Educators, read this! This book requires a second-read through on my own volition rather than for class so I can approach it more on my own time and from my own perspective more

Easily digestible with many good resources within

What a read. Dense, imaginative worlds building that feels real even as I close the first book of this series. I’ve opened Pandora’s box Bc now I’ll have to read all the other dune books! I need more!

The dialogue is what really kept me engaged, particularly through the slower paced middle section of the book. At first, the terminology was a bit of a learning curve (thank goodness for the glossary in the back!). The author also flowed from one character’s perspective to another really fluidly, moving often from person to person within a single scene. This was awesome!

This book focuses on the ways the author’s culture (UK) and other European cultures prepare for and care for themselves during winter. She connects each essay to how we can handle and experience our own winters in our lives. 

While some anecdotes were more effective than others, I found myself drawn to this audiobook even after thinking to DNF it halfway through. We winter cyclically in our lives. We have highs and lows. Not a novel idea but one repeatedly brought up in this book. There are themes of preparation, self-care, embrace, and empathy (both to yourself in times of hardship and toward others in their hardships). Did I walk away with new insight? Sure. Life-changing? Not really. 

On a personal note, I related much of this book to my own period of wintering end of last year and beginning of this year. There were many lows and I was also literally living in a harsh winter. The best quote was something like “our present will someday become our past. We know this true because it has happened before. Our future will one day be our present.” (Not exact bc its tough to get quotes from audiobooks) My own winter is now something I can reflect on when in the moment, it felt forever. My present may not last forever but each winter prepares me for the next.

The book was entertaining enough to finish but I wish it gave way more. The stakes didn’t feel as high as I would have liked until the very end and by that point there wasn’t enough time to explore the reveal. 

I wish the entire community had worked with Sydney and Theo toward the reveal of the hospital’s testing. If the message is that the community is working together like always, then why wouldn’t anyone include Sydney? I can accept Sydney not reaching out because she was solitary in everything throughout the book. But why wouldn’t the neighbors speak with her? Did I miss times when they wanted to include her on their plans to burn down the hospital? It would have been more interesting for me if the main characters weren’t a lone team. I also wasn’t wowed by each character’s reveal. Theo stole money and lied on his resume. Okay.. Sydney buried her mom in the community garden and then the other people in the community at the end just casually mention that they moved the body for her??? Like what were the stakes? Messy.

I had high hopes for this book seeing as it is set in Brooklyn and that <i>was</i> fun but the story wasn’t as strong as I hoped. I wanted Get Out levels of intrigue and intensity but didn’t get that.

Glad Kim got what was coming to her!!!

I listened to the audiobook read by Tolentino. This was difficult to read in that it brings up many strong emotions. I felt anger, sadness, a few laughs.

Notable chapters for me:
The I in Internet
Always be optimizing
The cult of the difficult woman

Thought provoking and worth a second reading. I want to read some of these essays in print to more slowly take them in and analyze. 

Not an easy read but a strong one. 

My first audiobook borrowed from the Brooklyn library <3

A poignant reminder of the struggles of being a queer youth. This book was eye-opening in places and deeply relatable as a gay myself in others. Beautiful story-telling that had me invested, emotional, laughing, all of it at some point. The audiobook is read by the author which is a big plus for a memoir IMO.

A banger!! Baldwin's writing is immaculate here. The prose is so powerful and so much resonated to my gay self and experience. David struggled with things I remember feeling when in the closet and I just want better for him but fuckkkkk man get a backbone and stop being shitty to everyone around you. 

I loved this book! Thanks to my friend bojangles for letting me borrow this!

A good bedtime read! YA is not my usual genre, but this was a surprisingly good time! I enjoyed the mystery and the Breakfast Club group of kids. The author kept me guessing and changing who I thought it was throughout. I had fun reading it. The B-plot romance was satisfying too which isn't usually the case for me. I enjoyed the growing friendship and romance between Nate and Bronwyn. 

The characters were kind of bland over all, though. You've got mostly stereotypes (the pretty popular one, the brainy one, the jock, the bad boy). That's not great, but I was more here for the plot. A good murder mystery that holds its own even with cardboard cutouts as characters.

A disappointing sequel to a genuinely fun novel. One of Us is Lying was strong because of its plot, a murder mystery. This book shifts to focus more on a new group of characters and their relationships. It also revisits the characters from the first book which doesn't do much for me. McManus isn't strong at creating characters that I care about. They're stereotypes with one Big Thing they're going through.

The mystery is teased twice (or 3 times?) during the first part of the book. Who died? Except I was hoping it was any of these dull characters by the time the murder did finally come around. You spend the first 200 pages just reading about these characters friendship and family drama with no stakes. The mastermind behind the texting game is even blocked and ignored by the characters mostly until right before the death of

that douchebag was his name Jared? idc

I became invested in the last 50 pages (of 300? cmon McManus...) 

This book feels like a setup for the third in the trilogy or whatever the author is trying to do. Feels bad. I'd recommend reading the first one and leaving it there.