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xcinnamonsugar's reviews
199 reviews
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
3.0
A creative spin on the magic and monsters of childhood imagination. Quick and easy read.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
2.0
Read this for book club, not quite my cup of tea.
Death's End by Cixin Liu
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
It would have been nice to finish this trilogy, but given the pace of the opening of this book I can't quite justify spending hours reading this instead of something else. Also I'm not convinced that the effort to finish reading Dark Forest was sufficiently rewarding, so I'm less inclined to give this book a shot.
The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center by Rhaina Cohen
5.0
This book is so beautifully written, it made me all warm and fuzzy and is definitely worth a reread.
Unlike many self-help psych books that espouse the value of strong relationships, with the inevitable emphasis on romantic relationships, this book actively centers non-conventional, nuanced relationships that those involved often struggle to put a mainstream label on. Cohen also speaks to how all relationships, even traditional marriage-based relationships, would greatly benefit from a conscious dissection of values, expectations and a “pre-mortem” airing of concerns.
Unlike many self-help psych books that espouse the value of strong relationships, with the inevitable emphasis on romantic relationships, this book actively centers non-conventional, nuanced relationships that those involved often struggle to put a mainstream label on. Cohen also speaks to how all relationships, even traditional marriage-based relationships, would greatly benefit from a conscious dissection of values, expectations and a “pre-mortem” airing of concerns.
Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey
inspiring
4.0
This book is a wonderfully uplifting and inspiring read. Hersey acknowledges the pervasiveness and brutality of grind culture, while also offering simple but powerful ways of subverting it. It is a manifesto, and sometimes it felt like reading the transcript of a poetic, hippie church sermon. But in spite of that, this is truly a message that everyone needs to hear.
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
I’m sure this book has some brilliant evolutionary ideas but I find the writing style—a mix of scientific fact and the personification of historical species—rather jarring and distracting.
The School of Life: An Emotional Education by Alain de Botton
5.0
Gem after certifiable gem- this book contains some beautifully insightful nuggets of wisdom, communicated in deceptively simple language. I'd love to revisit this every once in awhile.
A Higher Loyalty by James B. Comey, James Comey
A worthwhile read and fascinating insight into a high-profile + high-stakes role and the difficult decisions it entails.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
fast-paced
3.0
This was a starkly different read from Babel—it has the easy readability of chick lit while weaving in current themes like cancel culture and the cesspool that is strangers on the internet.
The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu
slow-paced
Liu’s writing has me hooked when it comes to space science and philosophy, but the prose about the characters’ daily lives is meandering and banal. This book was way too slow in the middle, although it started off strong and I really enjoyed the game-theory-of-cosmic-sociology spin at the end.