Scan barcode
murrderdith's reviews
493 reviews
How to Read Now by Elaine Castillo
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
I love essays about how, what, and why people read. Castillo’s writing is sharp and insightful. Listening to this book reminded me of my favorite people from grad school.
Really enjoyed this collection and Castillo’s threading of her life as the “unexpected reader” (non-white, child of immigrants, queer) throughout and how that has informed her reading life (and by extension how she watches tv and film.) As a fan of Didion that chapter was rough, but a fair critique of the absences (i.e. when Didion writes about people in California or Hawaii, she is only ever writing about and for white people in those places) in her work.
My only quibble is with all the astrology asides. But this is a personal pet peeve that should in no way deter anyone else from reading this.
Really enjoyed this collection and Castillo’s threading of her life as the “unexpected reader” (non-white, child of immigrants, queer) throughout and how that has informed her reading life (and by extension how she watches tv and film.) As a fan of Didion that chapter was rough, but a fair critique of the absences (i.e. when Didion writes about people in California or Hawaii, she is only ever writing about and for white people in those places) in her work.
My only quibble is with all the astrology asides. But this is a personal pet peeve that should in no way deter anyone else from reading this.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Haven't found characters I hated this compelling since Rumaan Alam's Rich and Pretty.
That said, I could have done without Chekov's skyscraper in the form of Moshfegh telegraphing that someone is going to die on 9/11 in this book. It just seemed like too fancy a bow to wrap the end of the novel in.