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Fostering the love of reading, here are several reviews from myself.
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The first book is so much setup and then the 2nd book was a huge letdown for me. But, thankfully I pressed on. The Prisoner of Azkaban delivers a decent plot! Really fast read as it jumps into the plot pretty quickly. It gets a little dark in this book so we were careful to make sure our YA reader could handle it without nightmares. But, as an adult, I think this is why it becomes interesting.
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Regardless of political party, I always love learning about First Ladies. My favorite point of view of someone walking alongside history.
So, naturally, as our nation's first Black First Lady, I was very interested to read her story. And she does not hold back. She openly discusses how hard it is to be with her husband, someone whose energy level and ethics are so high, when she feels so human. I also enjoyed reading about her conscious decision to allow her career to take a backseat to her husband's (been there). The story is all so relatable for ambitious women who work their way up and out.
I wish more people who maybe didn't vote for this family could read the stories with an open mind. Because, at the end of the day, this is a story about humanity, sacrifice, and love.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
Star Rating: ★
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I want to start this review by saying that I spoke to a few of my teacher friends who kindly reminded me that Harry Potter essentially created the YA section. And the bar was nonexistent at the turn of the century when this series was written.
Having said that, this book is incredibly boring. My 2nd grader enjoyed it but I think she has drunk the Hogwart's Kool-Aid at this point. If I was reading this solo, I would stop here.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
Star Rating: ★★
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I know this book is popular. And perhaps it is because many need to read it. But, if you are a straight-shooting realist, who understands that it is better to be appreciative of what you have vs. always chasing something else and you're the type of person who will call things like they see them (example: your friend's boyfriend is awful and you're the first to spot it and call it out), this book is simply an echo chamber for you.
If you are more soft-spoken, passive and need a very sharp tongue lashing about how the real world works...read this book.
The reviews say this book is data-rich and I disagree. I found many areas lacking of quality analytical analysis to prove one's point.
Five Presidents by Clint Hill
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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An apolitical view of our country during a very politically divisive time. Secret Service Special Agent Clint Hill recounts his career, serving five US Presidents. "Walking beside history" is the introduction and it so perfeclty describes why I love stories from this point of view. He can tell stories from quiet observation without proividing any influence or getting into the politics and taking sides. What he does get into is how he used his influence to expand detail of the Secret Service to more than just the President as well as helping hire the first female Secret Service officer.
A very good storytelling of many things we missed in history class but helped mold our nation during a time of constant crisis and turmoil.
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
Star Rating: ★★★★
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I aged to 38 without knowing anything about muggles. I KNOW.
During the early days of the pandemic, we had borrowed two copies of the Harry Potter books. My daughter (then 2nd grade) and I made a quarantine book club, where we decided to read HP together.
It's fun to read something that is ubiquitous in our culture alongside someone else experiencing it for the first time. The book itself is good; we ended up staying up late one night to finish it, together in bed, with me reading my copy out loud while she followed along with her copy.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Star Rating: ★★★
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I tried the audiobook and the library book. I ended up liking the audiobook better. But, I made the mistake of reading this book after casting has been announced. Of course Elena is Reese Witherspoon. There is no other person for that role.
This book lacked, in my opinion. What was missing in Mia's character in the book was made up for on TV. Same with Pearl and Lexie. The story overall is a great deep dive into the many sides of being a woman in different phases of life. But, it was much better portrayed in the TV version than the book version.
Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs
Star Rating: ★★★★
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I did not know much about Steve Jobs as a person or his personal life. I can get some Jeopardy level questions/answers about him and that's about it.
But, this book intrigued me. I didn't know he had a family. And I was curious what it was like growing up with THE Steve Jobs as a dad. Well, I had no clue how mean of a father he was to his first born, Lisa. This story is about her memories as a child. So, while it does cover Steve Jobs, it also covers what life was like in Palo Alto in the very early days, which was the more interesting part of the book to me.
The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger
Star Rating: ★★★
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A city in Colorado on the Front Range is getting a publicly funded gifted school. All hell breaks loose from there. And it's mostly centered on the narrative of the Moms but does a decent job giving some of the Dad's narratives. But, it's obviously written by a male. It's hard to describe in examples, but you get glimpses of it here and there.
However, I will say that I flew through the last 120 pages. There is a great subplot that slowly builds.
Maid by Stephanie Land
Star Rating: ★★★★
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A memoir of a woman who grew up in working lower middle class in the Pacific Northwest. She ends up pregnant before applying to college and, instead of working her way through college to a more stable life, ends up not applying and leaving an abusive relationship with a newborn for a homeless shelter. She then claws and cleans her way to a better life over years of scraping by and relying on the government systems in place.
Personally, I identified with a story a great deal. Among many other jobs through college, I was a maid at one point while working two other jobs and still not making enough, requiring me to still rely on FAFSA. I would not be where I am without the Pell Grant, HOPE scholarship, and so many people who helped as they could along the way. But, I was petrified to become pregnant because I knew my fate would be sealed.
"It felt like things were falling into place. So much so that I started to grow suspicious. Maybe it was too good for us. Maybe we didn't deserve something that good."
If you know that feeling, my heart goes to you.
I did not rate this 5/5 because, while I really wish for everyone to know the struggle of social mobility, I wish there was more about her childhood so the reader could see how hard the climb is when you start underground.
Holes by Louis Sachar
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I read this with my daughter and didn't know it was also a movie! She was given it as summer reading at school. We read to our children at night and I found myself very invested in this story. It's so good and really a heart tugger. Good for adults but also great for family reading!
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
Star Rating: ★★★★
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"The problem with is that we don't claim shame; it claims us."
- Brene Brown
The Gifts of Imperfection is 130 pages, so a quicker read than some of her other books. She advises starting with this book. I really enjoyed it but I'll still to audiobooks with Brene Brown. I find it easier to retain the information with her talking to me vs. me reading it.
I really enjoyed this part. If it resonates, read the book ASAP.
"Choosing to live and love with our whole hearts is an act of defiance. You're going to confuse, piss off, and terrify lots of people - including yourself. One minute you'll pray that the transformation stops, and the next minute you'll pray that it never stops. You'll also wonder how you can feel so brave and so afraid at the same time. At least that's how I feel most of the time...brave, afraid, and very, very alive."
- Brene Brown
Braving The Wilderness by Brene Brown
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Braving the Wilderness is probably the hardest book I have read in my life. It showed me all the ugly parts of my own life, which is never easy to see.
Listening to this book reminded me of how I grew up in the wilderness when I just desperately wanted to blend in. And fitting in is not pretty and this book reminded me of that. Now, as an adult, I spent 2018 and 2019 really breaking down walls I had built up and, as it turns out, braving the wilderness. I just didn't have the coined phrase on hand. I read this while still going through that process, which was incredibly helpful but also hard.
What you may not see about Braving the Wilderness is that the wilderness is a lonely place. Not always of course, as you can branch out and find people and places you belong. But, in the age of FOMO and social media? Sure. Braving the wilderness means not fitting in. Which means not being invited and involved in every social event. So, this book, while it provided some much needed clarity, it also meant coming to terms with some emotions from old work colleagues and old friends. Because fitting in and standing out can't be one in the same. I am in the wilderness, I probably never left it (but instead forced myself to "fit in"), and I am practicing every day becoming okay with that notion.
The more you try and become an "expert fitter-inner", the more of a stranger you become to yourself.
The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I read this in 2019 and it is still the book I tell everyone is a "must-read".
After seeing many dramatic changes in students on college campuses, the writers conducted a comprehensive analysis to answer "How did we get here?" What was uncovered are three Great Untruths that modern parenting since the 1980s has led to, which has ultimately come to a head as iGen arrived on college campuses.
This book is not a parenting book. It is for anyone who interacts with this latest generation as it is one that our society has never seen. It is a generation of Safe Spaces, Trigger Warnings, Callout Culture, and Vindictive Protectiveness. The book's title immediately drew me in. I'll share that, as a people manager, at times I felt like the word "coddling" was appropriate.
This book finally gave me data behind everything I have observed and experienced in the last 20 years in the workplace as younger people entered the office behind me. I have peace of mine with so many experiences now and have a perspective for why this youngest generation is how it is as well as how to parent in support of better ways to grow adults.
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Star Rating: ★★★
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Dr. Paul Kalanthi, an Indian-American Neurosurgeon, is diagnosed with stage IV metastatic lung cancer in his last year of residency. AS his entire life is finally about to begin, he is handed a death sentence and experiences life as a patient. He tells a vivid tale of the juxtaposition of the two roles from his experience.
This was a very quick read and I did enjoy it. But, I would have really liked more about Paul growing up. The book breezed through that part of his life but I feel there are some stories that rooted him as a person that would have added to the overall story.
How to Raise Successful People by Esther Wojcicki
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The title really turned me off. This is written by the mother of two CEOs and 1 Doctor. So, is that our level for the definition of "successful people"?
But, I read the Time article first. And I realized I literally judged a book by its cover. Don't judge the book by the choice word "successful". Give it a shot. The idea of implementing the T.R.I.C.K. method is worth trying if you're a parent.
"No one has ever changed the world by doing what the world has told them to do."
- Eddy Zhong, CEO Leangap
"The people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do."
- Steve Jobs, Co-Founder Apple
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Star Rating: ★★★★
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If you know Neil DeGrasse Tyson's voice, you'll know that an audiobook was naturally my first choice of medium. I have heard his lectures in person many times, enjoyed his shows at the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History, and even enjoyed the occasional talk show appearance he does. He has a great voice. And a great way to explaining incredibly complex scientific data in a way that is digestible.
This is a very fast read/listen intentionally (hence the title). I really enjoyed the part where he discusses how the Periodic Table came to be. But my favorite section is the final section, where he discusses the perspective that the cosmos provides. How easily all of my problems fall away when I think about the perspective from the cosmos. It's hard to carry that perspective every waking moment, but it's a beautiful way to try and live.
"The cosmic perspective reminds us that in space, where there is no air, a flag will not wave -- an indiction that perhaps flag waving and space exploration do not mix." - Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I will admit that I unfairly judged this book before reading it. I thought it might be just another super affluent white woman talking to other super affluent white women about "lifting each other up".
This book is not that at all.
I reserved the Libby audiobook from my library and Melinda Gates is a great narrator! The Moment of Lift is a vivid way to describe what happens when women are lifted up because everyone benefits from lifting up a woman. This book dives into the beautiful and heartbreaking stories of women all over the world, using data analysis to explore areas where the moment of lift has occurred in villages, urban cities, and marriages. My favorite part of the book is at the end and I think it summarizes the theme of the book well:
"Every society says its outsiders are the problem. But the outsiders are not the problem. The urge to create outsiders is the problem."
-Melinda Gates
When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger
Star Rating: ★★★★
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If I had know Emily Charlton (from A Devil Wears Prada) was rebooted as a character into this book, I would have pre-ordered and read on day 1!
Super light and fast read. Took it with me on vacation and flew through it over the weekend. Wasn't thrilled at how cutesy the ending was but, at the same time, I needed a nonfiction break and welcomed the lack of reflection and processing after reading it.
Wild Things by Stephen James and David Thomas
Star Rating: ★★★★
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This is an older book that I discovered while reading the REI Blog.
It took me awhile to accept the idea of reading a book "just" about boys. I didn't understand the idea of a boys book vs. a parenting book. I read this initially when Buddy was 5 and I am SO glad I read it before puberty. WOW--I didn't know what I didn't know and I am glad to have insight to what is coming down the pike. There is so much good tween and teen stuff in here!
The end of the book has a chapter for mother and son and another chapter for father and son. I debated reading only the applicable chapter. But, I am happy that I read the father/son chapter. It gave me a little insight into the relationship they may have as well as insight into men in general. :)