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I love a coming of age story set on a college campus – or so I thought. I wonder if I couldn't get into this one because it was too similar to my own college experience so I found myself cringing and bored instead of appreciative? Maybe. Ir struck me as the book I might have written when I was 23 and still overly-fascinated by myself... there's a lot of self-important navel-gazing, sexual exploration, bad romance, and Big Questions. Now that I'm twice that age, it's a yawn. I will say, however, that there are some LOL and poignant moments that suggest this author will be one to watch.

If you're in the mood for a legal thriller a la John Grisham, this is a solid pick. It includes all branches of government, multiple states and countries, and both the legal and medical fields, demonstrating that Stacey Abrams is no slouch. As someone who lived in DC for 25 years, I found the local references (Kramerbooks, anyone?) especially fun – especially since Avery (the SCOTUS Clerk) lived four blocks from my old place. :)

I saw another review that characterized this as hilarious and horrifying, and I think that nails it. As a white person, regardless of how much time you've spent trying to educate yourself on racism and how many stories you've heard, something about seeing this collection (incomplete and partial as it is) really drives home how prevalent racism is and how much energy Black people must expend enduring these encounters. While the stories are enraging, outrageous, and heartbreaking – somehow they also manage to tell them in a way that's funny. I appreciated the incongruence of shaking my head in disgust at our society one minute, then snorting out loud in the next. I highly recommend this as an audiobook, because the delivery is next-level. Bravo. Can't wait to listen to their next book.

When I borrowed this from the online library, I got the audiobook because I didn't realize it was a graphic novel. I was about 30% into it before I realized I wasn't consuming it in its intended format. That said, it still worked incredibly well as an audiobook, so I can only imagine its full impact if I had been able to see the illustrations as well. I now need to find the graphic novel so I can see how/what that shifts or deepens for me. All that aside, this book does a great job creating empathy for the refugee experience – living in a crowded refugee camp, being separated from family, going to school, waiting for news of acceptance into a new country – and ultimately the persistence and triumph of the human spirit. I'd love to see this book in all middle school and high school libraries.

3.5 stars, rounding up. I'm not usually one for cozy mysteries (too slow and not enough hook for me) but this one was a delight. I started the audiobook on a roadtrip and enjoyed listening to the Queen outfox her own detectives. The narration was half the fun.

I listened to this on my drive to Michigan and I'm struggling to understand how it won "best book" for Goodread's Horror genre. It started out promising, but then just went off the rails.

3.5 stars, rounding up. When a time travel book is well-executed, it is a delight. This one has a bit of a chick lit vibe that keeps it from being great, but the premise is fun and well-executed, even if a bit confusing at times. (There is a desire to go back and read the chapters sequenced chronologically to see if they hold up when Oona is IN order – but the events aren't so compelling that I'd spend time doing that.) Overall, a well-done trollop through time with a good bit of mystery and twists lurking in the pages.

Stopped by the library and happened to catch this new release as it was first being shelved. I've enjoyed other books by TJR, so I scooped it up – and was not disappointed. At first I worried that I'd get bored by an entire book that basically talks tennis in point-by-point detail, but she did a good enough job developing the characters that I got into it. For her other fans: this book was more "Daisy Jones" and less "Malibu," which was a big plus in my book. (I hadn't realized that TJR wrote this, Daisy, Malibu and Evelyn Hugo all as part of one world... while they aren't a series, there ARE overlapping characters and references across all four books, which I found fun. Fun enough, in fact, that after finishing this book, I went and found this article summarizing those connections: www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2022/08/taylor-jenkins-reid-universe-carrie-soto-malibu-rising.

People seem to LOVE this book and I can't figure out why. I didn't connect with any of the characters. Most of the guys seemed to be d'bags. It both wanted to go macro (social movements and government overthrow) and micro (the characters and family relationships) and in the end I found myself asking what the point was.

I finished this book about a week ago and while it was fine at the time, it took me a bit to remember what it was about, so I guess that's my summary: unmemorable.

When I think of Larry McMurtry, I think of westerns, like Lonesome Dove – which I've never read. I was relieved when my book club chose this book because it was billed as a coming of age story rather than a western, though it was set in Texas. While I found it to be an easy read, I couldn't figure out what all the hype was about.

Read this as part of the book club I joined in Richmond and probably would've otherwise not sought it out. It's definitely a product of its time, and while Kesey seems to be making some important statements about mental institutions and being controlled within society, it's all served up with a side of misogyny and racism that is a bit jarring. If you've watched the movie with Jack Nicholson, the most striking difference is that the book is told from the perspective of a different character.