Indigenous mother & daughter find healing & belonging on a literary tour through England. Dwells a lot on literary history which seems incidental to main story. Not a lot of plot progression or character development.
For readers of White Fragility, White Tears/Brown Scars is an explosive book of history and …
White womanhood is instrumental in upholding white supremacy
5 stars
Argues forcefully & convincingly that white womanhood has been (and still is) instrumental in upholding #WhiteSupremacy. I will never see the #intersection of #race & #gender so naively again. A must read for all - for solidarity & reflection.
20 years ago the world went quiet. Father is suspended between the living world and …
Climate collapse close to home
4 stars
Post-climate apocalypse in #HuonValley & #Hobart. Mostly believable (ex-PM was a caricature, and questionable lack of planning for expedition) with survivors being both humane & loving, but also merciless when called for. Unnerving to see local area in this light.
There's something to be flagged here about editions versus works, but I'm much too tired to keep track of my own thoughts on it. Broadly speaking, though: hopefully these two critically distinct technical roles will not get muddled up in all the talk of books because in some cases "book" really ought to be either "edition" or "work" and to assume the wrong meaning would cause hassle down the line! [2]
In the meantime, I am going to wean myself off the buzz of keeping absolutely complete records through status-shelving[3]; learn to love the annual Reading Goal page as a clue to the state of each edition's …
There's something to be flagged here about editions versus works, but I'm much too tired to keep track of my own thoughts on it. Broadly speaking, though: hopefully these two critically distinct technical roles will not get muddled up in all the talk of books because in some cases "book" really ought to be either "edition" or "work" and to assume the wrong meaning would cause hassle down the line! [2]
In the meantime, I am going to wean myself off the buzz of keeping absolutely complete records through status-shelving[3]; learn to love the annual Reading Goal page as a clue to the state of each edition's respective "Your reading activity"; and be more attentive as to how the reading date data fall. [5]
Looking forward to that refactor --- settling into a groove should become more intuitive afterwards, especially for newcomers. (And I find the idea of independent privacy settings for reading activity exciting! I worry, lightly, sometimes about doxxing my mates or embarrassing author acquaintances if my reading history veers someday toooo niche, you know? What other uses will people come up with from such powerful new affordances? Super cool!)
[1] That would be BookWyrm pull request # 2170: 'Refactors reading status Shelf and ReadThrough logic'
[2] I get the impression not many other wyrmsters are juggling multiple editions in their reading activity yet.
[3] I will still exploit whatever loophole lets me shelve multiple editions of a work at once under "Currently Reading" (and thus enjoy all the associated mod cons on the homepage); but nominate only one of them for the "Read"/"Stopped Reading" shelves[4].
[4] This could be a problem if one edition proves worth finishing while another definitively does not. And by could I mean without a doubt will be. Sooo fingers crossed I (and anyone else in this sort of position) finish everything or get even more over status-shelving before that problem arises. That is, until # 2170 is implemented and hopefully editions' actions can fly around properly independently of each other...?
[5] While continuing to keep my own records off-wyrm.
A platform for describing love in its many forms, but neglects intimacy with the reader. Shows a remarkable ability to capture the ineffable aspects of an encounter, but too often gets lost in obtuseness.
A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired …
Turns disturbingly dark without warning
3 stars
A reimagining of China & Japan, with shamans & gods for interest, and war crimes & genocide for a horrifying reality check. Misleadingly begins with standard 'orphan goes to hero school' trope, but turns disturbingly dark without warning.
A Dakhota woman connects with her heritage and finds belonging & purpose in the seeds she inherits from her female ancestors. Gentle despite colonial trauma.
Berlin 1920 Two babies are born. Two brothers. United and indivisible, sharing everything. Twins in …
Flat as a brick wall.
1 star
Brothers in a Jewish family strive to protect their loved ones from the increasing horrors of Nazi Germany. Boringly one-dimensional portrayal of Nazis - they're evil brutes, I get it. Distinct lack of emotional connection considering intensity of subject matter. Flat as a brick wall.
This book is about science in its broadest human context, how science and civilization grew …
Brimming with passion & wonder
4 stars
A journey through the universe, science & their development, brimming with passion & wonder. 50 years old but feels timeless, except nuclear angst has been replaced by climate angst.
An alien armada lurks on the edges of Teixcalaanli space. No one can communicate with …
Unclear motivations & prose
3 stars
Disappointing sequel despite potential. Some dubious premises (surely a galactic empire would have first contact specialists?). Unclear motivations & prose: I rarely understood why particular choices were being made. Also an annoying inconsistency: internally, characters were flailing haplessly, but in actuality they were exceedingly competent.