sahanac's reviews
257 reviews

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan

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informative fast-paced

4.0

i thoroughly enjoyed this deep dive and changing my perspective to consider historically the time and place and context of jesus of nazareth. i enjoy placing things in the context within which they exist, and despite growing up heavily catholic, i had never considered jesus the historical man, and for all it's sins, this book introduced me to that. it also led me to a deep reddit spiral about the controversy surrounding this book and the author, which was in and of itself a pleasant reminder about the realities of being an academic studying this field - there are no truths here, just theories (some more substantiated than others), and the work of academia is two-fold: standing on the shoulders of giants to further theorize, or bring dense academic material to mainstream culture. reza aslan did not discover anything in this book, but he made jesus of nazareth a man mainstream culture can learn to engage with beyond jesus christ, and that's worthwhile too.
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

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emotional informative medium-paced

4.25

this was a fascinating read as a person who is obsessed with understanding the layers of meaning in language. i appreciated the deep dive from suicide cults to workout cults, but it felt like we started with a bang and then ended a bit with a whimper as we moved towards exercise cults. we came back in a big way in the nuanced discussion of cultish behavior online, and it got me considering the modern attention deficit and the jargon produced by being in specific online circles. learning specifically about the language of fanaticism made for a nice, neat, and narrow focus, which, while sometimes repetitive, did manage to hit home on the facts of what really readers and consumers of general media need to look out for
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

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challenging dark informative medium-paced

5.0

absolutely fascinating in its history of the mormon faith as well as the exploration of the murder of brenda wright lafferty and her daughter. krakauer's compelling and illustrative prose alongside the singular history and belief of the saints makes this one hard to put down and hard to stop thinking about. this is read alongside cultish by amanda montrell, and i am thinking a lot about the specifics of language when it comes to faith and to zealotry regarding any field, beyond merely the religious. 
Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis

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funny inspiring lighthearted 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

4.5

this was just a fun silly romp in a world of adventurers, heroes, and magic. i loved the slow reveal of everything gav got to discover just by being a decent person and man, and found each and every one of the side characters a delight. this feels like it almost falls in the cozy genre, similar to legends and lattes (though obviously less cozy than that, which was literally the characters setting up a coffee shop). a sequel would definitely be legends and lattes, now that i'm thinking about it. i love a redemption story that the main character earns!!
Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense 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

4.25

i thought the themes of climate, class, and the intersection between the two were intimately explored, especially through the lens of the unnamed narrator who felt very much a voyeur, both in the real world (she felt un-grounded in the scenes before the land of milk and honey) and, much more clearly, when she was on the mountain. the use of food here, a pleasure that is integral to survival much more so than other pleasures, like sex or alcohol or drugs, felt so real and relevant, especially in our modern age where the smallest step off of the edge of equilibrium could cause a crash with far reaching repercussions. I loved learning about the relationships between mothers and daughters in this book too - the narrator and her mother and their distance through to death, aida and her mother's fraught, misunderstandings, and then the narrator and her own daughter, breaking cycles and finding ways to keep life going. i wished for more for aida who grew up without a real chance in life, despite all her privileges, and it made me think lots about the ways in which our privilege blinds us to the opportunities in front of us, and how we are so often stuck in our prescribed routes and paths that even our aspirations are limited to the width of our imaginations. left me thinking and i would really recommend this one, even moreso than the other one by this author that i've read.
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

i think at this point my feelings are clear: i need to not read books by this author. i am always, always enchanted by the premises of the works by this author, and the execution is never for me. i wanted to like this retelling of the island of doctor moreau so much, since the themes speaking to indigeneity are so present in the original text when doing a reading thru the lens of colonialism. setting this book in the yucatan during a period when maya people were fighting for their rights was SO interesting. but the sci-fi part of the novel fell flat and was not truly explored to it's fullest extent (and sci-fi serves as a fun house mirror to our society - this book did not provide any reflection), and there was very little about the indigenous people at all. not for me, and i think ( i hope ) i have finally learned my lesson with books by this author. 
Fandemonium by Kieron Gillen

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-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

4.0

The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-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

4.0

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

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challenging tense fast-paced

4.0

writing style was choppy and tense choices confused me but writing aside this was an absolutely fascinating read. trying to get into the mind of Breitwieser and Anne-Catherine was twisted and captivating. as a library & museum lover who believes that knowledge should be displayed with few barriers to access, seeing the abuse of that social contract laid bare was illuminating.
Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

gorgeous, fascinating, illuminated illustrations and a really topical poignant story with incredibly lovely characters.