Sociopath was wild, and I don’t know if I learned so much about this diagnosis as much as I felt as if I was along for the ride on this person‘s crazy life choices. The nailbiting situations that she puts herself in were hard to look away from and her analysis of her own behavior had me questioning the entire narrative. I’ve seen that her PhD credentials are questionable and whatever her diagnosis is, it’s difficult to know if she is really coming from a place of truth. But I guess that’s the paradoxical nature of this kind of memoir… A fascinating read to dissect, but I wouldn’t put a lot of scientific trust into it.

I’m always looking to find a mystery/thriller novel that I can get into, but never love any of the popular titles. The God of the Woods is the perfect example of why none of the Riley Sager’s of the world will ever compare. I’ve seen Liz Moore’s latest triumph categorized in several ways, but lit-fic is the overarching consensus, and the wheelhouse in which I should just stay for my reading preferences.
This is the third of Moore’s novels that has me gushing, the second five star read after Long Bright River, and it’s just so hard to accept anything less when reading another suspenseful novel. Her talent for storytelling is exceptional. It’s one of those books that you completely forget to look up from the page and wonder where two hours went. There are so many timelines and characters, but they are all so fully realized in my head that I had no trouble picking up every thread that she teased out. Every single character and plot point served a purpose, and the way that the story is revealed and comes together just blew me away. I can’t stop thinking about it, I love it so much and I love how she conveys what are clearly her thoughts about feminism, family, privilege and resilience, while entertaining with the most captivating story.

After loving My Name is Lucy Barton, Anything is Possible lived up to my expectations, and in some ways exceeded them: I thoroughly enjoyed the kaleidoscopic nature of the many complex characters in Lucy’s hometown of Amgash and it helped that they were fresh in my mind from reading the first book - lots of eye opening revelations and aha! moments. The one caveat about this particular novel, it centers around a great deal of sexual assault content - just a word to the wise.

What is with all of the coming of age in the Y2K era books!? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely here for it as someone who was in her 20s during that time and can relate to all of these angsty stories about finding yourself, job stress, hookups, and relationship drama against the backdrop of 9/11 and hardly a cell phone to be found, let alone a smart phone.
Anyway! I could SO relate to the main character because I was completely shunted around as the peon in my office (working in advertising, not publishing). I, too, had the crap lunch break on Fridays and wasn’t able to go out with my friends and it sucked! (The day I found another job and gave my notice was one of the most satisfying moments of my life.) I was living in Chicago in my early 20s and I kept thinking that’s where this novel was set because it just felt so similar to my life then - going to random work event parties, grabbing beers at a hole in the wall, taking the subway everywhere, seeing a show and being jostled in a crowd.. I loved the atmosphere. The story was very sweet, although I would have ditched the guy a lot earlier for the romantic hero for sure. That’s one thing I didn’t relate to with this character: I did not suffer fools for long when I was younger. The romance trope of the girl that can’t bring herself to get out of a bad relationship usually turns me off immediately. But it was somewhat nuanced and everything else was so charming that just I flew through the pages - this is an absolutely perfect summer read.

This felt reminiscent of several memoirs that I’ve read over the years: a dash of The Glass Castle, a very small Hollywood pinch of I’m Glad My Mom Died, and a bit of humor like This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philips. The author actually sounds a little like Busy (I listened to the audiobook) but I didn’t find her story nearly as compelling. I certainly appreciated all of the Chicago improv bits, as a Chicagoan and a fan of Second City. I just wish I felt invested, and it just felt all over the place and much heavier than I was expecting, without enough humor to carry it through. Not giving it an official rating in Goodreads, bec I am not a fan of rating people’s life stories. But I’d say this was a ⭐️⭐️ read for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the digital review copy! I remember feeling very moved by Rachel Khong’s debut novel Goodbye, Vitamin and eagerly requested her latest.
Though I wasn’t sure how I would feel about her foray into historical fiction, as it’s not always my favorite genre. Yet, the bulk of the story is more recent history and the main character is a contemporary of mine. Being able to relate to where Lily was life during the Y2K era, I was immediately drawn in to this emotional roller coaster of a family drama filled with such realness. Though the narrative touches on timely moral issues (race, class, consumerism, genetic engineering) it doesn’t feel didactic. 
I think I (slightly!) prefer her first novel, and Real Americans didn’t quite rise to a full five star review for me because sometimes the jumps in time felt jarring, I thought the ending fizzled/didn’t pack as much of an emotional punch as it could have, and the connection formed between the youngest and eldest characters at the end seemed unrealistic. But I absolutely love Khong’s writing and it was an absolutely beautifully compelling story with twists that just kept me enthralled. Highly recommend!

If you like memoirs that read like a friend telling you some every day life stories over coffee, this fits the bill. Nothing earth shattering, or very gripping about the story of the author buying and renovating a house. There were a few overly twee metaphors about life lessons learned during the process. But as a pacific northwesterner, I enjoyed listening to her talk about the beautiful areas in which we live.

OH MY HEART. I have decided that this will be the summer of Strout! I remember reading Olive Kitteridge over a decade ago and it not resonating with me at the time. But over the years I’ve gravitated toward a number of “quiet novels” and Strouts work always comes up as a read alike for some of my favorites like Zorrie by Laird Hunt and Claire Keegan’s work. I absolutely gobbled up Lucy Barton and I plan to read all of her books this summer. There’s just something so moving and intimate about Strout’s prose that makes the mundane extraordinary and just gets under my skin. Maybe I need to revisit Olive too...
“Lonely was the first flavor I had tasted in my life, and it was always there, hidden inside the crevices of my mouth, reminding me.”

After listening to audiobooks that made me kind of mad or sad (Magic Pill and Careless People) I checked out the first funny looking audiobook I could find available from the library. Chelsea Handler’s latest book is a riot, and I will now be going back and reading all of her other memoirs!

I have never felt any type of way about her. I find her funny, but have never really sought out her content. Color me surprised about what a complex and fascinating person she is. The book premise seems to be about centering herself and becoming the ebullient person that she has wanted to be since she was a young girl, with emphasis on how she has become a default caregiver to so many young people in her life, and time spent soul searching during Covid lockdown. I found it insightful, obviously funny, and inspiring. (I also loved hearing her talk about one of my favorite places - I had no idea she had a home in Whistler!)

Better Than The Movies was borrowed from my 15 year-old daughter’s bookshelf because she could not stop raving about it! Within the first chapter, I told her my predictions… that all came to fruition. It is indeed predictable, and had some very similar through lines as ‘To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before.’ But the journey of going through the motions was enjoyable in Lynn Painter’s hands. There were quite a few references to movies of yore that old people like myself could identify with, while keeping things contemporary for the younger set. I’m glad that the themes didn’t entirely center upon the romance narrative, as interesting drama played out with the (sometimes frustrating) main character’s family and friends. I definitely recommend this novel to the teen in your life, or if you’re looking to pick up a cute and engaging YA romance.