readin' and roastin' #1
Jun. 29th, 2021 06:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kradeelavI actually didn't start meaning to use goodreads as a place to give reviews; for years I intended it as a mostly-anonymous list/repository so I could keep track of the many wonderful (and awful) books I've ran across. Really sensitive to the fact that a) sometimes I read ... ideologically non-compliant books (personally always try to aggressively sit with the opinions that raise my hackles in some ways and then find the common areas where we do overlap - it partly dovetails into why my "social-justic-y" tag is simply labeled "awareness" as I really dislike how [gestures at] is framed these days) and (2a) I like having a place where that information isn't likely to be used against me, and (b) I like having the freedom to give the most-honest-I-can-give thoughts without fear of hurting somebody's feelings via rec.
But uh, life finds a way?
This may or may not be a (bi-)monthly series. It does not cover all the reviews I give, or all the books, but it may be of interest. Sometimes I'll format the review in literally the shape of how many stars I give it; that does not always happen due to sheer bandwidth.
+ Book layout is absolutely stunning; lots of playing with typography that enriches (but never detracts) from the art and text itself. Fresh, doesn't try to be so expressive that it's unreadable, and the photography is well done and full-sized when need be.
++ Two stars alone for the art, as it should be, being the centerpiece. The amount of raw id that pours from these pieces is vicariously and vindictively soul-healing.
+ A point for the spread of mediums and selection of art across her many decades of creation. I would've preferred more of one particular (unnamed) theme, but that's a personal thing, and I'm glad there's something for everyone interested in her work here.
+/- Several included essays scattered throughout and a very lengthy interview with Grossman in the back. I almost subtracted a point for the essays written by other people; they brought irrelevant baggage that obscured Grossman's mindset, and frequently had digs against us kink artists/creatives that reeked of academic snobbery against the id. The interview, however, was the saving grace - Grossman gets it. In many ways.
I enjoyed this one a lot more than expected - some history of early 90's hacker groups like Legion of Doom, the cat + mouse interactions with LEO's, and telecom. The author has such a charming way of elucidating dense (and outdated) technical information while still retaining the cheeky social nuances. Excellent to pair with "Hackers" as the next phase of history before the Web 1.0.
I'm going to make a rule that I don't rate anthologies, as there inevitably ends a few that I want to frame or keep permanently as one-off zines in my very dear collection, a few that are not for me in a big way, and then everything in between. This is dated, sure, but I can see why I keep seeing the name of "this" book over and over in lists for classic queer/lesbian, thoughtful literature that isn't afraid to knuckle deep into where the bridges and the chasms of each era. It's educational, at minimum, in a quiet way.
This felt really, really jarring. I'm all about books that explore nuances of privacy/tech but there was a sense that this book really didn't know what it wanted to be - the "i guess this once was an elevator pitch of a scrappy EFF zine turned into let's advertise EFF", the chassis of a doddery high-art artbook with more care put into aesthetics than actual content (or worse, content that preaches at you), the out-of-touch excerpts at the beginning, let alone the problem most anthologies have: being incredibly uneven and repetitive on top. Every so often there's a searingly solid paragraph with well intentions that go beyond just *intentions* that I'm glad to have read, but this whole book would've been better condensed as a magazine article / actual zine.
But uh, life finds a way?
This may or may not be a (bi-)monthly series. It does not cover all the reviews I give, or all the books, but it may be of interest. Sometimes I'll format the review in literally the shape of how many stars I give it; that does not always happen due to sheer bandwidth.
+ Book layout is absolutely stunning; lots of playing with typography that enriches (but never detracts) from the art and text itself. Fresh, doesn't try to be so expressive that it's unreadable, and the photography is well done and full-sized when need be.
++ Two stars alone for the art, as it should be, being the centerpiece. The amount of raw id that pours from these pieces is vicariously and vindictively soul-healing.
+ A point for the spread of mediums and selection of art across her many decades of creation. I would've preferred more of one particular (unnamed) theme, but that's a personal thing, and I'm glad there's something for everyone interested in her work here.
+/- Several included essays scattered throughout and a very lengthy interview with Grossman in the back. I almost subtracted a point for the essays written by other people; they brought irrelevant baggage that obscured Grossman's mindset, and frequently had digs against us kink artists/creatives that reeked of academic snobbery against the id. The interview, however, was the saving grace - Grossman gets it. In many ways.
I enjoyed this one a lot more than expected - some history of early 90's hacker groups like Legion of Doom, the cat + mouse interactions with LEO's, and telecom. The author has such a charming way of elucidating dense (and outdated) technical information while still retaining the cheeky social nuances. Excellent to pair with "Hackers" as the next phase of history before the Web 1.0.
I'm going to make a rule that I don't rate anthologies, as there inevitably ends a few that I want to frame or keep permanently as one-off zines in my very dear collection, a few that are not for me in a big way, and then everything in between. This is dated, sure, but I can see why I keep seeing the name of "this" book over and over in lists for classic queer/lesbian, thoughtful literature that isn't afraid to knuckle deep into where the bridges and the chasms of each era. It's educational, at minimum, in a quiet way.
This felt really, really jarring. I'm all about books that explore nuances of privacy/tech but there was a sense that this book really didn't know what it wanted to be - the "i guess this once was an elevator pitch of a scrappy EFF zine turned into let's advertise EFF", the chassis of a doddery high-art artbook with more care put into aesthetics than actual content (or worse, content that preaches at you), the out-of-touch excerpts at the beginning, let alone the problem most anthologies have: being incredibly uneven and repetitive on top. Every so often there's a searingly solid paragraph with well intentions that go beyond just *intentions* that I'm glad to have read, but this whole book would've been better condensed as a magazine article / actual zine.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-06-30 04:02 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-01 04:56 pm (UTC)I think you with your understanding and fondness towards older subcultures would enjoy The Persistent Desire quite a bit. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2024-03-19 08:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-03-19 09:00 pm (UTC)