Read
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The Incomplete Book of Running
Finished
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On the Other Side of Freedom
Finished
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Evvie Drake Starts Over
Finished
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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Finished
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The Vexed Generation
Finished
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Why Marx Was Right
Finished
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God
Finished
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Mr. Mercedes
Finished
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Children of Time
Finished
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A Memory Called Empire
Finished
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Women & Power
Finished
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The Grey King
Finished
This has been my favorite of the series so far. It had a bit more of an actual arc. I’m getting the impression that Susan Cooper is really good with words and description, and great at creating some compelling hints at the mythology of her world (it may sound silly but the book titles are just… so good), but not as good at creating overall plot, story arcs. Each book seems to have Will or another kid just kind of bounce around while big things happen to them, which is I think common in children’s literature but here those big things often don’t even swell to any sort of climax and denouement—they just sort of happen. I had some of the same trouble with the Narnia books. This book, though, broke out of that a little. Having finished the book I have a general sense of what the arc was, what the purpose of the adventure was, etc. I liked it better than the previous ones for that reason, and I’m definitely interested in picking up the next one.
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The New Jim Crow
Finished
I was entirely prepared to give this book five stars but she totally lost me with the pitch to give up (??) affirmative action near the end. I never really got the crux of her argument there so it’s possible I just entirely misunderstood it, but it felt way off base, especially on the heels of a section about how “color-blind” policies will never solve these problems.
Nah, I’m giving it five stars anyway.
Regardless of that concern this is a very, very important book and I would recommend literally everybody read it. It’s even got a little dig at Joe Biden, who currently appears to be preparing to ride Obama’s popularity to a Democratic nomination, when in fact he’s been a big part of the problem for years and years.
She comes at the issue with a level head and does a very good job addressing a lot of counterarguments and proposed half-measures. In that evenhanded approach, she does have a bit where she concedes that society has mostly moved past overt racism, which already feels incredibly naïve in the era of Trump. But you can see where it came from.
Read this book. Even if you feel like you know, you probably don’t know just the extent of the systemic injustice at play in the modern justice system and governmental structure. I thought I knew. I did know some things. But man. Read this.
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Rivers of London
Finished
I would never have read this book if it had been presented in what is apparently the American branding which is renamed “Midnight Riot” and features a low-pixel explosion and a silhouetted figure who looks like Vinnie Jones (the protagonist is mixed race and presents as black) and looks just all-around terrible. But I came across the paperback, with the intriguing map illustration and the “Rivers of London” name, and that made me seek out the audiobook (presented as Midnight Riot by Audible US).
It’s a fun story, combining elements of American Gods and other magic stories in a detective/crime structure. I’ll probably read the next one at some point. So I’m glad I saw the paperback, and not that terrible American cover, first.
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The Socialist Manifesto
Finished