Take a photo of a barcode or cover
2022: very meh. I'd save yourself the time, unless you need a fun little audiobook in a pinch.
This was definitely not a thriller. Maybe you could call it a mystery, and it was sometimes suspenseful. But barely. I did not find myself stressed or actually caring about these characters much at all. Sad to say that this did not live up to the hype for me. Sorry Reese, but once again, you and I have different preferences. And that's okay!
Also, -10 points for constantly calling it "play practice" when we have a whole word for it, which is REHEARSAL! No one who is actually involved in the theatre would ever call it "play practice". This drove me crazy! And if Bailey was truly a theatre junkie as described, it would have just been the name of the current show she had been working on. Ugh!
This was definitely not a thriller. Maybe you could call it a mystery, and it was sometimes suspenseful. But barely. I did not find myself stressed or actually caring about these characters much at all. Sad to say that this did not live up to the hype for me. Sorry Reese, but once again, you and I have different preferences. And that's okay!
Also, -10 points for constantly calling it "play practice" when we have a whole word for it, which is REHEARSAL! No one who is actually involved in the theatre would ever call it "play practice". This drove me crazy! And if Bailey was truly a theatre junkie as described, it would have just been the name of the current show she had been working on. Ugh!
2022: I honestly don't know if I have ever screamed at a main character this much.
This woman is a PhD candidate, brilliant, going to cure pancreatic cancer, and spends the entire book doubting herself. I could not handle the negative self talk that Olive had about herself in this novel! Girl, you are a CATCH! The anxiety of the narrator was too much for me, but if you have anxiety and want to see yourself represented in a book, I'd pick this one.
I also had this on my list for the demisexual representation, but honestly, there were too many ridiculous decisions and lies from Olive that got in the way. I appreciated that she was unafraid to take things slow and at her speed, but the number of times that she said to herself, "I don't know why I was still thinking about his abs" was too much. Taking it slow and wanting to establish an emotional bond with someone before you have sex is one thing; literally not acknowledging your feelings and continuing to lie in new and very odd and confusing ways is another.
+1 for awesome consensual sex scenes that take it slow and respect both partners, and for a well-handled sexual harassment subplot that was not gratuitous and actually moved the plot forward. -1 for calling the area that they live in Stanford, California instead of Palo Alto.
This woman is a PhD candidate, brilliant, going to cure pancreatic cancer, and spends the entire book doubting herself. I could not handle the negative self talk that Olive had about herself in this novel! Girl, you are a CATCH! The anxiety of the narrator was too much for me, but if you have anxiety and want to see yourself represented in a book, I'd pick this one.
I also had this on my list for the demisexual representation, but honestly, there were too many ridiculous decisions and lies from Olive that got in the way. I appreciated that she was unafraid to take things slow and at her speed, but the number of times that she said to herself, "I don't know why I was still thinking about his abs" was too much. Taking it slow and wanting to establish an emotional bond with someone before you have sex is one thing; literally not acknowledging your feelings and continuing to lie in new and very odd and confusing ways is another.
+1 for awesome consensual sex scenes that take it slow and respect both partners, and for a well-handled sexual harassment subplot that was not gratuitous and actually moved the plot forward. -1 for calling the area that they live in Stanford, California instead of Palo Alto.
2022: amazing book about a historical event that I never learned about with the world's worst main character.
Here's the deal, Ugwu ruined this whole book. A big ol trigger warning for not only rape, but gang rape as well in this one! He was a sex-obsessed narrator whose side I just could not get on. I'm so glad that the whole book wasn't from his point of view. He left such a sour taste in my mouth. I know that I was supposed to empathize with him, coming from a very poor family and having very few educational opportunities, but that still doesn't mean you get to rape people! Even when there's a war going on!
I asked my parents if they knew what Biafra was, and they were *shocked* that I had never learned about it in school. That's American school history for ya! I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone looking to expand their knowledge of modern African history.
Also, I love that Adichie said to herself, "you know what will hurt Richard the most? His lover burning his manuscript". How very Jo March of her (well, really Amy, but you get it).
Here's the deal, Ugwu ruined this whole book. A big ol trigger warning for not only rape, but gang rape as well in this one! He was a sex-obsessed narrator whose side I just could not get on. I'm so glad that the whole book wasn't from his point of view. He left such a sour taste in my mouth. I know that I was supposed to empathize with him, coming from a very poor family and having very few educational opportunities, but that still doesn't mean you get to rape people! Even when there's a war going on!
I asked my parents if they knew what Biafra was, and they were *shocked* that I had never learned about it in school. That's American school history for ya! I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone looking to expand their knowledge of modern African history.
Also, I love that Adichie said to herself, "you know what will hurt Richard the most? His lover burning his manuscript". How very Jo March of her (well, really Amy, but you get it).
2022: Big big big big fan!
When a novel is dedicated "for the librarians, then, now, and in the years to come", you know I'm going to like it. I flew through this giant of a novel and enjoyed nearly every page. Each of the stories had enough crossover so they flowed very well together. I was constantly engaged and wanted to get to the upcoming narrator to find out what happened next!
Certainly Omeir and Seymour were the weakest storytellers, but they were connected enough with their counterparts in the same timelines (Anna and Zeno) that it was not a distraction. Konstance was my favorite narrator, and I originally thought that the entire book was going to be her story. Zeno ended up having the best journey for me, and I walked away wanting more!
Of course, I was a huge fan of [b:All the Light We Cannot See|18143977|All the Light We Cannot See|Anthony Doerr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451445646l/18143977._SY75_.jpg|25491300] and was incredibly excited to get my hands on this book. I think ATLWCS had a strong story (and certainly didn't jump around nearly as much) but after reflecting on the poor disability representation of its blind main character, I enjoyed the characters introduced here more. Unfortunately, Doerr made the villain of the story the character on the autism spectrum, but I personally felt that the character was well-rounded enough to hold his own. I look forward to reading some criticism on this though, so send over your thoughts as they are published.
When a novel is dedicated "for the librarians, then, now, and in the years to come", you know I'm going to like it. I flew through this giant of a novel and enjoyed nearly every page. Each of the stories had enough crossover so they flowed very well together. I was constantly engaged and wanted to get to the upcoming narrator to find out what happened next!
Certainly Omeir and Seymour were the weakest storytellers, but they were connected enough with their counterparts in the same timelines (Anna and Zeno) that it was not a distraction. Konstance was my favorite narrator, and I originally thought that the entire book was going to be her story. Zeno ended up having the best journey for me, and I walked away wanting more!
Of course, I was a huge fan of [b:All the Light We Cannot See|18143977|All the Light We Cannot See|Anthony Doerr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451445646l/18143977._SY75_.jpg|25491300] and was incredibly excited to get my hands on this book. I think ATLWCS had a strong story (and certainly didn't jump around nearly as much) but after reflecting on the poor disability representation of its blind main character, I enjoyed the characters introduced here more. Unfortunately, Doerr made the villain of the story the character on the autism spectrum, but I personally felt that the character was well-rounded enough to hold his own. I look forward to reading some criticism on this though, so send over your thoughts as they are published.
2022: I enjoyed this book, but I am too young to be the true target audience.
My mother actually listened to a part of this audiobook with me, and she was all over it. That makes perfect sense. Also, she's the aging mother of an only child, so there were a lot of parallels for her to relate to (although I sincerely hope that's where the parallels between me and Christopher end, yikes). I could clearly remember my mother saying a bunch of dialogue attributed to Olive in the book. And when she talks about all of the plans that she had for her son, and how he through them all away to pursue his own life?
It did take me a couple of chapters to get the hang of the way the characters were floating in and out of the various vignettes. It was actually pretty difficult to get a grasp on what time period we were in; I wasn't sure if maybe there were some clues in the paperback that I was missing in the audiobook? And the tone shift for the kidnapping story was very abrupt.
There is some hilarious only child slander (that I took to be funny, but it's a fine line) and some gentle homophobia that probably isn't everyone's cup of tea (but did lead to an incredible scene in which Olive calls everyone she knows to complain that her new crush is a Republican). Mostly, I just really enjoyed listening to a scene that takes place in Cooks Corner while driving through :)
My mother actually listened to a part of this audiobook with me, and she was all over it. That makes perfect sense. Also, she's the aging mother of an only child, so there were a lot of parallels for her to relate to (although I sincerely hope that's where the parallels between me and Christopher end, yikes). I could clearly remember my mother saying a bunch of dialogue attributed to Olive in the book. And when she talks about all of the plans that she had for her son, and how he through them all away to pursue his own life?
It did take me a couple of chapters to get the hang of the way the characters were floating in and out of the various vignettes. It was actually pretty difficult to get a grasp on what time period we were in; I wasn't sure if maybe there were some clues in the paperback that I was missing in the audiobook? And the tone shift for the kidnapping story was very abrupt.
There is some hilarious only child slander (that I took to be funny, but it's a fine line) and some gentle homophobia that probably isn't everyone's cup of tea (but did lead to an incredible scene in which Olive calls everyone she knows to complain that her new crush is a Republican). Mostly, I just really enjoyed listening to a scene that takes place in Cooks Corner while driving through :)
2022: If you can make it to Part Two, you're in for a treat.
Here's the deal: One of my friends told me to chuck this book into the ocean after I read him a line. He's not wrong - from her name being Lily Blossom Bloom and she runs a plant shop *eyeroll* to reading about how much she lauds Ellen DeGeneres *yikes* the first part has some extremely cringey moments. Don't get me started on the spontaneous wedding in Vegas that she called her mother at 2am to get her on a plane to go to (you could just wait until 8am? idk). Plus, despite some of the plot being tied up in the fact that she grew up in Maine and then moved to Boston, this was the most generic story. There was no "Maine" or "Boston" imbibed in this novel.
AND YET - Part Two almost made up for all of it. I am certainly glad that I persevered and finished the book, if only to be able to talk about it and be a part of the zeitgeist. If you're frustrated with the *many* red flags that Ryle espouses in Part One, you will be rewarded in Part Two. A taste of what you'll have to put up with to get there though: "Please, Lily. Please have sex with me. I want you so, so bad and I swear, once you have sex with me you'll never hear from me again. I promise." GIRL, RUN
Without totally spoiling everything, make sure you check out the trigger warnings on this book if you have any previous history with abuse.
Here's the deal: One of my friends told me to chuck this book into the ocean after I read him a line. He's not wrong - from her name being Lily Blossom Bloom and she runs a plant shop *eyeroll* to reading about how much she lauds Ellen DeGeneres *yikes* the first part has some extremely cringey moments. Don't get me started on the spontaneous wedding in Vegas that she called her mother at 2am to get her on a plane to go to (you could just wait until 8am? idk). Plus, despite some of the plot being tied up in the fact that she grew up in Maine and then moved to Boston, this was the most generic story. There was no "Maine" or "Boston" imbibed in this novel.
AND YET - Part Two almost made up for all of it. I am certainly glad that I persevered and finished the book, if only to be able to talk about it and be a part of the zeitgeist. If you're frustrated with the *many* red flags that Ryle espouses in Part One, you will be rewarded in Part Two. A taste of what you'll have to put up with to get there though: "Please, Lily. Please have sex with me. I want you so, so bad and I swear, once you have sex with me you'll never hear from me again. I promise." GIRL, RUN
Without totally spoiling everything, make sure you check out the trigger warnings on this book if you have any previous history with abuse.
2022: A short, powerful take on body positivity that I'm not sure was meant for me...
I first heard of Sonya Renee Taylor in conversation with Brené Brown and I literally bought her book the next day. I loved her voice and her tone in regards to body positivity and immediately wanted more. The book started off so strong, and has so many wonderful nuggets of wisdom. My favorite is "start by remembering everyone is not a poodle and that is okay".
Taylor set this book in the plural second person, and it was funny how the use of the "we" pronoun was sort of alienating to me. Whenever Taylor made a statement that I didn't agree with or had never experienced, I felt like I was eavesdropping. I know that Taylor used this point of view to be more inclusive, but I felt like I was invading a space that was not meant for me.
My big takeaway is that Taylor is a phenomenal writer, but this book was hyper-focused for an audience to which I did not belong. Sure, there are moments where I don't love my body, but they pass, and they do not get in the way of me living my life. What a privilege it is not to fight with your body or be ashamed of it everyday. If you are struggling with any of those feelings, I think you will 100% enjoy this book and find much value and meaning in it.
"Have compassion for and honor people's varied journeys. Not everyone has read the books you've read or head the experiences you've had. There was a time when you had not had them either. Our journeys are unique and varied. Compassion births patience."
I first heard of Sonya Renee Taylor in conversation with Brené Brown and I literally bought her book the next day. I loved her voice and her tone in regards to body positivity and immediately wanted more. The book started off so strong, and has so many wonderful nuggets of wisdom. My favorite is "start by remembering everyone is not a poodle and that is okay".
Taylor set this book in the plural second person, and it was funny how the use of the "we" pronoun was sort of alienating to me. Whenever Taylor made a statement that I didn't agree with or had never experienced, I felt like I was eavesdropping. I know that Taylor used this point of view to be more inclusive, but I felt like I was invading a space that was not meant for me.
My big takeaway is that Taylor is a phenomenal writer, but this book was hyper-focused for an audience to which I did not belong. Sure, there are moments where I don't love my body, but they pass, and they do not get in the way of me living my life. What a privilege it is not to fight with your body or be ashamed of it everyday. If you are struggling with any of those feelings, I think you will 100% enjoy this book and find much value and meaning in it.
"Have compassion for and honor people's varied journeys. Not everyone has read the books you've read or head the experiences you've had. There was a time when you had not had them either. Our journeys are unique and varied. Compassion births patience."
2022: I LOVE TALIA HIBBERT AND THE BROWN SISTERS
Damn, there was just SUCH a contrast between reading this book and my most recent romance novel, [b:It Ends with Us|27362503|It Ends with Us|Colleen Hoover|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470427482l/27362503._SY75_.jpg|43940889]. Hibbert is a marvelous writer, creating situations that ring true and characters that I actually care about. To have incredibly sexy scenes and wonderful suspense on top of that is the icing on the cake, but once again, Hibbert has knocked it out of the park for me. I could easily relate to each of the characters (despite not having much of any shared life experiences with them), the sex was steamy and consensual, and the pop culture references are top notch.
I think I read this book a little too closely to [b:The Love Hypothesis|56732449|The Love Hypothesis|Ali Hazelwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611937942l/56732449._SX50_.jpg|88674377], because I was totally over the fake dating trope by the time it was introduced here, but Hibbert handled much better in my opinion. She also did a better job with the academic relationships. I also think this book did a WAY better job of tackling heavy topics, especially when compared to [b:The Bride Test|39338454|The Bride Test|Helen Hoang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548428073l/39338454._SY75_.jpg|60976615], which just swept huge issues right under the rug. It didn't hurt that Zaf's accent in the audiobook was drool worthy.
Can't wait to get my hands on book #3 of the Brown sisters, [b:Act Your Age, Eve Brown|51824384|Act Your Age, Eve Brown (The Brown Sisters, #3)|Talia Hibbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1598833651l/51824384._SY75_.jpg|76322191], especially considering it's the highest rated of the three on Goodreads!
Damn, there was just SUCH a contrast between reading this book and my most recent romance novel, [b:It Ends with Us|27362503|It Ends with Us|Colleen Hoover|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470427482l/27362503._SY75_.jpg|43940889]. Hibbert is a marvelous writer, creating situations that ring true and characters that I actually care about. To have incredibly sexy scenes and wonderful suspense on top of that is the icing on the cake, but once again, Hibbert has knocked it out of the park for me. I could easily relate to each of the characters (despite not having much of any shared life experiences with them), the sex was steamy and consensual, and the pop culture references are top notch.
I think I read this book a little too closely to [b:The Love Hypothesis|56732449|The Love Hypothesis|Ali Hazelwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611937942l/56732449._SX50_.jpg|88674377], because I was totally over the fake dating trope by the time it was introduced here, but Hibbert handled much better in my opinion. She also did a better job with the academic relationships. I also think this book did a WAY better job of tackling heavy topics, especially when compared to [b:The Bride Test|39338454|The Bride Test|Helen Hoang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548428073l/39338454._SY75_.jpg|60976615], which just swept huge issues right under the rug. It didn't hurt that Zaf's accent in the audiobook was drool worthy.
Can't wait to get my hands on book #3 of the Brown sisters, [b:Act Your Age, Eve Brown|51824384|Act Your Age, Eve Brown (The Brown Sisters, #3)|Talia Hibbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1598833651l/51824384._SY75_.jpg|76322191], especially considering it's the highest rated of the three on Goodreads!
2022: Extremely topical and pertinent to my life right now.
Did I attend an aquarium conference while reading this book? Yes. Did I meet Dr. Chad who shows up on page 60 of this book while I was at that conference? You betcha. Did that elevate this book in my esteem? Probably, but it's still very good and worth reading.
I would primarily recommend this book to anyone who wanted to be a marine biologist when they were younger but has since moved on to a different career path. Berwald perfectly captured the same sense of wonder I still feel whenever I am near the ocean. I loved following her journey of a woman who left her desired career / discipline, and still managed to find her way back to it years later. On top of that, she wrote a hugely popular book about it too!
I would also recommend this to anyone who enjoyed reading [b:Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life|50887097|Why Fish Don't Exist A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life|Lulu Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565526670l/50887097._SY75_.jpg|71431307], as this is similarly balanced between history and marine biology and memoir. I think that Miller struck a better balance between the three strands, but this one holds up enough to the comparison.
Did I attend an aquarium conference while reading this book? Yes. Did I meet Dr. Chad who shows up on page 60 of this book while I was at that conference? You betcha. Did that elevate this book in my esteem? Probably, but it's still very good and worth reading.
I would primarily recommend this book to anyone who wanted to be a marine biologist when they were younger but has since moved on to a different career path. Berwald perfectly captured the same sense of wonder I still feel whenever I am near the ocean. I loved following her journey of a woman who left her desired career / discipline, and still managed to find her way back to it years later. On top of that, she wrote a hugely popular book about it too!
I would also recommend this to anyone who enjoyed reading [b:Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life|50887097|Why Fish Don't Exist A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life|Lulu Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565526670l/50887097._SY75_.jpg|71431307], as this is similarly balanced between history and marine biology and memoir. I think that Miller struck a better balance between the three strands, but this one holds up enough to the comparison.
.jpg)
2022: Again, I think my mother would like this book more than I did.
First off, Jack continues to be the worst and I'm honestly surprised that Olive stuck around with him for as long as she does. He's still homophobic, and he makes several distasteful comments about his Somali neighbors. Strout does a good job of having Olive shut him down immediately, which is great, but her marriage is a tacit agreement that he's "not that bad". I also wouldn't mind it if he was a born and raised Mainer and this was a decent representation of people who live here. But he literally was a Harvard professor! Don't give me this shit!
There's plenty of Maine humor here (including lines such as "Crosby, Maine is about as far away from Cambridge, Massachusetts as you can get" hahaha). I was listening to this book talk about Reid State Park while I was driving by its exit, which is always fun to experience.
Ultimately, Olive spends a lot of time in this book contemplating her own mortality. She struggles with the loneliness that ensues when you lose a partner and friends, and she has to move into an assisted living home. This is just not where I am in my life right now, and I wasn't feeling particularly connected to Olive's woes. I'll save this one to revisit (much) later in life.
First off, Jack continues to be the worst and I'm honestly surprised that Olive stuck around with him for as long as she does. He's still homophobic, and he makes several distasteful comments about his Somali neighbors. Strout does a good job of having Olive shut him down immediately, which is great, but her marriage is a tacit agreement that he's "not that bad". I also wouldn't mind it if he was a born and raised Mainer and this was a decent representation of people who live here. But he literally was a Harvard professor! Don't give me this shit!
There's plenty of Maine humor here (including lines such as "Crosby, Maine is about as far away from Cambridge, Massachusetts as you can get" hahaha). I was listening to this book talk about Reid State Park while I was driving by its exit, which is always fun to experience.
Ultimately, Olive spends a lot of time in this book contemplating her own mortality. She struggles with the loneliness that ensues when you lose a partner and friends, and she has to move into an assisted living home. This is just not where I am in my life right now, and I wasn't feeling particularly connected to Olive's woes. I'll save this one to revisit (much) later in life.