Rants, Raves, and Rhetoric v4

Author: Goodreads

  • Review: Loving Day

    Loving Day by Mat Johnson My rating: 4 of 5 stars A satirical jab at identity. Like so main character and many supporting ones, I am mixed. Am I black? According to One Drop laws, absolutely yes. According to some black people, yes. According to other black people, not enough. There are similar mixed messages…

  • Review: Crash Go The Chariots: An Alternative To “Chariots Of The Gods”?

    Crash Go The Chariots: An Alternative To “Chariots Of The Gods”? by Clifford A. Wilson My rating: 2 of 5 stars Wilson challenges the evidence presented in Chariots of The Gods. As scary as Chariots was, Crash seems to fall on its face in similar ways. Ad hominems and non-sequiturs abound. At the end, it…

  • Review: Chariots of The Gods

    Chariots of The Gods by Erich von Däniken My rating: 1 of 5 stars Däniken makes the case that what humanity thought of as gods in the past are actually aliens. We are the result of their breeding programs. Ancient monuments too sophisticated for the peoples of their times were built using the technology of…

  • Review: Roots: The Saga of an American Family

    Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley My rating: 5 of 5 stars This historical fiction novel covers this history of the a black family. How their ancestor started in Africa, was brought to America as a slave, and how the family fared under that despicable institution. Alex Haley learned the stories…

  • Review: Wolf Hall

    Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel My rating: 3 of 5 stars Found the writing pretty dry. Plenty of characters who go by their name, nickname, or title. So it was easy to lose track of what is happening when reading in little spurts, which probably set me back about 25% my normal pace just from…

  • Review: The Speed of Dark

    The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon My rating: 5 of 5 stars In this near future, science has figured out how to intervene with children to prevent autism. Lou and his friends, have to navigate the difficult choices when a cure becomes potentially available. It explores experimentation, work policies, social pressures, and what it…

  • Review: The Bastard of Istanbul

    The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was a book I noticed was on a banned book list and ended up being one of two I started during ALA’s Banned Books Week. The author, Elif Åžafak, was sued by a Turkey prosecutor for “insulting Turkishness” by writing about…

  • Review: April 1865: The Month That Saved America

    April 1865: The Month That Saved America by Jay Winik My rating: 4 of 5 stars The statement in the first chapter Americans were born to secede and rebel caught my interest. Winik then went on to back up the claim describing how this country was founded by people crossing an ocean to flee oppression.…

  • Review: Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty

    Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty by Dan Jones My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a review of an advance reader’s copy (ARC) provided by Viking Books through the Goodreads Giveaway program. News stories about the 800th anniversary a couple months ago attracted me to this book. I mean I was already vaguely…