paigieodo's reviews
59 reviews

Conflict Is Not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility, and the Duty of Repair by Sarah Schulman

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challenging reflective slow-paced

4.0

Part 1 contains some of the most thought-provoking writing I have ever read, and encouraged a lot of discussion with my wife. Part 3 did not.
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

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informative fast-paced

3.5

good primer on intersectional feminism that doesn’t have much opportunity to go into depth on many of its topics. could offer a very good overview for anyone just beginning to explore feminism. can sometimes be frustrating as it brings up challenging ideas, but moves passed them too quickly. that’s the nature of this kind of book, however. i suspect kendall would be well equipped to write a longer essay or even a book on many of the segments here that are confined to one chapter. the most interesting of the chapters were those on “fast tailed girls”, racist beauty standards, education, and reproductive feminism. these are the areas where she has the most unique and interesting ideas. other areas lack depth and suffer from disconnectedness and weak examples.
What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon

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emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

In comparison to her 2023 book “You Just Need to Lose Weight”, this non-fiction work by Gordon is deeply emotional, telling personalizing stories that are striking to those who have never experienced anti-fat bigotry. Gordon does not try to justify her fatness, but instead points out the abusiveness in the demand for justification. She moves beyond and even outright criticizes “fat acceptance” and provides meaningful solutions for equity and justice.
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Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

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4.0

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals about Death by Caitlin Doughty

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challenging funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.0

The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

“You Just Need to Lose Weight”: And 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

This was a great read, I think even for people—especially thin people—who think that anti-fatness does not affect them. I think it will challenge even those of us most invested in contesting anti-fatness to recognize our own biases and emotions about fat people.
Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Goto’s stories feel like they belong in a visual medium. Her imagination is deeply sensory, and though her writing is strong, I was excited to read a graphic novel whose story was dictated by Goto, but brought to life by illustration. Xu’s art gives majesty to this story. I was so delighted by this loving tale about an older woman facing death. The characters are so alive. The plot is gorgeously constructed. I am a big fan.

*Story Graph doesn’t let me add any water/drowning related content warnings, but it’s there. It’s on the stronger side of moderate.
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Half World by Hiromi Goto

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dark emotional funny inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A gorgeous, emotional, horrific, YA fantasy/horror. Incredibly creative. Colourful storytelling. Complex themes of liminality and love: rebirth and retrying; poverty and purgatory. Gruesome, heartwarming, charming, queer, exciting. The protagonist, 14 year old Melanie is at once petulant, stubborn, crafty, determined, terrified, brave, and motivated by her love.
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Untamed by Glennon Doyle

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.5

Very loving memoir, with a healthy dose of self-help! Although sometimes seemingly directionless, Untamed is always thoughtful, kind, reflective, and honest. Coincidentally, I would use all of those adjectives to describe my girlfriend. The way Doyle writes about her wife Abby makes me think of her.