The Malignant Presidency

Someone reached out to me on GoodReads and offered me a copy of The Malignant Presidency by William Robinson for an honest review. I accepted. This is that honest review.

In the intro, Robinson says he hasn’t written a poem in years. I believe him. I enjoyed the subject matter but all the poems read very simplistically. There was no complexity in the form or structure, the rhyme scheme was consistently the same. These pieces would work much better as spoken word rather than in written form.

Written poetry allows for more nuance and play with words and structure but that didn’t happen here. Hearing modern hip-hop spoken aloud, it’s impressive with it’s speed and cadence. Written? A lot of that will disappear unless the writer is truly talented. Robinson could be but he’s not now.

Another thing that concerned me is the use of the ‘n-word’ in the first poem. While it fits the theme, I can’t condone it. As a white woman, I know it’s not ‘my word’ but I cannot determine if that’s the case for Robinson either way. Given the political climate, it matters.

To summarize my overall feelings in a few words: fine, good not great. I’ll support this form of expression and I’m sure this will appeal to some people but I was underwhelmed.

2020 Challenge Update

One perk of having a baby before quarantine? We are rarely bored. I meant to post this a month ago.

This is my personal challenge that I set up last year. I’ve made good progress IMHO.

Author is a woman – Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

The memoir of YouTube’s Ask a Mortician. She read her own audiobook which definitely added to my enjoyment. She skipped over a lot of what went into creating her own funeral home which was disappointing to me but I’d still recommend it.

Children’s Book – There’s No Place Like Space

I’ve read so many children’s books with the baby. Mostly board books since he can’t rip those accidentally. This is one of the few ‘standard’ kid books I’ve read him. His nursery is space theme so this part of the Dr. Seuss library seemed appropriate.

Fiction – The Giver of Stars

I’m not much for historical fiction but I heard an interview Moyes did on the Professional Book Nerds podcast. It was excellent so I decided to try the audiobook. Excellent decision. The accents really added atmosphere to this excellent tale.

Halloween – The Haunted Forest Tour

An indie horror ebook that is basically a SyFy channel original movie. A haunted AF forest erupts instantly in the American southwest. The events that unfold in this story take place on Halloween. I was entertained and it was easy to read.

Movie/TV – Eat, Pray, Love

I was trying to figure out what audiobook to get from the library next and decided to give this one a shot. I forgot how long it’s been since it’s release. I’m at an age to appreciate it now but the world has changed so much.

Fairy Tale/Mythology – Spinning Silver

An excellent twist on some pieces of various fairy tales including turning silver into gold and fair folk of ice. It did what I expected it to do in the first 25% of the book so the rest was a fascinating journey of the various characters.

Nonfiction – Maid

The compelling story of life in poverty and desperation as a single mother. Heartbreaking and true of so many Americans. A must-read.

Part of a series – Every Dead Thing

I’ve read several of John Connolly’s works except his detective series. I grabbed the first book before the world shut down.

Reread – NPCs

A D&D style adventure as told by the NPCs. An excellent indie series I hope to continue this year.

YA – Solstice

The Fyre festival if there was an added element of monster horror. A very fun romp. Highly recommend.

That’s half of my 20 books by May so I’m pleased. I’ll have to be a bit more targeted to get to some of these (Star Wars, for example). Since the baby is starting to have more of a schedule, this may be possible. I’ll try to not wait quite so long to update again.

April Wrap-Up and May TBR

April Wrap-Up

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

I’ve been watching her YouTube channel for quite a while. I like her overall philosophy about death and enjoyed hearing about her life and early days in the death industry. There was also quite a bit about the history and norms of the death industry that were fascinating. The book seriously slumped when she began her own business though. She reads her own audiobook which, as a YouTube fan, added to my enjoyment. 4/5

Purity in Death by J. D. Robb

The next installment of the In Death series. Entertaining, quick, and easy to read. Interesting premise but was a little hard to believe in the execution. 4/5

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I caught the hype train for this 15 years late but I’m finally old enough to appreciate it. Gilbert does her own audio which ads to the story. It’s a story of healing, learning, and spirituality which resonated with me. 5/5

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Despite having a physical copy, I borrowed the ebook from my library. I could read during late night feeds with ease. You could easily see where the easy road in the story was and it finishes about 25% through so what came after was quite fascinating. There were many stories to weave together but Novik managed it with skill. There were a few more places where I had questions but overall a great read. 4/5

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

I listened to this on audio so it took me a while to realize it was from the mid 90s. I enjoyed Bryson’s wit and attempt to hike a very intimidating trail in middle age. It still holds up over 20 years later. 4/5

Books I’ve Read with the Baby

• The Rainbow Fish
• A Very Hungry Caterpillar
• I Want My Hat Back
• The Story of Ferdinand
• Giraffes Can’t Dance
• Big Dog…Little Dog
• There’s No Place like Space
• Romeo and Juliet: A Counting Primer
• General Relativity for Babies
• Quantum Physics for Babies
• Optical Physics for Babies
• Statistical Physics for Babies
• Feminist Baby
• Feminist Baby: He’s a Feminist Too
• Welcome Baby
• First 100 Words
• Baby Signs

I’ve started keeping track of what books I’ve read with the baby. Hopefully he’ll be smart. I got about 25% into The Last One by Alexandra Olivia and The Nurses by Alexandra Robbins. Both interesting but a little too relevant for the escapism I need. I hope to revisit both before the end of the year.

May TBR

What to Expect: First Year

I’ve been slacking on this a bit but this guide is much more general than its pregnancy predecessor. Still, every chapter has at least one helpful thing.

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

When I found out my library had this on audio, I jumped on the waitlist. I got it toward the end of April so I hope to finish it in May.

Rolling in the Deep and Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

A novella about a crew of scientists and a TV crew go on a staged hunt for mermaids in the Pacific Ocean. They get more than they bargained for. There’s a full length novel to follow up to the horrors that were.