Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Definitely an enjoyable read. Focuses on the different perspectives of members of a fictional 70's bad, and I love the subtle ways the members contradict each other while still definitely living in the same reality. Instead of actually actively contradicting each other you start to sense that all the characters are right in their own way.

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After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was a cute story about a troubled marriage which makes no sense I guess but there you have it.

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Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an excruciatingly sad book and I seriously cried almost all the way through it. The strange part was that I still really liked it. Taylor Jenkins Reid really captured the pain and peculiar thoughts of grief.

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Villette by Charlotte Brontë

Villette by Charlotte Brontë
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved it but I'm traumatized by the feeling that Charlotte Bronte does not like Lucy Snow. In contrast, I love Lucy Snow with all her little stiff curmudgeonly ways. So what does that say about me? And what does that say about whether I would like Charlotte Bronte, that I side with her fictional antihero over her?

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The Memory Painter by Gwendolyn Womack

The Memory Painter by Gwendolyn Womack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Because my book tastes have been adapting to the ridiculous number of books I consume, these days I'm surprised whenever I like a book that isn't literary. I liked it! It was fun! It was decently written! There were no ridiculous plot holes! It's even a book that might continue to interest me in a reread. This is a good start from Womack.

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Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this even though I typically don’t enjoy whatever genre this is: romance, women’s lit, whatever. I liked all the characters and their friendships and their little struggles. I also live in Nebraska and have become obsessed with local news this year, and the characters work at a local Nebraska newspaper.

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Normal People by Sally Rooney

Normal People by Sally Rooney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I became very invested in the characters even though I low-key hate Connell. (I don't think I was supposed to hate him? I think I'm supposed to love him a little? But I definitely don't.) The writing carried me along and I barely put it down until I was finished.

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Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Very fun zombie romance book. The beginning was particularly interesting and thoughtful, but it dragged a bit as it entered adventure book territory, and the end was unsatisfying.

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The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was cute. The “romance” aspect didn’t move me emotionally but surprisingly was more on the smutty side of romance books.

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Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Well Met by Jen DeLuca
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Really cute romance with some steamy bits. I enjoyed the renaissance fair aspect though I was hoping for more there, unfortunately, the protagonist Emily says many times she can't explore the fair. This would make a really fabulous romance movie though and I hope someone makes it a movie because I'll be the first one in line. (Anyone else picturing a young Dread Pirate Robert as Simon?)

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Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm not a huge romance book fan (though I haven't ruled out reading more of them in the future) but I really enjoyed this book because of the witty banter between the two young men, and because of the political components of the book. I definitely wanted to live in this alternate universe where the 2016 election never happened.

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On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is pretty short and it's beautifully written. I don't like grouping books like this as "romance" because it is so much more than that, but let's just say it's not for group-audiobook-listening.

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The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel could have been titled, "Everyone Has Secrets," as it appears to be more about that than "The Japanese Lover," who, by the way, to my mind, is American. This was very readable, and I was always glad to return to the story, and the characters were interesting. I didn't precisely become attached to the characters the way I do with some characters (I even get attached to unlikable characters sometimes). I would recommend this book in general.

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One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. I flew through it in two days, and I loved its exploration of love and grief, especially the latter. I'm describing it like I might a literary book but it's more in the chick lit category. That said, I'd argue that it's not completely not-literary. Sometimes you need double negatives. She really delves into grief in a protracted way. She only explores one or two aspects of love but maybe love is more complicated than grief and needs more space.

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What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was sadder and less whimsical than I’d hoped given the description; I had a lot of fun in my 20s and I thought there would be more of that. Still, I loved it until the end when I felt like it wrapped up unnecessarily quickly and kind of shallowly.

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Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Murakami books are all over the place. It's not a consistent standard, and you can't predict if you'll like one based on the others you've read. But I enjoy how very readable his books are. I find myself flying through his books, even the ones I think are terrible. This was my favorite one I've read so far, but I still didn't love it-- the ending was especially bothersome to me, but I did love parts of it. At first you think, oh I hope this doesn't turn into a laundry list of who this vaguely boring male character sleeps with, and then for a second you think- oh it's so wonderful, it's about life, and loneliness, and death-- and then bam he hits you with his laundry list. But for the middle of the book, I give it 4 stars.

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Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think based on a lot of the quotes people liked about this book, they missed the point that the book makes that nothing is fated (unless every potential outcome is simultaneously fated per physics).

It was interesting and fun, and I fell in love with some of the characters. The plot was not especially original (Sliding Doors), but it was still an ambitious undertaking. Despite a complicated plot, the author kept things like the characters internally consistent, which I appreciate.

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Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a wonderfully paced, dramatic, and tense story. The experience of reading this is like running through a maze with beautiful monsters on your trail.

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The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At first I thought this book was vaguely hilarious because right up front you know they steal a baby. How do you even feel for a bunch of baby stealers? But then little by little the book ripped my heart out and showed it to me.

Also, I have a crush on this beautiful cover.

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Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a beautiful and perfect novel. Beautiful sentences, soulful, and even an incredible plot. While I'm not of the belief that the main character needs to be likable, I also loved the main character, Janie, and her unconquerable spirit. My heart couldn't even handle her third love, Tea Cake. I have read hundreds of books and something this well-written is rare. There are no words worthy of it. This is one I hope to read again and again.




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