I joined most of bookstagram in listening to Dave Grohl‘s memoir this month and it was indeed fantastic. I especially loved the ties to Chicago as well as my current home in Seattle, and recalling bands from my formative years in the 90s (how did I forget about Urge Overkill!?). There are artists he has interactions with that are wholly expected, but so so many with entertainers you’d not expect, as well as so many White House gigs! The amount of fun stories he has is something else! If you are a Paul McCartney fan, I would put this one on your radar because he tells a lot of great Paul anecdotes, being one of his friends.

This was just as sweet and swoon-y as reviewers I trust said it would be! But it also has some heft with well executed themes on grief and loss.

(Same review as book 2 - I really hit my stride with loving these books in part 2/3. Also, update, I went ahead and downloaded web toons and read all of the content so I got caught up (and RE-READ them all😁) just before my books arrived from the UK!)

As I stated in my review about the first in the series, I started watching the show after we finally got the next two from the library, and can confirm I did indeed become obsessed with all things Heartstopper. As a friend of mine just told me, it now lives in my heart.
I’m one of those people who will make something my entire personality when I love it, and this is no exception. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about how sweet, wonderful, optimistic, and spot-on about the being a teen these books are. They just make me swoon-y and in touch with that first rush of love. 
If you are a fan of the “impossibly perfect” love interest in romance novels, Nick Nelson is your guy! (My walls would’ve been papered with Kit Connor photos and magazine cut outs if I were 13 again.) But the character embodies the kind of partner that every person, no matter their sexuality, deserves in their relationships.
The show and the book, much like Normal People, are so intertwined in my head and they complement each other so well. The entire Heartstopper universe is fantastic - the characters that @aliceoseman created and the actors that play them are ALL perfection. I am so glad that it exists and that it will always live in my heart.

As I stated in my review about the first in the series, I started watching the show after we finally got the next two from the library, and can confirm I did indeed become obsessed with all things Heartstopper. As a friend of mine just told me, it now lives in my heart.
I’m one of those people who will make something my entire personality when I love it, and this is no exception. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about how sweet, wonderful, optimistic, and spot-on about the being a teen these books are. They just make me swoon-y and in touch with that first rush of love. 
If you are a fan of the “impossibly perfect” love interest in romance novels, Nick Nelson is your guy! (My walls would’ve been papered with Kit Connor photos and magazine cut outs if I were 13 again.) But the character embodies the kind of partner that every person, no matter their sexuality, deserves in their relationships.
The show and the book, much like Normal People, are so intertwined in my head and they complement each other so well. The entire Heartstopper universe is fantastic - the characters that @aliceoseman created and the actors that play them are ALL perfection. I am so glad that it exists and that it will always live in my heart.

I will always think fondly on this book because it was the one that I finally got signed by the man himself! It was great to hear parts of the book, as well as additional anecdotes, read aloud by David. This isn’t my absolute favorite of his books, but I thought it was top-tier, nonetheless. Who else could make Covid funny? I was highly anticipating his perspective on the last couple of years and the stories in the book did not disappoint. As well as some of the anecdotes he told during the talk, one of which was how he actually finally got Covid😆

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @williammorrowbooks - Vacationland was the perfect book to ease into the summer reading season! Particularly here in the cool and cloudy Pacific Northwest, which normally doesn’t get summer weather until the Fourth of July, but we’re having a record breaking cold and rainy June and I don’t know if I could handle the jealousy of warm sandy beaches. Don’t get me wrong, this is a novel set during summer and is evocative of leaving the real world behind for “Vacationland.” But the cover seems as if it’s for an entirely different book, as it doesn’t quite convey the vibe of a cozy house with foggy mornings, cool evenings, and rocky coastal Maine in summer - there is nary a big sandy beach to be found.
Putting that aside, Vacationland was my first Meg Mitchell Moore and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this engrossing family saga full of secrets, strife and reconciliation. I became invested in this cast of characters, particularly the children - they stole the show. The first-love feels for the eldest child was poignantly done, and the younger children were hilariously precocious.
The beaches might not be particularly warm, but the narrative was warm-hearted and it flew by quickly. Vacationland published on June 14 and is available now - I’d definitely recommend for your summer beach bag!

It might not be for everyone, but I absolutely adored Zorrie. Quiet and intimately told, I was swept up in this woman’s life and how a seemingly ordinary existence is filled with everyday bits of the extraordinary.
It’s a straightforward story of an orphaned girl coming of age in rural Indiana during the Great Depression. Maybe it’s the Midwesterner in me that fell in love with this character, and her stoicism. Zorrie suffers so much hardship and sadness, but the tone isn’t overly melancholy, the pacing is swift, and the novel has a beautifully bittersweet conclusion. 

“𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 ‘𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭’ 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫—𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞—𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝.”

As with most books I love, I don’t know what else to say - other than it is absolutely worth picking up this slim, yet highly impactful, @nationalbookfoundation award finalist.

Sven suffers so many setbacks that resolved in a few pages, and I kept waiting for something really huge and far reaching to happen. Alas, just a survivalist story with an emotional twist at the end, but still a slog to get there.

I’m glad I read this novel about indigenous Americans, but I didn’t ‘enjoy’ it per se. It’s so very similar to, and my review is the same as, SHARKS IN THE TIME OF SAVIORS: Dense, cerebral, visceral and haunting, it is the portrait of a family as it slowly falls apart. The multiple POV chapters contain mostly internal monologue and shed light on the effects of racism and colonization.

Many thanks to @williammorrowbooks and @netgalley for the complementary digital ARC of The Change! I went into this one with high expectations, and unfortunately I think the hype ended up being a disadvantage.
The premise of women coming into supernatural powers later in life was immediately intriguing. The prose, dripping with satire, was relatable and quite humorous. I was eager to see how the plot would unfold.
Alas, I didn’t realize going in that it’s ultimately a whodunnit, and I am not a fan of crime thrillers. Especially when they drag on too long in the aim of suspense (did we get the killer? Nope! How about now? Still no! 480 pages!) which has the exact opposite effect on me: boredom.
I also felt as if the (rightfully!) angry feminist message became overwrought. As someone nearly the age of the characters, and absolutely the right audience for understanding misogyny and wanting to smash the patriarchy, it began to feel farcical and the characters like caricatures.
If you are a fan of thrillers and crime novels, I think this would be a perfect book. It was a romp, but just not for me.