doragt's reviews
595 reviews

Interesting, more detailed story than the film. But not terribly original. I thought the ending was a bit clunky, a detailed happily-ever-after. 

Enjoyed this one a lot. Sentimental in places without being sappy. Interesting cast of characters. 

Fast-moving plot. Interesting characters. Easy to get caught up in. 

I’ve never followed Ina closely, but thought it sounded like an entertaining book. On the whole, it was, but I thought it was inconsistently structured and paced. 

The big events and lessons along the way were interspersed with smaller, mundane episodes that sometimes felt like filler. 

She seemed very honest about her high and low points, but there were moments where she came too close to either bragging or self-pity. 

All of that said, there were parts that made me laugh out loud. And there were some very moving and thoughtful parts, especially at the end where 1)she talks about never fully overcoming the cruelty and lack of support from her parents, and 2) talks about Oprah and Lesley Stahl calling her out for attributing her success to luck and not to talent and hard work. 

Really liked the story. Good representation of pandemic and post-pandemic behavior. 

Very quick, but impressive read. It’s a long essay; the hardcover is 105 small pages, but several of the pages contain illustrations. 

It’s really a book about economics and community and suggests that we shouldn’t look at economics in terms of scarcity, but rather in terms of abundance and “enoughness.”

She talks about the gift economy, where people share their wealth, rather than hoarding it. In other words: it’s about mutual aid, based on indigenous peoples’ worldview, using examples from nature, especially the serviceberry. 

4.75, because there were parts that felt repetitive. 

Interesting book. I read it in two parts, so had trouble keeping secondary characters straight. Need to go back to reread. She writes really well, but I think I prefer having a more coherent plot. 

Thorough and well-structured. Has checklists for many scenarios. 

Too prepper for me. More ideology sprinkled throughout than necessary. Trying to put together our family plan. This was somewhat helpful, but found another that was better structured and more useful. 

Not as helpful as I’d hoped