To be so far in debt that you have to deny your family primary necessities is unimaginable to me. Especially when some of those debts were passed down from Fiodor‘s father and brother. I know debt, lived with it, but I have never had to give up basic needs over it. This was so hard to read I had to pause a few times.

Dostoevsky writing about his solitariness causing him depression was also something I could relate to. Many days of sitting at work with very few interactions with other humans can drop me into a sadness that is hard to put away.

I enjoyed reading through these letters to and from Fiodor Dostoevsky. It was interesting to get a look inside the mind of the author of Crime and Punishment (on my TBR). I especially liked the letters to him from his wife. She took great care of him and his state of affairs. So much so that she hardly chose to please herself by continuously making choices that benefited Fiodor.

Full review on my Goodreads and booksta

And now it‘s a classic 🤣

schoolgirl focuses on a single day in a young girl's life and captures her inner thoughts in which she struggles with conflicting feelings and expectations. I found this one was an easier read than the
other 3. I felt similarities between her not wanting to grow into a woman (adult). I certainly wish I could go back to being a young girl again. So many responsibilities as an adult is quite tiring.

No Longer Human covers the life of Yozu from childhood to old age. It shows often his thoughts left him feeling less than human or like a fradulent human. He didn't think he deserved the life he was given. Thinking in this way, you can only imagine how his life went. Suicide attempt, addiction, depression, and fear: these are the heavy themes you will find in this book by Dazai.

In The Setting Sun, you read about a period Kazuko's life: a young woman who is deeply troubled.
She lives with her mother after her divorce.
After her father's death, they lose the house and have to move to the countryside and live a very poor life. On top of that her mother is constantly in poor health; and her brother has a drug addiction. Reading this, I felt the despair that came from Kazuko and felt very sorry for her.

This is about the recovery period of Yozu's life after a suicide attempt. He is kept in a sanitarium along the coast while he is healing. During this book, Dazai continously breaks up the story by including chunks of his own dialogue that don't necessarily add to the story, but they make for an interesting read. I haven't ever read anything like this but could definitely read more like this.

This book seriously messed with my head in the best way. It was a twisty, intense psychological thriller that kept me on edge the whole time. The relationship between Caitlin and this maybe-Olivia was so tense and suspenseful it gave me chills.
Also, I don't quite know how I feel about the twisted nature of Elinor and her brother's relationship. It was disturbing in the exact way you would want a psychological thriller to be. I highly recommend!

I don't have a lot to say about this one, but I did learn some new things. I understand the perspective of the parent a bit better now. Reading this book was healing for me, so i definitely recommend it to others in their healing journey. By the end I was kind of finished with reading it because I didn't connect with the end as much as I did the beginning and middle.

#psychology #selfhelpbook #selfhelp #nonfiction #mentalhealthread #booklover

This was cute! I definitely didn‘t know where the story was headed for sure 🤣 Had to check it out since THE James Patterson is involved. When‘d he start doing children‘s books? Honestly the chicks looked scared for the whole book until the end so I didn‘t think it‘d have a good ending, even though it‘s a children‘s book 🤷‍♀️🤣

Another adorable illustration ❤️

Love this illustration

Wow! This book was spicy I haven‘t picked up a romance to read in awhile; and this was a good one. I went into it not know too much about what it was about other than an author‘s romance story. Her story was so emotional and captiviting that I stayed up late reading for the first time in forever I wouldv‘e loved the ending if there had been a bit more there. I felt like I got a lot of detail up until the end of the book.

Another great read! I found the beginning to be a bit slow for me, but once I got into it, this book really took off. The mystery, the fantasy elements, and the suspense of what was going to happen next had me roped in. There's a horribly sad scene in here, but I think it was well done. Also, there is a dog in this story. I won't say to much, but he is such a funny and strong dog. If you like books about adventure then this might be for you?

I really enjoyed this book! I feel like I have learned a lot from it and can‘t wait to start using what I have learned in my daily meal habits. There is some super helpful information in this book; and I highly suggest reading it if you find yourself disliking our Western medicine practices or are looking for alternative methods for healing.

I really enjoyed this book despite it being nonfiction. I found that many of the things Rubin said were things I agreed with. Creativity is inside of everyone and if you think differently I recommend this book! 😄

I jumped into this not knowing what to expect, but it was quite funny. The author shares how you can get by, by just doing the bare minimum in such a comedic way. I found it quite funny as some of the tips shared I already do myself. If you are an overachiever like me, then parts of this book might be a bit of a slap in the face. One that is needed though, I think that I do way too much sometimes and it can be so stressful.

I first read this book in my freshman year of high school (ten years ago!). It was one of my favorites and I loved the movie too. I reread it again just to see if it was as good as I remembered it being, and it was a great reread! What I liked most about the reread is that it felt simple and not overly complex. It was a relaxing read for me, although I was very upset at rereading the death of Chuck 😭😭

I‘ve been trying to read this for almost a month now. I just can‘t finish it. It‘s not that it wasn‘t a good storyline, it just wasn‘t thrilling/captivating enough for me. I might come back to it later in life, but for now this is where I‘m gonna stop and move on to something more enjoyable.

Danny Coughlin‘s Bad Dream was my favorite. It was the longest of the short stories, but well worth the read.

Rattlesnakes was another long one and it was another of my favorites from this book.

The Answer Man, the last story, was also a longer story but amazing. I wouldn‘t call it horror exactly, but definelty fantastical bc of the the answer man‘s appearances in the story. I also found it to be really sad 😔 but still good.

What a way to be welcomed into a family! This story starts off extremely horrifying yet interesting. The characters are amazing! They had my heart ready to burst with excitement along with them in one moment and ready to shed tears in another. I haven‘t enjoyed a story this much in a while and am glad to have found such a great read. Never a dull moment in Hollow and I highly recommend it. And UGHH the cliffhanger ending!!!

Another great short but spooky read for Halloween by Celina! It‘s a little bit longer than The Haunting of Clandestine House, but definitely worth the read. I loved the fast paced nature of the story and how exciting and mysterious it is. The cliffhanger ending is 👌It makes me want more, but also makes a nice finish to the story.

This is a great short but spooky read for Halloween! I especially liked the use of mirrors to add to the creepiness of the story. Mirrors always spook me when I‘m alone and in the dark. I didn‘t expect the ending, but it wasn‘t much of a surprise either. Overall it makes a nice read to get you in the mood for Halloween spooky time. 😄👻

As a big fan of Celina‘s, I wanted to read through this book to learn more about her life. I don‘t know many people who are like Celina or share similar experiences as her, so I am glad that she is sharing her experiences in the way that she is. I love watching her TikTok‘s and YouTube videos and am definitely planning to read the rest of her books.

To be the first book Kiera wrote, The Siren was amazing! I loved it all the way up to the end. The ending was okay, but it wasn‘t my fav. The ending just wasn‘t what I expected and not in a good way 😔 Other than that the story itself was well done. I‘ve never heard these type of Sirens and how made the ocean had emotions and relationships. I would definitely be interested in more books with this theme and style of Sirens.

I read the first nine chapters of this book in January this year. At that time, I thought that I didn‘t really like it that much, and I didn‘t know why everyone else was so into it. But, I picked it up yesterday and couldn‘t put it down till I finished it. My guess is that when I first started it I was just so overloaded with school and work that I couldn‘t enjoy it. Finishing this book was much more enjoyable than when I started it.

While, I liked each of these mini stories in this collection, I would not call this one of my favorite reads. I picked up this book and put it back down for over a month, but I finally finished it. Although the stories were well written, I would have enjoyed it more if each of the stories didn‘t have such an abrupt ending. It made it harder for me to attach myself to the next mini story because as soon as it had started, it was already over.

I can see why this book is banned based off of the language and content in the book, but the storyline is extremely impactful. Experiencing the issues through the eyes of someone so young really gives a different perspective on the situation.

On a side note, I accessed this book through the Palace Project app in the Banned Book Club. This was put together by the dpla in order to allow Americans to read books that have been banned for free!

I enjoyed this Christian fiction. The story was well put together and each new character that shares their POV on Heather's disappearance really had me wondering who had last seen her. I, in fact, did not guess the right person, although I was pretty close. This story makes for a great mystery with a healing-filled journey through the experiences of Faith and Dora.

Reading Madeline's book, I've learned just how important it is to not let education be "stifled or cultures to be erased or books to banned" I could not have come up with better words to share the importance of preserving stories and history, learning from them, and providing access to those in times of war or crisis to the stories that they need to help them survive.

Amazing! I absolutely loved this book. This is the second book I have read by Madeline and both were amazing. I cannot wait to read more of her work. I will be adding Madeline to my list of favorite authors for sure.

My favorite part was seeing the Lord‘s Prayer being used in an another language on p 17 (although I‘m sure I‘ve pronounced it entirely wrong) 😄

I loved this book! Fairy tales that take place in South Carolina will always be something I enjoy. I especially enjoyed Healy‘s book because of the clips of Irish/Gaelic with translations that are used throughout the book. This was a well written story that I‘d definitely read again

While I enjoyed the story of Eliza's life, I didn't enjoy this book. I picked it up and put it back down several times before finishing it. Some parts were good, but others were boring. The flow of the book was just not right for me. Other than that, it did give me some new information about Eliza that I had not known about beforehand which was provided through excerpts from Eliza's journal.

I really didn‘t enjoy this short story. There‘s potential for a bigger story to be told, but as a short story I found too many details to be missing to make this a great read. Because of the quickness of the book, I found many parts to be confusing. For certain parts, they didn‘t make sense as to why they were important. I found the end to be very frustrating. If it was extended into a longer story with more details I‘d be interested to pick it up

I really enjoyed this one! I haven‘t read any fiction about the Indigenous people of North America, so this was a first for me. It was intriguing and a great short story! I think that Bodie does an amazing job with this novella.

LOVED it! The sequel to This Poison Heart gave me exactly what I‘d wanted out of the story. As Briseis struggled with the loss of her mom, she has hope that she can get better back only by following Hecate‘s wish. She must bring the pieces Absyrtus‘ Heart back together. Set off to do this impossible task with her Auntie Circe and gf Marie, they find out that they have to travel across the Black Sea to find what they‘ve been looking for.

This story was unforgettable and remarkable! I absolutely loved it 💕 Young‘s ability to bring her story and characters to life is amazing! Love all of her books so far

I think that this book is good, but it was not my favorite. All the spiraling in this book had me spiraling with thoughts of where the plot was going. I like the idea of the meaning of the spiral that is found in this book by its characters, but don‘t know how to put it into words to share it with you. The style of this story was not anything like other books I have read.

I really enjoyed this book! The cover is amazing too! I ordered the second novel as soon as I finished this one. It was cool to be able to read a novel like this where the MC is a young black girl. There are some fantastically magical elements in this novel, such as Briseis‘s unique ability to control plants, the mysterious apothecary, and the deadly garden filled with botanical dangers.

I enjoyed this book Reyes! Looking at the reviews on Goodreads, I was a little disappointed that so many people did not like the book. I thought it was amazing!

Know that women are some kind of magic. This collection of poetry tells it. You should read this no matter who you are

I LOVE The Silence of Bones. I love learning about Korean culture and was really glad to find this book on my reading list for grad school this semester. I hadn‘t even thought about historical fictions being a way to learn more about the culture and history! As a damo solving a case, this mystery keeps you on the edge of your seat with quite an unexpected revelation at the end!

This was quite an interesting read. I appreciated how the book captures the moments and doesn‘t hide from the complexity of the situation. Evie‘s dad has suddenly passed away… but that‘s not all. As it turns out, he was going to leave her and her mom for a younger woman who is also pregnant?! Can Evie work through her grief through photography and learning more about this mistress?

I enjoyed Cemetery Boys just as much as I thought I would. I loved how authentic this story was to Latinx culture. I have no ties to the culture, but thoroughly enjoy learning more about it in this LGBTQ novel. I honestly have not read anything like this before and would enjoy similar stories in the future!

I did not realize that this was a graphic novel until I looked it up after listening to the audiobook That certainly explains why the audiobook was so short. It was also very different hearing a graphic novel as an audiobook compared to other audiobooks. I did find it enjoyable, but probably would have rather enjoyed it more as the graphic novel.

I‘ve thoroughly enjoyed all the books I‘ve read this year, but this one is, by far, my most favorite. I love reading historical fiction and when it is centered around my home state, South Carolina, I find it all the more enchanting. In this novel, you get to read about Eliza Lucas Pinckney, a brave, intelligent, and ambitious girl of 16 who loves botany and South Carolina.

I thought the funniest line in the book was when Waka‘s grandma told her, “A lot of Japanese women, their butts are quite flat. You should be happy yours isn‘t.” 😂😂