brannonkrkhuang's reviews
337 reviews
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt: Stories, by Aimee Bender
dark
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
Got this book as a holiday gift and have already finished reading it! I adore Aimee Bender. I discovered her this year when I read Willful Creatures on a plane ride and it was the most surprising and shocking thing I read all year. So good!!! This book does not disappoint. There is more creativity in these stories than I can comprehend. I am left awe-stricken and in awe.
Selected Poems, by E.E. Cummings
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Some good poems and some bad poems, but the creativity goes crazy.
The Once and Future King, by T.H. White
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
I stopped reading at about page 135 after seeing the N word, the racist stereotypes of Native Americans, and the icing on the vile cake, a justification of slavery and feudalism (the owners feed their cattle, so OF COURSE they would feed their slaves and treat them great too!)
YIKES!!! What an awful, terrible, garbage book.
YIKES!!! What an awful, terrible, garbage book.
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1, by Gege Akutami
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is perhaps the definition of great Manga. So nice to actually read something good after suffering through Dragon Ball. This book has incredible action sequences, it's hilarious, and it's got a lot of heart.
There There, by Tommy Orange
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is insanely good. The way these characters connect and the culmination of all their parts coming together creates something so powerful that I've been talking about it all day. Essential read right here.
The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
I really liked this book and it is what finally gave me the confidence to go from "agnostic" to full-on atheist. I feel great and happy and at peace right now, which is a massive relief. I have been deconstructing and trying to escape from this faith for years. This book truly makes leaving the faith easy, and it answers a lot of questions you might be feeling, so I highly recommend it. There was one bit at the end of this book that made me feel uncomfortable, and that was when the author almost seemed to imply that the sexual abuse scandal in the church wasn't really that bad (when compared to the indoctrination of children). I didn't like this, because I don't think it's right to lessen the impact and harm of sexual abuse in order to make the point that indoctrination is wrong. Don't misunderstand me, indoctrination is very wrong, but I know christians who are very loving and non-bigoted and happy, and they're able to attribute that to their faith, but there's never going to ever be a time when sexual abuse is OK, and the fact that people in positions of power in the church have been abusing children is such a nightmare that it should never be diminished. Both the indoctrination of children and the rampant sexual abuse in churches are evil. One does not diminish the other.
Franny and Zooey, by J.D. Salinger
hopeful
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
Sometimes, Salinger is just all there is. And it doesn't get any more than that.
Out of the Shadows, by Justina Ireland
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This High Republic book is fun and feels like it's building up to something big.
Who Rules the World?, by Noam Chomsky
fast-paced
5.0
What an incredible, biting, depressing, honest book. It is clear, now more than ever, that the U.S. is not and has never been a "moral" or "great" nation, despite what its people may try to claim. We are the terrorists we claim to hate. We are filled to the brim with hypocrisy.