The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – 4 stars
I’m not sure if I can adequately put my thoughts about this novel into words because I still don’t quite know how I feel about it.
It was definitely hard to read about a world in which women have lost all of their rights in the name of their “safety.” There were times that I had a little bit of trouble keeping track of the different roles of women in this society, but that’s just me. I knew who the Handmaids were, but I kept confusing the Marthas and the Aunties and by the end still didn’t quite understand where the Wives fit into everything.
I also thought that Offred was really unreliable and the amount of jumping between flashbacks and present was a little distracting to me. Of course, it did make sense when I got to the epilogue, but while I was reading, it didn’t.
This book definitely made me sit back and reflect on how if things continue to go as they are in the country, this book may not be a work of fiction. And that is a very scary thought indeed.
The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket – 4 stars
I forgot just how much I love Lemony Snicket’s writing.
Especially since I have already read the series, I love picking up on little things that seem insignificant now, but come back into play later on.
And I love how Snicket uses big words and explains them so that younger readers can expand their knowledge/vocabulary.
I love reading about the relationship between the Baudelaires and it always kills me that whenever they are close to getting their happy ending, Olaf has to come in and ruin everything.
But as I read this now that I am older, it really frustrates me that in this society, it is left to a banker to find suitable guardians for these children. Are you telling me that in this world, there is no Child Protective Services? Just a thought. Lol.
I can’t wait to finish re-reading the rest of this series.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee – 4 stars
I honestly knew very little about the conflict between Japan and Korea until I read this. I thought that Min Jin Lee did a fantastic job of painting the story of the family and their struggles and also their triumphs.
I appreciated that Lee did not shy away from the horrible treatment the Koreans faced at the hands of the Japanese. I was sucked into the story and felt like I had to know what happened to each of the characters.
My biggest reason for taking off a star is that the pacing seemed off. There were some weird time jumps that took me a second to realize were time jumps. And towards the end, it felt a little rushed and I lost track of some of the characters.
However, I was fully invested and was glad I read this because I was painfully unaware of the history that was woven into this novel.
Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman by Anne Helen Petersen – 4 stars
I definitely liked the structure of this book and how each chapter focused on a specific gender norm and a celebrity that defied that norm. I also appreciate that from the beginning in the opening, Anne Helen Petersen acknowledges how many white women were focused on in the book because “the prevalence of straight white women serves to highlight an ugly truth: that the difference between cute, acceptable unruliness and unruliness that results in ire is often as simple as the color of a woman’s skin, whom she prefers to sleep with, and her proximity to traditional femininity.”
I also liked that while I had heard of almost all of the celebrities that Petersen wrote about, there were a couple that I was not as familiar with (namely, Abbi Jacobson, Ilana Glazer, and Jennifer Weiner).
I thought that each essay did a good job of painting as complete a picture of each celebrity as possible. I enjoyed reading about each of the women’s backgrounds and how those backgrounds affected them once they were in the spotlight.
There were a couple of chapters that I thought were kind of weak (Madonna’s mainly) and I thought it was interesting that when it came to Caitlyn Jenner, Petersen did seem more critical than in any of the other chapters.
Overall, it was a good read. And despite what the opening says, I thought Petersen did a good job of showing off diverse women.
The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Elio M. Garcia Jr., and Linda Antonsson – 4 stars
First off, the art in this is freaking gorgeous. Like, dang.
It was definitely interesting to read through the history of Westeros and all of the different kings and queens who were in power. And it was interesting to read about those kingdoms that are not part of Westeros.
I thought the writing was a bit dry, though. There were a couple of parts where I had to go back and re-read/re-listen because I zoned out. It was also a little hard to keep track of all of the different Targaeryns, but that’s just me.
I definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the series who wants more background on the histories and legends that pop up throughout the books.
NerdyNurseDaria 