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juushikaThe first a leftover from painting my bedroom, but it took an age to finish the review. The other two are from painting the landing, which we repainted almost an identical color to the original, but not quite, and it cleaned up some not-insignificant patches on the window-wall and the ceiling around the chimney. We wanted to make the landing light and airy, to offset the fact that it's reached from an enclosed stairway and has lower ceilings. And it looks great up here now! But it really needs an infusion of color. This is where my desk goes, so the trim is white, the walls are off-white, the AC & cat litter box are white, the desk & computer are black. Maybe a vibrant chair cover? A colorful lampshade? Art??? Rug?
Title: Consent: A Memoir (Le consentement)
Author: Vanessa Springora
Translator: Natasha Lehrer
Narrator: Anne-Marie Piazza
Published: HarperVia, 2021 (2020)
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 210
Total Page Count: 399,085
Text Number: 1508
Read Because: reviewed by chthonic-cassandra, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: As a young teenager, the author was in a relationship with (read: was groomed and sexually exploited by) an acclaimed writer 40 years her senior (Gabriel Matzneff), a relationship condoned by her mother and by the larger artistic community of Paris. Beautifully written, on audio beautifully narrated. The author approaches her childhood experiences in present tense, through the point of view of her childhood self, but brings along an adult's knowledge of the social framework that made the abuse possible. It's clear-sighted, compassionate, graceful, and unforgiving—a slim and effective memoir.
Title: Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York
Author: Elon Green
Narrator: David Pittu
Published: Macmillan Audio, 2021
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 275
Total Page Count: 400,875
Text Number: 1512
Read Because: reading true crime while painting, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: In the '80s and '90s, a serial killer preyed on queer men in and around New York; these murders have since been almost entirely forgotten. In revisiting these events, Green takes any excuse to digress into queer history—the bar scene before and during the AIDS pandemic, the activist groups working in uneasy alliance with the police—and, let me be clear, that's fantastic. The emphasis lands squarely on the victims, their lives, and particularly their place in the larger queer community of this location and era. It's sorrowful and critical, highlighting the environment (read: policing) that allowed a murderer like this to operate and which buried the story; it's also loving, even joyful: a celebration of a vulnerable but diverse and vibrant subculture.
(Elon is such an unfortunate name to have in 2022; Mr. Green seems like a great guy and I apologize to him that every time I pulled up the book on Libby/his name came up in the accompanying interview I did experience a full-body cringe.)
Title: By Their Father's Hand: The True Story of the Wesson Family Massacre
Author: Monte Francis
Narrator: John Glouchevitch
Published: Tantor Audio, 2017
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 290
Total Page Count: 401,245
Text Number: 1514
Read Because: more true crime while painting, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: The case is engaging, but the writing's not. Quoting extensively from a recording made at the scene and from trial testimony, this isn't bare-bones and may even border sensational. But it barely extends beyond the case's evidence, and would benefit from a deeper look into Wesson and/or the mechanics and effects of brainwashing. It's a hell of case! I'm surprised I'd never heard of it, and this is a functional overview. But the book leaves a bizarre "so what?" aftertaste: a lot of facts, but no insight.
Title: Consent: A Memoir (Le consentement)
Author: Vanessa Springora
Translator: Natasha Lehrer
Narrator: Anne-Marie Piazza
Published: HarperVia, 2021 (2020)
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 210
Total Page Count: 399,085
Text Number: 1508
Read Because: reviewed by chthonic-cassandra, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: As a young teenager, the author was in a relationship with (read: was groomed and sexually exploited by) an acclaimed writer 40 years her senior (Gabriel Matzneff), a relationship condoned by her mother and by the larger artistic community of Paris. Beautifully written, on audio beautifully narrated. The author approaches her childhood experiences in present tense, through the point of view of her childhood self, but brings along an adult's knowledge of the social framework that made the abuse possible. It's clear-sighted, compassionate, graceful, and unforgiving—a slim and effective memoir.
Title: Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York
Author: Elon Green
Narrator: David Pittu
Published: Macmillan Audio, 2021
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 275
Total Page Count: 400,875
Text Number: 1512
Read Because: reading true crime while painting, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: In the '80s and '90s, a serial killer preyed on queer men in and around New York; these murders have since been almost entirely forgotten. In revisiting these events, Green takes any excuse to digress into queer history—the bar scene before and during the AIDS pandemic, the activist groups working in uneasy alliance with the police—and, let me be clear, that's fantastic. The emphasis lands squarely on the victims, their lives, and particularly their place in the larger queer community of this location and era. It's sorrowful and critical, highlighting the environment (read: policing) that allowed a murderer like this to operate and which buried the story; it's also loving, even joyful: a celebration of a vulnerable but diverse and vibrant subculture.
(Elon is such an unfortunate name to have in 2022; Mr. Green seems like a great guy and I apologize to him that every time I pulled up the book on Libby/his name came up in the accompanying interview I did experience a full-body cringe.)
Title: By Their Father's Hand: The True Story of the Wesson Family Massacre
Author: Monte Francis
Narrator: John Glouchevitch
Published: Tantor Audio, 2017
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 290
Total Page Count: 401,245
Text Number: 1514
Read Because: more true crime while painting, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: The case is engaging, but the writing's not. Quoting extensively from a recording made at the scene and from trial testimony, this isn't bare-bones and may even border sensational. But it barely extends beyond the case's evidence, and would benefit from a deeper look into Wesson and/or the mechanics and effects of brainwashing. It's a hell of case! I'm surprised I'd never heard of it, and this is a functional overview. But the book leaves a bizarre "so what?" aftertaste: a lot of facts, but no insight.
