fenny_42's reviews
1161 reviews

This book blew me away. It felt like the author was speaking from my own brain and heart. Absolutely devastating and wonderful. Excited to discuss this at book club and eventually read it again. 

So many good resources, clearly well thought-out and considerate of all kinds of people and events. I'm glad I bought this one to keep as a reference guide. 

Absolutely incredible. So many heartwarming moments, and such a beautiful story. Will definitely reread this in the future. 

Even better than the first book (A Wizard of Sarthsea). This gave me big The Locked Tomb vibes. Definitely Ninth House-esque with a child saddled with a huge burden way too young. Lovely story and a really quick read. 

Amazing all around, but the last three short stories were in the same universe and were thought-provoking, emotionally rich, and made me cry a couple times. I forgot how great of a writer Le Guin is. I'm reading the Earthsea quartet immediately after this!

Engaging, persuasive, poignant, timely. I was already interested in natives and replacing all my turf grass, and now I'm convinced that it's even more necessary. If we want birds to stick around, we need to plant natives since local insects typically cannot get nutrition from introduced (alien/naturalized) plants. Learning about different insects and native plants to support them was my favorite part of this masterpiece! So glad I bought the book to have on hand as a reference as I reshape my lawn.

It was also refreshing to read that I, as a lone gardener, can make a difference without waiting for corporations/government to do anything. I, personally, can alter my garden to help native wildlife. So inspiring! 

Delightfully odd, just like all Leckie's other novels. This one adds more complexity and flavor to the previous four Imperial Radch books. Time for another reread? Perhaps... :) This one had so much beauty with found family and self acceptance. Absolutely gorgeous themes, once again. Leckie's writing is basically perfection. 

I liked the premise (I adore reading letters as fiction, and mysteries) and had heard raving reviews about this book. However, I borrowed it from the library and in the three weeks I had it, I couldn’t manage to be intrigued enough to finish. I made it about 80 pages in. The “letters” weren’t nearly close enough to letters, since they include large back and forths of dialogue and action that read a lot more like a regular narrative. So the “letter” format struck me as more pretentious than serving the story in any way, except for the very beginning of the story and how the book was framed (again, loved the premise!!). I may give this another shot someday, but for now it’s going in my DNF pile.

Reading this book made me so angry, so many times. Women are fertile for about 24 hours per cycle for only childbearing years whereas men are fertile 24/7 their ENTIRE LIVES. So I can't believe how much our society puts the responsibility of birth control (money, time, PAIN) solely at the feet of women. That includes the men that those women engage with. Men often coerce women into not using condoms because they think not using one makes them more manly or consider it to be a successful conquest to overturn a woman's choice. 

The book talks about the idea that "condoms don't feel as good" being a lack of practice rather than a real fact. Men can practice using different condoms and lubes to find what works for them and DOES feel good but instead avoid using condoms simply because they think they should hate them. Men who practice this and use condoms often don't share that fact or share with their friends what has worked for them, so the myth persists. 

Something the book doesn't touch on but should be mentioned is that the pH of semen changes the pH of a vagina so much that a woman can get an infection (BV) from having barrier-free sex. 

Please, everyone, read this book and educate yourselves. It is simply outrageous what we have been taught to believe.