en-US Fri, 18 Sep 2026 07:49:17 -0700 60 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus11401597148 Fri, 18 Sep 2026 07:49:17 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8955626541 Kara wants to read Receipts from the Bookshop: A Bookseller's Year in an English Seaside Town by Katie Clapham
]]> UserStatus1334245121 Sun, 13 Sep 2026 22:41:32 -0700 Kara Paul is on page 72 of 301 of <a href="/book/show/238226952-the-book-witch">The Book Witch</a>. ]]> Review8899049124 Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:25:12 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8899049124 Kara gave 4 stars to The Accessible Design Reference and Specification Book: What Every Digital Designer Should Know (Paperback) by Irene Pereyra
]]> ReadStatus11321494920 Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:19:53 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8895799961 Kara finished reading Real. Relevant. Required.: A Practitioner's Guide to ADA Title II Digital Accessibility for State and Local Government by Dr. Becky Rehorn CPACC
]]> ReadStatus11316861012 Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:10:41 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8895799961 Kara is currently reading Real. Relevant. Required.: A Practitioner's Guide to ADA Title II Digital Accessibility for State and Local Government by Dr. Becky Rehorn CPACC
]]> ReadStatus11316568610 Thu, 27 Aug 2026 07:38:51 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8839234792 Kara finished reading Process Mapping, Process Improvement and Process Management: A Practical Guide to Enhancing Work Flow and Information Flow by Dan Madison
]]> Review8671588614 Mon, 17 Aug 2026 05:49:19 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8671588614 Kara gave 3 stars to Yesteryear (Hardcover) by Caro Claire Burke
Yesteryear was such an interesting and also somewhat unsatisfying read for me. I am an Instagram content creator/influencer who is relatively politically liberal (since liberal now basically means just upholding The Beatitudes 🙄) and I almost could have become a trad wife.

The influencer stuff is basically the caricature of the worst of the worst of influencers--the ones who sell a facade and lie to their followers. Some influencers are like that, but not all influencers are like that. Some of the lines were funny and rang true though, including the section about a course on how to grow--spot on.

In the same way, some trad wives are like what is in the book but not all trad wives are like what is in the book. There were a lot of things in the book that rang true, but many didn't. Many parts of the book I was annoyed because it felt like I was reading a caricature of what liberal women think a trad wife is really like. Many times I thought about how this book would only appeal to liberal women and would anger conservative women for many reasons, including the unfair ending. Basically, the book engages with the weakest version of a trad wife's worldview and not the strongest version of a trad wife (someone with an coherent foundation and sincerely-held beliefs).

I think what most people don't understand is that trad women sincerely believe what they are told, and/or find ways of quelling any doubts they have about life. What led me away from trad life aspirations and political conservatism over the years was actually meeting people from different walks of life, befriending them, and seeing they didn't fit the caricatures I was told growing up. I have seen how cruelty and incivility have been cheered on the past decade. I went through years of cognitive dissonance and still do.

As the years progressed, I saw how near impossible it was to stay afloat as a single person, let alone a couple. And the final nails to the coffin were basically 2016 to present, seeing how many Christians were willing to put country and nationalism over the actual teachings of Christ. Online, I'll see the same people who were #savethechildren oddly silent about the Epstein files debacle, or prolifers excusing the deaths and inhumane treatment of immigrants and citizens instead of fighting for the dignity of the human person. If liberal means loving your neighbor, then so be it.

All that to say, I found some things about the book enjoyable and fun, but ultimately felt the ending was unsatisfying and I wonder what the book could have been if the main character were less of a caricature and had sincerely held beliefs. As written here, I find it unlikely the book would change anyone's mind about judging trad wives or prevent someone from becoming a trad wife because of who the book caters to and who the book is or isn't trying to understand or honestly engage with. The book basically reinforces stereotypes about how horrible influencers are, how terrible a rich family can be, and how terrible trad women are, when not all influencers or all trad women or all rich people are bad. ]]> Review8559095845 Mon, 17 Aug 2026 05:32:38 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8559095845 Kara gave 4 stars to A Short Walk Through a Wide World (Hardcover) by Douglas Westerbeke
3.5 stars rounded up. This was a story about a girl with a rare disease that requires her to keep traveling and never to stay in one place for more than a few days. As an avid traveler, the concept appealed to me. It was fun to see someone travel and get through difficult situations in a world where Google Translate didn't exist yet.

As usual, I think books can be set up with expectations when you compare them to another favorite book. This book was quoted as being like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, one of my favorite books of the past 6 years. It is similar and different in some ways, but Addie LaRue is still my favorite and is a much longer book.

I think maybe I just found some parts of the book satisfying and unsatisfying, while other parts I really enjoyed. I think the risk of any of these books is whether or not you like how the issue is explained or revealed, and I liked it with Addie LaRue while I like those ending blocks less so with this book. And there are others completely opposite to me. Some people hate Addie LaRue, and thought it was boring. So this book will be some people's favorite, and others, like me, will like it but not love it. I would consider reading it again someday. ]]> Review8671588614 Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:23:55 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8671588614 Kara gave 3 stars to Yesteryear (Hardcover) by Caro Claire Burke
Yesteryear was such an interesting and also somewhat unsatisfying read for me. I am an Instagram content creator/influencer who is relatively politically liberal (since liberal now basically means just upholding The Beatitudes 🙄) and I almost could have become a trad wife.

The influencer stuff is basically the caricature of the worst of the worst of influencers--the ones who sell a facade and lie to their followers. Some influencers are like that, but not all influencers are like that. Some of the lines were funny and rang true though, including the section about a course on how to grow--spot on.

In the same way, some trad wives are like what is in the book but not all trad wives are like what is in the book. There were a lot of things in the book that rang true, but many didn't. Many parts of the book I was annoyed because it felt like I was reading a caricature of what liberal women think a trad wife is really like. Many times I thought about how this book would only appeal to liberal women and would anger conservative women for many reasons, including the unfair ending. Basically, the book engages with the weakest version of a trad wife's worldview and not the strongest version of a trad wife (someone with an coherent foundation and sincerely-held beliefs).

I think what most people don't understand is that trad women sincerely believe what they are told, and/or find ways of quelling any doubts they have about life. What led me away from trad life aspirations and political conservatism over the years was actually meeting people from different walks of life, befriending them, and seeing they didn't fit the caricatures I was told growing up. I have seen how cruelty and incivility have been cheered on the past decade. I went through years of cognitive dissonance and still do.

As the years progressed, I saw how near impossible it was to stay afloat as a single person, let alone a couple. And the final nails to the coffin were basically 2016 to present, seeing how many Christians were willing to put country and nationalism over the actual teachings of Christ. Online, I'll see the same people who were #savethechildren oddly silent about the Epstein files debacle, or prolifers excusing the deaths and inhumane treatment of immigrants and citizens instead of fighting for the dignity of the human person. If liberal means loving your neighbor, then so be it.

All that to say, I found some things about the book enjoyable and fun, but ultimately felt the ending was unsatisfying and I wonder what the book could have been if the main character were less of a caricature and had sincerely held beliefs. As written here, I find it unlikely the book would change anyone's mind about judging trad wives or prevent someone from becoming a trad wife because of who the book caters to and who the book is or isn't trying to understand or honestly engage with. The book basically reinforces stereotypes about how horrible influencers are, how terrible a rich family can be, and how terrible trad women are, when not all influencers or all trad women or all rich people are bad. ]]> ReadStatus11236304505 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 07:44:04 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8839234792 Kara is currently reading Process Mapping, Process Improvement and Process Management: A Practical Guide to Enhancing Work Flow and Information Flow by Dan Madison
]]>