Review: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to read this book at least one more time before I can write a pithy review. I have read many, many, many time management books. But this one, this one has changed my life. Profound. Cannot recommend it enough.

View all my reviews

Review: Rubyfruit Jungle

Rubyfruit Jungle
Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I bought this book several years ago but never managed to read it until now. It was absolutely fantastic. i loved the writing. i loved the characters. i just loved reading this, not sure why i waited so long but i am so glad i finally made time for it.

View all my reviews

Review: Under One Roof

Under One Roof
Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars.

Fun cute novella of two roomies thrust together. Hate to love trope. I enjoyed my time with it.

View all my reviews

Review: Feel Your Way Through

Feel Your Way Through
Feel Your Way Through by Kelsea Ballerini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are many trigger warnings in the book. This is not a light and breezy book but it’s also full of hope and love. Such beautiful poems. I don’t know her music but now I will have to go listen.

View all my reviews

Review: The Swimmers

The Swimmers
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent, excellent read. What an incredible writer. I loved every single minute I spent with it. This book starts with a collection of swimmers at the local pool. It’s interesting and funny and then it gets deeper and deeper to become an incredibly moving story about family, love, aging, dementia and even immigration. I cannot recommend it enough.

View all my reviews

Review: Upgrade

Upgrade
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When it comes to writing a story that will both blow your mind and get your pulse moving, with a lot of deeply interesting science thrown in, there’s no one like Blake Crouch.

We’re in a dystopian world where the study of gene science is not allowed by scientists. In fact, all the scientists are rounded up by the government for even trying. This is due to an apocalyptic event that went wrong where thousands of lives were lost. Logan Ramsay works for a government organization that finds illegal gene labs/activity and shuts it down.

As a result of a raid gone-bad, Logan Ramsay is now a super-human. He got the brain he always wanted and his body is operating at an extremely high level on all counts. He’s strong, smart and fast. But, like all good things, all this comes with plenty of caveats. And his live soon turns into a cat and mouse chase on multiple levels.

I loved Logan Ramsay the moment I started reading the book. As with all Crouch books, the pace at which things happen here is fantastic, it’s fast-moving, exciting and there’s so much twisting and turning that you’re not always sure who to root for. And of course there’s a deeply-interesting social discourse underlying this whole plot. I won’t give it away here, but there’s a lot to think about and no clear answers as with all of life’s big questions.

Another great read from Crouch!

with gratitude to netgalley and Random House for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: The Kingdoms

The Kingdoms
The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this story while I was traveling in the middle of a lot of other things going on which is likely why I can’t give it more stars. It’s on me. This is a slow book that asks its reader to savor the moments with it, get attached to the characters and really let your heart swell and tenderly be broken in places. I didn’t give it the justice it deserved. I will need to read it again another time.

View all my reviews

Review: The Nineties

The Nineties
The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a fun, wild ride through my teenage years. I am of the generation Klosterman identifies who was here before the internet and can remember so much of both the before and the after. Netscape came out while I was in college. I loved hearing so many of these stories. Only lowered rating because as with many nonfiction, some of these stories could be more succinct and to the point. But honestly, it made me smile the whole time with lots of wonderful trips down memory lane.

View all my reviews

Review: The Arc

The Arc
The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the beginning, I thought it was fast-moving, smart, interesting and well written. Then I felt that it started sagging a bit and felt a bit unbelievable and the “twist” was easy to see coming and made me feel like the characters would also have seen it coming. It made me question how much we’re willing to believe something must be true if we’ve made a commitment (in this case financial). i did enjoy so many of the themes and how contemporary it felt.

View all my reviews

Review: Golden Boys

Golden Boys
Golden Boys by Phil Stamper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet story about four boys who are friends in high school and each have different commitments over the summer. The jobs they take each don’t turn out to be what they thought. They meet new people, they grow far and closer to each other. They learn and they grow. This lovely coming of age novel was a joy to read.

View all my reviews

Review: Plus One

Plus One
Plus One by Elizabeth Fama
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another beautiful story from Fama. Living through Covid-times and not being a fan of crowds lately, I was intrigued by the idea of a world divided into day and night people. I really liked reading about the social and political implications of such a divide. But as with Monstrous Beauty, the best part of this story is the characters and the writing. Both of which stay with you long long after the story is over.

View all my reviews

Review: Monstrous Beauty

Monstrous Beauty
Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This beautiful story on its surface is a story about a mermaid but it’s really about love and family and sacrifice and forgiveness. There are plenty of plot retellings in the reviews so I won’t add mine but I will say the writing and the beautiful character-building in this story alone is worth reading it. Unlike many of its contemporary YA novels, this story will wind its way through your heart, require you to slow down so you can savor its two worlds and its wonderful characters. And it will stay with you long after you’re done reading it.

View all my reviews