Four star review, originally posted here on August 20, 2024. It took me a few attempts to get started on this book, which was gifted to me. It is clear at the very beginning that this book was not written by a professional writer. That’s fine; it’s a holocaust memoir, so I’m not going to … More Goodreads Review: Together: A Journey for Survival by Ann Arnold

Three star review, originally posted here on August 20, 2024. I hadn’t heard of this book before, but it was listed very high on a Goodreads list of best memoirs. I love a good memoir, and this one had promise. From its placement on the list, and the other books around it, I was expecting … More Goodreads Review: Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

Three star review, originally posted here: It’s tough to believe that this book was written by the same person who wrote Cold Mountain. It’s not that Nightwoods is terrible; it’s just kind of there. Whereas Cold Mountain was absolutely incredible. Cold Mountain had so much to say. It was so imaginative and so thought-provoking, with … More Goodreads Review: Nightwoods by Charles Frazier

Four star review, originally posted here on June 30th, 2024. I’m not sure if books can get much more niche than this. A couple months ago I was in London, and our very last act as tourists was to stop by the Sir John Soane Museum. We didn’t really know what we were getting into … More Goodreads Review: At Home with the Soanes: Upstairs, Downstairs in 19th Century London by Susan Palmer

Two star review, originally posted here on June 19th, 2024. Another instance where I dip my toe into the waters of popular literature only to get burned. I dunno, everyone loved this book, it was nominated for reader awards, it sounded like a plot I would have fun getting lost in, etc. I wasn’t expecting … More Goodreads Review: Weyward by Emilia Hart

Two star review, originally published here on June 19th, 2024. I have a confession: I was very tempted to lie here. There was a point where I was not finished with the book yet, but fully intended to just mark this as read, leave a bad review, and move on. There’s no reason why I … More Goodreads Review: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Four star review, originally posted here on June 6, 2024. This book was, to my happy surprise, the exact book I needed at this exact moment in my life. I thought it would be a light, fun romp. Something simple to distract me from the serious shit of the real world. And it was! But … More Goodreads Review: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs

Three star review, originally posted here on May 27th, 2024. Full disclosure: I came to this book after watching the TV show that is (supposedly) based on this book. The show interweaves tons of fascinating storylines, which was great. But the problem was that I couldn’t keep all of the stories straight, and, frankly, had … More Goodreads Review: Manhunt: the 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson

One star review, originally posted here on April 22nd, 2024. Uh oh. This review is going to cause some tension. Sigh. My brother-in-law recommended this book to me. He was mad at me when, years ago, I apparently “panned” his favorite book (The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which, for the record, I did not … More Goodreads Review: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Three star review, originally posted here on April 21, 2024. This book tells the history of a fish. That’s pretty much it. Now, sometimes books come along that are about a seemingly boring or inconsequential topic, but then the writing style or the subject matter itself is so mind-blowingly amazing that this niche topic sucks … More Goodreads Review: Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky