amsswim's reviews
234 reviews

Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing by Emily Lynn Paulson

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funny informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

I liked this one. Easy to read/listen to and follow the journey she went through. As this is a topic I am very interested in, I knew a lot of the information already but there were still some new facts or perspectives I hadn't considered. This is more of a personal story and perspectives with facts rather than a strict non-fiction book, which isn't bad just worth pointing out. Would recommend to most people. Liked the content but the writing style was not really for me.

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Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Liked this one a lot. Not much more I have to say about it other than I think it will translate well into a TV show.

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South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry

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dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Loved this read. Similar premise to How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith in the sense of travelling to important places in the history of black people in America, however this book does not limit itself to pre-Civil War history. Truly dives into how the United States was built on slavery and inequality from the very start, and we as a nation keep the old ideas and habits around. I listened to the audiobook, which was read by the author. Highly recommend this one, and it came out this year.

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White Noise by Don DeLillo

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emotional funny mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Reread this to watch the show. In my opinion this books reads very slow, but the characters, the ways they speak and see the world, and the world they live in seems so familiar and simultaneously dar away you can't help but continue reading. An interesting read for those looking for a more recent classic, but not too recent. Excited to see what they do with the show, considering the depressing plot but funny dialog and descriptions.

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The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

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adventurous funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I saw this book recommended everywhere, and it was totally worth it. N.K. Jemison has such a way with word, the descriptions were so vivid. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND listening to the audiobook, it's not just a read it has sound effects, music, and more. Made the descriptions amd story really come to life.

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Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

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emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This one was very sweet. You read from the perspective of an "Artifical Friend", a robot that accompanies children. I really loved how Klara interacted and saw the world. As well as how her perspective lacked context entirely sometimes, but had too much in other points. I would love to know more about the larger world the story takes place in, but it didn't matter to Klara so it was not in the story. It felt like a sweet, nice episode of Black Mirror (those are rare though). I'd recommend for science fiction people and those who like light science fiction.

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The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Anyone looking for a Hugo winning fantasy? THis was my first read by this author, but I really like her writing style. Full of details and feeling, I really felt my heart aches for what the characters go through. The plot and setting start a bit abstract, but in a way that pulled me in entirely. I'm not usually a series girl, or I haven't been in years, but maybe this will get me back into it. I have 2 more after this.

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Doing a Fall book challenge and this was my starting read. Watched the Netflix show on Netflix and loved it, but I knew this and the show were different. It's almost as if the show is an alternate universe to the original story. This original story is also very good! Quick read, the plot movies decently fast on top of that. The environment is very unsettling from start to finish. Characterization is top tier and pairs with a steady flow of things getting worse. WOuld recommend if you are looking for a spooky read, I think this would be good for someone looking for a classic horror as well. Let me know if you do read it!

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Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thank you, Jen, for the recommendation. I love science fiction, and romance for me is a treat when done the way I like. I'm very picky on romance I read because I really don't love all romance tropes, but this one has some of my favorites. It's about the yearning, we must focus! Combining the perfected use of the romance tropes with a new sci-fi background I really loved. The overall story was interesting and kept me coming back as well. I saw a review saying the romance was a background to the sci-fi plot, but I felt the opposite that the sci-fi was a different setting for romance plot points used before, but maybe that just depends on how much you read each of those genres.

Either way if you're looking for a sweet, lgbt, sci-fi romance, this is it!

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The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America by Eric Cervini

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.25

I only knew a bit of LGBTQ+ history before reading this, so my goal was to have a greater understanding of it all. This book focuses on the legal and moral battles in the US from around the 1940s and on, specifically following Frank Kameny. 

I didn't realize this book was focused on Kameny before picking it up, which threw me off. He was at the front of many of the legal battles and stood alongside/lead many other moral battles and resistance movements, so the focus made sense. That being said I still found myself confused the lack of inclusion of the lesbian movement as well as the civil rights movements of this time. There was a certain point 1/3 of the way in where I nearly left the book behind, but then it became very self reflective and understanding of the initial and continued failings of being intersectional within the gay movement. After the 4th-wall type break, I was much more interested. The general exclusion of race and gender reflected the white men in the movement being exclusive much of the time as well.

Glad I finished this one, but it makes me want a different view of other events. The arc of this book very much reflected Kameny's view on himself as well as the progress of the gay movement, which provides an interesting perspective. If you're into US History and Politics as well as have an interest in this topic I'd recommend this one.

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