Unique and intense memoir about a young woman desperately searching for a safe abortion in 1960s France, when abortions were outlawed. VERY graphic deUnique and intense memoir about a young woman desperately searching for a safe abortion in 1960s France, when abortions were outlawed. VERY graphic description of an at-home, late-term abortion. May not be appropriate for some readers. ...more
**spoiler alert** This is like a 3.75-star book, but I just couldn’t quite give it 4 stars. Many things about this book were AWESOME! Published in 201**spoiler alert** This is like a 3.75-star book, but I just couldn’t quite give it 4 stars. Many things about this book were AWESOME! Published in 2016, the premise is how the characters cope with life leading up to and after a pandemic that kills 99.99% of the world’s population. The scenarios felt very realistic.
HOWEVER, the book centres around the individuals who came into contact with a celebrity the night that a) the celebrity dies and b) the pandemic starts to spread. This celebrity character is flat and boring. Literally, nothing about this guy is intriguing except for the fact that he’s “famous.” I do not understand why he is the sun around which the other characters orbit.
The ending was very meh, when it could have, at least, come full circle. There is this paperweight that is given as a gift by Clark. It goes through the hands of 3 other characters before it ends up in Kirsten’s hand (so 5 characters in total). At the very end of the book, Kirsten and Clark come together, but instead of Kirsten giving Clark the paperweight, she gives him 1 of 2 comic books (about this fictional place called Station Eleven). Whyyyyyyy tho?
Additionally, almost everyone on the planet dies within a matter of days or weeks, leaving a mostly deserted world, yet characters are desperate for shoes, books, and other items. People are living in a Walmart and a Wendy’s? Why?
Before the pandemic, there were 330 million people in then US, a few months later, like only 3 million are left. There are literally homes and bookstores and libraries and shoe stores in every town—even 20 years later, they wouldn’t have worn through every pair of shoes in the local Payless Shoes. It makes no sense at times.
I still enjoyed it enough to say if you’re interested in a well-written take on a post-pandemic/apocalyptic world, it’s worth reading, but you’ll turn the final page with a shrug of the shoulders....more
I might be biased, having JUST read The Other Side of Paradise, set in Jamaica, and We Have Always Been Here, set in Toronto, but this book 3.5 stars.
I might be biased, having JUST read The Other Side of Paradise, set in Jamaica, and We Have Always Been Here, set in Toronto, but this book felt like a build up that didn’t really peak. Like yes, it was interesting, but in a more at-arm’s-length sort of way, not in a way that pulls you in and doesn’t let you go.
OK, I honestly only just now realized this was a collection of short stories and not a memoir. I listened to it as an audiobook without knowing anything about it. As a memoir, I gave it a 3.5 stars, but as fiction, I give it 4 stars. So obviously it feels VERY realistic and authentic, as I thought it was memoir.
I’m glad I read it, and I wish GoodReads had a 10-point scoring system so I could give it a 7/10 rather than a 3/5, but I wouldn’t read it again....more
I really liked the science of the book, but the recipes were a huge disappointment. He discussed the problems with nightshades and peppers and mentionI really liked the science of the book, but the recipes were a huge disappointment. He discussed the problems with nightshades and peppers and mentioned avoiding them, and then there were quite a few recipes with nightshades, peppers, and paprika. I'm allergic to cashews and I don't like olives. So between the nightshades, peppers, cashews, and olives, there were only a few recipes that looked appealing to me. Borrow this book from the library or a friend, read the chapters on the science of it, but then build your own recipes....more
Beautiful prose with a message that might have been written in 2020, instead of 1962. Highly recommend. Audible’s audiobook has a fantastic narrator. Beautiful prose with a message that might have been written in 2020, instead of 1962. Highly recommend. Audible’s audiobook has a fantastic narrator. Everyone should read this book. ...more
I really enjoyed this book! It’s a page turner! It’s a memoir about a woman who was groomed and sexually abused by her teacher from the age of 13 to 1I really enjoyed this book! It’s a page turner! It’s a memoir about a woman who was groomed and sexually abused by her teacher from the age of 13 to 18. ...more
This book was fantastic. I listened to it as an audiobook. It was read by the author and the narration was so perfect. Not a lot of authors who read tThis book was fantastic. I listened to it as an audiobook. It was read by the author and the narration was so perfect. Not a lot of authors who read their own work sound as great as I think they think they do, but Staceyann Chin is as good a narrator as she is an author. This is one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to. 10/10 would read again. ...more
I listened to the audiobook, which had amazing narration. Now, I want to buy a hard copy and read a little every night till the book is in tatters. A I listened to the audiobook, which had amazing narration. Now, I want to buy a hard copy and read a little every night till the book is in tatters. A beautiful, inspiring book, full of wisdom....more
This was the first book I’ve read by Whitehead, but it won’t be the last. This was a great book from the very beginning. Within the first few pages, IThis was the first book I’ve read by Whitehead, but it won’t be the last. This was a great book from the very beginning. Within the first few pages, I was like, “Ahhh, this is why he’s gotten so famous!” It’s a story about boys in a juvenile prison disguised as a school. It’s about racism and trauma and survival and it provides a great balance of character development, plot, and social commentary. Highly recommend. ...more
A friend asked me to read this book because she wanted to know if I thought it was realistic and people were really this awful. I rather delighted in A friend asked me to read this book because she wanted to know if I thought it was realistic and people were really this awful. I rather delighted in the book. But my conclusion: not only is it realistic, but I think people are just as awful but even less self-aware than the characters in this book. ...more
I think this is my favourite sci-fi/fantasy series of all time. Get ready for a gut punch with this new installment in the series. Brown slaughters chI think this is my favourite sci-fi/fantasy series of all time. Get ready for a gut punch with this new installment in the series. Brown slaughters characters left and right in a way that seems fitting for the dark age they live in, yet it still comes as a blow that leaves you shell-shocked, stumbling towards the next chapter, even as the author has already moved on. This book is a social commentary on race issues and how they are literally created so the powerful can gain more power. It’s a social commentary on how we are all capable of greatness, no matter what colour, gender, sexuality, or social class. But it also explores corruption and how a person can be moved to do what they believe is right, yet they do harm. Excellent book and the writer just gets better and better with each book. Remember how the first book was almost like a twist on Hunger Games? Hahaha, how far we’ve come. ...more
Disclaimer! Ruth is a close friend. But I really, really don't think this has influenced my review (at least not by mI loved, Loved, LOVED this book.
Disclaimer! Ruth is a close friend. But I really, really don't think this has influenced my review (at least not by much!).
This book of poetry made me cry in public multiple times. It made my heart ache and soar. I read poems to my boyfriend out of it, even though he doesn't consider himself a poetry reader, and he was like, "Wow." So yeah, this is a book that can touch just about anyone.
It is a book I will give to friends and nieces and girls going through a tough time. It is a book of sorrow and a book of hope. It intermingles fairy tales and poems about fairy tales and poems about how life is no fairy tale and poems about how it is. It is a beautiful book.
I really felt like something that would pull me into its story, so I listened to this book on Audible on a road trip. I had two hours to listen when II really felt like something that would pull me into its story, so I listened to this book on Audible on a road trip. I had two hours to listen when I made it to my destination. That night, after I went to bed, I thought, "I'll just listen another 30 minutes before I go to sleep," but I kept extending the audio because I just couldn't stop until the end.
Content warning for the book: sexual assault, abduction, confinement, and severe childhood abuse....more
A tender and beautiful story about making your own family. This short book of fiction by Yoko Ogawa, translated from Japanese, was a pleasure to read.A tender and beautiful story about making your own family. This short book of fiction by Yoko Ogawa, translated from Japanese, was a pleasure to read. I also liked the way it portrayed a neurodivergent character. Although I teared up at the end, I would still call this a feel-good novel. Highly recommend....more
This was a solid 4/4.5 stars for the first half of the book, then it started to peter out for me. The writing is good. It’s the first book that I thinThis was a solid 4/4.5 stars for the first half of the book, then it started to peter out for me. The writing is good. It’s the first book that I think I’ve read with an older woman as the protagonist, and I think it’s good to read a lot of different perspectives. That said, I’ll never yearn to spend more time in this world and probably will not read Olive, Again. ...more
This is a short, but fascinating book about one trans woman's experiences with men, which are both unique and universal. I related to so much of this This is a short, but fascinating book about one trans woman's experiences with men, which are both unique and universal. I related to so much of this book, but what makes it so special is the multifaceted perspective from a person who first tried to live as a man—who had to LEARN it—before finding her true self. Beautiful and important....more
This book was very long. It took a long time to get into it, and I was about to give up, but then I became interested enough to keep going. This is thThis book was very long. It took a long time to get into it, and I was about to give up, but then I became interested enough to keep going. This is the second in a trilogy. I decided not to read the third. This book was ok, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone unless they have a keen interest in WWII history....more
I liked this more than a 3, but not quite 4 stars. If I could give it a ranking out of 10, I'd mark it a 7 probably. It was an interesting read, but II liked this more than a 3, but not quite 4 stars. If I could give it a ranking out of 10, I'd mark it a 7 probably. It was an interesting read, but I like books that have an undeniable PULL that makes me have to keep reading. This one took me 4 months to finish and I rarely read more than a few chapters at a time. Towards the last quarter of the book, it really started to pick up and now I feel invested in the characters enough to read the second book in the trilogy....more
This is the third installment of what some call Willa Cather's Great Plains Trilogy. I don't think of it as a trilogy, but three totally different booThis is the third installment of what some call Willa Cather's Great Plains Trilogy. I don't think of it as a trilogy, but three totally different books set in the same Nebraska land of the 19th century. There are no repeated characters, and neither Song of the Lark (book 2) or My Ántonia comes even remotely close to being as good as O Pioneers! Song of the Lark was a slog and My Ántonia is written as a story written by one of the characters, a totally unnecessary device. It would've been better if it had been third person POV (in my opinion). I also listened to this one as an audiobook from Audible, and I did not care for the narrator at all. Additionally, there are some really racist descriptions in the book, which although were "normal" for a white character of that time, complete with all the other meh things about the book, it's just like, why bother? I recommend O Pioneers! but encourage everyone to skip the other two books in the "trilogy."...more
I've been ripping through memoirs recently, and this one was a bit hefty and I completed in 12 hours due to a heavy dose of insomnia. This was quite aI've been ripping through memoirs recently, and this one was a bit hefty and I completed in 12 hours due to a heavy dose of insomnia. This was quite a thriller. There were parts where I literally stopped breathing for a few moments as I watched terrifying, life-threatening moments unravel before my eyes. There were heartaches and beauty. I love family memoirs and I would call this one because while of course Cea is the star of the show, it is an ensemble cast of aunts, a crazy uncle, grandparents, and others coursing in and out of her life and Cea tells their stories with as much vivid detail as one can. This has made it into my Top Ten Memoirs. Do yourself a favour and read it....more
Excellent. Read in one sitting. A hauntingly beautiful memoir told in fragmented, dreamlike (sometimes vividly nightmarish), genre-bending vignettes. Excellent. Read in one sitting. A hauntingly beautiful memoir told in fragmented, dreamlike (sometimes vividly nightmarish), genre-bending vignettes. 10/10. Would read again (and will)....more
I read this sometime after it came out and then again today. I am a big fan of Beni Xiao because I love humorous poetry. Bad Egg is a bit more tragic I read this sometime after it came out and then again today. I am a big fan of Beni Xiao because I love humorous poetry. Bad Egg is a bit more tragic on the tragicomedy spectrum as some of the work I’ve seen Xiao perform live, but I like it as much, just in a different way. These poems would go just as well with a glass of wine and a bad breakup as they would with whiskey and a disastrous haircut. ...more
I read this romance novel when I was a pre-teen because I'd always been told that my middle name "Skye" came from the Isle of Skye and then, one day, I read this romance novel when I was a pre-teen because I'd always been told that my middle name "Skye" came from the Isle of Skye and then, one day, someone said, "Oh, no, your mom had just read "Skye Cameron" and liked it." I don't actually think that is where my name came from, but my mom had read it and liked it, and so I thought I'd give it a read too. I seem to remember liking it then. I'm sure my tastes have evolved since then (I was also reading a lot of Nancy Drew and V.C. Andrews at the time haha), but I think I'm going to re-read it because I am currently writing about my relationship with my mother....more
This was the best book I read in 2018 and I read some really great books!
As someone who grew up as a Jehovah's Witness under the control of a physicalThis was the best book I read in 2018 and I read some really great books!
As someone who grew up as a Jehovah's Witness under the control of a physically and sexually abusive father who also kept me out of school for an extended period of time, this book resonated with me on a very deep level. It brought me to tears several times.
Sometimes, when I read really good fiction, fantasy, or science fiction, I finish a book and "miss" the world. I feel listless and depressed. I am left wishing that I could go back to that world. This is not something I can recall ever feeling about nonfiction, until now. The day I finished Educated, I felt lost at sea. I felt like I was missing my good friend, Tara. Even though the author's world is full of pain and abuse, I didn't want to leave her world. I wanted to continue the writer-reader relationship.
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