Reviews and Comments

A bit of a slow start, but once I settled in I was captivated to the very end. Beautiful book. Racism was handled with nuance and care.

Some good quotes, too:

"In the end, your belly was your emperor."

"Life is shitty, but not all the time."

This medical memoir is as delicate as it is powerful. N. West Moss perfectly captures the heartache of infertility and chronic illness – and the fears, hopes, and frustrations that come with major surgery and its recovery – all with a gentle sense of humor and a lovely way of looking at the world, even the smallest little details. Moss has written this book in very short chapters consisting of beautifully engaging prose, making it difficult to put the book down once you pick it up. I grew to love the people she loves (and a praying mantis!), and felt like I was right there with her each step of the way. What a stunning memoir, and with so many unexpected moments of joy.

Wwhen Algonquin Books sent me a copy of Flesh & Blood for the Instagram tour, they included a little notebook, recipes by @PickYourPotions for …

It's good, and I love that the "LGBTQ heroes" part of the title truly covers all those letters! But I've been feeling drawn to other books recently and have been neglecting this, so decided to set it aside for now. 

I’ve only ever read Fr. Richard Rohr’s work in audiobook format, but honestly, I need to be buying his books in print so I can underline and put sticky notes everywhere. In Everything Belongs, he explores the radical freedom that comes through believing “that we have no real access to who we really are except in God.”

He discusses how civil religion and cultural Christianity miss a sense of the whole. They’re perfunctory. “The great commandment is not ‘thou shall be right,’ it is ‘be in love.'” When he reminds us that God receives all, he means literally all. Our ego is constantly comparing and dividing. It’s responsible for our dualistic thinking. Our true self—our soul—gives space for all.

I found his thoughts on avoiding groupthink and getting caught up in religious dogma especially inspiring and hopeful. The way our group experiences and knows God it …

When I picked up Laziness Does Not Exist, I was expecting a book that counters capitalistic thinking—maybe along the lines of David Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs. The opening of the book got my hopes up and I was excited to dig in deep. Instead, this ended up feeling more like a self-help book for people who have economic and class privilege. It focused on fairly privileged people in traditional workplace environments, with suggestions on setting boundaries, having realistic expectations, and avoiding burnout. That’s important stuff for people who are in those environments, but there are so many people working jobs where there is no HR to talk to or negotiate with, where working from home isn’t possible at all, and who can’t afford to turn down work/independent contractor gigs. If you are in any of those categories, especially if you live at or close to the subsistence level, I …

Chana Porter's The Seep takes place after an alien invasion that, instead of bringing war and destruction, makes people kinder, more caring and thoughtful. Earth has become a utopia, free of capitalism. Everyone has the ability to be whoever or whatever they feel they need to be, and they are kept happy and soothed. But there's an air of toxic positivity and superficial spirituality, too. The protagonist, Trina, sees through it and struggles with her conflicting, unsatisfied feelings. When her wife Deeba decides to make the ultimate Seep modification, Trina is left to deal with her grief.

The world-building and the storytelling is superb. I don't always do well with fiction on audiobook, which is how I took in this story, but I was hanging on every word. The premise was so cool, executed wonderfully, and brought up a lot of things to think about. I was reminded of …

This is ADORABLE. The art style is soft, beautiful, and soothing, the premise is imaginative and sweet, and there's a ton of diverse rep that's simply part of the world. Perfect as a comfort read if you're having a rough week and need something gentle. If you have a kid who loves to create OCs and think up back stories for each one, definitely get them this book!

This is book one in the series, and seems to be focused mostly on introducing the characters and the world. I'm looking forward to reading more of the Tea Dragon books. 

This was attempt number two of this book, but the writing is so pretentious and the characters excessively dramatic, I just can't stomach it.