2019: I was happy this chapter in the Millennium series returned to more of a focus on Lisbeth & Mikael, but they still spent almost zero time together. And it definitely needed more of my favorite character, Erika. I'm probably going to continue to read these books because I am invested, but this sequel did nothing better than the first three.

2019: Wow, what a throwback! I remember listening to this book as a book-on-tape (no, actually, on a cassette) in my parents' minivan as we drove to my grandmother's house in Massachusetts. It was a trip to swing back in time to revisit William and Mrs. Phillips and Sir Simon. It was lovely to be reintroduced to their world (I had not remembered a lot from 19 years ago) but I will probably not be heading back to the Castle in the Attic until I have my own children. It's good, not great, and it only receives 5 stars for the intense nostalgia listening to it bestowed upon me.

2019: This was a weird one. I was almost too aware of the style to really appreciate what Tamblyn was doing in this novel. I enjoyed it, but I charged through it too quickly to get that deeply into it. I also felt that Tamblyn, who is usually deeper in both her interviews and her poetry, was too surface level in the style she chose to really make this novel work. Very interested to see what she comes out with next, but not sure I will be recommending this book to everyone.

2018: This was a pleasant read, as is most all prose that Adichie writes, but a difficult one, as the story follows some terrible abuse at the hands of a father. I could not give this story 5 stars, as the content so distracted from the lovely way it was written, and I know Adichie can do better (and in fact, she has, please go read Americanah right now if you haven't yet). Glad I read it, I think you should too, but I think everyone should start with Americanah, which is superior in nearly all ways (seriously, go read it right now).

2018: WOW what a slog! I was interested and hooked in the beginning, and then I was just plain curious, until ultimately I had lost nearly all hope for these ridiculous pantomimes of people and just wanted to story to end. I'm not sure if the book lost me because it was published in the 30's and I am not accustomed to reading prose from that time (although I would like to think of myself as someone who has read enough to be able to withstand some slightly outdated dialogue) or if the story just lost all its appeal. du Maurier did this weird thing where the reader learns all there is to learn about halfway through, and after that, you're just waiting for the rest of the characters to catch up. Which is BORING as hell if they don't even have any good reactions during it. There's a nice twist at the very end, but if you have read any other myself novel published in the last 100 years, you can guess it ahead of time. Maybe she was one of the first to do so and I should give her more credit?