stefanicox's Reviews (519)

Wow, I'm amazed at how many nuanced family dynamics Celeste Ng captures in Everything I Never Told You. The book is set up to be tragic from the first pages where you learn one of the Lee's daughters has died, but there is so much packed into this book about living that's really poignant and well-written.

I think this may be the best book on writing that I've read so far. I loved the mixing of memoir and advice and the bite-sized fragments that Shapiro shares the book in. This is one of those books you could pick up and read bits of every now and then as a refresher and find something new every time.

Really interesting journey through getting more in touch with your creative self. The Artist's Way follows a traditional 12-week format, and includes the foundational "morning pages" practice, as well as the "artist's date." Definitely led to some great self-exploration, though I really struggled at times with the frequent references to God and a higher power.

Every time I read a Toni Morrison book I feel that my life develops a little more depth. In Home, Morrison's writing is not only profound, but also lyrical as she navigates the story of a vet returning from the Korean War, the PTSD he suffers, and the lives of his family and the small town where he grew up in the south. She does such a beautiful job of painting each character's strengths and flaws. I think people with family members who have experienced the Great Migration will especially relate to some of the messages and scenes of the book, but it really is a work that everyone can read and enjoy.

I'd never read anything by Urrea, but I always had him pegged as a nonfiction author. This set of his short stories was beautiful; he's clearly great at fictional storycraft as well. I loved that most of the stories are set in the Southwest, as that's a part of the country I'd love to visit more in the future. He captures landscape and settings gorgeously.

I loved Amy Poehler in Parks and Rec, so I really wanted to love this book, but it was a little too slow and name-drop-y for me. I did like the overall upbeat tone of the book and the parts that were directly about Parks and Rec though.

Beautiful writing in this haunting novel. I've always loved dance, and this book gives you the chance to peer into the life of an elite child ballerina.

I liked this book for the topics and diversity of characters it was willing to cover: Bangladeshi families, LGBT relationships and identity, cross cultural intersections, city life, etc. The storyline itself sometimes felt oddly paced though -- too fast or too slow in weird spots. And I didn't connect with all the characters, though I loved Anwar and Hashi.