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nvrrrdie's reviews
39 reviews
Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was really far out of my comfort zone so I don't really know if I can give it a fair review. I agree with other readers that people may want to review content warnings before reading at their own discretion.
This book had powerful character writing and was very emotional, which I appreciated. I think it was trying to do something really strong with the families depicted and I think it was successful for the most part.
I don't live in Scarborough, but I do live in the GTA so some parts of this were close to home for me. However I didn't like how some characters felt like examples or lessons rather than fully written people. I felt like this was really strong with Viktor's character and it was just kind of reductive and disappointing. Those parts of the story felt like a cheap way of viewing others experiences as displayed for an outside observer and I don't feel like it was useful to the greater picture of the story either.
There are several issues I take with this book but the writing was really interesting and I think it was a good read.
This book had powerful character writing and was very emotional, which I appreciated. I think it was trying to do something really strong with the families depicted and I think it was successful for the most part.
I don't live in Scarborough, but I do live in the GTA so some parts of this were close to home for me. However I didn't like how some characters felt like examples or lessons rather than fully written people. I felt like this was really strong with Viktor's character and it was just kind of reductive and disappointing. Those parts of the story felt like a cheap way of viewing others experiences as displayed for an outside observer and I don't feel like it was useful to the greater picture of the story either.
There are several issues I take with this book but the writing was really interesting and I think it was a good read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Excrement, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Mad World: The Politics of Mental Health by Micha Frazer-Carroll
medium-paced
3.0
This book felt very mixed to me in its quality at different times. Some chapters were much better than others, but I would not recommend this book overall because many times it did not argue very strongly for its claims.
I want to be very clear that I am sympathetic and open-minded to the ideas themselves that were written in this book, but the book itself did not convince me. I really wish it did! I want to have a strong text I can reference to others about these theories. This wasn't that book for me. Many concepts introduced were not duly justified and instead kind of glazed over or told to the reader without enough depth or substance to be very effective. The amount of "should" and "shouldn't"s felt preventative for my attempt to understand the theory the way I would like to.
To its merit, the book was informative of some of the intersectional political issues faced by oppressed people which enforce violent conditions. Some chapters did this well enough, but I wish this book did more with it.
I'm sure there are more books on this subject which I might find more compelling or specific. This one disappointed me. I will keep looking for more literature about the psychiatric complex.
I want to be very clear that I am sympathetic and open-minded to the ideas themselves that were written in this book, but the book itself did not convince me. I really wish it did! I want to have a strong text I can reference to others about these theories. This wasn't that book for me. Many concepts introduced were not duly justified and instead kind of glazed over or told to the reader without enough depth or substance to be very effective. The amount of "should" and "shouldn't"s felt preventative for my attempt to understand the theory the way I would like to.
To its merit, the book was informative of some of the intersectional political issues faced by oppressed people which enforce violent conditions. Some chapters did this well enough, but I wish this book did more with it.
I'm sure there are more books on this subject which I might find more compelling or specific. This one disappointed me. I will keep looking for more literature about the psychiatric complex.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, and Medical trauma
Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.5
I was a little bit disappointed by this book. Maybe it's just not my style of humor, but I did not find it especially captivating like I had hoped and I just don't really care for it very much.
Suspect Communities: Anti-Muslim Racism and the Domestic War on Terror by Nicole Nguyen
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
[wip, I would like to add later]
I am untrained in reading social science reports so I cannot personally assess the strength of this book within the academic conventions. However, I found the issues Nguyen analyzed to be compelling, informative, and intersectional. I will be reading more of her work in the future!
In the report,
I am untrained in reading social science reports so I cannot personally assess the strength of this book within the academic conventions. However, I found the issues Nguyen analyzed to be compelling, informative, and intersectional. I will be reading more of her work in the future!
In the report,
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Colonisation
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is the first book that I have read by Kurt Vonnegut. I find his writing interesting and I intend to read more of his novels. His writing is clear and witty and raised interesting questions that suit his own contemporary context as well as current American society. However, I felt unimpressed later on in the book. I understand there are meaningful comments and merit to this part of the novel but I personally did not find it as evocative later on as it had begun. I appreciate the ending but I need more time to process and interpret its final statements and anticlimax.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Racism
Tower by Bae Myung-hoon
dark
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The author develops an interesting world to analyze certain social and political concepts. Creative, but not really anything I will think much more about after having finished reading.
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I'm going to pause this one
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
I hated this book. I was excited to read it because I had heard good things about it but I found it to be thoroughly simplistic and lacking character. How did this happen to be so popular? As someone who is intimately familiar with depression and suicidal ideation I like to explore these themes in literature. I believe that The Midnight Library did so in a way that was thoroughly basic and uncompelling, though I understand this makes the issue more palatable for the wider market of readers. I finished the book but it was really a waste of my time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Canadian Wood Frame House Construction by John Burrows
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Clear and easily legible. Strong illustrative diagrams. Reading this textbook helped me a lot in my Detailing and Construction Materials courses.
Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Good writing. I cried many times reading this book.