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Rated Pages from the Textbook of Alternate History 6/10
I think I would have gotten more out of this book had I been familiar with all of the historical figures discussed. However, if one is a history nerd who enjoys thinking about <i>What might have been</i>, then I’d recommend this odd, short-ish book. True to its name, there are even textbook-like questions at the end of each chapter. Despite this not being entirely for me, I’m still glad I gave it a look.<br><br>(Review also appears at <a href="http://persephonemagazine.com/2015/05/the-delight-in-reading-lists-and-challenges-20-suggestions/">Persephone Magazine</a>.)
Rated Parable of the Sower 10/10
What an excellent and (alas) a timely book. Grim and hopeful at the same time. (However, if you're sensitive to animal or child death, best leave this for when you're feeling quite sturdy.)
Rated Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House 8/10
Wants to read Where's Karl?: A Fashion-Forward Parody
Rated Pretend We're Dead: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Women in Rock in the ’90s 7/10
<div>While I didn't always agree with Pearson's analysis of the sociological trends surrounding the turn of the millennium, I did appreciate hearing from the musicians themselves. <br><br>I am a similar age to Pearson, so I too grew up listening to these women, and I agree with her argument that allowing alternative women to go "mainstream" (however that looks in the moment it happens) is what allows the kids who are a little too young for a scene, or the teenagers who live geographically outside of one, to discover music and artists they otherwise might have missed. I was the teen with a Rolling Stone subscription and cutout-covered bedroom walls! I watched 120 minutes every week! This is how I got into Hole, Garage, Tracy Bonham, and many of the other musicians interviewed in this book. Times have of course changed, but this is a look at how it was then.<br><br>However, sometimes Pearson slips into generalizations about music she doesn't personally find as appealing, and that's where I found myself disagreeing. I appreciate that she acknowledges what she wasn't as into, and how that informs her scope of the book. You can't NOT mention things like Lilith Fair, Riot Grrrl, and what music transitioned into after the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and she touches on them briefly. I disagree that there were no political rock bands to be found in popular music in the post-9/11 era, but I do agree that the landscape had VASTLY changed. <br><br>Mostly though, the book does give one a lot to think about, if you haven't already, and if you have, then it provides a chance to have the information all laid out and an opportunity to re-clarify.<br><br>I don't recommend the audiobook though. I didn't care for the narration (done by three people who are not the author). There were a bunch of little things, both identifiable and more ephemeral, that rubbed me the wrong way. For instance, if you are going to narrate a whole book about music, PLEASE make sure you are pronouncing Reading Festival correctly. Also, knowing that Liz Phair's speaking voice sounded more like one narrator, but was read by another with a much different voice, was a little amusing. </div>
Rated Father and Son: A Study of Two Temperaments 8/10