vivian_m_anderson's reviews
127 reviews

reflective medium-paced

4.5

I was waffling between giving it a 4.25 and a 4.5 for a while, but ultimately landed on a 4.5 for even though I didn't enjoy reading it quite as much as I enjoyed reading, say, Parable of the Talents (which I gave a 4.5), the overall concept of the novel is perhaps even more interesting! The whole theme of alienness is fascinating, and I would've loved to discuss this book in school or a book club with other people. What would it be like for someone who doesn't know possession, capitalism, or money at all to be thrust into those concepts and the effects they have on a society? I particularly liked the back and forth chapter structure, as seeing things develop simultaneously in the "past" on Anarres and the "present" on Urras made for very effective story development and left some things mysteries until the novel's end. The only downfall for me was at times, the physics concepts got a bit too dense and convoluted, but I think that says more about my struggles with physics (and sci-fi, for that matter) than it does about Le Guin's fabulous novel. Hope to read more of her work soon!

Doppelganger by Naomi Klein

Go to review page

funny informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

a really, really good book--i'm very tempted to give it 4.75 stars, and I might end up doing so after some more thinking. the way naomi klein blends the personal with the political makes the complex systems and concepts that klein covers throughout the book feels more accessible, and I see this as a good recommendation for someone who is interested in politics but not necessary steeped in it. the whole use of the word doppelganger to see different versions of ourselves we create in society (the self as perfected brand, the self as digital avatars, the self as data mine, the self as racist and anti-semetic projection, the child as mirror of the self, and the self as the eternal victim, to name a few) is definitely a way of seeing that I will take with, as with the concept of political diagonalism. also, this got me super tempted to read no logo, so don't be surprised if you see that here sometime soon.

No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive by Lee Edelman

Go to review page

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

so fucking good! i can't in good faith give it a five-star review because it is admittedly a huge mind fuck in certain sentences, with some confusing phrasing and wordplay which simultaneously makes my head hurt and makes me chuckle (see: "in an atmosphere atwittter with the cries that echo between those who merely watch and those who hunt such birds, what matter who killed cock robin? the logic of sinthomosexuality justifies that violent fate in advance by insisting that what such a cock had been robbing was always, in some sense, a cradle.")

alongside this, though, it also has some prose that is simply sublime, not only in its phrasing but in the fascinating ideas in which it is expressing. i say this about many of the books of this type i read, but it really fundamentally changed the way i view both my own queerness and the role of queerness (or, as edelman would say, the sinthomosexual) in broader society. and the concept and analysis of reproductive futurism alone makes this book worth the read. i will be thinking about this book for a long time to come, and i'm excited to read it again in the future when i am fully steeped in the field and can more fully understand all of the material.

i would put some favorite quotes here, but there are too many to choose from.
----------
update fall 2024:

i never really agreed with the ideas lee edelman was expressing, but was moreso interested in how he articulated those ideas and the existence of those ideas themselves. after reading some really poignant critique of the hopelessness (and whiteness) of edelman's anti-futurity, i've realzied just how much i disagree with his ideas. at the same time, though, i retain a respect for his prose and don't beleive he is ill intentioned. i will continue to recommend this book, though with caution and with critique presented alongside it.

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Go to review page

4.25

read for my 9th grade english class @ lakeside w/ lapsley! actually fire

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Go to review page

read for my 9th grade english class @ lakeside w/ lapsley

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Go to review page

read for my 9th grade english class @ lakeside w/ lapsley

Real American: A Memoir by Julie Lythcott-Haims

Go to review page