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Tag: politics

April 22, 2018January 11, 2019 Alison Hamilton Book Reviews

Review: A Higher Loyalty by James Comey

Hey there bookworms! For those who follow my Instagram, you're already aware of my apprehensions with the current political climate today. I would like to reiterate them here before I write my review: I know that there are people who strongly disagree with my views, and I highly encourage a healthy dialogue between people in … Continue reading Review: A Higher Loyalty by James Comey

@busycollegebookworm

QOTD: what is one classic on your backlist that you’ve been meaning to read? AOTD: I’ve been trying to read Fahrenheit 451 for ages- and with the #10books10decades challenge by @reggiereads, I will be doing so this week! It’s a book about books, about freedom, and about what it means to be an independent thinker. Somehow, I’ve never read this one for a class or for pleasure! I’ve put so many great books on my backlist and then I never touch it. What great books and classics are on your backlist?
QOTD: What Is the last book that disappointed you? 🌎🌏Book Review 🌎🌏 Imaginary Friend: ⭐️⭐️/5 Frankly, this book was a disappointment. Let’s start with why it’s problematic. Christopher, our main protagonist, becomes “smart” after the nice man takes away his dyslexia. What a detractive and deficit lens on learning disabilities! His friend, dubbed ‘special Ed’ is referred to as this exact nickname throughout the whole book. There was a real opportunity to give children with a learning disabilities an active and nuanced role in this book, and I was severely disappointed. Their disabilities were nothing more than development to prove that the woods were changing them into ‘smarter beings.’ LEARNING DISABILITIES ARE NOT YOUR CHARACTER OR PLOT DEVELOPMENT. And then there was the writing itself. I read Chbosky’s other book, Perks of Being A Wallflower, and loved it when I was younger. I went into this novel thinking it would be very different, but still reflect the fantastic writing style and character development in perks. I was wrong. This book, first off, isn’t horror. It doesn’t know what it wants to be. It started as a supernatural tale involving the whole town (which was great!) but quickly turned into undisguised and underdeveloped Christian Allegory, but it’s also a romance, an adventure, a mystery...it does so much that the writing is disjointed and pacing is uneven. Allegory is also a bit generous- the Christian allusions are very in your face. There is nothing more to digest after reading this book, because the author explicitly tells you what every character means in his Christian tale. Furthermore, Christopher’s thoughts and actions don’t sound or feel like a 7 year old, and the time period is confused (floods as an insult for short pants is very 50s- this, alongside instant message?) I gave this book two stars for two reasons: I liked the lessons regarding love and acceptance at the end, and some of the horror at the beginning had potential. I can’t recommend this book. Read at your own peril.
QOTD: how do you discard unwanted things? Do you donate or give away to friends? In a classic move after reading @mariekondo’s book, I spent lots reading of time donating my things. After doing some digging, however, it’s clear that donated items are often discarded into landfills or unusable to donation places! The same goes for books. @virginia_reads has a great post about this topic on books. The overall solution, it seems, is to simply buy less- which I’m trying to do with my @nypl library card and other zero waste replacements! In the US today, 84% of all unwanted clothes end up in landfills. 30 to 40% of all food goes to waste annually in the USA. How do you dispose of/recycle your unwanted items ethically? After the donation store, do we know where it goes?

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  • Book Review: The Hate U Give
  • Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
  • Review: A Higher Loyalty by James Comey
  • Top Ten Tuesday: Classics Edition

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@BusyCollegeBookworm

QOTD: what is one classic on your backlist that you’ve been meaning to read? AOTD: I’ve been trying to read Fahrenheit 451 for ages- and with the #10books10decades challenge by @reggiereads, I will be doing so this week! It’s a book about books, about freedom, and about what it means to be an independent thinker. Somehow, I’ve never read this one for a class or for pleasure! I’ve put so many great books on my backlist and then I never touch it. What great books and classics are on your backlist?
QOTD: What Is the last book that disappointed you? 🌎🌏Book Review 🌎🌏 Imaginary Friend: ⭐️⭐️/5 Frankly, this book was a disappointment. Let’s start with why it’s problematic. Christopher, our main protagonist, becomes “smart” after the nice man takes away his dyslexia. What a detractive and deficit lens on learning disabilities! His friend, dubbed ‘special Ed’ is referred to as this exact nickname throughout the whole book. There was a real opportunity to give children with a learning disabilities an active and nuanced role in this book, and I was severely disappointed. Their disabilities were nothing more than development to prove that the woods were changing them into ‘smarter beings.’ LEARNING DISABILITIES ARE NOT YOUR CHARACTER OR PLOT DEVELOPMENT. And then there was the writing itself. I read Chbosky’s other book, Perks of Being A Wallflower, and loved it when I was younger. I went into this novel thinking it would be very different, but still reflect the fantastic writing style and character development in perks. I was wrong. This book, first off, isn’t horror. It doesn’t know what it wants to be. It started as a supernatural tale involving the whole town (which was great!) but quickly turned into undisguised and underdeveloped Christian Allegory, but it’s also a romance, an adventure, a mystery...it does so much that the writing is disjointed and pacing is uneven. Allegory is also a bit generous- the Christian allusions are very in your face. There is nothing more to digest after reading this book, because the author explicitly tells you what every character means in his Christian tale. Furthermore, Christopher’s thoughts and actions don’t sound or feel like a 7 year old, and the time period is confused (floods as an insult for short pants is very 50s- this, alongside instant message?) I gave this book two stars for two reasons: I liked the lessons regarding love and acceptance at the end, and some of the horror at the beginning had potential. I can’t recommend this book. Read at your own peril.
QOTD: how do you discard unwanted things? Do you donate or give away to friends? In a classic move after reading @mariekondo’s book, I spent lots reading of time donating my things. After doing some digging, however, it’s clear that donated items are often discarded into landfills or unusable to donation places! The same goes for books. @virginia_reads has a great post about this topic on books. The overall solution, it seems, is to simply buy less- which I’m trying to do with my @nypl library card and other zero waste replacements! In the US today, 84% of all unwanted clothes end up in landfills. 30 to 40% of all food goes to waste annually in the USA. How do you dispose of/recycle your unwanted items ethically? After the donation store, do we know where it goes?
QOTD: what’s a genre you normally don’t read? So I normally don’t do this, but I’ve decided to step out of my comfort zone and read Imaginary Friend by @chboskys. I’m not usually a horror fan, but I saw it on the @nypl library shelf and knew that I had to read it! So far, 70 pages in, it’s super creepy. Have you read this one? What do you think?
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