I appreciate the author's enthusiasm for her life story, but this is a rare memoir that bored me senseless.
The writing is fine. It's easy to read.
The I appreciate the author's enthusiasm for her life story, but this is a rare memoir that bored me senseless.
The writing is fine. It's easy to read.
The problem is that I kept asking, What's the point of this? I read 70 pages of this 200-page book, and we were still stuck in her childhood. I think we'd gotten up to the age of 10? And, yes, sometimes a lot happens in the first ten years of a person's life. That's not the case here. It's just an average childhood.
I'm sure some readers will enjoy this book. As for me, I'm moving on to the next.
DNF
*I received a free copy from the publisher.*...more
I was struggling through this one. While there were some interesting facts, the writing was a bit of a slog. Then I got to the bit about "hysteria," aI was struggling through this one. While there were some interesting facts, the writing was a bit of a slog. Then I got to the bit about "hysteria," and I wanted to shove the book down my garbage disposal. I've read the history of this word in reference to women's health. Clearly, the author has not, because he got it wrong. Worse, the author perpetuates the myth that many chronic illnesses predominantly affecting females today are also linked to hysteria. WTF?!
I normally love memoirs, but this was an odd one for me.
The writing has an ethereal feel; poetic and slightly out of reach. The vibe is more of an expI normally love memoirs, but this was an odd one for me.
The writing has an ethereal feel; poetic and slightly out of reach. The vibe is more of an experimental literary exercise than a memoir.
The timeline hops all over the place, making it difficult to connect all the dots of the author’s life. And, honestly, it never settled into what felt, to me, like a real life. By that, I don’t mean to suggest she’s lying. Not at all. It’s just that the observations and writing style didn’t feel grounded. I almost felt like I was floating in a kind of literary “madness” myself.
I have no doubt that many readers will (and already have) love this book. Unfortunately, I’m not one of them, though I commend the author for telling her story her way.
I normally love memoirs, but this one was a DNF (did not finish) for me.
The content felt shallow. Rebel glossed over major events, never going deep orI normally love memoirs, but this one was a DNF (did not finish) for me.
The content felt shallow. Rebel glossed over major events, never going deep or really exploring emotions.
Some of the content felt unnecessarily disparaging (like the repetitive references to herself being a "good girl," while the other teens and young women were sluts who slept around).
For a celebrity memoir, I found it oddly boring. I started skimming at about the halfway point, and eventually just gave up.
I’ve read enough social science and true crime to know that our US legal system is unintentionally and iThe Sing Sing Files is an emotional gut punch.
I’ve read enough social science and true crime to know that our US legal system is unintentionally and intentionally corrupt, ridiculously stubborn, racist, biased, and favorable to the wealthy.
And yet, these stories still managed to, maybe not shock, but absolutely horrify me.
The system makes it too easy to imprison innocent people, and too difficult to get them out. Appeals are a formality designed to protect the prosecution and the judge’s ruling. Proof of corruption or even innocence is no guarantee of a new trial, much less acquittal and release.
Dan Slepian, long-time producer of Dateline, has written a powerful account of six men, wrongly convicted of different crimes, who spent decades of their lives in prison. No one listened. No one cared. And the flimsy evidence that sent each of them away, kept them there even as it fell apart.
If one man who hadn’t even set out to find wrongfully convicted men in one prison managed to so easily find six, how many more are currently locked away across the country, with no one to listen?
*I received a free ARC from Celadon Books.* ...more
I don't follow celebrity news, but it was impossible to miss some of the headlines featuring Britney over the years. I'm so happy that sHeartbreaking.
I don't follow celebrity news, but it was impossible to miss some of the headlines featuring Britney over the years. I'm so happy that she was able to finally tell the truth of her story.
The betrayal by those closest to her is horrifying. The fact that she was able to come out of all she went through and take control of her life is a testament to her strength and resilience.
This must have been an incredibly difficult book for her to write. I hope shedding light on the abuse of conservatorship helps change opinions and laws.
*I received a free copy from the publisher.*...more
I’m not sure this book’s title does justice to the content.
This is a hard read. An important read. A tragic, beautiful, hopeful, heartfelt read.
ThrougI’m not sure this book’s title does justice to the content.
This is a hard read. An important read. A tragic, beautiful, hopeful, heartfelt read.
Throughout this book, we look at generational abuse, trauma, the effects of hunger and starvation, foster children, and adoption. Within all that is one woman’s mission to help her community by supplying food and restoring dignity to those in need.
If we all cared about our communities a fraction as much as Kim Foster, the world would be a much kinder place.
I alternated between reading the ebook and listening to the audiobook. The audio production is extremely well done.
*I received an eARC (which I’m inexcusably late getting to) from St. Martin’s Press, via NetGalley.* ...more
I was initially hesitant about reading A Map of Future Ruins because books with political content can be dry and dull. Turns out, this book is the exaI was initially hesitant about reading A Map of Future Ruins because books with political content can be dry and dull. Turns out, this book is the exact opposite.
The writing is evocative and engaging; the content is informative and profound.
From the first page, I had a strong sense of setting and atmosphere. I was there with the author every step of the way.
The author refutes the myth that early Western Europe was “white.” She shows us how and why immigration has been villainized.
But really, this book is so much more. It's part memoir, part historical exploration, and part current events, expertly woven together with the kind of conversational writing that makes me feel like I'm sitting with a friend.
*Thanks to Riverhead Books for the free copy!* ...more
I so wanted to love this book, but it just didn’t work for me.
The writing lacks emotion and depth. The weird thing is that there is a lot of detail onI so wanted to love this book, but it just didn’t work for me.
The writing lacks emotion and depth. The weird thing is that there is a lot of detail on unimportant, tangential people and events, but a surprising lack of detail and examination of people and events that matter.
Sentence structure is often clunky, and there’s simply too much jumping around.
Also, the author provides inner thoughts and dialogue that are conjecture at best, which makes me question how much is fact and how much is actually fiction.
DNF at 39%
*I received an eARC from Sourcebooks, via NetGalley.*...more
From Jehovah’s Witness to Isis seems like an enormous leap.
Or it did to me, at least, until I read this book.
For young women who have grown up conditiFrom Jehovah’s Witness to Isis seems like an enormous leap.
Or it did to me, at least, until I read this book.
For young women who have grown up conditioned by the kind of religious extremism that treats all females like property, going from one to the other isn’t much more than a baby step.
Author Jessica Roy does a masterful job with this narrative nonfiction story of two American sisters who rebelled against their parents’ stifling, controlling Christian religion, only to be caught up in their eventual husbands’ equally stifling and controlling Islamic religious extremism.
I found this story fascinating, appalling, informative, and engaging. It’s a profound statement about what happens when we teach girls that their value is decided by the men in their lives. When their autonomy is stripped away at the start, how can we ever expect them to survive, much less thrive?
*Thanks to Scribner Books for the free copy.* ...more
I finished reading Sociopath several days ago, and I still can’t find the words to describe how I feel about it.
ThroughouWell, that was uncomfortable.
I finished reading Sociopath several days ago, and I still can’t find the words to describe how I feel about it.
Throughout the entire book, I felt an underlying unease about what I was reading. I was mentally flinching at parts, fascinated by some aspects, occasionally saddened, and sometimes a little bored with the pace and repetition. Always, though, was the creeping sense of discomfort.
I wish the author had given us a timeline to orient us in the story. I would have liked a sense of the years in which this all took place, especially regarding the way diagnoses and treatments have evolved. As written, she obscures everything relating to dates and identities.
In the end, I learned a lot, but I was also left with questions. It’s absolutely a book that will stick with me, and that’s never a bad thing.
*Thanks to Simon Books for the free copy.* ...more
Also, I’m an idiot for letting this sit unread on my shelfCan I just say, “WOW,” and call that my review?
Or maybe, “Everyone needs to read this book!”
Also, I’m an idiot for letting this sit unread on my shelf for so long.
Some descriptors: beautifully written, impactful, poignant, emotional.
The Many Lives of Mama Love is truly one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. It’s raw and honest and real. More descriptors. I seem to have a lot of them.
Lara Love Hardin smashes society’s stereotypes of an ex-addict with a prison record. Her journey embodies redemption. She reminds us that we’re all complex humans, not to be defined by the worst thing we’ve ever done.
I switched between reading the print book and listening to the audiobook, which the author narrates herself. I highly recommend either/both.
*Huge thank you to Simon Books for the free copy.*...more
My Side of the River is a personal look at the complexities of immigration policies and the invisible line we call a border.
Usually I love when an autMy Side of the River is a personal look at the complexities of immigration policies and the invisible line we call a border.
Usually I love when an author narrates her own memoir, but this time I wish a professional had done the audiobook. Gutierrez’s narration is simply reading the book, without much inflection or personality infused to make her story come alive.
This is complicated by the writing feeling like a factual account devoid of emotional context.
Ultimately, this is an interesting read from an intellectual standpoint, but I missed the emotional connection that draws me to memoirs.
*Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free download.* ...more
Leonor is an absolutely riveting combination of memoir and case study.
My words probably can’t do justice to my experience reading this book. PreviousLeonor is an absolutely riveting combination of memoir and case study.
My words probably can’t do justice to my experience reading this book. Previously, I didn’t know much about Columbia or the guerilla group known as FARC. That was fascinating to learn about, but the way the author told this story was what made it so powerful and memorable.
The author, Paula Delgado-Kling, had a privileged, sheltered upbringing in Columbia. In contrast, Leonor grew up poor, in a rough section of Columbia, where the FARC flourished and her parents offered little to no protection.
The chasm between these two women is extreme and vividly portrayed. Leonor’s experiences, her limited options, her desperation, and the way she was treated throughout each facet of her life is heartbreaking.
Change doesn’t happen until there’s compassion and empathy for those who need help. This book goes a long way toward that goal.
*Thanks to CK Publicity for the free copy!* ...more
I’m an outlier here. This book was a bit of a slog for me.
Addressing the good stuff first:
I listened to this on audio. Klein narrates the book herselI’m an outlier here. This book was a bit of a slog for me.
Addressing the good stuff first:
I listened to this on audio. Klein narrates the book herself, which makes the listening experience feel more intimate.
Content addresses some fascinating concepts, such as the way our use of social media alters our sense of self, where we create a sort of online doppelganger standing in for our real self. Klein also addresses conspiracy theories and the way they take on a life of their own once they hit social media.
Unfortunately, these important topics are muddled and mired within a whole lot of hyperactive babble.
The bad stuff, for me:
The entire book is based on Klein’s claim of having a doppelganger. But that term doesn’t fit the circumstances even a little bit. Naomi Wolf, Klein’s supposed doppelganger, doesn’t look like her at all. They’re mixed up simply because they’re both female political writers with the same first name. The circumstances are unfortunate for Klein and her career, but this is not a “doppelganger” issue.
My major problem is that Naomi Klein seems obsessed with Naomi Wolf, to an extremely unhealthy degree. Klein is fixated, following Wolf’s every career move, all her social media posts, and so on. The entire vibe of this book is a slam against Wolf, her politics, and her writing. I was mentally shouting, “Just get off Twitter, already!”
I imagine writing this book was a cathartic exercise for Klein, which is fine. But maybe, after getting it all out of her system, she should have done a heavy edit, dialing back the frenzied finger pointing and name calling, focusing instead on the insightful content lost within her very personal attack of Wolf.
*Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook download.* ...more
I’m in no position to judge another person’s life, but I am in a position to critique a memoir. And here we are.
I’m fascinated by cults, by their inneI’m in no position to judge another person’s life, but I am in a position to critique a memoir. And here we are.
I’m fascinated by cults, by their inner workings, by the way they entrap people, and how some of those people break free. That’s the kind of story I expected here. It’s not the kind of story I got.
The author was born into a cult, some sort of cult, which I don’t know much about even after reading her book. She writes about her childhood, from her child self’s perspective, rather than as the adult she now is reflecting back on that childhood.
What I’m trying to say is that this entire book reads as if we’re sitting with the child, not the adult woman. The content is repetitive into the daily minutiae of a child’s life, with everyone’s behavior observed from a child’s perspective. I was desperate for the adult perspective, with reflection, depth, and insight into the complexities of all she experienced. None of that happened.
At seventeen, the author was excommunicated, and she left her family and the cult. And that’s pretty much where the story stops. We get an epilogue, with a BRIEF summation of her life after the cult, which doesn’t tell us much of anything.
I was left with so many questions. Does the cult still operate? Are children still being abused? How did the author adjust to life outside the cult? How did she manage to support herself? What is life like for her now? I need details!
Of course, this is the author’s story, and she has a right to tell it however she pleases. For me, though, the story felt detached and incomplete. ...more
John Stamos, the famous bad boy of TV, has written a beautifully heartfelt memoir.
I loved everything about this book. I did not expect so many emotionJohn Stamos, the famous bad boy of TV, has written a beautifully heartfelt memoir.
I loved everything about this book. I did not expect so many emotions!
From the start, I felt his ease and honesty as he told his story. He invites us in, sharing the good and bad of his journey. No pretentious Hollywood ego here. This is simply a man reflecting back on his life.
I listened to this on audio, which Stamos narrates himself. This is irrelevant, but Stamos has such a sexy voice! There, I said it. When he got emotional, that slight break in the grittiness of his tone brought tears to my eyes in a heartbeat.
Now I need a hardcover copy for my shelf!
*Huge thank you to Macmillan Audio for the free download.* ...more
I had put off reading this one, waiting for the right mood. I was expecting an emotionally heavy and draining story. I didn’t get that here at all.
We I had put off reading this one, waiting for the right mood. I was expecting an emotionally heavy and draining story. I didn’t get that here at all.
We start out with excessive detail about the author’s family, going back to her grandparents’ lives, how her parents met, etc. Then we moved on to a list of her sisters and brothers, how they related—or didn’t— to one another. We were given lots of surface information that could describe any family. I’m sorry, but it wasn’t all that interesting. I wanted to go deeper.
Then we got to a point where something awful happened to one of her siblings, and I felt… nothing. I mean, I felt bad objectively, as I would for any family in a similar situation, but that’s it. Even worse was that I couldn’t tell if the author felt anything. Of course, I know intellectually that she did, but I didn’t get any sense of emotion from her writing.
And this was the problem throughout the book. The author is a journalist, and that background followed her into this memoir. The writing is a recitation of facts, minus the emotion. I read memoirs for the emotional connection, and unfortunately that’s entirely missing here.
But this is just my opinion, and the author is certainly entitled to tell her story any way she wants. Lots of people have loved this book, and you might as well.
*I received an eARC from Celadon, via NetGalley.* ...more
I was fortunate to receive both a print and an audiobook copy. I’d intended to alternate between the two, but from the firI loved Being Henry so much!
I was fortunate to receive both a print and an audiobook copy. I’d intended to alternate between the two, but from the first few minutes of the audiobook on, I was hooked. I never picked up the print copy to read a word. (But I will keep it on my shelf!)
Listening to the audiobook, which Henry Winkler narrates, was like sitting down with him to chat. The writing was conversational and relaxed, and his reading brought life to all his stories. I laughed a lot, and I might have shed a few tears.
My favorite part was the way Henry retains a childlike glee at all he was able to do with his life. He has a starstruck attitude, even now, when he speaks about some of the people with whom he worked. His joy was infectious.
So much fun to listen to!
*Thank you to BookishFirst and Celadon Books for the print copy, and to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook download!* ...more
The Elephants of Thula Thula is a fascinating memoir written by a woman who has dedicated her life to preserving wildlife.
While elephants are the focuThe Elephants of Thula Thula is a fascinating memoir written by a woman who has dedicated her life to preserving wildlife.
While elephants are the focus, we also spend time getting to know Savannah the cheetah, a rhino called Thabo, and many others. Malby-Anthony’s love for these animals shines through in her writing.
We see the devastating impact of miners and the destruction of land on wildlife, and how poachers aggressively hunt these animals for their tusks and pelts and whatever else they can sell to a careless, thoughtless industry.
The stories shared don’t follow a linear timeline. Consequently, I sometimes felt confused as to where we were in the course of events, but this was a minor issue.
The audiobook, read by Roshina Ratnam, is engaging and made for a fun listen.
*Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free download.*...more
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