I loved hearing your thoughts. I agree that the chapter on treasure hunting in The Underworld was odd, but I can’t say it bothered me much when I read it. We both have How to Say Babylon at number four, and our top two is the same, though I put King at number one.
I completely agree with you on We Were Once A Family. Very biased toward the birth families. Author too close to the subjects. Yes! I also had Eve as number one. I love that book.
Thank you so much for your review of We Were Once a Family. It has been on my list and I really appreciate the context and criticism. I might still read it but I will go into it much more aware of what to look for. Eve is going on my TBR right now!
I hope you enjoy Eve! As I said, it is great on audio! I know that a lot of people rated We Were Once a Family highly in the BookTube Prize and I know that going into it without the well-deserved shock and anger about the situation put me at a disadvantage. It might be what I found to be problematic were not issues for others, so it might work for you.
WOW! I really appreciated your thoughts on We Were Once a Family. As a Social Worker, I started my career in Child Welfare and it is such a tough system to work in. 😵💫. I'm always curious about books that address social issues and the social work profession...but I'm taking your commentary very seriously and asa caveat. Thanks for the warning ⚠️. I would like to read The Underworld - it sounds fascinating! I am really interested in getting the audiobook of Eve. Great job 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽.
I would be interested to hear what you think of We Were Once a Family if you decide to do so. All I know about the child welfare system in Texas came from this book, but you have actual experience in that system! On the other hand, there are some things in it that might not sit well with you (I still get the ick when I think about the lack of professional distance between the author and the birth parents).
I am glad that I came across your channel and had a good time hearing about your thoughts and approach to judging these books. I, too, am an English and History person that majored in English. I only took one science class and that was Astronomy. It was rough! I only took the two remedial Math classes and then Statistics. I have really enjoyed reading about the science that I have come across and did pick up collections of The Best Writing on Mathematics. I am inclined to give a chance to areas that were difficult for me and, if written well, there can be success. As for your rankings, I would say that We Were Once a Family is probably the book that I would be least inclined to read and I agree with your thinking as far as priorities are concerned. The child's well-being and their ability to live the best life possible is more important than anything. While there is a difference between where they live and where they go to school, I can use the latter as an example. I was in a bad situation at school and had the opportunity to go to a private school that looked like a better environment. It was much further and it would be a major change for someone that is neurodivergent, but I was heading in the wrong direction. I went to the new school and it paid off. Have you read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time? That is what I did not like about THAT book. A neurodivergent boy was living with an abusive father and a mother that abandoned him and was living somewhere else and he saw those that his only options. I argued that he should have been taken away from them. Some argue that he would not be able to function, but it is better to help them readjust than it is to see them get abused. The Underworld sounds fascinating, but you have to make the judgments that work for you. The same goes for impact over quality, but every judge sees this differently and that is the special part about the BookTube Prize. There is no price tag on our judgments! Master Slave, Husband and Wife sounds like such a fascinating story in its adventure aspect and its actuality. It is sickening the assertion of control that was placed on this situation. You just had to be an inkling of black to be considered as such and often times it was the result of a rape from the slave owner. The Fugitive Slave Act is infuriating, and it is something I want to read more about. It makes sense that the presidents among this era were among our nation's worst, not just for the decisions they made, but for the decisions they did not make or did not want to make in order to avoid causing waves. King is probably the book I would be most inclined to read, for I feel that the ability to garner more information, be it through books that have been written, strengthened sources, or new sources is a valuable asset. I do believe that his being shot and killed is a lot of complex than James Earl Ray acting alone (think the John F. Kennedy assassination as well as that of his brother, Robert), but we have been raised to believe that Martin Luther King Jr. was a martyr who can do no wrong. You laid it out very well where there are things that people do that can be forgivable and other things that cannot and we have to be able to recognize both and also recognize that humans are flawed and have the ability to go great and terrible things. History has proven that Christopher Columbus and George Custer were not very spectacular people and the latter clearly benefitted from a biographer that glorified him and his legacy. I think that Walt Disney was probably not the great person that people see him and his franchise as being. You can see it from his stance on Disney's depiction on black people and other races. They are known for only evolving when it is the popular thing to do. Please forgive me for digressing. Your video sparked a great deal of thought and conversation. I came across Eve as Asbury Book Cooperative back in March and I was strongly thinking about buying that book, but decided that I would wait until the price went down. It was VERY expensive. I am really curious to check it out and you told me just enough so that I can harbor that curiosity as I approach that book. I may check out your other videos from earlier rounds, because I found your approach to be quite interesting. I like the 6 to 1 countdowns. I kind of did this when I judged the Booktube Prize (three rounds in 2020, one round in 2022), but I went over the books, shared my thoughts, and then ranked them 6 to 1 at the end. Thank you for sharing! -Josh
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I have read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, but it was probably over a decade ago, so I remember very little about it. In fact, I can't even remember if I liked it! I would highly recommend picking up King. Not only is it the most complete biography of MLK written so far, but it also a master class in biography writing, no matter who the subject it! Thank you so much for visiting my channel!
It's my pleasure! It is good that you forgot about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It is better than remembering it in a negative way. I like biographies that are master examples of biography writing, for it should be as objective as possible, lay out the facts, and allow you to develop your own opinion based on the information that you were presented. Writers can write books about famous people with an argument that they want to achieve, but it should not be viewed as a general biography. Thank you for your reply!
Thank you so much for your review of We Were Once a Family. It has been on my list and I really appreciate the context and criticism. I might still read it but I will go into it much more aware of what to look for. Eve is going on my TBR right now!
To be fair, a number of people ranked We Were Once a Family highly, so it may just be that what stuck out to me wasn't an issue for them? But, if you do read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I loved hearing your thoughts. I agree that the chapter on treasure hunting in The Underworld was odd, but I can’t say it bothered me much when I read it. We both have How to Say Babylon at number four, and our top two is the same, though I put King at number one.
I completely agree with you on We Were Once A Family. Very biased toward the birth families. Author too close to the subjects. Yes! I also had Eve as number one. I love that book.
Wow The Underworld sounds really cool
It was surprisingly (for me) fun! Also, great--and slightly creepy--pictures!
Thank you so much for your review of We Were Once a Family. It has been on my list and I really appreciate the context and criticism. I might still read it but I will go into it much more aware of what to look for. Eve is going on my TBR right now!
I hope you enjoy Eve! As I said, it is great on audio!
I know that a lot of people rated We Were Once a Family highly in the BookTube Prize and I know that going into it without the well-deserved shock and anger about the situation put me at a disadvantage. It might be what I found to be problematic were not issues for others, so it might work for you.
WOW! I really appreciated your thoughts on We Were Once a Family. As a Social Worker, I started my career in Child Welfare and it is such a tough system to work in. 😵💫. I'm always curious about books that address social issues and the social work profession...but I'm taking your commentary very seriously and asa caveat. Thanks for the warning ⚠️. I would like to read The Underworld - it sounds fascinating! I am really interested in getting the audiobook of Eve. Great job 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽.
I would be interested to hear what you think of We Were Once a Family if you decide to do so. All I know about the child welfare system in Texas came from this book, but you have actual experience in that system! On the other hand, there are some things in it that might not sit well with you (I still get the ick when I think about the lack of professional distance between the author and the birth parents).
I am glad that I came across your channel and had a good time hearing about your thoughts and approach to judging these books. I, too, am an English and History person that majored in English. I only took one science class and that was Astronomy. It was rough! I only took the two remedial Math classes and then Statistics. I have really enjoyed reading about the science that I have come across and did pick up collections of The Best Writing on Mathematics. I am inclined to give a chance to areas that were difficult for me and, if written well, there can be success. As for your rankings, I would say that We Were Once a Family is probably the book that I would be least inclined to read and I agree with your thinking as far as priorities are concerned. The child's well-being and their ability to live the best life possible is more important than anything. While there is a difference between where they live and where they go to school, I can use the latter as an example. I was in a bad situation at school and had the opportunity to go to a private school that looked like a better environment. It was much further and it would be a major change for someone that is neurodivergent, but I was heading in the wrong direction. I went to the new school and it paid off. Have you read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time? That is what I did not like about THAT book. A neurodivergent boy was living with an abusive father and a mother that abandoned him and was living somewhere else and he saw those that his only options. I argued that he should have been taken away from them. Some argue that he would not be able to function, but it is better to help them readjust than it is to see them get abused. The Underworld sounds fascinating, but you have to make the judgments that work for you. The same goes for impact over quality, but every judge sees this differently and that is the special part about the BookTube Prize. There is no price tag on our judgments! Master Slave, Husband and Wife sounds like such a fascinating story in its adventure aspect and its actuality. It is sickening the assertion of control that was placed on this situation. You just had to be an inkling of black to be considered as such and often times it was the result of a rape from the slave owner. The Fugitive Slave Act is infuriating, and it is something I want to read more about. It makes sense that the presidents among this era were among our nation's worst, not just for the decisions they made, but for the decisions they did not make or did not want to make in order to avoid causing waves. King is probably the book I would be most inclined to read, for I feel that the ability to garner more information, be it through books that have been written, strengthened sources, or new sources is a valuable asset. I do believe that his being shot and killed is a lot of complex than James Earl Ray acting alone (think the John F. Kennedy assassination as well as that of his brother, Robert), but we have been raised to believe that Martin Luther King Jr. was a martyr who can do no wrong. You laid it out very well where there are things that people do that can be forgivable and other things that cannot and we have to be able to recognize both and also recognize that humans are flawed and have the ability to go great and terrible things. History has proven that Christopher Columbus and George Custer were not very spectacular people and the latter clearly benefitted from a biographer that glorified him and his legacy. I think that Walt Disney was probably not the great person that people see him and his franchise as being. You can see it from his stance on Disney's depiction on black people and other races. They are known for only evolving when it is the popular thing to do. Please forgive me for digressing. Your video sparked a great deal of thought and conversation. I came across Eve as Asbury Book Cooperative back in March and I was strongly thinking about buying that book, but decided that I would wait until the price went down. It was VERY expensive. I am really curious to check it out and you told me just enough so that I can harbor that curiosity as I approach that book. I may check out your other videos from earlier rounds, because I found your approach to be quite interesting. I like the 6 to 1 countdowns. I kind of did this when I judged the Booktube Prize (three rounds in 2020, one round in 2022), but I went over the books, shared my thoughts, and then ranked them 6 to 1 at the end. Thank you for sharing! -Josh
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I have read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, but it was probably over a decade ago, so I remember very little about it. In fact, I can't even remember if I liked it!
I would highly recommend picking up King. Not only is it the most complete biography of MLK written so far, but it also a master class in biography writing, no matter who the subject it!
Thank you so much for visiting my channel!
It's my pleasure! It is good that you forgot about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It is better than remembering it in a negative way. I like biographies that are master examples of biography writing, for it should be as objective as possible, lay out the facts, and allow you to develop your own opinion based on the information that you were presented. Writers can write books about famous people with an argument that they want to achieve, but it should not be viewed as a general biography. Thank you for your reply!
Thank you so much for your review of We Were Once a Family. It has been on my list and I really appreciate the context and criticism. I might still read it but I will go into it much more aware of what to look for. Eve is going on my TBR right now!
To be fair, a number of people ranked We Were Once a Family highly, so it may just be that what stuck out to me wasn't an issue for them? But, if you do read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts!