Colleen

Recommended by my teenager; I wouldn’t have found it any other way I’m sure. Excellent book. Similar to The Book of M but a little more psychologically uncomfy. The disappearance of ‘things’ and the eventual path it took really felt both historical fiction and a future warning.

Pretty good. This book felt less about Oliver Twist than the name would suggest. I liked following Oliver but when the story veered away from him (which it felt like it often did) I was less enthused. I’ll have to try Dickens again as I did enjoy the style and story in general.

I’d like to read more by this author but this book didn’t really hook me. Frankly - I’m always underwhelmed by Reese’s book club selections even when it’s an author I have enjoyed (see last book by T.Umrigar). I kept waiting for it to get going - it never got going.

Listened to this as the narration was highly recommend somewhere sometime, lol! Narration was great. The story was good as well; JK Rowling doesn’t disappoint. Mystery isn’t really my jam so not sure I’ll continue with the series. Worth a read if you are into mystery.

Great read. Interesting history of ethics in medicine and the use (and abuse) of members of the black community. I kept waiting for the fairy tale ending where her family got compensated ... I guess I’ll keep waiting. Fascinating to me that you don’t own what comes from you.

This was uncomfortable. I don’t understand how it can be characterized as ‘suggestive’ when it was just short of explicit. Some of these highly regarded classics just perplex me. I like discomfort - around boundaries and concepts and curiosities - but this, nope. Gross.

It wasn’t a great read. The level of detail about music, music history, the technical aspects of music woven into a fictional story was cool but .. it was a tough slog to get through. His other book - Bewilderment was good, I plan on reading Overstory but this one, no. No good.👎🏻

Yikes, the tale of the (true) Newfoundlander tragedy is so sad☹️ As always, the author’s ability to tell a Canadian story is great. I always look forward to reading her books. The little convenient ‘wrap up’ of Roan’s story was a bit underwhelming but overall, a worthwhile read.

Hooked after Chapter 1. Fascinating. Alongside with his other book, Range, reflecting on how society approaches the path of minor athletes and I feel so yuck about how much we are doing wrong. Surprise! 🙄 Kid’s sports performance is not a testament to one’s parenting skills!

It was good, I loved the narrator. The Okeechobee hurricane sounded terrifying. The life of a strong minded black woman who made independent choices and held her head high was engaging. I compared Janie a lot with Celie in The Color Purple; they are similar but yet so different.

This was great. Unexpected and recommended by a friend, I was skeptical about the topic. I thought a lot about the perspectives. Seeing his daughter through the waterfall was beautiful. I loved the religious discourse and the subtle finger wag at how humans have ruined religion.

I loved (LOVED) the 1st 1/2 and got less interested during the 2nd 1/2. The book made me believe the life of trees is much more meaningful than one would expect! They are family, community and care for each other and work together. If you see me talking to trees just move along!

Not my fave KH book but I do feel it opened my eyes a bit to the plight of women in Vietnam (“there weren’t women in ‘nam” heard over and over by the women who served). The love story was a bit kitschy. As always, the narration by Julia Whelan was fantastic

Is there anything a tradesperson can’t do? 🛠️ 🎹 🧰

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve visited this series. I was reminded how positively wonderful the world of Anne Shirley is. How joyful we all would be if we all could see the treasures around us like Anne does. Maybe when we go to Tomorrow that will be what we find!

I love this author but this book felt a bit meh. The story was so predictable and convenient in its ‘twists’. I didn’t love it. I’ll be anticipating her next book as she’s normally a joy to read.

I don’t know about this one🤷🏻‍♀️ I had a mini crisis 3/4 through as I hadn’t realized it was non-fiction, I thought, wait WHAT?! I missed that important point while on the audio version. Telling a tale of poverty, resilience and corruption, I guess I just wished it was fiction.

So so good! The wit of the main character particularly as a young child was uncomfortably spot on. A super enjoyable read - an even better listen (narration was incredible). It’s a sad story told with optimism and lightness but mostly spirit! Pulitzer Prize winner - a good one!