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baguettekelly's reviews
208 reviews
Who's Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
I see the merit in this book, but it wasn’t what I was looking for in an “introductory” gender studies text. It’s a dense tome of technical terms I don’t know used to describe concepts I do. This is probably more appropriate for a reader who has some academic experience in philosophy or social science and is looking to apply those concepts to gender.
Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth
dark
tense
2.5
This is at least partially on me for not reading the content warnings, but this book was so dark and disgusting that it was hard to get through. It may be for you if you are looking to feel deeply horrified this Halloween season.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
challenging
dark
reflective
4.75
This was a book club assignment a bit outside my normal taste and I was sure it’d be a slog, but wow Ms. Kingsolver has written a masterpiece of a story. Demon’s voice is authentic and familiar, and the way the book speaks about the characters of his world makes them feel like your community, too. The depiction of the opioid epidemic here is sensitive while remaining true to life. This book is an excellent read for anyone trying to understand the human side of the cycle of addiction in which so many Americans find themselves trapped, and will deeply resonate with readers who have watched it happen in their hometowns.
I was disappointed with the very end of the story. Demon and Angus’s platonic love was one of my favorite relationships in the book (and I loved Angus’s badass gender nonconformity and disinterest in teen romance), so I was bummed to see that flip out of nowhere. It reads like a rom com trope plopped into an otherwise very dark novel. I know this was a David Copperfield homage, but I struggle to see how this was a necessary one given all of the other liberties taken with Agnes/Angus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet
dark
mysterious
3.0
I do see the vision with the format and I liked the meditation on the many selves one person can have, but much of this book was neither plot nor vibes
Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined by Stephenie Meyer
3.0
I committed too hard to the bit and read this thing. It’s about as silly as you would expect and doesn’t prove any feminist points about Twilight, but Stephenie Meyer sells books for a reason, and she’s skilled as ever at capturing the tension and melodrama of being a teen with a crush on a vampire who would love to kill you. Happy Twilight season to us all.
Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran
dark
funny
reflective
3.75