Listen, I get what this author is trying to do (and I‘ve never read her work before, so I had zero expectations), but this novel exploring race in America was just a little too trite, a little too contrived, and a little too convenient. I couldn‘t help wishing she‘d done a little more homework re: both the medical field and the criminal justification system, because it‘ll drive any nurse and any lawyer (hi there!) insane). (cont below...)

I loved it, but I can‘t help but feel a renewed sense of loss after finishing.

Meh.

I read this after my client, a teenager, told me it was her favorite book, and I need to find common ground with her. This is very much an OMG-LIFEANDDEATH-FAMILYDRAMA-INTENSEBOYFRIEND YA book. My main beef is that the author spent way too much time making Mia‘s parents and friends so super cool you could die, but in a gross and typical American way that says your identity is the clothes that you wear and the media and products that you consume.

This is the fourth installment in the Outlander series or, as I like to think of it, the Little House in the Big Woods riff. I have so many questions.

1. How is Jamie not a reanimated corpse by now? #bears
2. Does Gabaldon just adore writing rape scenes? Seems like she never lets an opportunity pass to do so.
3. Ian ?! 😭
4. Am I really *still* reading these books?

Number 4 has me giving this one a pick, because for some reason, I keep reading.

I absolutely loved this book. I loved the writing, I loved the story, I loved the collection of moments that make a life. It was honest and sometimes painful and uncomfortable and often moving. What a lovely surprise.

“For the most part she lived her life thinking of herself as a person, Leda. But then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, out of the cold harsh common dregs of patriarchy, some man would jump up and remind her she was in fact not a person at all but a woman.”

I‘ve already made some sort of loud honk/laugh sound three times while reading this book, and I‘m only on page 18. I think we‘re going to have fun together, book and I.

This was just ok. I‘ve never read anything by Gillian Flynn, but did see the movie Gone Girl and was intrigued by the trailers for this series. I do think that this is the sort of story I would have preferred to watch than read. This is fine for a quick, entertaining, but ultimately a forgettable summer read.

I adored this book. It is absurd and funny and, at times, heart-achingly sad. The writing was light and playful and clearly the work of someone who loves words and has fun with them.

This book is basically the movie Love, Actually, but set in Washington state wine country and lacking the charm of Hugh Grant.

In this memoir, the author shares her experience as the youngest of seven children in a deeply dysfunctional and abusive home, and her path to freedom and education. A truly compelling read. Recommended for all who loved The Glass Castle.

I really enjoyed this memoir relating to the author‘s history of poor body image, a lifetime of dieting, and finding peace in her body. I‘ve followed Kim‘s writing since her Elastic Waist days, and her first memoir, Coming Clean, is unforgettable.

I‘d recommend this book to anyone who liked Courtney Martin‘s “Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters” and vice versa.

Woof. This was a tough read for me. It‘s infuriating in much the same way the year leading up to the election was. How did we get here? I appreciated the time spent reflecting on that question while reading. The book‘s conclusion brings up many of the themes of another book I‘m “sort of” reading at the moment, Brene Brown‘s Braving the Wilderness. We have so, so far to go. #onward

Such a great use of an Audible credit. I loved this memoir about Noah‘s childhood both during and just post-apartheid. I laughed, I cried, I stopped reading other books because this one was too good to set aside.

Oh, how I loved this. When I‘m looking for a good couch cuddle, a mug of hot tea, and a good quiet book on a rainy day, this is exactly the sort of book I‘m looking for.

Thanks @Lauram for the lovely post-stress package. #sibswap #sistersoflitsy.

“I wish so badly we were a country where a candidate who said, ‘My Story is the story of a life shaped by and devoted to the movement for women‘s liberation‘ would be cheered, not jeered. But that‘s not who we are. Not yet.”

😭 Our daughters deserve better. And so did our mothers and grandmothers. And so do we.

This book/series has some major issues, and I struggled with the horrifying racist caricatures in place of actual characters in this installment. The book started strong for me, and I had a hard time pulling myself away from it. During much of book 2, I thought I would quit the series, but I‘m ready to try book 4.

This one draaaaaaaaaggggeeed. I finished out of pure stubbornness, but by the end, I was engaged again and wanted to know what would happen next. I guess it‘s on to book number 3 for me.

Meh. Started ok, but took a turn for the “...really?” by the end.