“You're always the person you were when you were born. You just keep finding new ways to express it.”
I've always been interested in lear 4 stars!
“You're always the person you were when you were born. You just keep finding new ways to express it.”
I've always been interested in learning more about Gloria Steinem. She was mentioned a lot in my college history courses, but never anything specifically about her was covered. This was also a book selected in Emma Watson's feminist book club, so I bought a copy and it say on my nightstand for two years. Now that I am into audiobooks on my commute, I decided to listen to this book.... on the road. See what I did there???? I know, I'm lame.
Lots of thoughtful ideas on activism. It's not a super cohesive book, much of it is out of sequence, flipping back and forth in time. I loved the stories, though. So many great quotes and moments while listening to this book. Instead of a straightforward biography, this is like having several conversations with a new friend and learning key moments of their life.
A very inspiring book for me, I wish more people had open minds and open hearts like Steinem.
“Decisions are best made by the people affected by them.”
Basically, this gif sums up most of Greek mythology: [image]
Not even kidding a little bit.
Anyways, mythology is always something I was interes 4 stars
Basically, this gif sums up most of Greek mythology: [image]
Not even kidding a little bit.
Anyways, mythology is always something I was interested in and loved, it's in so much of our everyday life still in the stories we tell and our history. I know most of my real life friends read this in the 10th grade, but my class read The Odyssey only and I've always meant to get to this book but didn't until now.
I listened to the audio of this book during my work commutes, and I liked it because it was a bunch of stories so I didn't have to keep track of a lot. Many stories were familiar, some I had heard different versions and some I had never heard. Hamilton, while not indulging in graphic details, does not shy away from some of the harsher aspects of these stories and I found myself making faces while listening. I also really liked how Hamilton told the reader her sources on where she got these stories from and if from different writers, how many years apart they were.
I was a history major in college, so this was fascinating to me. I get that it's not for everyone, but if you want to learn more about mythology in general, this is the book for you.
I love books by Jason Reynolds. I feel like he speaks to all those "weird" outcast kids who felt like they had to stay in their box. Reynolds shows thI love books by Jason Reynolds. I feel like he speaks to all those "weird" outcast kids who felt like they had to stay in their box. Reynolds shows them they don't have to.
Seriously everyone, if you haven't read a Jason Reynolds book, you need to get your life in order.
I listened to the audio version of this book and highly recommend it as it is performed really well ...more
“We love broken, beautiful people. And it doesn’t get much more obviously broken and more classically beauti Audiobook reread June 2022
4.5 stars!
“We love broken, beautiful people. And it doesn’t get much more obviously broken and more classically beautiful than Daisy Jones.”
This book chronicles the events of the band Daisy Jones and the Six from the 1960’s to the present. The story of how a young girl became a songwriter and then a member of the band on its way up to fame, The Six, led by Billy Dunne. Billy and Daisy clash dramatically at first. But when two people have something to be strongly passionate about, the two of them become iconic and sweep the nation.
“I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse. I am not a muse. I am the somebody. End of fucking story.”
Every time I read a book by Taylor Jenkins Reid the same thing happens: I finish the book late at night with tears in my eyes and way too many emotions for my body to handle. Daisy Jones followed in the same pattern.
I’ve been a fan of TJR’s work since her sophomore novel After I Do. Every year I wait and hope that she write’s faster than is humanly possible so I can devour yet another one of her books. And with every single release, TJR grows as a writer and delivers a story that knocks me off my feet. What makes TJR’s books so special are her characters. In every single book I swear the characters become real, to the point that I want to google them because I am convinced they exist in my own reality and not that of the book.
The format in this book is very interesting, the majority told in an interview format. At first I was skeptical (I don’t know why) but by the end I was impressed that this story was told so well in that way. It’s an amazing writing accomplishment.
The research done on Los Angeles at the time (in the 70’s) was so amazingly done as well. I knew all the landscapes and even accuracies such as gas problems were included but it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of the story, it added to it. Very reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac and other bands of the 70’s; I also found myself thinking a lot about the film Almost Famous (my favorite film btw).
So now begins the game of waiting for Reid’s next book. I’d go all Misery on her but that seems a bit extreme (or is it?)
“Don’t ever doubt Daisy Jones.”
ARC provided by the publisher via netgalley. All/any quotes in this review came from an advance unedited copy and may be subject to change in the final product.
I reread The Kiss Quotient as a part of The Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo for the category Kissing for Sc upgraded to 4 stars with audiobook reread 2023
I reread The Kiss Quotient as a part of The Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo for the category Kissing for Science. I enjoyed it a lot more this time on audiobook. After rereading my review, I still agree that the characters and their indecisiveness bug me, but not as much as when I first read it. I happily listened along to this book and the narrator did a great job bringing Stella and Michael to life.
--------- original review 2018 ---------------
3 stars
I want to reiterate, 3 stars for me still means I liked it, this is not a negative review
This is the story of Stella, a woman with Asperger’s who has trouble connecting with men romantically. When her mother begins to pressure her for grandbabies, she decides she needs to face her fears. To do this, she hires an expert. Or well, an escort. Stella hires Michael, a dreamy escort who seems very understanding of her needs. But he has some secrets behind his reasons for being a male escort, and he doesn’t want to get too close to anyone so they can find out.
The Kiss Quotient is a book I was very excited to read, mostly because it has an autistic main character and an Asian male lead. I think this is a great debut novel and I love that we got a male Asian lead, you rarely see those in the romance genre. I also liked Stella because while many people may not have Asperger’s like her, I feel she’s a relatable character that many women will identify with.
This book was steamy and sweet at the same time. My main issue with it was I felt the plot structure was all over the place and it made the story very choppy for me. This also made the characters seem very indecisive on some things which is a pet peeve of mine in books. But overall I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to seeing what else Hoang has to deliver in the future.
ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review ...more
Audio re-read August 2019. Thoughts remain the same!
[image]
4 stars!
“Of the first few hauntings I investigated with Lockwood & Co. I intend to say Audio re-read August 2019. Thoughts remain the same!
[image]
4 stars!
“Of the first few hauntings I investigated with Lockwood & Co. I intend to say little, in part to protect the identity of the victims, in part because of the gruesome nature of the incidents, but mainly because, in a variety of ingenious ways, we succeeded in messing them all up.”
Who knew a middle grade novel could be TERRIFYING! It took me a while to get through this book because I was too scared to read it at night!
The Screaming Staircase takes place in England, where an epidemic of ghosts has covered the country with people taking extra precautions to keep them away. Since younger people have better abilities to see and sense them, they are the front of the army against this supernatural issue.
Lucy has the gift of hearing ghosts and is excellent at what she does. She joins the Lockwood and Company, a small ghost hunting agency run by Anthony Lockwood with another boy named George. The three of them work to rid the world of ghosts, one haunting at a time….
“Really?" "No. I'm being ironic. Or is it sarcastic? I can never remember." "Irony's cleverer, so you're probably being sarcastic.”
I’ve had several people recommend me this book and I’ve always meant to get to it. I am very glad I finally did and tried a new to me author, because this book is excellent. It’s like Supernatural for tweens, but in England and with a female lead character. I love the concept of younger adults being placed into adult situations because they are the only ones who can help.
As I mentioned before, this book was fairly scary. So much so that after finishing it I needed to watch rom coms to get me out of my frightened glow. Stroud is a compelling and excellent writer and I am definitely going to be reading the other books in this series soon.
“Well, when you're being held at gunpoint by a geriatric madman in a metal skirt, you've kind of hit rock bottom anyway. It can't really get much worse.”
I listened to the audio of this book, I honestly believe if I hadn't listened this would be a higher rating, but I cannot separate the terri 3 stars!
I listened to the audio of this book, I honestly believe if I hadn't listened this would be a higher rating, but I cannot separate the terrible narrator's voice from the story. So this is more a review of the audio than the book as a plot.
I HATED the narrator's voice when she did dialogue. Everything else was fine, but she made a highly intelligent character sound like a friggin bimbo the entire book. Not to mention the cringe worthy sex voice that literally had me laughing out loud with how awful it was.
Now for the content of the book: I really liked the story, I think if I had read the book I would have enjoyed it more than I did. I guessed some plot points but it didn't take away from my enjoyment or me wanting to know what happened. I will probably read a copy at some point instead of listening and see if the book is better for me in written form.
I still did not love this book the second time around but I liked it more. Despite when I said below that I was done with this 3.5 stars Audio reread
I still did not love this book the second time around but I liked it more. Despite when I said below that I was done with this series, I love these characters and find myself thinking about them. Briggs is a character driven writer and is brilliant at worldbuilding. I just don't love the story in this particular book and even reading it two times doesn't change that. I will definitely continue reading the series.
------------------------------------------ I'm so done with this series. I prefer Mercy #sorrynotsorry...more
“Women are the bloodthirsty sex. We get the reputation, but it is only because the women stand behind us, and say, 'Kill it. Squish it.”
One month after they are mated and married, werewolves Anna and Charles must travel to Seattle to oversee a conference where the wolves discuss the issue of becoming open to the public. While they are there, hired vampire assassins begin attacking the Omega's, human and wolf.
This one took me a while to get through. I'm normally a huge Patricia Briggs fan, but for some reason this series isn't hitting it for me like the Mercy Thompson series did.
What I loved:
-Anna and Charles: I think the development of the relationship between these two characters is the only reason I will continue to read this series. Together and separately, Anna and Charles are some of the more interesting and unique characters I've read in a long time. But Briggs has a way of doing that.
“I would slay dragons for you. I suspect that finding an unoccupied bedroom will be easier.”
-The world-building: I am constantly wowed at the incredible job this author has done in creating this unique urban fantasy setting. Very few authors have done this for me. I want to go and visit! (Hopefully without becoming prey).
-The setting: It was Washington State, enough said. That place is awesome!
What didn't work:
-The pacing: OMG the pacing was so off with this book! It would go really slow, and then really fast, but then mostly slow and I had a hard time getting through this book.
-The constant reminders of pack hierarchy: We get it already, when dominant werewolves are around each other shit is about to go down. Stop using 50 pages to reiterate something that happened, but you can't tell at once because all of the wolves have to pull their dicks out and measure them. UGH.
So overall, I liked this book, but I didn't love it.
“To make great art, you had to expose your soul, and some things should be left safely in the dark.”
Lastly (and Gilmore Girls fans will understand) when they introduced a foreign wolf called Michel Girard, I immediately saw this:
[image]
...more
Audio re-read August 2019. Opinions are the same but also, everyone is so OTT and I love it haha
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4.5 thrilling stars!
U Audio re-read August 2019. Opinions are the same but also, everyone is so OTT and I love it haha
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4.5 thrilling stars!
Unravel Me takes place almost immediately after where Shatter Me ended. Juliette has joined the resistance and is starting to learn more about herself, and she's discovering new abilities in addition to the fact that no one can touch her without getting hurt/dying... except Adam and Warren.
Tahereh Mafi is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful writers in the young adult genre. By this, I mean her writing style and how she tells the story. Her words flow across the page and I found myself entirely enraptured by her words. I liked Unravel Me so much more than the first book mostly because of the idea of what makes someone a monster? How they are raised? How they treat others? Are they forever destined to remain a monster? This all tied in with Juliette's struggle to accept herself, to finally embrace her flaws and abilities and turn them from something that torment her into something she can utilize.
I also loved this book for the development of the character Warner; he gets a chance to explain his choices and actions in the previous book, and Mafi used this book to humanize him. To me, what is carrying this series is the connection between Juliette and Warner. Don't get me wrong, I love Adam (for sure a best book boyfriend), but I tend to root for the underdog and there's a small part of me that hopes the series will end with Juliette and Warner together. We'll see. It probably won't happen.
I look forward to reading the next installment. Although I really wish the publisher would choose better book covers, because the ones they have currently are just AWFUL....more
Opinions remain the same ------------------------------------------------
4 stars!
“All I ever wanted was to reach out and Audio re-read August 2019
Opinions remain the same ------------------------------------------------
4 stars!
“All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.”
Juliette cannot touch anyone, literally. Any touch to her body can kill a person if in contact long enough, and her parents went to extreme measures to make sure no one would. Locked up in an insane asylum for 264 days, Juliette has had no contact with another human being. That is, until she is given a new roommate, Adam. Juliette remembers Adam who she last saw three years ago, but he doesn't remember her. Why is he in her cell now? Has The Reestablishment changed their minds on what to do with Juliette?
“I'm oxygen and he's dying to breathe.”
I read a review from another reviewer who said everything about Shatter Me is perfect except the cover; and I wholeheartedly agree. The cover for this fantastic read has absolutely nothing to do with the book and I'm really glad I read the book despite the misleading/ugly cover. Juliette's point of view was written incredibly well, the crossed out lines conveyed to the reader how unstable Juliette felt in her own mind at most times.
The mystery of Juliette's world was cleverly done due to the author's writing style, the reader only knowing what Juliette knows and therefore we can only see how bizarre things have become through her eyes. The chemistry and love story between Adam and Juliette is what kept this book going for me, there's is a sweet tale that needed to be heard, and I can foresee it only becoming even better in future books.
Warner is by far one of the most interesting villains I've ever read in a dystopian novel, I cannot wait to read the second book and see if Mafi peeled back the layers on his character for the reader. Shatter Me is a highly enjoyable novel that reminded me a little of X-Men meets Divergent and I highly recommend it.
“Hope is hugging me, holding me in its arms, wiping away my tears and telling me that today and tomorrow and two days from now I will be just fine and I'm so delirious I actually dare to believe it.”
Enjoyed this much more after having read the prequel novel, the plot makes more sense. I had a hard time following it the first tim Audio reread 2019
Enjoyed this much more after having read the prequel novel, the plot makes more sense. I had a hard time following it the first time around but it made more sense this time. Rating upgraded from 3 to 4 stars. ------------------------------------------------------------------
So, this was wonderful until about halfway through to Chapter 9 where it just went all over the place. I still liked it, but Briggs has produced much better work than this one. I ended up skimming a lot in the later chapters.
A+ to the romantic storyline, but a C grade for the mystery/suspense aspect....more
“Dance when the moon sings, and don't cry about troubles that haven't yet come.”
Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson is Audio re-read August 2019
5 stars!
“Dance when the moon sings, and don't cry about troubles that haven't yet come.”
Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson is a mechanic living in the Tri-Cites. She’s also a coyote walker, not quite a werewolf, but she finds herself in their business a lot. When a lone wolf turns up at her shop, she offers him work and a safe place to stay. Very quickly, Mercy finds herself in a position where she is unsure of her trust, and she must return to where she grew up for help unraveling the situation.
“Mine," he said.
Adam's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so. She is mine."
It would have been flattering, I thought, except that at least one of them was talking about dinner and I wasn't certain about the other.”
I first read this book probably back in 2011 but I cannot be sure of exactly when. Once I finished this book, I completely DEVOURED the rest of the series (of what was published then) and was left wanting more. Probably one of my all-time favorite series EVER. I had already liked the urban fantasy genre, but this series solidified my love for it.
There’s something about Mercy and the wry humor she has in the face of all the situations thrown her way. Mercy is loyal, smart, not a pushover, and will fiercely defend those who need it. Re-reading this reminded me of why I love this series and it was so wonderful to be amongst all my favorite and beloved characters again. It felt like coming home.
“Happiness is German engineering, Italian cooking, and Belgian chocolate.
First read: November 2012: 3 stars Second read: October 2016 audiobook: 3.5 stars
Since this is a reread, this will be more of a compare and contrasFirst read: November 2012: 3 stars Second read: October 2016 audiobook: 3.5 stars
Since this is a reread, this will be more of a compare and contrast review than my typical type of reviewing. I first read The Raven Boys before there were any more books in the series. I had fallen in love with Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls series and was eager to read more. I remember liking The Raven Boys but not loving it, and reading the print version for some reason I always felt like I was missing something.
So after reading the first book, I decided to wait until the series was over before returning because by the time The Dream Thieves came out I couldn't remember much of the first book. I did enjoy listening to the audio, Will Patton is a wonderful narrator (aside from his depiction of Ronan's voice). While the first time I read the book I was more invested in the first half, listening to it I was bored by the first half and what I would call extreme exposition and enjoyed the second half a lot more because the plot finally begins moving.
So while I enjoyed listening to the audiobook more the second time around, I only added a half star because Stiefvater just has too much descriptive writing and not enough active happening in the plot. There were so many moments where after a tangent the book would go back to a conversation and I would be confused because I couldn't remember it so much description was in between. Maybe this will change with book 2, which I intend to listen to asap.
ALSO I read a spoiler about Ronan in later books and if anyone had told me this spoiler sooner I would have been on this series like white on rice! I need to see what happens (with Ronan).
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