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alltheradreads's Reviews (1.9k)
My sweet friend Amber sent this book to me as a beautiful birthday gift, with a note inside that said "this has been my very favorite book for some time. I hope it sits as beloved in your heart and on your shelves as it does mine." I read it in one evening (you're very productive when in a big empty house after the baby you're watching falls asleep) and truly loved it. It's a rich story of a brave girl in a turbulent time in America's history, and the love seeps through the pages in a sweet (it's all about honey, so literally, it's sweet) way. It's no secret why this book is a bestseller.
This book was an interesting one. I honestly don't think I would ever recommend it to anyone. I found it at Barnes & Noble in a section of "Great New Writers" to discover and it was labeled as an award winner, so I thought it would be good. Straight up, it wasn't. I couldn't get into it, couldn't connect with the main character, couldn't keep up with the flashbacks and flash forwards and random characters and overall strange lack of emotion and character OF the main character...it was just a dull, flat, uninteresting read to me. It totally baffles me how The Boston Globe is quoted on the cover saying "The writing floods every age with menace" when I found the TOTAL opposite to be true.
Since my mom works with the library, she often gets advance copies of not yet released books like this one. I absolutely loved the cover (and then completely randomly opened Instagram and saw one of my friends had liked a photo by the artist who did the cover work -- followed her instantly! Her work is incredible) and decided to give it a read. It's geared toward young adults (the author wrote Esperanza Rising which I loved when I was younger), but I found it to be a beautifully written book. It starts with what reads like a fairy tale, and then follows with three different narratives of children around the world, weaving them together and wrapping the whole story up at the end in a really poignant and enchanting way. I read this book in one evening-- it was full of rich imagination and stories I easily fell into-- and I would highly recommend it for a fun spring or summer read.
After binge watching all of Parks and Recreation on Netflix over the last few months, I knew I wanted to read Amy Poehler's book. I was not disappointed! I found it to be hilarious at points, surprisingly poignant at others, and refreshingly transparent and real throughout. I loved the insights into her life and career and loved her even more than I already did as a result.
A while ago, I stumbled upon a post on Medium called "The Crossroads of Should and Must" and instantly fell in love with the words and the writer. It was brilliantly, creatively presented through heartfelt narratives and adorable doodles. When I learned the post went viral, I wasn't surprised, and when I learned she would be turning it into a book, I was excited. It was such a fun read that reminded me of the power in choosing must and following our creative passions. If you're a creative of any kind, or if you've ever had a passion or an inkling or an idea, read this beautiful book. (Also-- if you're following my #100daysofRADpages on Instagram, Elle Luna is the mastermind behind #The100DayProject!)
this book is a beautiful example of why i love buying and keeping books, and why it’s great to reread things!!!
swipe to see my review from when i first read this in 2015 as a young naïve baby who was SO TRUSTING AND CONFIDENT that she just could ~not relate~ to a book about leaving church or imagine being friends with someone who doubted. 🤮🤮🤮
THANK GOD FOR GROWTH. wow wow wow so much has changed in 8 years!!!
reading this in 2023 after leaving the church i once loved was a DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. i can’t tell you quite how much i needed this book and rachel’s words. what a gift. her legacy and impact lives on and will continue bearing so much light and bringing so much hope.
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This was the first book I've read from Evans, and I've heard mixed reviews about her as a writer from close friends of mine. This book found me one day in the Christian section of Barnes & Noble, feeling like every book was a cliche or a puff piece. It seemed like an honest breath of fresh air, and I'm glad I read it. I don't think Evans and I would be great friends in real life-- she's more of a doubter, a questioner, a wanderer, and I'm more direct, trusting, confident. I appreciated her perspective even though I disagreed with her often and felt differently about church and faith most of the time. This book is broken up into chapters based on the sacraments of faith, which was an interesting structure. There were several chunks I absolutely loved, but most that just didn't really resonate much with me at all.
swipe to see my review from when i first read this in 2015 as a young naïve baby who was SO TRUSTING AND CONFIDENT that she just could ~not relate~ to a book about leaving church or imagine being friends with someone who doubted. 🤮🤮🤮
THANK GOD FOR GROWTH. wow wow wow so much has changed in 8 years!!!
reading this in 2023 after leaving the church i once loved was a DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. i can’t tell you quite how much i needed this book and rachel’s words. what a gift. her legacy and impact lives on and will continue bearing so much light and bringing so much hope.
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This was the first book I've read from Evans, and I've heard mixed reviews about her as a writer from close friends of mine. This book found me one day in the Christian section of Barnes & Noble, feeling like every book was a cliche or a puff piece. It seemed like an honest breath of fresh air, and I'm glad I read it. I don't think Evans and I would be great friends in real life-- she's more of a doubter, a questioner, a wanderer, and I'm more direct, trusting, confident. I appreciated her perspective even though I disagreed with her often and felt differently about church and faith most of the time. This book is broken up into chapters based on the sacraments of faith, which was an interesting structure. There were several chunks I absolutely loved, but most that just didn't really resonate much with me at all.
I've heard wonderful things about both this book and Robinson time and time again, so I was really looking forward to finally getting my hands on it to see what all the fuss was about. Honestly, I wasn't blown away. It took me more than a month to get through this book-- not because it wasn't well-written (it is) or interesting (it is) but it just seemed so slow to me. I think the lack of chapter breaks or real structure was hard to get into, even though it very much fit what this book is (the journal of an aging, dying father to his much-younger son). I still think I'll read more from Robinson, but this one definitely didn't blow me away.
If you remember, I finally read Blue Like Jazz last year, and I was seriously unimpressed. I didn't understand the hype at all, and wasn't a fan of Miller's writing style. This book just came out, and I've been seeing it EVERYWHERE. I picked it up at a bookstore recently, read the inside flap, and felt like I just needed to give it a try. I'm so glad I did. I loved it. Miller at his best, if you ask me. Honest, transparent, convicting. Three pages of notes in my journal came after I finished this one-- so much it brought up in my heart and challenged me to work on. Good stuff right here.
This was a total impulse grab on my latest Barnes and Noble trip, but I'm so glad I picked it up. I admit that The Great Gatsby is about the extent of what I know about F. Scott Fitzgerald, so I knew even less about his wife Zelda, but this fictional take on her life and marriage and work was a great read. I felt like a dear friend of Zelda from the beginning, and loved how Fowler brought her to life in a way that was both believable and engaging. (Also-- I wish I could bounce from Paris to the States to Italy and around again every year like they did! How lovely does that sound?!)
I admit, I'm a sucker for books with "New York Times Bestseller" slapped on the cover, or with any other sort of award or accolade attached. It draws me in. I figure, if people loved this book enough to make it a bestseller, or if committees loved it enough to give it an award, it's probably fantastic and worth reading. All of the quotes listed on the inside cover of this book claimed it was hilarious and made the critics laugh and was "an utterly winning screwball comedy." Here's the thing-- I didn't think anything about it was funny. At all. Maybe I have a messed up (or nonexistent) sense of humor? It was amusing at parts, I suppose, but more because of the quirkiness of the main character than anything else. It was a light read, but not one I would have much of a recommendation for, in all honesty.