“Oppressive power is preserved in the smoke and fog and sometimes it is smuggled in the unexamined shadows of the language of the oppressed themselves.” Ta-Nehisi Coates The Message If books weren‘t political they wouldn‘t be trying so hard to ban them. Especially books that challenge the norm & the “correct” narrative.

I‘m trying to gain a deeper appreciation for poetry. I I really enjoyed this small book of poetry. Smith writes about the joys and hardships of being a parent. The worry that all parents have about their kids growing up, but especially for Black boys. Some of his reflections are on historical places & reflecting on Americas past with the enslavement of others. I‘m a fan of Smith‘s writing in general & enjoyed his collection of poems.

I still liked her first book more but this one kept my mind off things for a few days. Most of the characters were a bit unlikable. I do like that Audrain is not afraid to highlight the difficult parts of raising kids. The hard part of being a mom but wanting to have a successful career. How parents sometimes don‘t know how to navigate a relationship with their child when their child is not what they expected. The difficulties of marriage, feeling

The DoD has pulled this book from DoD schools pending a “compliance review.” Disclaimer: I have never read this book, have no interest in reading it. There are much better books to discuss life in the Appalachians.

I was at my daughter‘s school today & I was so happy to see this display up. I need to email the principal to thank her & that I support the administration‘s work. Black history is everyone‘s history

Still can‘t believe that this is where we‘re at in this country & this is really happening. I‘m hoping this is somehow repealed because it‘s still so mind boggling

Because I feel spreading important info is more important now than ever, I wanted to send out an FYI. Your representatives will be in their home town this coming week. You can see if they are having a town hall. At this point it feels like our representatives aren‘t listening (mine in MD are but my mom lives in NC & her rep has basically said to stop bellyaching). Last I checked we‘re still a democracy & our representatives work for us

Girls should continue to be encouraged to pursue careers in science and STEM. As you can see I have a daughter that dreams of being an astronaut. She said in a future letter to herself that she wants to be an engineer, the astronaut that is there to fix any problems on the space shuttle. We talk a lot about the long & hard road of becoming an astronaut (which will now be harder with recent roll backs in women being able to have an equitable space

In case some did not know the National Science Foundation has been instructed to re-review every grant, paper, document that lists any of these words. If one of these words are found you will no longer receive funding through the government. This applies not only to medical research but psychology, sociology, environmental, anything. The NIH has said that only about 15% of science will now be funded. We are talking about massive progress in

I loved this book. I grew up in an extremely small town (technically so small it‘s a borough) in NJ in the 80-90s. This was before the internet & I had no clue that people like Hanna existed. When I went to college I watched Mad Love & they featured 7 Year B!tch, I was in love. I loved Nirvana & Smashing Pumpkins but this was girls playing punk music. I didn‘t find Bikini Kill till I was a little older. The younger me wishes that she knew about

I have watched a few One Tree Hill episodes (mainly on streaming during late nights when my kids were babies). I listened to the audio read by the author. It is fascinating to hear how easily she was able to get sucked in & manipulated by this cult. It‘s sad to hear how much she has lost & sacrifices she still has had to make & still make to keep her daughter safe. I‘m happy that she is able to tell her story & be brave to make others aware.

Another important book in the understanding of mental health & racism‘s history in the US. The book is based on the Crownsville State Hospital in MD. Racism still continues to have a big impact on medical & mental health for many people in the US. There continues to be a shortage of psychiatrists & psychologists in the US in general. There are even fewer Black therapists, which continues to make mental health disproportionate for many.

It‘s taken me a while to get through this one. I think the hesitancy was from people feeling that it was a little heavy handed. I finished last week & I think it was exactly what I needed to read at this time. I feel right now as so many people are being attacked & watching lawmakers wanting to dismantle rights & try to rewrite LGBTQ+ people‘s place in US history, daily life, everything. The importance of love & acceptance is the message we need.

I never read Huck Finn or Tom Swayer growing up (we had a parent that liked to make sure different books were banned in middle school, this was in the early 90s in a tiny town in NJ). Anyhow I really loved this one. I really enjoyed the audio version. I really loved hearing James‘s side of the story. It‘s always difficult to confront the past history of the US but so important (especially now more than ever) to hear everyone‘s story & history.

I read this with my 9 year old. We both loved the story. We watched the movie over the weekend (a big thumbs up from the 9 & even the 15 year old). I liked the movie but liked the book more. We have borrowed the next 2 books from the library to continue following Roz‘s adventures.

I need to go to the library to pick up a book & have decided that I‘m going to learn all about container gardens (I have a big deck but no yard). I need to move away from the dreaded doom scrolling & find other things to occupy my down time. I do have a nice selection of books to keep me busy & fired up.

Fun audiobook to listen to. I liked the relationship between Amy & her FIL, Steve. Amy is protecting Rosie & then suddenly Amy becomes the prime suspect of several murders. It was a fun murder mystery book.

I for the most part liked this one & the audio was decent. There is a lot going on in this book with dual timelines & lots of characters. I think the only thing that made me not love it was the ending. I was a little frustrated & had so many questions. Not sure if that is the author‘s style or intention. It was a little frustrating, I‘ll put my irritations/questions in the comments

Such a great memoir. BG discussed her journey of coming out & how people have questioned her body her entire life. Her experience of being arrested in Russia for caring a small amount of an illegal substance (legal in AZ but illegal in Russia) was frustrating & scary to hear. It seemed like she was clearly targeted, which is sad since she was such a big star in Russia & the US. Her experience in the Russian prison system & work camp is harrowing.

Fortunate that this does not apply to my mom but sure does apply to my MIL

Read in 2024 (finally last review from 2024). I listened to this over audio that was narrated by the author. She discusses the ending of her marriage. She encapsulates the bitterness & rawness of being a new mom, her marriage falling apart but all the while life still having to move on. The balance of being a working mom. She discusses her past alcoholism & eating disorder which impacts her life & how she handles challenges.

Read in 2024. I listened to this one over audio that was narrated by the author. I liked Cultish a little more but found this one interesting too. Montell highlights different psychological concepts & how they connect to our current society (social media, conspiracy theories, biases). I was already familiar with a lot of these ideas from other readings.

Read in 2024. I love reading psychology based books. I also love Duckworth‘s podcast “No stupid questions.” I really enjoyed her books & it of course gave me a list of other books to read. She takes the basic principles of her research on examining grit & applying it to everyday examples. I love the idea of finding & trying a challenging activity/skill. I really like her thoughts on finding your passion in life.

Read in 2024. Typical Christian Lauren book. Fun, quick summer read. I read it over the summer when our lives were in the midst of chaos & transition, so all the details are escaping me (I‘m sure I could remember if I read the cover). Point is it was a good escape book when I needed it.

Read in 2024. Christina Lauren‘s books all follow the same patterns but still fun, quick books to listen too especially while doing puzzles or chores. Not my favorite one of her books but still a fun listen.

Read in 2024. A big fan of Abby Jimenez & liked this one. The only thing I can‘t decide if I‘m a fan of is the cross over of all of the characters. One of the main characters in her books seems somehow related to another character in another one of her books. I can‘t decide if I find it neat way to have all these connected people that find love or if it‘s just a little odd. Maybe it‘s my own personal issue but just something I started to feel with

Read in 2024. I discovered Abby Jimenez‘s books last year & read all of them. This was one of my favorites. A heartbreaking story turns into a sweet love story.

It was a snowy day yesterday in MD, got got about 8 inches. My kids had fun sledding & I took a walk with my eldest on the hiking trails through our neighborhood (he wanted to look for birds, he is in the birdwatching club at his college). Overall a good day & tried to do some reading with a cup of hot cocoa. Today, school has been canceled again but it‘s too windy & cold to do much.

Read in 2024. Super short book about the author‘s loss of her father during the pandemic. “Grief is a cruel kind of education.” “It is an act of resistance and refusal: grief telling you it is over and your heart saying it is not: grief trying to shrink your love to the past and your heart saying it is present.”
“It does not matter whether I want to be changed, because I am changed.”

Read in 2024. After my dad‘s sudden death last year I read some grief related books to see if it would help pull me out of my reading funk. This one was a low pick for me (probably because I wasn‘t in the right headspace). I can get her trying to make sense when someone you love passes unexpectedly. TW: because she does speak at length about the suicide of her close friend, as she‘s grappling with her experience.

Read in 2024. One of my favorites from 2024 (but forgot to put on my NF list). Dinner Guests was my favorite chapter in his book, the discussion about his family history was fascinating. I also found his chapter on cemeteries also interesting. I love Thomas‘s wit & insight he brings to subjects that are close to him.

Read in 2024. One of my favorites of 2024, it part made me feel a little more hopeful post election. I think it helped me to remember what the US has endured during its history. It made me realize that Democrats are constantly being handed a Sisophyian task of trying to be the party that is helping everyone & making a more equal society. The hard part of our country is of course Democracy looks different to everyone. Democracy takes woke but worth

Read in 2024. Definitely one of my favorites from last year. I listened to the audio read by the author, which was wonderful & got to hear various birds. Cooper highlighted the incident in Central Park but this book is about so much more. He discussed what led him to birding, his experiences of growing up gay in the 1980‘s, traveling the world to see birds. He interweaved his social justice with the various events throughout his life.

Read in 2024. I love Senna‘s books. She likes to push a person‘s comfort level in ways we don‘t always think about. Jane is struggling to make ends meet as a professor & author. Her book that she has spent years on has been rejected by her agent. She finesses her way into a meeting with tv execs & pitches a story that one of her friends loosely mentioned. Jane knows that tv is big money & it could finally be the big break her family needs. The tv

Read in 2024. I‘m not much for magical realism but I did like this one. I like jazz and liked the intersecting world of current & the Harlem Renaissance. A swoon worthy romance

Read in 2024. The story is told from all different points of view from different members of this dysfunctional family. I do really like how the mental health/illness was presented in the book. To me it‘s always important to present the trueness of MI & the effects that it has on a family. Presenting MI as real highlights what so many other families go through & not presenting it solely as something shameful or negative.

Read in 2024. There‘s a lot going on in this story: parent abandonment, drug abuse/DV/emotional abuse, jealousy. The story spans over many years. It was a decent story. I really liked Benjamin‘s research that she did about the history of surfing (which I found more interesting & found more books to read).

Read in 2024. The book is about a group of friends that have living funerals for each other after one of them from their friend group passes away. The story goes back & forth between their time in college to what they‘re current going through in life. They discuss their highs & lows of life. Nothing ground breaking but I enjoyed it (although months later I can‘t remember anything poignant about the story).

Read in 2024. At first I was a little unsure when I started listening to this one. It dealt with many topics & areas that I know nothing about but I realized that it‘s important for people with all different experiences to be able to tell their story. The biggest thing that resonated with me is the f-in patriarchy. Just that realization of how much of our lives as women is directed by the patriarchy (especially as we get older). The societal

Read in 2024. For most of the story you hear Andy talk about his break up with Jen. At first I felt bad for Andy as he tells his side of the story. He‘s struggling with his career of being a stand up comedian & he‘s having a hard time understanding why Jenn broke up with him. Then the very last part of the book you hear Jenn‘s side of the story. It made me understand more about why you heard so much about Andy‘s story. To me it spoke to the bigger

My 12 favorite nonfiction books of 2024, tagged is my favorite of the year. I still have some reviews that I didn‘t finish that I need to post. I‘m definitely more of a nonfiction reader. Looking forward to finishing up some books I started in 2024 & getting through so good books on my TBR (too many books, not enough time)

My favorite 12 fiction books of 2024. The tagged book was my favorite of the year (I slacked off on completing most of my book reviews for the last few months, I need to try to fill them in)

I read 77 books for 2024, my original goal was to read 100. But my life was full of too many ups & downs this year & reading was not a priority. I‘m hoping to get back into different reading challenges & using my book journal again this year. Overall still a decent year of reading but I still have a huge TBR list to get through

I took my 9 year old to her first musical today at the Kennedy Center. We saw &Juliet, she loved it. It‘s the story of what happened if Juliet survived (with Shakespeare‘s wife, Anne, rewriting the story). It was a great show, highly recommend. After we met a lot of the cast. They were kind enough to take photos & sign her poster. They were all so nice. It was a great introduction to the theater for her.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve to all

The audio narration is great for this one. I wasn‘t sure what to expect when I started but I really liked it. Margo gets pregnant while in college. After struggling to find a job, try to afford/find daycare she decides to start an OnlyFans page. There were some bigger societal issues to make you think about. Like how hard it is to make money, how expensive & hard to find childcare is…women are in this constant push & pull of what society finds

I liked the audio narration for this one. It‘s definitely a different book type for me. I thought it was an interesting & different type of story. I wasn‘t crazy about how the book kind of just ended. I‘m not sure if there‘s some kind of message about marriage or finding the right person.

For me I loved the audio of this book. It was loud & full of emotion, the narrator really embodied Anita. The book addresses racism, classism, sexism…in the 1980s how a woman of color could be erased by a white man & her accomplishments (almost) forgotten. There are dual timelines, for me I liked hearing Anita‘s side & Raquel (a student writing her thesis for art history & stumbles upon Anita)

Another one I listened to over the summer. I love GUPs adventures with his niece & nephew. This time he‘s helping them prepare for their dad getting remarried. The audio is narrated by the author.

Listened to this one over the summer (probably while packing). Like most Christina Lauren books it follows a similar pattern. It was a sweet story but there were some sad parts. CL books are always an easy, fun listen.