3 star review, originally posted here on August 31, 2020. I didn’t really understand the premise of the book before I started reading, but it became clear pretty quick: this is basically Jim Crow X-Files. It’s pretty clear that the author had TV in mind. In each chapter our characters embark on a new adventure … More Goodreads Review: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
Four star review, originally posted here on August 20, 2020. I first discovered Geraldine Brooks last year when I picked up Year of Wonders and was BLOWN AWAY. I got completely sucked in, moreso than I have with any other novel in a really long time, and wanted to give it 5 stars so badly. … More Goodreads Review: Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Originally posted here on July 29, 2020. I’m teetering between 3 and 4 stars here. In the end I’ve decided to round up to 4 because: 1. This worked really well as an audiobook2. The subject matter was interesting and important First off, Ronan Farrow narrates his own audiobook, which worked out great. There’s a … More Goodreads Review: Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow
Two star review, originally posted here on July 19, 2020. I’ll start by emphasizing that I consumed this one as an audiobook, which may have been a poor choice. It could easily be that, had I been reading text, I may have liked this book more. That being said… I’m surprised at my own poor … More Goodreads Review: Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats by Kristen Iversen
Two star review, originally posted here on April 18, 2020. Just not my jam. The immediate storyline is boring, and the creepy dystopian twist isn’t much of a twist (you could guess it in the first chapter) and isn’t interesting enough to warrant a novel-length build-up. It’s well written, and the lightly-drizzled clues along the … More Goodreads Review: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Four star review originally posted here on Janaury 10, 2020. The main thing I loved about this book was learning about the women-only Ravensbruck concentration camp, about which I had known nothing before. It’s a pretty incredible story about a really messed up situation, and the novel was a light easy read. Which, I think, … More Goodreads Review: Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Five star review, originally posted here on December 5, 2019. I have never before in my life come across a book that I so, so, so want to force everyone on the planet to read. Ignore the poor sentence structure there and focus instead on the fact that you HAVE TO read this book. This … More Goodreads Review: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Pérez
Four star review, originally posted here on November 8, 2019. Gosh, it’s tough to think of a more likable person than Michelle Obama, as is evidenced by the amount of people who have read this memoir. Do yourself a favor and get the audiobook so you can listen to it in her own voice. There … More Goodreads Review: Becoming by Michelle Obama
Four star review, originally posted here on October 26, 2019. The majority of this book was really interesting. Douglas applied his contemporary expertise to historic famous cases, showing how modern profiling may have helped bring culprits to justice. Fascinating stuff. But at the end he crams in a weird mismatched chapter about the Jon Benet … More Goodreads Review: The Cases that Haunt Us by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker
Three star review, originally posted here on October 23, 2019. Meh. I was looking forward to this book, but it fell kinda flat. Like other reviewers have already said, this book is basically just preaching to the choir. I was hoping for more tangible information and data, but I didn’t really learn anything new. Valenti … More Goodreads Review: The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women by Jessica Valenti
