I agree with others that maybe this wasn‘t quite as good as There There, but I still loved it. As far as character development and just plain beautiful writing on a tough subject, few can rival Tommy Orange for me.
#ToB25longlist

I‘m 4 for 4 so far in the #ToB25! I‘d probably put this one last of the 4, but I surprised myself by enjoying this tale of girl boxers and their bouts in one tournament. Definitely outside my wheelhouse, which is what I love about the ToB.

I think I would have enjoyed this as a decent coming-of-age story, even without the alien “twist”. It did make me feel quite sad at times.
#ToB25

Just loved this, especially with the unique way the stories are interconnected. The audiobook is fantastic, with different readers for each story.
#ToB25

I really felt my age reading this (ha 👵), but enjoyed it nonetheless. Soft pick.
#ToB25

My daughters and I love The Gilmore Girls and I loved this book. Only about 1/4 is actually about that show, but Bishop has had an interesting life in the entertainment business. Her accolades include a Tony award as an original cast member of “Chorus Line” on Broadway. I mostly listened to the audio and it‘s great. (Emily‘s voice! 🥰)

A gem I picked up at my library‘s used book sale. I find Erdrich‘s writing beautiful and heartbreaking. I feel a real connection to Native American culture and Erdrich is one of my favorite authors.

I was nervous this would be one of those “I don‘t get all the hype” books for me (it‘s happened several times). It wasn‘t! I loved it! Yay! 😀👍👏
Also, the audio was fantastic.

I loved Hyperbole and a Half, but didn‘t connect with this one.

I was drawn into this story of a young schoolteacher in Ireland during The Troubles. Cushla is trying to get by despite her alcoholic mother and love of the wrong man. It all felt very authentic.

A lovely little escape read for today. I don‘t think I had ever read Through the Looking Glass. A reread of Alice has been on my radar since learning Paul McCartney and John Lennon were huge Lewis Carroll fans. The wordplay is great fun.

Dewey‘s readathon is tomorrow! I can‘t wait to unplug for 24 hours, as I seem to be anxiety-ridden these days. I wonder why. 😳🤯😰🫣
#deweysreadathon

I enjoyed this enough to overlook the parts that bothered me. I‘m hard on books, though, so it‘s rare I love anything from start to finish. 😁🙄

Another I‘m in the minority on. This felt like a bunch of puzzle pieces that didn‘t quite fit together. I‘d love to read a good book about lone women homesteaders in Montana. For me, this wasn‘t it.

A soft pick. I found sections of it to be brilliant, but got bogged down in others. I‘m sure the style was deemed quite daring for 1925.
#1001books

I‘ve read some great nonfiction this year, but this was the best of the bunch.

Perhaps the plot was a little loose, but I loved the characters and learning about the Sami reindeer herders.

I hadn‘t heard of this author, but I can see why she is considered one of Denmark‘s best twentieth-century writers. Really compelling reading. I was drawn in by her brutal honesty in describing her life.

I don‘t read a lot of poetry, but this volume has made me want to scour the earth for everything Billy Collins has ever written. LOVED it!! 😍

Not a “comfort” read, but SO important. Should be required reading for anyone who won‘t remain young nor live forever (yes, every one of us).

I enjoyed slowly working my way through this book, listening to each song as I read about it. For nearly 70 years, this guy has been writing songs! This book features 161 of them. I counted 69 co-written with John Lennon (out of the about 300 they wrote together). Really interesting snippets about his writing process, inspiration for the songs, and the other Beatles.

Well, that was loads of fun! And just the break I needed from heavier fare…

I know this is based on true events, but I was never more than casually interested in how the story would unfold. I had the feeling some of the translation was a little awkward. I‘m also sure I would have enjoyed it more if I were a foodie. 😊

I‘m ready for a book I can really sink my teeth into and LOVE. It‘s been a while. I couldn‘t connect with these characters. I tried to listen to the audiobook, but would get lost in the conversations. Having said that, I don‘t regret reading it. I may be thinking about it for a bit (or maybe not, considering the ending irritated me 😆).

This book far exceeded my expectations. Bono is a multi-faceted, supremely talented, complicated man. Skillfully blending stories of his music with his activism and his personal life, it‘s a great read (and audiobook).

Mostly fascinating and entertaining, but there‘s a lot to parse - perhaps a bit too much. Hill‘s research is certainly impressive (just check out the bibliography), as are his intellect and writing skills.

Just a blurb about how much I am loving this book. It‘s unsettling, but I think the writing is just brilliant. I am in awe of writers like Nathan Hill - SO far out of my intelligence wheelhouse. ☺️

I‘m perpetually late to the party, but I was happy this was a quick read for #CampLitsy24. I agree with so many comments here that I don‘t feel I can add anything unique. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but didn‘t find it “amazing”.

Despite it‘s frightening and all too possible premise, this was a lovely book. It was an impulse airport buy, and it kept me riveted on the long flight. (The best thing about being held captive in a metal tube is not having one iota of guilt about reading for hours. 😁🤓📖.)

This one is hard for me to review. I admire so many things about it, but it was a little too much for me in the violence/grittiness department. 3.5/5*

I‘m enamored with this series. I feel it‘s higher-level writing than most novels in the crime genre.

I liked this a lot, although could have done without the heavy-handed foreshadowing. Too much “Given everything that came later, I wish”… or “I should have…” blah, blah, blah. Fascinating subject matter, though, and I‘ll think about communication in a new way.

Great story, stellar writing, and interesting. characters. Historical fiction at its best. 5*
ETA: the audio was excellent

Not without its implausible moments and some work to keep the characters and sub-plots straight, but overall an intelligent and satisfying read.

I probably should have “Panned” this, but it had me intrigued for a while. I became less and less enamored and felt the ending meandered around, trying to find its way. You warned me, @BarbaraBB !
#LitsyToB24

I found this gem on the #ToBLonglist and it‘s right up my alley. I‘m quoting a blurb from the GR description because it‘s perfect:
“Fernandez braids astronomy and astrology, neuroscience and memory, family history and national history into this brief but intensely imagined autobiographical essay.”

A soft pick. If I think of it as poetry, it makes a real impact. As a novel, too much magical realism for my taste.
#LitsyToB24

I do love my British murder mysteries.

I‘m in the minority on this one, but I was still surprised to see the 100% pick on Litsy. I felt there was nothing to really sink my teeth into. (Omg - I can‘t believe I just used that phrase. I apparently can‘t get my brain beyond Room 101.) Retelling a classic is a daunting task and this just didn‘t work for me.
#LitsyToB24

Yes, it was long but as a fan I found most of it very interesting. The audio book is 48 hours, but Babs talks SO slowly you can easily listen at 1.5 speed. I do recommend the audio since there are “extras” and music.

When most of your library holds come in at the same time…😩
#Litsytob24

Powerful and heartbreaking.

I‘m not much of a mythology fan, but this was so beautifully written I became totally absorbed.

Pretty scary at how spot on Eggers was with the direction in which social media is going. There were some eye-rolling moments which weakened the book‘s effect on me, so it‘s just a soft pick. My last completion in a somewhat dismal reading year. 😞
#1001books

I found this clever and entertaining, but it‘s not one that will stay with me too long. I don‘t see it winning the #ToB24.

I‘m going to look for more books from this publisher after reading this short little gem. The back cover says: “Storybook ND: the pleasure of reading a great book from cover to cover in an afternoon”.

It was totally worth the library wait to listen to Meryl Streep read this. (I like to also have a hard copy of the books I listen to.)

I am really in the minority on this one. Although I can appreciate dark humor, it didn‘t work for me here. I thought the light-hearted treatment of the serious subject matter crossed the line into silliness.