We all think about & romanticize the idea of the hermit, of wanting to renounce society & its trappings, etc. But what does that really look like? & what would it take to do that? This is the story of someone who did, and it both is & isn‘t as appealing as it sounds. I found much to admire in the hermit of North Pond, Maine, but I wouldn‘t call him likable or someone I‘d want to emulate. He‘s complicated & this telling of his story is fascinating.

A nice wrap up of this series. We get to see the HEAs of the Gwyn-Raven-Lyon clan. There are political difficulties, ethical questions, & even an assassination attempt. Love, friendship, & of course the question of what to to about Hivers. I like the way this wraps up the series. There‘s one storyline I find a bit questionable but it‘s questionable in a hindsight is 20/20 way. This series still has all the throwback feels for me & I love it.

We continue to follow Damia‘s brood as they continue to work w/their Mridini allies to hunt down the Hivers. There‘s family, friendship, love, & tragedy. There‘s also many issues that‘re timely today. Sadly, I kept thinking we may be on track to be more like the Hivers than the Alliance with a will to multiply & abuse the world around us w/little thought to sustainability & responsibility. I do 💜 this story & wish I was telekinetic/pathic.

I do so enjoy this series...This book follows Damia & Afra‘s children as they start to take up their duties in an expanding universe as the Alliance starts hunting down the Hiver species to stop their extermination of all others. But the merging of war focused & peace focused societies is not without it‘s bumps & we get to watch as this family continues to lead & navigate that process along with the highs & lows of maturing & finding independence

A good book that celebrates & holds up women‘s friendships as not just important but crucial, valuable, & integral. I really enjoyed reading this one, but there were points where I felt that all the women‘s relationships being talked about were of a type. So I do wish that there was a bit more variety to the female friendships depicted, but even with that this is a good, quick read that adds something important to the landscape of relationships.

Rereading Harry Potter is always a joy...though this reread of Order was a prolonged & tough one for me...I just seemed to feel it more this time. Perhaps it‘s because of all the parallels to the dumpster fire of the US gov‘t being so reflected in this one, maybe this is just one of those times the story hit harder than others. It‘s the beginning of dark times at Hogwarts & it‘s never easy to see those we love, even fictional ones, suffer.

Wow. This is a book that should be read by all even if it is a hard, heartbreaking read. I live that Moore tells the womens‘ stories. This isn‘t a bunch of stale facts, figures, statistics, and medical/scientific jargon; it‘s the shining lives of many beautiful, strong inspiring women betrayed by the companies they worked for, by laws that didn‘t adequately protect them, & by communities that valued jobs over people. They were the best of us all.

I have vague memories of watching Mr. Rogers‘ Neighborhood, & a lifetime of memories of jokes about whether my dad is Mr. Rogers & if it‘s a beautiful day in my neighborhood because of my last name. But I never realized what a truly remarkable person Fred Rogers was. He embodied the best of the values we all purport to hold, but this book also shows his very human side as a well. Being read by Levar Burton makes this just a perfect bio.

I‘m so glad I decided to revisit the series; it‘s so fun. This is the story of Damia, Rowan‘s daughter, & Afra, Rowan‘s assistant & friend who is so much more to this story than hinted at in the first book. This story has so many great ups & downs that make me smile, laugh, & cry all in their turn. A tale of family, of finding maturity, & of love in many forms that has its own evolution. Looking forward to jumping into book 3.

I love this series so much. It was this & McCaffrey‘s Dragonriders of Pern series that made me fall in love with SFF. Rowan‘s story as a powerful telekinetic-pathic with a tragic origin & an enigmatic prophesied future tugs on my heart strings & imagination from the first pages. It‘s such a joy to be revisiting this beloved story.

This is the first Sedaris book that I‘ve read & I liked it. He‘s got a great sense of humor that colors even the emotionally hard stories. My favorite essay was his Fitbit obsession because ‘It Me‘. If you like essays with humor, wit, & pathos this is a great collection to check out.

This is a delight. If you‘ve ever wanted fun, funny, well thought out & researched answers to some of the most inane hypothetical questions this is the book for you. & what could make it better than having Wil Wheaton read it to you? Really, this is just a pure fun delight & one I will return to when the world is a bit much.

I waffled on this 1. I went with pick b/c I did find her funny, insightful, & enjoyed her stories. My hurdle was how she said it. There‘s nothing bad/wrong with how she says things-I just had a hard time connecting with her language b/c it‘s so diff from mine & what I‘m used to. I‘m a middle age white woman, so that‘s expected & 100% fine. Ultimately I enjoyed what she had to say so much I stuck around-that shows real strength to her & her stories

This is a beautiful little book & a great listen. Seeing what animals have taught Sy & just her incredible bond & love with & for the creatures in her life was sweet, funny, poignant, & moving. If you‘re an animal lover, you should read this book immediately. There are some hard parts (some of the animals have had bad life experiences) but Sy doesn‘t go into detail on that but rather focuses on how a little love is transformative for all.

This is an interesting & thorough exploration of Lizzie Borden‘s trial-very even handed & without hyperbole. That is its strength & its weakness. It could of done with a shot of something. I appreciate the presentation of the facts; I just wish it hadn‘t felt so flat. I‘m not sure if the flatness is of the text itself or if the narration made it feel flatter. Definitely an interesting read, but not one I‘m excited about the way I hoped to be.

This is a beautiful collection of poetry. I love how grounded & connected to the world around the poets the poems are. You feel their emotions through these connections & it‘s a constant reminder of how important connection is...&, in contrast, how disconnected so much of our lives have become. These poems make me want to reconnect in the way these poets are connected. They make me want to see deeper into their world.

As much as I enjoyed the audio, reading on the page is def the way for me to go for fiction. I just felt & lives this story so much more. Of course Gamache is the Inspector I‘d want on the case. He is just so quietly emotive. & when can I move to 3 Pines? Is there another place, aside from the seemingly high murder rate & the cold weather, that is such a perfect place to live? I‘m so ready for more of this series 💜

So who doesn‘t want to be happier? And what better to figure out how to be happier than immersion in the culture of the happiest country in the world? This was a fun read as Russell & her husband try to figure out out the secret of living Danishly & what exactly makes these Vikings so happy. The answers are pretty straightforward & not all that surprising but watching them figure it all out & stumble their way into the Danish life is great fun!

Another great memoir from our favorite galactic princess & general. Again just so wonderful & heartbreaking to hear Carrie telling her stories, and this time it‘s all about her time making Star Wars 😍 & an affair with Harrison Ford! So their chemistry wasn‘t just onscreen 🔥 It was also perfect to finish this just as the teaser trailer for Episode IX was released. I can‘t wait for December!

This is a moving memoir. Shapiro does a beautiful job of capturing the trauma of discovering you‘re not who you thought you were. She really carries you with her so you feel the shock, the bewilderment, the curiosity, the fear, the hope, the grief, & just the everything as she felt it. She also shows great love & respect to all involved while not holding back on how the decisions of others have shaped her. A fascinating, troubling, & moving story.

This is such a good book. Lovely & brutal, heart-warming & heart-breaking. Be warned there is brutality, abuse, rape, massacre...all of that; after all, these are lifetimes filled with war. But the story of the women...their strength, love, traditions, power & powerlessness, freedom & restriction. This story will wring every emotion out of you & it‘s so beautifully told. I want to know these women; I want to@reread this again for the first time.

How has it taken me this ling to read this book?!?!?! This is so amazing, and if you haven‘t read it yet, what are you waiting for? Go! Get started! I love the duality that DuMaurier built into the relationship between the narrator & Rebecca even though never the twain shall meet. Mrs. Danvers is just the right amount of scary & twisted. I also enjoyed the afterward in this edition; it has given me a lot of thoughts to bring to my next reading.

More Carrie Fisher 🥰I just love listening to her tell her story so much. She has such a great sense of humor and way of just putting herself out there. Like she says-she is Leia, Leia is her. As I listen to her her in these books, I can‘t help but think how amazing it would have been to sit down & just talk to her. She‘ll definitely be on my dream dinner party guest list forever 💜

It‘s both wonderful & sad to have Carrie‘s voice in my ears. I really love how witty & funny she is as she tells her story. Another great thing is that balance of how much she cares & at the same time how few f***s she has to give. A quick, fun listen that‘s an easy recommend to anyone.

This is great & I‘m so glad I read it shortly after reading Good & Mad. These books have caused me to look not only at myself but at how I‘ve judged other women for being strong, mad, fat, shrill, & all the other labels that get thrown out there as unacceptable for a woman. Lindy does a great job of firing her reader up & giving no quarter while still remaining true & vulnerable. A great read!

Now this is a good collection of stories. I enjoyed taking my time with each one, & like all such collections some stories were stronger than others. But overall, this an A+ work; you can really see how Jemisin used this form to develop her phenomenal skills. Definitely check this one out.

We know things are bad in North Korea, but I don‘t think I‘ve ever really thought about how bad they are...this book really brings home the horrific day to day of so many there. Knowing it makes it that much worse that our leaders won‘t push the current NKorean leaders about their human rights violations. It‘s also sad that after such an ordeal he found himself so alone & unable to help his family. This is a heartbreaking & important story to read

I really enjoyed this memoir. Remini does a great job of showing why she & her family were attracted to Scientology, how she came to see the ways it was failing her & others, the painful process of breaking away, & coming to terms with everything after. I enjoyed her brashness, her wit, & her heart. This is a great listen.

I can‘t say I enjoyed reading this one because it was hard as in listening to what was done to Native Americans in the name of white man‘s progress is just heartbreaking, maddening, & rage inducing. I have been very I hate white people throughout. But as hard as it is, it‘s a must read; this is the history that is glosses over in history classes; these are voices my ancestors silenced & so I need to listen to them & take that rage to do better.

These poems were just so beautiful. This collection really captured me. I love how she speaks of her experiences as a Marshallese person. These poems helped me go beyond knowing about the Marshall Islands to feeling the impact of what it is to be from the Marshall Islands dealing with fallout, cancer, climate change, racism, and life. While I can never truly feel that truth, Jetnil-Kijiner has helped me come closer to understanding.

Jenny Lawson is a treasure. I just can‘t stop smiling when I listen to her books. She tackles tough subjects with humor that allows you to see yourself in her struggles and think...it‘s not just me. I love how she normalizes struggles with mental health without trivializing it. She shows us this is life and it‘s hard, but we can still find ways to be furiously happy!

This was so great! It really made me think about how often I modulate and stifle my own anger for fear of how it‘ll be perceived and of how often I‘ve unjustly judged other women for expressing their anger. This book really makes me want to embrace my anger and use it to fuel change in myself and the world around me. I can‘t live steeped in anger but I can use my anger and the strength it can give to stand up for myself & others.

Loving Inspector Gamache even more on paper than I did in audio! I picked up so much more reading on the page than listening, though I did really enjoy the audio on this one. I think I‘m finding audio works best for me as non-fiction or rereads just for the story to stick with me the way I like. The characters just come to life so much better for me in my head as I read vs listen & the characters here are amazing 😍

So good! My favorite moment of this book will always be the moment when Harry is face to face with his patronus and he whispers ‘Prongs‘, reaches out to touch it, & it fades just before he makes contact 😭It has to be one of the most moving moments of the series-right up there with ‘Always‘. Ok, I‘ll be over in the corner dealing with all the feels now.

Jim Dale does such a great job at making the story come alive in his narration. I LOLed every time Dale did Lockhart going ‘Harry, Harry, Harry‘ This is a great way to enjoy my annual revisit.

Forgot to post this one earlier, but I‘m doing my annual reread of HP in audio this year (while also finishing up my reread from last year in paperback-I kinda got off track around OoP). I love Jim Dale‘s narration & find this a great way to revisit my favorite series. I can never have too much HP🥰💜

At 26 pages this was a quick read about one person‘s experience of the Bravo tests. I wish there was more about his experience of the fallout & it‘s repercussions, but as he was young at the time of the tests, we get mostly impressions. The last section that focused on his conversion to Mormonism was a bit throwaway for me, but at such a short length I don‘t regret peeking into this brief glimpse of the Marshallese Islands at that critical moment.

I had no idea about this eviction culture. & here‘s where my privilege shows, I am one who has always thought people who were being evicted were guilty of bad decision making & trying to live above their means, @ the least. I was wrong & it‘s a lot more complicated. I don‘t know where we need to start to change the system, but we need to start somewhere. If you, like I, are uneducated about this issue, read this book now (& it is highly readable).

This was such a bittersweet read. Listening to Michelle tell her story really made me see how little I knew & appreciated what we had in her & Barrack while we had them in office. It‘s sad that I was so little engaged in the past that it took the 2016 election, Hillary‘s & Michelle‘s books to really make me see the problem with that. Michelle is a real role model & leader & I‘m awed at all she did behind the scenes. This book is a def must read.

This book was ok. The premise was interesting, & I liked the characters, but I thought, overall the tone & pacing felt too much like her other book, Age of Miracles. While the catalyst for the story is very different in the two books, everything else just felt very samey. So, I definitely think its an interesting, ok read; it‘s not one that I‘m like you‘ve got to go read this now. So if the idea behind the story interests you, give it a shot

OK, I love Maud. I mean what‘s not to love about a little old lady who solves the problems she sees with murder? And what‘s better-she gets away with it. I also love the glimpses of the life that shaped her that add to these stories but don‘t interject so much they take away from the fun of watching Maud resolve the little problems that creep up in her life. If you want a quick, light, fun read this one is perfect.

This is a great wrap-up of this Tortallian quartet. Dane is my fave heroine in quite a while. I love how she speaks up for what she knows is right, how she is willing to learn she is wrong-the stubborn streak that keeps her from capitulating too quickly though-, and just her heart & will. This tale does a great job of tying off the strands of Dane‘s story and staying absolutely true to whom each character is. I definitely recommend this series 💜

I really enjoy this duo‘s writing style. They so quickly catch you up in the web of their stories & you can never quite get your footing to know who to trust & who is manipulating who. It‘s also so easy to put yourself into the story as you think of how much info is out there about each one of us just waiting for the wrong person to twist it to their own purposes. If you like a gripping read, this one‘s for you.

Now this an amazingly heavy, scary & not far-fetched enough story. Akkad brings the question of how radical terrorists are recruited home to rest in the American story. I wish he hadn‘t made the terrorist black as that feels too much like feeding into the racial expectations of our society. But I do love how he made her story completely understandable & relatable-I could see how this could of been anyone. Definitely a good, thought-provoking read.

This my favorite Gamache mystery yet. So many threads come together not only in Three Pines but also in Gamache‘s past & present as the repercussions of his integrity in the Arnolt case come to rest closer to home & heart than he ever expected. I love how this story highlights the near enemy in so many ways-it will be a theme I will be on the lookout for much more. & the characters again are so wonderfully captured-they make this series.

Another romp through childhood with Calvin & Hobbes to remind us that sometimes the best days are those packed with nothing more than doing nothing with a friend. 💜🥰

I think this is my favorite Tortallian novel so far. I love Dane & her spunk, & in this story we see her show that she truly is not to be trifled with for those too stupid to have picked up on it before. That it is a girl with Wild Magic that puts the Carthaki emperor in his place is perfect. If you‘re looking for a world that really highlights strong females Tortall is the place to watch them show the boys true strength & power.

I really enjoyed this look into the life of Hedy Lamarr. Benedict does a great job of capturing the woman behind the beautiful face by which the world was determined to define & confine her. How many great things, inventions, artwork, literature, businesses, & more, has & does the world miss out on because we refuse to acknowledge the worth, intelligence, & capabilities of the women in the room? This is just 1 of those stories & def worth the read

More Calvin & Hobbes fun always brightens my day. More of all the things that make this strip so great-demented snowmen, philosophy for the ages, space travel, dinosaurs, and a friendship for the ages. These strips never get old 💜

This is a must read. It kept me turning pages into the wee hours of the morning while tears streamed down my face & felt every emotion. Starr‘s perspective is powerfully captured & made me feel & think things that I‘ve understood & railed against from a place of privilege, knowing of them but never having to FEEL them. Now I‘m taking a hard look at myself, evaluating am I an ally or a Hailey, a friend only as long as it doesn‘t ask anything of me?