Inbox/Outbox 9/28/2016 + Book Review of Homegoing

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Inbox/Outbox 9/28/2016 + Book Review of Homegoing

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Күн бұрын

I meant to say just a few words about Homegoing and it turned into a whole review.
I can't believe I forgot such an awesome channel name.
Stephanie from That's What She Read / @thatswhatsheread

Пікірлер: 22

@dieulitadatus9669 7 жыл бұрын

Yay, I'm so glad you're back. I am getting ready to upload my first book tube video tomorrow. Love all of your reviews.

@mickeysbooktubeexperiment3029 7 жыл бұрын

Hey hey! I'm waiting. :) Pull that trigger girl.

@browngirlreading 7 жыл бұрын

I think I agree with you on Homegoing. I gave it 4 stars but its was actually 3,5 in my mind for a lot of the same reasons you stated. I think it needs to be longer or as you said focus on fewer characters. I think it blew up because of the million dollar deal she got from it. Can't wait for the Lolita review.

@timetoread1795 7 жыл бұрын

How you are describing Homegoing reminds me of some of the issues I had with Some Sing, Some Cry. It was multigenerational, and while the first few generations were really well developed and there was a lot of time spent with them, towards the end it felt that less and less time was being spent on the characters and I noticed I just did not care about them as much and I missed the characters from the earlier parts of the book. I am still really looking forward to reading this book, but good to know :)

@jaylicious1 7 жыл бұрын

After you read Lolita you certainly have a guilt that you enjoyed it. I gave it 3 stars initially... but now i'm thinking it's definitely a 4. Ooh and Homegoing I loved that the characters made a brief appearance - \ For me I feel like she captured the characters main essence then moved on and through the offspring showed you the long term consequences of their decisions. Great vid - glad to hear you enjoyed Moonstone, I plan to read that by the end of the year.

@mickeysbooktubeexperiment3029 7 жыл бұрын

How I feel about Lolita is like how I feel about Humbert Humbert. He's a monster and he's done the unspeakable... And yet, you kind of like him. You find him interesting. Terrifying but interesting. That's how this book made me feel. I do think the essence of many of the characters were captured but I guess I wanted from Homegoing was more exploration of the context. There are so many major historical events that are just glossed over even the ones that have a significant impact on the characters we're watching. To just touch on these events without delving deeper just sort of made me feel cheated. There are some really beautiful moments though and the book is definitely worth reading but I was expecting more.

@KMO325 6 жыл бұрын

I agree with you on Homegoing. I feel part 1 was a good example of how to write historical fiction and part 2 was a good example of how to NOT write historical fiction.

@browngirlreading 7 жыл бұрын

Mickey's back!!!!!

@ManikaTheStrangerWhoReads 7 жыл бұрын

I really enjoyed your review on Homegoing. funnily enough all the reasons you mentioned which made the story mediocre are the exact reasons as to why love this book so much. I have to say that the book felt a bit weak up until the middle. I also loved how she could touched so many people without it feeling like she stayed on the surface (at least for me). now. i have started Lolita and ever so curious to see how I am going to react.

@mickeysbooktubeexperiment3029 7 жыл бұрын

I don't know how far you are into Lolita but stick in there if you can. Some of it is really hard to take but there are some really great moments and just super interesting things Nabokov does with language and character and the reality of the whole story. Try and stick it out.

@ThePoptimist 7 жыл бұрын

I totally get the overhyped nature of the book but I still marvelled at how she managed to write across so many generations in such a modest sized book. True, that meant that some episodes (especially in the US) followed familiar tropes - but I still loved the story of H! Maybe I just appreciated her brevity after the length of a Brief History of Seven Killings which I DNF’d well over 400 pages in. (hangs head)

@mickeysbooktubeexperiment3029 7 жыл бұрын

I'd reread it again for H's story and for Akua and her son's story which I thought were so beautiful.

@mickeysbooktubeexperiment3029 7 жыл бұрын

That sucks about A Brief History. I haven't picked it up yet. I follow Marlon James on FB though and that is a smart dude!!! Lol.

@WhatKamilReads 7 жыл бұрын

I couldn't agree with you more regarding Homegoing. It almost feels at times like a summary of other books I read that dealt in its entirety with only one topic out of so many this book tried to covered. I prefer depth therefore this book apart from writing left me unimpressed and I'm struggling to finish it. Agree also with the fact that African was more interesting out of two perspectives.

@mickeysbooktubeexperiment3029 7 жыл бұрын

I had a hard time completing it also. There's very little forward movement. We get to the next chapter and like ten years have passed and all of these changes have occurred that we don't get to see happen. I think about the chapter when the Fugitive Slave Act was introduced which I think is pretty strong where we get to slowly see how this major historical event affected this family but it's weakened by the fact that we never hear from Anna again. She would have had an interesting story to tell which just goes back to why I really wish Gyasi had tried to do more with less. The changing relationships between the Fante and the British, and the Fante and the Asante and so forth are just rushed. We're just told things have changed instead being able to see the changes occur. It's like reading a short story collection with a few reoccurring characters. Let me know how you felt about Akua and her son's chapter. I feel like the heart of the book is there. I wasn't fond of the very end. It was quite predictable.

@SaraiTalksBooks 7 жыл бұрын

Appreciate your honesty about Homegoing, I was going to make that a library choice just in case, usually hyped books end up not being that great for me :/

@mickeysbooktubeexperiment3029 7 жыл бұрын

It's a decent read. It's kind of like reading a short story collection. And like many short story collections some stories are better than others. It's worth it for Akua and H's story.

@necia828 7 жыл бұрын

I can't bring myself to pick up "Lolita" because of that reason. It's this internal battle I have going on, I hear its a great piece of fiction but the subject matter is pretty conflicting. It's on one of my wishlists somewhere, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet.

@mickeysbooktubeexperiment3029 7 жыл бұрын

Hmmm... I think your appreciation for language might allow to you to endure Lolita. There are some stomach churning moments but the beauty and the horror of the book is all of the times the narrator is able to get you to forget what he is. I had my guard up and I still found myself drawn in by him. As repulsed as I was by him, I sort of liked him also and it's really hard as a reader to contend with that. One of the most interesting and engaging reading experiences I've ever had. I want to reread it to better understand how Nabokov accomplished that feat.

@BethKnight664 7 жыл бұрын

I recently heard some similar comments about Homegoing from someone else. I appreciate hearing these things because a book getting overhyped can lead to disappointment. I still look forward to reading it, but now I feel better prepared.

@mickeysbooktubeexperiment3029 7 жыл бұрын

+Beth Knight It's not a bad book at all, but I was expecting more from it.

@mickeysbooktubeexperiment3029 7 жыл бұрын

+Beth Knight It's not a bad book at all, but I was expecting more from it.