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battlepoet Locked account

battlepoet@millefeuilles.cloud

Joined 3 years ago

they/he pronouns

I like haiku, sci-fi, and fantasy.

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Matt Haig: The Midnight Library (2020, HarperAvenue)

Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go …

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

cw: suicidal ideation and attempt as ongoing theme and struggle throughout the book. It's handled very thoughtfully and beautifully. It's a journey of healing that doesn't feel self-help-y or annoying. This was also a great thought experiment!

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Diana L. Paxson: Odin (2017)

Review of 'Odin' on 'Goodreads'

I really enjoyed this. It was a great book. There was lots of devotee perspectives which I really enjoyed, but I would’ve preferred a little more recorded research, Morgan Daimler-style. On the other hand, maybe I just need to spend more time looking up academic articles to fuel that need.

Daniel José Older: Shadowshaper (2015)

When the murals painted on the walls of her Brooklyn neighborhood start to change and …

Review of 'Shadowshaper' on 'Goodreads'

While I am definitely into the spooky shit in this book, I gotta say that reading about teen heroes doesn’t interest me as much anymore. This is ironic as I plan to further my career and become a high school teacher.

Bettina Love: We Want to Do More Than Survive (Hardcover, 2019, Beacon Press)

Review of 'We Want to Do More Than Survive' on 'Goodreads'

I first encountered Love through a livestream from Haymarket Books and was so intrigued that I had to know more. This book is great. It’s part memoir, part research, and all manifesto. I wish it was a little bit more of a how-to, or maybe offered a framework to work from, but I guess I need to do more research elsewhere on anti-racist pedagogy. (Additionally, another, more personal, concern is that it’s an American book, and I feel like I am lacking in knowledge in Canadian abolitionists and anti-racist work.)

Toshikazu Kawaguchi: Before the coffee gets cold (2019)

[Fiction / Fantasy / Contemporary] What would you change if you could go back in …

Review of 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold' on 'Goodreads'

This book was happy and sad. I really liked it. The time travel was so subtle that it didn’t feel like I was reading scifi. This felt like fiction. It was really good story about interconnecting lives at a coffee shop. I recommend it to anyone looking for a light read. You don’t have to like coffee to like this book, haha.

Jenny Odell: How to Do Nothing (2019)

In a world where addictive technology is designed to buy and sell our attention, and …

Review of 'How to Do Nothing' on 'Goodreads'

I was so thrilled to find out that this best-selling book was actually an anti-capitalist book about the benefits of bioregionalism. Oh my gods. I need to find more books like this!

Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (EBook, 2015, Hodder & Stoughton)

Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who …

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

This book! Oh my gosh! So many people have recommended it to me. This book is about a crew of sapients, human and non-human, tunneling holes in space. They have to live with each other for long lengths of time. What does that do to a group? This crew becomes really close, except for, as you may guess, the one asshole in the group. I love the incredibly detailed and thoughtfully written aliens. I love that the ship’s crew, including the AI, are basically chosen family. It reminds me of Cedar McCloud’s writing in that the novel keeps subverting the dramatic directions I think it’s going to go. One friend described this book as a comfort read and I think he’s right. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

Claire Keegan: Walk the blue fields (2007, Black Cat, Distributed by Publishers Group West)

Review of 'Walk the blue fields' on 'Goodreads'

I read one of her short stories in my pandemic short story club. Given that I want to read more Irish authors, I decided to buy the whole (e)book. I love how meditative this book is. Keegan really plumbs the depths of human nature here. I would definitely read more by her.

Review of 'Pagan Portals - Loki' on 'Goodreads'

This was a slim volume that I read in one day while taking a break from Alan Watts. It was packed full of info about Loki–lots of little tidbits I’d never even heard of before. Great stuff. Absolute must-read for a beginner Norse pagan.