Not sure why I didn't read this sooner--YA graphic novel about theater kids seems like it should be an obvious pick for me. I think maybe I felt like I'd already read it, since I'd heard so much about it? (And lived it.) But I finally read it for real and found it very charming. If this book had been around when I was in junior high I think I would have looved it and been so excited to see a book about all the backstage ~drama~, as opposed to focusing on the performers. Also, of course, it was great to see a misguided young theater girl crushing on a young gay boy play out in a way that was awkward, but amicable. It seemed like it played out maybe more nicely than it would have in real life, but so what.

Not sure this has enough crossover for me to enthusiastically recommend it to adult readers, but I'm glad it's out there for tweens & young teens.

Also the art is cute.

Julia Alvarez walks a fine line between exploring history and cultural exchange in a compelling way ( [b:In the Time of the Butterflies|11206|In the Time of the Butterflies|Julia Alvarez|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1211592550s/11206.jpg|1408023]) and just being didactic and preachy ([b:Return to Sender|4599006|Return to Sender|Julia Alvarez|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320488073s/4599006.jpg|3271108]). Luckily this one was pretty good. Trujillo's dictatorship is a pretty good dramatic background. Also I listened to some of the audiobook, and Julia Alvarez reads it herself, and she sounds kind of like an excited robot. It's really weird and I'm not sure how to explain it. I used part of it in the video I made about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmWKWXfMsrY

(This book might only be medium-interesting to someone who isn't already familiar with Dominican history, IDK. But maybe you'll ~*learn something*~)

Hmm, I mean, I guess I get why this is the book everyone was talking about when it first came out--it definitely had a ton of surprising twists & turns that I did not see coming. Ultimately though, it felt gimmicky and sort of misogynistic?

Spoiler

Like for starters, I don't understand having this kind of first person unreliable narrator? I mean I get that at first we're supposed to think Nick did it, sure, but who is he talking to? Why is he being so coy? At least with the diary entries, you know, I get it.

Also Amy just seems like a character created by somebody who haaates women. Like, cool, she elaborately fakes being raped to get her way?? On multiple occasions? Eugh. Also I know her parents were just supposed to be very self-absorbed or w/e but could two psychologists really never notice that they have raised a straight-up sociopath? I guess?

Also it's weird that the ending is her getting away with murder and then raising a baby with Nick forever?? I mean I get that she's so clever etc etc but like, damn, really?

Anyway, ultimately an entertaining read but kind of gross, in ways that I suspect were both intended and not intended.

Most importantly: now I can tell people I've read Gone Girl. So there.

I really enjoyed this book. The narrative style is very unique and the characters are great, which is good since the plot is sort of standard Holocaust fare.

OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS, I loved this book. I couldn't put my finger on where I had heard of Lorrie Moore until I got to the story "People Like That Are the Only People Here," which was collected in [b:Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules|4140|Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules|David Sedaris|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165389020s/4140.jpg|726] and which was my favorite story in Children Playing. It wasn't even my favorite story from this collection, but it's still an amazing story. The sentences this woman can write, my God. Seriously, just wonderfully-written stories here, ones where you'll savor every word and think about their implications days later.

Perfectly enjoyable adventure-travel writing. Made me feel slightly inadequate, as Cahill keeps presenting himself as a Bill Bryson-like incompetent, while he actually seems to be a totally badass swimmer/diver/rockclimber/adventurer. I was especially interested in his essays about Mount St. Helens right before/after the eruption (yeah this book is like 30 years old, I just found it in the PC library). Anyway, it was a pretty fun, quick read, but I wouldn't really recommend seeking it out unless you have a stronger interest in rockclimbing and shit than I do.

"It was OK" sums it up pretty well. To be fair, this historical romance stuff isn't really my thing. A friend recommended this to me because... I like history I guess? But it's pretty romance novel-y. The stuff about the Taj Mahal was interesting but I was so skeptical of the representations of gender roles and social interactions that I began to doubt the historical accuracy of all information presented in the book. Whatevs.

Oh my goodness, I can't believe I never read this book before! Funny, sad, and hopeful. Does that YA lit thing where you're allowed to just state out truths about life because a character is growing up and just figured something important out.

As good as I've come to expect from Barbara Kingsolver. I've been reading her stuff out of order and it's interesting--she seems much less confident here than in Small Wonder, her later essay collection. But in a sweet, honest way. I particularly liked the last few essays, in which she discusses the power of fiction and what kinds of responsibilities readers and writers have.

Well... I'm definitely not this book's target market, since I'm not a baby boomer. Bill Bryson is always funny, and this book definitely had some hilarious turns of phrase. I have kind of complicated feelings about it, I suppose... he is very nostalgic for an era that I think of as being gross and oppressive, but undoubtedly Bill Bryson did have a very pleasant childhood in 1950s Des Moines, so shouldn't he have the right to write a happy memoir? I GUESS. I enjoyed this book, it was a fun, quick read, but to me, nothing as enjoyable as A Walk in the Woods or any of his travel books, which I unhesitatingly recommend.