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uncreationmyth's reviews
84 reviews
Little Weirds by Jenny Slate
admittedly biased going into this because i love jenny slate so much
i had a little trouble getting into this at the start— something about jenny slate purely in text almost came across as a little too over-the-head Weird. once i caught my stride with the rhythm & the voice of it, though, what a delight! it really shines in the second half, with some heavy hitters towards the end. i cried at the last essay & immediately had to re-read it.
of course this book made me do the little teehees & big hahas but even more powerfully, it made me feel so tender & full of warmth. it left me in awe once more of all the little wonders (and weirds!) that come with being a human, at a time when i so desperately needed a reminder.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
“As the image of myself becomes sharper in my brain and more precious, I feel less afraid that someone else will erase me by denying me love.”
admittedly biased going into this because i love jenny slate so much
i had a little trouble getting into this at the start— something about jenny slate purely in text almost came across as a little too over-the-head Weird. once i caught my stride with the rhythm & the voice of it, though, what a delight! it really shines in the second half, with some heavy hitters towards the end. i cried at the last essay & immediately had to re-read it.
of course this book made me do the little teehees & big hahas but even more powerfully, it made me feel so tender & full of warmth. it left me in awe once more of all the little wonders (and weirds!) that come with being a human, at a time when i so desperately needed a reminder.
Green Girl by Kate Zambreno
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this book would have absolutely rocked my shit if i had read it around the ages of 15-19. epigraphs from & references to french new wave, existentialist philosophy, virginia woolf & clarice lispector? i guarantee i would have taken this book at surface level & ended up infinitely more insufferable as a direct result of basing 80% of my personality around it, so actually it's probably for the better that i didn't.
i can see other people being annoyed by both the meandering, directionless protagonist and the at times meandering, seemingly directionless prose that veers into prose poetry. it 1000% worked for me, though. a lyrical, romanticized portrait of young womanhood fraught with ennui, existential angst & self-destructive loneliness— a tenuous existence trapped in a shape that has yet to solidify. indulgent introspection to the point of self-absorption.
side note: every single man in this book set off kill bill sirens in my brain.
smash that mf like if you too secretly fear you never actually outgrew your sad teenage girl on tumblr dot com circa the mid-2010s phase. (it's fine i'm still in my early 20s this is okay right??? *extremely mitski "class of 2013" voice* mom, am i still young??)
i can see other people being annoyed by both the meandering, directionless protagonist and the at times meandering, seemingly directionless prose that veers into prose poetry. it 1000% worked for me, though. a lyrical, romanticized portrait of young womanhood fraught with ennui, existential angst & self-destructive loneliness— a tenuous existence trapped in a shape that has yet to solidify. indulgent introspection to the point of self-absorption.
side note: every single man in this book set off kill bill sirens in my brain.
smash that mf like if you too secretly fear you never actually outgrew your sad teenage girl on tumblr dot com circa the mid-2010s phase. (it's fine i'm still in my early 20s this is okay right??? *extremely mitski "class of 2013" voice* mom, am i still young??)
The Pisces by Melissa Broder
as someone with a history of reducing my personality to "navel-gazing, troubled young woman" (in case there was any doubt, yes, i am a longtime follower of melissa broder's @sosadtoday twitter account), i've been making a conscious effort to consume more stories about older women (i.e. past their 20s) in an attempt to be less afraid of visualizing myself in any sort of future. this book made me uncomfortable & afraid! but also tentatively hopeful. it's funny & sad & funny sad & ultimately a thought-provoking, rewarding read imo. made me ask a lot of questions about what i actually want from life & whether or not i'm thinking/acting in a way in line with that.
lucy is undeniably unlikable pretty much the whole way through but watching the shift in her perception/narration of events was cathartic & mildly... inspirational(?) to me? plus, the arc about her experiences in group therapy? that's free therapy, baby!
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"But at the same time, who knew what love was exactly? I still didn't have it figured out. I remembered what Dr. Jude had said. The question is not what is love, but is it really love I'm looking for?
as someone with a history of reducing my personality to "navel-gazing, troubled young woman" (in case there was any doubt, yes, i am a longtime follower of melissa broder's @sosadtoday twitter account), i've been making a conscious effort to consume more stories about older women (i.e. past their 20s) in an attempt to be less afraid of visualizing myself in any sort of future. this book made me uncomfortable & afraid! but also tentatively hopeful. it's funny & sad & funny sad & ultimately a thought-provoking, rewarding read imo. made me ask a lot of questions about what i actually want from life & whether or not i'm thinking/acting in a way in line with that.
lucy is undeniably unlikable pretty much the whole way through but watching the shift in her perception/narration of events was cathartic & mildly... inspirational(?) to me? plus, the arc about her experiences in group therapy? that's free therapy, baby!
From the Basement: A History of Emo Music and How It Changed Society by Natasha Van Duser, Taylor Markarian
informative
medium-paced
2.5
"Real Emo" only consists of the dc Emotional Hardcore scene and the late 90's Screamo scene. What is known by "Midwest Emo" is nothing but Alternative Rock with questionable real emo influence. When people try to argue that bands like My Chemical Romance are not real emo, while saying that Sunny Day Real Estate— lol jk
definitely closer to a selectively-sourced retrospective than the "comprehensive look" described on the back cover, but i'm actually okay with that? i just wish the title wasn't so misleading. i thought it would be a quick, easy read & i was right. not particularly complex analysis— very surface level explanations with uneven coverage. but you know what? i had some fun! as someone who went into this book with a (probably) above average level of knowledge on the subject, i liked it as a collection of firsthand quotes and stories.
it felt a little like being cornered at a party & getting a ted talk from someone's older sister... which might actually be kind of fitting for this topic? sure, i would have loved to see markarian draw a clearer timeline/family tree and go more in depth with the greater historical/social context & significance. i'm willing to take this for what it really is, though: a personal account of the bands that resonated with the author ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
some critiques that i will stand by: it was jarring to see so many references to brand new without ever addressing jesse lacey. i was also disappointed that, while there was some cursory discussion of toxic masculinity early on, it never addressed sexism & misogyny in the scene. i was hoping for a section in a similar vein to jessica hopper's "where the girls aren't" essay.
i guess i was a little... underwhelmed by how heavily this book coasts on nostalgia. last year i went to a jessica hopper/hanif abdurraqib talk hosted by kcrw & abdurraqib said something about emo that kept popping into my head while reading: "without rigorous accountability, nostalgia is kind of worthless." i do think people should be allowed to look back fondly at things that soundtracked crucial moments in their lives & continue to enjoy them. i would just hope that they do so with newfound clarity— to recognize the bad parts & to reckon with how to handle them moving forward.
overall, the author's passion is palpable & i'm happy for her! unfortunately, the title talks some big game & falls short. like i said, this was a fun read & it's probably great if you're really just looking to reminisce. it doesn't really bring anything new to the table for me, though, so i'll keep waiting for an andy greenwald level book about this era.
definitely closer to a selectively-sourced retrospective than the "comprehensive look" described on the back cover, but i'm actually okay with that? i just wish the title wasn't so misleading. i thought it would be a quick, easy read & i was right. not particularly complex analysis— very surface level explanations with uneven coverage. but you know what? i had some fun! as someone who went into this book with a (probably) above average level of knowledge on the subject, i liked it as a collection of firsthand quotes and stories.
it felt a little like being cornered at a party & getting a ted talk from someone's older sister... which might actually be kind of fitting for this topic? sure, i would have loved to see markarian draw a clearer timeline/family tree and go more in depth with the greater historical/social context & significance. i'm willing to take this for what it really is, though: a personal account of the bands that resonated with the author ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
some critiques that i will stand by: it was jarring to see so many references to brand new without ever addressing jesse lacey. i was also disappointed that, while there was some cursory discussion of toxic masculinity early on, it never addressed sexism & misogyny in the scene. i was hoping for a section in a similar vein to jessica hopper's "where the girls aren't" essay.
i guess i was a little... underwhelmed by how heavily this book coasts on nostalgia. last year i went to a jessica hopper/hanif abdurraqib talk hosted by kcrw & abdurraqib said something about emo that kept popping into my head while reading: "without rigorous accountability, nostalgia is kind of worthless." i do think people should be allowed to look back fondly at things that soundtracked crucial moments in their lives & continue to enjoy them. i would just hope that they do so with newfound clarity— to recognize the bad parts & to reckon with how to handle them moving forward.
overall, the author's passion is palpable & i'm happy for her! unfortunately, the title talks some big game & falls short. like i said, this was a fun read & it's probably great if you're really just looking to reminisce. it doesn't really bring anything new to the table for me, though, so i'll keep waiting for an andy greenwald level book about this era.