3 Stars
The Book of Tarot: A Spiritual Key to Understanding the Cards by Sahar Huneidi-Palmer
Page Count: 296This read like it was written by chatgpt lol. It still was helpful as I now have my own tarot spread that makes sense for me and I use this as a reference when doing readings. I would skip this book though and find somethign else if you want a good tarot guide.
5 Stars
Animal Liberation by Peter SInger
Page Count: 248I was vegan before reading this book so it's not like I was conviced to be vegan/advocate for animal rights from reading this book but I do think it could convice some people. The reason that this is 5 stars though is because of the phlosophical reasoning at play throughout this book. This goes into detailed arguments for animal liberation from a logical standpoint and break dows why any other way of thought doesn't make sense (few exceptions to this). An important thing to do when making up your own opinion is to be able to counter opposing opinions. This was something I had not dones as a vegan but now I think about constantly. After reading the book, it becomes clear to me that its not enough to say that 'not killing animals is good', but in order to always do the right thing, I have to understand why killing animals is bad as well, and those two are not necessesarily conflated. This book was really a catalyst for me to find myself a thought process/guide to understanding morality so that I can always make the 'good' choice in my life, and not fall back on old ways that do not align with what I consider moral. I will have to write a more in depth review/essay about this as some point.
3 Stars
Hour of the Horde by Gordon R. Dickson
Page Count: 159I am not a super stan of Gordon R Dickson I just happened to have 2 of his books given to me lol. That said this book was alright. It was your classic sci fi book from the 70s about 'humanity is special because it is humanity :)' book. It was a short read and parts of it were fun, even though the science wasn't even remotely trying to be scientific lol. Give this a skip unless you are a die hard old sci fi fan.
5 Stars
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Page Count: 256I need to make a shrine for this book tbh. Maybe on a second read. This book is exactly what I have been feeling in this stage of my life put into words. I read this right after watching Alice in Wonderland, which left me wanting a better story that usues literary nonsense. Juster's use of literary nonsense works well because each silly event has something to learn from. It's like how humor can be used to better understand that world. It's hard for me to explain hwo this book made me feel, just go read the book it's worth it.
3 Stars
Never Whistle at Night by Various Authors
Page Count: 396This is an anthology of short stories, so as usual, some were good and some were not. My favorite stories were Behind Colin’s Eyes by Shane Hawk and The Scientist’s Horror Story by Darcie Little Badger.
4 Stars
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
Page Count: 313Heartbreaking. This follows the lives of several real life people as their lives revolve around evictions and housing stuggles. One quote stick out to me from this book, "It was easy to go on about helping "the poor." Helping a poor person with a name, a face, a history, and many needs, a person whose mistakes and lapses of judgement you have recorded, that was a more trying matter." This book records all the mistakes and lapses of judgement the people in these situations, yet but juxtaposing them with their landords (yes, this book also follows the landlords) and the government, you still feel for them even after all the mistakes. Desmond does a good job at humanizing people who are often overlooked by society or blamed for their own situations, while also giving insight into their good and bad choices, which in turn gives a much a more holistic view of the complex housing issue.