I came for the clever title and stayed for all the details surrounding the infamous Paris Hilton hack of the early aughts. I learned so many things in this book — many of which, frankly, I don’t know that I’ll ever use, but which were packaged so entertainingly that I didn’t quite mind. Does this text have a tendency to get lost in the sauce? Ab-so-lutely. Does this text also wade back to the main plot line, allowing you time to stew in technical details? Yup. 

I’m not a computers person - or, at least not to the extent that the very real characters outlined here do. I can do basic SQL and have spoken to computer engineers more than someone not in the industry might. This book reminded me of hitting the bong in college and letting my engineer friends tell me, a communications major, about their classes. Did I enjoy the ride? 100%. Did I understand the ride? Maybe like 65%. 

This read is a behemoth. In this context, this is a positive. This isn’t a quick beach read and that’s okay. Each section tells a different story and while many reconnect and double back, Shapiro is great about reconnecting threads and reorienting the reader after adventuring through a parallel story. 

This has everything I personally want in nonfiction: a passionate, informed narrator, clearly detailed stories, and an author who isn’t afraid to break the fourth wall when it comes to explaining details.

Them Before Us: Why We Need a Global Children's Rights Movement by Stacy Manning, Katy Faust

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fast-paced

0.25

Poorly researched, incredibly biased, and focused on pushing a singular narrative regarding what type of home children should be in. There’s so many logical fallacies and misinterpreted data in this book.

There are many places where I don’t necessarily disagree with the authors on the existence of issues in society. I have deep concerns about the fertility industry and would strongly support donor conceived people-led legislation and regulation of the industry. I don’t, however, think that the authors accurately represents the donor conceived peoples rights movement.

The authors also very conveniently skirt around the movements led by adopted children to abolish the adoption for profit industry.

That being said. This book actively advocates for “traditional marriage,” uses extremely ableist and transphobic message, and uses smoking pot and attending therapy as two markers that people have a negative life.

I read this because I find it’s important to be informed about the opinions of people who support legislation that would negatively impact society. It’s so scary to know that there are people spreading such misinformation through manipulation of data. I hate that the name children’s rights has been co-opted by the anti abortion movement, especially because the primary recipient of “late term abortions” are young children who have been abused, often by the biological family members that the authors herald as the end all be of who should be allowed to parent.

Content Warnings

The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear by Nat Segaloff

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adventurous funny informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with advance access to the audiobook edition in exchange for my honest review!

Sometimes it’s hard to write compelling reviews about a book because you enjoyed it SO much that all you want to do is throw copies at everyone you know because EVERYONE needs to read it. This was one of those books for me. I read the audiobook version and the narrator is fantastic and extremely easy to listen to. This all-encompassing history of The Exorcist is deeply important for anyone with even a passing curiosity in horror, media, or the entertainment industry. I can see sections of this being added to film theory class syllabi and believe this will stand as a definitive example of how to write a history about media with such depth and importance to the canon.

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bxtskr's reviews 220 reviews

bxtskr's reviews
220 reviews