This book was... Okay! I did notice pretty quickly that I for sure was not the target audience. As a 24-year-old woman, I could more than relate to Rocky's children but struggled connecting to her, the main character. I found her irrational and frustrating and had difficulty empathizing at times. Still, when I showed some passages to my mid-50s mother, she said Rocky sounded completely normal, and her behavior, while not great, was understandable. So clearly, it's not quite a book that fits for me. Another thing I also found frustrating was the "miscommunication trope", if you will, that seems to permeate a lot of books when there needs to be a conflict that arises. It's tiresome as a reader, but realistic as well, so it's not a deep-seated qualm I have with Newman. On a much minor note, there were a few times in dialogue and Rocky's inner monologue that made me physically cringe, which was a bit painful but again, I'm 24, and my mom joking about TikTok makes me cringe too, so it tracks.

Overall a decent read, but it is difficult to relate to the main character without undergoing menopause myself. I suppose that uncomfortableness I chaffed up against is intended, to try to get readers to understand the feelings and actions of someone undergoing these insane hormone changes. But I'm not in the audience/demographic that can emotionally connect to Newman's book/writing.

I mean, it's a textbook, but on textbook standards, Petty does a fantastic job introducing various topics relevant to meteorology while making it understandable and easily digestible. By taking your time analyzing the included graphics and reviewing the foundational equations for atmospheric science, even a layman could understand the topics discussed in this book. Making this the first textbook for my meteorology studies in college was a fantastic idea, and reading it back after graduation only solidified the important basics in my brain. I highly recommend this textbook to anyone beginning their studies in atmospheric sciences.

Sapkowski's first book into the Witcher universe, The Last Wish, is an enthralling and addicting set of short stories surrounding Geralt of Rivia, a man who was genetically engineered to hunt and kill monsters. But in a fantasy universe, with so many different intelligent species-other than humans-what really is a monster? This is the essence of Sapkowski's writing: monstrosities, evils, humanity. But each story touches on a whole other litany of ideals; such as love, science, power and royalty, money, and many more. I think Sapkowski's strongest part of his writing is his incorporation of fairy/folk tales. I don't know much about Polish folklore, but the atmosphere of the Witcher universe is amazing. It felt very Grimm; magical and dark at the same time without being depressing or too fantastical. The way he writes the action, the sword fights, is like a movie. It's brutal and sweeping in movement like I could feel the slash of Geralt's blade. Together, these create an enchanting sense of adventure. This book, and I can only assume the rest of the Witcher series, is the fucking picture of the word 'adventure'.

My only major gripe is something other reviewers (mostly women) have pointed out already. The way women are written is... A little off? It didn't bother me, personally, other than a line or two, but I can tell that for someone who isn't "used to" medieval-age-inspired-fantasy books (for better or for worse), especially from before 2000 and written by a man, would find it very off-putting. I felt Sapkowski used the gross attitudes toward the women in the story more to show and develop how nasty the men in this novel are, especially considering Geralt himself is really just horny and doesn't do anything explicitly concerning (from my memory). But, perhaps there are better ways of framing that than a kind of Game of Thrones-esque "Oh no, the woman got assaulted! Doesn't that suck?" All-in-all, it did not significantly impact my enjoyment of The Last Wish, but it did still knock down my rating a bit. I am curious to see if that changes at all going forward with Sapkowski's newer novels.

An almost perfect sequel to an essentially perfect fantasy novel. The Fires of Vengeance was a stunning and explosive story of Tau's continued journey for, well, vengeance. Just like any sequel, the stakes must be raised, and Winter really helped himself by having Rage of Dragons have, overall, fairly low stakes, at least for the world. Tau's stakes were high as hell, but the world itself wasn't at risk... That we knew of. The themes of war, classism, revenge, and humanity continues with even more fervor. Now, more than ever, Tau must face the mirror, see the consequences and the repercussions of the path he has chosen-even if he may think it is not a choice. And such questions and introspection are the strength and beauty of Winter's writing, especially that he does it without you even realizing it. Of course, reading back, the quotes are pointed, not an inch of subtly, but they are all drenched is so much atmosphere, you're so engrossed in the action and the people of this world that it penetrates your psyche with no resistance.

One of my favorites from the end of the book:

And the ending? Somehow, Winter seamlessly ups the stakes once again in a completely believable but still shocking way. The last page made me crave his next book, and I think that's the mark of a true writer. When I need to read more, to see what happens to these people I've grown fond of, of this world I feel I'm a part of? That's powerful.

My only two complaints was that the pace felt quite breakneck for Fires of Vengeance, especially in comparison to Rage of Dragons, and reading them back to back was a bit of whiplash. Also, the

romantic relationships between Tau and Tsiora

felt just a teensy bit off. I think they may have been hand in hand with the pacing issue, in that it FELT very fast, even if the actual story took place over many months.

Overall, I'm completely and thoroughly obsessed. I was after The Rage of Dragons, but the fact that the sequel was just as impactful to me personally is kind of phenomenal. Usually the second book in a series can be a bit of a flop, but this one did at all sage under the weight. Winter, you fucker, you did it again. Keep doing it dude.

PS the

Uduak and Hadith

reveal got me kick my feet n shit, very nice mood lifter around such heavy material, love will always prevail I suppose.

Okonkwo's collection of short stories is phenomenal. The attention to detail in bringing Nigeria to life off the paper is stunning, and each character and location feels real and relatable. Okonkwo's style and prose are gripping, and her talent is palpable and consistent across all ten stories. The only falter I could put a finger on was that I couldn't emotionally connect as easily with some stories. While Okonkwo can perfectly paint Nigeria across every page, there are still some things as a white American that I find difficult to connect to, but this is not fully the fault of the author.

A Kind of Madness comprises 10 stories of madness. The reasons for these bouts of madness vary, but they all manifest in similar ways. For me, Okonkwo's stories seemed to feature one major cause though: desperation. Desperation for attention, for food, for love, for forgiveness, for God. For me, that was the story being told. That desperation breeds madness. But the beauty of Okonkwo's writing is I'm sure each person will take their own individual lesson away from these stories. Personally, the story that felt best crafted - and relatable - was Milk, Blood, Oil, but from reading the reviews it seems every person who's read it had a specific story that hit closest to home. I believe that's the beauty of Okonkwo's writing.

I highly recommend this collection of stories, as I was pleasantly surprised by the simultaneous simplicity and depth these stories had to offer. They are grandiose while also being just a drop in the bucket of each of these characters' lives and towns, they are meaningful and insignificant and I find that incredibly real and incredibly human.

 I have no words for how stunningly good this book was. Where do I begin?

Evan Winter's writing is gripping and real, the characters were all so pristinely human despite this being in a fantasy world. In a refreshing setting - based on Brozen Age Africa - and with a rare (at least nowadays) focus on pure revenge, The Rage of Dragons is an absolute epic. Not only is Winter's characterization haunting and gorgeous, but the social and political commentary and intrigue are just as frustrating in all the right ways. At first, most of the views Winter presents about war, power, class, and peace may seem simple, but they were stuck incredibly deep in my skin and Winter's writing allows these ideas to seep into every word of his work. My perspective has been totally changed and humbled and opened within 523 pages.

I want to say more, but frankly, I'm at a loss. Winter is simply a paramount writer, and after reading this I immediately went to put the second book on hold at the library, if that's any proof of just how much of a grip this book had on my psyche.

Also dragons? Did I mention dragons? God, I love dragons.

Please read this book. 

Robert Kolker's Hidden Valley Road is a deep cut into the way we view schizophrenia, mainly in the past half-century. His story follows that of the Galvin family, headed by Mimi and Don in which they parented 12 children - yes, 12 - where half of them are eventually diagnosed with varying degrees of schizophrenia.

For me, this book was a fairly slow start as Kolker first sets up the history between Mimi and Don, where we can already see cracks forming in their partnership. But, once Donald - their first son - was born, things quickly spiraled from there. My main appreciation for this book was Kolker's writing. Whether it comes to complicated family interactions or translating complex technical and medical discoveries for the layman. It very rarely dragged, and at times, it almost felt like time was moving too fast through the pages. I never felt lost or overwhelmed until the

gene

discoveries were made, but that's probably because my eyes glaze over during that subject at any time, so that's not Kolker's cross to bear. He also handles very sensitive topics, such as

sexual assault

, tactfully, and it's clear Kolker took great care in making his interviewees comfortable when discussing these events.

As for the downsides, there were only two major ones. One of which other reviewers have also brought up multiple times, but I wish that there was more discussion of the personal thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of other family members other than the two youngest daughters, which are Kolker's focuses throughout the story. I understand the difficulty in interviewing people with schizophrenia, especially people with as severe cases as some of the Galvin sons had, but it almost felt like half the story was missing without their opinions and ideas presented really at all. 

The other is that, despite the many decades of devoted scientific work it feels as though... Not much happened? Again, I can't blame this on Kolker at all, I went into this book understanding it wasn't going to "crack the case on schizophrenia" at all, but there sadly wasn't much more than,

"It's genetic! Don't know much more beyond that!"

that I was already fairly aware of before I cracked this open. However, it was very intriguing to learn the details, and how there's already been steps taken to "cure" schizophrenia before it can even manifest, which was properly mind-boggling. I can tell Kolker put in an immense amount of research and time interviewing to condense that much scientific labor in such a readable and condensed format, and I suppose the slight frustration with feeling like no progress has been made is also kind of the point too.

Overall, this is a fascinating and very digestible read that will leave you just as hopeful as upset with everything these parents and twelve children went through. An enlightening and humble book, I would highly recommend Kolker's work to anyone interested in the history of mental illnesses and the monumental cultural and scientific changes that America has seen in the past 60 years. 4.25/5 stars.

This sprawling narrative follows the story of Astrid from a young tween to 18 after her mother is incarcerated for murder. Fitch's writing is emotional and beautiful, her prose flows hypnotically and left me turning each page with a baited breath. Astrid's life is tragic but real. The foster system is a cruel path for any child to end up in, and 'White Oleander' shows the horrors of mistreatment and abuse that permeate through a person's life. "Hurt people hurt people" was a constant quote bouncing around my brain as I read Fitch's book. Moving, heartbreaking, breathtaking. I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially women-of all walks of life-as, at the end of the day, there is something beautiful about the pain of living, growing, and becoming an adult in a modern world.