lucykateburns's reviews
93 reviews
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, by Amanda Montell
dark
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Informative in a way I didn’t expect, but often long winded and a bit cringe. I liked the analysis of MLMs and fitness crazes in particular, the rest wasn’t as memorable.
The Right to Sex: Feminism in the Twenty-First Century, by Amia Srinivasan
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Learning Teaching, by Jim Scrivener
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
A lot of great and innovative ideas. A good introductory book for those who have not taught foreign languages before. I hope what I read will be useful for the CELTA course, as it was recommended to me for this purpose! :)
My Year of Rest and Relaxation, by Ottessa Moshfegh
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Confinement, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Death of parent, Self harm, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Vomit and Suicidal thoughts
Cleopatra and Frankenstein, by Coco Mellors
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Homophobia
Minor: Chronic illness, Abandonment, Injury/injury detail, Classism, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Self harm
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Faith in the Poor, by Bob Holman
I DIDN'T LIKE:
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
2.75
I agree with the principles of this book, but more than one comment from Holman made me uncomfortable.
I LIKE:
I LIKE:
- I agree that the problems of the poor are best solved by the solutions of the poor themselves, given the proper resources.
- I liked that Holman acknowledged how valuable the services provided by the Salvation Army were, but also that they were flawed.
- I agreed with his critique of the media and the lack of down-up representation.
- I liked the simple language from Holman. This text is void of political jargon, but yet Holman's political stance is very clear. This serves greatly to what I believe was the purpose of his book.
- I enjoyed the comparisons between the end citations and the citations from the "authors" of the book.
- Holman is right that we are divided as a society. Also, I understand his logic but I just don't agree with him that it is necessary for social workers to move into the community they are going to work in.
I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I was not expecting that Faith in the Poor would mean a religious faith in the poor. This was something that particularly did not appeal to me, especially considering the comment about spiritual inferiority.
- What did Holman want to say when he said one of the girls "drifted" into prostitution? He also made some other comments that made him seem rather condescending.
- Poorly referenced and a lot of the comments made by Holman are opinions with seemingly no basis.
- Messy ending with kind of poorly formulated proposals for change, depending on who they are aimed at.
La ciudad de vapor, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Adoro a Zafón, nunca he leído algo de él que no me haya gustado. Esta colección de cuentos es tan dramática y intrigante como sus novelas y la recomiendo mucho.
Sin embargo, por mucho que me guste su trabajo, se nota mucho el machismo de Zafón. Es mi única crítica de él y en esta colección el machismo es evidente. Las mujeres casi siempre son o 'putas' (como les llama él), o novias/esposas angélicas... los dos géneros iguales en que son objectos de anhelo sexual. Es obvio que fueron escritas por un hombre... porque todas son vistas, por el lector, por los ojos de los hombres de la historia y las chicas casi nunca tienen un rol protagonista. Como bien dije, esto es la única cosa que me molesta de la escritura de Zafón y siempre me consta mencionarlo en mis reseñas.
Sin embargo, por mucho que me guste su trabajo, se nota mucho el machismo de Zafón. Es mi única crítica de él y en esta colección el machismo es evidente. Las mujeres casi siempre son o 'putas' (como les llama él), o novias/esposas angélicas... los dos géneros iguales en que son objectos de anhelo sexual. Es obvio que fueron escritas por un hombre... porque todas son vistas, por el lector, por los ojos de los hombres de la historia y las chicas casi nunca tienen un rol protagonista. Como bien dije, esto es la única cosa que me molesta de la escritura de Zafón y siempre me consta mencionarlo en mis reseñas.