valetparkering's reviews
262 reviews

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

5.0

Reread for book club

Even knowing how it ends, I was still on the edge of my seat at the tensest moments. 

I really appreciate Tchai's outlook and the thesis of this book in particular that empathy is a necessary and powerful force. 

The structure of this book (watching human society fall as spider society rises) was interesting and in some ways I was more invested in the spider storyline than the human's.

There are many chilling moments that just come with the territory of generation ships.

These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs

4.0

The thing I enjoyed above everything else was the characters. They're complex and compelling, especially when they're being terrible to each other. 

Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film by Carol J. Clover

3.5

A foundational text, Not sure I agree with absolutely everything, at some point the Freudian analysis gets a little silly

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones

5.0

I know they're mostly engaging in bad faith but a lot of the one-star reviews are criticizing the book on points that Hannah-Jones is directly addressing in the foreword. It's only looking at American history through the lens of race because that's the whole idea behind the project. What would it mean to redefine "The American Story" as one fundamentally about race? She also addresses that this kind of recontextualization is NORMAL in academia, but a large swath of people bombing this book are people that stopped learning after high school.

I really appreciated the format in particular, the blend of nonfiction journalism and history writing with poetry and short stories. I've been thinking a lot about what authors choose to write about in fiction stems from their lived experiences and how we can find better visions for reality in fiction. Since historiography is literally about constructing narrative, I don't think these things are too far removed from each other.

Metal from Heaven by August Clarke

4.5

Wonderful book about destruction and devotion. Unrelentingly horny. The writing was often blurry, which helped put me in the mc's perspective. I'm always a sucker for second person narration. 

Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew

5.0

Very good primer with an approachable writing style. Nothing new here if you're familiar with disability justice but everything has its audience. 

I think it would have benefitted if the thesis were a bit stronger throughout the chapters, but the author said she was trying to make them viable as standalone works. 

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

2.5

somehow these bitches just keep TALKING all the way to the end. Most of my thoughts are expressed better by K J Charles review on good reads, but I'm a tad bit more annoyed than they seem to be. 

The writing was good but I was begging the universe for absolutely anything to happen

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

3.0

Fine book. World was interesting, the main character was interesting. I wasn't very invested in the plot so the mystery elements fell kind of flat. I spent most of the book wondering what we were doing, it didn't feel like the characters were very motivated to go the places they went, if that makes sense.

Mad Ship by Robin Hobb

3.0

Liked this a bit less than Ship of Magic, kind of has middle book syndrome. Some more things were revealed about the world, but I don't feel as compelled to start the next one. I'll probably get to it next year

Model Home by Rivers Solomon

5.0

Mx. Solomon, your MIND

I have enjoyed every book they've put out. The way they integrate so many different elements is masterful. The atmosphere and tone are just right and fae have so much to say about generational traumas and race and gender.