mads_jpg's reviews
155 reviews

Working Girl: On Selling Art and Selling Sex by Sophia Giovannitti

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.75

An incredibly interesting comparison between how the art industry and sex work function under capitalism. Couldn't put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Trafficking, Blood, Alcohol, Deportation, Sexual violence, Classism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual content

Sex work, feminism, art, art criticism

Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman

dark emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Minor: Self harm

Heartstopper Volume 3 by Alice Oseman

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

So lovely reading this after watching the show, they really followed the source material so closely I love it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Alcohol, Self harm, Bullying, and Eating disorder

The Nerves and Their Endings: essays on crisis and response by Jessica Gaitán Johannesson

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I struggled with this book at first, finding it simultaneously too academic and too poetic for me to understand, but as it went on I found myself enjoying it more and more. It's both uplifting in how it discusses hope and depressing in how it describes the fear and uncertainty that comes with future-planning in this current time. I'm left feeling a lot of complicated emotions now that it's over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Eating disorder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Death of parent

How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm

challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is the book I've been needing. While I was disappointed the book didn't  provide clear instructions on direct actions readers can take, and I don't agree with some of the author's points, I still can't let myself give this anything less than 5 stars for the hope it's given me for the climate movement. Something I feared I was losing hold of.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Slavery, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search by Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, Gene Luen Yang

adventurous dark funny lighthearted 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

A fun addition to the Avatar story, I always wanted to know what happened to Zuko's mother so I was happy that this answer didn't disappoint. I loved how it incorporated the spirit world and the flashback sequences, but I found Azula frustrating and the ending was a bit rushed.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby

challenging dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

3.75

Bloody funny and emotional but also bloody long. I genuinely really enjoyed it but I do wish some parts were edited down just a liiiittle bit more, but I can see with a story this personal it must've been hard to cut it down. If you liked Nanette then you'll obviously like this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto by Legacy Russell

challenging hopeful inspiring fast-paced

3.5

Very interesting book, but a lot of it definitely went over my head. Want to look into cyber feminism more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Body shaming, Colonisation, Transphobia, Misogyny, Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Joker for authors.

Nah but for real, this was a great read and helped get me out of my reading slump. The commentary on the publishing industry and 'cancel culture' and cultur l appropriation was super interesting. My only issue was that the ending felt a bit rushed/cliche. I also found that pretty much every character was unlikable in some way, I'm sure this was to add nuance and show that there's 'bad people on both sides' but it just frustrated me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Vomit, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Cursing, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, and War

This Is Your Time by Ruby Bridges

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.75

I didn't realize that this book was intended for children, so I am partly disappointed because I was keen to read a more academic account of Bridges' experience, but I am glad that kids will have this book to educate them, and show them how they do have a voice in social justice movements. This is a great introduction to the civil rights movement for kids, and I did learn a few things I wasn't taught when I first studied this time period. So I still don't regret reading this even though I'm not really the target audience.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Domestic abuse, Mass/school shootings, and Police brutality