What I'm Reading

Unputdownable! I was rapt! More thoughtful review to come. -- "Bring Down The House," is narrated by Sophie, a junior arts critic for a large British newspaper. However, the book is about Alex, the head theater critic. He writes scathing one star reviews and very rarely gives out 5 star reviews....

Loved it! Sad it's over. I was very stressed for the cats but I perservered. Prue is me and I am Prue (but I am sober). I was annoyed reading in the acknowledgements that the author's mother is actually her #1 fan because I related so much to Prue's cold mom who is never proud of her. Oh well....

Am I an idiot? I ATE "Lean In" up when I graduated college in 2014. I think I received 4 different copies of that book for graduation. I was going to lean in so hard!! The goal was to be like sheryl! Years later, I crashed and burned and realized I am not sheryl. I don't think it's fair to blame my...

I had absolutely no intention of reading this book but Spotify just announced that (select) audiobooks are included with premium (they had said they were previously included but were locked/paywalled) and they are pushing Britney's memoir. I'm so glad and sad to have listened to it. It's so...

Loved every minute of it. So much to ponder. -- The main character is flawed and selfish and I worry I am her. Isn't that what books are all about? Seeing ourselves reflected back? This book had so many delicious quotes: "There are those who can't keep sight of themselves and those who can't keep...

This memoir is achingly beautiful. The writing is like butter. 3/28/23 It's 7:30 am and it's snowing a lot. It snowed a lot overnight too. We have a cute little rover with us this week, an Australian Labradoodle named Sadie. She's very high energy. I am sitting on the couch drinking coffee with raw...

Amazon randomly pushed the book "Radically Content" by Jamie Varon on my Kindle so I downloaded it from the library and I LOVED IT. I wanted to devour all the Jamie Varon content I could find so I listened to a bunch of podcasts where she was a guest. This is how I discovered Nicole Antoinette and...

Heavy stuff. Had me weeping. Reminded me of "know my name." Made me hate football even more than I already did. My husband is a big dolphins fan and when I heard about what happened to Tua I was appalled. Then we got into a fight about CTE because "these players know what they are signed up for....

The first chapter of the book, "In Defense of Navel Gazing," hit the nail on the head for me. She tackles the persistent voice full of fear which says "Who cares?" I hear this voice every time I sit down to write. Instead of writing for me, I get lost writing for "them." These other people who will...

Fantastic. Beautifully written. As someone who does not have CPTSD, but has a lot of self loathing and is hyper vigilant, I found this memoir to be so inspirational and real. --- I feel like ever since I got a smartphone, I am no longer capable of critical thinking and reflection. I am constantly...

I hated her and thought she was part of the problem but now I feel like I know her and respect her more. I found this quote from an article about Taylor swift using the word "fat" in her music video that I think applies here as well: "So, is this backlash fair? And is it right for the finger to be...

YES Martha! This book has so many golden nuggets in it. And it has so many techniques to practice IRL (something that I struggle with when I read self help books because I feel unsure how to apply things in my brain into my daily life). I listened to this on audiobook and I had just written an...

Loved this book. I was sad to learn that the author passed away in 2019. Some golden nuggets: "Stop blaming your boss, family, neighbor, lover, government, society, or God. You are the one at the scene of the crime every time something goes wrong in your life. Stop looking for a fall guy, a...

I loved this book. I rarely laugh out loud at books. This one also made me cry. So much to think about. Happiness is not something to be commodified and commercialized. Loved the quote about social media. "This is the reason that Montaigne argues for a separation between public and private...

Heartbreakingly beautiful. She writes with the same ethereal lightness that she radiates in person. I read "The Light Between Us" by Laura Lynn Jackson just before this. It's all about how we are connected to those that cross - specifically to children we lose. I am now a firm believer that we...

Was not expecting to love this. Made me think about the fat-phobia that I have and made me want to be better. But the best was her story about rape jokes. It really struck me. I wish more men would read this but I know they won't. But she is making the world better. And I'm so sad that she deals...

I want to be a therapist but I am intimidated by the price tag and time commitment that grad school demands. Also, whenever I share this interest with actual therapists, they immediately tell me not to pursue this path. Why? I started re-reading Lori Gottlieb's books, "Maybe You Should Talk to...

Couldn't put it down! Kind of a mix of the book "what my bones know" (lots of undiagnosed c-ptsd) and the shows "industry" (without the sex) and "billions" I didn't realize this was a memoir for the first chunk of it - it reads like a novel! I definitely agree with other reviews, in that I don't...

Very stressful. I need to know what happens!! Most relatable part of the book: "Simon maintained such psychotic discipline because he seemed to believe even the smallest lapse in vigilance would result in catastrophe. And probably he was right. Occasionally the control dropped: Simon took a jar of...

I couldn't put it down! It's too close to home... So disturbing to see our culture's obsession with beauty, youth and wellness so bluntly laid out. Makes me want to jettison the spendy tinctures in my bathroom (and I only have a few!) I have always felt deeply flawed for not having a skin care...

I applaud Tara's commitment to healing and sharing her vulnerability. I didn't love this one as much as "buy yourself the fking lilies" but I think that's because I've done a lot of self reflection and most of her advice in her first book was about "re-parenting" herself (aka how to be an adult),...

I was intrigued throughout even though I don't usually enjoy books with a bunch of different narrators. It was a page turner. I didn't care that much about the romance story lines but they didn't detract. Lots of interesting moral questions raised. I don't think I would look at my string but I'm...

I enjoyed her first book, "Group" (even though it was annoying because she was OBSESSED with finding a man and it got OLD and her therapist sounds incredibly problematic...) because she gave a voice to a lot of thoughts that make me feel defective for feeling. It is nice to read the petty stuff -...

Would this story have been written if Maddy was not a beautiful, Ivy league athlete? Absolutely not. But I, too, fell into the trap of "but she was so pretty" - as if being good looking makes you immune to the difficulties of life. I see a lot of myself in Maddy. I have never handled failure well....

Is she insanely privileged? (Therapy 2x/week, an MFA program, manifestation workshops...) Yes. Did I enjoy her memoir? Also yes. It felt like my memoir. Makes me want to quit drinking. I wonder what school she went to before transferring to Brown and what start up she worked at. Wish she talked...

At first this read like a book I would have loved in middle school/high school (gossip girl or the clique) but then the shooting happened. Woah I did not see that coming. It was very hard to read given all of the school shootings and mass violence we see every day on the news. I am pleased with the...

I enjoyed this book. Mostly because it's based in Bend but also because it offers a different take on hunting. My brother and dad are lifelong hunters but I've never understood the appeal. The author highlights a lot of uncomfortable truths about the meat we consume. Her writing is engaging and...

Last night I finished the book, "A Good Marriage." For most of the book, I was rapt. The writing was smart and fast (to me, many GoodReads reviews said it was a slow build). But I found the ending dissatisfying. I read this book because of a recently discovered podcast, "Pop Fiction Women." Earlier...

I listened to David Sedaris' "Happy-Go-Lucky" on audiobook last night. Most of the time I find his essays delightful. This one made me laugh out loud a few times. I audibly gasped when he told a story about a man sticking a glass dildo up his rectum that exploded and my partner came running and...

I found her story interesting but was kind of depressed by how focused it was on finding a man instead of more about loving herself. Is her therapist a genius or a creep? There were a lot of moments where I couldn't tell. I could not deal with the lack of anonymity (it seemed so gossipy) but I...

I actually really enjoyed this memoir even though at first I wasn't expecting to. I get mad when women obsess over the idea of marriage and babies. I was frustrated when a similar memoir "what I was doing while you were breeding" ended with her getting married and having a baby after she bashed the...

Like others said - it feels wrong to give this book a rating. I feel obligated to give this 4 stars even though I want to give it 3. Devoured the first half. But after her mother's death I felt like the book faltered and it was all about food and I started skimming. I never do that so that was...

Justice for Maggie. Very triggering. Believe women. There was a teacher at my middle school who was beloved just like this teacher until it was discovered that he had sexual relations with 8th grade girls but he did not get away with it and I believe is now (still?) serving time. But I know that's...

Tough read. I had to put it down a few times. But I found it pretty engrossing near the end. Sad. Beautiful story telling. Inspiring that this author was just like I am going to Iowa to get my MFA after being a doctor. I am rethinking my career and I like seeing that you can always reinvent...

Picked this book because Chrissy teigen said it inspired her. The first part was super thought provoking. I truly do agree that one day we will look back at alcohol the way we look at smoking and say "we didn't know any better." I really enjoyed the focus on self esteem and liking yourself instead...

I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't know this was fiction. I googled the photo of daisy in the pool and found out this was in fact not a true story and I was sad! at first I thought I would hate the format but it totally worked and I loved it. All the females are so great. So many good quotes....

As a fellow cal bear (I went for undergrad) who always thought I'd end up a lawyer, I related to a lot of this. I read the acknowledgments of her first novel and mistook "thanks mom for always listening to my dumb ideas" as "thanks for always supporting me" but it turns out her mom is kind of b who...

This was disturbing because it does not feel dystopian enough. Too real. Spoilers to come - she gets freed because Julie is sloppy and signs her real name?? COME ON. and they never show Julie's perspective again? So cheap. So lazy! This was not a page turner but I also wanted to keep going. The...

This was really weird but had brief moments where I wanted to underline things but I was listening to it as an audiobook. The desire for success is deep in me and I am 33 like Cass and feeling like a failure so there was a lot I related to even though a lot of it was rather eccentric. The end was...

okay so this book took me on a wild ride. at first, i was fully invested. i cared deeply about her story and wanted to find out the "secret." once it was revealed, i totally believed her (and I still do). I am having my own "being failed by the justice system/loophole riddled experience." so her...

This was a hate read. Reminded me of Leslie Jamison's "splinters" - the writing is good but the content is such a drag. The writers are so self obsessed. The reader never gets rewarded for reading. There's no growth. I don't know why I muscled through it. I'm pretty bored. Help I don't know how to...

This was kind of a blend of two other memoirs - splinters (Leslie Jamison) and group (Christie Tate). The author is brave and puts A LOT out there. I'm shocked that her husband and mother agreed to be included! It makes me deeply disturbed to know that she has teenage sons that can read this. I...

I was very interested until about halfway through... then I got bored. There was no twist because you already knew what was going to happen. The ending wasn't a twist. It was just a lame obfuscation. ALSO after recently watching "may december" I am very tired of directors/authors using stories of...

Not good. This book was just so...unnecessary. The main character had no depth. It all happened "just like that," devoid of emotion or reflection. The author of "Flawless" (Elise Hu) had this as her 2nd favorite book she read in 2023, so now I can't trust anything she says even though she has a...

I struggled to finish this. She was just so tone deaf. Lenny's money really bothered me. I was stressed out by how little she cared about the rules of living. What happened to all of her unpaid bills? Who paid her expenses after she left Lenny? She sold a car he gave her for graduate school? She...

Waffling between two or three stars and decided to be charitable. It was really boring and I never would have finished it if it hadn't been chosen for a book club that I recently joined. The authors simply are not very interesting. I'm amazed this book was published. The idea is solid but the...

Hmm. I'm in the minority I guess. Did not work for me. Gratuitous violence in the name of characters we never got to know/had no attachment to. When we find out who the leads are looking for, I was unmoved. The way the "puzzle pieces came together" did not do it for me. The ending was way too neat....

I get why people say her perspective is a very narrow one filled with privilege but I really like the idea of dedicating each month to an area of your life that you'd like to improve. I love how she didn't do an "eat, pray, love" and quit her job and do yoga in Bali - you can focus on happiness in...

Mixed feelings about this one. I do think it's important to focus on what makes someone a good long term partner instead of solely looking for a "spark." She is so absurdly picky it made me slightly dislike her and I really liked "maybe you should talk to someone." I liked her Ted talk about...

I did not enjoy this book one bit. For some reason at first I thought this was an Isabel Allende book. Lol so wrong. Anne Helen Petersen said she liked this book on the podcast "what should I read next?" Very disappointing. It was so boring. I kept waiting for a twist. Also the sexual scenes were...

This was a slog to get through. She is an excellent writer but I strongly dislike her as a person. She gets married after 6 months and is in couples therapy after another 6 months and then thinks it's a good idea to have a baby. Then she is surprised when that doesn't fix anything. I also hate when...

Read for a book club. Would never have picked this up otherwise. I am very confused why people enjoy this book. First, the castaway story. Come on... Second, her internal turmoil is inane. All the saccharine "profound" musings on love...I can not Some reviews said they liked the ending so I kept...

Wanted to read to see if it was different from the show but it was so boring because the show an exact replica of the book. Nothing new. The show is aesthetically pleasing but the two characters are buffoons. I liked conversations with friends but this book lacks the smart dialog - it's just self...

What a crock of shit. Why do I keep doing this to myself? I felt the same way about untamed. I related to the beginning. But then I realized she refuses to take any accountability for her life. She gets sooo preachy in the second half and it makes me want to throw things. Skip all Glennon Doyle...

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!! How could this have such a high average rating??? As someone else said "Perhaps she's so popular because she's managed to make soft-porn romance intellectually respectable." This book was absolute trash. I loved conversations with friends, watched the tv series...