Christine's bookshelf: all

Christine's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:25:22 -0700 60 Christine's bookshelf: all 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Terrified 13276433 A single mother with a secret past will do anything to save her son in this “genuine page-turner” by the New York Times bestselling author (Seattle Times). Megan Keeslar died years ago—or so everyone believes. In fact, she disappeared to escape her sadistic husband, Glenn. When dismembered body parts were found near their home, Glenn was convicted of his wife’s murder. And Megan, terrified for her unborn child’s safety, never came forward with the truth . . . After building a new life in Seattle, Megan’s son Josh knows nothing about her past. But someone does. First, there are anonymous emails and threats, just as she learns that Glenn has been released from prison. Then the unthinkable a masked man breaks into their home and abducts Josh. To save her son, Megan must put herself at the mercy of a maniac. Is Glenn a cold-blooded killer determined to destroy her world, or is the truth even more twisted? Megan thought she knew fear, but her nightmare is only beginning . . .]]> 559 Kevin O'Brien 0786030186 Christine 4 4.25 2012 Terrified

author: Kevin O'Brien
name: Christine
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2026/07/16
date added: 2026/07/16
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court]]> 239958093 A myth-busting glimpse into the inner workings of the Supreme Court, revealing what we get wrong about the Roberts Court, what the justices' clerks gossip about, and how to fix a court in crisis—from the popular ABC news pundit and top legal podcaster

"Isgur has all your answers in these smart, snappy, clear-eyed pages.”
—Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Samuel Adams

Most people get the Supreme Court all wrong. A smattering of high-profile decisions have popularized a simplistic idea of the Court and its justices. Yes, six of them were appointed by Republicans, and only three by Democrats. So, how does that 6-3 conservative majority explain why in the 2024-25 term, conservative Brett Kavanaugh was more likely to agree with liberal Elena Kagan than conservative Neil Gorsuch? Or why the court threw shade at Florida’s attempt to ban drag shows?

To truly understand the Court, argues Sarah Isgur, you have to look beyond partisan politics—the “X-Axis.” The wisest court watchers apply another measuring stick, the “Y-Axis," where the nine justices span from order-loving institutionalists to true chaos agents. Once you appreciate these overlapping and even competing impulses, the Court begins to look a lot more like a 3-3-3 split than 6-3.

The ultimate insider, Isgur takes readers on a deep dive inside the Supreme how cases land at the Court’s doorstep, which justices attend clerk happy hours (and which ones even bother showing up to the office), why conservatives already have buyer’s remorse about Amy Coney Barrett, and how the whole judicial system is kind of a constitutional anomaly. She’ll even help you decide whether you should throw your hat in the ring and go to law school! Blending irreverent humor and incisive commentary, Isgur goes underneath the robes—and shows us what we need to do to preserve the rule of law amid dicey times in this little self-governing experiment we’ve been running for the last 250 years.]]> 406 Sarah Isgur 0593800931 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.46 Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court

Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court

author: Sarah Isgur
name: Christine
average rating: 4.46
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/06
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone 27405221
Andrea Boyle moved to Seattle to give her seventeen-year-old nephew, Spencer, a fresh start after the death of his parents. Andrea has found her own new beginning with Luke, a successful playwright and father of a teenage son, Damon. The boys appear to have little in common, but in truth they share a private torment…

No Remorse

When a tragedy befalls Damon, it's just the beginning of a nightmare that unfolds. But the worst is yet to come once a dark secret from Spencer's past is exposed. And when Luke is brutally attacked, both of their futures are at stake.

No Second Chance

Now it's up to Andrea to prove Spencer's innocence to the police--and to herself. Because for reasons she has revealed to no one, even Andrea can't help questioning the truth--and fearing that she may be next to pay the ultimate price…]]> 516 Kevin O'Brien 0786038829 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.01 2009 You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone

author: Kevin O'Brien
name: Christine
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/06
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Calamity Club 228823087 The multi-million copy selling author of The Help returns with a bold, big-hearted novel about a group of unbreakable women, fighting for what’s rightfully theirs—and the power of friendship to change everything.

In 1933 Oxford, Mississippi, Prohibition is on the wane, and the Great Depression is tightening its grip. Poor and rich folks alike have fallen on hard times, even as the old social order remains. For women on the margins, the options are few and the price of dignity and self-determination is unbearably high.

Eleven-year-old Meg, one of the unadoptable “big girls” at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed. Birdie, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford on a mission to ask her social-climbing sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. And Charlie is a woman with a past, running low on luck but driven by fire, fury, and grit. When their fates converge, they come up with an audacious plan to take back control of their lives. Together, they form an unlikely sisterhood—but in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife, women’s freedom is fragile, and making an enemy can have dire consequences, will the price they pay for their outrageous risk-taking be too high?

The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheer—an epic testament to resilience, friendship, and the fierce, funny women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings. This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilarious—the triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.]]> 640 Kathryn Stockett 1954118821 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.66 2026 The Calamity Club

author: Kathryn Stockett
name: Christine
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/06
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Bad Sister 48761723 TOO CLOSE
The site of the old campus bungalow where two girls were brutally slain is now a flower patch covered with chrysanthemums. It’s been fifty years since the Immaculate Conception Murders. Three more students and a teacher were killed in a sickening spree that many have forgotten. But there is one person who knows every twisted detail. . . .

TO SEE
Hannah O’Rourke and her volatile half-sister, Eden, have little in common except a parent. Yet they’ve ended up at the same small college outside Chicago, sharing a bungalow with another girl. Hannah isn’t thrilled—nor can she shake the feeling that she’s being watched. And her journalism professor, Ellie Goodwin, keeps delving into Hannah and Eden’s newsworthy past. . . .

THE DANGER
When Hannah and Eden’s arrival coincides with a spate of mysterious deaths, Ellie knows it’s more than a fluke. A copycat is recreating those long-ago murders. Neither the police nor the school will accept the horrific truth. And the more Ellie discovers, the more she’s convinced that she won’t live to be believed. . . .
]]> 438 Kevin O'Brien 0786045116 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.09 2020 The Bad Sister

author: Kevin O'Brien
name: Christine
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/06/06
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Stop Overthinking: 23 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Spirals, Declutter Your Mind, and Focus on the Present (The Path to Calm Book 1)]]> 57280624 Overcome negative thought patterns, reduce stress, and live a worry-free life.Overthinking is the biggest cause of unhappiness. Don't get stuck in a never-ending thought loop. Stay present and keep your mind off things that don't matter, and never will.Break free of your self-imposed mental prison.Stop Overthinking is a book that understands where you’ve been through,the exhausting situation you’ve put yourself into, and how you lose your mind in the trap of anxiety and stress. Acclaimed author Nick Trenton will walk you through the obstacles with detailed and proven techniques to help you rewire your brain, control your thoughts, and change your mental habits.What’s more, the book will provide you scientific approaches to completely change the way you think and feel about yourself by ending the vicious thought patterns.Stop agonizing over the past and trying to predict the future.Nick Trenton grew up in rural Illinois and is quite literally a farm boy. His best friend growing up was his trusty companion Leonard the dachshund. RIP Leonard. Eventually, he made it off the farm and obtained a BS in Economics, followed by an MA in Behavioral Psychology.Powerful ways to stop ruminating and dwelling on negative thoughts.-How to be aware of your negative spiral triggers-Identify and recognize your inner anxieties-How to keep the focus on relaxation and action-Proven methods to overcome stress attacks-Learn to declutter your mind and find focusUnleash your unlimited potential and start living. No more self-deprecating talk. No more sleepless nights with racing thoughts. Free your mind from overthinking and achieve more, feel better, and unleash your potential. Finally be able to live in the present moment. Live a stress-free life and conquer overthinking -- BUY NOW.]]> 191 Nick Trenton Christine 0 currently-reading 3.73 2021 Stop Overthinking: 23 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Spirals, Declutter Your Mind, and Focus on the Present (The Path to Calm Book 1)

Stop Overthinking: 23 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Spirals, Declutter Your Mind, and Focus on the Present (The Path to Calm Book 1)

author: Nick Trenton
name: Christine
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/05/25
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Hide Your Fear 32882433 THE ONLY WAY
A home provides more than comfort and shelter. It stores memories . . . and hides secrets. Divorcee Caitlin Stoller and her children recently moved into a charming old Tudor-style house in the coastal town of Echo, Washington. The place was a bargain, but as weeks pass, Caitlin starts receiving messages first friendly, then unsettling, hinting at the property s dark past . . .
YOU'LL STAY ALIVE
Caitlin's teenage daughter, Lindsay, isn't fitting in at school. To make matters worse, there are stories about local high school students who've disappeared without a trace, all star athletes, like Lindsay. Then there are the rumors that their new home is cursed. Caitlin doesn't want to believe the whispers, but something strange is going on. Personal items go missing, and there are too many accidents . . .
IS IF HE NEVER FINDS YOU
The Watcher knows how to get inside the Stollers' home and inside their heads. The rumors are true . . . but the full horror is even worse. There's no escaping the nightmare that started here long ago, and no place to hide from a killer who knows exactly how this story will end.]]> 484 Kevin O'Brien 0786038845 Christine 4 4.09 2017 Hide Your Fear

author: Kevin O'Brien
name: Christine
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2026/05/24
date added: 2026/05/24
shelves:
review:

]]> They Won't Be Hurt 36549625 ONCE YOU LET THEM INThe lights are on at the Singleton vacation home on Lopez Island, Washington, illuminating the horror within. Scott Singleton, former NFL star turned television evangelist, lies dead. The bodies of his wife and four of their five children are found on the second floor, bound, gagged, and stabbed repeatedly. The oldest daughter was shot downstairs. And the police’s main suspect—the property caretaker—has disappeared. THEY WILL NEVERIn her secluded vineyard home two hours away, Laura Gretchell is on edge. Her husband is out of town on business, and the children are understandably shaken. Laura tries to tell herself there’s no reason to fear. Then the door handle rattles, and the real terror begins. LET YOU GOThey’re in her house, holding her children hostage, and Laura has only one do exactly what the intruders say. But as Laura races to find the information they seek, she realizes that the enemies within her own home are only part of the nightmare. Because someone wants to keep the truth hidden at any cost, no matter how many more must die . . . Praise for Kevin O’Brien’s You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone “The suspense builds from page one and ends with a climax you won’t see coming.”—Suspense Magazine]]> 449 Kevin O'Brien 0786038861 Christine 5 4.15 2018 They Won't Be Hurt

author: Kevin O'Brien
name: Christine
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2026/05/12
date added: 2026/05/12
shelves:
review:

]]> The Night She Disappeared 55990969 SOME NIGHTMARES YOU CAN'T FORGET

From the depths of sleep, Seattle TV reporter Anna Malone awakens to her phone ringing. She rarely drinks, and this hangover is brutal. Why can't she shake the feeling that something terrible happened last night? And why can't she recall any of it?

BUT EVEN WORSE

What Anna does remember: an awkward restaurant meal with her married lover, Russ Knoll, and his unsuspecting wife, Courtney. Russ's phone call reveals that Courtney is missing, and as days go by with no trace, he comes under police scrutiny. Anna's in the spotlight too, thanks to a TV rival with a grudge. Anna's not proud of her affair, but she and Russ aren't bad people. They're certainly not the killing kind.

IS THE ONE YOU CAN'T REMEMBER . . .

Anna already suspected that Courtney--a successful, charming author--might have a darker side. Is she truly missing? Perhaps the sudden disturbances in Anna's life aren't accidental after all. But no scenario that Anna imagines can compare to the twisted game unfolding around her, one chilling piece at a time . . .]]> 395 Kevin O'Brien 0786045124 Christine 5 3.84 2021 The Night She Disappeared

author: Kevin O'Brien
name: Christine
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2026/05/01
date added: 2026/05/01
shelves:
review:

]]> The Enemy at Home 64632368 As World War II rages overseas, a serial killer preys on women working in Seattle’s factories in this provocative blend of vivid, richly detailed historical fiction and taut suspense.

1943, Seattle. While raging war reshapes the landscape of Europe, its impact is felt thousands of miles away too. Before the war, Nora Kinney was one of countless housewives and mothers in her comfortable Capitol Hill neighborhood. Now, with her doctor husband stationed in North Africa, Nora feels compelled to do more than tend her victory garden or help with scrap metal drives.

At the Boeing B-17 plant, Nora learns to wield a heavy riveting gun amid the deafening noise of the assembly line—a real-life counterpart to “Rosie the Riveter” in the recruitment posters. Yet while the country desperately needs their help, not everyone is happy about “all these women” taking over men’s jobs. Nora worries that she is neglecting her children, especially her withdrawn teenage son. But amid this turmoil comes a sinister tragedy: One of Nora’s coworkers is found strangled in her apartment, dressed in an apron, with a lipstick smile smeared on her face.

It’s the beginning of a terrifying pattern, as female war-plant workers like Nora are targeted throughout Seattle and murdered in the same ritualistic manner. And eclipsing Nora’s fear for her safety is her secret, growing conviction that she and the killer are connected—and that the haven that was her home has become her own personal battlefield.]]> 416 Kevin O'Brien 1496738519 Christine 5 4.10 2023 The Enemy at Home

author: Kevin O'Brien
name: Christine
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2026/04/18
date added: 2026/04/18
shelves:
review:

]]> Everyone a Stranger 223121161 In this brilliant, twisting historical suspense thriller set during World War II, a young war widow is unwittingly drawn into a sinister web of intrigue and murder.

Washington D.C., 1943: Virginia Abrams believed the war had taken all it could from her when her husband was killed in the Philippines. One year later, she’s in a dark, unexpected quandary—pregnant and on the run to avoid a ruthless political family that wants to erase all connections between her and the man who assaulted her.

Changing her name, Virginia moves to Seattle to start over. Against her better instincts, she’s pulled into the lives of her new neighbors in an apartment complex—especially Tim, a young boy whose mother dies suddenly in a fall. Virginia fears that her whereabouts have been discovered and she was the intended target . . .

But there are secrets between the residents too—stormy affairs, mysterious visitors, whispers and rumors. Tim is convinced there are saboteurs among them, hiding in plain sight. Virginia wants to discount his teenage imagination and her own rising paranoia, yet there’s something menacing here . . .

Torn between wanting to help the boy and safeguarding her anonymity, Virginia tentatively begins piecing the puzzle together with the help of some of her neighbors. But now others are dying in an escalating series of “accidents.” No one is entirely who they seem to be. No one can be trusted. And though she doesn’t know it yet, her own life is hanging by the thinnest thread . . .]]> 416 Kevin O'Brien 1496738527 Christine 4 historical-fiction 4.06 Everyone a Stranger

author: Kevin O'Brien
name: Christine
average rating: 4.06
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2026/03/29
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
This was a page-turner that kept me up past my bedtime reading because it was hard to put down. I now plan to read other Kevin O'Brien books. Fast paced with several plots told by multiple characters. I love the heroine, Ginny, who had run away from Washington DC to Seattle to escape a hit man hired by her unborn child's grandparents. I also really love the WW2 setting in Seattle. I'm from Seattle, and it was fascinating to learn about all the differences in the city when we were at war, everything from the nightly blackouts to the movies theaters and other businesses being open 24/7 because the Boeing factory had shifts of people working around the the clock to make warplanes. Lots of little tidbits about life in the 1940s make me appreciate that our current wars are not so close to US soil and I don't have to worry about my college-age son being drafted.
]]> <![CDATA[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Adventures of Tom and Huck, #2)]]> 2956 327 Mark Twain 0142437174 Christine 4
I listened to this book which was likely helpful as it might have taken some getting used to reading the book's phonetic, uneducated language.]]> 3.82 1885 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Adventures of Tom and Huck, #2)

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Adventures of Tom and Huck, #2)

author: Mark Twain
name: Christine
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1885
rating: 4
read at: 2026/03/15
date added: 2026/03/29
shelves: historical-fiction, audiobook, classics
review:
I really enjoyed this unlike many classics I have read. I figured after all these years, it was time to read this one. It opened my eyes to a completely different world back in the 1800s when there were slaves and steamboats traveled the Mississippi. Entertaining and great character building. I loved that Huck befriended Jim and helped him run away from slavery, and Mark Twain did a good job and how Huck's conscious had to decide whether to break the law and free Jim or be what was considered a good citizen and turn him in. I'm glad he chose to free Jim.

I listened to this book which was likely helpful as it might have taken some getting used to reading the book's phonetic, uneducated language.
]]> The Correspondent 217273280 “Imagine, the letters one has sent out into the world, the letters received back in turn, are like the pieces of a magnificent puzzle. . . . Isn’t there something wonderful in that, to think that a story of one’s life is preserved in some way, that this very letter may one day mean something, even if it is a very small thing, to someone?”

Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.

Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.

Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be “a very small thing,” but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.]]> 291 Virginia Evans 0593798449 Christine 3 4.51 2025 The Correspondent

author: Virginia Evans
name: Christine
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2026/03/17
date added: 2026/03/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life]]> 220687901 From the author of Just Keep Buying, a groundbreaking new framework for building wealth

Do you feel stuck financially? Are you working more, trying to spend less, yet still not seeing results? If so, the issue isn’t your effort—it’s your approach.

This is where The Wealth Ladder comes in. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme or a one-size-fits-all solution to your money problems. It’s a new philosophy for thinking about money altogether.

In a world where interest rates shift, careers take new turns, and desires evolve, our financial strategy must keep up. This is why The Wealth Ladder breaks wealth into six distinct levels, each demanding its own strategy. What works at Level 1 won’t cut it at Level 6—and vice versa. You’ll learn exactly how to handle your spending, income, investments, and more, with tailored advice for every stage. The result? Smarter choices, less stress, and a clear path upward.

Because building wealth isn’t just about hard work—it’s about applying the right strategy at the right time to focus on what matters most.

Fortunately, you won’t need to guess on where to focus next because The Wealth Ladder has the answer. The only question left Are you ready to climb it?

*Includes a downloadable PDF of resources and images from the book]]> 256 Nick Maggiulli 0593854039 Christine 4 audiobook, nonfiction 3.93 The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life

author: Nick Maggiulli
name: Christine
average rating: 3.93
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2026/02/22
shelves: audiobook, nonfiction
review:
An interesting and unique finance book at any age but if you want to take the advice. You probably want to read when you are in your 20s. Later it is more about understanding how people got where they are financially.
]]> <![CDATA[Just Keep Buying: Proven Ways to Save Money and Build Your Wealth]]> 59046778
Unfortunately, many of the answers provided by the financial industry have been based on belief and conjecture rather than data and evidence—until now.

In Just Keep Buying, hugely popular finance blogger Nick Maggiulli crunches the numbers to answer the biggest questions in personal finance and investing, while providing you with proven ways to build your wealth right away.

You will learn why you need to save less than you think; why saving up cash to buy market dips isn’t a good idea; how to survive (and thrive) during a market crash; and much more.

By following the strategies revealed here, you can act smarter and live richer each and every day. It’s time to take the next step in your wealth-building journey. It’s time to Just Keep Buying.]]> 296 Nick Maggiulli 0857199250 Christine 4 audiobook, non-fiction 4.03 2022 Just Keep Buying: Proven Ways to Save Money and Build Your Wealth

Just Keep Buying: Proven Ways to Save Money and Build Your Wealth

author: Nick Maggiulli
name: Christine
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/10/05
date added: 2026/02/22
shelves: audiobook, non-fiction
review:
I listening to this book. Easy to understand and entertaining with some good investment wisdom.
]]> Broken Country 214151202 “The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.”

Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn’t realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager—the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.

As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.

A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.]]> 320 Clare Leslie Hall 166807818X Christine 4 4.23 2025 Broken Country

author: Clare Leslie Hall
name: Christine
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/08/18
date added: 2026/02/22
shelves:
review:
The book began with a murder and then most the book was in the past getting to that point. The story was about Beth and her husband Frank when her old love, Gabriel, moves back home next door so we see bits of her old love affair with home. The story was good and intriguing. The only reason I didn’t rate it a 5 because I didn’t love the main character so harder to root for her.
]]> Wool (Wool, #1) 12287209
Or you'll get what you wish for.]]> 56 Hugh Howey Christine 0 4.14 2011

author: Hugh Howey
name: Christine
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/02/22
shelves: currently-reading, audiobook, dystopian
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Make Money in Any Market]]> 231409474 Make 2026 the year you master the market with this instant New York Times bestseller

Renowned personal finance expert, bestselling author, host of CNBC’s Mad Money, and cohost of Squawk on the Street Jim Cramer returns with how to make money in any market for every investor.

Except for the one percent of the one percent, nobody learns how to make your money grow in the stock market. Jim Cramer has spent his career determined to change that.

Now a household name after twenty seasons of Mad Money with Jim Cramer, cohost of Squawk on the Street, and host of CNBC’s Investing Club, Cramer shows you how to get rich by understanding the market and investing in the right growth and income stocks—ones that he can help you identify.

How to Make Money in Any Market is your guide to overcoming your fear about investing, to be able to make bigger money with what you have, no matter how small—in any market.]]> 320 Jim Cramer 1668088665 Christine 5 non-fiction 4.24 How to Make Money in Any Market

author: Jim Cramer
name: Christine
average rating: 4.24
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/12/10
date added: 2026/02/22
shelves: non-fiction
review:
I have overhead bits of Mad money for over 10 years as my husband watched his show nightly, so listening to Jim Cramer was like listening to an old friend. It was a great book on how to invest and was a good balance between being entertaining and easy to understand with some technical analysis. I’d recommend for anyone considering investing in stocks.
]]> <![CDATA[The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)]]> 60556912
I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…]]> 338 Freida McFadden 1803144378 Christine 5 4.27 2022 The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)

author: Freida McFadden
name: Christine
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2026/01/18
date added: 2026/02/22
shelves:
review:
Hard to put down. Great vacation book when you can read quickly. At first I thought it might be predictable. But I was wrong. Can’t wait to see the movie now.
]]> <![CDATA[The Housemaid's Secret (The Housemaid, #2)]]> 62848145 As he continues showing me their incredible penthouse apartment, I have a terrible feeling about the woman behind closed doors. But I can't risk losing this job – not if I want to keep my darkest secret safe . . .

It's hard to find an employer who doesn't ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want. It's almost perfect. But I still haven't met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I'm sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I'm doing laundry. And one day I can't help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything...

That's when I make a promise. After all, I've done this before. I can protect Mrs. Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe. Douglas Garrick has done wrong. He is going to pay. It's simply a question of how far I'm willing to go...]]> 311 Freida McFadden 1837901317 Christine 3 4.16 2023 The Housemaid's Secret (The Housemaid, #2)

The Housemaid's Secret (The Housemaid, #2)

author: Freida McFadden
name: Christine
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2026/01/22
date added: 2026/02/22
shelves:
review:
It was entertaining but not nearly as good as the Housemaid as I was expecting twists. Super easy read.
]]> We Loved to Run 222033791 A fearless debut novel about a women's cross country team and how far girls will push themselves to control their bodies, friendships, and futures.

We loved running because it was who we were, who we’d been in high school, who we hoped to be in futures we couldn’t yet imagine. Strong and fast. Fast and strong.

At Frost, a small liberal arts college in Massachusetts, the runners on the women's cross country team have their sights set on the 1992 New England Division Three Championships and will push themselves through every punishing workout and skipped meal to achieve their goal. But Kristin, the team's star, is hiding a secret about what happened over the summer, and her unpredictable behavior jeopardizes the girls' chance to win. Team Captain Danielle is convinced she can restore Kristin's confidence, even if it means burying her own past. As the final meet approaches, Kristin, Danielle, and the rest of the girls must transcend their individual circumstances and run the race as a team.

Told from the perspective of the six fastest team members, We Loved to Run deftly illuminates the impossible standards young women set for themselves in spite of their own powerlessness. With startling honesty and boundless empathy, Stephanie Reents reveals how girls—even those pitted against each other—find ways to love and defend one another.]]> 336 Stephanie Reents 0593448065 Christine 3 historical-fiction 3.58 2025 We Loved to Run

author: Stephanie Reents
name: Christine
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/09/15
date added: 2025/11/23
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
I classified this as historical fiction because based in the early 90s and some things have changed for the better with running. I expected to love this book as I have XC kids including a D1 female runner. Based on the description, I thought this was going to be based on a real life XC team. It was not. I also was immediately bothered by all the eating disorder talk from page 1 because I really planned to pass this on to my daughter. Being the same age as the writer, I know this was true, and I am sure that it is the experience some teams may have. But from what I've seen, the focus on extreme skinniness in running and weight checks by coaches is a thing of the past for most teams (maybe not at Nike but even that is changing with all the bad publicity and I don't even want my daughter to read this as the thought of being thinner to run doesn't cross her mind. Her team focuses on strength, eating healthy, mental health, etc, so feel uncomfortable giving this book to her as I know it doesn't take much for eating disorders to kick in. And her team is far more competitive than the team in book. Aside from that, I had a hard time getting into the novel as the POV was very distant in half the chapters and bounced between 6 different girls. I couldn't connect or root for them because none of them seemed nice and their friendships seemed fake and forced. It made me grateful my daughter's team is not like that. The book ended up being more about women being safe at night and not letting boys take advantage of them rather than running. So some good young adult themes but not what I expected. I feel sorry for the author if this was based on her own D3 XC experience as these girls didn't seem to really love their team or each other.
]]> She Didn't See It Coming 220999092
Bryden and Sam have it thriving careers, a smart apartment in a luxury condo, supportive friends and a cherished daughter. The perfect life for the perfect couple.

Then Sam receives a call at his office. Bryden – working from home that day - has failed to collect their daughter from daycare.

Arriving home with their little girl, he finds his wife’s car in the underground garage. Upstairs in their apartment her laptop is open on the table, her phone nearby, her keys in their usual place in the hall.

Except Bryden is nowhere to be seen. It’s as if she just walked out.

How can she have disappeared from her own home? And did she even leave the building at all?

With every minute that passes – and as questions swirl around their community – Bryden and Sam’s past seems a little less perfect, their luxury condo less safe, their friends, neighbours and relatives no longer quite so reliable . . .

]]> 337 Shari Lapena 0593832442 Christine 4 3.81 2025 She Didn't See It Coming

author: Shari Lapena
name: Christine
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/11/16
shelves: audiobook, contemporary, mystery
review:

]]> The Measure 56898742 Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.

It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out.

But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate: the answer to the exact number of years you will live.

From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?

As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking Do they wish to know how long they'll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?

The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn't have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything.

Enchanting and deeply uplifting, The Measure is a sweeping, ambitious, and invigorating story about family, friendship, hope, and destiny that encourages us to live life to the fullest.]]> 348 Nikki Erlick 0063204223 Christine 3 book-club 4.04 2022

author: Nikki Erlick
name: Christine
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/20
date added: 2025/11/16
shelves: book-club
review:
One night everyone over the age of 18 had strings left in a box on their doorstep. It was quickly determined these strings foretold the length of a person's life. Aside from that bit of magical realism, the rest of the story was realistic. It followed several different people, with strings of different lengths, and showed the impact to their lives of knowing when they would die. The book also showed how society began to separate by long-stringers versus short-stringers and the discrimination the short-stringers faced. It was entertaining, but not great. But it was interesting to thin, what if.
]]> <![CDATA[Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire]]> 56450351 The definitive firsthand account of California's Camp Fire--the nation's deadliest wildfire in a century--and a riveting examination of what went wrong and how to avert future tragedies as the climate crisis unfolds

On November 8, 2018, the people of Paradise, California, awoke to a mottled gray sky and gusty winds. Soon the Camp Fire was upon them, gobbling an acre a second. Less than two hours after it ignited, residents were trapped in flames, cremated in their homes and cars. By the next morning, eighty-five people were dead.

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Lizzie Johnson was there as the town of Paradise burned. She saw the smoldering rubble of a historic covered bridge and the beloved Black Bear Diner, and she stayed long afterward, visiting shelters, hotels, and makeshift camps. Drawing on years of on-the-ground reporting and reams of public records, including 911 calls and testimony from a grand jury investigation, Johnson provides a minute-by-minute account of the Camp Fire, following residents and first responders as they fight to save themselves and their town. We see a young mother fleeing with her newborn; a school bus full of children in search of an escape route; and a group of paramedics, patients, and nurses trapped in a cul-de-sac, fending off the fire with rakes and hoses.

Johnson documents the unfolding tragedy with empathy and nuance. But she also investigates the root causes, from runaway climate change to a deeply flawed alert system to Pacific Gas and Electric's decades-long neglect of critical infrastructure. A cautionary tale for a new era of megafires, Paradise is the gripping story of a town wiped off the map and the determination of its people to rise again.]]> 432 Lizzie Johnson 059313639X Christine 4 4.41 2021 Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire

Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire

author: Lizzie Johnson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/11/04
date added: 2025/11/16
shelves:
review:
I read this because I loved the movie the Lost Bus which was based on this book. It told the story of the Paradise wildfire in 2018 from the perspective of probably 15 plus people involved. Everyone from citizens trying to escape the flames to the police, the firefighters and the city politicians. It was very well researched, and I hope it is bringing awareness to the devastation of these wildfires out west and how our regulatory policies and shortcomings of PGE are contributing to these disasters.
]]> The Briar Club 181110045 A haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse during the McCarthy era.

Washington, D.C., 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; police officer’s daughter Nora, who is entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Bea, whose career has ended along with the women’s baseball league of WWII; and poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare.

Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears apart the house, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: Who is the true enemy in their midst?

Capturing the paranoia of the McCarthy era and evoking the changing roles for women in postwar America, The Briar Club is an intimate and thrilling novel of secrets and loyalty put to the test.]]> 432 Kate Quinn 0063244748 Christine 4 audiobook, historical-fiction 4.23 2024

author: Kate Quinn
name: Christine
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/07/15
date added: 2025/11/16
shelves: audiobook, historical-fiction
review:
This book was a story about around 8 women living in a boarding house in the 1950s. It was a mystery starting with a double-homicide. Then each chapter (or section) went back 1-5 years and was told by one of the women living in the house. The character development was fantastic and gave you a sense of what it was like living as a single women in Washington DC in that time period.
]]> The Wedding People 177328214
Phoebe is there because she’s dreamed of coming for years. She hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is a nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.]]> 384 Alison Espach 1250899567 Christine 5 4.17 2024 The Wedding People

author: Alison Espach
name: Christine
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/06/26
date added: 2025/10/16
shelves:
review:
Fantastic book! Very easy to read, like a beach read, but a lot deeper as the narrator was planning a suicide. I loved Phoebe. She was witty and so easy to like and pull for. Lots of great characters.
]]> The God of the Woods 199700434 When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide.

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances.

Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet, The God of the Woods is a story of inheritance and second chances, the tensions between a family and a community, and a history that will not let any of them go.]]> 496 Liz Moore 0593418913 Christine 0 to-read 4.03 2024

author: Liz Moore
name: Christine
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> All the Colors of the Dark 203019740
When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy with one eye, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake.

Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.

A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession, and the blinding light of hope.]]> 595 Chris Whitaker 0593798872 Christine 4 audiobook 4.20 2024 All the Colors of the Dark

author: Chris Whitaker
name: Christine
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/06/14
shelves: audiobook
review:
I listened to this book about a friendship of Saint and Patch who became friends as young kids. I don't want to spoil it, so without getting into details, the story followed the two friends from childhood to mid-30s, I believe. Patch survives something terrible and tragic and spends his life looking for Grace, a girl who was with him during that period. It is sad and beautiful and the characterization is fantastic. The only downside for me is the book dragged a bit and I believe the last half could have been edited down quite a bit. I listened to it, so it might not feel so long if I was reading.
]]> The Frozen River 112975658
Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon's newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.

Inspired by the life of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into history.]]> 448 Ariel Lawhon 0385546874 Christine 5 historical-fiction, audiobook 4.34 2023 The Frozen River

author: Ariel Lawhon
name: Christine
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/20
date added: 2025/06/14
shelves: historical-fiction, audiobook
review:
I listened to this book and absolutely loved it. I had no idea until the author's notes that it was inspired by the real Martha Ballard and diary of true events. But the author created a great story line based only on what could have been. The characterization was fantastic. I fell in love with Martha and her voice. She was such a strong women, even in today's world, so it was fun to read about a women of strength from the 1700s. And the story had a lot of mystery and excitement.
]]> <![CDATA[Hum If You Don't Know the Words]]> 28264701 Perfect for readers of The Secret Life of Bees and The Help, a perceptive and searing look at Apartheid-era South Africa, told through one unique family brought together by tragedy.

Life under Apartheid has created a secure future for Robin Conrad, a ten-year-old white girl living with her parents in 1970s Johannesburg. In the same nation but worlds apart, Beauty Mbali, a Xhosa woman in a rural village in the Bantu homeland of the Transkei, struggles to raise her children alone after her husband's death. Both lives have been built upon the division of race, and their meeting should never have occurred...until the Soweto Uprising, in which a protest by black students ignites racial conflict, alters the fault lines on which their society is built, and shatters their worlds when Robin’s parents are left dead and Beauty’s daughter goes missing.

After Robin is sent to live with her loving but irresponsible aunt, Beauty is hired to care for Robin while continuing the search for her daughter. In Beauty, Robin finds the security and family that she craves, and the two forge an inextricable bond through their deep personal losses. But Robin knows that if Beauty finds her daughter, Robin could lose her new caretaker forever, so she makes a desperate decision with devastating consequences. Her quest to make amends and find redemption is a journey of self-discovery in which she learns the harsh truths of the society that once promised her protection.

Told through Beauty and Robin's alternating perspectives, the interwoven narratives create a rich and complex tapestry of the emotions and tensions at the heart of Apartheid-era South Africa. Hum If You Don’t Know the Words is a beautifully rendered look at loss, racism, and the creation of family.]]> 432 Bianca Marais 0399575073 Christine 5 4.24 2017 Hum If You Don't Know the Words

author: Bianca Marais
name: Christine
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/24
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves:
review:

]]> Go Tell It on the Mountain 18920654 In one of the greatest American classics, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity. Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves.

With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin tells the story of the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Originally published in 1953, Baldwin said of his first novel, "Mountain is the book I had to write if I was ever going to write anything else." ]]> 242 James Baldwin 0345806557 Christine 0 4.11 1953 Go Tell It on the Mountain

author: James Baldwin
name: Christine
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1953
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/06
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Solito 62208466 386 Javier Zamora Christine 5 memoir 4.55 2022 Solito

author: Javier Zamora
name: Christine
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/17
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves: memoir
review:
A page turner. The 9-year old voice of Javier pulls you into his journey from El Salvador to the United state. To see what it is like to be a migrant making the harrowing journey through the eyes of a child in 1999 made for an incredible story. As he traveled with his pretend family to meet his parents in the US, he tried to remain strong and considered himself a little explorer, so you get to experience the language and thoughts he used to keep himself strong when things got tough or to experience new things through his eyes. The way he slowly grew to love his new family over two months was very organic and believable and pulled at my heartstrings.
]]> No Two Persons 63226821
That was the beauty of books, wasn’t it? They took you places you didn’t know you needed to go…

Alice has always wanted to be a writer. Her talent is innate, but her stories remain safe and detached, until a devastating event breaks her heart open, and she creates a stunning debut novel. Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower rent by grief. Each one is drawn into Alice’s novel; each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives.

Together, their stories reveal how books can affect us in the most beautiful and unexpected of ways―and how we are all more closely connected to one another than we might think.]]> 301 Erica Bauermeister 1250284384 Christine 5 4.23 2023 No Two Persons

author: Erica Bauermeister
name: Christine
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/13
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves:
review:

]]> Elon Musk 122765395 From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era—a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter.

When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.

His father’s impact on his psyche would linger. He developed into a tough yet vulnerable man-child, prone to abrupt Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings, with an exceedingly high tolerance for risk, a craving for drama, an epic sense of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was callous and at times destructive.

At the beginning of 2022—after a year marked by SpaceX launching thirty-one rockets into orbit, Tesla selling a million cars, and him becoming the richest man on earth—Musk spoke ruefully about his compulsion to stir up dramas. “I need to shift my mindset away from being in crisis mode, which it has been for about fourteen years now, or arguably most of my life,” he said.

It was a wistful comment, not a New Year’s resolution. Even as he said it, he was secretly buying up shares of Twitter, the world’s ultimate playground. Over the years, whenever he was in a dark place, his mind went back to being bullied on the playground. Now he had the chance to own the playground.

For two years, Isaacson shadowed Musk, attended his meetings, walked his factories with him, and spent hours interviewing him, his family, friends, coworkers, and adversaries. The result is the revealing inside story, filled with amazing tales of triumphs and turmoil, that addresses the are the demons that drive Musk also what it takes to drive innovation and progress?]]> 688 Walter Isaacson 1982181281 Christine 4 4.25 2023 Elon Musk

author: Walter Isaacson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/10
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves: audiobook, nonfiction, biography
review:
I read 90% of this book in the fall of 2023 but got interrupted and only went back to finish last month. This was a very detailed and factual book written (and spoken) in a very neutral voice. Like Walter Isaacson's book, the Code Breakers, there were a lot of facts and details which slowed down the pace but showed he did his research. The author laid it all out there, the good, the bad and the ugly as Elon is an extremely smart and successful person yet has lots of idiosyncrasies and many unattractive and challenging to work with traits. I remember thinking last year that a high percentage of the chapters about his businesses prior to Twitter/X could be made into Case Studies for an MBA program. The narrative began before Elon was born and followed him until it written in 2023 soon after he took over Twitter.
]]> Girl, Interrupted 33799602
Kaysen's memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers. It is a brilliant evocation of a "parallel universe" set within the kaleidoscopically shifting landscape of the late sixties. Girl, Interrupted is a clear-sighted, unflinching document that gives lasting and specific dimension to our definitions of sane and insane, mental illness and recovery.

From the Trade Paperback edition.]]> 156 Susanna Kaysen 0804151113 Christine 0 to-read 3.87 1993 Girl, Interrupted

author: Susanna Kaysen
name: Christine
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Here One Moment 208516656 If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate?

Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed.

Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all.

How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off-duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant) but none would become as famous as “The Death Lady.”

Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall noticing her board the plane. She wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable.

A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party.

If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny?

Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world. A modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery, Moriarty asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.]]> 512 Liane Moriarty 0593798600 Christine 3 3.93 2024 Here One Moment

author: Liane Moriarty
name: Christine
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves:
review:
Normally I really enjoy Liane Moriarty's books but this one was just okay. It was one of those stories that switched the POV between the main character (the person who predicated the airline passenger's cause of death and age of death) and various POV of the passengers before and after the flight. The problem was I did not like the main character and half the book was in her POV. I much preferred the passenger's stories. But I also felt the ending was very anticlimactic.
]]> Here One Moment 208894791 If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate?

Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed.

Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all.

How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off-duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant) but none would become as famous as “The Death Lady.”

Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall noticing her board the plane. She wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable.

A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party.

If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny?

Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world. A modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery, Moriarty asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.]]> 505 Liane Moriarty 0593798619 Christine 3 4.15 2024 Here One Moment

author: Liane Moriarty
name: Christine
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/28
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Bluest Eye 11337 The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison's first novel, a book heralded for its richness of language and boldness of vision. Set in the author's girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedloves' garden do not bloom. Pecola's life does change—in painful, devastating ways.

With its vivid evocation of the fear and loneliness at the heart of a child's yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment. The Bluest Eye remains one of Toni Morrison's most powerful, unforgettable novels- and a significant work of American fiction.]]> 216 Toni Morrison Christine 5
However the second time through I was able to appreciate the beauty of Toni Morrison's eloquent words, understand what she was trying to portray about the black community and about poor Pecola. I was then easily able to follow the story and understand how it all tied together. However there was some parts that still seemed to go on a bit of a tangent. I also think she could have left off the animal abuse but thank goodness it wasn't described to the level of the child abuse.]]> 4.14 1970 The Bluest Eye

author: Toni Morrison
name: Christine
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1970
rating: 5
read at: 2023/11/09
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: book-club, historical-fiction, audiobook
review:
This audiobook required two times through to find the beauty in it. The first time I got a bit lost as it went from chapter to chapter, switching POVs, times and locations. (I may have had an easier time with this part had I had a book in front of me to reread sections.) I also cringed during the graphic descriptions of sex and child molestation. I didn't exactly get the purpose of the book until I listened to the author's notes at the end which made me want to re-listen. My book club discussion also prompted me to give it a second shot.

However the second time through I was able to appreciate the beauty of Toni Morrison's eloquent words, understand what she was trying to portray about the black community and about poor Pecola. I was then easily able to follow the story and understand how it all tied together. However there was some parts that still seemed to go on a bit of a tangent. I also think she could have left off the animal abuse but thank goodness it wasn't described to the level of the child abuse.
]]> <![CDATA[The Perks of Being a Wallflower]]> 22628 offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see
what it looks like from the dance floor.

This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being A WALLFLOWER

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that the perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

(back cover)]]> 240 Stephen Chbosky Christine 4 4.25 1999 The Perks of Being a Wallflower

author: Stephen Chbosky
name: Christine
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/15
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: audiobook, book-club, young-adult
review:
I'd recommend this book to teens and young adults. It did a great job of really diving in to what it FEELS like to be a teenager, especially one that perhaps doesn't quite fit in. I think if I'd read it, I may have given it a 5, but listening, it's easy for me to miss key parts if I get distracted, so missed a bit and had to rewind. Would love to read this one again.
]]> The Girl Who Lived 36678318 Ten years ago, four people were brutally murdered. One girl lived.

No one believes her story.
The police think she’s crazy.
Her therapist thinks she’s suicidal.
Everyone else thinks she’s a dangerous drunk.
They’re all right—but did she see the killer?

As the anniversary of the murders approaches, Faith Winters is released from the psychiatric hospital and yanked back to the last spot on earth she wants to be—her hometown where the slayings took place. Wracked by the lingering echoes of survivor’s guilt, Faith spirals into a black hole of alcoholism and wanton self-destruction. Finding no solace at the bottom of a bottle, Faith decides to track down her sister’s killer—and then discovers that she’s the one being hunted.

How can one woman uncover the truth when everyone’s a suspect—including herself?

From the mind of Wall Street Journal bestselling author Christopher Greyson comes a story with twists and turns that take the reader on a journey of light and dark, good and evil, to the edge of madness. The Girl Who Lived should come with a warning label: Once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop. Not since Girl on the Train and Gone Girl has a psychological thriller kept readers so addicted—and guessing right until the last page.

]]> 297 Christopher Greyson 1683993004 Christine 3 4.05 2017 The Girl Who Lived

author: Christopher Greyson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/01
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: audiobook, contemporary, suspense
review:
For a suspense type book, this didn't hold my attention as much as it usually would. I'd give it a 3.5 stars. I listened to it and found myself a bit distracted. But overall, still entertaining.
]]> Greenlights 52838315
Recently, I worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries. I found stories I experienced, lessons I learned and forgot, poems, prayers, prescriptions, beliefs about what matters, some great photographs, and a whole bunch of bumper stickers. I found a reliable theme, an approach to living that gave me more satisfaction, at the time, and still: If you know how, and when, to deal with life’s challenges - how to get relative with the inevitable - you can enjoy a state of success I call “catching greenlights.”

So I took a one-way ticket to the desert and wrote this book: an album, a record, a story of my life so far. This is fifty years of my sights and seens, felts and figured-outs, cools and shamefuls. Graces, truths, and beauties of brutality. Getting away withs, getting caughts, and getting wets while trying to dance between the raindrops.

Hopefully, it’s medicine that tastes good, a couple of aspirin instead of the infirmary, a spaceship to Mars without needing your pilot’s license, going to church without having to be born again, and laughing through the tears.

It’s a love letter. To life.

It’s also a guide to catching more greenlights - and to realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too.

Good luck.]]> 289 Matthew McConaughey 0593139135 Christine 4 4.20 2020

author: Matthew McConaughey
name: Christine
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/01
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: audiobook, autobiography, non-fiction
review:
I could listen to Matthew's voice for hours, so a joy that he narrated the book. This book was made up of a ton of short stories with life lessons. It's one you could probably go back to and reread again later to recall those lessons. With that said, it did take me awhile to get into it since I was 1 - listening to it and thus more easily distracted and 2 - it is not one long story so easy to miss the point if you aren't paying attention. I found myself rewinding here and there.
]]> <![CDATA[Let It Go: Downsizing Your Way to a Richer, Happier Life]]> 30038967
Whether you are selling your family home, blending households into a new home, or cleaning out your aging parents’ home, sorting through a lifetime’s worth of accumulated possessions can be a daunting and stressful experience. Decluttering guru Peter Walsh recently went through the process of downsizing his childhood home and dividing his late parents’ possessions among his family. He realized that making these decisions about mementos and heirlooms creates strong emotions and can be an overwhelming chore.

In Let It Go, Peter will help you turn downsizing into a rejuvenating life change with his useful tips and practical takeaways, including how
• Understand the emotional challenges that accompany downsizing
• Establish a hierarchy of mementos and collectibles
• Calculate the amount of stuff you can bring into your new life
• Create strategies for dividing heirlooms among family members without drama

This new phase brings unexpected freedoms and opportunities, and Peter walks you through every step of the process. You’ll feel freer and happier than you ever thought possible once you Let It Go.]]> 256 Peter Walsh 1623367794 Christine 0 currently-reading 3.55 Let It Go: Downsizing Your Way to a Richer, Happier Life

Let It Go: Downsizing Your Way to a Richer, Happier Life

author: Peter Walsh
name: Christine
average rating: 3.55
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> All Is Not Forgotten 26114146
Until one night when young Jenny Kramer is attacked at a local party. In the hours immediately after, she is given a controversial drug to medically erase her memory of the violent assault. But, in the weeks and months that follow, as she heals from her physical wounds, and with no factual recall of the attack, Jenny struggles with her raging emotional memory. Her father, Tom, becomes obsessed with his inability to find her attacker and seek justice while her mother, Charlotte, prefers to pretend this horrific event did not touch her perfect country club world.

As they seek help for their daughter, the fault lines within their marriage and their close-knit community emerge from the shadows where they have been hidden for years, and the relentless quest to find the monster who invaded their town - or perhaps lives among them - drive this psychological thriller to a shocking and unexpected conclusion.]]> 310 Wendy Walker 1250097916 Christine 4 3.63 2016 All Is Not Forgotten

author: Wendy Walker
name: Christine
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2022/05/01
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: audiobook, young-adult, book-club
review:
This was hard to put down and a painful read at times about a teenage girl who was sexually assaulted.
]]> Anxious People 49127718
Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in a motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

Humorous, compassionate, and wise, Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope—the things that save us, even in the most anxious of times.

Includes short story - The Last Round of Golf]]> 336 Fredrik Backman 198216963X Christine 4 book-club 4.15 2019 Anxious People

author: Fredrik Backman
name: Christine
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2021/02/15
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: book-club
review:
It took me awhile to get into this because of the writing style, so had to start over a few times. But once I got into it, enjoyed it. Read for book club a few years ago, but forgot to write the review then.
]]> <![CDATA[Wish You Were Here: Thames I (Wish You Were Here)]]> 71276916
Diana O'Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She's not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galápagos—days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time.

But then a virus that felt worlds away has appeared in the city, and on the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the It's all hands on deck at the hospital. He has to stay behind. You should still go, he assures her, since it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, reluctantly, she goes.

Almost immediately, Diana's dream vacation goes awry. The whole island is now under quarantine, and she is stranded until the borders reopen. Completely isolated, she must venture beyond her comfort zone. Slowly, she carves out a connection with a local family when a teenager with a secret opens up to Diana, despite her father's suspicion of outsiders.

Diana finds herself examining her relationships, her choices, and herself—and wondering if when she goes home, she too will have evolved into someone completely different.]]> 0 Jodi Picoult 0860236536 Christine 3 contemporary 3.74 2021 Wish You Were Here: Thames I (Wish You Were Here)

Wish You Were Here: Thames I (Wish You Were Here)

author: Jodi Picoult
name: Christine
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: contemporary
review:
I've read many of Jodi's Picoult's books and this was not my favorite. It was entertaining enough, but didn't really stick with me. Didn't love the premise which I won't say as it would spoil the book. I'd like to give it 3.5 stars. It was set during the pandemic.
]]> <![CDATA[Boost Your Brain: The New Art and Science Behind Enhanced Brain Performance]]> 20563322
Our brains don't have to decline as we get older, argues Dr. Fotuhi. Depending on the things we do or neglect to do, we can actually get smarter and measurably improve our brain speed. In Boost Your Brain, the founder of the NeurExpand Brain Center and host of the PBS series Fight Alzheimer’s Early offers a three-month brain-optimization program—with noticeable results in just a few weeks.

Boost Your Brain explores the very latest neuroscience research and offers actionable, authoritative advice on how readers of every age can experience the benefits of a bigger, better brain. Featuring more than two dozen black-and-white illustrations, Boost Your The New Art and Science Behind Enhanced Brain Performance includes a foreword by Michael Roizen, M.D., coauthor of the bestselling YOU series and author of the Real Age books.]]> 421 Majid Fotuhi Christine 4 health 4.20 2013 Boost Your Brain: The New Art and Science Behind Enhanced Brain Performance

Boost Your Brain: The New Art and Science Behind Enhanced Brain Performance

author: Majid Fotuhi
name: Christine
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/01
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: health
review:
Interesting. Discussed several ways to improve brain health. Biggest takeaway was the importance of using the brain in a variety of ways. Provided a 6-week plan (if I'm remembering correctly) on how to improve different facets of your own brain health and the plan could be adapted to where you are today. Biggest takeaway was taking time to focus on different activities rather than simply use your brain the way you are accustomed on a typical day.
]]> Looking for Alaska 99561 Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .
After. Nothing is ever the same.]]> 221 John Green 1435249151 Christine 4 young-adult 3.97 2005 Looking for Alaska

author: John Green
name: Christine
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/15
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: young-adult
review:
Read for book club. Lots to discuss. Good book, but definitely sad. Dealt with the death of a best friend and classmate at boarding school.
]]> The Final Case 58018907 A provocative new novel from the best-selling author of Snow Falling on Cedars--a moving father-son story that is also a taut courtroom drama and a bold examination of privilege, power, and how to live a meaningful life.

A girl dies one late, rainy night a few feet from the back door of her home. The girl, Abeba, was born in Ethiopia. Her adoptive parents, Delvin and Betsy Harvey--conservative, white fundamentalist Christians--are charged with her murder.

Royal, a Seattle criminal attorney in the last days of his long career, takes Betsy Harvey’s case. An octogenarian without a driver’s license, he leans on his son--the novel’s narrator--as he prepares for trial.

So begins The Final Case, a bracing, astute, and deeply affecting examination of justice and injustice--and familial love. David Guterson’s first courtroom drama since Snow Falling on Cedars, it is his most compelling and heartfelt novel to date.

]]> 272 David Guterson Christine 3 book-club, contemporary 3.35 2022 The Final Case

author: David Guterson
name: Christine
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/01
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: book-club, contemporary
review:
Some interesting parts and the best was learning about the relationship between a father and son. But overall, a sad book and lots of rambling pages. I think this book could have been 1/2 the length.
]]> <![CDATA[Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career]]> 138346840 A candid, intensely funny memoir of ambition, gender, and a grueling decade inside Amazon.com, from the author of Nothing Good Can Come from This.

“A unique and brilliant book.” —Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks

What would you sacrifice for your career? All your free time? Your sense of self-worth? Your sanity?

In 2006, Kristi Coulter left her cozy but dull job for a promising new position at the fast-growing Amazon.com, but she never expected the soul-crushing pressure that would come with it.

In no time she found the challenge and excitement she’d been craving—along with seven-day workweeks, lifeboat exercises, widespread burnout, and a culture driven largely by fear. But the chase, the visibility, and, let’s face it, the stock options proved intoxicating, and so, for twelve years, she stayed—until she no longer recognized the face in the mirror or the mission she’d signed up for.

Unsparing, absurd, and wickedly funny, Exit Interview is a rare journey inside the crucible that is Amazon. It is an intimate, surprisingly relatable look at the work life of a driven woman in a world that loves the idea of female ambition but balks at the reality.]]> 385 Kristi Coulter 0374600910 Christine 4 4.25 Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career

Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career

author: Kristi Coulter
name: Christine
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/01
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves:
review:
Entertaining and somewhat hilarious at times quick read. Read for book club. Lots to discuss. Got a glimpse into the chaos of working at Amazon.
]]> <![CDATA[The Almost Empty Nester: Rediscover Who You Are BEFORE Your Kids Leave the Nest]]> 218492298 Are you a mom wondering how to best prepare yourself for an Empty Nest? You're not alone.

Motherhood is such an important and beloved role, but a lot of women lose their individual identity along the way. Millions of moms feel lost and alone when their children leave the nest, and very few take the time to rediscover who they are before they become Empty Nesters. What do they all have in common? Lack of preparation.

The Almost Empty Nester aims to address this common struggle experienced by countless mothers. This is an invitation for mothers

Change their beliefs around Empty Nesting.Revisit their past, plan in the present, and focus on their future.Rediscover who they are before their kids leave the nest.Design and create their next best chapter.
It's time to make the inevitable college drop-off and move-out day a moment for more joy and celebration for moms and their children. Karla's inspirational wisdom, powerful insight, and proven strategies empower every mom to fall in love with their future.]]> 254 Karla Olson 1954521553 Christine 5 self-help, parenting 4.22 The Almost Empty Nester: Rediscover Who You Are BEFORE Your Kids Leave the Nest

The Almost Empty Nester: Rediscover Who You Are BEFORE Your Kids Leave the Nest

author: Karla Olson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.22
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/05
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: self-help, parenting
review:
I highly recommend The Almost Empty Nester to mothers with high school aged kids or new empty nesters. I spent a few weeks reading the book and completing the reflection questions at the end of each chapter. Karla’s process has helped me find a way to focus on myself now that I have recently dropped off my youngest at college. Her focus on finding joy during a transition that is often viewed negatively was refreshing.
]]> <![CDATA[A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy]]> 123677185 WINNER OF THE 2024 PULITZER PRIZE FOR GENERAL NON-FICTION

Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, The Economist, Time, The New Republic, and the Financial Times.

Immersive and gripping, an intimate story of a deadly accident outside Jerusalem that unravels a tangle of lives, loves, enmities, and histories over the course of one revealing, heartbreaking day.

Five-year-old Milad Salama is excited for a school trip to a theme park on the outskirts of Jerusalem. On the way, his bus collides with a semitrailer. His father, Abed, gets word of the crash and rushes to the site. The scene is chaos—the children have been taken to different hospitals in Jerusalem and the West Bank; some are missing, others cannot be identified. Abed sets off on an odyssey to learn Milad’s fate. It is every parent’s worst nightmare, but for Abed it is compounded by the maze of physical, emotional, and bureaucratic obstacles he must navigate because he is Palestinian. He is on the wrong side of the separation wall, holds the wrong ID to pass the military checkpoints, and has the wrong papers to enter the city of Jerusalem. Abed’s quest to find Milad is interwoven with the stories of a cast of Jewish and Palestinian characters whose lives and histories unexpectedly converge.

In A Day in the Life of Abed Salama, Nathan Thrall—hailed for his “severe allergy to conventional wisdom” (Time)—offers an indelibly human portrait of the struggle over Israel/Palestine and a new understanding of the tragic history and reality of one of the most contested places on earth.]]> 248 Nathan Thrall 1250854989 Christine 5 4.38 2023 A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy

author: Nathan Thrall
name: Christine
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/17
date added: 2024/10/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Debriefing the Dead (The Dead, #1)]]> 39679319
So, slightly more alive than dead, she heads for Turkey and the Demons, taking Geordi, her mysterious neighbor Jason, and a sexy dead guy only she can see with her. But the hardest part won’t be battling Demons, meeting Satan, or dodging Middle Eastern customs—it will be later, when Geordi is settled, and Michael rips her away again. How can she abandon her nephew? Or can she outwit the Angel of Death himself, and stay with Geordi forever?]]> 332 Kerry Blaisdell 1509220461 Christine 5 paranormal, contemporary
Merged review:

This was such a fun read. Within pages Hyancinth’s quirky, witty voice pulled me in and made me laugh. Hyancinth was not your typical protagonist. She lived a bit of a shady life as an antique dealer, working with even shadier characters, selling stolen items and sometimes robbing ancient graves herself. However, deep down she was a good person at heart and would do anything to protect her seven-year-old nephew from his mafia family. When she found herself dead, she worked out a deal with archangel St. Michael to return to Earth to steal some powerful rock before their new owners could give it to Satan. If she was successful, she would be allowed to remain undead on Earth as long as it took to find a good home for her newly orphaned nephew. It’s a crazy plot with a crazy cast, but Kerry Blaisdell makes it work. Loved the southern France and Turkey setting too. Looking forward to the next book of the series.]]> 4.37 2018 Debriefing the Dead (The Dead, #1)

author: Kerry Blaisdell
name: Christine
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2019/02/22
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: paranormal, contemporary
review:
This was such a fun read. Within pages Hyancinth’s quirky, witty voice pulled me in and made me laugh. Hyancinth was not your typical protagonist. She lived a bit of a shady life as an antique dealer, working with even shadier characters, selling stolen items and sometimes robbing ancient graves herself. However, deep down she was a good person at heart and would do anything to protect her seven-year-old nephew from his mafia family. When she found herself dead, she worked out a deal with archangel St. Michael to return to Earth to steal some powerful rock before their new owners could give it to Satan. If she was successful, she would be allowed to remain undead on Earth as long as it took to find a good home for her newly orphaned nephew. It’s a crazy plot with a crazy cast, but Kerry Blaisdell makes it work. Loved the southern France and Turkey setting too. Looking forward to the next book of the series.

Merged review:

This was such a fun read. Within pages Hyancinth’s quirky, witty voice pulled me in and made me laugh. Hyancinth was not your typical protagonist. She lived a bit of a shady life as an antique dealer, working with even shadier characters, selling stolen items and sometimes robbing ancient graves herself. However, deep down she was a good person at heart and would do anything to protect her seven-year-old nephew from his mafia family. When she found herself dead, she worked out a deal with archangel St. Michael to return to Earth to steal some powerful rock before their new owners could give it to Satan. If she was successful, she would be allowed to remain undead on Earth as long as it took to find a good home for her newly orphaned nephew. It’s a crazy plot with a crazy cast, but Kerry Blaisdell makes it work. Loved the southern France and Turkey setting too. Looking forward to the next book of the series.
]]> Charmed by Charlie 34737370

Creative genius Charlie Solanger has it all: good looks, money, intelligence, charm. And when he swoops in to save Reynolds Paint Company with a brilliant marketing campaign, he has all the ladies in the office vying for his attention. Everyone except math whiz Valerie Wilson.

Val’s not happy Charlie stole her promotion. Worse, his brand of flirtatious charm is reminiscent of her cheating ex-fiancé. So, how come she can’t get him out of her head? The more she challenges him, the more interested—and interesting—he becomes. What secrets is Charlie hiding, and who or what is behind the sudden mysterious drain on their company’s funds? The only way to find out is to join forces. Then it will be a battle of wills...and a triumph of hearts.]]> 232 Amanda Uhl 1944262652 Christine 0 to-read 4.31 2017 Charmed by Charlie

author: Amanda Uhl
name: Christine
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life]]> 59752457 America’s top cleaning expert and star of the hit series Legacy List with Matt Paxton distills his fail-proof approach to decluttering and downsizing. Your boxes of photos, family’s china, and even the kids' height charts aren’t just stuff; they’re attached to a lifetime of memories--and letting them go can be scary. With empathy, expertise, and humor, Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff, written in collaboration with AARP, helps you sift through years of clutter, let go of what no longer serves you, and identify the items worth keeping so that you can focus on living in the present. For over 20 years, Matt Paxton has helped people from all walks of life who want to live more simply declutter and downsize. As a featured cleaner on Hoarders and host of the Emmy-nominated Legacy List with Matt Paxton on PBS, he has identified the psychological roadblocks that most organizational experts routinely miss but that prevent so many of us from lightening our material load. Using poignant stories from the thousands of individuals and families he has worked with, Paxton brings his signature insight to a necessary task. Whether you’re tired of living with clutter, making space for a loved one, or moving to a smaller home or retirement community, this book is for you. Paxton’s unique, step-by-step process gives you the tools you need to get the job done.]]> 319 Matt Paxton 0593418980 Christine 0 currently-reading 3.98 2022 Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life

Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life

author: Matt Paxton
name: Christine
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Covenant of Water 63429926 From the New York Times–bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial new epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala and following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret.

The Covenant of Water is the long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, the author of Cutting for Stone. Published in 2009, Cutting for Stone became a literary phenomenon, selling over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone and remaining on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years.

Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. The family is part of a Christian community that traces itself to the time of the apostles, but times are shifting, and the matriarch of this family, known as Big Ammachi—literally “Big Mother”—will witness unthinkable changes at home and at large over the span of her extraordinary life. All of Verghese’s great gifts are on display in this new there are astonishing scenes of medical ingenuity, fantastic moments of humor, a surprising and deeply moving story, and characters imbued with the essence of life.

A shimmering evocation of a lost India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a humbling testament to the hardships undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. It is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.]]> 802 Abraham Verghese Christine 5 4.56 2023 The Covenant of Water

author: Abraham Verghese
name: Christine
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/04
date added: 2024/08/04
shelves:
review:

]]> The Women 127305853 A #1 bestseller on The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times!

From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women―at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets―and becomes one of―the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.]]> 471 Kristin Hannah 1250178630 Christine 5 audiobook, historical-fiction 4.56 2024

author: Kristin Hannah
name: Christine
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/25
date added: 2024/07/11
shelves: audiobook, historical-fiction
review:
Definitely the best book I have read this year. (Actually I listened to it.) It was what I would say the perfect type of historical fiction. Frankie was a character I loved and rooted for. She started off at age 20 and was in her early to mid-twenties for the majority of the book. It was set during the Vietnam war and Frankie served as a nurse in the war, and then came home to a world protesting the war. In the Authors notes, Kristin Hannah said she had the idea in the late 90s, but she held off writing it until she had developed as a writer. I am glad she waited as I have seen her writing skills significantly improve in the past two decades. Although my dad served in Vietnam, I feel I learned far more about the war from this book than I learned from my parents and my schooling combined. I am having my 20-year old daughter read it now.
]]> The Woman Outside My Door 56276433 “Expect a few chills to run down your spine as you work your way through this sharp debut” (CrimeReads) about a young mother who can’t shake the feeling that her son’s imaginary friend is putting him in very real danger—perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Mary Kubica.All children have imaginary friends, Georgina tells herself. It’s perfectly normal, and they all grow out of it in the end. But when her seven-year-old son, Cody, tells her about New Granny, the friend he’s met in the park, Georgina is instantly suspicious. Something—call it maternal instinct—tells her he isn’t making it up.Still, maybe Georgina is losing her mind. It wouldn’t be the first time, after all. And with her own mother’s recent death leaving her feeling bereft and overwhelmed as a busy working mom, it’s no wonder she’s feeling paranoid that Cody has invented a “New Granny” to replace his beloved grandmother. Her husband assures Georgina that it’s just a game, the product of their son’s overactive imagination.But what if Cody’s imaginary friend isn’t so imaginary after all?“Packed with jaw-dropping moments, The Woman Outside My Door is a twisty thriller with hidden depths” (Robyn Harding, internationally bestselling author of The Party) that will keep you guessing until the shocking last page.]]> 287 Rachel Ryan 1982151633 Christine 3 3.79 2021 The Woman Outside My Door

author: Rachel Ryan
name: Christine
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/02
date added: 2024/06/02
shelves:
review:

]]> The Echo of Old Books 62060274 A novel about the magical lure of books and summoning the courage to rewrite our stories by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Keeper of Happy Endings and The Last of the Moon Girls.

Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer’s affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books’ previous owners—an emotional fingerprint only she can read. When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance.

With no trace of how these mysterious books came into the world, Ashlyn is caught up in a decades-old literary mystery, beckoned by two hearts in ruins, whoever they were, wherever they are. Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers’ tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story—and to the unfinished chapters of her own life.]]> 413 Barbara Davis 1542038154 Christine 4 romance, mystery 4.25 2023 The Echo of Old Books

author: Barbara Davis
name: Christine
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/05/28
shelves: romance, mystery
review:
A love story within a love story where an owner of a rare bookstore finds a couple of old author-less books about a love story. The pages of the 40-year old love story are then chapters in-between the present day story where she attempts to figure out who wrote them. The only thing I disliked about the book was the old story chapters were printed in a font that made it challenging to read. Luckily, once I invested in higher strength glasses, the problem went away... but it was very irritating at first to squint my way through though pages while having no difficulty with the present-day chapters. I think the author or editor thought it was a cool idea and obviously they were under age 40 and didn't realize how much of a strain it would be for older people to read so many pages of a fancy font.
]]> Someone You Trust 62919397
With two adorable children to oversee, a pair of generous employers, and more freedom than she’s enjoyed in years, everything seems wonderful. So why can’t Amy shake a creeping sense of unease? Perhaps it’s the husband’s erratic behavior. Or the fact that she was never told about the reclusive teenage son whose bedroom is next to hers. Or maybe it’s the strange messages that somebody has been painting around the local village.

Quickly, it becomes clear that all is not well in the Carroll marriage, nor in their idyllic rural community. Whispered secrets and strange occurrences fill the breathtaking scenery with menace and, as the days pass, Amy learns that the refuge she has sought just might be the most dangerous place of all.]]> 272 Rachel Ryan 166801257X Christine 4 suspense 3.60 2023 Someone You Trust

author: Rachel Ryan
name: Christine
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/21
date added: 2024/05/28
shelves: suspense
review:
A super easy read that hooked me right from the beginning. A good book for an escape or a vacation.
]]> The XX Brain 52674038 "In The XX Brain, Lisa meticulously guides us in the ways we can both nourish and protect ourselves, body and mind, to ensure our brains remain resilient throughout our lives."
--from the foreword by Maria Shriver

The first book to address cognitive enhancement and Alzheimer's prevention specifically in women--and to frame brain health as an essential component of Women's Health.

In this revolutionary book, Dr. Lisa Mosconi, director of the Women's Brain Initiative at Weill Cornell Medical College, provides women with the first plan to address the unique risks of the female brain.

Until now, medical research has focused on "bikini medicine," assuming that women are essentially men with breasts and tubes. Yet women are far more likely than men to suffer from anxiety, depression, migraines, brain injuries, and strokes. They are also twice as likely to end their lives suffering from Alzheimer's disease, even when their longer lifespans are taken into account. But in the past, the female brain has received astonishingly little attention and was rarely studied by medical researchers-- resulting in a wealth of misinformation about women's health.

The XX Brain confronts this crisis by revealing how the two powerful X chromosomes that distinguish women from men impact the brain first and foremost and by focusing on a key brain-protective hormone: estrogen.

Taking on all aspects of women's health, including brain fog, memory lapses, depression, stress, insomnia, hormonal imbalances, and the increased risk of dementia, Dr. Mosconi introduces cutting-edge, evidence-based approaches to protecting the female brain, including a specific diet proven to work for women, strategies to reduce stress, and useful tips for restorative sleep. She also examines the controversy about soy and hormonal replacement therapy, takes on the perils of environmental toxins, and examines the role of our microbiome. Perhaps best of all, she makes clear that it is never too late to take care of yourself.

The XX Brain is a rallying cry for women to have full access to information regarding what is going on in their brains and bodies as well as a roadmap for the path to optimal, lifelong brain health.]]> 368 Lisa Mosconi 0593083113 Christine 4 3.97 2020 The XX Brain

author: Lisa Mosconi
name: Christine
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/01/07
shelves: non-fiction, nutrition, health
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity]]> 61153739 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A groundbreaking manifesto on living better and longer that challenges the conventional medical thinking on aging and reveals a new approach to preventing chronic disease and extending long-term health, from a visionary physician and leading longevity expert

Wouldn’t you like to live longer? And better? In this operating manual for longevity, Dr. Peter Attia draws on the latest science to deliver innovative nutritional interventions, techniques for optimizing exercise and sleep, and tools for addressing emotional and mental health.

For all its successes, mainstream medicine has failed to make much progress against the diseases of aging that kill most people: heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and type 2 diabetes. Too often, it intervenes with treatments too late to help, prolonging lifespan at the expense of healthspan, or quality of life. Dr. Attia believes we must replace this outdated framework with a personalized, proactive strategy for longevity, one where we take action now, rather than waiting.

This is not “biohacking,” it’s science: a well-founded strategic and tactical approach to extending lifespan while also improving our physical, cognitive, and emotional health. Dr. Attia’s aim is less to tell you what to do and more to help you learn how to think about long-term health, in order to create the best plan for you as an individual. In Outlive, readers will discover:

• Why the cholesterol test at your annual physical doesn’t tell you enough about your actual risk of dying from a heart attack.
• That you may already suffer from an extremely common yet underdiagnosed liver condition that could be a precursor to the chronic diseases of aging.
• Why exercise is the most potent pro-longevity “drug”—and how to begin training for the “Centenarian Decathlon.”
• Why you should forget about diets, and focus instead on nutritional biochemistry, using technology and data to personalize your eating pattern.
• Why striving for physical health and longevity, but ignoring emotional health, could be the ultimate curse of all.

Aging and longevity are far more malleable than we think; our fate is not set in stone. With the right roadmap, you can plot a different path for your life, one that lets you outlive your genes to make each decade better than the one before.]]> 496 Peter Attia 0593236599 Christine 5 health, non-fiction 4.27 2023 Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity

author: Peter Attia
name: Christine
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/12/15
date added: 2024/01/07
shelves: health, non-fiction
review:
This was probably the best health book I've ever read. I only wish I'd read it 10 to 15 years ago rather than my early 50s. (Of course, the science probably wasn't there yet and the book was published in 2023.) The focus of this book is educating the reader on the 4 what the author calls horsemen that will kill most of us: Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease and Dementia. There were some higher level chapters talking about each of the 4 horsemen and then other chapters devoted on prevention. The overall theme of this book was on prevention rather than waiting to be diagnosed with one of these diseases and taking an individual approach as we all have different bodies and genetics. I not only learned a ton, but I found it very motivational, and I now better know what I need to work on to maintain my health. I've been telling all of my friends and family about it.
]]> Chasing Noelle 202734880
Noelle Montgomery is used to battle. As a kindergarten teacher, she fights germs, intrusive questions, and ‘the wiggles’ on a daily basis. She’s not afraid of anything…except asking her boyfriend, Griffin, what comes next.

When a visit to a friend forces the issue, Noelle takes a walk to clear her head and stumbles onto a gruesome scene. She’s the only person who can help convict rising drug lord, Luis Duque, of murder, and escaping his wrath is the one battle she knows she can’t win. When offered witness protection, Noelle gives up on her unknown future with Griffin and starts over with a brand-new life.

Griffin Daniels has a ring in his pocket the night he’s told his girlfriend is killed. After years of careful preparation, his dreams, and the woman he loves are gone in an instant. He forces a confrontation with Duque’s gang and learns that Noelle may still be alive. Using his tech savvy and the help of his best friend, Griffin finds Noelle as she races across the country to testify by Christmas. But...Duque’s been looking for her, too.

Reunited and still in danger, Noelle and Griffin must work together to survive Duque and find their way back to love.

Chasing Noelle is an emotionally-driven contemporary romance with elements of suspense and a touch of Christmas magic.]]> 399 Sonja N. Griffing Christine 5 4.47

author: Sonja N. Griffing
name: Christine
average rating: 4.47
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/06
date added: 2024/01/07
shelves: cozy-mystery, romance, suspense
review:
This book really drew me in. It started as a love story but quickly evolved into a suspense that had me turning the pages quicker and quicker as I read on. The love story was woven beautifully into the book as the chapters alternated between Noelle's and Griffin's views. The characters were well-developed and far from stereotypical, and I found myself rooting for them as the odds seemed to be against them. The scenery was also described well, and I felt I was there as the author took us from Seattle to Michigan and back again at Christmastime. I'd love to say more, but I don't want to spoil the book. I would definitely read another book by this author.
]]> The Keeper of Hidden Books 62054146 A heartwarming story about the power of books to bring us together, inspired by the true story of the underground library in WWII Warsaw, by the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London.

All her life, Zofia has found comfort in two things during times of hardship: books and her best friend, Janina. But no one could have imagined the horrors of the Nazi occupation in Warsaw. As the bombs rain down and Hitler’s forces loot and destroy the city, Zofia finds that now books are also in need of saving.

With the death count rising and persecution intensifying, Zofia jumps to action to save her friend and salvage whatever books she can from the wreckage, hiding them away, and even starting a clandestine book club. She and her dearest friend never surrender their love of reading, even when Janina is forced into the newly formed ghetto.

But the closer Warsaw creeps toward liberation, the more dangerous life becomes for the women and their families—and escape may not be possible for everyone. As the destruction rages around them, Zofia must fight to save her friend and preserve her culture and community using the only weapon they have left—literature.]]> 416 Madeline Martin 1335455027 Christine 0 to-read 4.06 2023 The Keeper of Hidden Books

author: Madeline Martin
name: Christine
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Upset 45185933 254 Tyler Trent 1732370168 Christine 4 memoir 4.52 Upset

author: Tyler Trent
name: Christine
average rating: 4.52
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/10
date added: 2023/11/11
shelves: memoir
review:
A touching memoir about a boy dying of cancer who refused to be defined by it and lived his life to the fullest until the very end. He managed to get the Purdue University community behind him as he put his heart into being a Boilermaker and into his faith in God. Tyler's chapters were interspersed with chapters written by his parents. It read as an uplifting story rather than a sad one.
]]> <![CDATA[One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich]]> 17125 The only English translation authorized by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

First published in the Soviet journal Novy Mir in 1962, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich stands as a classic of contemporary literature. The story of labor-camp inmate Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, it graphically describes his struggle to maintain his dignity in the face of communist oppression. An unforgettable portrait of the entire world of Stalin's forced work camps, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is one of the most extraordinary literary documents to have emerged from the Soviet Union and confirms Solzhenitsyn's stature as "a literary genius whose talent matches that of Dosotevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy"--Harrison Salisbury

This unexpurgated 1991 translation by H. T. Willetts is the only authorized edition available, and fully captures the power and beauty of the original Russian.]]> 182 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Christine 3 3.98 1962 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

author: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
name: Christine
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1962
rating: 3
read at: 2023/09/17
date added: 2023/11/11
shelves: book-club, classics, historical-fiction, audiobook
review:
I listened to this book which was a bit challenging due to all the Russian names that wouldn't stick in my head. I have to admit my mind wandered a bit while listening. But discussing the book at bookclub gave me a better perspective and encouraged me to listen to parts again. One day I hope to read the novel which is very short. It was the story of a Russian serving his 10 year sentence in the Gulag. Rather than your typical story arch, it followed one character through his day from morning to night giving a unique perspective to what life in the camps were like and their misery.
]]> Burger's Daughter 526927 361 Nadine Gordimer 0140055932 Christine 1 book-club, biography 3.55 1979

author: Nadine Gordimer
name: Christine
average rating: 3.55
book published: 1979
rating: 1
read at: 2023/10/16
date added: 2023/11/11
shelves: book-club, biography
review:
I tried to read this for book club over the course of 3 weeks. I don't think I have ever spent so much time on a book only to give up at about 60%. Many in my book club didn't finish either. The story jumped around in time and from 3rd person to 2nd person to first. I found it hard to follow and simply didn't understand how it all fit together and I got bored. It seemed to have a lot of stories that really had little to do with the plot. Of course, there wasn't much of a plot either.
]]> Demon Copperhead 60194162
Vinnare av Women's Prize for Fiction 2023

Vinnare av James Tait Black Prize 2023

Demon Copperhead kommer till världen på ett badrumsgolv i en husvagn. Hans artonåriga mamma ligger utslagen av droger och är knappt vid medvetande. Så börjar Demon sitt liv, redan på förhand dömd till en tillvaro kantad av fosterhemsplaceringar, utsatthet och missbruk.

I Lee County, Virginia, i Appalachernas sydliga delar växer Demon upp. Här är fattigdomen lika självklar som luften man andas och här marknadsför läkemedelsindustrin skoningslöst sina opioider mot de redan utsatta. Missbruket växer till en epidemi som slår hårt mot hela samhället.

Utan några andra tillgångar än sitt kopparfärgade hår, sin krassa humor och sin starka överlevnadsinstinkt, tar sig Demon Copperhead igenom barndomen och ungdomsåren. Han bärs av drömmen som hållit honom uppe ända sedan han var liten: att en dag få se havet. Frågan är vad som krävs för att den ska bli sann.

Demon Copperhead är en storslagen och drabbande roman om kärlek, förlust och allt däremellan. Den är också en skoningslös blick på det samhälle som än i dag tillåter de allra svagaste att gå under.]]> 560 Barbara Kingsolver Christine 5 4.44 2022 Demon Copperhead

author: Barbara Kingsolver
name: Christine
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/24
date added: 2023/09/24
shelves: audiobook, biography, bookclub, diversity, own-voices
review:
This may have been the best audio book I've ever listened to. The narrator was perfect. The writing was fantastic and constantly cracked me up at how well she created Demon's voice. Great character development and gives a good perspective of life growing up poor and orphaned in rural Virginia. By the end I was rooting so hard for Demon to get his life together.
]]> Summer Island 40389026 416 Kristin Hannah Christine 3 contemporary 3.83 2001

author: Kristin Hannah
name: Christine
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2023/09/22
date added: 2023/09/24
shelves: contemporary
review:

]]> Rise: My Story 48982848
The first ever memoir from the greatest female ski racer of all time, revealing never before told stories of her life in the fast lane – and the bold decisions that helped her break down barriers for athletes around the world.

On February 10, 2019, at the age of 34, world champion alpine skier and Olympic gold medallist Lindsey Vonn announced to the world that she would retire. Vonn, who became the first American woman to win a downhill race at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, has led an incredible career on the slopes earning 82 World Cup wins, 20 World Cup titles, 3 Olympic medals, and 7 World Championship medals.

In her new memoir, Vonn will share that her epic journey to success has been anything but downhill. From moving away from her small Minnesota town to pursue her career and navigating her personal life in the public eye, to challenging the skiing norm and raising the profile of women in the sport and the high-speed crashes she endured and the remarkable recoveries she made, Vonn has faced her fair share of obstacles and has unbelievably persevered through them all.

Also the founder of the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, Vonn has been an inspiration to fans and athletes—especially young women—everywhere since her Olympic debut. With her new inspiring book, readers will cheer for their favorite sports hero all over again as she recounts her triumphs, shares what her next chapter will entail, and reminds us to never give up on our dreams.]]> Lindsey Vonn 006288946X Christine 4 audiobook, memoir 3.81 2022 Rise: My Story

author: Lindsey Vonn
name: Christine
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/24
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: audiobook, memoir
review:
This was an inspiring read and would be enjoyable for anyone dealing with a hardship. If you enjoy skiing and/or are a Lindsey Vonn fan, then it's an added bonus.
]]> <![CDATA[[ Magic Hour By Hannah, Kristin ( Author ) Paperback 2010 ]]]> 134454065 416 Kristin Hannah Christine 4 3.85 2006

[ Magic Hour By Hannah, Kristin ( Author ) Paperback 2010 ]

author: Kristin Hannah
name: Christine
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2022/08/05
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves:
review:
An engaging story to listen to. It had a bit of mystery and a lot of setting description of the Pacific Northwest which I liked. The story was about two sisters. One was a police officer and asked her sister, a child psychologist, to help her with a child that had come out of the woods and appeared to have lived in the wild for years.
]]> I Came to Say Goodbye 20557592
A young woman pushed through the front doors. Staff would later say they thought the woman was a new mother, returning to her child - and in a way, she was.

She walked into the nursery, where a baby girl lay sleeping. The infant didn't wake when the woman placed her gently in the shopping bag she had brought with her. There is CCTV footage of what happened next, and most Australians would have seen it, either on the internet or the news.

The woman walked out to the car park, towards an old Corolla. For a moment, she held the child gently against her breast and, with her eyes closed, she smelled her.

She then clipped the infant into the car, got in and drove off.

That is where the footage ends. It isn't where the story ends, however. It's not even where the story starts.]]> 295 Caroline Overington 1864711574 Christine 4 audiobook 3.72 2010 I Came to Say Goodbye

author: Caroline Overington
name: Christine
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2022/09/19
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: audiobook
review:
It was an engaging story as an audiobook about a girl who wasn't the brightest. The story was told by her father about his life and his daughter's life as he was interviewed for a murder trial.
]]> The Maid (Molly the Maid, #1) 55196813
Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life's complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly's orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it's too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.]]> 289 Nita Prose 0593356152 Christine 4 contemporary 3.70 2022 The Maid (Molly the Maid, #1)

author: Nita Prose
name: Christine
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/05
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: contemporary
review:
A murder mystery involving a maid who was on the spectrum. TThe criminals took advantage of her being naive. Molly's voice was heartwarming and she had some good friends at the hotel. It was a very light read. Not a thriller type of mystery. The focus was more on the character of Molly.
]]> Our Missing Hearts 60149573 A novel about a mother’s unbreakable love in a world consumed by fear.

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old.

Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn’t wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change.]]> 335 Celeste Ng 0593492544 Christine 3 young-adult, dystopian 3.73 2022 Our Missing Hearts

author: Celeste Ng
name: Christine
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/19
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: young-adult, dystopian
review:
I wanted to love this book. I've liked Celeste Ng's other books and I usually love dystopian. But I found it just okay. I believe it's because I didn't connect with the main character (the mother, the son was great). I had a hard time understanding why she left her son and then spent all her time on what seemed to be a fruitless activity, helping parents learn where their missing kids were by word of mouth and notes in library books. It was an altruist activity, but I didn't buy it. The way they went about it wasn't going to connect any kids and their parents (and she admitted it didn't). And if they did get back together, why would they be able to get back together but she couldn't see her son.
]]> <![CDATA[Africa Is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent]]> 60165392 Africa Is Not A Country is a bright portrait of modern Africa that pushes back against harmful stereotypes to tell a more comprehensive story.

You already know these stereotypes. So often Africa is depicted simplistically as an arid red landscape of famines and safaris, uniquely plagued by poverty and strife.

In this funny and insightful book, Dipo Faloyin offers a much-needed corrective. He examines each country's colonial heritage, and explores a wide range of subjects, from chronicling urban life in Lagos and the lively West African rivalry over who makes the best Jollof rice, to the story of democracy in seven dictatorships and the dangers of stereotypes in popular culture.

By turns intimate and political, Africa Is Not A Country brings the story of the continent towards reality, celebrating the energy and fabric of its different cultures and communities in a way that has never been done before.]]> 385 Dipo Faloyin 0393881539 Christine 5 4.39 2022 Africa Is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent

Africa Is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent

author: Dipo Faloyin
name: Christine
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/14
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: audiobook, book-club, non-fiction
review:
I was embarrassed to learn how much I didn't know about Africa. But that was the point. Most of the world knows very little about the different countries that make up the continent and the author was targeting that audience. He was laugh out loud funny at times as he described the way books and movies depict Africa. Although I truly enjoyed listening to it and appreciated learning the proper way to say certain cities and country, this was one of those books I wish I had a physical copy so I could easy go back, take a break, look at a map, etc. I will likely reread it in print form at some later date.
]]> <![CDATA[When She Comes Back : A Memoir]]> 57466708
When She Comes Back is the story of a family trying to find itself, grownups who don't know how to be adults, and what happens when the person your life revolves around can't stay. It's also a story of resilience and reconciliation, how rejection by the most important person in Ronit's life ultimately led to an unflagging commitment to, and love for her own children.]]> 230 Ronit Plank 1945060182 Christine 4 audiobook, memoir 4.36 2021 When She Comes Back : A Memoir

author: Ronit Plank
name: Christine
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: audiobook, memoir
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race]]> 57203195 The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a gripping account of how the pioneering scientist Jennifer Doudna, along with her colleagues and rivals, launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and enhance our children. In the spring of 2012, the Berkeley biochemist Jennifer Doudna and her collaborators turned a curiosity of nature into an invention that will transform the future of the human an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA. Known as CRISPR, it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions. It has already been deployed to cure deadly diseases, fight the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, and make inheritable changes in the genes of babies. The development of CRISPR and the war against coronavirus will hasten our transition to the next great innovation revolution. The past half-century has been an information-technology era, based on the microchip, the computer, and the internet. Now we are entering an even more momentous era, a life-science revolution. Children who study digital coding will be surpassed by those who study the code of life. Should we use our new evolution-hacking powers to make us less susceptible to viruses and eliminate dreaded disorders? What a wonderful boon that would be! Right? And what about preventing congenital deafness or blindness? Or being very short? Or being depressed? Hmmm…How should we think about that? Should we allow parents, if they can afford it, to enhance the IQ or height or memory or muscles of their kids? After helping to discover CRISPR, Doudna became a leader in wrestling with these moral and policy issues. Her life story illustrates that the key to innovation is connecting basic science to our everyday lives—moving discoveries from our labs to our bedsides—in ways that respect our moral values. It’s a thrilling detective tale that involves the most profound wonders of nature, from the origins of life to the future of our species.]]> 533 Walter Isaacson 1760859907 Christine 2 audiobook, book-club 4.44 2021 The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

author: Walter Isaacson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2023/05/05
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: audiobook, book-club
review:
This was probably not the book to listen to as there was too much detailed science for me, so it was hard to pay attention. Although I may have struggled more if I actually read the printed book. Clearly in looking to rate this book, (it took me 10 minutes to find because there were so many analysis books about it, and the actual book could only be found searching by author), it shows that most people must struggle with this one. I thought it would be more focused on how the science led to creating a COVID-19 test, but that was only a tiny fraction of the book. If you love science this may be for you, but my brain couldn't soak up so much new knowledge via audiobook to follow along and I got very bored.
]]> <![CDATA[Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI]]> 29496076 A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history.

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, they began to be killed off. One Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, watched as her family was murdered. Her older sister was shot. Her mother was then slowly poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances.

In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes such as Al Spencer, “the Phantom Terror,” roamed – virtually anyone who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll surpassed more than twenty-four Osage, the newly created F.B.I. took up the case, in what became one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations. But the bureau was then notoriously corrupt and initially bungled the case. Eventually the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only Native American agents in the bureau. They infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest modern techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most sinister conspiracies in American history.

In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. The book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward Native Americans that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long. Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly riveting, but also emotionally devastating.]]> 359 David Grann 0385534256 Christine 4 4.12 2017 Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

author: David Grann
name: Christine
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/01
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: audiobook, non-fiction, diversity, book-club
review:
An intriguing piece of history I knew nothing about. The description of it being how the FBI began didn't seem completely accurate and definitely wasn't what I got out of the book. Instead it told the story of the Osage tribe that was forced off of their native lands by the US Government and onto rocky reservations that were later discovered to be sitting above oil fields. The Osage quickly became the richest people in the country. But then the murder rate began to go up as men attempted to get their land and rich's. This story primarily followed one woman's family who had many people die mysteriously in a short period of time and the man who investigated the deaths.
]]> The Love of My Life 58838542
I have held you at night for ten years and I didn't even know your name. We have a child together. A dog, a house.

Who are you?

Emma loves her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby: she’d do anything for them. But almost everything she's told them about herself is a lie.
And she might just have got away with it, if it weren’t for her husband’s job. Leo is an obituary writer; Emma a well-known marine biologist. When she suffers a serious illness, Leo copes by doing what he knows best – researching and writing about his wife’s life. But as he starts to unravel the truth, he discovers the woman he loves doesn’t really exist. Even her name isn’t real.
When the very darkest moments of Emma’s past finally emerge, she must somehow prove to Leo that she really is the woman he always thought she was . . .
But first, she must tell him about the love of her other life.]]> 372 Rosie Walsh 0593297008 Christine 4 book-club, mystery 4.12 2022 The Love of My Life

author: Rosie Walsh
name: Christine
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/18
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: book-club, mystery
review:
A fun light mystery. Emma didn't tell her husband something critical when they first got together for a legitimate reason.... but then time moved on and it felt too late to tell him and it became a terrible secret. The book begins when her husband learns his wife is lying about a few things, so the story follows him and her as he uncovers the truth.
]]> <![CDATA[Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life]]> 18775383
Excellent Sheep takes a sharp look at the high-pressure conveyor belt that begins with parents and counselors who demand perfect grades and culminates in the skewed applications Deresiewicz saw firsthand as a member of Yale’s admissions committee. As schools shift focus from the humanities to "practical" subjects like economics and computer science, students are losing the ability to think in innovative ways. Deresiewicz explains how college should be a time for self-discovery, when students can establish their own values and measures of success, so they can forge their own path. He addresses parents, students, educators, and anyone who's interested in the direction of American society, featuring quotes from real students and graduates he has corresponded with over the years, candidly exposing where the system is broken and clearly presenting solutions.]]> 245 William Deresiewicz 1476702713 Christine 3 book-club 3.85 2014 Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life

Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life

author: William Deresiewicz
name: Christine
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2016/01/15
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: book-club
review:
This was an interesting read that may change your perspective on college and careers. It definitely scares me by defining the pressure my children will face in a few years when they get closer to applying to college. I agreed with much of what the author talked about, even though I went to college 25 years ago and did not go to an Ivy League. The author brings up lots of issues, but unfortunately, there isn't an easy way to solve them... but maybe there will be changes to come. But it may be a long time, if ever, before the system makes the changes the author would like. This book opened my eyes to seeing the benefits of a liberal arts education and teaching a student to think.
]]> Truly Madly Guilty 27831371 The electrifying new novel from the international bestselling author, Liane Moriarty

Despite their differences, Erika and Clementine have been best friends since they were children. So when Erika needs help, Clementine should be the obvious person to turn to. Or so you'd think.

For Clementine, as a mother of a two desperately trying to practise for the audition of a lifetime, the last thing she needs is Erika asking for something, again.

But the barbecue should be the perfect way to forget their problems for a while. Especially when their hosts, Vid and Tiffany, are only too happy to distract them.

Which is how it all spirals out of control...

]]> 517 Liane Moriarty 1250069815 Christine 4 3.59 2016 Truly Madly Guilty

author: Liane Moriarty
name: Christine
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/03/20
shelves:
review:
This was a fun read. Although I agreed with other reviewers that it was frustrating getting to the middle where we finally found what happened at the BBQ, it was worth it. Not just because the story had a satisfying ending, but I loved the voice throughout. Each chapter was told from a different point of views, and listening to their thoughts kept the book moving for me. The characters were very well developed and unique. They always portrays a certain image to the world, but inside they were often someone else having terrible thoughts about the person they were with which were often very funny. For example one mom was listening to another mom talk about her days when she used to be a stripper. In the scene she was asking intelligent questions and acting interested and without a strong opinion. However, inside she was criticizing like crazy, which is often how it is in real life, but we don't always have such a deep point of view in a book where the thoughts are so candid.
]]> The Guest List 52656911
The bride – The plus one – The best man – The wedding planner – The bridesmaid – The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?]]> 319 Lucy Foley Christine 3 3.80 2020 The Guest List

author: Lucy Foley
name: Christine
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/03/14
shelves:
review:
I listened to this on audible. It kept me entertained and the voices were good. There was a voice for each character's chapters... so 6 different narrators. The story was interesting, but I think I would have preferred to have the story told by fewer characters so I could have attached myself to them better. I really liked Hannah - the Plus One, and Olivia - the Bridesmaid, but didn't really like anyone else.
]]> The Uncommon Reader 6060372 From one of England's most celebrated writers, a funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of reading

When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large.

With the poignant and mischievous wit of The History Boys, England's best loved author revels in the power of literature to change even the most uncommon reader's life.]]> 120 Alan Bennett 1429934530 Christine 4 book-club 3.90 2007 The Uncommon Reader

author: Alan Bennett
name: Christine
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2022/06/20
date added: 2023/02/09
shelves: book-club
review:
This was a fun light-hearted read for book club. Honesty I picked it because it was super short and we'd been reading a lot of heavy books lately and it was a busy time of year. It was a fictional story of the Queen of England who began to read late in life and then it changed her whole outlook on life. She stopped performing her queenly duties and pretty much buried herself in books. As a book club it was fun to follow her journey from a reader to writer. Although it was purely fictional, having read this last June and discussed it, it made me feel more tied to her when she died a few months later.
]]> <![CDATA[21 Lessons for the 21st Century]]> 39103336
Yuval Noah Harari’s 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a probing and visionary investigation into today’s most urgent issues as we move into the uncharted territory of the future. As technology advances faster than our understanding of it, hacking becomes a tactic of war, and the world feels more polarized than ever, Harari addresses the challenge of navigating life in the face of constant and disorienting change and raises the important questions we need to ask ourselves in order to survive.

In twenty-one accessible chapters that are both provocative and profound, Harari builds on the ideas explored in his previous books, untangling political, technological, social, and existential issues and offering advice on how to prepare for a very different future from the world we now live in: How can we retain freedom of choice when Big Data is watching us? What will the future workforce look like, and how should we ready ourselves for it? How should we deal with the threat of terrorism? Why is liberal democracy in crisis?

Harari’s unique ability to make sense of where we have come from and where we are going has captured the imaginations of millions of readers. Here he invites us to consider values, meaning, and personal engagement in a world full of noise and uncertainty. When we are deluged with irrelevant information, clarity is power. Presenting complex contemporary challenges clearly and accessibly, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is essential reading.
]]> 413 Yuval Noah Harari 0525512187 Christine 2 book-club, non-fiction 4.29 2018

author: Yuval Noah Harari
name: Christine
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2022/10/03
date added: 2023/02/09
shelves: book-club, non-fiction
review:
I read this for book club. The title sounded great, but in reality, the book was really hard to get through and we all struggled with it. No one liked it. In fact I couldn't finish the last chapter before book club and after the discussion I realized there was no point to finish it. It's been a few months and honestly I can barely remember what it was about as I was counting pages the whole time rather than immersed in the story.
]]> Anna Karenina 15823480 Anna Karenina provides a vast panorama of contemporary life in Russia and of humanity in general. In it Tolstoy uses his intense imaginative insight to create some of the most memorable characters in all of literature. Anna is a sophisticated woman who abandons her empty existence as the wife of Karenin and turns to Count Vronsky to fulfil her passionate nature - with tragic consequences. Levin is a reflection of Tolstoy himself, often expressing the author's own views and convictions.

Throughout, Tolstoy points no moral, merely inviting us not to judge but to watch. As Rosemary Edmonds comments, 'He leaves the shifting patterns of the kaleidoscope to bring home the meaning of the brooding words following the title, 'Vengeance is mine, and I will repay.]]> 964 Leo Tolstoy 0345803922 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.12 1878 Anna Karenina

author: Leo Tolstoy
name: Christine
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1878
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Dutch House 44318414 Ann Patchett, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth, delivers her most powerful novel to date: a richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. The Dutch House is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves and of who we really are.

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.

The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.

Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.]]> 337 Ann Patchett 0062963678 Christine 4 4.08 2019 The Dutch House

author: Ann Patchett
name: Christine
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2022/11/01
date added: 2023/02/08
shelves:
review:
I listened to this book and Tom Hanks was amazing. I really enjoyed this book about a brother and sister relationship.
]]> Of Women and Salt 53138197
From 19th-century cigar factories to present-day detention centers, from Cuba to Mexico, Gabriela Garcia's Of Women and Salt is a kaleidoscopic portrait of betrayals—personal and political, self-inflicted and those done by others—that have shaped the lives of these extraordinary women. A haunting meditation on the choices of mothers, the legacy of the memories they carry, and the tenacity of women who choose to tell their stories despite those who wish to silence them, this is more than a diaspora story; it is a story of America’s most tangled, honest, human roots.]]> 207 Gabriela Garcia 1250776686 Christine 4 book-club 3.67 2021 Of Women and Salt

author: Gabriela Garcia
name: Christine
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2022/06/01
date added: 2023/02/07
shelves: book-club
review:
I read this for book club, and we found a lot to discuss. It told the story of 3 Cuban women (focused mostly on the daughter and granddaughter.) It story wasn't particularly memorable but the character development was good.
]]> <![CDATA[Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory]]> 35805862 From an Olympic medalist runner and the record-holder in the women's marathon and half-marathon, a vividly inspirational memoir on using positive psychology and brain science to achieve unparalleled athletic success

The day Deena Kastor became a truly elite runner was the day she realized that she had to ignore her talent--it had taken her so far, but only conquering the mental piece could unlock higher levels of achievement. In Let Your Mind Run, the vaunted Olympic medalist and marathon and half-marathon record holder, will reveal how she incorporated the benefits of positive psychology into her already-dedicated running practice, setting her on a course to conquer women's distance running. Blending both narrative running insights and deep-dive brain science, this book will appeal to and motivate steadfast athletes, determined runners, and tough-as-nails coaches, and beyond.
This memoir, written by perhaps the most famous American woman active in the competitive world of distance running, will appeal to the pragmatic athletic population, and jointly to fans of engaging sports narratives, inspirational memoirs, and uplifiting biographies.]]> 286 Deena Kastor 1524760757 Christine 5 memoir, self-help 4.33 Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory

Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory

author: Deena Kastor
name: Christine
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/01
date added: 2023/02/07
shelves: memoir, self-help
review:
My 18-year old daughter loved this book and wanted her own copy, but then suggested I read it before she took it back to college. The book made her want to read more motivational books written by runners (or for runners). Although I am a very recreational runner, there were so many motivational nuggets to stay positive and use your mind to reach your goals. And it was a fantastic story about Deena. I didn't know much about professional running and found her life, particularly post college, fascinating.
]]> <![CDATA[Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty]]> 43868109 535 Patrick Radden Keefe 0385545681 Christine 4 book-club, non-fiction 4.53 2021

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty

author: Patrick Radden Keefe
name: Christine
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/05
date added: 2023/02/07
shelves: book-club, non-fiction
review:
Very interesting book with so much discuss at a book club. The book followed the Sackler family for nearly 100 years and showed how 3 brothers and their descendents grew their pharmaceutical company with aggressive marketing and OxyContin. I listened to the book on Audible and enjoyed the narrator. My only complaint was the book was a little on the long side but it rarely dragged for me.
]]> The Dream Diaries 62885864
They remembered past lives, read a person’s future by the touch of a hand, foresaw events in dreams, and spoke with angels.

One hundred kids were enrolled in a U.S. national defense program between the years of 2002 and 2004 called Project Dream. The government had begun serious exploration of adult “dream” programs in the twentieth century. After 9/11, however, military scientists speculated young minds might be easily trained to identify threats to the American people through a technique the Russians had long been rumored to find success in—remote viewing.

What they were unprepared for was the utter success and transcendence of the bending of a child’s mind.

And this is only their beginning…

The Dream Diaries is a stand-alone novel and Book 3 of CJ Zahner’s Dream Series. It is a novella of gripping short stories about characters in Project Dream.]]> 149 C.J. Zahner Christine 0 currently-reading 4.53

author: C.J. Zahner
name: Christine
average rating: 4.53
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature]]> 60668223 A deeply personal memoir about one woman’s journey to finding her voice and rewriting her story by the creator and host of the award-winning podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books™.

Zibby Owens has become a well-known personality in the publishing world. Her infectious energy, tasteful authenticity, and smart, steadfast support of authors started in childhood, a precedent set by the profound effect books and libraries had on her own family.

But after losing her closest friend on 9/11 and later becoming utterly stressed out and overwhelmed by motherhood, Zibby was forgetting what made her her. She turned to books and writing for help.

Just when things seemed particularly bleak, Zibby unexpectedly fell in love with a tennis pro turned movie producer who showed her the path to happiness: away from type A perfectionism and toward “letting things unfold organically.” What “unfolded” was a meaningful career, a great love, and finally, her voice, now heard by millions of listeners.

An honest and moving story about relationships, love, food issues, the writing life, and finding one’s true calling, Bookends will inspire and uplift.]]> 263 Zibby Owens 154203700X Christine 3 3.62 2022 Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature

Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature

author: Zibby Owens
name: Christine
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2022/07/31
date added: 2022/07/31
shelves:
review:

]]> The Orphanage 57113961 The Road and the wartime storytelling of A Farewell to Arms, The Orphanage is a searing novel that excavates the human collateral damage wrought by the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. When hostile soldiers invade a neighboring city, Pasha, a thirty-five-year-old Ukrainian language teacher, sets out for the orphanage where his nephew Sasha lives, now in occupied territory. Venturing into combat zones, traversing shifting borders, and forging uneasy alliances along the way, Pasha realizes where his true loyalties lie in an increasingly desperate fight to rescue Sasha and bring him home.

Written with a raw intensity, this is a deeply personal account of violence that will be remembered as the definitive novel of the war in Ukraine.]]> 338 Serhiy Zhadan 0300258151 Christine 2 book-club 4.13 2017 The Orphanage

author: Serhiy Zhadan
name: Christine
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2022/05/10
date added: 2022/05/10
shelves: book-club
review:

]]> The Call of the Wild 1852 The Call of the Wild is regarded as Jack London's masterpiece. Based on London's experiences as a gold prospector in the Canadian wilderness and his ideas about nature and the struggle for existence, The Call of the Wild is a tale about unbreakable spirit and the fight for survival in the frozen Alaskan Klondike.]]> 172 Jack London Christine 5 classics, audiobook
Update on 4/24/22 - I listened to this on audiobook, narrated by Pablo Schreiber) 10 years later. Just enough time for me to forget details but remember them just before everything was happening. The narration was great and the writing and story were fantastic. However, the older me, or perhaps because it was narrated and therefore more brought to life, really had a hard time listening because of all the sadness and abuse. Only about 1 chapter was truly happy. However, it is a must read, but be prepared with a box of tissues.]]> 3.90 1903 The Call of the Wild

author: Jack London
name: Christine
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1903
rating: 5
read at: 2012/08/15
date added: 2022/04/25
shelves: classics, audiobook
review:
I don't normally enjoy classics, but this one was amazing. It was told by Buck, the dog, which reminded me of one of my favorites, The Art of Motorcycle Racing. It was very well written and vivid. I thought about rating it a 4 because it had some very sad parts..... but the book wouldn't be the same without the brutal honesty.... and unfortunately, I think those sad parts probably are realistic. Now am going to read more Jack London.

Update on 4/24/22 - I listened to this on audiobook, narrated by Pablo Schreiber) 10 years later. Just enough time for me to forget details but remember them just before everything was happening. The narration was great and the writing and story were fantastic. However, the older me, or perhaps because it was narrated and therefore more brought to life, really had a hard time listening because of all the sadness and abuse. Only about 1 chapter was truly happy. However, it is a must read, but be prepared with a box of tissues.
]]> The Lincoln Highway 57139780 The bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s America

In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the work farm where he has just served a year for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett’s intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother and head west where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden’s car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett’s future.

Spanning just ten days and told from multiple points of view, Towles’s third novel will satisfy fans of his multi-layered literary styling while providing them an array of new and richly imagined settings, characters, and themes.]]> 576 Amor Towles 0735222371 Christine 4 historical-fiction, book-club 4.35 2021 The Lincoln Highway

author: Amor Towles
name: Christine
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2022/02/26
date added: 2022/04/25
shelves: historical-fiction, book-club
review:
I really loved this book in the beginning and it was very well written. However, the last 1/3 dragged and I think some pages could have been edited down. Maybe there could have been a few less POVs, particularly of lesser characters. The ended was also incredible sudden and not very satisfying to me which was disappointing after putting in so many hours into this story. But overall, it was a great read with a lot to discuss at book club.
]]> Five Little Indians 53676126
Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction

Amazon First Novel Award

Kobo Emerging Author Prize

Scotiabank Giller Prize

Atwood Gibson Writers Trust Prize

BC & Yukon Book Prize

Indigenous Voices Awards

National Bestseller; A Globe and Mail Top 100 Book of the Year; A CBC Best Book of the Year; An Apple Best Book of the Year; A Kobo Best Book of the Year; An Indigo Best Book of the Year

Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention.

Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them. The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission.

Fuelled by rage and furious with God, Clara finds her way into the dangerous, highly charged world of the American Indian Movement. Maisie internalizes her pain and continually places herself in dangerous situations. Famous for his daring escapes from the school, Kenny can’t stop running and moves restlessly from job to job—through fishing grounds, orchards and logging camps—trying to outrun his memories and his addiction. Lucy finds peace in motherhood and nurtures a secret compulsive disorder as she waits for Kenny to return to the life they once hoped to share together. After almost beating one of his tormentors to death, Howie serves time in prison, then tries once again to re-enter society and begin life anew.

With compassion and insight, Five Little Indians chronicles the desperate quest of these residential school survivors to come to terms with their past and, ultimately, find a way forward. ]]> 304 Michelle Good Christine 3 book-club, historical-fiction 4.52 2020 Five Little Indians

author: Michelle Good
name: Christine
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2022/03/19
date added: 2022/04/25
shelves: book-club, historical-fiction
review:
Lots to discuss at book club. Followed 5 different students after leaving Indian School in Canada. I didn't really love any of the characters or the writing, but it was interesting. I particularly enjoyed learning more about the Indian Schools and this part of history that has erased from our history books.
]]> Little Fires Everywhere 34331079
Enter Mia Warren—an enigmatic artist and single mother—who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town—and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.

Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood—and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.

Named a Best Book of the Year by: People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads, Library Reads, Book of the Month, Paste, Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and many more...

Perfect for book clubs! Visit celesteng.com for discussion guides and more. ]]> 348 Celeste Ng Christine 4 4.23 2017 Little Fires Everywhere

author: Celeste Ng
name: Christine
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2019/11/08
date added: 2022/02/09
shelves:
review:
This was a book I had a hard time putting down. The book began at the end with Mia and Pearl moving away and the Richardson's house burning down, then we jumped back about a year in time when Mia and Pearl moved into the Richardson's rental house. The story was told in multiple POVs and each character was well developed. It read a bit like a mystery as you wondered how each subplot was going to end up with a fire and Mia and Pearl leaving. Although the book took place in what was supposed to be the town of Shaker Heights where everyone led perfect lives, it was clear that under the surface, people's lives were far from perfect. The only reason I didn't give it a 5-star was I really didn't like some of the main characters and the decisions they made, especially Mia and Mrs. Richardson.
]]> <![CDATA[The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue]]> 50623864 A life no one will remember. A story you will never forget.

France, 1714: In a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.]]> 448 V.E. Schwab 0765387565 Christine 0 to-read 4.14 2020 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

author: V.E. Schwab
name: Christine
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Dictionary of Lost Words 54790816 In this remarkable debut based on actual events, as a team of male scholars compiles the first Oxford English Dictionary, one of their daughters decides to collect the "objectionable" words they omit.

Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the "Scriptorium," a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Young Esme's place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word "bondmaid" flutters to the floor. She rescues the slip, and when she learns that the word means slave-girl, she withholds it from the OED and begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men.

As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women's and common folks' experiences often go unrecorded. And so she begins in earnest to search out words for her own dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words. To do so she must leave the sheltered world of the university and venture out to meet the people whose words will fill those pages.

Set during the height of the women's suffrage movement with the Great War looming, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men.

Based on actual events and combed from author Pip Williams's experience delving into the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary, this highly original novel is a delightful, lyrical, and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words and the power of language to shape the world.]]> 400 Pip Williams 1984820737 Christine 0 4.18 2020 The Dictionary of Lost Words

author: Pip Williams
name: Christine
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2021/11/28
date added: 2021/11/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Midnight Library (The Midnight World, #1)]]> 52578297
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?]]> 288 Matt Haig 0525559477 Christine 4 audiobook, fantasy 3.95 2020 The Midnight Library (The Midnight World, #1)

The Midnight Library (The Midnight World, #1)

author: Matt Haig
name: Christine
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/07/30
date added: 2021/11/25
shelves: audiobook, fantasy
review:
I really enjoyed listening to this book. It was one of those books that made you think long after finishing it. This was probably because the concept of the novel: living your life as if you'd made a different decision is something I've thought about as I've lived my life, something wondering what would have happened if I'd take another path or made another decision. In the Midnight Library Nora got to explore other lives she could have lived if only... The concept was executed in a very creative way.
]]> <![CDATA[The Plot (The Book Series, #1)]]> 55315487 Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot is a psychologically suspenseful novel about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written—let alone published—anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then . . . he hears the plot.

Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker’s first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that—a story that absolutely needs to be told.

In a few short years, all of Evan Parker’s predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.

As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his “sure thing” of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?]]> 320 Jean Hanff Korelitz 125079076X Christine 4 book-club, contemporary 3.74 2021 The Plot (The Book Series, #1)

author: Jean Hanff Korelitz
name: Christine
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/11/25
shelves: book-club, contemporary
review:
The suspense in this book kept me reading and there were lots of surprises I didn't expect. The primary aspect for not rating it higher was the characters. They were well developed but the main characters were not really likable. We found a lot to discuss at book club.
]]> <![CDATA[Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety: A Complete Guide to Your Child's Stressed, Depressed, Expanded, Amazing Adolescence]]> 51067698 A clinical psychologist offers an accessible guide to the "New Teen" and how parents can adjust to raising them in this emotionally challenging world.

Kids are growing up with nearly unlimited access to social media and the Internet, and unprecedented academic, social, and familial stressors. Starting as early as eight years old, children are exposed to information, thought, and emotion that they are developmentally unprepared to process. As a result, saving the typical "teen parenting" strategies for thirteen-year-olds is now years too late.

With this parenting book, Dr. John Duffy, a nationally recognized expert in parenting for nearly twenty-five years, offers a necessary guide that addresses this hidden phenomenon of the changing teenage brain. This is a guide for parents raising children who are growing up quickly and dealing with unresolved adolescent issues that can lead to anxiety and depression. Because of the unprecedented exposure they face, kids are emotionally overwhelmed at a young age, often continuing to search for a sense of self well into their twenties. Paradoxically, Dr. Duffy recognizes the good that comes with these challenges, such as the sense of justice instilled in teenagers starting at a young age.

Readers of this book - Sort through the overwhelming circumstances of today's teens and better understand the changing landscape of adolescence
- Come away with a revised parenting plan more suited to addressing the current needs of the New Teen
- Discover the joy in parenting again by reclaiming the role of your teen's ally, guide, and consultant

Perfect for readers of parenting books like The Yes Brain, How to Raise an Adult, The Deepest Well, and The Conscious Parent. ]]> 208 John Duffy 164250050X Christine 4 audiobook, self-help 4.08 Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety: A Complete Guide to Your Child's Stressed, Depressed, Expanded, Amazing Adolescence

Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety: A Complete Guide to Your Child's Stressed, Depressed, Expanded, Amazing Adolescence

author: John Duffy
name: Christine
average rating: 4.08
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2021/10/05
date added: 2021/11/25
shelves: audiobook, self-help
review:
A worthwhile read and very relevant to today's world.
]]>