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valetparkering's reviews
259 reviews
Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture by Kyle Chayka
4.0
I haven't been on tiktok since the "ban" over a month ago and honestly, I don't think I'm going back.
I'm also making a conscious effort to unplug and be aware of the ways that algorithms distort my experience online. Outrage clickbait isn't healthy for anyone
I'm also making a conscious effort to unplug and be aware of the ways that algorithms distort my experience online. Outrage clickbait isn't healthy for anyone
Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
The exposition is so clunky, what should be basic concepts of the world have been repeated multiple times but at the same time I don't understand why any of it works in the way that it does? The main character has a fully developed political worldview and the characters talk in Themes at each other.
Apparently this is pulled together from several of the author's short stories so maybe I'll read those instead, as I'm still interested in their work. The jump from short fiction to novel is a long one.
Apparently this is pulled together from several of the author's short stories so maybe I'll read those instead, as I'm still interested in their work. The jump from short fiction to novel is a long one.
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks
4.0
Look, this was published in 2004. Some phrasing has not aged well. But we're taking what works and leaving the rest.
Chapter 7 for me was particularly insightful (more highlighting/underlining) but the whole thing is (obviously) worthwhile and necessary reading, not like it needed me to verify that.
I was a little wary of the framing of men as an "embodiment of the divine" or whatever the particular phrasing was, I don't have my copy in front of me. In surrounding paragraphs she specifies "religions that have male deities" but tbh any dive into spirituality starts to put me on edge.
For the people saying that she doesn't offer any concrete pathways for men to change: first off this book is about men developing the will to change, meaning they have to want it first, which is disincentivized by patriarchy. Second, I think it's pretty clear that men need to develop feminist thought and build communities to help other men and continue looking to women for guidance. Women, for their part, need to deconstruct their own sexist thinking and not reject men who are putting in the work and showing vulnerability.
Also side note the Harry Potter bashing has aged so well.
Chapter 7 for me was particularly insightful (more highlighting/underlining) but the whole thing is (obviously) worthwhile and necessary reading, not like it needed me to verify that.
I was a little wary of the framing of men as an "embodiment of the divine" or whatever the particular phrasing was, I don't have my copy in front of me. In surrounding paragraphs she specifies "religions that have male deities" but tbh any dive into spirituality starts to put me on edge.
For the people saying that she doesn't offer any concrete pathways for men to change: first off this book is about men developing the will to change, meaning they have to want it first, which is disincentivized by patriarchy. Second, I think it's pretty clear that men need to develop feminist thought and build communities to help other men and continue looking to women for guidance. Women, for their part, need to deconstruct their own sexist thinking and not reject men who are putting in the work and showing vulnerability.
Also side note the Harry Potter bashing has aged so well.
Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir
4.0
Fun, if a bit repetitive. Enjoyed the character development, clever turns of phrase, and subversion of tropes. I think we should let more protagonists be a little sheltered in this way, not that they're naive but just unused to thinking in the way the plot demands of them.
Really I'm just trying to bridge the gap of the Alectopause
Really I'm just trying to bridge the gap of the Alectopause
Seasons in Hippoland by Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ
3.5
Not the kind of magical realism I'm used to. I appreciated the message and the writing was beautiful. Just seemed a little thin at points.
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
2.5
Disrespectfully, if you're going to do a gender swap, do it to BOTH of them. Can't have that because there's a romance and then it might be ~~~~gay~~~~
I must admit, I'm already predisposed against retellings like this, ESPECIALLY when they feel they need to justify their retelling by having them be descended from the original characters.
Plot wise this is fine I guess? Except it does the thing that BBC Sherlock does where Holmes is withholding so much information from Watson and also everything ties into Moriarty.
Watson is constantly thinking about his crush on Holmes, and while I usually like this dynamic where the dude is more in love, it was just distracting because it was dripping with not-like-other-girls energy.
Within the first five minutes Watson is also fawning over her accent and since this was written by a USAmerican author, it just reeks of an inferiority complex.
I must admit, I'm already predisposed against retellings like this, ESPECIALLY when they feel they need to justify their retelling by having them be descended from the original characters.
Plot wise this is fine I guess? Except it does the thing that BBC Sherlock does where Holmes is withholding so much information from Watson and also everything ties into Moriarty.
Watson is constantly thinking about his crush on Holmes, and while I usually like this dynamic where the dude is more in love, it was just distracting because it was dripping with not-like-other-girls energy.
Within the first five minutes Watson is also fawning over her accent and since this was written by a USAmerican author, it just reeks of an inferiority complex.
In the Shadow of the Fall by Tobi Ogundiran
3.75
Moved very quickly within a rich world. Hate to say this but it probably needed some more pages just to let some of the revelations breathe
The different magics were interesting and I liked Ashake as a character
The different magics were interesting and I liked Ashake as a character
You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Jeffrey Cranor, Janina Matthewson
4.5
I fell off of Night Vale and related media early in my college career, so I haven't listened to the podcast that this is tied into.
Anyway. Irrelevant.
I really loved the tension between Miriam and the editors, and how you become less and less sure of their objectivity as the book goes on (for me it was kind of snarky and then there was a hard break around the Age Ten Protocols).
Bonus points for being casually queer
Anyway. Irrelevant.
I really loved the tension between Miriam and the editors, and how you become less and less sure of their objectivity as the book goes on (for me it was kind of snarky and then there was a hard break around the Age Ten Protocols).
Bonus points for being casually queer
Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates
4.0
Unfortunately this is my house so none of the info was new and since the book is five years old, quite a bit outdated. I think a lot of these pipelines are still functioning, but the actors have changed quite a lot (I think Bates would get a kick out of Andrew Tate). The internet moves quickly.
That said, I really appreciated the passion that came across in the writing. Bates is not interested in softening her message and I liked how directly she dismantled some of the more petty retorts.
I was a little on edge the whole time (as I usually am with feminist pieces) if trans women were going to be addressed in any way. I don't think they were directly, but I didn't spot any terf rhetoric and the author always used LGBT (as opposed to LGB) and there were some nods to racial intersectionality. The book was overall focused on the different man-centered communities and how they encourage violence against women as a whole.
That said, I really appreciated the passion that came across in the writing. Bates is not interested in softening her message and I liked how directly she dismantled some of the more petty retorts.
I was a little on edge the whole time (as I usually am with feminist pieces) if trans women were going to be addressed in any way. I don't think they were directly, but I didn't spot any terf rhetoric and the author always used LGBT (as opposed to LGB) and there were some nods to racial intersectionality. The book was overall focused on the different man-centered communities and how they encourage violence against women as a whole.
The Warden by Daniel M. Ford
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.
Novelization of the author's dnd campaign. Stopped right when the love interest and company joined so that was probably the plot hook but I just don't caaaaaaaaaaaare