Jayme's Updates en-US Thu, 06 Feb 2025 21:34:33 -0800 60 Jayme's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg UserChallenge62261778 Thu, 06 Feb 2025 21:34:33 -0800 <![CDATA[ Jayme has created a challenge to read 42 books in 2025. ]]> /user/show/2169723-jayme 11627 Create your own 2025 Reading Challenge » ]]> Rating764540128 Tue, 27 Aug 2024 13:41:13 -0700 <![CDATA[Jayme liked a readstatus]]> /
Jayme liked Taylor’s status update
Taylor Taylor wants to read Coexistence: Stories
]]> Review6705533201 Sat, 27 Jul 2024 00:18:12 -0700 <![CDATA[Jayme added 'Dear Vancouver']]> /review/show/6705533201 Dear Vancouver by Al Rempel Jayme gave 4 stars to Dear Vancouver (Unknown Binding) by Al Rempel
bookshelves: poetry, vancouver, bc, canada, nature-environment
A collection of six poems as letters to Vancouver. Contemplating the pitfalls of cities. Extravagant downtown office districts juxtaposed against homelessness, birdsong drowned out by noise pollution, the squeal of a skytrain at midnight.

Part of The Alfred Gustav Press chapbook series #31, holm. ]]> Review6705057967 Fri, 26 Jul 2024 19:14:17 -0700 <![CDATA[Jayme added 'Scribbler Moon']]> /review/show/6705057967 Scribbler Moon by Margaret Atwood Jayme gave 5 stars to Scribbler Moon (Unknown Binding) by Margaret Atwood
bookshelves: to-read, future-library, canada
I love the future library project so much and that this book exists on GoodReads with an expected publication date of 2114. Will be starting my Bryan Johnson/billionaire-live-forever-scheme as soon as my gofundme cash starts rolling in so that I can read these books.



]]> Review6142811077 Mon, 15 Jul 2024 17:11:32 -0700 <![CDATA[Jayme added 'The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions']]> /review/show/6142811077 The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg Jayme gave 4 stars to The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions (Hardcover) by Greta Thunberg
bookshelves: nature-environment, sweden, international, essays, audio
I appreciate the scope and intellect and attention to detail and quality that went into the essays in this collection. That said it was extremely dry and even though the topics it covered was vast, it felt quite repetitive. Margaret Atwood's essay on Practical Utopias was the most engaging to me and will stick around in my brain a lot longer than any of the more technical pieces in this collection. That's coming from someone who doesn't mind reading technical articles at all, but there's something different that happens in your brain when science meets effective writing that's simply more impactful than a dry statement of facts. This made me think a lot about the importance of balancing good science with good writing and how hard that is to do successfully. You have take those facts and find the interesting thread, reshape it into a narrative that people can connect with, and tie it all back together again into a piece of science-art. Easy peasy...

My two other favourite things about this collection were:

1. 'A Genuine Emergency Response' by Seth Klein was another essay that stuck out for me because of the simple proposal, like it says on the tin, what if we treated the climate crisis like we do any other emergency situation? It's simple, I'd never thought about it like that before, and I love it as a concept. I also made a note that I really liked 'Food and Nutrition' by Samuel S. Meyers, but I can't remember why...refer back to first paragraph, I guess.

2. The cover art! These are climate warming stripes, developed by Professor Ed Hawkins. Each stripe represents an average global warming temperature for the year over time. Such a great visual representation of how much shit we're in.

Although I can't say I recommend this book as something to read through front to back like I did, I can say I recommend it as a great entry into many different topics. It has a little nugget to start in on any climate topic that may be of interest and will be an excellent reference book. ]]> Review6673188220 Mon, 15 Jul 2024 16:37:58 -0700 <![CDATA[Jayme added 'I Thought You Loved Me']]> /review/show/6673188220 I Thought You Loved Me by MariNaomi Jayme gave 4 stars to I Thought You Loved Me (Perfect Paperback) by MariNaomi
bookshelves: biography-memoir, graphic-novel, america, queer
Absolutely loved the art and concept of this book. The whole thing is full-colour illustrations and photographs with a collage-like style. MariNaomi picks apart her friendship with a woman named Jodi, who'd ghosted her a decade ago. And just as how this woman has taken up residence in her brain, Jodi is similarly haunting the pages of this memoir.

One thing that was interesting to me, not a complaint, and not something that I think is 'fixable', but this book is advertised as a bisexual memoir, which it is because the author is bi, but it's also very focused on the women's relationships with men and whatever unrequited yearning was going on between the MariNaomi and Jodi, it never materializes into anything. I also know this is a memoir and that's the actual experience of these people. But it almost felt a little like a self-'they were roommates'-ing thing? A lot felt left unsaid and unaddressed, which is also allowed and in line with the themes of the book. So, I dunno. It's just something I thought about a lot while reading this. Maybe that's just a reflection of the inherent difficulty of being bisexual at all. Which is very relatable. ]]> Review6672815895 Mon, 15 Jul 2024 13:56:03 -0700 <![CDATA[Jayme added 'VenCo']]> /review/show/6672815895 VenCo by Cherie Dimaline Jayme gave 3 stars to VenCo (Hardcover) by Cherie Dimaline
bookshelves: fantasy, occult, canada, queer, metis
Fun, witchy, urban fantasy! Chosen one trope revised for a decolonialist narrative.

The bulk of the book feels very much like a set-up for a classic trilogy with this book being the forming of the fellowship, or in this case, it's the collecting of the spoons. But there doesn't appear to be any hint of future books. Normally, this is a bonus for me as my preference is always for standalone pieces, but this book was all set-up and then a big whoosh of activity at the end. ]]> Review5798266303 Mon, 15 Jul 2024 13:42:43 -0700 <![CDATA[Jayme added 'The Year of Magical Thinking']]> /review/show/5798266303 The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion Jayme gave 4 stars to The Year of Magical Thinking (Paperback) by Joan Didion
bookshelves: america, biography-memoir, audio
I wasn't planning for this to be my first Didion read. I'm not usually one to sign myself up for a 'big sad' book, but that wasn't at all what it ended up being for me. There's a distance that's placed between the reader and the events. Didion is analysing the shit out of her experience with the sudden death of her husband at the same time her daughter is in the ICU with ongoing health problems. It's repetitive and non-linear in the same way that we process grief. The overthinking and over-researching and self-blame were painfully relatable. In the end, it seems like she gets to a point where she realises she had no control over the situation. There was no blame to assign. Well done if that's the case, I've never made it to that point myself. ]]> Review6672657955 Mon, 15 Jul 2024 13:11:01 -0700 <![CDATA[Jayme added 'The Dandy']]> /review/show/6672657955 The Dandy by Nina Polak Jayme gave 4 stars to The Dandy (Paperback) by Nina Polak
bookshelves: contemp-lit, queer, chapbook, short-stories
A collection of five short stories all pondering queer and non-monogamous relationships. In 'The Sociologist', Polak gives the most direct discussion on this with the protagonist being an actual sociologist giving public talks on non-monagamy and 'debunking' love despite being disillusioned by their own advice. In 'No Petting', non-monogamy is contemplated through the protagonist's visit to the zoo, which sparks comparison between ourselves and other animals, freedom and society. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of Darwin's personal life and his studies of evolution. 'Staying Isolde' similarly used the assumed monogamy of lobsters to contrast against a straight couple's foray into non-monogamy.

'What do want to know' was the least philosophical of the bunch with a fairly straightforward story of an older woman who's daughter refuses to acknowledge her partner. And similarly with the title story, 'The Dandy', which tells the story of the people behind a popular feminist magazine. I'm typically attracted to stories about fame, a little too much name-dropping for my taste, but the form of the story was intriguing (told through a journalistic perspective) and the messiness of the relationships was entertaining.

Quotes:

'The Dandy', p. 20
"It was what she'd always wanted: to be surrounded by smart, independent women who were having discussions about the state of the world, writers and artists sharing their work in her salon." [Yes, please. Sign me up]

'No Petting', p. 27
"In 1838, Charles Darwin visited London Zoo...To investigate his suspicion that there was a link between humans and apes---still a controversial idea at the time---the scientist climbed into the cage of a young female orangutan named Jenny...His findings convinced him that the differences between people and apes were only a matter of degree: they had common ancestors."

Part of the Verzet chapbook series from Strangers Press. ]]> UserFollowing301844860 Sun, 21 Apr 2024 09:35:10 -0700 <![CDATA[Jayme is now following Colleen Christisob]]> /user/show/108716834-colleen-christisob Jayme is now following Colleen Christisob ]]>