I recently read “Women Don’t Owe You Pretty” by Florence Given. The reviews that I saw were absolutely terrible. Given I don’t agree with every point made in the book I do feel it’s a good introduction to feminism and a great way to open up conversations about privilege. There’s a comfort in reading about issues unique to your identity, and a discomfort in learning to challenge your perceptions, and I think it handles both sides of that coin well. It puts complex topics into bite size chapters. It was an easy read and I appreciate feeling at ease when reading about a heavy topic feeling. Some chapters resonated deeper with me but that’s just the nature of the topic. The reviews put me off but I got it free on kindle unlimited and thought I’d give it a chance, worst case scenario I waste two hours reading an “eh” book. But it made me wonder what other books I’ve written off as “bad” solely based on what I’ve heard about them or online reviews. Have any titles pleasantly surprised you despite a bad wrap?
by Kooky-Guide-7561
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Slewfoot by Brom, the writing just keeps you captivated. The plot is basic, but its done in a new way. It’s just beautiful.
*Kissinger*, by Walter Isaacson. It has become fashionable to demonize Kissinger, although for some reason it has become equally fashionable to rehabilitate Nixon. In fact, both men had serious strengths and weaknesses, both men are guilty of war crimes, but of the two I actually think Kissinger was more capable and less unhinged.
Anyway, Kissinger’s an interesting character no matter what you think about him. I like biographies about seriously flawed men with power. I should probably pick up a biography of Nixon now. I did read *Nixonland* and that was very good.