Revisiting this old friend. Bought this when I was 12 and read the whole trilogy many times over as an adolescent. I bought myself the Book of Dust last weekend and decided I needed to revisit this first.

The science in here was great, and I‘d love to be able to recommend it without reservation. Unfortunately, the author was an insufferable dudebro who inserted weird ableist and judgy asides about the various people he encountered while researching the book.

Flew through this in 2 or 3 sittings. I‘d forgotten what it was like to be immersed in a wholly new sci-fi or fantasy world. I love good world-building, and I‘m so delighted to have tumbled into a built world that grapples with non-white, queer identities. I‘ll be picking up the final installment from my library ASAP.

I knew that, as a history, sociology, and food nerd I‘d like this. I didn‘t realize I‘d be unable to put it down. The history and food narratives are fascinating, but what makes this gripping is Twitty‘s brutally honest memoir style, his meditation and reflection on the construction of modern black identity through his own lived experience.

“While the Texas oil economy relies on the truth of geology, many of its inhabitants remain stubbornly resistant to its charms.”

I stayed up past midnight finishing this. What a weird, creepy, revelatory ride this was. Whenever I thought to myself, “Oh, I know what LaValle is up to,” the next scene inevitably complicated my expectations.

I did have some minor quibbles about pacing, but this book deserves all the buzz it‘s been getting.

I don't even feel like I can say anything about this except that every white American should be required to read it.

I liked this, although I felt like it could perhaps have been edited down a bit. It's an atmospheric read--more about mood than plot, really. Good for an overcast October. I like the queerness of it and the character studies. But don't go into it expecting an action-packed monster story.

This is an accessible primer on multiple fields of research (neuroscience, evolution, anthropology) into sex differences. Saini has a clear agenda--to poke holes in shoddy research that has been used to prop up misogyny and sex stereotypes throughout history. If you are on board with that crusade, you'll enjoy the book. I think she succeeds in raising some legitimate questions. Feminism has made science better, and Saini tells that story well.

Most fun I've had since the Eyre Affair, tbh.

I'm having a great time with this. Neal Stephenson is hit-and-miss for me (loved the Quicksilver trilogy, disliked Snowcrash) but here his elaborate plotting is delivered with a witty self-awareness, presumably courtesy of co-author Nicole Galland (I've never read anything else by her). This feels almost Jasper Fforde-ian in tone.

🙄🙄🙄

Darwin should have known better than to directly compare the evolutionary outcomes for populations experiencing different pressures. 🙄

"Yes, and this is how you are a citizen: Come on. Let it go. Move on."

I wasn't totally on board with all of the claims Tina Packer makes in this book, and I occasionally rolled my eyes a bit at her impassioned tone, but for the most part I appreciated immersing myself in such a detailed, focused love letter to Shakespeare's women.

Really enjoying this read!

If you are interested at all in Detroit history, sports history, the wild world of early twentieth century American politics, or the history of institutionalized violent white supremacism, don't pass this up. It's a page turner.

This was really not for me. I think 15 year old me would have loved it, though.

Great primer on gene editing, but probably not super accessible for novices. At times the writing feels repetitive and perhaps a bit self-aggrandizing...but, Doudna is one of the most brilliant biochemists of her generation, so that's probably warranted.

Quick, lovely, challenging exercise

Earth shattering.

This sat on my bedside table for 5 months, then I devoured it in 24 hours. I can think of no better book to end my 216 with. I never doubted that I'd enjoy reading about the adventures of a female biologist, but I was astonished at the beauty of the language and the depth of heart and ferocity of love in these pages.

I inadvertently found the perfect post-election read. Looking forward to reading more Zadie Smith in the near future.

"But it makes an immigrant laugh to hear the feats of the nationalist, scared of infection, penetration, miscegenation, when this is small fry, peanuts, compared to what the immigrant fears--dissolution, disappearance."

Lived up to the hype. I haven't been that engrossed in a novel in a long time. Beautiful.

My first Kate Atkinson!

"Heisenberg, when asked how one could envision an atom, replied: 'Don't try.'"

"Jut to put these insights into perspective...[when Henrietta] Leavitt and [Annie Jump] Cannon were inferring fundamental properties of the cosmos from dim smudges...the Harvard astronomer William H. Pickering, who could of course peer into a first-class telescope as often as he wanted, was developing his seminal theory that dark patches on the Moon were caused by swarms of seasonally migrating insects."

Can you believe I've had this on my shelf for like two years and haven't read it yet? Me neither. I'm excited to finally crack it open.

Filling some gaps in my literary education. #seriousreads

Perfect for curling up with during the last of my leisurely summer evenings. Late to the party, but I don't mind. I'm relishing the end of my urgency-free days.

Finally getting to this. Its mediocrity is almost more disappointing than a spectacular failure would have been. I'm done yet, but the flimsy plot and mind-boggling unwillingness to make same-sex romance cannon are leaving me feeling very "meh" at this point.

"All days are good, but this one looks better than most."

"Let us leave some places forever undisturbed."

I wanted so badly for this to be good. Turned out to be a bland vampire romance.

"Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere."

"And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom."

"Every time a student does an assignment, they are communicating something about their thinking. And even if it's far away from what you thought they'd do or hoped they do, they are still communicating the ways they are putting the pieces together."

"...great teachers find relevant, intellectually challenging content that teaches history, fiction, grammatical conventions, and vocabulary, but at the same time pushes students to explore the meaning of courage, empathy, honesty, forgiveness, and taking responsibility for one's own actions."

"When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton."

How did I make it to nearly 28 without reading this? It's a glorious train wreck I can't stop watching, and this year's nightmarish politics keep the horrors fresh and real.

But of bliss and glad life there is little to be said, before it ends; as works fair and wonderful, while still they endure for eyes to see, are their own record, and only when they are in peril or broken for ever do they pass into song.

After all, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of 'truth'...long ago, certain truths and modes of this kind were discovered and must always reappear. There cannot be any 'story' without a fall--at least not for human minds as we know them and have them.

Always.