pdxk8's reviews
63 reviews

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

Loved the premise and there were lots of beautiful and profound moments, but the pace was slow for my taste. 

Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna

dark informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.25

On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed

informative fast-paced

4.0

On Palestine by Ilan Pappé, Noam Chomsky

informative fast-paced

4.0

Happy Place by Emily Henry
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.

I hated every single character and was not rooting for the lovers. Writing was smug and thought it was more clever than it is. I did not enjoy reading this at all.

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi

informative medium-paced

4.0

This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life by Lyz Lenz

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

An insightful, maddening and ultimately hopeful read that’s part memoir about Lyz Lenz’s own divorce and part nonfiction about the institution of marriage

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

informative medium-paced

4.0

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

My heart is shattered, and overflowing. 

This story has two interweaving timelines of a circle of friends living through the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and a handful of survivors in 2015, and gut wrenching reflections on life, mortality, and the burden of carrying on someone’s memory. 

 I don’t know that I’ve ever cried so much reading a book. It’s stunningly beautiful and devastating

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

adventurous emotional reflective 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

4.75

Incredible storytelling and world building. Occasional moments of heavy-handedness (like a fictional band called Failure to Communicate introduced as characters are, uh, failing to communicate 🙄) are forgiven by how deeply I love these characters, with all their flaws and frustrations.