Suzi

Great Bit of Fun

Revisado: 02-24-25

I love Zen Cho’s Spirits Abroad so I was very interested when I learned of this title. It had some *mixed* reviews though so I lost a bit of confidence. Decided to give it a shot anyway and so glad that I did.

First, this is a historical fantasy set in *regency* era England. I have to emphasis “regency” because the era is know for its rather contrived and flowery language among other ridiculous and strict codes of conduct. One opinion that other reviewers share is that it’s really annoying to read/listen to and, well…that’s the point. If you are not a fan of that sort of thing to begin with, you will likely have a hard time getting into this. I was a theatre nerd in school so I had a lot of Shakespeare shoved at me. I thought the language was both fun and funny.

Another complaint that I saw is pretty common is that the book goes on and one about racism and sexism. The book’s protagonists are a free Black slave trying to be accepted and operate in an extremely White society that aggressively wishes him gone and a half-Indian magical girl who has to face both racism and the fact that woman are very openly hated by the same society (not that that has truly changed but you know it was the absolute rule back then) that wishes our male lead to be done away with. One thing about being a hated minority is that it takes up a lot of your daily life especially when people are actively trying to get rid of you in one way or another because of these traits. So if reading/listening about racism and sexism throughout a novel is not your cup of tea you may want to find another novel. If you give it a chance though, I think you’ll find that it’s not just a book that hits tried to bash your head in with the stuff. It’s really not a piece of serious scholarship.

I approached this as a cute, fantastical romantic comedy drama and I experienced exactly that.

*My* only complaint - and spoiler alert - is that for all the mentioning of their school-age romantic feelings for one another the was remarkably little done about it until the end and then it was so abruptly addressed. It was a few minutes of listening/a page or so of reading and then the book ended! For a fantasy novel that sets you up for this cute couple forming I was truly disappointed on that point’s delivery.

All in all? Solid, fun read. Would recommend, would listen to and read again.

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Not for Early Beginners/Ineffectual for Sleep Learning

Revisado: 02-23-25

Straight out of the gate, I figured this probably wouldn’t work. All the science around sleep learning states that your brain doesn’t actually receive or process the information while you sleep so you’ll retain nothing when you wake. Despite this (!) so many people praise the program and say it really does work. So I went into this skeptical but hopeful. It was, unfortunately, did not deliver.

I’ve had an introduction to Spanish outside of this program so I was able to - while awake - utilize this tool as a supplement to what I am already doing. However, if you’re a total beginner this isn’t for you. In the very first lesson you are already expected to know/remember how to conjugate several verbs and vocabulary words.

During the sleep portions you’re being prompted to answer questions as well as repeat after the speakers. How are you supposed to do this and sleep? The sleep portions do have brown noise embedded in them, but it sometimes drowns out the speakers.

The idea is great, execution could be much better. Unfortunately, I bought this with money instead of a credit and cannot get it refunded.

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Lovely Twist of a Fairytale

Revisado: 01-06-25

I really enjoyed this read/listen. I was invested in the story and world-building. Marra was a refreshing “heroine”. I appreciated having a protagonist who wasn’t always brave and didn’t necessarily become a “real” hero. She was just such an untraditional hero and I loved it. The motley crew gathered to save Marra’s sister was endearing and amusing. I’d say the humor and adventure was comparable to that of the movie Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Marra’s sister, the new queen of the North - Kania - was also a wonderful character and portrayal of a woman of duty but also very human. Her character was beautifully layered. The end was wrapped tidily, which was actually a little disappointing for me. With so many breaks with tradition, I wish there was a bit messier, but it was very cute and sweet.

The performance was fun. The variance in the voices was interesting and there was obvious choices to make each character distinguishable. I give it a 4 instead of a 5, perhaps unfairly, because the male voices were just very off to me. It felt like she was trying very hard but her voice just couldn’t reach the depths she wanted. Still, I enjoyed it!

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Almost Everything I Ever Wanted

Revisado: 11-28-24

As a youth, I was one of only a handful of racial minority students at my elementary and middle school. The school, as a whole, was incredibly racist on average and somewhat tolerant of “others” on a good day. Now, I am an educator and when I saw this books I was convinced the message was just for me! This book really is an insightful and helpful read.

Escoto Germán is an ELA teacher so all of her examples are geared towards ELA classrooms. I believe that much of this material can also be adapted to fit other subjects - particularly Social Studies - and it would have been lovely to hear her point out ways in which that could be done. I can see, though, how this would have made the book a much larger endeavor.

I was also a little disappointed by where the books ended. Towards the end, I really felt like the book was just getting really started or perhaps had caught its second wind and then it just…stopped. I feel there was much more to explore, to question, and to reimagine. However, I can see the possibility that Escoto Germán intentionally ended there not for a lack of want or resources but, perhaps, to nudge you to start that work yourself. So while I wish there had been more, I can’t say this is a true shortcoming of the book.

I listened to it, I read it on Kindle, I have recommended it to colleagues of different minority communities and, of course, to white colleagues as well. It’s not the whole conversation but it is a wonderful starter.

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An Array of Magic

Revisado: 05-06-24

Zen Cho’s writing is electric. Her cast of many characters and their varying journeys are thoroughly developed and rich with humanity and magic. Many of the short stories are wonderful stand alone, but there are also a few which are written in two parts - these were my favorite as you got to delve further into the characters’s perspectives, desires, and motives. I enjoyed this so intently that it’s hard for me to write a review that doesn’t sound like a Shakespearean teen swooning over a pretty face.

One thing I was thrilled by was all of the Malay and other Asian specific magic, spirits, and language. I love getting to immerse myself in a culture and be able to enjoy it just as it is, without the comparisons to mainstream/White cultural norms. House of Gold by C.T. Rwizi is another great example of this. Of course, I’m not calling for an erasure of White people, but stories that allow POCs to exist in their own stories without having to weigh themselves against anyone else’s background is really cool. Also who doesn’t want to learn about another culture’s magic, if magic and fantasy is your thing?

Anyway, this was a fantastic read/listen. I love the sound of Emily Woo Zeller’s voice. It was so natural and she managed to vary her voice enough to portray distinguishable characters without overdoing it - male, female, and non-binary. Her males voices did start to sound the same at times, but, to my knowledge, she doesn’t often voice males characters so I can’t really fault her for that.

At the end of the day this is a gold winner, and I highly recommend it to others.

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The End is Worth the Listen

Revisado: 09-20-23

This book is a light read/listen. However, it was hard for me to enjoy it completely as the mother character, Victoria, was insufferable for the vast majority of the book. She was borderline unlovable and I don’t like to say that about people. The character was just intolerable. I also wish there had been more hoodoo magic. The “gift” and the curse are talked about at length but there’s very little in the actual way of performing hoodoo/magic. Overall, though, the book wasn’t bad. I loved the narration by Bahni Turpin. I think whenever she narrates she’s amazing. I’m glad I ventured to listen to this book. However, I won’t be listening to it over and over.

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One Wonderful Read

Revisado: 09-10-23

This was an amazing ride, full of grit as well as tenderness. The voice acting was incredible and suited all the characters well. The story was exciting and I never wanted to stop listening, so much so that I bought the Kindle edition so I could keep reading whenever I couldn’t listen. The finale’s plot twist is also interesting, if not surprising. Still the overall story is so worth the time!

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Predictable but Enjoyable

Revisado: 12-01-20

Luke Daniels’s narration will continue to bring me back to this series. This installment wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything fresh for this series either. You can tell Meyer has a lot of fun writing these books and probably laughs at his own jokes (no judgement intended), which Daniels then turns it fun for the readers through his oral presentation. There are a lot of cute moments - many featuring Gary - and there’s plenty of action. If you’re a fan then reading/listening should be no problem; if your on the fence this book will certainly be the deciding factor in whether or not to continue. As I first stated, this book is pretty much par for the course so if you were less than lukewarm this will leave you with the same impression. If you enjoyed everything else so far you’ll like have fun with this one.

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Good a first year Women’s Study course.

Revisado: 02-29-20

Honestly, you’ve probably heard this entire book/lecture as a TED Talk already, or in pieces here and there in different media. I’m really glad I bought it with a credit and didn’t pay for it, simply because I had already heard the entire book before listening to it.

There’s nothing new in this book, neither the content or the presentation. Her voice is lovely to listen to, but, as I’ve already stated, I found the content redundant. I also felt that she was using examples of her experiences in Nigeria and making a point of them being specific to Nigeria. However, most of them were not and for me, that got a little tiring. She did share experiences that, to a Western woman with little exposure to other cultures, would be really exotic and seem like very specifically Nigerian issues. But even if Western women are facing the same forms of gender oppression, many women in Arabic, South Asian and other communities due face them.

I was also extremely bothered by her constant matter-of-fact attitude about gender differences due to the biology of assigned sex, as if the two - sex and gender - are the same thing. I can never fully back a feminism that is non-inclusive of transgender and non-binary identities. But I might recommend this as a useful starter resource for someone who is just now dipping their toes into the world of feminism and women’s rights and need a gentle introduction.

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Excellent Sequel

Revisado: 02-29-20

This was definitely a complex, thoroughly thought though sequel. Anything that you may have saw coming was still realized a little outside of your exact expectation and was always satisfying. As the book went on, more and more possibilities emerged as to where this was going, how this was going to end. Whatever you might have imagined or hoped for, how this truly ends is exactly how it was meant to and I think anyone who enjoyed the first book will appreciate this conclusion.

I also really enjoyed that this book alternated between both Jane and Katherine’s perspectives. It really added to the way their bond developed and the meaning it had for each of them. I also appreciated Jordan Cobb’s voice as the narrator for Katherine’s chapters. It was a great reading experience.

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