Three star review, originally posted here on November 20th, 2024. I’m usually a pretty big Larson fan. When I heard he had a new book, and that it was about Fort Sumter and the start of Civil War, I was absolutely stoked. I love a good Civil War book, I’ve visited Fort Sumter, and I … More Goodreads Review: The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson

Five star review, originally posted here on November 20th, 2024. This book has been sitting on my Amazon wish list for several years, but nobody ever bought it for me. I finally got sick of waiting and goshdarnit, I wish I hadn’t waited so long. This book was great, and frankly better than I’d expected. … More Goodreads Review: The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell

Three star review, originally posted here on November 20th, 2024. Long story short, this book is just a bunch of random thoughts. They were mostly fine. I’m pretty sure that I am not the target audience for this book. The target audience is people who are already familiar with John Green and his work, from … More Goodreads Review: The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

Four star review, originally posted here on November 15th, 2024. As with all memoirs, especially translated memoirs, I am not basing my review here on the quality of the writing and storytelling. Instead, I followed along with interest as this legitimately fascinating woman told her life story. On the one hand, I’m a big fan … More Goodreads Review: Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin’s Sniper by Lyudmila Pavlichenko

Three star review, originally posted here on November 15th, 2024. I’ve read a decent amount of books about our recent political landscape. I’ve ready several Trump books. And I’m pretty engaged to with political news and analysis. I hit points where I think there’s no added benefit of reading yet another book that tells me … More Goodreads Review: Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past by Steve Benen

Five star review, originally posted here on September 30th, 2024. I’ve been having one of those common slumps where absolutely nothing I read is drawing me in. Like… everything is ok, but there’s nothing where I just can’t wait to jump back in. Thankfully that slump ended with Smoke Get in Your Eyes. For the … More Goodreads Review: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & The Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

Three star review, originally posted here on September 13th, 2024. I hesitate to even rate this because it’s not even a book. Audible pitched it to me, it was free and short, it had Joseph Fiennes, and the story looked super interesting. Only after starting it did I realize this is just an old-timey radio … More Goodreads Review: Bluebeard by Jim Clemente and Peter McDonnell

Four star review, originally posted here on September 9th, 2024. I wasn’t going to read this book. It looked boring. It was free, which made me suspicious (They can’t even give this thing away!) And at a whopping 20+ hours it was loooooong. I hate long books. And this boring-looking book seemed like it would … More Goodreads Review: Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon

Three star review, originally posted here on September 3rd, 2024. I got this book from the airport convenience store. It was the only book win the slim selection that seemed even remotely appealing, and I was basically just looking for a light fun beach read, so my standards and expectations were low. As I started … More Goodreads Review: The Housekeepers by Alex Hay