OH NOOOO I’m losing it! This book made me feel EVERYTHING, and there’s no way this review will be anything coherent. I guess I know why The Iliad continues to be read millenia after it was created–no one can create a drama like the Greeks! The tragedy here is SO STRONG, with characters acting so stupidly human that you want to shake them, but you totally see their point, and then everything falls apart because there are no real “good” guys and “bad” guys, but dumb humans seeking glory, and AHHHH!
Okay, I’ll try again. Reading The Song of Achilles is like watching Titanic. I knew what was going to happen, but I couldn’t help but desperately hope things would turn out differently. Every bit of foreshadowing heightened the horrified anticipation so that when the climax came I was just helplessly awash in emotion. I mean, I actually thought I was holding it together pretty well, until I read the very last paragraph and surprised myself by bursting into tears. Continue reading →
Oh noooO!!! Too many feelings. This review is going to be less intelligent and more an emotional outpouring of OH MY GOSH THIS BOOK.
I mean, the premise is fantastic. Harry August lives his life, dies, and…is reborn. As himself, same parents, same place, same situation. But he remembers everything of his life before. It turns out there are other people like him, and this is the story of how these men and women influence the world and each other.
It’s super cool and fascinating, and the structure allows for some amazing questions. There’s the run of the mill immortal quandary: What do you do to keep life interesting if you’ll never die? Harry becomes a scientist, doctor, engineer, world traveler, etc. He learns everything, he meets everyone, he gets married a few times in different lives to different women. He is captured, tortured, and dies in a whole bunch of different ways. Continue reading →
My Tiny Obsessions did The Reader Problems Book Tag and said anyone could consider themselves tagged, so….consider myself tagged!
1. YOU HAVE 20,000 BOOKS ON YOUR TBR. HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU DECIDE WHAT TO READ NEXT?
It depends. I usually vacillate between fiction and non-fiction, and if I get stuck in one genre for too long, I usually switch to something else. HOWEVER, it doesn’t matter how long my TBR pile is, if a new book I’ve been waiting for comes out, that immediately takes precedence (even if I’m in the middle of another book).
2. YOU’RE HALFWAY THROUGH A BOOK AND YOU’RE JUST NOT LOVING IT. DO YOU QUIT OR ARE YOU COMMITTED?
I used to be really bad at just letting books go. It’s the perfectionist in me. So I had to actually make a conscious effort to talk myself through the decision: “Tricia, you don’t like this book. You can put it down. Read something you enjoy! No one is testing you on this!!” Anyway, I’ve gotten better at quitting, but it is still a mental struggle.
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I really liked the juxtaposition between physical and mental disorders. I liked that both were treated with respect and acknowledged the unfair stigmas attached to each. And I liked that the romance felt genuine and earned–it’s tricky to have a relationship develop between an able-bodied person and a disabled person and never once think there is a power imbalance.
On the other hand, the pace of the book felt very strange. Sometimes we got to see all day, every day. Other times we skipped months at a time. Sometimes the scenes evenly alternated between Amy and Matthew, and sometimes they skewed toward one more than the other. The plot seemed to be following a particular route, but then there was a twist. Which is cool! But the last third of the book felt uneven and disjointed. Subplots were tacked on without the development they might have been given earlier in the book.
Still, I’m glad this book exists. It’s always good to read about the stories of people that, sad to say, I often ignore. It’s a good reminder that people have so much more going on inside of them than we can ever know from the outside. And–this is so basic, but so important–it’s great to have books that loudly and confidently remind readers that nonverbal men and women in wheelchairs are people too. I mean, of course they are. But how often do we get to read about their story? Continue reading →
You know you’re a fanatical reader when you read blogs about reading in your spare time (from reading). In all honesty, though, reading is such a weird phenomenon. You get intimately involved in a story…by yourself. It can be incredibly comforting to find book soul mates who share a passion for the written word. And if you read a lot, like I do, it can be hard to find people in your sphere of friends who read the same amount of the same type of book. With all things, when real life doesn’t meet your needs…go online! Below are seven of my favorite book blogs: Continue reading →
I heard this was a good biography, and I like Apple products, so I gave it a chance. Actually, I got it at the library with three other massive books (this one clocks in at 570 pages) and I chose to read it first because I assumed I wouldn’t get past the first page. I WAS SO WRONG. I loved Jobs’ biography, for two main reasons.
Steve Jobs was a fascinating man. Isaacson makes sure to let the readers know Jobs’ passion often turned into screaming fights and insulting appraisals of people’s work. And yet…despite his frequent moments as a jerk, I wound up loving the man. He was intense, brilliant, and focused. When he saw something inadequate, in himself or in others, he did everything in his power to improve it. Although this cost him some relational intimacy, those exact same qualities led him to revolutionize technology, not once or twice, but in every major technological division: personal computers, music, tablets, storefronts, phones, entertainment. He was hard to work for, but 90% of his employees were proud to be on his team because he brought out excellence they never knew they had. Continue reading →
1. Monica- The one with your favorite perfectionist.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Steve Jobs is, I think, the most perfectionistic person on the planet, which is why he was horrible to work for but managed to create some of the world’s most innovative and beautiful technology. Continue reading →
Although he has been a Youtube superstar for years, I only discovered Shane Dawson’s vlogs a couple months ago. That led to his podcasts, and now, to his book. At first, I loved him because he was awful–he said the most outrageous things, and I delighted in someone’s complete disregard of societal politeness. But the further I fell into the Shane Dawson world, the more I realized he’s a genuinely good guy whose ability to be brash is layered on top of a lot of pain and compassion. He’s a total sweetheart, and this makes me love him even more than when I thought he was a jerk.
I Hate Myselfie gives readers a peek into Shane’s past, a fuller reveal of topics he’s hinted at in vlogs. His abusive father, being a child of divorce, enduring harrassment for his teenage obesity, becoming an internet phenomenon–his essays cover some seriously dark topics while managing to make me choke with laughter (like his mental breakdown resulting from a Splenda addiction). His honesty about his neuroses and self-doubt feels like an invitation to admit and accept our own embarrassing secrets, and maybe, just maybe, even to laugh about them. I could choose literally any paragraph to demonstrate his wry sense of humor, so here’s one at random:
When I was seven my first job was getting the newspaper every morning from the front porch and taking it upstairs to my grandma. I know it sounds simple, but I was obese and my front porch had like six steps, so it was a daily struggle. Also the fact that I had to walk up another thirty steps to get to my grandma’s bedroom made it damn near impossible. I saw a commercial for one of those electronic “stair chairs” for handicapped people that literally lifts you from the first floor all the way up to the second story of the house. It was on my wish list to Santa every year. I never got it. But I did get a Princess Diana Beanie Baby in a glass box, so all is forgiven.
I hope I Hate Myselfie is the first of many books Shane writes. He’s a creative powerhouse, and whatever he does will be brilliant, I’m sure. Below is an introduction to Shane’s life in all its irreverent and heartfelt glory.
Book Jacket
From his first vlog back in 2008, to his full-length film directorial debut, Not Cool, Shane Dawson has been an open book when it comes to documenting his life. But behind the music video spoofs, TMI love-life details, and outrageous commentary on everything the celebrity and internet world has the nerve to dish out is a guy who grew up in a financially challenged but loving home in Long Beach, California, and who suffered all the teasing and social limitations that arise when you’re a morbidly obese kid with a pretty face, your mom is your best friend, and you can’t get a date to save your life. In I Hate Myselfie, Shane steps away from his larger-than-life internet persona and takes us deep into the experiences of an eccentric and introverted kid, who, by observing the strange world around him, developed a talent that would inspire millions of fans. Intelligent, hilarious, heartbreaking, and raw, I Hate Myselfie is a collection of eighteen personal essays about how messy life can get when you’re growing up and how rewarding it can feel when the cleanup is (pretty much) done.
Day 26: If you could be able to work one spell without a wand what would it be?
(image referencing A Very Potter Musical by pettyartist)
Accio everything! Listen, I’m a lazy person, and I cannot think of anything better than crawling into bed, realizing my book is still on the desk, and whispering, “Accio Harry Potter” in order to avoid getting up again. And if the real Harry Potter happened to zoom into my room, well. All the better.
Today is the second-to-last day for the Harry Potter 30 Day Challenge!
Day 21: Pick one character to bring back from the dead.
Just one!? If Lupin had survived the Battle of Hogwarts, I would choose Sirius. I want them to be BFFs for the rest of their lives. But I can’t bring back one without the other, because they’ve already spent so much of their lifetimes alone, and I hate that for them.
I would bring back Dumbledore, but let’s be real. He’s old, he lived a good long life, and he walked into death with his eyes wide open.
I’m a monster, and I never really cared all that much about Dobby. I could maybe get on board with bringing back Hedwig, but in the end there’s only one choice: Fred Weasley.
GEORGE NEEDS HIM. I NEED HIM. He died too young and too funny. Continue reading →
It Is Trish 