#bookstodon

See tagged statuses in the local Maxzor's books community

reviewed La dialectique de la raison by Theodor W. Adorno

Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer: La dialectique de la raison (French language, 1983, Gallimard)

Dialectic of Enlightenment (German: Dialektik der Aufklärung) is a work of philosophy and social criticism …

Convincing but too broad

The main message, that reason is a tool and can be used for evil purposes, is abudantly clear. The fine-grained developments on sacrifice, paranoïa... are covering so much ground that I cannot be sure that the reasonings are correct, whatsmore with the immense erudition needed to grasp all the references.

#bookstodon #philosophy

reviewed Account Rendered by Melita Maschmann

No cover

Melita Maschmann: Account Rendered (Paperback, 2016, Plunkett Lake Press)

A cog in the Nazi machine

Autobiography of a woman who was a committed & diligent National Socialist (#Nazi), of her experience in youth work & propaganda, and her journey coming to terms with the truth of what she participated in. Description of the clinical dispossession of the Poles is disturbing (and new to me), as is the readiness with which everyday mediocre people were led into misguided beliefs, alternative facts & constrained thinking, to do prosaic work with horrifyingly evil outcomes.

Reading time 11 days, 26 pages/day

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #BookWyrm #Autobiography #Biography #Nazism #WorldWar2 #WW2

reviewed Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

No cover

Barbara Kingsolver: Demon Copperhead (Paperback, 2022, HarperLuxe)

So good it hurt to read

A harrowing journey through foster care and the opiate crisis. So good it hurt to read. Raw deal after raw deal left my heart aching, but enough clear-sighted humanity to stave off despair.

Reading time 9 days, 61 pages/day

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #BookWyrm

reviewed Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (Earthseed, #1)

Octavia E. Butler: Parable of the Sower (Paperback, 2000, Warner Books)

In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful …

Prophetic for its time

Adapting & building community during social collapse. Prophetic for its time, remains unsettling. God as Change could be a genuinely useful belief system. Only half a book, with ending sudden & too convenient (there is a sequel).

Reading time 5 days, 62 pages/day

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #BookWyrm #CliFi #SciFi

reviewed Africa Is Not a Country by Dipo Faloyin

No cover

Dipo Faloyin: Africa Is Not a Country (2022, Penguin Random House)

Lively, enlightening & optimistic

Dismantles the many myths & prejudices outsiders hold about monolithic "Africa", along with a startling reminder of its colonial history and an overview of its many forms of dictatorship. Lively, enlightening & optimistic without being overly simplistic.

Reading time 6 days, 59 pages/day

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #BookWyrm

reviewed Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o

No cover

Ngugi wa Thiong'o: Wizard of the Crow (Paperback, 2007, Anchor)

From the exiled Kenyan novelist, playwright, poet, and literary critic--a magisterial comic novel that is …

Amusing & insightful but long

A satire of African dictatorships and coups. Nearly everyone is stupid, superstitious or greedy. Lightly amusing & insightful but exceeedingly long.

Reading time 24 days, 32 pages/day

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #BookWyrm

reviewed Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll

No cover

Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (2016, Scholastic)

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (also known as Alice Through the Looking-Glass …

reviewed The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson

No cover

Brandon Sanderson: The Lost Metal (2022, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom)

Return to Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn world of Scadrial as its second era, which began with …

High-octane fantasy

More high-octane fantasy from the Mistborn world, with some key reveals. Some very pleasing support characters.

Reading time 7 days, 71 pages/day

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #BookWyrm #Fantasy

reviewed After Story by Larissa Behrendt

No cover

Larissa Behrendt: After Story (2021)

Healing through literary tourism?

Indigenous mother & daughter find healing & belonging on a literary tour through England. Dwells a lot on literary history which seems incidental to main story. Not a lot of plot progression or character development.

Reading time 12 days, 25 pages/day

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #BookWyrm

reviewed White Tears Brown Scars by Ruby Hamad

No cover

Ruby Hamad: White Tears Brown Scars (2020, Orion Publishing Group, Limited)

For readers of White Fragility, White Tears/Brown Scars is an explosive book of history and …

reviewed Eat My Shadow by Linda Cockburn

No cover

Linda Cockburn: Eat My Shadow (Paperback, 2022, Together Press)

20 years ago the world went quiet. Father is suspended between the living world and …

Climate collapse close to home

Post-climate apocalypse in #HuonValley & #Hobart. Mostly believable (ex-PM was a caricature, and questionable lack of planning for expedition) with survivors being both humane & loving, but also merciless when called for. Unnerving to see local area in this light.

Reading time 7 days, 47 pages/day

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #BookWyrm #CliFi #SciFi #Tasmania