daumari's reviews
1189 reviews

 Read for Book Club June/July 2024 for a read related to current events. We discussed the paradox of selecting a history book given our voted on topic, but context is extremely important for understanding how and why we are here, and Palestine is not an area I'm familiar with.

I appreciate that Dr. Khalidi opted to focus on six key events to structure this book around (a comprehensive history of everything would be greater than the <300 pages of this volume, and would likely meander) with extensive footnotes that went beyond mere citations but also evaluated the sources themselves (and additional reading if interested in specifics). He blends familial history with historical events (partially because he and family members have been involved in diplomacy in some capacity or another for well over a century) and I'm reminded of The Chinese in America: A Narrative History for weaving the personal with historical and how it's impossible to separate when it directly affects you and yours.

The most striking thing to me is the obvious settler-colonial nature of Zionism and how out-of-time it feels in the the 20th/21st century versus previous imperial expansions. But by this point, there are generations of Israelis who've been born and raised in the area, as well as generations of Palestinian refugees displaced from ancestral spaces. Israel's strikes are absurdly disproportionate in conflicts and through today, the death toll ratio demonstrates who the aggressors are (especially if you break it down into civilians vs military casualties).

Khalidi is also critical of Palestinian leadership's efficacy in both the regional Arab world and global stage, and the United States' ambivalence towards aiding civilians. 

 I read the audiobook on recommendation of both my boss and one of my mom friends and WOW, easily one of the best audiobooks I've listened to, and it's a marvel of a solo performance. Jeff Hays is now one of my narrators to look for because he's so versatile, and Soundbooth Theater does a little bit of effects when it comes to AI voices, etc. Sometimes I feel like audiobook versions lose out when there's text-based parts like the in-game chat, but Hays capably performs them, including what ALL CAPS SOUNDS LIKE from someone not used to typing.

Regarding the story itself, this feels a bit like Hitchhiker's in that we start with our protagonist outside when Earth gets taken by an intergalactic force we're unfamiliar with, and plenty of humor despite the grim circumstances. It's kind of a reverse isekai, because we're not transported to another world (another world comes to youuuuu).

Definitely going to continue the series, probably also on audio. 

Once again rating/reviewing a cookbook I read like a book-book without attempting any of the recipes, whoops. 3.5, rounded up to 4 for goodreads as I overall liked the concept and the idea of most of these recipes though my other recurring thought was, "...aren't these just recipes though?" because not every one struck me as fusion-ish. 

That might be because my mom is ALSO a Georgian-born Chinese woman (and technically so am I, even though I grew up westward) so Asianish dishes are what I grew up with. I appreciate the specificity re: certain suggested spices/liquids/etc. though substitutes are mentioned, as well as a reference guide in the back for where to find things (while our parents and grandparents may have had to make do with limited ingredient options at the grocery store, in the 2020s Asian/international groceries are more frequent and with the internet, many things are accessible though they might not be cheap). 

Easily felt like I was reading something by a cousin though my family's from a different diaspora wave. 

A gorgeous "speculative" memoir that blends Jami's understanding of yokai along with her bouts with bipolar disorder, her father dying of cancer, and miscarriages/an eventual rainbow pregnancy. Gorgeously illustrated, with footnotes for the versions of stories she retells.

 

Woo, training arcs. Love to see Lindon continue to have "get thrown into danger" as his training method. 

heck yeah giraffes! rough hooves, silky ears, fuzzy manes, lots of things to touch. 

 Gorgeous art and fun interactivity with the slides, though the mama bear for Great Smokey Mountains was a little stuck- after some finagling I finally got it loose for play. 

 love some onomatopoeia. the tiny little dino has a crest which makes me think of other hadrosaurs but tiny also reminds me of compsognathus... wonder if anyone has ID'd the genera. 

Stayed up to finish Fevered Star- overall, I feel like there's a lot of plotting spinning around our god-avatars, and everyone's just pulled in their wake, especially Xiala (though I do like the

twist that she's a mermaid princess, apparently

). Not sure what's going on with Okoa, and I sort of assume the Tova vs. the Meridian upcoming clash will be moot in light of whatever happens with the Crow God and Sun God, so... 

I liked this, but also it's definitely an example of "I liked it but idk if it's good". The riders division of the Battle College has an absurd mortality rate and while I get it for plot reasons, definitely a world where nothing makes sense if I spend more than two seconds thinking about it.

I will say I was surprised- my perception from the internet's reaction was that this would be more on the romance/spicy side, but we went over halfway with the protagonist in just-trying-to-survive-death-college mode which is valid!! The romance is fine. Some plot elements were predictable. I'd like to thank Anne McCaffrey for prompting me to think about dragon bonds. Going to read some other stuff before moving on to Iron Flame but I will continue. Got to say- I do like Empyrean more than Sarah J. Maas's stuff, but maybe that's because Violet feels more capable than Celaena or Feyre? idk.