[Book 21 of 2018] THIS BOOK IS SO OFFENSIVE (to poor people, people with mental illness, or people with any actual hardships). The message is: all your problems are in your own head and if you want something enough, the universe will give it to you. WHAT?! I'm truly astonished how many people like this book and were inspired by it! Maybe 15% was actual useful advice but it was overshadowed by the unbelievably privileged perspective of the author.

[Book 20 of 2018] I'm a #fangerine so I've been excited about this book release! I pre-ordered it but then listened to it on Hoopla before my copy arrived. Some of the advice isn't brand new, but I liked how Amy shared so many of her personal experiences. The physical book is gorgeous and has spaces to fill out prompts. It's a quick, enjoyable read and has definitely made me think more about my priorities and how I choose to spend my time.

[Book 19 of 2018] I liked this pretty well but was annoyed at times by its YA-ness and I don't know how I feel about the ending. The mother/daughter relationship was a bit triggering for me. I was distracted by the audiobook reader - she sounded like a robot most of the time. It was a strange choice to have a man voice the emails from the male lead, but not his actual dialogue. Still, it was a nice easy listen while cooking, cleaning, and driving.

[Book 18 of 2018] A rhyming children's book that gives glimpses into the daily lives of slaves as well as their weekly day of rest, celebration, and community in New Orleans' Congo Square. I read on my laptop (via the library) and it has wonderful narration complete with music! Excellent read, and I really recommend listening to the narration, especially if you are reading with a kid.

[Book 17 of 2018] I really enjoyed this book and believe Malala's voice is so important. I'm annoyed though because I didn't realize until the end that I was listening to the young readers edition! (Yes, it's on the cover! How did I miss it?) I'd like to read the original (I flipped through a copy and it was the same basic stories but with much more detail) but want to wait a while in between.

[Book 16 of 2018] Short and poignant opening essays followed by a photo journey through Baltimore before and during the Baltimore Uprising, captured by a local who used his sudden fame (this photo was on the cover of Time) to start a program to teach inner city students photography. Conveys the perspective of the uprisers. Basically, a coffee table book I actually really like.

[Book 15 of 2018] Enjoyable, surprising mystery (I agree with GoodReads reviewers that it's a stretch to think the reader could have figured this one out). Agatha Christie racism scale: light (a touch of "Spanish temperament").

[Book 14 of 2018] Decent mystery. Agatha Christie racism scale: high and very uncomfortable (treatment of "Nubian" servants on tourist trip; narrator mocking the Arab tour guide for making anti-Jewish comments, WHICH AGATHA CHRISTIE DOES ALL THE TIME HERSELF as narrator in her books, and now she comes across as anti-Arab too for the way she talks about this Arab character).

[Book 13 of 2018] I loved Gawande's other books and this did not disappoint. Fascinating how small things can make a huge impact. I enjoyed all the examples, from flying to hygiene to surgery.

[Book 12 of 2018] I don't remember reading this book as a kid, but I wish I had. It's good but definitely feels young adult.

[Book 11 of 2018] Funny yet honest memoir. I wasn't into some of the "ABG guide" chapters but I highly enjoyed the rest. I loved listening to Issa Rae read the book, and I was able to get into it a lot more than when I read the first few chapters in print.

[Book 10 of 2018] Heartbreaking and powerful memoir. Much more personal than it sounds (more about Khan-Cullors' life story than BLM). Explores the effects of state-sanctioned poverty, police brutality, incarceration, and inadequate mental health care on individuals and communities. Beautifully read by Khan-Cullors. #queerbooks

[Book 9 of 2018] Hearing this read by Coates was incredible. Fully deserved its National Book Award.

[Book 8 of 2018] Amazing, fresh poetry from an important voice. #transbooks

[Book 7 of 2018] Okay, I hate to give this a so-so but I somehow found it both confusing and too slow. Will need to reread it before I continue the series, though, because now I've seen the movie and forgotten this. Sigh. (I'm behind a few months in posting)

[Book 6 of 2018] I've seen the movie and remembered the main plot, but not the side plots, so still had some surprises. (Shocker: the cobra scene is not in the book!) Enjoyable mystery with more romance than usual. Agatha Christie racism scale: light-moderate ("Latin temper," othering of Egyptian people). (P.S. cozy pajamas are the only way to read in winter!)

[Book 5 of 2018] The reading experience would be better in color, but I didn't like the book as much as I expected. I was not a big fan of the really short bios of inspirational people mixed in with wishes for his daughters. It felt like two books shortened into one. Two good kids' books, but still. Sorry, Obama 😐 He did write very thoughtfully about Martin Luther King in just a few lines, while not (falsely) saying his dream has been achieved.

[Book 4 of 2018] Rabia, co-host of the podcast Undisclosed (a must listen), goes way into detail on Adnan's case. She also goes beyond this one case to address many issues with our justice system, including racism, Islamophobia, police and prosecutorial misconduct leading to wrongful convictions, failure to test DNA evidence, high incarceration rates, and how hard it is to get exonerated. Powerful.

[Book 3 of 2018] A touching memoir about living in the face of death and finding your own meaning. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

[Book 2 of 2018 (the year, not my goal 😂)] Great story about a black journalist who passes as white and covers lynchings. Haunting reminder of the not-so-distant past.

First book of 2018! I loved hearing this read by Roxane Gay herself. It is about her body - food, violence, weight, self hate, self love - but also so much more. Eloquent, brave, and moving.

My 2017 year in review! 51 might not sound like a lot, but it's way more than I usually read in a year and I'm happy. In 2018 I'd like to read more authors of color, listen to more audiobooks to get in more reading time, and read some books that are growing dusty on my shelves. My goal is 52 books, one a week, but hopefully I will surpass it! (Made with PicCollage)

I liked the themes in this book and really loved a few of the poems, but others felt dense and jumbled and didn't fully resonate with me.

This book of poetry was heartbreaking but beautiful.

I wanted to read this in the original French, but it was too expensive so I finally broke down and read it in English. Sad, touching, and reminded me that while things have improved, this is still how a lot of queer kids grow up: confused and afraid to be who they are. #queerbooks

Donna Jo was one of my college professors (yet this is only the third book of hers I've read!). I enjoyed her debut graphic novel about a captive mermaid taking control of her own life.

Audiobook! Neil is a wonderful narrator. Here's the thing: this book did not teach me astrophysics (shocking, I know). I often went back 30 seconds to listen again, and a lot of this still went over my head. I don't know if reading this would have been better (I'm very visual) or worse (I probably would have agonizingly reread each page). Fascinating book, I just wish I absorbed and retained more of it.

Absolutely loved this short story collection. My favorite was Who Will Greet You at Home.

Insightful words about race, queerness, and identity. A great read. #queerbooks #transbooks

Enjoyable, lots of possible suspects, and Bob the dog was an adorable part of the story.

Really interesting until the tedious part about the books she read in college. I also wish this book covered her activist career.

My first completed audiobook! It was engrossing and sad and I related all too well to the theme of pretending to be okay when you're not. Highly recommend. #queerbooks

Enjoyable collection of short stories, full of misinterpretations and plot twists.

Closed-room mystery with only 4 possible suspects, but still tricky.

Good mystery.

Beach read (from August... yeah, I'm behind). This book is described as a modern-day Indian Don Quixote. I enjoyed it, especially the scenes of everyday life in India, but think I would have appreciated it more if I'd read the original Don Quixote.

I had somehow never heard of or read this story until this year. I read both the normal version and this graphic adaptation; the graphics really add something and maybe make it even more haunting.

I read this at my local library - it's such a short read I felt silly checking it out. Cute premise and interesting to see how the advice varies by age (I loved reading the ones from actual 80+ year olds). I took pictures of a few that really spoke to me. More enjoyable and less superfluous than most coffee table books.

I loved a lot of these poems but didn't like that this was a mishmash of new poems and ones from her other published books. It was a bit jarring thematically, and I think I'd prefer to read the original books the poems came from. (I loved Clifton's The Book of Light, which lent some poems to this book.)

New territory for Poirot - a serial killer! Good mystery. Annoyed that boring, inane Hastings is back as narrator.

Enjoyable mystery. Again, I suspected the murderer early on, but couldn't figure out how they could possibly have done it. Agatha Christie always tricks me.

I did not enjoy the will-they-or-won't-they romance between a 25 year old woman and a 55 year old man, but the mystery was fun and unexpected. I suspected the killer but not the motive.

Made it to the most famous Poirot book! I'd already seen the movie, but this was still an enjoyable read. No people of color or Jewish people, and the stereotypes about Americans and Europeans are way less offensive. But still, she's a great mystery writer - why couldn't she write characters without resorting to ridiculous and cliché national stereotypes?!

Short and sweet.

I really loved certain verses, but overall this fell a bit flat for me. I'm sure it's much better in the original Japanese. Poetry is hard to translate and there's no way to accurately experience the tanka verses in English. I also recommend reading the Afterword first instead of last; I think it would have made me understand and appreciate more while reading.

This book reminded me so much of my narcissist mom, it astounded me. I related on a very personal level, but even without that, it's a compelling story of finding oneself. (P.S. Sorry for all the posts - I'd fallen behind!)

Excellent snapshot of a day in 1980s war-torn Beirut. Abirached's childhood memories mix with her adult perspective for a tale of family, community, and perseverance that's both heartwarming and heartwrenching.

Required reading. ❤👏👊

A good Poirot mystery and I don't remember any racism in this one, thank goodness! You could perhaps call it a bit anti-American, but as an American, I found it in good fun.

Really enjoyed this one, but again with the Jewish stereotypes. I don't remember this ever coming up in the Miss Marple books. I guess Poirot likes hanging out with stereotypes. 😒