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bahareads's reviews
1019 reviews
Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I love all the Stormlight Archive novellas. They are so compelling. I love the diversity in characterization, this is the first 'disabled' character (that I can recall) in the Stormlight Archive series. The plot was fun.
I do think the book was a bit of a set-up for the main series. It was sometimes obvious what was going on to happen.
I do think the book was a bit of a set-up for the main series. It was sometimes obvious what was going on to happen.
The Revolution from Within: Cuba, 1959-1980 by
informative
fast-paced
3.5
I had to skim through for class - a series of essays that span a wide range of topics all centered on the main topic. It is very interesting.
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reading this as an e-book took TIME. I read this off and on from August to April. The first section of the book was a bit slow but the latter half was quick and engaging. The series keeps on giving. I cannot wait to see what else happens
A History of Family Planning in Twentieth-Century Peru by Raúl Necochea López
3.5
skimmed over for a graduate class
Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A childhood classic that I listened to on audiobook. I'm falling in love with Anne and the other characters all over again. It is so interesting listening to this book as an adult. It is a different perspective.
Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 by Piero Gleijeses
informative
medium-paced
3.5
Piero Gleijeses argues that Castro’s foreign policy in Africa was driven by revolutionary zeal and self-preservation and that by helping spark revolutions in Africa that the United States and other Western powers had to deal with it took the pressure off of Cuba during the fraught time of the Cold War.
Gleijeses uses Zaire and Angola as case studies to show Cold War crises in Africa up to 1976, and the United States' foreign policy in Africa. He proves throughout the book that the United States did not see Cuba as a threat in Africa. He shows readers using US officials’ own words they were surprised at Cuban intervention in Africa. Gleijeses states that Cuban intervention in Africa was a continuum of Cuba's relations with Africa, the Soviet Union, and the United States. He emphasises that African intervention was easier than Latin American intervention for Cuba because it had fewer risks and there was no head-to-head collision with the United States, though Cuba had more similarities to countries in Latin America than in Africa.
One of Gleijeses’ methods is to use a semi-biographical narrative approach for the book. He traces the various African leaders, Fidel Castro, and Che Guevara actions and uses their personal documents to show how the various leaders shaped the historical events throughout the book. Gleijeses intervenes in Cold War historiography by telling a story from below. He shows the perspective of a 'third-world' country helping and intervening in another 'third-world' country. Gleijeses tells the voice of the ‘defeated’ of the Cold War years.
Gleijeses uses Zaire and Angola as case studies to show Cold War crises in Africa up to 1976, and the United States' foreign policy in Africa. He proves throughout the book that the United States did not see Cuba as a threat in Africa. He shows readers using US officials’ own words they were surprised at Cuban intervention in Africa. Gleijeses states that Cuban intervention in Africa was a continuum of Cuba's relations with Africa, the Soviet Union, and the United States. He emphasises that African intervention was easier than Latin American intervention for Cuba because it had fewer risks and there was no head-to-head collision with the United States, though Cuba had more similarities to countries in Latin America than in Africa.
One of Gleijeses’ methods is to use a semi-biographical narrative approach for the book. He traces the various African leaders, Fidel Castro, and Che Guevara actions and uses their personal documents to show how the various leaders shaped the historical events throughout the book. Gleijeses intervenes in Cold War historiography by telling a story from below. He shows the perspective of a 'third-world' country helping and intervening in another 'third-world' country. Gleijeses tells the voice of the ‘defeated’ of the Cold War years.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A childhood classic that I listened to on audiobook. I adore LMM's writing style and characters. I felt like a child again listening to this book. All of the characters are so loveable, and I do love them.
One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I have been a fan of Yoon but this book was a disappointment.
One of Our Kind lacked depth. Yoon wrote this book for White readers. If you want to be hit over the head with racial discourse the book could be for you. The book gets a star simply because it was a finished product. I would have put this book down but saw it through to the end because my friend had vented to me about it. I thought 'surely not Yoon!' I was wrong.
One of Our Kind follows the Williams, a Black family, moving into the wealthy Black neighbourhood, Liberty. The wife, Jasmyn, is pro-Black. PRO-BLACK. By the end of the book, the rhetoric is almost Black-Israelite Black. She's so pro-black, she is anti-Black. Jasmyn is searching for like-minded people inside the neighbourhood and finds a small community (which was slowly chipped away at in the book). She has a bad feeling about Liberty which cannot be shaken though her husband, King LOVES it.
Jasmyn and King argue back and forth about their neighbours and living in the neighbourhood. They also argue about how Black or not-Black they are being. Jasmyn believes Black people should only have natural hair, be of darker skin colour, talk about racism and racial trauma constantly, and give unhealthy portions of time to giving back to the community. If you do not fall into (and all) of these categories you're a coon! Hair is the thing Jasmyn comments on the most when she meets someone. She can tell if you're One of Her Kind or not by it. Nicola Yoon has Jasmyn focus on the hardest aspects of the Black experience, it is pounded time and time again into the reader. There is no Black joy or love in this book. It is probably shocking to the White reader, but tiring for a Black one.
Yoon brings in details about the Williams family once for the plot and never mentions them again. I honestly forgot Jasmyn was pregnant because it was NEVER mentioned again. Side characters are not fleshed out. They are only there for the plot. King - THE FREAKIN HUSBAND - is not developed as a character at all.
A Black woman writing this type of novel is sad. What makes it worse is all the people who read this book before publication and let it happen. No one stopped to think critically about the message, the narration, or the characterization. Let me say, White people it is okay to say "Hey this doesn't seem right to me," even when talking about Black characters. At least it will bring some discussion, and one or both conversation parties can be enlightened.
Do not just read my review about it. Other Black women say the same thing.
One of Our Kind lacked depth. Yoon wrote this book for White readers. If you want to be hit over the head with racial discourse the book could be for you. The book gets a star simply because it was a finished product. I would have put this book down but saw it through to the end because my friend had vented to me about it. I thought 'surely not Yoon!' I was wrong.
One of Our Kind follows the Williams, a Black family, moving into the wealthy Black neighbourhood, Liberty. The wife, Jasmyn, is pro-Black. PRO-BLACK. By the end of the book, the rhetoric is almost Black-Israelite Black. She's so pro-black, she is anti-Black. Jasmyn is searching for like-minded people inside the neighbourhood and finds a small community (which was slowly chipped away at in the book). She has a bad feeling about Liberty which cannot be shaken though her husband, King LOVES it.
Jasmyn and King argue back and forth about their neighbours and living in the neighbourhood. They also argue about how Black or not-Black they are being. Jasmyn believes Black people should only have natural hair, be of darker skin colour, talk about racism and racial trauma constantly, and give unhealthy portions of time to giving back to the community. If you do not fall into (and all) of these categories you're a coon! Hair is the thing Jasmyn comments on the most when she meets someone. She can tell if you're One of Her Kind or not by it. Nicola Yoon has Jasmyn focus on the hardest aspects of the Black experience, it is pounded time and time again into the reader. There is no Black joy or love in this book. It is probably shocking to the White reader, but tiring for a Black one.
Yoon brings in details about the Williams family once for the plot and never mentions them again. I honestly forgot Jasmyn was pregnant because it was NEVER mentioned again. Side characters are not fleshed out. They are only there for the plot. King - THE FREAKIN HUSBAND - is not developed as a character at all.
A Black woman writing this type of novel is sad. What makes it worse is all the people who read this book before publication and let it happen. No one stopped to think critically about the message, the narration, or the characterization. Let me say, White people it is okay to say "Hey this doesn't seem right to me," even when talking about Black characters. At least it will bring some discussion, and one or both conversation parties can be enlightened.
Do not just read my review about it. Other Black women say the same thing.
Celia Sanchez Manduley: The Life and Legacy of a Cuban Revolutionary by Tiffany A. Sippial
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Tiffany Sippial argues that by using Celia Sánchez’s life as a lens, one can see how the revolutionary’s “New Woman” was being made and remade with Sánchez as the standard. Sippial uses her book to answer posed questions about the official narrative purpose of Celia Sánchez’s life, like the lack of focus on her child and early adulthood. Through these questions Sippial contrasts who Sánchez was, with and against the official narrative.
Sippial employs feminist biography and cultural history methodologies to make history and mythology indistinguishable. She shows Sánchez becoming the embodiment of the New Woman, similar to J.M. Taylor’s study of Eva Perón. Sippial acknowledges her own presence, and the subjectivity needed for biography as a form of historical inquiry. She starts each chapter with her personal experiences in researching Sánchez. Sippial examines Sánchez’s purposeful and strategic framing of her public image, balancing it with concerns of time, space, and gender constraints. She looks at meanings assigned to Sánchez’s experiences within official discourses, memory, and sites of memorialization. An example of interrogating meaning is examining Sánchez’s embodiment of a mariposa and how it links her to national mythology.
Sippial uses a feminist biographer lens for her work, building upon the work of other feminist biographers like Susan Crane. She builds on the biographical work of Cuban women and gender studies. Sippial invites other scholars to explore the possibilities that exist in feminist biographies to enrich and understand women’s lives while emphasising there is more work to be done in this area of historiography. Sippial differs from other writers on Sánchez because she starts with Sanchez’s childhood instead of her revolutionary work.
One of Sippial’s points is that by posing questions one can see Sánchez’s life against the broader discourse of acceptable revolutionary womanhood as Sánchez is lauded as the acceptable revolutionary woman. Sippial’s second point is it is necessary to start with Sánchez’s childhood in her biography to understand her approach to politics. Sánchez’s life story is linked to the foundational myths of the revolutionary experience as a struggle for solidarity and survival (8, 11). The third point is the timing of Sánchez’s death, alongside the revolutionary government losing effectiveness, helped shape the official narratives of her life and career. Sánchez’s life and important contributions have been shaped through the cross-pollination of voices, memory, and media.
Sippial employs feminist biography and cultural history methodologies to make history and mythology indistinguishable. She shows Sánchez becoming the embodiment of the New Woman, similar to J.M. Taylor’s study of Eva Perón. Sippial acknowledges her own presence, and the subjectivity needed for biography as a form of historical inquiry. She starts each chapter with her personal experiences in researching Sánchez. Sippial examines Sánchez’s purposeful and strategic framing of her public image, balancing it with concerns of time, space, and gender constraints. She looks at meanings assigned to Sánchez’s experiences within official discourses, memory, and sites of memorialization. An example of interrogating meaning is examining Sánchez’s embodiment of a mariposa and how it links her to national mythology.
Sippial uses a feminist biographer lens for her work, building upon the work of other feminist biographers like Susan Crane. She builds on the biographical work of Cuban women and gender studies. Sippial invites other scholars to explore the possibilities that exist in feminist biographies to enrich and understand women’s lives while emphasising there is more work to be done in this area of historiography. Sippial differs from other writers on Sánchez because she starts with Sanchez’s childhood instead of her revolutionary work.
One of Sippial’s points is that by posing questions one can see Sánchez’s life against the broader discourse of acceptable revolutionary womanhood as Sánchez is lauded as the acceptable revolutionary woman. Sippial’s second point is it is necessary to start with Sánchez’s childhood in her biography to understand her approach to politics. Sánchez’s life story is linked to the foundational myths of the revolutionary experience as a struggle for solidarity and survival (8, 11). The third point is the timing of Sánchez’s death, alongside the revolutionary government losing effectiveness, helped shape the official narratives of her life and career. Sánchez’s life and important contributions have been shaped through the cross-pollination of voices, memory, and media.
The Sexual Question: A History of Prostitution in Peru, 1850s-1950s by Paulo Drinot
funny
informative
reflective
4.5
Paulo Drinot examines both the creation and closure of Lima's Barrio Rojo and tells us about Peruvian society in the first half of the 20th century. He tells readers why prostitution regulation was adopted and then abandoned, and how that tells readers about the history of Lima and Peru. His approach intersects with studies that look at the gendered character of state formation in Latin America. He adopts an approach to studying the state that moves beyond seeing the state as a paternal and patriarchal state acting upon society. He challenges the idea that the medicalization of prostitution and disease was an elite 'top-down' project.
He says "In Peru, projects were highly racialized, officials began to look and see if the Indian could be redeemable or improved" and that there was a belief that "Prostitutes [were] needed to be made safe for men to turn them away from sexual perversions like gayness or masturbation." By studying prosititon it explores ideas about how male and female sexuality informed attempts to govern prostitution and venereal disease. The regulation of prostitution in Lima produced two things: (1) society was increasingly pathologized (Euro racial thought influenced the Latin American elite's views of themselves) & (2) Pathologized society allowed for regeneration and civilization.
He says "In Peru, projects were highly racialized, officials began to look and see if the Indian could be redeemable or improved" and that there was a belief that "Prostitutes [were] needed to be made safe for men to turn them away from sexual perversions like gayness or masturbation." By studying prosititon it explores ideas about how male and female sexuality informed attempts to govern prostitution and venereal disease. The regulation of prostitution in Lima produced two things: (1) society was increasingly pathologized (Euro racial thought influenced the Latin American elite's views of themselves) & (2) Pathologized society allowed for regeneration and civilization.