WWW Wednesday, 22-March-2023

22 Mar

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

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The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.


Currently reading: Finding time for The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss has been hit and miss. I should have more time now that work has slowed down and I’m less exhausted. But I’m having trouble remembering to pick it up. I hope I can remember more this next week.
I’m hoping to finish Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir today! My reading buddy has finished it already and I’m getting really close. If life could just slow down for two days to give me time, that would be great!
I went to a swim meet over the weekend that gave me some good time with The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett. I’m still loving this one and hoping it continues to be equally wonderful as I keep going. I’m hoping for a big plot twist soon that will keep it moving forward so quickly.
I’m hoping to get back to Lágrimas en el mar (Salt to the Sea) by Ruta Sepetys once I finish Weir. I’ve liked it so far, I just have been distracted so I haven’t made great progress. I should have some more time to dedicate to this soon!

Recently finished: I’m very confident in having something next week!

Reading next: I’m finally seeing a path to the print version of Scene & Structure by Jack Bickham. I’m hoping it moves fast for me!
I’m looking forward to continuing my historical fiction audio trend with The Rebel Wife by Taylor Polites when I can!

Leave a comment with your link and comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
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Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (5/5)

20 Mar

I’ve liked and disliked Weir’s books. I was nervous about this one but decided to give it a go. When my Reading Buddy and I decided to pick up again after our kids got a little older, it seemed like a fun option for us to pick up and explore. We wanted something pretty light that we would move through quickly. Well, we hit that nail on the head.

517bkqp8lrl._sx322_bo1204203200_Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Other books by Weir reviewed on this blog:

The Martian (and movie review)
Artemis (and Book Club Reflection)

Summary from Amazon:

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

I’m glad I’d forgotten this summary by the time I started the book! Because Ryland has amnesia, you don’t even know he’s Ryland at the start. Granted, by chapter three or four, I was caught up and the rest was still a surprise. There are a lot of things in this book that you wouldn’t expect and I’m sure I’ll spoil something for those who plan to read this. Since there’s a movie in development, I’m hoping this one becomes a popular choice for folks who want to read the book first!

I thought Ryland was very believable. I loved how we learned about his backstory and then ultimately learned why it was revealed in the way it was. His motivations were very real and his I could empathize with his distress over his situation. I think most people would feel the same way! I was reminded a lot of what I loved in The Martian without what I disliked in Artemis so this was a great relief to me. Weir writes great first person narration.

Though there was little competition, Ryland ended up being my favorite character. He was easy to empathize with and his humor kept the book moving along well. I thought he was really resourceful and while at times his knowledge seemed to be too convenient, it made sense with the educational background we were presented with.

While I’ve never been in a situation like Ryland before, I could empathize with him because his reactions and emotions feel very real to me. I understood his fear, sadness, and motivations. He felt like a very real person to me.

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Andy Weir. Image via The Daily Californian

This next paragraph has spoilers so skip ahead if you want to avoid that. My favorite part of the book was when Ryland and Rocky were first getting to know each other. I have a language degree so the bits about language development and finding mutual words for things was fascinating to me. The idea that both species have a verbal spoken language is a bit convenient but it made for a much more entertaining book. The speech pattern development through the book was really fun as well. At the beginning, there are a lot of disruptions as common words are developed and learned. Then there’s a stilted but fluent speech pattern. Finally, in the final chapter, there’s a level of fluency that we haven’t seen before after a long period of practice. It was incredible to see that detail and I really appreciated it.

I can’t really think of a part of this book I disliked. It was really well paced and a delight to read throughout. I had trouble putting it down and found myself reading until I was almost asleep. It’s been a while since I read something this engaging.

What would you do to save the world? That’s a big question for Ryland. He’s gone to great lengths to e where he is and be in a position to be the savior of humanity. It’s a big sacrifice and also a big honor. Nothing about it is pretty, but it’s so necessary. I hope we never find Earth in a situation like the one in the book. I hope we never have to make decisions that Stratt and Ryland are faced with. But if we do, I hope we have folks equally intelligent and bold to do what needs to be done.

Writer’s Takeaway: The flashback element of this book was my favorite. I loved how we learned about the time before Ryland woke up on the Hail Mary slowly. I think it was fun to learn it with him. There were parts that surprised me and parts that didn’t and I loved being surprised along with Ryland in real time. It was a technique I can’t remember reading before and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was an incredible read and one I was glad I got to enjoy with my Reading Buddy. A full Five out of Five Stars.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on GoodreadsFacebookTwitterPinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir | NardiViews
“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir | The Saturday Reader
Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir/**** | Umney’s Alley
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir | Luce [is Reading]
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir (some plot spoilers) | A Reader of Else

WWW Wednesday, 15-March-2023

15 Mar

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

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The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.


Currently reading: I’ve found success making time for The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss during spare moments. Usually waiting for my kid to fall asleep during nap time. We give them five minutes to calm down on their own and leave the room which is great for getting a few pages in!
The weather is finally turning around which leaves time for running and listening to The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett. Two of the plot lines just came together and I can’t wait to see where it leads!
Because I was focused on Weir, I’m only just now getting back to spending a lot of time with Lágrimas en el mar (Salt to the Sea) by Ruta Sepetys. I want to finish this before I even think about another Buddy Read. We usually take a month or so off in between to read other books we want to so I should have plenty of time to finish it.

Recently finished: I absolutely flew through Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. After each time I met with my reading buddy, it felt like I’d get through the next chunk in 48 hours. We even made our chunks longer so we would meet less frequently but I don’t think it had any impact on how often we were meeting. This last chunk we read was absolutely incredible and I loved the ending. We met earlier this week to chat about it and I posted my review on Monday. I gave the book Five out of Five stars and I’m excited to see it’s been optioned for a movie! No solid release date yet, but it looks like the goal is 2024. I’ll plan to be there!

Reading next: I’m going to wait until I’m closer to finishing Sepetys before I grab Scene & Structure by Jack Bickham on an interlibrary loan. Those can be hard to renew so I don’t want it sitting for too long.
Finishing Follett seems so far off, but I still plan to grab The Rebel Wife by Taylor Polites when it’s time to start another one.

Leave a comment with your link and comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

WWW Wednesday, 8-March-2023

8 Mar

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

IMG_1384-0

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.


Currently reading: Not a lot of movement this week. I’ve been really exhausted from work so I’ve forsaken The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss in exchange for the quick endorphin burst of Instagram. Hopefully I can find my footing this week.
I’ve gotten through the second stopping point in Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and will be meeting with my Reading Buddy soon to debrief. This one is good. I’m really enjoying it and finding it hard to stop when I hit our stopping points. We even made our sections longer so I wouldn’t speed through so fast. It’s not working.
There have been a few drives into the office (I know, weird) for me that have given me time to enjoy The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett in larger chunks. I’m loving it so much and remembering why I will read anything with Kingsbridge on the cover. What amazing writing.
The short chapters in Lágrimas en el mar (Salt to the Sea) by Ruta Sepetys are keeping me moving along well! Enjoying this story and learning more about the characters one short chapter at a time.

Recently finished: Nothing new finished this week. However, I finished my review of The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo and posted it on Monday. I had some really mixed feelings about this one and after reading some other reviews, wasn’t alone. I did learn that it’s a Netflix movie so I’m looking forward to enjoying that and see how it was adopted!

Reading next: It still seems hard to think ahead, but I should make sure I have a plan. My ebook is so long I’m not going to worry about that yet. I think a physical book is likely to be where I see turnover next, though I’m making good progress with my audiobook so I’ll need a plan there, too. For a physical book, I need to do an Interlibrary Loan and grab Scene & Structure by Jack Bickham. It’s been a little bit since I read a book about writing. Maybe I’ll be motivated?
For an audiobook, I’ll pick up The Rebel Wife by Taylor Polites. I’ve had this on my list for a while and I need some more historical fiction in my life!

Leave a comment with your link and comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Book Review: The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo (3/5)

6 Mar

Each year for Christmas, my sister-in-law gets us books. This is one she got me a few years ago and I’ve been working down my TBR until I got to it. She picked it for me because of the setting, I’m sure. I have a Spanish language degree and I did my thesis on Basque National Identity. So a book set in Basque Country piqued my interest immediately!

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Cover image via Amazon

The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo

Summary from Amazon:

When the body of a teenaged girl is found on a riverbank in a remote area, the crime appears all too similar to a murder committed only months prior, igniting the worst fears of the small community of Elizondo. Homicide inspector Amaia Salazar, a strong, borderline-obsessive investigator, is assigned to the case. After all, this beautiful, peculiar backwater steeped in the blood of the Spanish Inquisition, where pagan beliefs still flourish under a thin veneer of modernity, is a space she knows better than anyone. Forced to return to Elizondo, a town she has always sought to escape, Amaia is tasked with finding a serial killer on the loose.

As the murders in the area grow increasingly violent, the locals come to believe only one creature could possibly be responsible: a creature of Basque mythology known as the basajaun, or Invisible Guardian. But Amaia is logical—a professional—and she refuses to let local superstitions distract her from her careful detective work. As the investigation deepens, a troubling secret from Amaia’s past plagues her with nightmares and soon her findings seem to transform myth into reality. Everything she believes to be rational and verifiable is called into question. Now Amaia must fight her demons and determine if these murders are the work of a ritualistic killer or something even darker.

I was back and forth on this book most of the time I was reading it. I liked the mystery, but at times the plot seemed to get away from it and focus a lot on Amaia. I had mixed feelings about the incorporation of mythology and science here as well. I liked learning about the regional folklore, but wasn’t ready for it to play such a role in the plot. The story was fun and I can see why it’s sold so well. I wonder how much the other elements are typical of stories in that region and how much is uniquely Redondo.

I loved the characters in this book. The family relationships were complicated and dynamic. They felt very real and you could tell how deep-seeded some of the feelings these characters shared really were. I was glad to hear that this was the beginning of a series because there’s a lot left to explore in this family.

Flora was my favorite character. This might be a spoilers so skip this paragraph if you want to avoid that. I knew she was up to something but I had no idea what. I had no idea how she might get pulled into the plot or what she knew. I loved the complications her personal relationship with Amaia was adding to the plot and while Amaia’s ghosts seemed to take over the story at times, Flora’s addition to that plotline was always dynamic and fun to follow.

There wasn’t a character I particularly identified with, but having Amaia’s husband be an American helped me some. He was lost and confused about some of the same things I was so it gave a reason for Amaia to explain parts of Basque culture and folklore for someone who might not be familiar with it. James helped make something very regional accessible to those outside of it.

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Dolores Redondo. Image via Wikipedia

I thought the ending of the book was really well done. I thought I knew what was going to happen, but I was still caught off guard and was surprised. I thought the ending was satisfying and riveting. I’m trying hard not to give away any spoilers here so I’ll only say it kept me guessing until the very end!

I felt like the basajaun was pretty unnecessary to the plot. It seemed obvious to me when he was described that there was no way a basajaun, if they were real, would have been murdering young girls. All the stories about it being real and people encountering one were fun, but didn’t seem to align with either Amaia’s personal journey or the mystery. Involving it more and more seemed oddly distracting and confused me. The book had been so grounded in fact and science and then dipping into folklore seemed a bit odd.

It’s hard to escape our past. Amaia’s past and her family history caught up to her in a very real way. She had to face the trauma she blocked out of her childhood and share it with her sisters who had no idea and didn’t know how to react to it. Her aunt had to help facilitate a lot of healing and we have to assume she’ll continue to do so as this family moves on. I thought the mystery and the Salazar family were wound well together and appreciate how it was complicated, like real life can be.

Writer’s Takeaway: Looking back, the clues in this book were very well spaced apart. I wouldn’t have realized it at the time though one or two things stuck out. I enjoyed watching all the pieces fall into place when they did. I liked how Amaia’s personal and professional lives ran together in this book and how it was hart to separate one from the other at times. It made for a very character-driven mystery, which doesn’t always happen.

Overall, enjoyable but a lot of elements didn’t sit well with me. Three out of Five Stars.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on GoodreadsFacebookTwitterPinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
THE INVISIBLE GUARDIAN by Dolores Redondo | What Has Been Read Cannot Be Unread
About Time I Read It: The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo | Maphead’s Book Blog
The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo | Reader Dad
“The Invisible Guardian – The Baztan Trilogy, Book 1” by Dolores Redondo | Mike Finn’s Fiction

WWW Wednesday, 1-March-2023

1 Mar

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

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The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.


Currently reading: I keep finding a few minutes here and there to move forward in The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It’s not a great pace forward, but it’s working for me. I’ll get through this eventually and I’m not in a hurry.
My reading buddy and I got started on Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir! We were planning 70 page chunks, but with how fast we flew through the first one, I’m thinking we might have to make them longer. Maybe we should go 100 pages at a time. We’ll be starting the second chunk soon!
I’m going all in on a long audiobook. I started The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett late last week. I’m over an hour in already and the writing is absolutely wonderful, again. Follett has blown me away over and over. I really enjoy his books.
I needed to start my Spanish read of the year and picked up Lágrimas en el mar (Salt to the Sea) by Ruta Sepetys. My sister in law recommended this one to me and I know it’s a tear jerker. I like the short chapter style which will make it a lot easier for me to pick up and put down.

Recently finished: This was a great week for finishing books! I finished the audio for Mexican White Boy by Matt de la Peña and found the time to write a review! It went up on Monday. The book was a little disappointing to me because it felt like it was going to try to tackle so many topics only to leave a lot of them unfinished. I gave it Three out of Five Stars.
On Friday, I wrapped up The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo. This one surprised me a lot. I loved the racing finish that I expected from a crime novel. I thought I had it figured out but I was off by a little bit and couldn’t figure it out until the big reveal. The style wasn’t my favorite, but it was still enjoyable. I’m unsure how I feel about the mix of folklore into the story, but I’ll sort that out when I do a review over the weekend.

Reading next: It seems hard to think about a ‘next’ book when I’m at the beginning of so many books! I’ll skip this for a week and enjoy the books I’m reading instead of thinking about what’s coming up.

Leave a comment with your link and comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Book Review: Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Peña (3/5)

27 Feb

I’m going to be getting into a lot of audiobooks that I got through the summer YA program at my library. It’s a really good way to build up my TBR and I haven’t been great at getting them knocked off. I’m hoping to take a chunk of them down this year, starting here.

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Cover image via Amazon

Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Peña

Summary from Amazon:

Danny is tall and skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. Ninety-five mile an hour fastball, but the boy’s not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound, he loses it.

But at his private school, they don’t expect much else from him. Danny is brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. But it works the other way too. And Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico.

That’s why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. But to find himself, he may just have to face the demons he refuses to see–the demons that are right in front of his face. And open up to a friendship he never saw coming.

This book had a lot going for it, but I don’t think it really delivered what I wanted on any of it. It had sports psychology, racial tensions, complicated family relationships, family secrets, and identity issues. I didn’t feel like any of them had a solid resolution and there were a lot of things left gaping when the book wrapped up. It had a good way of wrapping up the plot line of Danny’s father, but there was a lot that was left very open and didn’t give me a way to think it would be resolved. It was almost as if things got cut to keep the book shorter, but they weren’t cut completely. Also, it felt like it took a while for the book to get started. Maybe it’s because it took me longer to get through the beginning of this book since I didn’t feel engaged with it for a while.

I liked the characters in this book. The teens felt authentic and the ways they talked and interacted felt real. There weren’t many adults in the story and many of them seemed aloof. Danny’s uncles were very interchangeable to me until the very end and I felt silly because I couldn’t remember who was who. There wasn’t a good maternal example in this book. Both Uno and Danny’s moms were very easily dismissed and seemed very out of touch with their kids. It was a little frustrating.

Danny grew a lot in this book and I liked him more as the story went on. He was very emotional but he kept everything inside and wrapped up tightly. At the beginning, I couldn’t understand why he was so closed off, but it begins to make more and more sense as we learn about how out of place he feels and how disconnected he feels to an identity that he also clings to. His friendship with Uno helps him thrive in a way he couldn’t have back home. I worry about how disconnected he seems from school and his mother and that when he goes back to school, he’ll revert to how he was before the summer.

I felt like the most relatable part of Danny’s story was his crush on Liberty. I remember having a crush on a boy at first sight and being too terrified to talk to them. Friends pushing you together can be frustrating and exhilarating at the same time. It was a childhood throw back for me for sure.

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Matt de la Peña Image via NPR

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Danny’s relationship with his father was the most interesting part of the book to me. He idealized his father and his life for so long that he wanted to be just like him. Finding out more about his dad seemed difficult for Danny. He didn’t want to know anything outside of the idealized man he remembered. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but it seemed like things came full circle for Danny in this regard. I thought this plotline had the most closure. Though the letters he was sending seemed to pop up in the middle of the book and seemed a bit odd at first until I got used to that style.

Uno’s story seemed really incomplete to me. I wanted more and it just wasn’t there. I wanted to hear more about Manny and his relationship with his brother. I wanted to hear more about his dad and why Uno wanted to live with him so badly. I wanted to hear more about the trouble he was getting into that he was so desperate to get away from. For being a major character, Uno felt a bit roughly drawn.

My audiobook was narrated by Henry Leyva. I thought he was a good choice for Danny. When I started, I thought there was going to be a lot more Spanish in the book than there ended up being but it was great that Leyva was able to vocalize that well. I liked when Leyva did the voices of the young men as they ragged on each other. The inflection he gave their taunts and boasts was wonderful.

Danny’s stuck in a lot of ways. He’s stuck between his parents and the identities that they both have. He’s also stuck mentally when it comes to baseball. I thought this manifestation of his identity was a bit on the nose, but it was also cleared up and I’m not sure if Danny felt any kind of closure when it came to his dual identity. I think his relationship with Sophia will help him feel more tethered to both sides of his family and I hope it’s a part of himself he doesn’t struggle with as much in the future.

Writer’s Takeaway: This book tried to do a lot and I think it did a disservice to some of those things by not narrowing its focus. I thought it would talk a lot more overtly about identity because of the title and description. Danny didn’t seem to feel as out of place because of his ‘Mexican Whiteboy’ identity but more because of his education. We hear very little about the education or schooling of the other teens because it’s the summer, but we hear a lot about Danny’s education. It seemed to be a divide but without much context. I only wished that the title was a little more indicative of the content.

An enjoyable read, but not a standout to me. Three out of Five Stars.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on GoodreadsFacebookTwitterPinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena | Young Adult Lit Reviews
Educator’s Guide: Mexican Whiteboy | Vamos a leer
Matt de la Peña’s ‘Mexican Whiteboy’ | Library Mix Archive
What It Means To Be Biracial (A Discussion of “Mexican White Boy”) | The Misfortune of Knowing

WWW Wednesday, 22-February-2023

22 Feb

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

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The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.


Currently reading: I had a work event on the other side of town over the weekend which gave me some good time with Mexican White Boy by Matt de la Peña. I’m still not loving this one, honestly, but I’ll get through it pretty soon here.
I’ve continued to move well through The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo and I suspect I’ll finish it by next week. It’s an interesting story, even if I don’t love it. I do like how fast it’s moving and the combination of crime investigation and the supernatural is fun.
I’ve tried to find time for The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss but it’s been a struggle. I know this one will be a long read and I’m really OK with that. It’s fun to pick up and I’ve enjoyed it when I’ve been able to.

Recently finished: Nothing again this week, though I suspect I’ll have some news next week if I keep pushing through books as I’ve been doing. I did get caught up on book reviews finally! My review of Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui went up on Monday. Here’s to being caught up! I hope it doesn’t last long.

Reading next: I got my copy of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir from my reading buddy so that’s sitting on my bedside waiting for me. I’m excited to read something that should be pretty fast paced. That’s always a welcome change every once in a while.
I’ll likely need an audiobook soon, too. I think I’m going to bite a big bullet I’ve been avoiding and go for The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett. I’ve adored the other Kingsbridge books so I know I’ll love this. But 24 hours on audio can be a bit intimidating!

Leave a comment with your link and comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Book Review: Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui (3/5)

20 Feb

This book got a lot of press in my circles when it was published. I’ve been swimming since I was nine and having a book talk about why humans love water and why so many are drawn to it was appealing. Add to that the fact that it came out around the beginning of COVID when I was reading a lot more and aching for lakes to warm up enough I could swim again, and it made it to the list… eventually. It took a virtual event where Tsui was in conversation with one of my favorite runners, Des Lindon, to finally push it onto my list.

41nq9rqzncl._sx332_bo1204203200_Why we Swim by Bonnie Tsui

Summary from Amazon:

We swim in freezing Arctic waters and piranha-infested rivers to test our limits. We swim for pleasure, for exercise, for healing. But humans, unlike other animals that are drawn to water, are not naturalborn swimmers. We must be taught. Our evolutionary ancestors learned for survival; today, swimming is one of the most popular activities in the world. Why We Swim is propelled by stories of Olympic champions, a Baghdad swim club that meets in Saddam Hussein’s former palace pool, modern-day Japanese samurai swimmers, and even an Icelandic fisherman who improbably survives a wintry six-hour swim after a shipwreck. New York Times contributor Bonnie Tsui, a swimmer herself, dives into the deep, from the San Francisco Bay to the South China Sea, investigating what it is about water that seduces us, and why we come back to it again and again.

Tsui is very drawn to water and easily explains how much it’s been a part of her life since childhood. In many ways, she’s like a lot of friends that I have and teammates I swim with. There were parts of this book that interested me more than others. Some spoke to my own love for the water and others were harder to connect with. I wonder if other swimmers had a similar take on this book. It seemed like it was trying to connect with all people who love the water, but my impression is her major audience was those who participated in organized swimming. Maybe that’s my bias because of who I know.

Tsui inserts herself into as many swimming and water-based traditions as possible. She swims in cold water without a wetsuit, tries her hand at a Japanese water-based martial art, dives for food, and speaks to a shipwreck survivor. She was a great voice to share these experiences because of her own connection with the water. Of course, there’s some bias as she’s someone very passionate about aquatics speaking to those who are passionate about it and writing for an audience who is going to be primarily focused on it as well. I found her swim background relatable and she felt genuine to me.

There were parts of Tsui’s story I related to more than others. I also swim on a masters team, I enjoy open water swimming, and watching Katie Ledecky race fires me up. I saw a lot of my relationship with water and swimming in Tsui’s own. My love for the water wasn’t as heavily influenced by my parents as hers, but we both had early exposure to water and swimming to fuel our passion.

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Bonnie Tsui. Image via the New York Times

I thought Tsui’s visit to Iceland was really fun. I’ve been once myself and visited the local public pool so I was familiar with the Icelandic community surrounding pools and swimming. I thought it was fun how she dug into the shipwreck survivor being a folk hero and the community that’s really banded together and focused on swimming as a survival skill. That’s something that’s important to me with a young child. I think the comedian Demetri Martin said it best. “Swimming is a confusing sport because sometimes you do it for fun and sometimes you do it to not die.”

Oddly, I was least engaged with the segment Tsui wrote about competitive swimming. It’s something I’m so close to, that I felt a lot of the things she shared were a bit too common knowledge and didn’t engage me. Other parts of it were really close to personal experiences I’ve had so her view of them felt ‘wrong’ to me. It almost felt like someone else was telling my story and got some of the details wrong.

Humans were not born to swim. We have to learn and be taught while other animals take to the water immediately. There are a lot of reasons why humans learned to swim and why they continue to do so. There are few things that I feel are as universally loved as the water. I’ve been in oceans, lakes, and pools around the world with people I had no common language with but we all understood the joy and serenity we had found in the water. A huge part of our world is covered in water so it’s something that had to develop as a part of almost every culture. Water can never be mastered and should always be respected.

Writer’s Takeaway: I was a bit disappointed in this book. I guess I was looking for something a bit less autobiographical. Tsui put a lot of her own story in the book and her own reasons for swimming. While some of them resonated with me, I didn’t feel it kept with the title and my expectations. It was a bit more of a memoir for a few stretches. I know there’s a fine balance for nonfiction writers between including yourself in the work and it feeling like a textbook. I think this one was a bit too personalized for my taste. I would have liked to get at least one other voice in the book, talking about their personal reasons for swimming and love of the water. Tsui’s voice seemed to dominate too much.

Enjoyable, but not the profound message I was waiting for. Three out of Five Stars.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on GoodreadsFacebookTwitterPinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Related Posts:
Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui (2020) | Beans Books and Beyond
FIFI Book Club: Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui. This Week: Flow | Fit is a Feminist Issue

WWW Wednesday, 15-February-2023

15 Feb

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

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The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.


Currently reading: I haven’t moved much in Mexican White Boy by Matt de la Peña. I did start running again, though, and that is some solid listening time for me. As it gets warmer, I’m hoping I can keep moving through this one at a good pace.
Surprisingly, I’ve moved well through The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo. I’m well over half way through and I’m getting intrigued by the way Amaia’s life is intertwined with the crime and I’ve made time to read this before bed more and more often.
There hasn’t been much progress in The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Work has been really busy lately and the last thing I want to do when I log off is look at a screen again. It’s kept me focused on my print books, but this has suffered.

Recently finished: Nothing new finished this week. I did manage to get a review up! After long last, I finished and reviewed Sophie’s Choice by William Styron. I had a lot of issues with this book despite having a great ending. I gave it Three out of Five Stars and posted my review on Monday.

Reading next: Good news! My reading buddy and I are picking up our Buddy Reads again! We’ve both had kiddos so we took a pause but now that they’re both officially toddlers, we’re going to see how this goes. Our first read is going to be Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I think we’re both hoping for something that’s fast paced as we read it between midnight wake-ups, messy dinner times, and snuggles. Wish us luck!

Leave a comment with your link and comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.