Not really my thing. These big thinky litfic novels never really land for me. This one tackles the ethical questions around allowing AI to make decisions for us - but it also undermines itself in the end. This is prime for discussion though so get into it with your bookclub!

The storyline I was most interested in (a teenage girl and her emotional involvement with a chatbot) was not explored nearly enough.

Delightful, Gothic, and just everything I needed it to be. This slim classic is weird and wonderful - I devoured it!

Gibson is not a favorite of mine lyrically or formally but there is so much feeling baked into these poems that I understand why they resonate with folks as they do. Lovely work if not always my thing.

And again, James is just not my bag.

Finally reviewing my spooky season reads and I'm sorry to say Henry James is not for me. I had a fantasy in my head that this would feel like that Nicole Kidman movie, The Others, in which the mystery of children is profoundly frightening but no, it just felt like a very blustery letdown.

The most recent season has wrapped and I am so full of feelings. Delighting in this webtoon as always.

I cannot express how much I needed this novel. I bumbled along with my poor dear Philip as he tried so hard to make sense of life and love. For all its reputation, this really isn‘t bleak. It feels deeply, almost painfully honest. A tender, searching bildungsroman that invites you to muse alongside its philosophy as you travel through the life of its frustrating, kind, and lovable hero.

Again just not for me. I'm so close to being finished with this series!

A slim bit important read! Calvin runs an org dedicated to helping folks obtain IDs in the US which you need to do almost anything official. Her detailing not only of her own activism but of the willful obfuscation throughout the bureaucratic process of obtaining identification is eye opening and fascinating. But what hit me most were the distinctions between voter rolls and eligibility, often considered interchangeable but profoundly not!

Utterly charmed by this one. Works satisfingly as a memoir but there truly is helpful and inspiring craft advice here. Plus Lamott is just a delight.

What is there to say about this classic work except expressing that must read it? Frankl writes devastatingly of his experience of the Holocaust but maintains the core of his personal and professional philosophy throughout, that of logotherapy and the human need for meaning. A touchstone reminding us of our humanity and the depth within every individual. As difficult as the subject matter can be, this is an empowering and uplifting work.

Takei details his family's internment powerfully. Seeing this history through a child's eyes, the reader feels the depth of fear and uncertainty. There were panels here depicting Takei's mother that made me weep; watching along as parents do all they can to protect their children in the face of absolute injustice only to be shown that it is never enough. But the force of love, care, and community endures, reverberating through generations.

Fantastic read! Adams chronicles the history of Black bookselling broadly through a focus on many of the key players. Deeply researched and passionately told, Black-Owned details the work of community minded, culture building businesses and the powerful individuals behind them. Essential reading as ever but especially important now.

Lockwood is perfection as always. Her humor, her phrasing, and her ability to inject humor into both the deeply mundane and the intensity of life, just all of it. I'll keep reading her forever.

I wanted a middle grade memoir akin to El Deafo which hits perfectly for it's subject matter and age range, unfortunately Say Something is more didactic fiction that tells kids how they should feel rather than a memoir of how one kid did feel.

It has been ages since I've picked up a Vonnegut novel and I did not particularly enjoy this one, which deeply saddens me. Mayhap the passage of time for me personally or the passage of time culturally, or maybe just the bitterness of the modern era stole the zest from this satire. So it goes.

So, I wrote out a review that was really just me explaining why and how this framework works for me as a manager, but you don't really need all that. Just know that if you are looking to build trust in your team, there are guidelines here.

Again, not for me. I will finish the series, but I don't enjoy it. Male main have me the ick.

Publisher marketing really wants you to know that Esther is an orphan from St. Clouds and don't we all want to see Dr. Larch again? But like, that is truly irrelevant to the novel. Irving has written another brilliantly cast family novel about a young writer. All that you expect is here (except bears, no bears in this one).

I'm in a strange loop with novels about writers, sisters, memory, and trauma - maybe I need to call my sister?

A fascinating journey here, twin sisters may or may not be encountering their deceased mother but it's not ghosts or even timey-wimey business, it's just trauma. I enjoyed the read but expected more from the prose being a novel by a poet.

A lovely memoir that is as much about being alive as it as about this one individual's life.

I too just want to revel in a carnival like Templeton the rat. Austin's novels hit very close to home for me, to the point that I don't know how to convey my review. Another link in my chain of books for weird, gay people - read it - join us.

This was a whole ride. I loved the opening, an isolated retreat with a famous, reclusive author and a group of insecure, competitive writers. The pettiness, jealousy, and fragile egos...it's catnip for me. But things ultimately go completely off the rails. Still, it was a fun, fast read. Just know going in that it will get ridiculous and your capacity for camp will dictate your level of enjoyment.

Been reading through these on ye olde webtoon at a quick clip. Funny, surprisingly dark, ridiculous.

The kind of work I would like injected into my veins. Tiana Clark is a poet I am already longing to return to. These are electric poems that are vibrating with life. I can't tell you anything else, it's just to be felt. Go forth and read.

While I'm not a contemporary or sports romance reader, I did find this to be a cute, fun romance. The author is local to me and our shop hosted her launch so I may be a lil biased but still think this one was a fun romp.

Sometimes memoirs are fascinating due solely to the life lived by their subject; sometimes the lyricism of the prose is what propels you through. But then, you get a book like this and are just slammed by the unbelievable writing, galvanized by the force of life. This memoir, grounded in Roy's relationship with her difficult mother is a fascinating look into an activist writer's life unlike any you have read. Intimate and uncompromising.

A memoir, a message, and a deeply felt paean to history. Inspired by a trip to the NMAAHC, Roberts begins a journey of diving into the sea to uncover the stories of sunken slave ships. She weaves her personal narrative into the depths of the history she shares all the while highlighting the reasons these sites go underresearched and stories untold. Moving, inspiring, and essential reading!

As lush, dense, and layered as Rice gets. This is her deep dive into the gens de couleur of New Orleans in the years before the Civil War. Melodramatic, broadly populated, and phenomenally detailed. I took my time with this one and read it in chunks, as much as I enjoy Rice's prose I do find I start to drown in it when reading too much at a stretch. The richness of character and setting is well worth the push.

An unsettling and interesting read! I love Jackson! Merricat's bizarre witchy rituals, Julian's stilted rememberences, Constance's utter isolation - it's all so deeply uncomfortable. We can never know the truth, we can never trust anyone, we are all ultimately completely alone. But you have to forget those things, everyday, in order to move forward. And damn if Shirley Jackson doesn't just slap you in the face with how tenuous it all is.

I shared Radical Candor with my manager and she shared Think Again with me. We have different styles but are in fundamental alignment as our reading choices show! I enjoyed this one and will definitely revisit (also picking up Grant's podcast). Think Again functions as a book of reminders, why would should embrace humility, curiosity, and a willingness to be wrong. I vibed with it.

Radical Candor (which I am currently rereading) was very helpful to me as an employer; I often veer into Scott's designation of Ruinous Empathy. Just Work is a great companion to her earlier book. Great to revisit and very grounding as we build at formal policies at the bookshop.

This was fine, very pleased with its own cleverness, but fine.

I will surely reread this in a few years and remain mystified and awed by Lockwood. She can be so weird and profound and vulgar and vibrant. This novel feels like a working through, ruminating in a similar vein to No One is Talking About This but ultimately more muddled and not as powerful. Still brilliant and full of unforgettable prose.

Parts of this book I absolutely loved. Ramsey‘s writing about California forests, wildfire seasons, and the camaraderie among hotshot crews is great. Where it falters for me is in the shift to her personal history, while the strain on her marriage fits thematically, the reflections on her sexual history felt less integrated and underexplored in terms of what the memoir was trying to say about gender, labor, and identity. Ultimately a soft pick.

Folklore, magical realism, family secrets, lush nature writing, and a dual timeline - a perfect moody read. This one unfurls slowly and then absolutely crashes the satisfying ending like a wave on the sand. Highly recommended for Katherine Arden readers, it's an Australian cousin to her novels.

Early work, mostly pseudonymous, heavy on holiday stories. If you're a fan, I don't have to tell you to read it. If you are not yet a fan, don't start here.

Imagine you are so anxious and OCD that your intrusive thoughts lead you to behave in such a way that the police think you might have killed someone and you maybe start to think that too but like you def did not, you would remember and that's crazy but I mean what even is reality so maybe? Anyway, that's the vibe and I felt called out but also weirdly comforted.

Sadly dnf'ing this one that I bought years ago and apparently waited too long to read. Maybe I gave up before the subjects got deep but what I did read was just the slight petty kind of judgments told with flair and wit sure, but I expected more. I follow Luvvie across social media and she's a great writer and thinker - this one just didn't do it for me.

Fairy tales but with a millennial bent. Irreverent and rooted in global folklore but I ultimately dnf'd about halfway through because the author's asides became more and more intrusive. People will def like this, just not me in this particular case.

Giving space to the five revolutions allows readers two gifts: the invitation to embrace awe and the permission to accept all that we may never fully know. Vaudo reckons with both beautifully. This is deeply complex subject matter, offered with a conversational tone that welcomes the reader into knowledge rather than overwhelms. A lovely work for those of us that aren't astrophysicists.

I expected this to be great; did not expect it to be so deeply personal. Perry travels through the south engaging with history and culture to reflect upon the ways the multifaceted communities throughout the south have shaped the nation. The question of what the south is arises, as well as the exploration of whose stories are usually told. All of it considered with a depth of curiosity that has the approach of a memoir. Phenomenal!

I did not dislike this one as much as it's companion but I think this series is just not for me. Not a dark romance girlie. I'm going to keep reading them because they are short and I bought the bundle so we'll see how this goes.

Only Annalee Newitz could write this! Cozy scifi that's grappling with ethical questions about AI consciousness while tapping into real-world xenophobia and the beauty found in community. All told through a group of robots (and their token human) that just want to make good noodles.

What do you say about a story this iconic? I knew the beats but I'm so glad to have finally read it. The absolutely unsettling tone created within such sparse text is such an unbelievable achievement. I get why this is still such a culture shifting work. I may have felt the need to journal through my feelings for like an hour after reading; will be processing this one for a while.

I don't know how to feel. Maybe audio was the wrong format for this one? Just did not land for me. The ambition inherent in the form (pairing fiction and nonfic to excavate something deeper) fascinates me and I'd love to read further authors playing in this mode. I read the memoir bit first and it was fine, the fiction section didn't land for me at all. I think it's a fascinating conversation to be had but in this instance it did not resonate.

Politics-driven high fantasy with all the classic tropes: royal intrigue, deep lore, and an epic tournament. Add a sacred animal companion with no patience for human nonsense and you've got me! It's tropey, it's epic, it's a ride.

SPCTR is not in the litsy database, but it was a super fun scifi webtoon that absolutely deserves a trade release!

Finally made my way to this classic because a friend wanted to watch the John Wayne adaptation (it couldn't hold a candle to this novel, if you were wondering). The dialogue is every bit as delightful as you've always heard and Donna Tartt's narration is phenomenal. A book I could revel in but it was so engrossing I ended up finishing it in a day. Here's to the rereads to come!

A memoir in essays through the lens of fairy tales. Audio was not the right choice and I may try again in print. Mark is grappling with the heaviness of our world (she's covering the pandemic, climate anxieties, blm and the fear inherent in raising Black boys). There's a depth of honesty here that is not always pleasant but I don't know that gazing at our faults without actually examining them is the open bravey so many memoirs purport it to be.