Almost forgot to review this! Tracked it down and read it entirely because of the Read Harder Challenge, so thanks as always, Read Harder, for forcingAlmost forgot to review this! Tracked it down and read it entirely because of the Read Harder Challenge, so thanks as always, Read Harder, for forcing me to find books I never would have heard of or read otherwise. This book was fun, informative, colorful as hell, and I would love to have a copy of it just to look at the art.
Read Harder Challenge 2024: Read a book about drag or queer artistry....more
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
I'm so glad I took a chance on this one and requesteThanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
I'm so glad I took a chance on this one and requested the ARC. It was so much fun! It avoided literally everything that usually makes me avoid reading biographies: the tedious linear structure, the grandiloquence and navel-gazing that comes with writing about a much-lauded (or controversial) figure (and the author trying to "earn it"), and to be honest, the dull bits. Q: A Voyage Around the Queen is not a standard biography, so despite my having called it one, make sure your expectations are set properly. We don't get any primary sources from the Queen herself, we don't get much behind the scenes input of decisions of state or politics of any kind. What we DO get is a series of primary sources from everyone but Lilibet herself, and not necessarily the people you would expect.
This isn't so much a book about Queen Elizabeth II, but a book about how she affected the world around her throughout the 70+ years of her rule (and some before that as well). Here are two examples of what you will get with this book: 1) There is an entire chapter of people's dreams about the Queen, which Brown seems to have sourced from a multitude of places (my favorite was the writer Kingsley Amis's); and 2) There is a chapter devoted to the thwarted ambitions of a woman who desperately wanted to be one of the Queen's Ladies in Waiting (which I did not know was still a thing!!). We see her diaries as a young girl, and that she's still obsessing about it as an elderly woman. The chapter on the Coronation was a real treat, from the noble who attended out of spite while holding a 103+ degree fever, to a ten-year old Paul McCartney, who won an essay contest about the Queen's impending reign.
The best thing about this format is that he gets so many opinions and stories from so many different places that the reader can form their own picture and opinions of the Queen. I do not give a fig about the monarchy or the royal family, but this was a really good read. Will definitely be checking out more books from this author.
And I didn't even get around to talking about the extensive corgi lineages!...more
This just isn't holding my attention. It was more interesting in some sections than in others for me. But when it was interesting, it was *reDNF @ 25%
This just isn't holding my attention. It was more interesting in some sections than in others for me. But when it was interesting, it was *really* interesting. Those parts were just few and far between for me. This book recounts specific cases showing off Wiltshire's abilities to use the natural world and her training as a forensic ecologist to help solve crimes, often violent ones.
I think the disconnect for me was that the book felt a little too detached from the events being investigated. This makes sense, as Wiltshire outright states in the introduction that in most of the work she does the body she is working on is just an object to her, although there have been a handful of bodies over the years that got to her and that she will never forget. But overall, you can tell it's the science she's interested in, and that comes off in the overall tone of the book.
The audiobook was very nicely produced, and I really liked the narrator's voice. This was also a double-sided sword, though, because I found her voice so soothing that I kept drifting off while listening.
I might try reading the author's previous book, TRACES, as several reviews of this book note that one is excellent and they liked it better....more
I keep forgetting to post this review. I think my brain is trying to block out my having read this book on purpose to protect from either, a) droppingI keep forgetting to post this review. I think my brain is trying to block out my having read this book on purpose to protect from either, a) dropping dead of a rage aneurysm, or b) dropping dead from the poisonous word salad the author spews on every page.
I would not have read this book or even had it on my radar but Cannonball Read's BINGO board this year had a 'FIASCO' square, and when I found this book I thought it would be perfect. I love hearing about film production, good or bad, and the schadenfreude of reading about some of the biggest box office bombs in Hollywood history was too good to pass up. But I should have.
The book is twenty years out of date, but that's the least of its problems. The author is hyped on his own supply, he's nasty and mean and misogynist (ironically, slamming the cult classic movie Showgirls for misogyny at the same time), and definitely brings a very biased lens to everything that he's writing about. Not to mention when he's not being judgmental, he's dull as hell. Somehow he manages to make the scandals going on behind the scenes absolutely snoozeworthy, and spends about 75% of each chapter droning on and on about studio and executive stuff that could have easily been glossed over.
I mean, imagine making a chapter about the making of Battlefield Earth boring.
If you want to learn about the disastrous processes of making these movies, there are better resources and articles on many film websites, and I would definitely recommend that over this.
[1.5 stars for all the research he clearly did]...more
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
This was informative and clearly written, but it wasn'Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
This was informative and clearly written, but it wasn't as engrossing as I hoped it would be, mainly because of the style and the organization (which I couldn't really figure out). But also because he was weirdly defensive of the industry being built on Everest, and weirdly critical of anyone who criticized it, and it just rubbed me the wrong way. The focus he gives the Sherpas and their growing control over the industry on the mountain that is in their country, not the world's, was great, but I can't explain it, I just felt weird about some of how he wrote this. I knew going in this wasn't going to be a narrative thrill ride like Into Thin Air and other disaster books (Cockrell and people he interviews are very critical of Krakauer, which also rubbed me the wrong way) but I wish it would have had some sort of thread for me to follow. ...more
This was an interesting read, but worth keeping in mind that the author is a liar and inherently unreliable. The audiobook was a compelling listen andThis was an interesting read, but worth keeping in mind that the author is a liar and inherently unreliable. The audiobook was a compelling listen and certainly gave me food for thought about sociopathy.
Something that is worrying me outside the book in terms of people's reactions to it both here on Goodreads and in book review comments, such as the one on the NY Times, there are a worrying amount of people confusing her use of sociopathy as a spectrum with Autism, and many saying the author is mistaken about her own mind and saying she's just autistic. This is worrying to me because it shows people have absolutely no idea what it means to be autistic, if they think it results in the behavior and thought patterns that Patric shows in this book....more
Okay so I may have prematurely announced this as five stars (mainly bc the first chapter was my favorite) but I'm going to sleep on it to make sure I'Okay so I may have prematurely announced this as five stars (mainly bc the first chapter was my favorite) but I'm going to sleep on it to make sure I'm not just on a book high. I listened to the whole thing in one go, and it just felt really relevant to my everyday life. She explores concepts of cognitive bias in the real world, including in her own life, and all in her pop culture, talkative style.
For a more serious version of this book with more explanation of concepts, The End of Bias: A Beginning was very, very good, and I definitely gave that one a full five stars.
This was fantastic fun, and I learned a bunch while reading it. Very similar to my experience reading Bitch last year, except geared towards a young aThis was fantastic fun, and I learned a bunch while reading it. Very similar to my experience reading Bitch last year, except geared towards a young adult audience. Absolutely recommended for everyone, though, because it completely overturns some very basic assumptions that patriarchal society takes for granted. The natural world is absolutely chock full of queerness. We're fuckin natural as shit*. Plus, it's funny!
*About 10% of white-tailed deer are born intersex and asexual and live their lives just chilling in sexless groups, occasionally adopting orphaned fawns. As an asexual person, I find this amazing and heartwarming. Lots of fun tidbits like this in this book!
Read Harder Challenge 2024: Read a YA nonfiction book....more
Can't really recommend this one! Unless you want something to put you to sleep. The pictures of the old malls were cool. I think I would have given thCan't really recommend this one! Unless you want something to put you to sleep. The pictures of the old malls were cool. I think I would have given this five stars if it was just pictures of old malls with people in them wearing weird old clothes....more
Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn't affected the content of my review.
This was a really good listen, although I'm finding iThanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn't affected the content of my review.
This was a really good listen, although I'm finding it difficult to break down in to a coherent synopsis. Perhaps the audiobook wasn't the best choice for this particular book, at least for me if I was wanting to retain information. But overall, this was a compassionate, well-researched and thought provoking read, all about how (essentially) people who have been imprisoned are still people. There is a lot of talk about parole and whether or not indefinite sentencing is humane, which is something I'd never thought about before. There is also a lot of talk about the efficacy of prisons themselves, which I have read about before. But the parole stuff was all new.
Recommend this one definitely if prison abolition and justice system reformation is something you're interested in....more
I was on the fence about reading this, leaning towards not* because I'm not generally interested in celebrity memoirs, and then I found out Michelle WI was on the fence about reading this, leaning towards not* because I'm not generally interested in celebrity memoirs, and then I found out Michelle Williams narrated the audiobook and suddenly I was extremely interested. With good reason, because she was so great as a narrator, and it turns out Brit had a lot to say that was worth hearing.
When I say Michelle Williams was great, what I mean is that I frequently forgot it wasn't Britney herself narrating the book. And there were several moments where she just went for it (the one that everyone is talking about being Justin's blaccent, but I also cracked up at her Mariah Carey impression) that were just amazingly fun and great.
My overwhelming feelings after having read this are sorrow and rage. I'm glad she is free now and hope she finally has peace because of it, because she went through awful, awful shit when she should have been on top of the world.
The book iteslf as a literary endeavor wasn't great, but we all knew it wouldn't be, going in. But it was readable and entertaining, and it pulled lots of emotion from me, so I feel like the "literary value" here is moot. I do wish she would have allowed herself to go a little deeper, but she doesn't owe that to us, and she's probably not in a place to do it. This book got her story out and now we can judge the bad actors in her life for ourselves....more
On top of this book being about an absolutely fascinating woman (her trauma cleaning was a highlight but the rest of her life is intersting, too!) it'On top of this book being about an absolutely fascinating woman (her trauma cleaning was a highlight but the rest of her life is intersting, too!) it's one of the most personal, beautifully written non-fiction books I've ever read. It feels similar in tone to Chanel Miller's writing, but this isn't a memoir, it's a biography, and Sarah Krasnostein clearly has a lot of love and respect for her subject. The audiobook was fantastic, as well. The narrator reads with such compassion, I often forgot they weren't her words....more
This was a fun, thought-provoking and nostalgic listen. And it's out today! Beautiful timing. If you watched and enjoyed The X-Files any time from 199This was a fun, thought-provoking and nostalgic listen. And it's out today! Beautiful timing. If you watched and enjoyed The X-Files any time from 1993 until now, this will probably have content of interest to you. We get behind the scenes details, analysis of why the show worked back then and why it still works now, how it's changed along with the culture over thirty years, a dive into the fandom, and thoughts from the creators and actors. My only complaint was that it was written out of order, and the new revival was a bit too focused on for my taste, for their only being two seasons versus the original nine and two movies....more
I loved this! I did the audiobook, and Maria Bamford's delivery makes this. I really enjoy her guileless brand of self-deprecation, hyperbole, and rawI loved this! I did the audiobook, and Maria Bamford's delivery makes this. I really enjoy her guileless brand of self-deprecation, hyperbole, and raw honesty, mostly about her mental health, but other areas of dysfunction as well. Leaving the two-week rented violin under her desk for three months, for absolutely no reason other than a nameless dread? I felt that.
As some people have done, please don't think this is a memoir about a woman who joins a succession of cults. It is a memoir of the author's mental health, and how she is continually drawn to groups with cult-like atmospheres, mostly 12-step programs. It's very tongue in cheek, and the author is aware that she has not actually joined a cult. Instead, we get very funny essays about her journey through life, structured around her various "cults" (the first of which is her family, with her mother as cult-leader). She walks us through her struggles with OCD (very distressing intrusive thoughts that she didn't understand at all), an eating disorder, vicious debt, depression, being hospitalized for a breakdown, and adjusting to living with Bipolar II.
It's very hard to convey the tone of this book. I recommend that you just head on over to your audiobook dealer of choice and sample the first five minutes. That will give you more than I give you here in this review.
Good job on this book, Maria, if you see this review! All those editors you gave all that money to were worth it....more
Action Park tells the story of the country's most dangerous theme park, from the perspective of the son of the man30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 3 Book 6/30
Action Park tells the story of the country's most dangerous theme park, from the perspective of the son of the man who owned it. Gene Mulvihill wanted to provide a theme park that catered to people who didn't want to passively experience things, but be the actor in the rides and attractions. His lax attitude towards safety standards and his strong belief that people had the right to endanger themselves meant injuries and near-drownings were the norm for guests in the park. And people did die. There is a reason the names "Class-Action Park" and "Traction Park" became synonymous with its actual name.
This park sounds like a wild place, but I didn't really like the author very much and a lot of the stuff he wanted to write about didn't need to be in the book. I appreciated the insight into the behind the scenes details of how the park ran and why and how the attractions came to be (his father was a character, to say the least), but I absolutely did not give two shits about his political beliefs (he admires Ronald Reagan and was a Young Republican), his time at school, or his romances. If this had focused solely on the park it would have been a four star read. But I just can't give four stars to a book that at several points, I kept wanting to read other things instead.
I also listened to the audio version, bought off a $2 Audible sale years back. The narrator does a good job with the story. An entertaining read overall. Some of the details in here definitely gave me that feeling I was looking for when I went into this, that "I can't believe I just read that" feeling. But it could have been tighter and less of the author's personal life would have been preferred....more
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn't affected the content of my review.
This was so incredibly informative and useful. My maiThanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn't affected the content of my review.
This was so incredibly informative and useful. My main takeaway from reading this actually has more to do with me than the content of the book, and that's holy cow I've just blithely swanning about the internet for almost 30 years having NO IDEA how it actually works, and just completely taking it for granted. Even as a person who considers herself pretty on top of cyber security, you know, for an average person. I use a Password Manager! I encrypt emails with sensitive information! I never click on the links!
So, this was eye-opening in that regard, and I learned a TON about how the Internet actually works and how it was built and evolved, all while learning about how hackers and other actors, both bad and good, exploit loopholes both in the technology, and perhaps even more importantly, in human behavior (called here upcode, vs. the downcode of software and hardware and programming).