This text was jarring in that there was vibrant and comprehensive descriptions of seemingly innocuous details and then facts like Hickock's pedophilic tendencies were dropped into the middle of a paragraph, only to be left and then picked up again after dozens of pages. The descriptions of the Clutters, their family life, their friends, and their pastoral joys made the details of their deaths all the more profoundly upsetting. I appreciated the depth of research that went into this book and the information given on the communities the Clutters and their killers spent time in, but I am also, in some ways, upset with the lengths at which this book works to humanize the killers. It's bitter to feel something akin to empathy with either of them or the men that lived with them on death row.

I actually really liked Katherina. Her name being taken from her in Petruchio exclusively referring to her as Kate, alongside the loss of her freedom at the onset of her marriage is a heartbreak used as comedy. Her wit and feistiness made her likable and entertaining, excluding her lashing out at her sister. She wanted to be loved as she is, and Petruchio's progressive breaking of her spirit is so deeply saddening. The romance of Bianca and Lucentio, as well as the vying for her hand in marriage and the comedy of miscommunication that takes place due to Lucentio's scheming, while all superficially engaging, pale in comparison to the disgust I felt at Kate's treatment by her new husband and his household. She is gaslit to the nth degree. I think I need to read this again, as a physical book, to keep track of the other storylines.

I really enjoyed this book. I listened to it as an audiobook, and the narrator did a wonderful job. The length of the book can make it dense at times, and I found myself rewinding often as I lost track of who was who. I found the section about the lavender scare especially interesting. I'd been taught in history classes and read about the red scare and McCarthyism, but up until reading this, I'd never heard of the lavender scare nor the way both scares and fanatical devotion to McCarthy and his beliefs took hold of the United States government. My only major complaint is that the trans women who were pivotal to the events at the Stonewall inn were referred to as drag queens. If I read this again, it will be in print so I can take copious notes and possibly color code people.

I love this universe so much, and I'm heart broken for this to be my last contact with the characters. This series prompts the reader to find the beauty in the commonplace and gives hope for a brighter and kinder future. This series makes me want to roast chickpeas, laugh at the absurdity of how human society functions, and to give as much of myself as I can to making the world into a place I want to be in. Becky Chambers constantly surprises me. My perspective is clouded by my experience as an American, and every time medical care, food, water, and shelter are freely given; every time a child wit a non-binary gender is correctly named and gendered; every time people react with kindness and under the assumption that no harm was meant by a mistake or misspokenn word, I am amazed and jealous. The widely varried lifespans of the different species and their perspectives and frustrations with the GC and related wars add to the richness of this world that I've come to deeply love. 

This book is a wish for a kinder future. It's optimistic while still being firmly rooted in realism.

Sawyer's story arc and death, while upsetting, was realistic. It was a great catalyst for the changes made to the way that the fleet treats the returning descendants of former residents. I'm glad that we got to see more of Sunny and Eyas as friends beyond their work. Tessa being able to create a home in which her family feels safe and Isabel training Kip to continue the living memory of the fleet feel like a perfect way to round off the book.

one of the things that I love the most about these books is that our heroes aren't fighting to save the universe. They're not struggling against a catastrophic war. And in the rare cases they're escaping apocalypse/catastrophe, what we see isn't statistical odds and the military. We see people surviving and thriving.

I didn't realize this book was part of The Walking Dead universe when I started reading it. It definitely explains my lack of understanding in terms of backstory and context. I just generally enjoy Tillie Walden's work. This book was good, though it would have most likely been a better read had I had that context. A small part of me has hope Amos will live; that will be reunited in a later book.

It was somewhat uncomfortable and somewhat superficial to read a biography of a woman written by a man who was completely unknown to her. The excerpts from communications and interviews with her family and loved ones were wonderful insights into who she was as a person. I especially loved her note about how Alfred Hitchcock should spend in his grave for the movie psycho.
The insight into Andrews' disability and its impact on her relationships, especially that between her and her mother was unexpected and very interesting to read. I wasn't sure what her life story is going to be, knowing that many of her books center around incest and taboo desires. To learn that she was most likely a virgin and used her writing as a means of escape made sense and confuses at the same time. Her vocabulary and some of the scenarios discussed are childlike in the way she gives code names to things like foreplay and seduction, and has lust start to be expressed at pubescent bodies. The exploration of the adolescent psyche makes sense in some of her novels, but some like the excerpt at the end of the biography with her unfinished manuscript for what would have been a novel titled The Obsessed center a father's infatuation with his daughter's physical development and her devotion to himself. Her writing is enrapturing, but the content reads like it's meant to thrill by just being; like it's the authors only way to express and process some sort of sexuality. That very well may have been the case. Her ability to write such uncomfortable topics whilst maintaining a close relationship with her family made me want more of their insight into her writing and their opinions on what she wrote. Just under a third of this book was not written by Andrew Neiderman. It was the first eight chapters of an unfinished book Andrews had been writing at the time of her death, followed by some shorter works. It feels like Neiderman fell somewhat short in writing this biography. Certain points were reiterated repeatedly where other parts of her life were brushed aside. Prior to reading this I had not read anything written by VC Andrews. I'm now very tempted to read her science fiction novel.

This whole book is a big change to the series while fitting in quite comfortably with the rest of the books. Hugh being a giant fuck up is great. Kate is a slow study, but a good student, and taking advantage of her and Barabbas' knowledge of human and pack law to upend Hugh's plan was wonderful!
I'm deeply upset by characters I love being used as canon fodder, but I understand the need for their deaths to convey the weight of the situations our characters are in. I spent the entire book waiting for Robert to betray Kate, but I'm glad it was more of an opportunity for readers and Kate to become better acquainted with clan rat.
I'm very excited for Andrea's future kiddos and the possibility of Julie playing babysitter and Kate once again being an aunt. I look forward to seeing what Jim does with the pack. And I look forward to seeing how this changes the dynamics in future books.
Roland is definitely a wild card character. I'm excited for whatever lore about him and anything else we'll get in the next few books.

 Reading memoirs often leads to moments of self reflection, comparing yourself to the author; what the author is willing to share through the distance offered by a book versus what people are willing to share face to face. This was one of the best memoirs I've read in my life. It starts as a book about a cult, but rather than focusing on the cult and it's history as so many similar books have, Jollett writes about its impact, how it echoed through his life, how he tried to escape its impact, and then embracing its impact as a part of him. The music tied to the story was wonderfully done, and Jollett narrating the book made it personal. Jollett covers far too much in this book for me to address in a review, but as cliche as it is, I laughed at some parts, cried at others, and felt righteous indignation at others still. There is real beauty and real life in these pages.

Dali and Jim are great characters and I'm glad to have a book that shows us Jim's softer side. The deeper look at Dali's magic, watching her face her fears, and finally seeing her accept and fall into love is wonderful. I'm glad we got another book from her perspective and I hope we get more!
I wish we'd had a scene or two from the barbeque, but the way the novella ended was wonderful all the same. Jim pushing Dali's boundaries with consent in order to express his love to her is very sweet.