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Anathema Locked account

anathema@bookwyrm.cincodenada.com

Joined 3 years, 1 month ago

They/them. Lemon drop, bruxa, sweet pea, badass, queer, Philadelphian. Lifter of weight; Reader of books; Lover of cats; Knitter of sweaters. Philosopher by training; product manager by trade

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Superficial, somewhat appropriative

There are certainly non-Japanese people who write with deep care, attention, and respect about Japanese culture, who study carefully and frame their outlook on their sources with transparency and delicacy.

This book is not that! This read as pretty superficial and appropriative to me. Wasn't a fan.

P. Djèlí Clark: A Master of Djinn (Paperback, 2021, Orbit)

Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe …

Gay. Anti-colonial. Delightful.

Sapphic Dandy MC, sword fights, anticolonialism, and a willingness to take on the most troubling aspects of the steampunk genre head on with humor and artistic flair. Loved it.

John Bradshaw: Homecoming (Paperback, 1992, Bantam)

Dated, so take some things with a grain of salt.

Recommended, with some caveats, by my therapist. Feels a little hokey, but in my third reading of this one in 7 years, I have come to see the value in the way that Bradshaw talks about and structures integration of a traumatic childhood.

Queer people, be aware: this was written in 1990, and published in 1992.

There is for sure some clinicalization of homosexuality that may not feel good. I recommend skipping past those references, but it may be too difficult for you to do so comfortably, and that's okay. <3

Kerstin Hall: The Border Keeper (Paperback, 2019, Tor.com)

woman lived where the railway tracks met the saltpan, on the Ahri side of the …

I love an author who will not explain a single thing (Not Sarcasm)

Absolutely exquisite. Riveting and heart wrenching. Cannot wait for the second book.

Violence: yes Sexual Scenes: no Body Horror: yes Cosmic Horror: YES

Kyle Chayka: The Longing for Less

New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice "More than just a story of an abiding …

About, not (necessarily) For, Minimalists.

Finally, a deeper read on the history of minimalism, its links to the worlds of art, music, philosophy, ethics, and politics. I enjoyed this deeply. It challenged me, asked me to stretch, and rewarded me for doing so.

Aminatou Sow, Ann Friedman: Big Friendship (Hardcover, 2020, Simon & Schuster)

CN worthy, but informative and interesting

Big content note for alcohol and drug references, near constant in the first quarter of the book. If that content is sensitive for you, I would avoid this one.

That said, tons of very interesting dialogue especially around interracial friendship involving a white person.

Hinata Kobayashi: Wabi Sabi - Learning the ancient japanese art of imperfection with thoughtfulness and peacefulness. Conceptual art and Minimalism (Paperback, 2019, Independently Published, Independently published)

The content is lovely, but the translation is ROUGH

I wanted a bit more from this book than I got out of it, but some of it is that the translation is very roughly done. It's worth diving into but a bit of a slog to really reach the core concepts.

Jenny Odell: How to Do Nothing (Paperback, 2020, Melville House)

Nothing is harder to do these days than nothing. But in a world where our …

If you want to read philosophy/anthropology that talks about federated social networks...

Densely packed with insights and a critical reading of the philosophy of place and of work. Anti-capitalist and introspective. Often surprising in its approach and conclusions. An excellent piece about resistance.

Turned me on to Mastodon and other federated, decentralized and anti-corporate forms of social media, as well as bioregionalism