Zack

A memoir born to be HEARD.

Revisado: 04-25-21

If ever there was a book to listen to as narrated by the author, it has got to be this one. And “narrated” is an understatement here; Mariah PERFORMS pretty much the whole 11-hour memoir, including but not limited to emotional inflection, artful ad libs, and dozens of a cappella musical interludes. It’s a great memoir on its own, but it’s a triumph of the self-narrated audio genre. Five stars, dahhhhling.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Art + Feuds, Affairs, and Celebrity Cameos

Revisado: 05-02-20

Loved this. Fascinating to learn how these pairs of artists crossed paths, feuded, made up, influenced each other, and impacted art and culture more broadly. Great cameos from folks like Gertrude and Leo Stein, Lee Krasner, Peggy Guggenheim, and many others. Interesting, packed with information on the artists and the cultural contexts in which they worked, but broken into short, easily digestible sections.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Let me ask you: Have you ever been shot?

Revisado: 05-02-20

3.5 stars — Jackie Speier is one of the most interesting people in Congress. A survivor of a mass shooting and infamous mass murder (Jonestown), a woman who has dealt with tragic loss and talked publicly about her abortion and her experiences with childhood sexual assault and workplace sexual harassment. She's an underrated badass. (In one exchange noted in the book: Speieir, backing assault weapon restrictions, is asked by a male Assembly colleague if she's ever actually shot a gun; Speier retorts, "Let me ask you: Have you ever been shot?") It's not a literary memoir. But if you treat it for what it is — an opportunity to better get to know a fascinating public servant, in her own words — it was worth the read.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Will make you rethink our approach to drug wars.

Revisado: 05-02-20

Interesting concept: analyzing drug cartels not as haphazard criminal operations but as, essentially, multinational corporations operating in a massive global market. They engage in everything from CSR (cartel social responsibility?) to strategic mergers, vertical integration, etc. One of the key points is that the war on drugs has been wholly ineffective because it has consistently attacked the issue at the wrong end of the supply chain, inflicting more damage on subsistence farmers than cartel bosses. Efforts to reduce supply — spraying and burning crops, etc. — are demonstrably inefficient when compared with efforts to reduce demand by funding public health and education, addiction treatment, and the like. Also full of fascinating little nuggets and anecdotes: jailbreaks and elderly housekeepers plotting murders... the things you'd want and expect in a book called Narconomics.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Historical Exploration of Egypt AND Female Power

Revisado: 05-02-20

Cooney dives into each of Egypt's women rulers — Merneith, Neferusobek, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Twosret, and Cleopatra — not only telling their stories, but also using them as lenses to explore women's power more broadly. We learn how they navigated the patriarchal system to take hold of the kingship, how they juggled gender expectations, and how timing played a key role in many of their ascensions. If you're willing to dig a little, their stories are stuffed full with strategic lessons on power and its workings: On that front, I thought this book was far more interesting and useful than On Grand Strategy, which was disappointing. Cooney also draws parallels to modern figures like Hillary Clinton and Benazir Bhutto, who — even today — have faced challenges not unlike Egypt's women rulers. Overall, an easy but fascinating read with manageable sections dedicated to each leader. 4.5 stars. A highlight of the last few months.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Who gets to be an artist? Never too old to start.

Revisado: 05-02-20

Strong audiobook with wonderful narration from the author. Painter is eminently interesting, a prominent historian turned "old" student and artist. She focuses mostly on her experience in art school and the challenge of juggling a successful career while striving toward another. I also appreciated her thoughts on navigating the art world as black and woman, caring for aging parents, and pushing through self doubt — who gets to be an artist? what is good enough — on her journey.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Rejection Attempts Feel Shallow.

Revisado: 05-02-20

2.5 - 3 stars. A bit disappointing. First, specific to the audiobook, I found that the narrator's voice didn't match the author's personality as reflected in the writing. More generally, though interesting in concept, I found myself disappointed (borderline frustrated) with the author: he spends most of the book focused on his attempts to seek out rejection, which is interesting in concept — making oneself "rejection proof" by seeking it out and overcoming the fear. But his rejection attempts are often dumb stunts, largely meaningless in the grander scheme of things. Play soccer in a stranger's yard? Make in-flight announcements on a plane? Get custom donuts? At a certain point, the rejection attempts start to feel shallow. I would have appreciated more meaningful introspection on consequential rejections: in love, in career, etc. There are surely lessons to be learned from people who've navigated through those rejections and come out stronger on the other side. Jiang doesn't do a great job diving deeper.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Equal Parts Family Drama and Murder Mystery

Revisado: 05-02-20

Crime is not my usual genre, but I picked up Long Bright River after learning more about its setting and context — the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia in the throes of the opioid epidemic. Ultimately, Long Bright River is more family drama than murder mystery, a story of a family impacted by addiction, set down divergent paths as they grapple with trauma and grief. Yes, there are murders; Mickey, the protagonist, is a police offer in Kensington as neighborhood women are targeted. But Long Bright River is strongest when Moore looks back and explores the dynamic between Mickey and Kasey, her addiction-impacted sister, and the grandmother who raised them.

CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNING AND VERY HIGH-LEVEL POTENTIAL SPOILER: mild, light depictions of drug use; grooming and sexually predatory behavior (present but not described in explicit detail); police violence against sex workers and people with addiction (again, present but not described graphically).

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

From The Yellow Wallpaper to '07 Britney

Revisado: 05-02-20

Part memoir, part study of how Victorian gender norms still permeate society today. Cote draws from examples in literature and in popular culture, running the gamut from "The Yellow Wallpaper" to Britney Spears's 2007 public meltdown and controversial conservatorship. These case studies make Too Much interesting and enjoyable to read even as it addresses weighty topics. Cote is also incredibly candid, drawing from her personal life to guide the narrative — her path in academia, her failed marriage, other personal struggles. If you've read other books in the feminist/gender studies genre, or if you've been a woman existing in the world, I'm not sure that any of these insights will surprise you or feel particularly new or enlightening. But Too Much is still a good addition to the body of work, and Vorona Cote brings a fresh and candid voice as both scholar and memoirist/essayist.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Real Life Female Superhero Spy Novel

Revisado: 05-02-20

If you like stories like Hidden Figures or The Woman Who Smashed Codes, you'll surely love A Woman of No Importance. Virginia Hall, the Limping Lady of Léon, the Madonna of the Mountains, overcame tremendous obstacles (and tremendous sexism throughout her career) to become a leader of French resistance and a major Nazi tormentor in occupied France.

Without spoiling too much — no more than is revealed in the description — you'll find Virginia/Marie/Diane orchestrating POW jail breaks, calling down Allied supply drops, and sabotaging Nazi transportation lines through her command of a ragtag band of resisters. Equally interesting, if not quite as flashy, is the nitty gritty organizing work Virginia did to pull it all off: recruiting nuns, sex workers, hairdressers, and Embassy officials to the cause (or at least to her bidding), and (mostly) outmaneuvering a slew of egotistical men who tried to hold her back. Her career wasn't perfect, but her cunning and bravery and determination were remarkable, truly a wonder to read about. And yet she remains human throughout, flawed, sometimes lonely, sometimes frustrated, a war hero struggling with a mother who wants her to marry into money. Purnell captures this well and walks a fine line, recognizing the almost impossible feats Virginia pulled off without falling into hero worship or caricature.

A great read about a fascinating woman — a movie is supposedly in development — that also taught me a lot about WWII, the OSS/CIA, and the history and politics and culture of the time.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña