Moé for Solarpunk Books

FluffyCowBird reviewed Earthlings by 村田沙耶香

村田沙耶香, 村田沙耶香: Earthlings (AudiobookFormat, 2020, Blackstone Publishing)

Review of 'Earthlings' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

Content warning Contains Spoilers!!

Really sucks you into a view of the everyday in a new way. Eerie and also disturbing at the same time. This book was not incredibly fun or interesting in terms of the story itself but it was so well told and the narrator did a charming job that I had to keep listening.

There are a few passages that haunt me long after I've finished it, where the protagonist reflects on her experiences and reasoning and relationships...

Ultimately I think this book could be used by psychology professors as a fantastic example of dissociation as a result of trauma. It was captivating to see her worldview slowly realign itself and justify the way things are and what she needs to do to survive. Less a novel of plot than a character study in that way.

Not for the squeamish!

FluffyCowBird reviewed The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

Thucydides: The History of the Peloponnesian War (AudiobookFormat, 2007, Blackstone Audio Inc.)

Thucydides’ classic chronicle of the war between Athens and Sparta from 431 to 404 BCE …

Review of 'The History of the Peloponnesian War' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

No spoilers! You'll have to read the book yourself to find out who wins. This book taught me an enormous amount about ancient Greek warfare techniques and the depth of pride and what seems almost like sibling rivalry which was felt among the various city-states. Absolutely fascinating. I recommend the audiobook very highly. I could never have sat through this entire book on paper! But I'm so glad to have read this. It's a classic for a reason!

I could not believe how prescient some passages were, such as early on when he describes the way men twisted words to mean different things than they used to so as to justify the leadup to war. Completely fascinating. The prose is phenomenally clear. There are only a few passages where I struggled (main shortcoming of the audio format) with understanding who was speaking or whose activities were being described when the …

No spoilers! You'll have to read the book yourself to find out who wins. This book taught me an enormous amount about ancient Greek warfare techniques and the depth of pride and what seems almost like sibling rivalry which was felt among the various city-states. Absolutely fascinating. I recommend the audiobook very highly. I could never have sat through this entire book on paper! But I'm so glad to have read this. It's a classic for a reason!

I could not believe how prescient some passages were, such as early on when he describes the way men twisted words to mean different things than they used to so as to justify the leadup to war. Completely fascinating. The prose is phenomenally clear. There are only a few passages where I struggled (main shortcoming of the audio format) with understanding who was speaking or whose activities were being described when the author swapped back and forth between the various players in the story.

FluffyCowBird reviewed What the Fact? by Dr Seema Yasmin

Dr Seema Yasmin: What the Fact? (Hardcover, 2022, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Review of 'What the Fact?' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

A very informative, entertaining read. I thought I had a handle on the basics of misinformation and media literacy as a pretty educated adult reader but I learned quite a bit! The history facts and perspective are eye-opening.

I agree with what others have said about the sound effects of the audiobook. They were quite distracting and pretty young-sounding for the overall reading and cognitive difficulty as well as the length of the text.

FluffyCowBird reviewed Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Marlon James: Black Leopard, Red Wolf (2019, Penguin Audio)

Review of 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

A truly brilliant story! The world-building of an alternative African magical reality is absolutely incredible. I will need to give this another listen, though it is so intense and violent I don't know when I'll be up for it. It's almost like the most graphic type of scenes from Law & Order: SVU all put together with terrifying descriptions of witchcraft blended with mysterious powers, destiny, loss, and a pervasive, bitter sense of betrayal.

It was hard to follow at times but well worth the effort and time. It's a long book but so exquisitely told!

The author does not shy away from extremely graphic depictions of the acts of his characters, including sexual assault, murder, and war crimes against children. I actually had to set it aside after the first time I tried listening to it until a time when I was more able to handle the violent opening …

A truly brilliant story! The world-building of an alternative African magical reality is absolutely incredible. I will need to give this another listen, though it is so intense and violent I don't know when I'll be up for it. It's almost like the most graphic type of scenes from Law & Order: SVU all put together with terrifying descriptions of witchcraft blended with mysterious powers, destiny, loss, and a pervasive, bitter sense of betrayal.

It was hard to follow at times but well worth the effort and time. It's a long book but so exquisitely told!

The author does not shy away from extremely graphic depictions of the acts of his characters, including sexual assault, murder, and war crimes against children. I actually had to set it aside after the first time I tried listening to it until a time when I was more able to handle the violent opening scene and get into the fascinating characters beyond. Maybe next year I'll be up to listen to the sequel! I hope they get the same narrator. He did a phenomenal job!