theaterofthemind

[theaterofthemind]

We’re going to hear a lot of stupid bullshit over the next few days/months/years about how Harris/the Democrats failed to win over men, or young people, or uneducated voters, or those worried about the economy, or whatever….but the truth is this: this country hates women and minorities; its citizens understand fuck all about the economy; and the people are incredibly susceptible to outright lies, scams and fascist values

[theaterofthemind]

3/5

neither book is well written

the two main characters in the first books are characterized for half the book only by being small and weak or large and scary

the plot of the second book is better but the exposition is sloppy and long winded and main character is both oddly slow on the uptake in some scenes and too ahead of the reader in others

the books are perhaps too ambitious in world building and there's too much for the readers to try to learn and remember in such short amounts of time

i ....... care very little about the actual romance. Nothing is wrong with either character. Their relationship was a little... instalove-y. We didn't really get to see them fall in love. they just were one day. sometimes the male lead borders on cheesy at times. the sex scenes don't move me. the arguments they have are stupid.

the ending of the second book was.... irritating? but i think it leads back to there being an exposition problem. like things aren't explained until they need to be explained which leaves you with a tenuous grasp on things at best but also leaves you in the dark until the next explanation. idk

it's like....... worlds okay-est fantasy series?

idk maybe i'm being a hater

[theaterofthemind]

ddeu1a

[theaterofthemind]

2/5

[theaterofthemind]

3/5

while the book is well written and i appreciate it for what it is, an ode to the history of black people in hollywood, it's also very lacking.

this book has a lot of interesting things to say... or maybe i should say that this book flirts with a lot of interesting ideas, but i don't find it has any really strong convictions, which is disappointing given that the characters themselves seem to have such strong convictions.

the book is not plot driven which can make fore a tough read but the thing that makes plot driven books good is making a strong statement. when this book does have strong convictions it's about incredibly basic things like racism and feminism and addiction, but as soon as it's time to dig deeper on those subjects, those convictions disappear. and it's not that there's anything wrong with characters having regrets but the statement of the book kind of ends up in air?

in regards to feminism the book touched on so many topics

being uncompromising in careers

the support mothers need to achieve their career goals

personal responsibility vs. chasing your dream

personal responsibility vs. social progress

thinking through who is effected by your decisions to stick to your convictions

but the topics are brought up situationally and the author never really brings them full circle in order to make a statement. i did think the thoughts on drug addiction were good but i think ardith's story line had more potential to touch on forging your path in the face of both good and bad expectations.

the conversation about privilege was both awkward and off base.

here's my main bone to pick with this book: the plot.

i understand that things were different in the past but in present day i am not convinced anyone would care about the identity of blossom's child's father.

but my main issue is that blossom owed no one an apology for keeping the identity of her child's father a secret. blossom did not keep Micheal from his son. Micheal was given a choice. he did not want to see his son. he did not want to take care of his son. he did not want to know his son. and blossom probably saved her son a lot of heartbreak. and she did her child's father one last bit of kindness by not letting his family or her son know that he decided to abandon his son.

[theaterofthemind]

Saint Laurent Fall 2023 RTW

[theaterofthemind]

4/5

****spoilers ahead (kinda) (vaguely) *****

i didn't want to give this book 4/5 stars but the reveal got me. it's not fast paced and it didn't really care for the flash backs and i was prepared to give the book 3/5. one of the major critiques was the lack of dialog. but it all makes sense with the reveal. one thought that i had upon reading the book was that you probably have to read it twice to see how clever it is. and that thought was also cemented with the reveal. i still don't think everyone would enjoy this book and the reveal only makes up for the novel but so much

[theaterofthemind]

camille witt

[theaterofthemind]

3.5/5

The book was well written and easy to read in the sense that the writing flowed and the plot moved quickly. Sometimes books like this tend to have repetitive thoughts and filler content. That said it was predictable or if not predictable, unsurprising. The parallels between the two time lines were a little too obvious which added to the predictability.

Here's my issue with it; in my copy there were discussion questions at the end that made it apparent to me that what i thought was happening in the book wasn't what the author intended, which is fine when it comes to motive but not necessarily plot.

****spoilers ahead*****

i still think emily's husband was trying to kill her. i still think chess was helping (at the end emily seems to only recall her getting ill once but i swear there was a point earlier in the book that she also got ill while on vacation). chess at the very least seemed to be playing them both. i do wonder, if that was the case, what chess thought the end of the villa stay would be because there was no way she would know about the fake diary and would think that emily would propose to kill her ex) it's ridiculous that emily seemingly held no resentment that chess decided to orchestrate the downfall of her life but instead resented that she had become an elevated ghost writer. while mari and lara had real personal reasons to resent each other and had a real manipulative figure in their lives which they overcame, chess and emily's resentment was a result of projection and not communication which rang a little hollow in comparison. the fake diary isn't entirely surprising because it really didn't make sense why they would frame someone the way they had. speaking of the fake diary. i do think it's interesting that mari put a distance between herself and her sister and imagined a closeness to noel. there was a question a comment a thought about how mari and lara were to be the muses and they became the artists, but in a way mari and lara becase the muses to emily and chess and sure there's a difference between the male and the female gaze but it's the downfall in a sense to both groups. pierce died. noel was never the same. johnnie was jailed and then killed himself. and while emily and chess reach a new level of success. there will always be an irreparable act between them and emily is unhappily tied to chess forever.

mari's characted made the most sense to me. carrying that guilt. imagining a more active role as a way to make sense of that guilt.

i have more thoughts but they escape me.

[theaterofthemind]

2/5

i didn't care about the characters. i didn't care about the plot. the suspense didn't build. there were subjects that were.... lightly touched upon (like barely a brief mention) that could have been talked about more thoughtfully or been better interwoven into the story especially for a young adult book but they just seemed to be thrown in there as an explanation for the plot which was weak and filled with holes. i don't think there were enough breadcrumbs to figure out the who and why would there be because mira wouldn't be able to figure out the who because she doesn't even *really* know why she's in danger. i think i'm figuring out that i don't like the thing in crime novels where everyone has their turn as the suspect. i get why. but giving everyone equal weight as suspect is..... unrealistic and it gets tiring. like... just tell me who it is already.

[theaterofthemind]

[theaterofthemind]

3/5

it's ...... fine?

the writing is good and the pacing is good but i lost interest in the characters. the plot is based on face blindness and the author seems to have a poor grasp on the condition. the twists which everyone seems to think are so brilliant just kind of seem like they're there for shock value.

******spoilers ahead****

twist one: the second wife. this is the only twist i liked and it shifts the whole context of amelia's POV and how you think of the story and adam

twist two: the PI. i don't think the detective was necessary. you can tell robin and adam are not serious people by their decision to get back together and the implication that he would unravel the crimes of robin and adam is doubtful at best because he can suspect all he wants but i doubt there's any evidence. also he seems like a bad PI so i don't know how helpful he would be.

twist three: robin's past. i mean........ revealing her to be a liar and unstable was............. overkill? i think most people would have been understanding of the lie about her dad and with her decision to murder her ex husbands new wife without painting her to be mentally unstable.

twist four: the mom's murder. again painting adam to be a liar and unstable was less overkill than robin but still. maybe i could see the argument that it's why he's okay with amelia's murder because she could identify him as his mother's murderer. but it's just a quick little mention that it seemed like it was in there for shock value.

reading it was enjoyable but it doesn't really hold up upon reflection.

[theaterofthemind]

"ingredients you can pronounce" "all natural" "organic" "no chemicals"

[theaterofthemind]

Inguna Butane at Balmain FW06

[theaterofthemind]

MEAN GIRLS (2004) dir. Mark Waters

[theaterofthemind]

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS 1993 | dir. Henry Selick

[theaterofthemind]

Collection Les Méduses, automne hiver 99 2000, Thierry Mugler

Musée des arts décoratifs Paris France