@travisfw i read this a long time ago, when i was a different person and the world was a different place. i'm pretty sure i enjoyed it. in recent years i haven't gone near it, nor other books i read at the time, nor the people who still love the sci-fi of this era. the books wouldn't reflect me any more in the same way this wasn't digestible to you… and there is far too much in the world that hasn't changed, or that had even started to change and reversed course.
Illustrator Djamila Knopf leads us through her world, where anime-influenced characters, exquisite settings, and the …
The comfort of another lens
4 stars
This book will be by my side for a long time, a coffee-table book that actually sits on the nightstand, comforting you after a long day.
By turns monograph, memoir and how-to, it takes you through the artist's life, from her start as a tiny fan of Sailor Moon to the accomplished artist she is today. She has made renderings of the locales that inspired her and the rooms she lived in through adolescence.
Whatever your day or week has saddled you with, there's an image in this book to take you away and calm you, whether that's the wilds of nature, a cityscape in Tokyo, or a girl lying on her floor with her feet up, scribbling in her journal.
Illustrator Djamila Knopf leads us through her world, where anime-influenced characters, exquisite settings, and the process of creating fantasies enchant …
Parce qu'il permet de partir loin sans perdre de temps et de voyager plus "responsable", …
thirty trains!
4 stars
(2022 review reposted from dead bookwyrm instance)
Even though the subtitle promised me 30 unforgettable journeys, I was still unprepared for how many overnight trains the authors had unearthed, nor for how far they went (think Arctic Circle).
A bit breathlessly cheerleader, this book is still one I'll keep for the next time I need a novel trip idea.
A concrete jungle surrounded by abundant nature, Los Angeles is surprisingly more than just celebrities, …
You'd never guess L.A. was this interesting
5 stars
(2022 review reposted from dead bookwyrm instance)
The house from the Thriller video. Abandoned missile control sites. The graves of Carole Lombard and Clark Gable… and their lovers. The steps down which Laurel and Hardy dropped a piano.
This is not your Fodor's L.A. With lots of offbeat sites - A street steeper than Lombard! Dine with cops! A fiberglass chicken! - there's something in here to interest any L.A. unbeliever.
Worth the trip? Don't know. But the book got me thinking seriously about whether L.A. could be fun, and that's a 5-star lift.
(2021 review resposted from dead bookwyrm instance)
Tyson is the most objectionable writer I've encountered all year. I'd like to fill in my science knowledge gaps, in an entertaining way, but he's picking fights with the New York Times (over Pluto as planet) and J.R.R. Tolkien (over the plural form of "dwarf"). It's tiring and self-centered. It's a very bad year when I give out two one-star reviews, but this is a very bad year.
Engaging writing, interesting subject, well-documented. On paper, this history of pronouns across time and languages should have been a perfect read for me, but it left me flat.
The author travels through history to gauge the evolution of modern pronouns, showing that their usage (and quantity) are different across tongues, including English itself and languages both adjacent and distant.
"They" is saved for the last chapter; the singular "they" brings the most receipts but feels the least convincing from him, who clearly is coming to terms himself with the concept.
It's littered with pop-culture references that are on point, but taken together, they carbon-date him even before he states his own age. By the time he reveals that he was 22 in 1988, your response is, of course you were.
It felt like being cornered at a cocktail party with an earnest elder scholar from the East Coast who has …
Engaging writing, interesting subject, well-documented. On paper, this history of pronouns across time and languages should have been a perfect read for me, but it left me flat.
The author travels through history to gauge the evolution of modern pronouns, showing that their usage (and quantity) are different across tongues, including English itself and languages both adjacent and distant.
"They" is saved for the last chapter; the singular "they" brings the most receipts but feels the least convincing from him, who clearly is coming to terms himself with the concept.
It's littered with pop-culture references that are on point, but taken together, they carbon-date him even before he states his own age. By the time he reveals that he was 22 in 1988, your response is, of course you were.
It felt like being cornered at a cocktail party with an earnest elder scholar from the East Coast who has far too many stories in his head and a desire to show himself as able to evolve, keeping up with the kids. I'm modern, he says. You can be too.
It's been five years since Charlotte Donovan was ditched at the altar by her ex-fiancée, …
A warm holiday fire
5 stars
I normally take weeks to get through a book. I devoured this one in days. It pushed a Kleenex box in front of me just often enough that I couldn't set it down. These are two profoundly flawed women, yet also practically perfect in every way. Through it all I just wanted to wrap them in blankets, bring them tea and cookies, smooth their hair by the fire.
The jacket blurb already gives away more than I would prefer. And you know how it ends. But the journey is an E-ticket ride and worth every penny. You might not want to read it at the coffeeshop though.
Illustrator Djamila Knopf leads us through her world, where anime-influenced characters, exquisite settings, and the process of creating fantasies enchant …
It's been five years since Charlotte Donovan was ditched at the altar by her ex-fiancée, …
Brighton left out the smaller story points, including Lola's name and the fact that she was pretty much a world-famous violinist now. She was simply known to Adele as the fiancée, like some mythical creature who only existed in legend.
Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s …
“…I’m pretty sure Gretchen’s not navigating that. So which one of us is more queer?”
— “Well.” I pause. “I’d have to see the two of you trying to sit in chairs.”
— “Yeah, what even is that? I’m great at sitting in chairs.”
I look pointedly at her left leg, currently propped in an awkward triangle on the driver’s seat.
