catsarecool43's reviews
17 reviews

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi

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informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

this is probably the first history book i have ever read, and so it took a while to get into, especially as my main knowledge of history only goes back to ww2. it might have helped that i decided to read most of this book in a week as i am going to be living with my parents for a month and i want to avoid talking about palestine with my horribly bigoted step dad, so any parts i struggled to understand i still got through. very enlightening and helped me understand various political and national factors involved in the colonisation of Palestine that so far i was unaware of. definitely a good overview of palestinian history since zionism came to influence it.
M Train by Patti Smith

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emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.75

this book has completely altered me. i don't remember how i started off reading this but eventually i decided to only read it in cafés, as to embrace the theme of the book. some of the passages moved me very deeply and i feel i owe it to patti and myself to read her other works, but also to read anything i can get my hands on. since starting this i have become much more of a reader and writer, and the passion she has for these things has definitely impacted my perception of things. i look forward to one day reading this again when i am aware of more of the books and places she visits, she really did good work with this book.
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

i can't stop reading dystopian books that feel deeply applicable to real life. part 1 reeled me in and i couldn't stop thinking about it, most of the book was like this for me. i was a little worried when i started part 2 because
it very much felt like it was becoming a romance story, and it felt like such a waste of what was an incredible book so far. Luckily for me this didn't last too long and my faith was restored, especially during part 3.
Idk if I have much to say because it's been like a week since I finished it but 1984 was an incredible read and it's made me want to read a lot more orwell.
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Collapse Feminism: The Online Battle for Feminism's Future by Alice Cappelle

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

Having been a fan of Alice when I was around 17, walking into the bookshop for my second piece of feminist literature to pick up this book, only noticing the author after reading the blurb, felt like a good twist of fate. 
I particularly enjoyed how she deconstructs ideas of the right, as they feel easily dismissable but are key in shaping feminism in the present. The ideas in this book are well split up, and you would do just as well to only read one section and spend time thinking about it, on this note I hope to reread some parts of this to give them more thought and I look forward to anything else Alice gets published.
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

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dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It's very interesting seeing the dehumanisation of this society, and how someone working in the main area causing this reacts to and thinks about his job. It was written relatively well, although the first 2 chapters definitely felt like they were trying to make up for the fact that it's not a very long book. I'd like to read something set during The Transition since that seems like it could be very interesting.
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Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

probably a lot better if you haven't seen the film, still good but a little predictable for me. the ending also didn't feel all that overwhelming
Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by bell hooks

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

seems like a good jumping off point to get into feminist theory, lots of references to explore