I just feel like a lot was missing...

Like... A lot.

I wanted to like it, but every once in a while, things would pop up in the writing that pissed me off. Like rats not being sentient beings. Yes, they are. There are also some deep Christian undertones, which is not necessarily bad per se, but borderline annoying. Not to mention the chapter transitions are written in a way that is completely unnecessary. They are overtly obvious about trying to get you to read more. Concept is decent, though.

I do enjoy this book, but it has a few storytelling techniques that bother me. Such as this kind of foreshadowing. It's on nearly every page. I just want to yell, "I get it. Stuff is about to happen."

I don't have anything to say about this other than Shirley Jackson was a gem of a writer and our world is better for having had her in it.

I picked this up because I am also writing a novel that deals with a school shooting. I grew up with Columbine in the 8th grade and everything after. I've seen the different sides and this took me back to the wild emotions I have felt every time. Unfortunately, this is not where it ends. There will be more. And more. But this book reminded me of what my purpose in life is: to tell stories that inspire a change in people.

Maybe I am reading too much YA lately because I am catching on to the story way before it is told in many of them lately, but I still liked this one a lot. The myth is intriguing.

This was very long-awaited and I loved every minute of consuming it. I can't wait for the next.

As I said before, it's fantastic. I highly recommend it for anyone on a journey to promote a more compassionate world.

I am flying through this book. It is a great take on #animalrights and #environmentalism. It's an excellent read for those who are already vegan and those who don't know if they want to be. Feldstein covers all the bases with facts and no preachiness. She meets you where you are.

I read this because I was looking into taking a class with the author about weird fiction. I have decided not to take the class because I wasn't impressed with her take on weird fiction. I saw people compare her work to Poe and Lovecraft, and while I see their influence, she hardly compares. Some of the stories were good. Most, however, just left me wondering what the point was.

I was not impressed by this at all. The names stuck out to me so much that they took me out of the story (Cobain, Nixon). The plot was remarkably predictable from the first page. It's spelled out for you, so the suspense is extremely lacking. I wanted to like it, but I felt like the book was failing with every turn of the page.

My therapist recommended this to me because I was frustrated with people being unable to accept me for my introverted nature. This helped me see that I am not broken.

Yeah, I have to bail on this. I returned it to the library a long time ago and haven't even thought about it since.

I really was not fond of this one, but I was able to complete it. I found it to be very predictable and dull. There wasn't much conflict or suspense here. Everything felt very passive. I wish it would have ripped my heart out and stomped on it. Books need to make me feel something.

I loved the comics within. Some of the essays were hit or miss, but I really felt understood and seen by the authors in this book. It really helped me come to terms with some of my own issues.

I enjoyed it, but I didn't find it as exciting as the first one, partially because the killer is revealed halfway through and you're left wondering how the killer will be caught. It made it kind of anticlimactic, but it is still a very worthy and entertaining read.

To summarize, without all of the meandering that Gessner even points out, we need a new environmentalism that is seen as "normal." People need to find what they love about the natural world in their own backyard.

If you are looking for a more flowery read to fill some time, go ahead and read it... But it's largely a waste of time.

The Financial Diet is the book I needed to wrap my brain around the whole scary world of finances and adulting. Even though it is more geared for people in their 20s, some of us in our early 30s need this information, too. It is entirely digestible.

This quote from My Green Manifesto is so important to not only the environmentalist movement, but also animal rights and any other movement for change.

I am finally getting to this one! I am in need of a great thriller/mystery!

I enjoyed this despite some of the storytelling flaws. Deaths seemed to happen too quickly and the suspense wasn't really drawn out. The tension had such a small hold on me that I wasn't completely emotionally invested, and that's usually my entire reason for reading. However, I liked the concept enough that I'll get the sequel

I have had this book for ages and started reading it awhile ago, but I am just now committing to finishing it. I am debating whether to go into dog training or not. I love Victoria Stillwell's work and maybe I will get some insight.

The Night Olivia Fell is about a mother trying to figure out what happened to her daughter the night she was left brain dead. It's told in the perspective of the mother and also Olivia, the daughter. I found the book to be thrilling at the beginning, but as it went on, I grew tired of it. I did, however, fall for every red herring, but I'm really not much of a detective.

It was a little slow to start as it took me a bit to get used to this new voice, but it finished with a bang. The characters were interesting and the premise of how do you know when to involve yourself in other people's problems is great, even if it ends without an actual answer.

Picking this up while I take a break from Reading Lolita in Tehran. I'm dealing with some of my own mental health issues right now and I hope this book helps in some way.

I started this book as part of my Read Harder challenge journal. I frequently try to expand my literary horizons, but more often than not, I can hardly get into the challenge books. I have been reading this for maybe a week now and haven't gotten much further than 30 pages.

I like that it is about a group of women basically rebelling to pursue knowledge through literature, but man... I just want to read something where someone dies. 🤣⚰️☠️

Whoever we were - and it was not really important what religion we belonged to, whether we wished to wear the veil or not, whether we observed certain religious norms or not- we had become the figment of someone else's dreams.

First lesson of life in the establishment: keep your mouth shut. Or someone will shut it for you, permanently.

So good! I couldn't put it down. Erika Foster has nothing to lose because she's already lost it all and her drive for justice makes for a gripping story.