Arin Brutlag > Recent Status Updates

I've decided I have to read this book a second time to see how well I've figured out the nadsat slang

What's it going to be then, eh?

Bomb is not just a negative, but also a positive, and depends on context. For example, "My new recipe for these fries bombed," is bad, but, "These fries are bomb!" is good. The Bomb is a bit of its own thing, a positive that means, "the ultimate." It was big in the 90s.

This book was published in 2020, and it looks like there are already some terms that have changed. For example, in 2025, a "baddie" is now a confident, attractive person (usually a woman). As in, Instagram baddie. Will update with more out of date terms.

Geez, Diana, we get it. Geillis got fat.

After a considerable hiatus, I am finally going to finish this book.

The phrase "blue-collar purple prose" springs to mind.

"Leaving the book's ending rough-edged and raw like Dana's wound, Butler leaves the reader uneasy and disturbed by the intersection of story and history rather than reassured by a tale that solves all the mysteries." - from Critical Essay by Robert Crossley

"I never realized how easily people could be trained to accept slavery."

"[Benjamin] Harrison, on the other hand, embodied the kind of "America as global bully" stereotype that other presidents before and since always tried to downplay."
This book is so precious and full of hope.

"Presidents, especially modern presidents, have so many eyes on them and so many people to answer to, and a Congress that is often stubborn and difficult to deal with. There are so many checks and balances in place that today it would be laughable to accuse a president of being a tyrant."
When was this book published?! Ah, early 2016. A different time, a simpler time.

"The periodic table is the universal catalog of the elements. It's a list of the building blocks that make up everything in the world that you can drop on your foot."

"If you've got a random penis question, feel free to ask. I'd prefer it relate to potty training, but hey, I'm open to any random penis question." XD
Also, I own this book now. I tried another book or two, and this one just sits better with me.