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#WPNF25
review
ChaoticMissAdventures
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Mehso-so

Humm #WPNF25
I do not read many current affairs books. Mostly b/c by the time they are written & published the world has moved on. I find that still to be a sticking point for me. The couple of times she mentions Bashar al-Assad like he is a key player I see in my mind the sacking of his palace. As an American it u. Interesting to read this from her pov which was obviously before our last election. I have lots and lots of notes.
3/5 CH notes 👇

ChaoticMissAdventures CH 1&2 I was not taking detailed notes here but was already frustrated with the feelings of outdatedness. Somehow the book is very dense but also surface level. She skips around from topic to topic country to country a lot. She does make some good points off the bad and has fair warnings. Next comments are chapter specific and "spoilers so I will hide them ? 4h
ChaoticMissAdventures CH 3 Talking China/tech, they want to limit Internet, then taking about surveillance & somehow we are supposed to understand she is talking about Covid lockdowns when she has yet to mention the illness.
Randomly talks about players w/o intros
Talks about how RU is Christian but w/ low church attendance, then talks about how Russia is diverse- some areas Muslim w/ sharia laws then next sentence talks about how RU harasses and represses protestants
4h
ChaoticMissAdventures Ch 4 ✅ sovereignty used to avoid talking human rights Putin when attack others & his own people - CN taking HK along w/ 'right to develop'. "mutual respect" when they do not want others to criticize
*Talks about NK wanting to be closer to RU but not about NK troops in UA
✅ Good example of threat of human rights in relationship w/ global issues describing the Belarus hijacking plane from GR to IE in Belarusian air to take in political opponent
4h
ChaoticMissAdventures CH 5 I don't have much to say here. Very disappointed she talks a lot about Gene Sharp and his nonviolence writing saying everyone must use it it is the only effective way then goes on to talk about specific recent NV movements all of which have failed, giving no examples of when it does work. 4h
ChaoticMissAdventures Conclusion she lays out some global things the world can do but in a very broad, unhelpful for the reader way. Overall I have a sinking feeling she may be. Zionist. While she talks a lot about Putin and his atrocities she also seems to justify IL's bombing of Gaza hospitals blaming Hamas for sheltering there (most reports of this have been proven false) overall not a pick for the shortlist for me. 4h
11 likes5 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

Having spent 20 years in medicine, this isn‘t something I would usually read, but it‘s beautifully done. It‘s the story of 2 kids, one in desperate need of a heart transplant to survive and the other in a horrible car wreck. It‘s handled with gentleness, care, and grace, showing every step of the transplant process through their stories and enriched by some historical narrative. Superb. #WPNF25

Leniverse I'm a bit scared to read this one, I have to say. 9h
TheKidUpstairs Great review! 9h
ShelleyBooksie Doggo ♡♡♡ 9h
squirrelbrain I‘ve read extracts of this when it was serialised in a UK newspaper and it seems SO good. 4h
Hooked_on_books @squirrelbrain It‘s so well crafted. It‘s really a beautiful book. 2h
41 likes5 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

I just happened to be reading this when the #WPNF25 longlist came out and there it was! I can see why. The book delves into the lives of 4 women in modern China, giving a peek into the realities of life in China. I found it fascinating.

TheBookHippie Oh I wondered about this! Guess I‘ll pick it up! 9h
Hooked_on_books @TheBookHippie You won‘t be sorry! 9h
TheKidUpstairs I've got this out from the library, too. It'll probably be next after Story of a Heart 9h
squirrelbrain I just started this one…. 4h
38 likes4 comments
review
AnneCecilie
Raising Hare: A Memoir | Chloe Dalton
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Pickpick

I‘d been eyeing this before it made it to the #wpnf25 Longlist, I‘m so happy it was on it

This was so cozy and heartwarming, and I hoped it would never end

At the beginning of the pandemic, Dalton finds a young leveret in her garden. She can‘t see the mom so she decides to take care of it

A book that shows how little we know about nature and wild animals. A book that shows that it‘s possible for people to change & do better for other creatures

quietlycuriouskate I recently received it as a birthday gift. ❤️ 3d
squirrelbrain Great review! I‘ve had it reserved on BorrowBox audio for some time, but it‘s not due until 31st March. I may try to find a copy elsewhere instead. 3d
ChaoticMissAdventures Glad to hear! I am so nervous it is going to leave me in tears! 3d
See All 7 Comments
rachaich This looks so beautiful. 2d
Chelsea.Poole Sounds lovely indeed. Thanks for your review. Looking forward to this one! 2d
Hooked_on_books Nice! It‘s not out here yet, but I was able to get it on NetGalley, so I‘m excited to dive in. 🐇 2d
Anna40 This is on my to read list since I listened to an interview with the author but I‘m waiting for a paperback-too expensive at the moment! ☹️ 21h
68 likes1 stack add7 comments
review
TheKidUpstairs
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Pickpick

I knew next to nothing about Cherry going into this. I knew Buffalo Stance, and had a vague idea she was Swedish, but that's it. I started listening because it was long listed for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, and quickly fell in love with Cherry's voice, both as narrator and the poetic tones of her writing. This is a celebration of creativity, love, and families both born and made. Cont'd in comments

TheKidUpstairs Of cross cultural expression, of New York, London, Sweden, Sierra Leone, and Spain. Of food and music and art and the way they can be used to create community. Of all the beautiful, creative, life affirming people she has met and worked with (and there are SO SO many, coming into her life in such varied, interesting ways) cont'd 👇 3d
TheKidUpstairs Cherry has also faced the darkness of the world, and she doesn't shy away from stories of addiction, racism, violence, and the AIDS Crisis. But as she says, "I know a story can contain some dark threads, without them dulling the brighter colours" 3d
TheKidUpstairs I highly recommend this one, especially the audio, if you can. #wpnf25 3d
See All 8 Comments
TheBookHippie I love her. 3d
squirrelbrain Fabulous review! I‘m about 2/3 of the way through and I ❤️❤️❤️ it! 3d
Amor4Libros This sounds great, stacked! 3d
Chelsea.Poole Another to look forward to! Great review! I hope to get the audio soon/next month. 2d
youneverarrived Great review 🤍 it‘s very inspiring - I‘m just over halfway through. (edited) 22h
68 likes3 stack adds8 comments
blurb
ChaoticMissAdventures
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Does anyone use, or know anyone who uses the term "cottoning on to"?

Never in my life have I heard this phrase. It appears to mean to begin to understand. I am finding many of the phrases and words Applebaum uses throughout this book to be ones I rarely if ever have heard before; which isn't making this dense book an easy one to read.
#WPNF25

Ruthiella I think maybe it‘s more a Southern or Southwestern US term, but I certainly recognize it. (edited) 3d
TheBookHippie Yup. Mostly in the south I think here in the USA. 3d
ncsufoxes I‘ve lived in the south & never heard it. I lived in NC. In college had a very southern roommate & she never said it. I heard phrases in the south I never heard in the North or CA (fixin to, put it up—sounds like one word, hush your mouth). 3d
See All 14 Comments
Butterfinger I'm born and raised and now live in the mountains of NC. I'm wracking my brain because my family said some funny words - yonder, yuns, give me a holler, I swanee. I'm curious. NC, historically, was not a cotton state. I'm wondering if the origin of the phrase began on forced labor farms of Mississippi or Alabama. I'm just thinking out loud. 3d
Butterfinger "Cotton to‘ was coined in the UK and the first widespread uses of ‘cotton on to‘ were in New Zealand and Australia. The earliest example that I can find of this is from the New South Wales newspaper The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser, March 1883, reporting on a local..." https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cotton-on.html 3d
TheBookHippie @Butterfinger @ncsufoxes the person I heard it from was from Georgia. However I was young and she was old and that was 50 years ago… 3d
Butterfinger @TheBookHippie the article also mentioned that it also traveled to the US. What I copied was the first time the researcher found it in print. I plan to say it tomorrow. Do ya cotton? One of my passions is etymology. I love the evolution of language. 3d
TheBookHippie @Butterfinger it‘s all fun! I love words!! 3d
CoverToCoverGirl @ncsufoxes all the ones you pointed out I have heard or used up here in Canada. Made me chuckle. They‘re not common but I still do hear them and use two of them still on occasion. 🙂 3d
CoverToCoverGirl @Butterfinger I use that saying on occasion. My grandmother was a war bride from England. It always makes me think of her when I use it. 🙂 3d
squirrelbrain It‘s definitely still used here in the UK - possibly old-fashioned now though. 3d
Lindy I use that phrase. I didn‘t realize it might be unfamiliar to some people, so thanks for pointing that out. 3d
Cuilin @squirrelbrain Same in Ireland. Used and understood but mostly by older generations. 3d
ChaoticMissAdventures wow this got a lot of attention! So interesting - at first I was worried it was a little “slave“ term that we forgot the origins of, but it sounds like from the people here who use it and of course the online origin it is a UK thing that sort of has migrated a bit with the older crowd to UK adjacent places. So interesting! I have many friends in England, but have never heard them use it. The author is American & Polish so interesting! 3d
30 likes14 comments
review
Chelsea.Poole
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Pickpick

It‘s obvious Yang put time into getting to know the 4 women featured in this book. Her care of the topic and them is evident. However, as a listener of the audiobook I became confused about the 4 different stories as we shifted from one to another. The beginning grabbed me, as did the realities of women‘s experiences in China. Focusing on the work (or lack thereof) for Chinese women and the struggle of the laborers/inequality of classes. #WPNF25

TheKidUpstairs I've got this one out from the library, I think it'll be next for me after I finish 9h
85 likes2 stack adds1 comment
review
TheKidUpstairs
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Pickpick

This book defies easy categorization, which if you've read it you'll know is quite fitting. An engaging look at how humans have attempted to place order on the natural world, and how wrong we can be. About a turn of the century naturalist-scientist who was compelled to discover the order of life, and used his scientific mind to promote dark, dangerous, and deadly ideas. About how we find meaning and hope in a life ruled by chaos. Loved it. 👇

TheKidUpstairs TW: suicidal thoughts, eugenics, racism, ableism, rape, and forced sterilization. 4d
Chelsea.Poole Great review! 4d
Lindy I enjoyed this too. I thought of it when I read a more recent book about humans intent on cataloguing all of nature: 3d
66 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

Nagle looks at a modern day jurisdictional debate as well as the history of US government behavior regarding native peoples in this book. While I liked all the parts of it, it didn‘t entirely work for me as a whole. The current story is regarding the Muskogee reservation but much of the past history was about her own Cherokee family. I found that split a little confusing and would have liked to see one or the other as the focus. #WPNF25

squirrelbrain Great review! I‘ve just started this on audio. 4d
Hooked_on_books @squirrelbrain I‘m so curious to hear what you think of it. There were big chunks of things I already knew, and I wonder if maybe that helped fuel my reaction. 4d
squirrelbrain I‘m not sure if it‘s going to hold my attention on audio, particularly when I‘m driving. I think I‘ll stick with Neneh Cherry on tomorrow‘s commute ‘cos I‘m loving that. 4d
58 likes3 comments
review
Chelsea.Poole
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Pickpick

Heartbreaking, maddening, unbelievable what the white man has perpetrated against the Native American people. This should be required reading, in order to understand the systematic way people were removed from land, the way entire ways of life have been destroyed. This begins with a crime and a legal battle over tribal lands and jurisdiction which I felt was a great way to introduce the many and varied ways tribes have been denied rights.

squirrelbrain Great review! I (almost) started this earlier today. Had to stop after the prologue to go do something else. 🤨 6d
Chelsea.Poole @squirrelbrain it‘s so good, feels like it‘ll be hard to top, for me. 6d
See All 9 Comments
squirrelbrain I‘ve thought that about all 3 I‘ve read so far…. 🤷‍♀️ Which is fabulous, really, that we get to benefit from such great books. 6d
Suet624 I haven‘t read this one, but I‘ve read so many heartbreaking stories over the last 50 years of how we‘ve screwed Native Americans that I‘m not sure I can read another. But the more reviews I read of it I may just have to. 6d
WildAlaskaBibliophile Have you read Killers of the Flower Moon? This true story is also heartbreaking, maddening, and unbelievable. 6d
AnnCrystal
Difficult History 😢📚💔❤️‍🩹💝.
5d
AnnCrystal @WildAlaskaBibliophile that story was crazy, a masterpiece, yet absolutely scary crazy. I kept checking if it was indeed nonfiction! 5d
93 likes3 stack adds9 comments