crippytay's reviews
121 reviews

Bear: Myth, Animal, Icon by Wolf D. Storl

3.5

I was sort of surprised by this book. It wasn’t really what I thought but I learned so much! The Christian story of a man coming out of the earth in a cave blocked by a stone was really all about bears! And the beefeaters are a nod to berserkers. And Smokey bear was going to be Bambi. Anyway. It was interesting. I got lost sometimes in the middle when things were about myths and it felt like the same myth was repeated over and over. Or told in a really dry way with few details. The topics were definitely interesting. But I found the story telling and the cohesion of ideas missing quite a lot. 

A Wild and Precious Life: A Memoir by Joshua Lyon, Edie Windsor

emotional

4.75

Such a great book! I thought it was really well done and well written (that is, until the ending - it got a little chaotic and lazy) but I liked the format of her telling the story and then Joshua giving some context and background at the end of the chapter. It worked well. I had no idea who this woman was before I picked up the book. But I’m so glad I did. It was easy to read and understand even though there were a whole lot of characters in and out of the story. 

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

3.5

There was a lot that I liked about this book. The content is interesting: I like the blend of personal story with history and culture of Appalachia. But it was incredibly sexist and homophobic especially in an attempt to be funny. Maybe just a product of its time, but it was so overt in some places that it was distracting. 

Fylling's Illustrated Guide to Pacific Coast Tide Pools by Marni Fylling

4.5

The pictures were excellent and I especially loved learning about the ways these creatures help (or could help) in our lives. Sometimes I wish there was a bit more info, but it was a great starting point!

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

5.0

I’ve never read David Copperfield, but now I really want to. I think Barbara Kingsolver has such a knack for telling stories in such a poetic, real, and humorous way. Loved this one - especially the last couple chapters and the poetry in the ending and growth. 

We Survived the End of the World: Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope by Steven Charleston

“We are the axis point of apocalypse. The degree to which we participate in the apocalyptic process can tip the scales and determine the outcome. Therefore, our greatest problem is not necessarily the event itself but our reaction to it. Resignation is the challenge….Resignation dulls the mind. Like a narcotic it puts us into an ethical trance and leaves us immobilized in the face of danger. We watch wars come and go, dictators rise and fall, the poor struggle and die, imagining that this is the way it was meant to be, resigning ourselves to the role of spectators to our own demise rather than participants in our shared salvation.”

“The change from individualism to individuality, the finding of unity in diversity, is the vision we seek.”

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson

5.0

Recommended from my therapist and really opened my eyes to a lot of things in a very nonjudgmental way. 

Butts: A Backstory by Heather Radke

funny informative reflective

4.5

I didn’t expect to like this book so much, but I found myself wanting to talk to everyone about what I was learning. As others have said, the pacing was off and I felt like it ended abruptly. I definitely wanted more! 

The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor by Mark Schatzker

informative

1.5

I was really confused about this book. I finished it because by the time I realized how elitist and fat phobic the author was I found myself thinking again and again about the premise and the information about flavor that I was encountering everywhere in my life. 

While the content was fascinating, the author actually felt like the worst person - early in the book it made comments about his moral superiority to people who eat the foods he was disparaging, he got the university of the professor in the book wrong, and kept describing something for way too long to then suddenly reveal the thing he was talking about like it was some sort of genius literary technique. 

By the end of the book, he discussed possible solutions to the issue, but really they were: I know it’s expensive, but your body is worth it. Never mind that we live in a capitalist hellscape where plenty of people already can’t afford the necessary food for their families. It was a huge disappointment, though not at all surprising coming from this ego centric man. 

I just so badly wished someone else wrote this book. Let me know if they did. ;)

The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild by Thomas D. Seeley
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.

Just felt really technical. Maybe later. But for now I’ll keep it as something to fall asleep to!