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Fostering the love of reading, here are several reviews from myself.
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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Audiobook on 1.5x for the win! The narrator for Harry Potter is really good. If you've not gotten into the books, give the audio a try!
This book. As someone who is 2 decades behind in Harry Potter lore, I still did not know this ending. After I finished the book, I went to my husband and he saw the look in my eyes and just knew that I knew the ending. This was my favorite Harry Potter book.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
Star Rating: ★★★★
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I have found the key to Harry Potter - listening to the audiobooks on 1.5x :) The narrator is great, actually!
The Order of the Phoenix is really good. I like Harry showing his teen angst side; it made it all more relatable as he struggles with his 5th year at Hogwart's.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Star Rating: ★★★
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Despite this being THE book for adults, I had not read it. But, after hearing the author changed the spelling of his name to be associated with the Carnegie family, the author did not feel like someone I shoudl take advice from. However, I listened. It is outdated. It would be interesting to have it rewritten for the modern age (i.e. there is a part about how to leave a proper message with a secretary). Overall, the audiobook was fine and a quick read and a good reminder of the ABCs -- Always Be Complimentary
The Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The Last Child in the Woods grounds itself in the theory of children, over the course of the last 100+ years, slowly moving indoors and what toll that has taken on humans as they grow. The writer coins the phrase, "nature-deficit disorder" and how it came about. Most interesting of note to me was the steady decline in college students choosing Earth science-based majors (chemistry, biology, geology, etc.) As a result, scientists are in a predicament of creating historical documents now for fear that progress will be haulted. If a mushroom was discovered in 2020 but not documented well, a scientist in 2050 may discover the same mushroom and not further our knowledge but rather hinder our progress and innovation.
Uncanny Valley by Anna Weiner
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Fantastic title. This is an autobiography about a woman who starting in publishing and ends up in Silicon Valley. You get an outsider's inside look at the tech industry. She fights against the regime a lot but also uses the same tech conveniences in her everyday life, therefore supporting the places she loathes. You learn a lot of interesting stories about very big tech hubs as well as how the tech workers internally discuss "God mode", which is incredibly fascinating. The audiobook is great.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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This book. THIS AUDIBLE. It's just so good. Tom Hanks should narrate more books. It was so comforting to hear him read Danny's story. The Dutch House is about two siblings who move through life together, relying on each other during the multiple decades that this book covers. It's a beautifully simple story about a brother and a sister and their life together while in the dutch house and after.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Star Rating: ★★★★
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Thank you to everyone for recommending this! The South in the midst of a civil rights reckoning, Louisiana and Maison Blanche (RIP), and family drama and secrets...this book was perfect and delivered on all fronts. The twins are thrilling to follow as they chose to flee their small town and go out into the world. It's always interesting to see characters develop from childhood into adults and how the lasting influences from their past shape their outlook and path in life. I listened to this book and the narrator was just okay. I would recommend reading the book instead.
I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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There is no way a normal synposis can do this book justice. I feel that every person should read this book. Read it. Learn from it. And then do the work. And then do more work. I am the slowest reader I know and I read this in a weekend's time. Please pick it up, do your homework, and then get to work.
The League of Wives by Heath Hardage Lee
Star Rating: ★★★★
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Women who would hardly describe themselves at "feminists" end up taking off the pearls and lace gloves to take on the US government to lobby and negotiate a safe return for their husbands. Based on an incredible true story, The League of Wives is about wives from all branches of US military joining together to get their POW and MIA husbands home from the Vietnam War. Early on, reports were saying that both sides were following the rules of the Geneva Convention. Until one POW uses his eyes to send Morse code "torture" back home during his TV interview.
Putting aside all party lines, these wives work tirelessly to get their husbands home. Many of these women were without their husbands for nearly a decade and it's crazy to read the account of being a wife but not a widow in a time when women couldn't have credit cards, couldn't access their husband's savings accounts, etc.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
Star Rating: ★★★★
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I know these are children's books. But, there is so much recap in the beginning of each of these. And, I feel like most children are like mine in that they may not remember to brush their teeth every day but they definitely know if two wands share a trait. This book was a little long but at least the plot is getting good. My daughter was not scared by this book but I do hear the 4th book is when most kids start to get a little scared.
The Lies that Bind by Emily Giffin
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I love Emily Giffin but this might be a new record. I flew through this book in 3 days. There are four distinct parts where I just gasped and had to re-read because I didn't see it coming! And a certain character who makes an appearance but I didn't put 2 and 2 together and then I did and OMG it was all so amazing.
Love this plot and love how she weaves turn of the century nostalgia into the heaviness of 9/11.
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.