Title: Finding Me
Author: Viola Davis
Publisher: HarperOne
ISBN: 9780063037328
Thoughts: Intense yet approachable memoir that will really resonate with those in theatre.
Rating: 5/5
Monday, June 27, 2022
The Candy House
Title: The Candy House
Author: Jennifer Egan
Publisher: Simon Schuster Audio
ISBN: 9781797128412
Thoughts: A look at a not-unrealistic near-future told in Egan's signature style, meaning I loved some chapters and could not connect with others.
Rating: 3/5
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Easy Beauty
Title: Easy Beauty
Author: Chloe Cooper Jones
Publisher: Avid Reader Press
ISBN: 9781982151997
Thoughts: I liked the second half much more than the first, and I am not sure if it is because it took me that long to get into Jones's writing style, or if the second half truly had a different feel.
Rating: 3/5
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
When We Were Birds
Title: When We Were Birds
Author: Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
Publisher: Doubleday
ISBN: 9780385547260
Thoughts: Once you get past what seems like improper tenses to an American English reader, this is a power work of magical realism.
Rating: 4/5
The Son of Mr. Suleman
Title: The Son of Mr. Suleman
Author: Eric Jerome Dickey
Publisher: Black Rose
ISBN: 9781524745233
Thoughts: Intense novel about so many emotional topics, but well-worth the read.
Rating: 5/5
These Hollow Vows
Title: These Hollow Vows
Author: Lexi Ryan
Publisher: Clarion
ISBN:9780358386575
Thoughts: The beginning borrowed from a few popular stories, but once the story got going, it came into it's own.
Rating: 4/5
Monday, June 20, 2022
The Arden
Title: The Arden
Author: L.S. Popovich
Publisher: Black Rose
ISBN: n/a
Thoughts: Interesting distopian eco-fiction with some great world-building even if some is a little hard to gully grasp.
Rating: 3/5
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Stacking the Shelves: 5/8-6/18
Won from Library Summer Reading Club:
Land of Love and Drowning by Tipahnie Yanique
Bravey
Title: Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas
Author: Alexi Pappas
Publisher: Random House Audio
ISBN: n/a
Thoughts: I could connect with some of this, but not with other parts, so very much on the fence on this one.
Rating: 3/5
Nothing Could Possibly Go Wrong
Title: Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong
Author: Prudence Shen & Faith Erin Hicks
Publisher: First Second
ISBN: 9781596436596
Thoughts: Outrageous high school comedy that somehow just works.
Rating: 4/5
Friday, June 17, 2022
The Promise
Title: The Promise
Author: Damon Galgut
Publisher: Europa Editions
ISBN: 9781609456580
Thoughts: Galgut's writing flows seamlessly between characters, so seamlessly, though, that it is sometimes hard to tell who is the current focus.
Rating: 3/5
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Admissions
Title: Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School
Author: Kendra James
Publisher: Grand Central
ISBN: 9781538753484
Thoughts: A candid look at being Black at a New England board school that is at times funny and at time infuriating.
Rating: 4/5
Atonement
Title: Atonement
Author: Ian McEwan
Publisher: Nan A Talese
ISBN: 9780385503952
Thoughts: The cover makes this look gothic, but aside from not being so, it is a wonderful story of a wrong and the subsequent, well, atonement.
Rating: 4/5
Monday, June 13, 2022
Her Master and Commander
Title: Her Master and Commander
Author: Anya Summers
Publisher: Blushing
ISBN: n/a
Thoughts: I did not understand the motivations of the characters, and a lot of the interaction and character development felt forced.
Rating: 2/5
Saturday, June 11, 2022
French Braid
Title: French Braid
Author: Anne Tyler
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio
ISBN: 9780593551431
Thoughts: Appealing family saga where each time period focuses on a different family member.
Rating: 4/5
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
The Book of Monologues for Aspiring Actors
Title: The Book of Monologues for Aspiring Actors
Author: Marsh Cassady
Publisher: Glencoe
ISBN: 9780844257716
Thoughts: Nice to see a monologue book for young actors with some meaty monologues from real plays, even if many of the contemporary ones are obscure.
Rating: 4/5
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
The Days of Afrekete
Title: The Days of Afrekete
Author: Asali Solomon
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
ISBN: 9780374140052
Thoughts: Normally I prefer a little more plot, but this was a wonderful character-driven novel that leaves you pondering.
Rating: 4/5
Sunday, June 5, 2022
Before the Ruins
Title: Before the Ruins
Author: Victoria Gosling
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
ISBN: n/a
Thoughts: Story was rather muddled with the unclear flashbacks, making it hard to follow what could have been a great modern gothic, plus there were no sympathetic characters, which can kill a mystery.
Rating: 2/5
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
Frog and Toad Audio Collection
Title: Frog and Toad Audio Collection
Author: Arnold Lobel
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780060817961
Thoughts: Such cute stories that can be appreciated by young and old, but you cannot get illustrations on audio.
Rating: 4/5
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