Mercer

Very interesting premise. Not a very interesting book. I wish more of the characters had time to shine and be a bit more fleshed out. Ironically everything felt very two dimensional.

The 5 stars is only if you listen to the book while reading it!!

This book felt like it triangulated all the things I want in a memoir: queer coming of age, cooking/chef coming of age and recovery from addiction. The story was relatable, lovely and mouth-watering. The author's voice was sweet and endearing. I loved this.

All hail Becky Chambers. Long may she reign.

Wow. The world built in this novella was beautiful and sweet. It left me feeling tender and inspired and introspective. The characters were multifaceted and simultaneously so simple. I loved this.

I read this as part of a company requirement.

I find that the growth mindset stuff comes really naturally to me with work and stuff as it relates to me directly, but it's hard when it's in relationships or with my kiddo! So, I found the latter chapters, specifically around that, to be really great.

Overall, I thought this book was good but that it picked up pace at the end. The last chapter, for instance, had really good applicable insights which I plan to use as a framework more often.

I genuinely believe that the reason no controversy came up about Bourdain after his death is because he already revealed all the things that anyone could have tried to dig up. He wrote so honestly, exposing himself and his soft underbelly. I love the way he writes about food. I love the way he writes about his friends and foes. I miss New York and his voice as I read.

This was good. The audiobook version felt hard to listen to, but the content itself was very good. I appreciated having a doubling down of key concepts, and an exploration of anti-racism through another lens besides my own cishet white one.

Less well-structured than others, but still a nicely-plotted book. Gladwell does an excellent job of tying together the untieable.

My son is obsessed with this Series, and I enjoy it more than other books in the same genre. Teaches about choosing between right and wrong, the concept of chosen family, and just kindness and justice in general.

Good to see Scottish folklore getting some attention! I liked this—I thought it was going to be YA, so I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't. I was hopeful I could finish this one and not need to immediately snag the second book but, unfortunately, it ends on a cliff hanger.

This book is amazing! Well-crafted, fast-paced, I couldn't put it down. I am obsessed with the epic poems and literature in general and loved the ease with which the author entwined sci-fi, the Iliad and Shakespeare all in one. On to the next one!

More SF than Ilium, but I still enjoyed this book. Well-crafted and weaving and lovely.

Good. Repetitive. No real new information, but written in an engaging way. I question the honesty of the narrator in some cases because there is feigned omniscience...but perhaps there's enough info about Gein at this point to make assumptions?

I wish that this book hadn't been as propped up by anecdata. There is interesting stuff here and it was so masked by all the “stories.”

Always truly excellent. Cannot wait for the end. The writing is excellent, the embodiment of deities on point, the art style is breathtaking. And what a final line!!! Holy moley.

I also appreciated the opening to this edition, in which actual well known journalists interviewed Kieron as he pretended to be the Gods. Super interesting and unique take for the genre.

There was not a story in this book that wasn't simultaneously gut-wrenching and laugh out loud hilarious—and that's quite a feat.

Super important content, but the writing is repetitive. I feel like there were few moments that were truly envelope-pushing and impactful here.

I will read this again.

This was such a quick read I was surprised by how emotionally resonant it was. Masquerading as a group of misfit kids chasing down old town ghost stories, there's actually a much deeper, more tender plot at the heart. Very very sweet and sad.

Tim Ferris is Joe Rogan for people that aren't total jerks.

This book, my god. I mourn that it is over because I could have enjoyed it forever.

This book was less engaging than the others. Perhaps I got burned by hoping this would be about the characters from the prior three books, but the narrator really annoyed me. This also felt more like a romance than anything else, which wasn't what I'd expected. I'd qualify this as a good vacation read but otherwise not worth the energy.

This book made me laugh out loud, just like the podcast. Doing a long distance readalong with someone who has never listened to the podcast, and they are ALSO enjoying it—so if you've never listened but like DnD and/or the McElroy's this may be good for you.

Hyper-Christian and gender-normative, but a lot of good tips and actionable tricks, even for people that aren't god-fearing.