somanybookstoread's reviews
562 reviews

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This started slowly, but I was immediately appreciative of the prose. The last third was gripping though, and I was fully engaged. The pace (especially for a mystery) and character development were both well-done. Overall, this was a really good read. I have a hardcover I can pass along if any of my connections want to read it.

Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening by Joseph Goldstein

challenging informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

This is an excellent companion to any practitioner or student of mindfulness. The concepts are important, and the prose is at times beautiful. The material is not light or simple to understand, but it is certainly worthwhile. This is a book to read and return to. 

Sit, Walk, Don't Talk: How I Survived a Silent Meditation Retreat by Jennifer Howd

funny informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.5

Useful, to an extent. The practical information was easier to digest than the paragraphs in all caps.

Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories by Alice Munro

dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Exquisite, beautiful little masterpieces. Each and every story is a gorgeous example of short story mastery. I am left in awe.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

I was moved to tears reading this book. As an introvert, I felt understood and validated. This book was meticulously researched and beautifully presented. I wish I had read it sooner, but it will now be one I return to often. I highly recommend this book to anyone who identifies as an introvert, is trying to understand introverts, works in or manages teams or teaches groups, and anyone interested in personality psychology. This is a work of art!  

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was a true beach read. For the genre, which I generally find simplistic and not stimulating, this book followed suit. I did appreciate that the protagonist was a writer accused of writing beach reads with a bit of self-deprecating sarcasm. I also appreciated the plot, which depicted a wellness adventure gone wrong, since reading this parallels my own deep journey into mindfulness meditation. Sometimes, just as we might watch “light” TV, we reach for something light to spend time leisurely, without asking much of the brain. This fit the bill.

Horror Stories: A Memoir by Liz Phair

adventurous lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.5

I have respect for Liz Phair. Her music from the 1990s (through whitechocolatespaceegg) was a staple of my adolescence. I loved her no nonsense, nonconformist attitude and I played each of the 1990s albums regularly. I lost interest in her music when it became more poppy and mainstream. But it was interesting to read about her account of this shift in her memoir. In Horror Stories, she is honest, flawed, and vulnerable. She shares stories that help paint a richer picture of her career, such as having to sing on live TV with the flu, messing up, and being shit talked. She writes about her life in a way I could sometimes relate to, especially in the final essay, “Goodbyes” which is a beautiful account on impermanence. The form - a memoir written as a collection of essays - is my favorite form of memoir. That said, I found the undercurrent of loneliness to read as dependency on men in a way that hit a nerve for me. And I much prefer her voice in a song than on the page. 

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

informative reflective tense

3.5

I hovered between three and four stars here, but felt generous. Roxane Gay is smart and well-articulated. She’s no nonsense, isn’t pretentious, and has written a collection of essays that is part social commentary, part literary criticism, and part personal. She is not heavy-handed, but she is negative. I felt worn down by this collection because I knew every essay I started would be critical, but also critically unhappy and tell me as the reader all of the problems she found in whatever it was she was analyzing. Balance could have been acheived by including some positive examples of life, literature, and society too. This would have had me reach for the work more often. But that’s my personal bias and need for positivity in life. I would read more of Gay’s work. Thanks to this collection, I realized how much I do enjoy reading literary criticism. It had been a while. 

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

This was moderately funny, but I wasn't very engaged with it. Perhaps I'm not a direct match for Kaling's humor, but it felt forced at times. At other times, it felt insincerely shallow, as though that was an act for the reader. This was an OK read, but I didn't find it to be special.

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a hard one for me. I picked it up during a difficult time in my life and the emotional struggle so apparent on the page pulled me in ways that I felt with poignancy. I absolutely loved Orange’s debut “There, There”, which I read just a few months ago. “Wandering Stars” picks up where his first novel left off. It is definitely a sequel. Because some time had passed since I had read the first book, I needed to refresh myself on the many characters (some of whom have the same names) and their stories. So I do recommend that There, There is fresh in one’s mind to get the most out of this book. Perhaps it was because of this work and cross-referencing that I needed to do that the work didn’t completely wow me the way his first novel did.

It’s a beautifully-rendered story. I found it to be honest and dark. Orange writes about addition with such depth that I figured there was no way he didn’t have first-hand familiarity. Upon finishing the novel, I looked to see what I could learn about that and found an interesting article from The Guardian, published in March 2024, that confirmed my suspicions. 

I love his writing style. I love his honesty. I love the places he’s writing about. I remain a big Tommy Orange fan and will look forward to his future work. 

The Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/mar/16/tommy-orange-my-whole-family-has-had-problems-with-addiction-including-myself