Funny, You Don't Look Autistic by Michael McCreary

Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum by Michael McCreary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was short and actually cute and funny. Great for the young or old. Highly recommend.

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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such a different reading experience. It's true crime but I was a few pages in before I realized it was nonfiction because it read like a really fun fiction book. I've been to Savannah and I love it-and unlike some reviews, I didn't necessarily think it evoked the Savannah the place, but rather the behind-the-scenes culture and society in Savannah. And ooh the characters! Amazing. Chablis! I'm so sad that she passed away in 2016. She was an American icon.

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She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith

She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The central problem in this play is that Mr. Marlow believes himself to be too modest to speak to women of a high class. He states his trouble in this way, “[a]n impudent fellow may counterfeit modesty, but I’ll be hanged if a modest man can ever counterfeit impudence.” But we soon learn that he's a complete douchebag. But I think that's the point. Hilarity ensues! And it's actually pretty funny.

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Marley and Me by John Grogan

Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book made me laugh out loud several times which is pretty rare even for books whose primary purpose is humor. We have a rescue lab mix and I was pleased to read about a dog that behaves worse than ours. I was glad that the author went the rescue route the second time around.

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Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful story about first love. The characters are wonderful and perfectly imperfect. I enjoyed every minute of reading this book. In addition to the romance story, I appreciated the serious way the book dealt with the issue of poverty and abuse.

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Stormcaster by Cinda Williams Chima

Stormcaster by Cinda Williams Chima
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The best. If you like the fantasy genre and/or YA or joy, just drop everything and start with The Demon King by this author. Read all 7 books and then sit with me impatiently while we wait for the 8th book to come out. You’re welcome.

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Shadowcaster by Cinda Williams Chima

Shadowcaster by Cinda Williams Chima
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one was pretty good. One thing that kind of bothers me is that despite the name of this book, it didn't really feel like Shadowcaster was an important or developed character. Also, his name is weird and doesn't really tell you anything about his power. I did enjoy the other main characters Princess Heir Alyssa and the Arden soldier Hal.

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Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima

Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book of the Shattered Realms series, but it's also a continuation of the Seven Realms series. I just finished Seven Realms, so as a continuation of that perfect story, I kind of hate it. But as the beginning of a new series, I like it a lot and I'm excited to read the next one! (Also you don't have to read the first series to understand this one, but I recommend it anyway.)

One of the two main characters, Ash is the second child of Hans and Raisa. We follow his challenging story and the people he meets and cares about on his journey. The other main character is Jenna, an underage coal miner in Arden turned revolutionary against the King of Arden. (Remember the super evil King of Arden from the first series? He hasn't developed any nuance in this one either.)

Solid start!

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The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima

The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Best fantasy book series ever. This was the fourth book in the series and it was perfection.

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The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima

The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Don't let my one missing star fool you, I loved every minute of this book and I FLEW through it. The only reason I held back one star is that it was a "middle book." The second book is also in the middle of the series, but I got so much more from it than from this one. (I want to go study at Oden's Ford.) I"m super excited to read the last book in this series and Chima's other books.

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The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am really enjoying this fantasy series. It’s like a cleaned up, vastly more enjoyable, and less repetitive Game of Thrones. Or maybe it’s like Harry Potter crossed with Game of Thrones. That the one. I pretty much love all the characters even the bad guys, except of course Lord Bayer, who really doesn’t give us much to work with except a bunch of murderous sprees.

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The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this! It's solidly YA genre fantasy and there's nothing especially new here but it was fun. I like the main characters a lot: Raisa ana'Marianna, princess heir of the Fellsmarch, and "reformed thief" Han Alister. It has a lot of the stuff that makes Game of Thrones fun without all the painful stuff that bogs it down. Royalty, soldiers, and wizards vying for power.

I love the world building. The world has a specific though somewhat unclear history. Hanalea was a legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world, except maybe that's not what happened at all. My favorite part of the world building is the lifestyle of the clan. The clan characters are also particularly interesting especially Han's clan friend, Dancer, and his mother the potions maker. Raisa's father and grandmother are also from the clan and add a lot to the story once they appear.

A lot of it is predictable, and it's a bit slow at the beginning but it's just really fun. I'm excited to read the next book and see what happens now that all the characters are finally in motion.




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Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I borrowed Nimona for Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge, "4- A comic written and drawn by the same person." My son James saw it and said it looks like a “kids book” so James has now joined the reading challenge. We were passing the book back and forth and trying to stay in about the same place but I got impatient and finished it before him because I just needed to know what happened next. Nimona was awesome and adorable! I need a sequel. Need.

James is still reading it, and I'm a little worried because it gets kind of scary at the end. He's almost 7 years old but he's an advanced reader and he really needs challenging material to even be interested in the book at all. The vocabulary is a little tough for him in some places but he really loves the complexity of the story. I think it might be more appropriate for a kid who is at least 9 - though obviously great for adults too.

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Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a beautiful, heart-breaking, and mostly joyful book. I will definitely reread this book for years to come. It starts off a bit silly because Anne is just 11 at the beginning of the book, but by the time it ends she's 16, and the pages can barely contain her amazing soul.

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Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw

Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Love all the feminism in this book, and it was funny and charming. Mostly it was little pointless and pretty harsh on marriage. It's easy to dismiss marriage if you've never had a good one.

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Dune by Frank Herbert

Dune by Frank Herbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nearly perfect fantasy-scifi book except for the kind of weird vaguely political ending. I especially enjoyed the numerous strong interesting female characters that play important roles in the action. This is one of those books that when I finally read I regret waiting so long to read.

Also, this is the 100th book I read from my dad's inherited collection.

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Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett

Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Quirky fun book about death and grief. As crazy and wacky as the family in the story is, the grief reads true and real.

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The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett

The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So fun! This is as good as Ender's Game and Ready Player One. I love this world, the magic rules, and the main characters. Okay, maybe Rojer is a little unnecessary but we'll see if he does better stuff in later books.

This reminds me a little of Game of Thrones in that it takes place in a less civilized time with different villages, cities, and kingdoms, but I find The Warded Man is less grossly violent and more feminist.

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A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It's a very entertaining history of scientific discoveries in physics, chemistry, geology, meteorology, biology, oceanography, anthropology, and evolution. Bryson attempts to familiarize the reader with the actual science as well, and not just the history. Most of the new things I learned were in the weather section- or if I'd learned them before I'd long ago forgotten them. I borrowed this from the library but I enjoyed it enough that I just bought my own copy.

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An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde

An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A hilarious comedy of errors full of thoughtfulness about ethics, politics, love, and marriage. I recommend it.

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