I chose to listen to this book because, quite frankly, it sounds like fun. I was well aware that this was not the latest Tucker Max “book.” If you like Tucker Max, and I must admit that I did when I was 20, just stop now because this book is not for you. Assholes: A Theory is a philosophical study on asshole-ish behavior that attempts to walk the line between serious and tongue-in-cheek. Well, it may not try to walk that line but it certainly […]
Badkittyuno’s Review #16: I’m Sorry You Feel That Way by Diana Joseph
Full disclosure: I read most of this book while drinking wine in the bathtub. Some of my memories are kind of hazy. From what I can remember though… This is not a memoir full of funny anecdotes. A common complaint on Goodreads (and one that I agree with, although I don’t necessarily consider it a drawback), is that nothing happens in this book. And that’s true–while the author is divorced with a child, and in a new relationship with a common-law husband and a dog–you don’t […]
The good old days: Quite overrated, actually
I began this book in October, and it seemed a bit of a slog, and I’m not sure why. I love Bryson’s signature style of history enlivened with juicy tidbits of whimsy. The people involved are interesting. The stories are compelling. The year, 1927, was the year my mother was born, adding an extra element of interest for me. Maybe it was just that there were too many stories, too much to keep track of, for someone reading it piece-meal. 1927 was a busy, busy […]
Motherhood, am I right?
I reviewed another of Jessica Valenti’s books (“The Purity Myth”) for last year’s Cannonball Read, and she actually acknowledged my review on Twitter. That was a very happy day. I knew about this book but hadn’t read it; I discovered it on Audible on Friday ended up listening to it pretty much straight through. Ms. Valenti is a feminist author and mother of her young daughter Layla. Layla was born SUPER early, spending her first weeks in the NICU. Ms. Valenti spends time talking about […]
King of the severed hands
This work describes King Leopold II’s land grab of the Congo River area during the scramble for Africa of the late 19th century, which led to the deaths of 8 to 10 million Africans, the destruction of their societies, and the devastation of the area’s wild rubber plants. Each chapter takes on a different character or episode through the history. Starting with Stanley’s quest to find Livingstone and journeying through Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Hochschild does a fabulous job telling this brutal story through the eyes of […]
Are You Kidding Me, Another One?
There’s a chance that if you’re reading this review, you might not be an active participant in Cannonball Read 6. Maybe you didn’t sign up, unsure of whether or not you could participate to your satisfaction, or you missed the deadline, or you just wanted to cheerlead from the sidelines, or any other number of reasonable and perfectly fine reasons. Nonetheless, you could always try to read fifty two Cannonball Read reviews this year! In fact, you might even be able to read fifty two […]