perfect_leaves's reviews
452 reviews

This book is definitely geared towards chefs and people with a high level of cooking skill, despite the author stating otherwise. Noodle soup is a recipe book, but it emphasizes making noodles from scratch, which is not always practical or possible for everyone. I don't have high enough knife skills to cut pasta on my own, nor can I afford a pasta maker so I was unable to try the recipes. All of the soups include meat, but I suppose they can be made vegetarian. I'm giving Noodle Soup three stars because the recipes look good, but they are not accessible to the average cook.

I thought this would be a recipe book, but I suppose I should have read the description more carefully. It's actually a book about how to raise chickens and harvest their eggs. The book is very detailed, and it made it seem like anyone could raise chickens. I'm knocking off a star because I didn't like the way the book was written. There are a lot of redundant passages and pictures. Still, if you're ever been curious about raising chickens, you should read this book.

The Bold World is one of those books that actually took me a while to "understand." In the early chapters, Patterson sets up the memoir as if it would be about her personal transformation throughout life-- and in a way, it is--- but The Bold World is about so much more. It's about identity and, more specifically, gender identity. It's difficult to follow this thread throughout the book because the memoir shifts rather abruptly from focusing on Patterson's life to her son's life. In retrospect, though, the information Patterson provided helps us understand her reaction to her son's news.
****
At times, I found myself getting frustrated with Patterson's choices. It seems hypocritical of me because I know very well how deeply your childhood can influence your adulthood, but there were some obvious choices and solutions that seemingly would have solved Patterson's problems. Of course, it always seems easier to solve a problem from the outside looking in. If you're a young person, it may benefit you to speak with someone older because there are things Patterson does that just /don't make sense/ to our generation. Patterson is closer to my parents' age than my age so their insight helped.
****
In the end, Patterson and I agree that our various identities (gender, race, religion, nationality, etc) are not separate and that the baggage/struggles that come with them are all tied together. Fighting for less popular causes is not less important than fighting for the causes that constantly make headlines, especially when it comes to peoples' well-being. I'm giving The Bold World 4 stars because the name-dropping was super annoying and because it took me until almost the end of the book to "get" it (and I'm NOT new to the topic of gender and race relations). Despite these relatively minor flaws, The Bold World is well-written, entertaining and informative. If you're a parent with a trans kid, if you're genderqueer yourself, or if you're just interested in reading about different walks of life, I recommend this novel. After you read it, go read Negroland (Margo Jefferson) because it also discusses the life of a privileged black person in the mid-late 1900s, but it focuses more on the ways race often outweighed financial status.
****
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group (via Ballantine Books), for the advanced reader copy.

I wasn't sure what to expect from The Island of Sea Women. The book is about Korean women, which is a departure from See's usual stories about Chinese women. After I got adjusted to the different names, places, and histories, I realized The Island of Sea Women still fits into the main body of Lisa See's work.

The book begins during the latter stages of the Japanese occupation of Korea (in fact, this would be an excellent book to read before Samuel Park's This Burns My Heart). We hear the story through the voice of Young-sook, a Haenyeo (sea woman/海女）from Jeju Island. Like many of See's other books, she is inseparable with her best friend, and the state of their relationship directly affects her ability to feel happiness. In The Island of Sea Women (as well as in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan), we learn the importance of thinking outside ourselves and viewing situations from multiple perspectives.

Although the structure of the story was nothing new, I thoroughly enjoyed Lisa See's use of language, as well as her in-depth research. I came away from the book knowing much more about Korean culture and history. Moreover, The Island of Sea Women focused on the strength, courage, and leadership of Korean women, which you don't often see in East Asian historical fiction. I'd absolutely recommend this everyone. (TW for war and its related violence, as well as for domestic abuse)

Strategies for Being Visible doesn't give particularly new advice, but it does provide reasons why these strategies help our careers. Each chapter also provides guidelines for how to perform each step. I liked the book because it seems to have spoken to the heart of the issue-- some career women are far more modest than men, regardless of whether they're actually more qualified. The strategies not only help us speak up, but also allay our fears that voicing our opinions would be out of place. Although it's not explicitly stated in the book, the thread seems to be "if they can do it, why can't/shouldn't we." Ritchie also touches on some of the systematic biases that put the glass ceiling in place. We can't change people's biases overnight, be we can chip away at them bit by bit. For the most part, Strategies for Being Visible seems to focus specifically on cisgender (i.e. assigned female at birth and identifying as such), but trans and queer women will also find some gems in here. I took away one star because this book is full of the "same old advice" but I still highly recommend it to any woman-- just starting or otherwise-- who feels they would like to make more progress (money, responsibility, respect, etc) in their careers.
***
I'd like to thank both NetGalley and John Hunt Publishing Ltd for providing the advanced reader copy.

Accessible America is an incredibly informative history of accessibility design in the United States. Williamson's history begins around World War II and ends in modern times. I must note here that her book is largely focused on those who are either paralyzed or missing limbs. Whether this is because disability discourse discluded other disabilities or whether Williamson herself chose to only focus on this subset of disabilities is not clearly explained. That said, the history seems rather thorough. Another reviewer noted that Willamson uses "disabled people" and "people with disabilities" interchangeably. This is true; it's up for you to decide how much you champion people-first language. A note on personal taste- Accessible America is a very dry book. This is pretty much to be expected from NYU Press, but I thought I'd point it out. Overall, it's a good book, but I'd reserve it for those who have a vested interest in the subject. Those who only want to gain general knowledge may want to steer clear of this one.
****
Thank you, NetGalley and NYU Press for the advanced reader copy.

Before writing this review, I must note that about half of the text was unreadable in my review copy. NetGalley did not mention that this would be an excerpt. As a result, I cannot comment on the "belly quiz", the recipes, the information about supplements or the suggested diets for various maladies. I can, however, comment on the descriptions or diagnostic tests.

The Bloated Belly Whisperer /seems/ to be quite thorough. Each part focuses on an area of the body, and the chapters discuss various dysfunctions and diseases that may be leading to discomfort. According to the author, mild cases of illnesses can usually be treated with diet, but most doctors recommend the wrong diet for the illness. She says this usually happens when the doctor is not specialized in gastroenterology, or when a particular condition is not very common. Dr. Freuman carefully outlines common diet mishaps and often recommends a combination of diet and medication where necessary.

When there are tests available for the illness, Dr. Freuman carefully describes them. She uses a very matter-of-fact tone of voice throughout the book. Unlike many related books, The Bloated Belly Whisperer does not fall into alarmism. I'd recommend it for people who have general discomfort in their "stomach" (actually, more problems are likely to occur in the intestines) but they can't figure out what it is, despite visiting the doctor several times. This books may also be helpful for people who have received a diagnosis, but who still have not gotten relief.

POS's art was nice, but that's about where my praise ends. I understand that dog is important to the story but the plot has no real cohesion. The graphic novel jumps from scene to scene in a rambling flashback that ends in anticlimax. There are too many scenes that have nothing to do with the dog, if the dog is indeed the focus.



I guess it was kind of cool to see the struggles of someone trying to get into the publishing business. POS is  a french novel that's been translated and released for English speaking readers. I honestly wouldn't recommend simply because there's no story. If i had time to get to know Pierre and get invested in his life, maybe it would be a better story. As it stand, the reader is immediately thrown into Pierre's life, with no real reason to care about anything he does.

The combination book lists and personal essays is exactly what I needed. The selected authors (Glory Edim. Jacqueline Woodson , Gabourey Sidibe and more) wrote about which books resonated with them as children. Some wrote about finding their identity, others wrote about expanding their horizons. Needless to say, while Black women might identify most with this book, it's accessible (and valuable!) for everyone.

On top of the diverse collection of experiences, Well-Read Black Girl provides one of the most comprehensive lists of Black literature I've ever seen. Whether you're a fan of poetry, sci-fi or feminist discourse, there is a recommendation for you. I've borrowed, read and owned quite a few titles in the book and before starting Well-Read Black Girl I thought I'd made pretty good headway into the field of Black literature. After finishing, I realized I've barely read a drop in the pond.

I'm giving this collection 4.5 stars because while the essays were good, they weren't altogether unexpected.
Thank you Ballantine Books (an imprint of @randomhouse, the same company that published #HowToLoveAJamaican, which I reviewed a few months ago) and @netgalley for the ARC!