bdingz's reviews
422 reviews

Thank you to NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book.

An ambitious debut, Liam O’Dell’s Selling Out The Spectrum takes on issues that have long frustrated academics and autistic advocates alike. With thorough research and a hefty number of interviews, the author interrogates the legacies of controversial figures like Andrew Wakefield and Simon Baron-Cohen. O’Dell doesn’t simply rail against the academic machine, however—he consults with researchers, charities and autistics themselves to paint a nuanced picture of the problems at hand.

My main criticism is that, at times, O’Dell’s own voice got lost in the sea of interviews. As someone with a background in journalism, I know this might be counterintuitive to someone of the author’s profession. However, I would’ve liked to hear more from him outside of the introduction and conclusion. 

If you liked We’re Not Broken by Eric Garcia, be sure to pick up this when you can. 

Cozy and sweet. The characters felt very real to me.

The audiobook narrator is excellent!

This book was not what I expected, based on the title and recommendations I’d read. I was very close to giving it a DNF once I read the “deny trauma” bit, but I pushed through. I don’t know that I’m going to live an Adlerian lifestyle or anything, but there are some concepts here that are useful as thought exercises, if nothing else.

The authors do a great job compiling what little information is available about Esther Cox and organizing a narrative. I’m not sure the book quite does what it sets out to do, which is to “demystify” Cox and combat much of the misogyny that’s baked into her story. Near the end of the book, Norris notes that Cox was more than “a haunted girl” — she was a “daughter, granddaughter, sister, wife, mother…” etc. Even though we know Cox’s life continues beyond the mystery for which she’s known, I don’t think it counts for much to say that she eventually lived a life that was expected of her sex at the time. 

All in all, some mixed feelings about this one, but I’m glad I read it. 

A woman must first endure a victimhood of some sort—abandonment, abuse, oppression of the patriarchy—to be monstrous. Men have always been permitted in fiction and in life to simply be what they are, no matter how dark or terrifying that might be. But with a woman, we expect an answer, a reason.

This was a wild ride and my first foray into splatterpunk. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did! Creepy, funny, icky. I support women’s wrongs.

Lots of interesting spells and rituals here. It was more Wicca-influenced than I expected, but I can adapt these things so that’s fine.

A handful of issues here and there. Some have to do with personal preference, others with citations and fact-checking or lack thereof. 

I don’t think I’m entirely smart enough for this book. But I, for one, welcome our fungi overlords.

Somewhat academic in its tone but still relatively accessible and, at times, funny. I learned a lot!