Welcome to the Stacks
Fostering the love of reading, here are several reviews from myself.
Looking for grade-level recommendations for your kiddo? Click here
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Star Rating: ★★★★
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Crying in H Mart was a great audiobook. Michelle Zauner is found mourning the loss of her mother while in H-Mart, trying desperately to conjur up her favorite meals that her Korean mother did not have written recipes for. All to taste, all to smell, nothing written. I enjoyed reading the tale of food being comfort with her mother and for her mother once she died.
We Need to Talk: A Memoir about Wealth by Jennifer Risher
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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We Need to Talk: A Memoir about Wealth should be a bestseller. This book covers middle class people getting massive options from Microsoft and then more options from Amazon, ultimately amassing a huge wealth and retiring before 40. But, Jennifer Risher still details everyday consumer purchase decisions like what stroller to buy with other mom friends.
This book covers how people deal with money. How people handle gifting or loaning money. And you know what? Whether it is $8 or $8,000, I promise you the same emotions are there. It was so interesting to read the accounts of surprisingly practical "everyday" money problems...and especially interesting to read about how money truly doesn't solve every problem.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The Hate U Give is noted a YA book but it feels pretty heavy for my YA readers as of right now. When they are teens, I suspect it will be subject matter they can understand. Overall, I loved this book but it is not an easy read. But, I only had to read it. I don't have to live it. Imagine living this life as you read it. Because it is happening every day. It is all too common a story in our country.
The audiobook narrator is fantastic. A great job with tone and inflection and little character nuisances that I wouldn't have picked up on paper.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Star Rating: ★★★★
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My daughter wanted to read A Wrinkle in Time and I realized I had not read it myself nor had I seen the movie. So, I listened to it on Audiobook. Very cute story and one I probably would not have appreciated as a child, to be honest. A classic tale of about good vs. evil and the power of love but through a visually different story lens.
Educated by Tara Westover
Star Rating: ★★★
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Educated -- while this story is worth telling, I had a hard time getting why everyone was so obsessed with this story. Tara Westover's story is one of many. I'm glad it is out there and I hope it gives hope to people in a similar situation by seeing that education is freedom. This is not new information though. Jefferson said "Education is a passport to the future" and Mandela said it is "A powerful weapon you can use to change the world". So, while this is an important reminder of the known fact, I thought the overall storytelling was just okay.
Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Hidden Valley Road is the true story about a family in Colorado Springs in the 1950's of 12 children, six of whom were diagnozed with schizophrenia. Incredibly, this family goes on to be the best case study for understanding the biological nature of this mental illness.
This book was a book club pick and I am glad I was alerted to it. I don't discuss this much, but my brother is a person with schizophrenia. It's very hard for people to understand if they have never had an upclose seat to the illness. Hidden Valley Road not only brings this illness to light but also discusses the way the other siblings process and deal with being in a familal relationship like this.
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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At first, I thought The Paper Palace was going to be about a mid-life crisis of a mom stuck in her life. Thank goodness I kept going! It's totally not that book.
It goes back and forth and all around the span of 50 years in a woman's life and her years spent at her family's cape house, the paper palace. Fantastic read.
Majesty by Katherine McGee
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The sequel to American Royals! A very fast read. Did not end how I expected it to or really wanted it to but still SO good and entertaining!
The Lion's Den by Katherine St. John
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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A friend recommended this book after I read The Last Mrs. Parrish and this book delivered! The Lion's Den is so good! Super light and perfect beach read. I enjoyed the audiobook while running errands and cleaning things and dreaming of being on a yacht...just maybe not with this drama! It was a great escape and Katherine St. John is brilliant in her visual storytelling.
The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
Star Rating: ★★
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If you're old enough to know Fatal Attraction and Single White Female, the first part of this book was definitely going that way. I was going to be annoyed if that's all this book turned out to be. The the script gets flipped and it gets interesting. But, then the ending fell flat (for me). It was just an okay book for me, personally.
The Wreckage of my Presence by Casey Wilson
Star Rating: ★★
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I did not know who Casey Wilson is but the title of the book was hilarious to me. I love a self-depracting personal memoir.
Turns out she is an actress and writer of some mildly funny things I have seen and this book is on par with my opinion of her work to date. While I was really hoping for a Chelsea Handler style account of short stories, The Wreckahe of My Presence came up short.
But, I will give her credit for having the whole first chapter being an ode to being a "bed person" and living life in the horizontal position. She makes a solid case.
American Royals by Katherine McGee
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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American Royals - what a fun, light, and engaging read!
What if American had a royal family? This book is set on the premise of George Washington being crowed King and American having its own monarchy after winning the Revolutionary War. Set in modern day, they are now looking forward to their first Queen after some modern rules were applied to allow a first born to be crowned.
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The author of American Dirt came under fire after Oprah chose this book for her Book Club. Putting critics' POV aside, the story of American Dirt was really good. I really enjoyed the audiobook. The fiction book centers on a woman of her 7-year-old son surviving a Cartel murdering her entire family in front of them in Mexico. They know they need to flee. The join the migrant migration to America in search of safety.
Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First. by Laura Tremaine
Star Rating: ★★
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As someone who has Tabasco level stuff to share, I felt this poblano pepper story was not for me. I don't want to diminish anyone's pain because it truly is relative. But, I just couldn't relate to this book. The audiobook was fine in terms of narration but this is more of a workbook. So, I would suggest getting the physical book vs. audio or kindle.
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The Widow Cliquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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The Widow Cliquot is an insane story many people don't know about the famous champagne house. Rooted in the time of the French Revolution, we learn about a secret wedding and an untimely death, which leads our leading lady to continue running Veuve Cliquot, which literally translates to Widow Cliquot. It's right there on the brand and yet this story is only recently documented and shared. It should be made into a movie. The stories about hiding Champagne during the war, competing against the Moet house, and so much more and rich in detail.
A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Somehow this man has lived more lives than a cat. This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. I don't really know him from SNL but the book title had me laughing so I gave it a go. Fast read about Colin Jost's insanely privileged life and the antics that ensued. He laughs at himself so much in this book that you can't help but laugh alongside him.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
Star Rating: ★★★★
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows wraps it up well. I still can't help but wonder why Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw exist. What did they really bring to the plot? I realize this may bring ire from readers LOL.
The audiobook was fantastic on 1.5x again and this was a great pandemic project to enjoy with my voracious reader of a daughter.
The Answer is...by Alex Trebek
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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This was a fantastic palete cleanser from the heaviness of the pandemic. I honestly wept after finishing this bok. I always thought Alex Trebek was an amazing man but then I read this book and thought, "How is it even possible that he is this GOOD!?" (hint: he's Canadian).
The audiobook is fantastic, narrated by Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings. But, after hearing that the author donated all proceeds from the book to charity, I purchased the book as well. It's a book of short stories and lessons from life. A great book for the whole family to have on hand.
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The audio of this book was outstanding. But, after almost 30 hours and Barack Obama only makes it to the end of his first term?! Oof, that's a long winded storyteller.
Regardless of who I voted for, I still try and listen and empathize with someone. And our country's first Black president definitely deserves that much from me. Hearing some of the predicaments our President is placed in, especially during a recession, was very interesting. I worked on some of the benfits of the relief plan action (via SNAP benefits increase) and so it was very interesting to hear his side of the story and issue at hand.
Random but it was fun to hear his side of the same stories that Michelle Obama covered in her book. First Ladies and Presidents--they are just like the rest of us married couples. :)
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
Star Rating: ★★★★
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There was no doubt the audiobook of Greenlights would be fantastic. Matthew McConaughey has a great voice. I tore through this book on audio. He details his life both before fame and during it, which were interesting to me as I still think of him as "the stoner that was arrested naked for playing the bongos too loudly".
But, in the wake of society working through how some are so privileged, this book seems ill-timed. A cis-gender, gorgeous looking, white, middle income male detailing stories of his "green lights" falls flat in 2021. And, listen, I don't need him making apologies of his privilege. I'm simply saying it was hard to accept some of his advice on life without also wondering if he realizes how limited or even not possible that advice is for many other segments of our society.