Saturday, February 03, 2018

beside the noodles

I remembered to bring my little tablet to work today so I could work on reviews comfortably on my lunch break, instead of tiny typing on my phone or forgetting to do it at night.

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American women, edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale.  I'm not sure who this book is supposed to be for: there are some pieces that are more about generic ethnicity or feminist themes, but other pieces seemed like they were for an insider audience.  As a reader not from that culture, they didn't make sense, weren't clear, or didn't explain enough.  Perhaps the book is intended primarily for Native readers.

Rex Libris: I, Librarian by James Turner.  I had sort of kind of been meaning to read this for several years but never really felt strongly about it.  I think I picked this up on another day that my bookbag was full of returns and my in-progress novel got left at home.

This is not the GN for me.  The illustrations really put me off-- very blocky and stark.   The use of geometric shapes or patterns for people was interesting, different, and arty, but not easy to read.  The plot was ok, but I tend not to love stuff that explores the fourth wall. 

Noble savage: My life among two dangerous tribes-- the Yanomano and the anthropologists by Napoleon A. Chagnon.  DNF.  This isn't so much about the tribe or even about the author's experiences in the field as it was comments about academia.  Maybe it changes farther into the book, but after a few chapters, there's still quite a lot of commentary on who said what and how that academic turned out to be wrong, etc.  Reads like academic history with a touch of highschool cheerleader. 

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