Love to read! All things!
Though sweet spots are Science Fiction and Fantasy and humorous Young Adult stuff. I generally read in bed, so my preference is for less stressful stories. My favorite stories that ones that are both Quirky and Unexpected.
Due to book experiences being very dependent on the reader, I belive that reviews should be short.
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Cool things happen in this book! It's not mind-blowing, but it's much more unpredictable than the first book and has some compelling character development. Though wouldn't really recommend the series unless you're someone who likes thinking about cities.
In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn't remember …
This book has a cool core idea, but it doesn't do too much with it and the plotline is a little too predictable and brief. I'm still in for the second book (it's a duology), but mostly because it's N.K. Jemisin
A buoyant, good-hearted, and sharply written novel about a blithely optimistic immigrant with big dreams, …
Easy reading, great characters, plot never gets too dark but certainly does touch on dark topics. Fun book all around.
The acclaimed best-seller by the author of Significant Other, Babycakes, and Sure of You follows …
In a good way! All of the characters are pretty one dimensional, the only way out is through, and it's pretty much chaos the whole time. The good stuff is in the reflections the characters have while going through their lives with everything turned up to 11. Great summer reading.
A universal story of finding a way to be comfortable in your own skin: Kate …
I'm here because I try to read all the books my kids read. It turns out to be a great coming of age story told through a unique format that focuses only (like, only) on words and thoughts of the characters. The format is absolutely perfect for the story being told and makes the book memorable.
It's a quick read and certainly focused on younger readers who are figuring out their lives. It was a good read (I teared up a little 3/4s of the way through), though I'm mostly happy that my kid has read it.
Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar …
I'm a former rower who's aware of history and more critically, appreciates good characters.
This book covers an absolutely incredible story with very little joy or nuance. I respect it for capturing some history that would have likely been lost, but regret it didn't do more to bring the challenges the characters faced to the page.
For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration …
If you want a sense of the depth of this book, it's basically a re-imagined for adults version of Adam Sandler's "Leo" kids movie. Not sure which actually came first, but either way, neither is particularly deep and both involve lots of Deus ex Machina moments.
I got some chuckles out if it along the way, but the characters don't face any complex challenges or grow in any interesting ways other than to magically shed their flaws.
The solid writing makes it a nice casual read when there's nothing else to do?
They live beneath the earth in a prison of their own making. There is a …
This was a fun read! Very unique post-apocalyptic Earth plotline with some good twists.
But the characters are a little two dimensional, and the protagonist is a little too good at everything. I'll certainly read the other books in the series. Again, it's a good story, but I'm not craving more time with these characters immediately.
A quirky take on a tech tale in San Francisco. Worth reading if you care about those things, the specific local moments are the things that I remember. It was a wonderful bedtime book.
When BART opened in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1972, it became a catalyst …
It's an ok book, it's written by their former head of PR, so everything BART comes off feeling a little too polished and perfect.
BUT!
The author had a lot of access, and it's a great read to learn about how the system was all put together. Dunno if I'd care if it wasn't about my hometown, but if you ride BART, you should certainly check it out
Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange …
Quirky and unexpected, the things I appreciate most in a book. Also, not that long, which means it can't get too lost in it's unique abstractions. Loved it, will read it again.
Don't need to read this more than once. It's tells many different stories that all confirm the depth of the structures that cauterize society and prevent it from meaningfully changing. Good stuff, opened my eyes to the work we need to put in to make lasting change.
On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur …
The characters and their relationship as it evolves over time are the highlight of this book. It's a great tale of a strong friendship as it ebbs and flows over the decades. Felt very real and very human. I appreciated it for how much it made me consider my life and relationships.
The overall plotline and where it ends up are less compelling. I liked it but wouldn't read it again.
Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to …
I love these kinda books: Shorter books with an extremely unique world that don't worry about a tidy ending. This is a thee book series, and it was good, but I mighta just has been as happy if I'd stopped after this one.
As someone who lives in and loves San Francisco, this book was a detailed tour through it's "summer of love" eras. But without that interest the writing likely wouldn't have kept me compelled. I much preferred 'Heart of the City' - a similar kinda book about Philly.