabokov. We get so many details (about the police men who received the call etc) that just felt like filler because this was a book length project. I did like the writing and the style but also felt like the author was reaching ti fill this whole thing out.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

There is a lot to like (and hate) about LOLITA. This was my first read and mostly the big take aways are, unreliable character at its apex. Stunning how Nabokov gets you to root for Humbert Humbert despite all he does. It drags in places but when Nabokov gives you a scene, get ready!

By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land by Rebecca Nagle

informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

This book was fantastic. I loved the way she blended history, current events, and personal reflections and history. The balance was spot on. The pacing was spot on. If you read and liked KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON this book does a similar thing but better and from an indigenous author. Yes! 

Disposable: America's Contempt for the Underclass by Sarah Jones

informative medium-paced

3.0

This was very straightforward and basic around covid and what happened to the most vulnerable Americans in the face of the pandemic. Pretty repetitive and likely could’ve been an essay. I liked the reporting but hated when the author incorporated her own story into it. It was unnecessary. 

Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve L. Ewing

dark informative inspiring slow-paced

5.0

This is an extremely impressive work of history and cultural studies. The book is well organized and packs in a lot of information in just under 300 page (the other 100 pages are notes/bibliography). While the book is dense (so much history in here) the skill of the writing and structure help the reader stay focused and rooted in the narrative Ewing puts forth. This isn't a book to speed through but to study and reflect on. This is for parents, teachers, students, and anyone who cares about education and racism.