75 Books...More or Less! discussion
Archive (2021 GR Completed)
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Elyse's 300-Book Challenge!
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Bluebird Memories: A Journey Through Lyrics & Life - Common 3/5Audible.
Felt like a poetry slam and a hip hop concert. It was fine but nothing special.
2.
Dan Rather: Stories of a Lifetime - Dan Rather 4/5Audible.
Interesting but very brief professional history of Dan Rather. He got choked up a few times, very humanizing.
3.
Life Ever After - Carla Grauls 4/5Audible.
Did not know what to expect from this one but it was really neat and I would be interested in a longer story! Deals with the question of how much are you still you if you replace your insides with mechanical parts?
4.
The Year of Magical Thinking: The Play - Joan Didion 4/5Audible.
I still haven't read The Year of Magical Thinking but this was basically a summarized version of it, narrated by Vanessa Redgrave. It was heartbreaking!
5.
You Are (A Comedy) Special: A Simple 15-Step Self-Help Guide to Forcibly Force Yourself to Write and Perform a Full Hour of Stand-up Comedy - Maria Bamford 4/5Audible.
Maria Bamford is the life-size, human version of a wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tubeman. She is nonstop and quirky as hell. Yes, she gets annoying but she's also lovable. She's like a puppy. This audiobook was funny and zany and over the top and ridiculous.
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Break Shot: My First 21 Years - James Taylor 4/5Audible.
James Taylor - what a smooth voice, speaking and singing. I didn't know anything about him before this book. I look forward to learning about his next 21 years in a possible future Audible Original?
7.
Coming Out Party - Nikki Levy 4/5Audible.
Enjoyable short listen of a few celebrities' coming out stories.
8.
Sheryl Crow: Words + Music - Sheryl Crow 4/5Audible.
I enjoyed this Words + Music installment of Sheryl Crow. I knew next to nothing about her claim to fame, singing for Michael Jackson what?! Like AS Michael Jackson when he couldn't do some of the vocals.
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The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster 3/5Home Library Paperback.
It's a pretty middling book. I'd never read it before and I never will again. It was a bit of a headache actually. And though some of the phrases and expressions are still used today, some are not. In another 50 years, I don't think it will hold up at all.
10.
Tom Morello at Minetta Lane Theatre: Speaking Truth to Power Through Stories and Song - Tom Morello 5/5Audible.
This was a pretty awesome Words + Music Audible Original. Annnd makes me sad because we were supposed to see Rage at Boston Calling in May 2020 but COVID. So mad. Rage is on my husband's band bucket list. So was TOOL but we luckily got to see them in November 2019!
11.
In Love & Pajamas: A Collection of Comics about Being Yourself Together - Catana Chetwynd 5/5NetGalley ARC.
This was my first Catana comic book but I have encountered her comics around social media. They're very cute and endearing and this was cozily relatable as I read it in my PJs with a cup of tea. I will be getting Snug and Little Moments of Love this month!
Elyse wrote: "This was my first Catana comic book ..."I love her comics, they are so endearing.
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I love her comics, they are so endearing."
They really are! I like Debbie Tung's comics as well for the same reason. And Sarah Andersen's! They're all very similar and likable and relatable!
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City of Lies (Counterfeit Lady #1) - Victoria Thompson 3/5Hoopla Audio.
I didn't love this book. I felt very disconnected from the story and wasn't extremely interested in it. I did like that it involved the women's suffrage movement. It's not something I've read much about since grade school! The book was okay and I'm already listening to the next one but it's just nothing special for me. This is my first Victoria Thompson book.
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You Should See Me in a Crown - Leah Johnson 4/5Overdrive/Libby Audio.
I mostly enjoyed this book because amidst the flighty plotline of prom being the end all be all for this town, there was a really good story of a Black girl who strives for more and does whatever she can to achieve this, and all being mostly in the closet. But this is not a coming out story. Liz Lighty is not just a lesbian. She is more than that and we get to see that throughout this book. I loved her platonic, normal boy-girl relationship with Jordan, even though it was fractured for years. I still am mad at her "best friend" for this jealousy. The prom thing was insane and do any small towns actually get this obsessed about prom? My small town did not. I did like that they had to do community service to compete for prom court. Great debut and I'm looking forward to Johnson's next book!
14.
A Heartfelt Christmas Promise - Nancy Naigle 4/5NetGalley ARC.
This was a cute, Christmassy fluffy little chaste romance novel and I really liked it. It was innocent of anything untoward and still enjoyable! ;) My only problem, which I hope hope hope was fixed prior to release, as this is a review for the ARC, is that I am not wholly sure what Mike and Buck's relationship was. Were they father and son or grandfather and grandson? It changed throughout the book!! It went back and forth and back and forth and I got really confused. I do believe that Buck was Mike's grandfather, whose wife died and Edna was Mike's mother, nary a mention of Mike's father ever. But I really hope that all got picked up on final edits and was resolved in the published version. I'm not curious enough to spend money to find out. But all in all, it was a good holiday book and the puppy on the cover has the smallest part in the book but obviously is a very cute cheap shot to draw you into the book. lol.
15.
City of Secrets (Counterfeit Lady #2) - Victoria Thompson 3/5Hoopla Audio.
I'm still not fully invested or loving this series. It's fine. There's nothing that jumps out as fun or exciting or original, but it's not a bad series. It's just mediocre. I'm getting to the 4th book which just published 1/5/21 which I have from NetGalley. Maybe it's the narrator, she seems to have a much older voice than a 20-something.
16.
Rick (George #2) - Alex Gino 4/5Overdrive/Libby E-Book.
I read George during Banned Books Weeks 2020, so not that long ago, but for some reason I was thinking that Rick was the little dirtbag bully and then I was like why does HE get a book?! But it was Jeff, not Rick. Rick didn't help the situation but was not the instigator. Anywho, this is Rick's story. And it was a good story. I loved Grandpa Ray. I would've like a little more conflict but I am an adult reading a kid's book so I understand the little to no conflict. I also wanted more conflict in George. But a great middle grade book!
17.
City of Scoundrels (Counterfeit Lady #3) - Victoria Thompson 3/5Audible.
I've "read" (listened to) all of these books in one week because they're short and the narrator is slow so I speed her up to 1.5x speed. All to get to the 4th book, published 1/5/21 that I have a NetGalley ARC for. It will take me longer to read than to listen. This series is a solid 3 stars. Nothing amazing, nothing bad a very neutral series for me. Poor David Vanderslice (such a stupid surname) has been relegated to one-liners. (view spoiler)
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Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition - Julia Kaye 4/5Hoopla E-Book.
I would have liked more detail, each comic was so very short, but all in all this was an educational book for a cis-woman. I believe that you are who you feel you are, regardless of what body parts you were born with. We've all felt uncomfortable in our own skin, it's a part of life and growing up, but to truly feel that you were born into the wrong body is heartbreaking. For some reason a lot of judgmental cis-people think that transgender people just decide one day that they are the opposite gender, or no gender, and then start taking hormones or get surgery the very next day. Julia agonized for yearssss about her decision to transition, second-guessing herself, imagining what would be easier, what would better, until she finally decided to be true to herself and live authentically. It takes a brave and courageous person to make those decisions and I admire her for it. I hope this book helps others who are going through this experience and I hope other cis-people also read this to understand transgender people better. We're all just humans, imperfect, trying to find our way in the world.
19.
My Life in Transition: A Super Late Bloomer Collection - Julia Kaye 4/5NetGalley ARC.
Super Late Bloomer was about Kaye learning and accepting and deciding to transition and now My Life in Transition is well, her life in transition. Daily comics over a 6-month period of Kaye navigating her world. There's ups and downs, ins and outs. A lot of relatable pages for anyone, transgender or otherwise. I enjoyed learning more about the daily experiences, and struggles, of being a transgender person. Still too short, would like more panels per comic for longer stories. But still a good collection.
20.
Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1) - Stephanie Perkins 4/5Overdrive/Libby Audio.
It's been a decade since this book came out and I am finnnnnnally reading the trilogy! The audiobooks were all available from Overdrive so I'm bingeing them. Too bad the Anna narrator pronounced Louvre as 'Louver' and tapenade as 'tapenaid.' That was jarring. But aside from that, Anna and the French Kiss was a cute contemporary YA romance and I enjoyed it. It was very high school and very teenager and of course, that can get annoying, but it was a fluffy little romance and exactly what I was looking for. Onto the next one!
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Maiden - Florence Dupre la Tour 2/5NetGalley ARC.
I didn't really care for this graphic novel. It was disturbing and awkward and uncomfortable. And not in a learning kind of way. Not my cup of tea. I won't be reading the previous one or the forthcoming finale.
22.
Snug: A Collection of Comics about Dating Your Best Friend - Catana Chetwynd 5/5Hoopla E-Book.
Another adorable, relatable, sweet comic collection from Catana Chetwynd!
23.
Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2) - Stephanie Perkins 4/5Overdrive/Libby Audio.
Anna and the French Kiss companion novel. It's a year after the first book and Anna and Etienne are side characters to Lola and her boy (and man) problems. I'm not okay with a 22-year-old dating a 17-year-old. It's illegal for a reason. They hardly have anything in common. If it's love, it can wait until 18. Anywho, I liked the way it ended up and it was obviously predictable. Another light-hearted story which is what I need right now, in this reality of ours. Onto number 3!
24.
shine your icy crown (You Are Your Own Fairy Tale #2) - Amanda Lovelace 5/5NetGalley ARC.
I enjoyed this second installment of the You Are Your Own Fairy Tale trilogy more than the first one. This one was more general, broader, more widely relatable, and was the most uplifting of any of Lovelace's poetry collections, I felt. It warmed me and some of the poems were exactly what I needed to hear (read) at this time in my life, in our country. I've given 5 stars to several of her poetry collections but this one is 5+.
Elyse wrote: "I failed at writing reviews about halfway through the year last year. Ah well. Time to try again this year! I did meet and exceed my goal of 300 books with 309! So I will stick to 300 books again...."
YOU. CAN. DO. IT!!!!!!!! I believe in you!!!!!
I'd be reading more of what I owned if Audible would stop sending me enticing emails full of the "included" audiobooks that I am REALLLLLLLLY wanting to read. SO annoying. LOL
Elyse wrote: "9. The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster 3/5Home Library Paperback.
It's a pretty middling book. I'd never read it before and I never will again. It was a bit..."
My heart THANK YOU for saying this about TPTB. I thought I was going to be crucified when I came out with a 3 star rating and a tepid review. I keep thinking I should reread it because clearly there must have been something I missed, but now I am thinking maybe not. Or definitely not. THANK YOU!!
Elyse wrote: "18. Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition - Julia Kaye 4/5Hoopla E-Book.
I would have liked more detail, each comic w..."
I have Anna and the French Kiss to read, but it is MUCH farther down on the TBR list than what I made for my challenge. Good to know its a cute book.
Narrators who butcher words like that make me crazy. :-/
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Yes, Audible is evil. We all knew it. lol. I mean, at least they're not taking up physical space? This is my excuse for e-book deals as well. But I did stop getting the BookBub email, it was getting out of hand. lol.
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The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster 3/5Home Library Paperback.
It's a pretty middling book. I'd never read it before and I never will again..."
Every book is not for every person. :) We should never feel bad for not liking a book. We are never the only ones! I was happy to throw it in the donate box. lol.
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Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition - Julia Kaye 4/5Hoopla E-Book.
I would have liked more detail..."
The Anna trilogy are very quick reads. Or listens. They're the generic 300-ish page YA books and even if you're listening fast, you won't miss anything pivotal, there's not much substance. They're just cute little fluffy romance novels. Worth the read. Luckily the first book is the only one with mispronunciations and only those two that I found!
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Isla and the Happily Ever After (Anna and the French Kiss #3) - Stephanie Perkins 4.5/5Overdrive/Libby Audio.
This was my favorite of the trilogy. There were no love triangles, no hurt feelings (well, only a few), and no will they won't they. It was just a normal hormone-filled teen angst romance. And did I mention NO LOVE TRIANGLE?! I was so happy to discover this revelation. I've never enjoyed the love triangle trope, gimme a love line or a love square. Let everyone be happy with who they end up with or don't end up with. Not everyone needs or wants to be with someone and that's okay too! That should be shown more than icky stupid love triangles where someone ALWAYS gets very hurt. What is the point of that? Anywho, yup adored this one.
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The Conference of the Birds (Miss Peregrine #4) - Ransom Riggs 4/5Overdrive/Libby Audio.
I actually didn't remember that much from A Map of Days before starting The Conference of the Birds but as I started listening, it all came back. This is such a good series and I was okay with it ending at Library of Souls but I'm so not sorry that Riggs decided to write three more books! This is the first Miss Peregrine that I've listened to, except Tales of the Peculiar, and I really like the narrator! I would've enjoyed listening to the whole series! Now upon re-checking when The Desolations of Devil's Acre (umm ominous much?!) comes out, it's a little over a month away! Bittersweet! I do want to buy the series in hardcover at some point. They would be a great re-read, especially as I've read them so spaced out.
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The Missing Prince (The Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger #4) - John Flanagan 4/5Library Hardcover.
Bummer that this is another split plot book like The Red Fox Clan and Duel at Araluen. I know middle grade books aren't generally really long, not usually reaching 400 pages, but c'mon. This is a pain in the butt!! It's literally half the plot. It's not even a real structured story. Wait for the next book to come out before picking up this one. I liked the book but it's not a whole book.
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Possesson - Katie Lowe 4/5MacMillan ARC via NetGalley.
I received a free ARC (through NetGalley) of Possession by Katie Lowe from Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.
Happy Publication Day to this wild ride of a psychological thriller! What a wild ride! This book has a great first line: “It's the sound of my husband's blood on the floorboards that wakes me.” CHILLING. Then it kind of got away a little bit but once the podcast started, it ramped up and basically stayed ramped up till the end. I guessed who and why pretty early but still enjoyed getting there. I didn't really care for the ending though. But as the first book I've read by this author, I really liked it.
29.
Conjure Women - Afia Atakora 3/5Overdrive/Libby Audio.
I had never heard of this book before stumbling upon it while browsing Overdrive. I liked the title and I wanted to know the story behind the doll on the cover. So I got on the Holds list. I knew nothing going into this book. And it just didn't capture me. It was very anti-climactic and I was disappointed by the humdrum everyday life of it. I was expecting a lot more magic, for one. And really, there was no magic at all. Only what people believed. If they believed in it, it was magic. But none of it was actual magic. I liked the little bits of mystery spread throughout that would be spoilers if I talked anymore about them. I didn't like the back and forth time periods, I don't like those in general when listening to the audio, so it got a little confusing at times where I was in the story's timeline. I am still interested in this author's future works. And now I will direct you to this review because she articulates way better than me and I agree with her points.
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The Ten Thousand Doors of January - Alix Harrow 4/5Audible.
What an odd and interesting story and book within a book! Being that it had a book within a book, it was a little hard to follow on audio. Narration by January LaVoy for main character January Scaller. Huh! I liked that! lol. This was a fantastical ride through doors, a little bit similar, just a little, to the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire. And then it goes off on its very own adventure! It was very good. I was a little disappointed by the romance, why even include it at all if that's the way you're going to go with it? But really interesting, different book and I just picked up The Once & Future Witches as an Audible Daily Deal!
31.
Loveboat, Taipei - Abigail Hing Wen 2/5Overdrive/Libby E-Book.
Mmm nope. One or two good things do not a good book make. This was a disappointing one in many ways. I can see where the author wanted to go but there were too many ways she was trying to go and it got messy. There were contradictions and unexplained things and the characters were just blahhh. You can't have it all and in a single book, you can't do it all. Focus on the immigrant experience of the parents and the youth trying to find their culture and trying to pave their own way, live their own dreams. I don't know how to put it so I'm going to send you to this review because she articulates it better than I do and I agree with a lot of her points. My review is just run-on sentences and jumping thoughts. lol.
32.
Goliath Girls #1 - Sam Humphries, Alti Firmansyah, Brittany Peer, Jodi Wynne, Sara Talmadge, Jeanine Schaefer 4/5Kindle Unlimited.
This randomly popped up on my Kindle app and the coloring jumped out at me. And that it was free with Kindle Unlimited. So I borrowed it. And I really liked it! I'm a huge fan of Pacific Rim and that is the only reference I know of kaiju. So now I have two references! I loved the artwork and the coloring throughout and this team of female illustrators! I will be diving into more issues because there's still a lot of explaining to do!
33.
Me - Elton John 5/5Overdrive/Libby Audio.
This book, specifically audiobook narrated by Elton John (Prologue and Epilogue only) and Taron Egerton (who plays Elton John in Rocketman), was FABULOUS. It was a very candid memoir and I enjoyed it very much. I hardly knew a thing about Elton John so this was a very informative background for him. And I was compelled by it. It got me emotional so many times from happy to sad to angry. I'm glad he put this out now and it wasn't something done posthumously. He's an amazing person and amazing entertainer. Beyond 5 stars!!!
34.
Goliath Girls #2 - Sam Humphries, Alti Firmansyah, Brittany Peer, Jodi Wynne, Sara Talmadge, Jeanine Schaefer 4/5Kindle Unlimited.
The second installment and more of the story is coming out. And another kaiju, oh shiiiiiiiit! And mother pitted against daughter? Can't wait to read more!
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My goal is to make sure by the end of the month I am caught up on reviews. I hope I can keep it up!
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What Big Teeth - Rose Szabo 4/5Won Hardcover Book from BookishFirst.com!
I was expecting a Little Red Riding Hood retelling from this debut author. What I got instead was a creepy original horror story about werewolves and witches and...other. It was a great book! It started off a little slow, a little confusing. But once the story is fleshed out, once you start to figure things out, it's quite riveting. There's a couple of big mysteries surrounding the Zarrin family and they slowly get teased out as the story progresses.
One question that is plaguing me is who was Rhys's father?! Obviously it doesn't matter to the story but it's those little unanswered questions that keep me thinking about the book.
I love the cover! It's creepy and perfect! Pale and wispy Eleanor. Is there a wolf inside? You'll have to read it to find out! This is not your average werewolf story! I will definitely be picking up Rose Szabo's next book!
36.
Nnedi Okorafor 4/5NetGalley Audio ARC.
So far I've only read Okorafor's middle grade fantasy novels! Akata Witch, Akata Warrior, and now Ikenga. And I've really enjoyed them! So I should maybe probably start reading her adult novels, especially since I own the Binti trilogy and recently picked up Remote Control and Who Fears Death.
I really liked Nnamdi. He's obsessed with superheroes and especially loves the Hulk. It's no surprise what happens next! I enjoyed Nnamdi and Chuma's platonic 12-year-old wholesome friendship. Every kid needs a friend like that.
The audio was good but I had to speed it up to 1.75x. 1x was soooooooo sloooooowww. But the sound quality was good and I didn't have any trouble understanding the narrator's Nigerian accent. I enjoyed listening to it.
37.
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry - Joya Goffney 3.5/5NetGalley Audio ARC.
First off, I don't know how you're supposed to rate and enjoy an audiobook when it's an automated synthesized voice. There's no emotion there's no normal pauses and speech cadences and it could really all be one long run-on sentence like this one. So that was disappointing. It's hard to connect with a story that lacks emotion. It was very difficult to get into the story.
Poor Quinn lacks confidence and a sense of self. But hey, what teenager doesn't? Her life is all about making lists. So much so that she has a journal dedicated to her lists. When it turns up missing she's terrified. When someone starts blackmailing her with it, she starts to fight back. And honestly, she needed that push, that kick in the butt to start LIVING instead of LISTING. I'm not saying what the person did was right but it certainly worked out well for Quinn. The romance really did nothing for me. Again, it could be because of the terrible "narration." Do you ever think about the characters' lives after the book? I don't think they're together after the book.
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Elyse wrote: "I'm up to 50 books read and 37 reviews done. I read/listen too fast...the problem with constantly having an audiobook going! lol."Good luck on your goal!
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Good luck on your goal!"
Thanks Carol!
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Marvel's Black Panther: Sins of the King - Ira Madison III 3/5NetGalley ARC.
I received this e-book ARC from Netgalley of a SerialBox audiobook. But I thought it was a graphic novel. I'd rather read my superheroes in graphic novel form than book form. This story was okay. I'm not huge into Black Panther and the formatting on the e-book was just garbage so it was difficult to get through. I'm not sure where it falls in the Marvel timeline because it seemed both before and after. A little confusing. It definitely would've been better in audio form, as it was originally intended. I may listen to the other ones in this series.
39.
The Shadows - Alex North 4/5Overdrive/Libby Audio.
I really liked this one! I think more than The Whispers! I almost gave it 5 stars but something unnamable/unknowable is preventing me. But this book was eerie and creepy and super interesting but not actually supernatural at all. Which I liked. I liked how North explained the joint dreams in the end. I really enjoyed that whole part of the story because it made it all so much creepier!! Will definitely be continuing reading North's books!
40.
Remote Control - Nnedi Okorafor 4/5Home Library Hardcover.
A short but heavy and impactful story. I love Okorafor's science fiction! It's so different and interesting. This little story is so good the way it is. Of course, I always want more out of a short story or novella. But this was really good.
41.
Felix Ever After - Kacen Callendar 4/5Audible.
This was my first Kacen Callendar novel and it will not be my last. Gave me wicked Adam Silvera vibes and EMOTIONS. This was the fiction group read for Feb 2021 24in48 Readathon and what a great choice. I cried when Felix's father kept deadnaming him and asking for old pictures. I can understand why it was hard for his father but also, love your kid the way they are!! And his mother, OMG I wanted to murder her. What a b****!! How heartless do you have to be to disown your own child? And this does happen in real life which to me is unfathomable. If your child is suicidal, unhappy, depressed, etc and then goes through a transition (whether coming out or actual gender transitioning) and then they are happy, lighthearted, glowing, shouldn't that be all that matters? I didn't like how Declan was treated though. I really liked Declan and he deserves his own book.
42.
Transcendent Kingdom - Yaa Gyasi 4/5BOTM Hardcover.
For being a book on the shorter side, this book was so heavy. Gifty is a woman in her 20s working on her PhD in neuroscience with a study on reward-seeking behavior in mice. But she comes from a family of depression and addiction and these form her whole life, including her research. Her brother Nana became an opioid addict after a broken ankle in high school and her mother suffers from deep depression. Gifty struggles with the science side of herself and the religious side of herself throughout the book. I really liked Gifty as a character and her methodical research that comes from her methodical life as a way of coping with her family's troubles.
43.
The Burning Girls - C. J. Tudor 4/5NetGalley ARC.
After reading only one other book by Tudor, The Other People, I was expecting a heavy supernatural element. But it's actually kind of a wispy supernatural element. Reverend Jack Brooks is a female vicar who is moved to a small parish where the previous vicar hung himself, or so it seems. Along for the ride is Jack's teenage daughter who is into photography. This book got really dark. Not just the history of the Sussex Martyrs, people burned alive for being Protestants, including 2 little girls. There are multiple mysteries that unfold throughout the book and I guessed one of them when Jack went to visit the retired cop/detective. It was a pretty obvious hint. But I like the way the stories unfolded and intertwined. I was very surprised at the appalling bullying that happened, in the name of Satan. That made me a bit squiggy, I don't care for Satanic rituals as a plot point. But overall, I really liked this book.
44.
I Tried to Change So You Don't Have To: True Life Lessons - Loni Love 4/5Audible.
I do only know Loni Love from VH1's I Love the...[insert decade here] and various comedic stints on other peoples' shows. I've never seen The Real. So I knew next to nothing about her. I liked what she had to say and her outlook on life, Hollywood, men, etc.
45.
Binti (Binti #1) - Nnedi Okorafor 4/5Home Library Hardcover.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love Okorafor's science fiction! It's so unique and interesting. Unlike anything I've read before. I finally got on the Binti train and I'm not getting off. Binti wants more for herself and goes out into space to find it. Brilliant. The whole concept of "treeing" though was very confusing for me!
46.
Binti: Sacred Fire (Binti #1.5) - Nnedi Okorafor 4/5Home Library Hardcover.
This short story is set immediately after the first book and is an aside with Binti, Haifa, Okwu, and The Bear wandering in the desert. It's a good coming down, a palate cleanser after Binti #1 and leads right into Binti: Home.
47.
Binti: Home (Binti #2) - Nnedi Okorafor 4/5Home Library Hardcover.
Binti has been gone from Earth, her family, her culture for a year and she desires to make her Himba pilgrimage so she sets home, bringing with her Okwu, her Meduse enemy turned friend. This leads to rocky roads with the Himba people and the Khoush people. And of course, Binti's own family. Binti has evolved as a person, and evolved beyond a human being, and that is terrifying not only for her but for her family.
48.
Binti: The Night Masquerade (Binti #3) - Nnedi Okorafor 4/5Home Library Hardcover.
Binti's arc comes to a finale but I wish there were more. I was left with so many questions when I finished this book! Binti continues to evolve beyond any human's imagining and she continues to have identity crises. My emotions were all over the place in this book and thankfully things worked out. For the most part. I will keep thinking of Binti, Okwu, Mwinyi, and New Fish for a long time to come and hopefully Okorafor will also and write more!
49.
The City We Became - N. K. Jemisin 3/5Audible.
I was somewhere between 3 stars and 4 stars but I've settled on closer to 3 stars. I have to stop buying Jemisin's audiobooks. Her worlds are too big to just listen to, they must be read. Jemisin's world-building is just so huge in scope, she's a master world-builder. But I didn't feel any real connection to these avatars of New York City's boroughs. Maybe if I was more familiar with New York City. I thought the concept was really interesting but got lost in it. Again, her books are not meant for audio, at least for me! You need time to savor and re-read parts instead of just quickly moving on.
50.
Brutally Honest - Melanie Brown 5/5Audible.
Holy 5 stars for this unflinching, raw, open, BRUTALLY HONEST memoir from 1/5 of the Spice Girls, Mel B. The title is so true to the contents of the book. Mel bares it ALLLLL. Her honesty and candor are truly unbelievable, she left no stone unturned. What a shit show she has been through and what a strong, brave, and courageous woman that has come out of it. She is truly awe-inspiring. I was a *teensy* bit disappointed that she only narrates the opening but they did find someone who sounds a lot like her and has the same Leeds accent.
51.
Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give #0) - Angie Thomas 4/5Overdrive/Libby E-Book.
I didn't think this THUG prequel as much as THUG itself (I LOVED THUG) but I did like how it mapped out Maverick's young life before Starr entered into it and became the teenage activist she became. I had a hard time adjusting to the speech patterns for awhile, my brain just did not want to absorb the language. But I did get used to it. Might've been easier to listen to, in that respect. Maverick learns how to be a man in the hardest way possible; becoming a young father with his baby boy dropped into his lap, discovering his cousin's freshly shot body, feeling like he needs to seek revenge for his cousin, and then impregnating another young woman. All while trying to manage not wanting to sell drugs or stay in a gang, finish school, help his mom with bills, etc. I love how Maverick evolved and it makes me want to re-read THUG because I love the man/husband/father Maverick became BECAUSE of everything he went through.
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Small Doses - Amanda Seales 4/5Audible.
I'm not sure where I discovered/learned of Amanda Seales. I recognize her face, I recognize her voice, but I can't pinpoint one specific instance (movie, TV show, comedy special, news alert) that I can say ohhh yeah Amanda Seales ...this... But I enjoyed her audiobook a lot. I liked her humor a lot. She's just real and point-blank.
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Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance - Zora Neale Hurston 3.5/5Audible.
3.5 stars rounded to 4.
This was my first foray into Zora Neale Hurston's writing. There are 21 short stories in this collection, written from 1921 to 1937. There were so many stories and I listened to the audiobook so I had to Google a couple of them to remember them. Overall, I rated them quite the range, from 2 to 5 stars. Some favorites were John Redding Goes to Sea, 'Possum or Pig?, and The Country in the Woman, the latter two being quite cheeky!
John Redding Goes to Sea: 5 stars
The Conversion of Sam: 4 stars
A Bit of Our Harlem: 4 stars
Drenched in Light: 4 stars
Spunk: 3 stars
Magnolia Flower: 4 stars
Black Death: 4 stars
The Bone of Contention: 4 stars
Muttsy: 3.5 stars
Sweat: 4 stars
Under the Bridge: 4 stars
'Possum or Pig?: 5 stars
The Eatonville Anthology: 2 stars
Book of Harlem: 2 stars
The Book of Harlem: 2 stars
The Back Room: 3 stars
Monkey Junk: 4 stars
The Country in the Woman: 5 stars
The Gilded Six-Bits: 3 stars
She Rock: 2 stars
The Fire and the Cloud: 2 stars
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Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds - David Goggins 5/5Audible.
I first learned of David Goggins when I Googled who the Navy SEAL was in Jesse Itzler's book, Living with a SEAL: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet, which I listened to about a year ago because I bought this audiobook right after I finished Living with a SEAL.
First off, if you can't handle swearing, you will not enjoy this book. David Goggins is the love child of a sailor and a trucker. But he's not swearing to name-call, he's just using them for emphasis. And that's how you can tell these words are straight from Goggins. There is no sugar-coating. So if you can get past that, you're in for a wild ride of struggle and triumph, pain and perseverance. And it turns out you can purchase a "clean" edition of the paperback, hardcover, or e-book. So you do you. But you can only experience the audiobook in its original f***ing form. lol.
Second off, if you read the book instead of listening to the audiobook, you're actually missing out on a LOT. Turns out the audiobook is more of a podcast, in which the narrator, Adam Skolnick, reads the book and after each chapter, or during impactful anecdotes, Adam asks Goggins to elaborate or explain or asks questions and takes the book further than what is written.
You WILL also need a physical copy because each chapter ends with an After-Action Report, homework for the self-helpers, in order to get you to process the way Goggins has learned to process, to begin dissecting yourself, to start achieving more than you thought capable.
This book is full of living advice, advice that Goggins has developed from lived-in experiences. Some of it may be too extreme for the everyday individual but there are a lot of self-help gems in here. No one expects you to go break his Guinness World Record of 4,030 pull-ups in 24 hours. NO ONE. But maybe with Goggins' help and advice, you can lose that 20lbs you've been trying to lose or run that 7-minute mile or complete that marathon. Whatever your personal goals may be.
David Goggins is an impressive example of how far you can take your body and what you could truly be capable of. He may also be slightly insane! lol. He is the epitome of the saying "you can do anything you set your mind to." He has pushed his mind and body beyond every mental and physical barrier. I got a bit nauseous just listening to him trying to break the Guinness pull-up record. And he said you can Google the image of his hands after his second attempt! Um nope. And I hope book readers were prepared for it in the book. Eep.
Paraphasing, there is a locked doorway in your mind beyond pain and struggle...yeahhh I'm gonna keep that door locked thanks. But Goggins is an impressive, inspiring human being.
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The Mountain and the Sea - Kwame Dawes 4/5Audible.
A short story about a woman finding a stranger on the road and taking him in. Esther is lonely. She may not admit it to herself but you, as the reader, know. She's in her 50s with a grown child and has been widowed for 4 years. This is a story of rediscovery. It is a complete story, I wasn't left with any questions and didn't feel like I needed more at the end.
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African American Athletes Who Made History - Louis Moore 4/5Audible.
This was a thorough but quick run-through of African American athletes who fought for their place in sports and in doing so and found a place in the annals of history. Moore was a lackluster narrator and that detracted a little bit from the history lesson, for me. But I learned a lot from this Great Courses audiobook.
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Return of the Temujai (Brotherband Chronicles #8) - John Flanagan 4/5Library Hardcover.
I can't believe this is the 8th book in the Brotherband Chronicles. It seems like just yesterday this band of "rejects" (their words!) got together to form their own brotherband. And I think, like others who have read the book, that Flanagan is running out of things for the Heron Brotherband to do! I still enjoyed the book but it feels like there's no forward momentum anymore, the stories are getting very formulaic. It may be time to let the Heron Brotherband set sail on their own.
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Letters From An Astrophysicist - Neil DeGrasse Tyson 4/5Audible.
As always, it is a pleasure to listen to Neil DeGrasse Tyson speak. His passion and intelligence and common sense go a long way in making science relatable and exciting. I never wanted to be a scientist and I never will be but his enthusiasm is catching. I enjoyed this audiobook of letters written to Tyson and his responses. The questions vary from religion to aliens to global warming. I learned a lot, like snowfall occurs between 22 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit so more snowfall IS a sign of global warming even though common people think more snow = cold.
59.
The Hangman's Secret (Victorian Mystery #3) - Laura Joh Rowland 4/5NetGalley ARC.
I listened to the first 2 books in the series so I could quickly read the third for NetGalley. It's now been over 2 years. I was clearly not successful. lol. Now I'm back into the series and have the 4th book lined up with Overdrive/Libby. I don't feel like a missed a thing! I remember the important things from the first 2 books and Rowland does a good job of reminding the reader of events from the past books but in a way that flows well with the story. All of the gang appears again and puts themselves in unnecessary danger. The search for Sarah's father continues along with new familial revelations.
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Little Moments of Love - Catana Chetwynd 5/5Hoopla E-Book
Adorable and so much **squee** John and Catana are me and Rick and me and Rick are John and Catana. #relatable
61.
Beastgirl & Other Origin Myths - Elizabeth Acevedo 3.5/5Home Library Paperback.
This was a unique poetry collection. First, the font size was miniscule! I would've appreciated a bigger font. lol. And this is a tiny poetry collection. $12 is a lot for 42 pages. But I bought from my local independent bookstore so it's all good. I liked some of the poems, some I didn't, and some I just plain didn't get. lol. But it was a quick read.
Elyse wrote: "58. Letters From An Astrophysicist - Neil DeGrasse Tyson 4/5Audible.
As always, it is a pleasure to listen to Neil DeGrasse Tyson speak. His pas..."
This one sounds good... Will have to add it to my TBR list. I never thought about the "snow issue" until I moved to MN and people kept saying, "It is too cold to snow."
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Little Moments of Love - Catana Chetwynd 5/5Hoopla E-Book
Adorable and so much **squee** John and Catana are me and Rick and me and Rick are John an..."
I love Acevedo's poetry. I need to check this one out.
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Letters From An Astrophysicist - Neil DeGrasse Tyson 4/5Audible.
As always, it is a pleasure to listen to Neil DeGrasse Tyson ..."
I enjoyed it!
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Little Moments of Love - Catana Chetwynd 5/5Hoopla E-Book
Adorable and so much **squee** John and Catana are me and Rick and me and Ri..."
It wasn't my favorite but it was an interesting collection.
Enjoy your reviews. I'm adding a couple books to my TBR shelf. Felix and Elton John. :)
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Thanks Marie! Elton John's book was AMAZING.
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Every Last Fear - Alex Finlay 4/5I received a free ARC (through NetGalley) of Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay from Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.
This book was gripping from the start with an intriguing and horrifying first line: “They found the bodies on a Tuesday.” An entire family is accidentally killed by a gas leak while on vacation in Mexico. Or was it an accident? The only family members left are a son in prison and a son in college. We are left with Matt, the son in college, putting pieces together from a murder that happened 7 years previously which incarcerated the other son, Danny. Add in a Netflix documentary attempting to prove Danny's innocence and you are in for a wild ride. I can honestly say I didn't know who the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy/Girl) was. I was guessing, and guessing wrong, until the unraveling at the end. Which for me happened a bit too quickly and a little unbelievably. But still a great, suspenseful thriller that keeps you on your toes and I'm dying to know who Alex Finlay really is!!
63.
Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World - Mackenzi Lee 4/5Audible.
A nice little gathering of...well, badass broads! Who are not who you'd typically find in the history books. Whether they "unconventionally" acted, dressed, loved, etc these ladies (or who were born biologically ladies but may not have identified as such by today's standards) fought for what was right in times that were not forgiving to "unconventional" women. I learned a lot about many little known women and a little about known women. It was a short book so I was a little disappointed by that. But overall, a great read. If you liked this, read Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History—without the Fairy-Tale Endings.
64.
Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children #6) - Seanan McGuire 4/5Overdrive/Libby Audio.
Another off-shoot, special world through a door! We've never seen this world before in the Wayward Children series. And I kind of enjoyed this no humans world. It was a bit bizarre, they worshipped humans because they saw them so rarely. I liked the various fantastical creatures that inhabit this world. Is the whole world called Hooflands or just the area where Regan was? IDK. I liked the twist at the end too.
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Letters From Camp Part 1 - Jamie Lee Curtis 3/5Audible.
Cute little stories from camp. Reminded me of the Lumberjanes but no fantasy. A little bit of mystery that Mookie is trying to unravel.
66.
Letters From Camp Part 2 - Jamie Lee Curtis 3/5Audible.
The second half of Mookie's 8 weeks at camp. Will she solve the mystery of the Lady of the Lake? Cute little stories from camp.
67.
Fowl Language: Welcome to Parenting (Fowl Language #1) - Brian Gordon 5/5Hoopla E-Book.
I don't have kids but I do have nieces and nephews and even Auntie can relate to a lot of these! Kids are irrational! lol.
68.
Fowl Language: The Struggle Is Real (Fowl Language #2) - Brian Gordon 5/5Hoopla E-Book.
More kid-centric antics. Very funny. Relatable even for Auntie.
69.
Fowl Language: Winging It (Fowl Language #3) - Brian Gordon 5/5Hoopla E-Book.
Parenting broken down into chapters with a little summary by the author at the beginning of each chapter. Only 2 repeats from the first 2 books. Very funny. Even for Auntie.
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Black Girl, Call Home - Jasmine Mans 4/5NetGalley ARC.
I really liked this poetry collection. It was eye-opening. The words were raw and bruising and real, I could feel the pain in them. I will be looking for more poetry by Mans.
71.
Home Is Not a Country - Safia Elhillo 4/5NetGalley ARC.
Turns out I actually like novels in verse. I never thought I would. This is only my second one but I enjoy the lyrical quality and the way verses are broken down. This novel in verse is about Nima and how she can't seem to find her place in the world, in the US, in her small family of two - her and her mother. It's a heartbreaking story about living with a ghost, living as a ghost, an immigrant story, a second generation immigrant story. But one that needs to be told, needs to have some light shed on it. I love the cover, it's so beautiful.
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The Rose Code - Kate Quinn 5/5NetGalley Audio ARC.
Damn am I that late to the party? Are Quinn's other books this good?!?! This book blew me away! The narration was amazing, for one, and the story was fascinating, for two. Well over 600 pages and it flewwww by. It does help that I can listen to audiobooks at work so I listened to this in 2 days. And now I'm bereft of these fine ladies who are so different but bonded during a terrible time of war. I adored the stories of Mab, Osla, and Beth so much and got to know them so well that when tragedy struck for any of them, I was devastated. There were love, and heartbreak, stories intertwined with the personal stories and war stories and it was just magnificent. Quinn is an amazing storyteller and I've clearly been missing out!
The NetGalley app is still frustrating where you cannot keep the speed, it resets to x1 every time you go back to the app and also if you go to another app and go back to NG, you cannot simply hit PLAY again. You have to back out of the book and go back in. And then the speed resets to x1.
73.
Luisa: Now and Then - Carole Maurel, Mariko Tamaki 4/5Kindle Unlimited.
This was a random KU read that appeared on my Kindle app recommendations. And it was a good recommendation! I really like this graphic novel about a 32-year-old woman who is struggling with her past, admitting her sexuality, and finding her happiness. All she needs is a visit from her 15-year-old self! Sometimes we do need a blast from the past to check ourselves, to remember what we wanted when we were younger. Though present-day Luisa was a biiiiitch to, well, everyone!! Snap out of it woman!
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Goliath Girls #3 - Sam Humphries, Alti Firmansyah, Brittany Peer, Jodi Wynne, Sara Talmadge, Jeanine Schaefer 4/5Kindle Unlimited.
75.
Goliath Girls #4 - Sam Humphries, Alti Firmansyah, Brittany Peer, Jodi Wynne, Sara Talmadge, Jeanine Schaefer 4/5Kindle Unlimited.
76.
Goliath Girls #5 - Sam Humphries, Alti Firmansyah, Brittany Peer, Jodi Wynne, Sara Talmadge, Jeanine Schaefer 4/5Kindle Unlimited.
I read Issues 3, 4, 5 in quick succession so I don't remember what specifically happened in each one. I enjoyed this first set of Goliath Girls comics and I look forward to more of their stories!
77.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel - Ransom Riggs, Cassandra Jean 4/5Kindle Unlimited.
It's been quite a long time since I read the novel so this was a nice little trip down memory lane before I start reading the final (or is it?) book in the Miss Peregrine series. The illustrations were simple and the story line was obviously cut down but the important parts are there and it was neat to see what I'd imagined, though that's not how I imagined the hollowgasts. I have seen the movie but let's just pretend that didn't happen. It could've been so much better.
78.
Giant Days Vol. 1 - John Allison, Lissa Treiman 3.5/5Kindle Unlimited.
I was definitely expecting more from this graphic novel after seeing it buzzing around for so long. Maybe I just need to get to know the characters - Susan, Esther, and Daisy, a little better. But at first glance, it's not very streamlined. It's just a smattering of things happening. Hoping the storyline gets a little more cohesive. Or maybe it's just meant to be that way. I'm willing to find out.
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A Murderous Relation (Veronica Speedwell #5) - Deanna Raybourn 4/5Library Hardcover.
I feel a little like this premise has been done before, maybe book 3? A scandalous place for wild sex fantasies. A little bit different in this one but still. How many sex dungeons were around in 1880s England?! lol. Buuut of course, the culmination of this book is what I was waiting for. That makes 2 historical fiction books that have resulted in what, let's face it, everyone wanted. This book skirted around Jack the Ripper instead of focusing on it which I appreciate. Jack has been done and done and done! I enjoyed seeing a smidge more of the royal family in this one and was quite worried about Lady Wellie! I already adore Vespertine and hope to see more of him in the future. And the 6th book just came out so I will be immediately requesting it from the library! Or maybe I will dip my toe into the audio because it seems neither of my libraries has it yet and I do have some Audible credits!
80.
American Pharoah: The Untold Story of the Triple Crown Winner's Legendary Rise - Joe Drape 1/5Audible.
Good grief this was boring! This was a free audiobook from Audible back in 2018 and I can't say no to free. And now I'm trying to go through my oldest audiobooks. I can finally remove this from my account because I will most assuredly never come back to it. It was incredibly boring for a non-equestrian person. I had hoped it would be a little bit interesting but no, not really. Unless you're a horse racing fan, don't bother. I could have definitely done without the horse mating lesson at the very beginning of the book. Like, what a way to start a book. Blech.
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Sheets - Brenna Thummler 3/5Hoopla E-Book.
This was an okay little story. Taking place in the 1990's, a young teen and her family are still grieving her mother's death and she's running a laundromat by herself (she's thirteen y'all) as her father sinks into depression. It's pretty sad. And on the flip side, a young ghost is struggling to find his place among the other ghosts. Everyone raves about the artwork? But I don't think it's very good. The eyes mostly, are just terrible. The artwork is very simple. The story didn't make a whole lot of sense either. And apparently there's going to be a sequel this year. Hmm...
82.
Gideon Falls, Vol. 5: Wicked Worlds - Jeff Lemire 4/5Just keeps getting weirder and weirder! How will this all culminate in Volume 6, the finale? Hope it's longer than these issues because this was pretty short! But I'm definitely still interested!
83.
Lovecraft Country - Matt Ruff 3.5/5Overdrive/Libby Audio.
This review contains spoilers for the book and the show, under spoiler tags.
I was so-so about the show and I'm so-so about the book. They both have different strengths and weaknesses but I'm still left feeling 'meh' with both. I liked a lot of what the show further developed (view spoiler) but didn't like some of what they changed (view spoiler) I didn't really care about Horace's devil doll story and can see why/how they changed it for Diana (view spoiler)
84.
Bigby Bear Vol. 2 - Philippe Coudray 3/5Hoopla E-Book.
Another cute, random volume of Bigby Bears' adventures, thoughts, and observations of the world. This one is split into Bigby's musings on seasons. My *favorite* one (I don't know how to add images into Goodreads) was where Bigby is uprooting trees and flipping them, then putting them back in their holes upside down so the roots are now bare branches - "What would nature do without me?" Just...it stopped me. It was so cute!! Some of these panels are so unbelievably clever and some are extremely simple. I'm not really sure who the target audience is! Maybe parents reading to children so that everyone gets something out of it.
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Wicked New Hampshire - Renee Mallett 4/5Hoopla E-Book.
New Hampshire born and raised and still living so this was a fun little foray into New Hampshire's sordid history. I knew about some but did not know about others. I've never been to the Isle of Shoals, I'm on the Vermont side. I liked the photos that Mallett took herself.
86.
Nameless (Nameless #1) - Jennifer Jenkins 4/5Hoopla Audio.
I just finished it and I guess I could classify it as medieval fantasy? There's no magic, there's nothing overtly considered magic or fantastical. The only "magic" is the healing which if they don't know enough about science and medicine then healing is misconstrued as magic. Healers say a "blessing" o over the wounded and it is said that the more love you have for the wounded, the quicker/better the healing. But there's no real evidence of magic. It could be classified as dystopian science fiction but there is no evidence of that - no junked out cars or crumbling buildings, relics of a time gone by, etc. And there really is no world-building at all, all you see is the inside of one clan. You know nothing outside the gates. Don't even know if they have electricity or not, but they use torches when they go in a cave.
Anywho, as for the story, I enjoyed it. It's a trilogy I missed reading a few years ago that is now complete. Yay! The plot is not complicated. There are 3 clans - Wolf, Ram, Kodiak. We learn virtually nothing about Kodiak but we learn that both Wolf and Kodiak clans are enemies of Ram. Ram is brutal and violent. Zo attempts to infiltrate Wolf but her younger sister, Tess, follows her. Now Zo must do whatever she can to ensure that she and Tess are safe. Obviously there's a Ram, the best Ram, who may not be as cruel as the rest of his clan. And maybe not all Ram are bad. I look forward to continuing the series when I get more Hoopla borrows in April. I liked the narrator a lot.
87.
The Harvest Man (Scotland Yard's Murder Squad, #4) - Alex Grecian 4/5Home Library Paperback.
I loved the narrator of the first and second books, Toby Leonard Moore (apparently there's 2 sets of audiobooks?). He was fabulous and I was so sad that he didn't narrate any of the others. I listened to 1 and 2 but read 3 first. I read 3 in 2014 as an ARC, then listened to 1 and 2 in 2018 and 2019 respectively. And now finally in 2021 I am finishing the published books. Supposedly there is a sixth and final book in the wings but there's been no talk of it for 3 years and the fifth book was published in 2016. Sad days.
This book was as horrific as the rest. There's enough backstory for me to remember the important pieces of the previous books without rehashing every little thing. I don't think they could or should stand alone, there are meant to be a series and it shows. And in The Harvest Man, not only do we see and hear from Jack the Ripper again but we also have another killer on our hands, simply known as The Harvest Man. The Harvest Man was terrible. Mentally deranged, possibly a victim of child abuse. He was scary as hell, taking peoples' "masks" off. Masks. AKA FACES. Ahhhhhhh!!! And throughout the book, we see how Nevil Hammersmith is handling not being a policeman anymore and Walter Day struggling with his newborn twins and his awful father-in-law and boneless mother-in-law, in addition to trying to tie up loose ends with Jack the Ripper. I adored the women in this one. Fiona Kingsley and Claire Day, striking out for their own passions in a harsh world that does nothing for women.
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Death of a Wandering Wolf (Hungarian Tea House Mystery #2) - Julia Buckley 4/5Hoopla Audio.
After receiving the first book as an ARC, I quickly forgot all about this new little slightly supernatural cozy mystery series. Thanks to my Goodreads friend, Dawn Michelle, I remembered and quickly hopped on Hoopla for the audiobook! And now the third book comes out in May! I didn't love the narrator, she talked kind of strangely. And it irked me that she pronounced Budapest wrong (Budapesht please!) especially for the book being so Hungarian-centered. I have no idea if she pronounced the Hungarian words correctly.
As for the story, I mostly enjoyed it. I like this little section of Chicago and I really like the scenes in the tea house, so cute! The why-dun-it was a little meh but overall it's a cute cozy mystery. I liked that Hana learned more about her family and her abilities. Fun little add to this cozy. It was weird that Hana kept referring to Eric by his last name. Umm he's your boyfriend, maybe refer to him by his first name?
89.
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1: Squirrel Power - Ryan North , Steve Ditko, Will Murray, Erica Henderson 4/5Hoopla E-Book.
Reading Unbeatable Squirrel Girl has been a loooooong time coming. I've been hearing about it for years and now that it's finished, it's a good time to start! I didn't even know she was a Marvel character! How wacky! And Doreen is wacky. lol. I loved Tippy Toe! And the Deadpool gems on the trading cards. haha!
90.
Bigby Bear Vol.3: Explores the Universe - Philippe Coudray 2.5/5Hoopla E-Book.
Not as good as the previous 2 volumes. Even less cohesiveness in the theme than the previous 2 volumes. Some panels didn't make much sense. There were a couple of gems that made you think but overall, not the best use of Bigby Bear.
I love Squirrel Girl!! We have the first two volumes in my school library and I'm always trying to get kids to appreciate her lol! I tell them Squirrel Girl is my favourite superhero and they look at me like I've gone a bit nutty. XD
75 Books...More or Less!
Books mentioned in this topic
The Cheat Sheet (other topics)Inside Divergent: The Initiate's World (other topics)
Inside Divergent: The Initiate's World (other topics)
The Cheat Sheet (other topics)
Giant Days, Vol. 2 (other topics)
More...
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📚 Finish series I've started and are done being written: Series to Finish Challenge
📚 Read as many pre-owned books as possible: Mount TBR Challenge / Read Your Shelves Challenge
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📚 Keep up with ARCs: NetGalley ARCs Challenge
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