Enjoyed it, but I had high expectations after reading Becoming and this didn’t live up to it at all. Michelle Obama provides some insightful thoughts and teachings she’s learned in her 60 years of living. From raising 2 kids, being first lady, being a Black woman and lawyer, and surviving a pandemic and the loss of her father, Michelle has not only endured a lot, but soared in spite of it. However, this book was way to self-help for me. Maybe my expectations and the fact that I’m in a reading slump didn’t align with this book, but I was disappointed. I wanted gossip, not a story about how knitting helped her survive the pandemic. Beautifully written, (thank you, ghostwriter) but not as interesting as her first book. 

Unlike anything I've ever read. Mottley tells a rarely-told, harrowing store about a Black girl who gets involved in sex work to survive. The writing is intense and beautiful and Mottley carefully critiques and considers racism in America. Death and imprisonment are closer for people like Kiara and her brother. I also loved the backdrop of East Oakland; a character in and of itself. Profound. 

Highly informative. While I, of course, don’t agree with Chen on everything and would have liked a more thorough consideration of racism in regards to sexual pressures and stereotypes, I learned so so much from this book. I’ve had the privilege of not having directly confront many of the topics, identities and struggles Chen discusses in this book, but not only did she bring forth concepts I wasn’t familiar with I’m eager to continue to learn more about, she showed just how relevant the concerns and critiques she has are relevant to allo people like myself. There’s so much I hope to take from this book, for myself and my relationships, in whatever form they may be. I enjoyed sitting uncomfortably in my own misconceptions and expectations to learn from Chen these last couple days.

My bookseller/future librarian self absolutely devoured this book. While there were too many characters (my only critique), Adams is an incredible character developer. I feel for every single person in this story. They were all complex and funny and vulnerable and relatable. About a non-reader librarian and her new friendship with a recently widowed grandfather when he finds himself at a library in an effort to connect to his late wife and the librarian gives him books from a list she randomly found in a book, Adams perfectly captures the beauty of stories-- the way they bring people together, they way they help people escape, they way their challenge and teach people, the way they make people feel less lost and alone. There were several times I cried and even more times I laughed out loud. There were several plot points that absolutely shocked me and I loved the structure of weaving people together through a connection to a list of seemingly random books. Plus, Adams is Indian and an intimate look at Indian family dynamics really touched me in this story. I LOVE BOOKS ABOUT BOOKS! 

Really cute, fun, quick read. About recent exes who work at an ikea-like store who are forced to adventure into parallel universes to save a customer's grandmother, Cipri creates an escapist story you can't help but laugh at. Ava and Jules are complex enough for a <140 page story and Cipri includes some very necessary commentary about capitalism and gender. Took me 2 hours to read, too so tons of bonus points there.

A beautiful romance about two Black authors who fall in love in high school, lose each other, and then stumble back into each others lives. 

Took me a while to get into, but by the back half I was thoroughly invested in Shane and Eva. The backstories were so fascinating and the representation of chronic illness was strong and informative. Audre was my favorite character, offering a level of complexity I really enjoyed. Ty, someone who I wish we heard more about, also added a weight and beauty to Shane and the overall story. I always enjoy reading about authors who share a passion and reliance on words and language and Williams creates a romance with authors and the literary scene as the backdrop. 

A reread. I haven't read this since my sophomore year of HS and it definitively more profound than when I was 16. A absolute must read. 

I wish I liked this more than I did. I very much related to the narrator, at times to the point where I was unsettled because I so rarely see my story represented. Mehta is Indian American with a (partially) white family who grapples with the simultaneous discomfort around her family and love for them. Her relationship with India and India culture, or rather, lack thereof, as an American born, raised by white people in a white town person, is fraught with self doubt and questioning. Am I Indian enough (specifically around Asian people)? Am I too Indian (specifically around white people)? Where does my privilege end and my oppression begin and vice versa. I'm so glad so many of my experiences and thoughts and feelings were put into words by Mehta. I feel validated and seen.

However, I listened to this as an audiobook and at times, and I might sound like a misogynist, I found Mehta annoying. Maybe its my internalized racism and my being taught to just let things go, but I found myself thinking to Mehta in my ear, let it go. Her stories about vegetarianism were slightly annoying and while she recognized them as such, they made it hard for Mehta to win me back over. Also, and this isn't even a critique as much as it is an observation, I was almost disappointed that Mehta's story wasn't exactly like mine. When I read the title I thought, Oh My God. That's My Story, to find out she had the privilege of having some Indian family members, something I do not have as an adoptee.