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All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book was sad. Too sad. I put off reading it for a few days and then dove in and I am not sure I should have. It's about two sisters. The main character's sister keeps trying to die and she keeps trying to stop her. It's hard reading. View all my reviews

All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book was sad. Too sad. I put off reading it for a few days and then dove in and I am not sure I should have. It's about two sisters. The main character's sister keeps trying to die and she keeps trying to stop her. It's hard reading. View all my reviews

Everything for You by Chloe Liese My rating: 4 of 5 stars Chloe Liese's books are full of textured and real characters who care deeply, manage to surprise you and worm their way into your heart. This one was no exception even though I do think some bits were wordier than needed. View all my reviews

Twice in a Lifetime by Melissa Baron My rating: 4 of 5 stars 3.5 stars I really dislike it when book blurbs mention well-loved, well-read books in order to get you to buy a book. I feel like it pre-biases the story. I understand why they do it (it's a quick way to tell if this book is your cup of tea) but the thing is, there's so much more to a book than it's plot. Every book about time travel and love is not the same. Every book that happens non-linearly is also not the same. For me, what matters most when I compare books is how they made me feel. How were the characters developed. Did the love feel the way it feels in a different book? Did you find yourself cheering for them in the same way, did you find yourself mourning the same way? When you compare it to another book on some of the plot elements alone, you're losing me before I even read your book because what if the feeling is different (but also lovely?) Now I don't like ...

The Measure by Nikki Erlick My rating: 5 of 5 stars When the library emailed me saying this book was ready, I put the book I was listening to on hold to switch to this one because I'd been waiting for it for so long and I wanted to see if it was as good as I'd hoped it would be. I think the book was beautifully written. The premise is interesting and could have been taking ten different ways and could have been executed in ways that fell short. But this author focused on how the value of a human life is not about its length. It reminded me of the quote by Diane Ackerman “I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” It's not just the length that matters even though we tend to focus on that more than anything else. The book also is about human connection and how our lives intersect and have a way of intermingling. How people can rely on each ot...

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller My rating: 5 of 5 stars For reasons unclear to me, it took me a long time to read this book. I checked it out of the library over twenty times before I finally sat down to read it. I tried listening on audio and decided it was never going to work out, so I read the book and I am glad I did. It was beautifully written and what a journey to read. Madeline Miller is a talented writer and it absolutely shows in this beautifully told story of Achilles and the Odyssey. View all my reviews

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller My rating: 5 of 5 stars For reasons unclear to me, it took me a long time to read this book. I checked it out of the library over twenty times before I finally sat down to read it. I tried listening on audio and decided it was never going to work out, so I read the book and I am glad I did. It was beautifully written and what a journey to read. Madeline Miller is a talented writer and it absolutely shows in this beautifully told story of Achilles and the Odyssey. View all my reviews