Ever watch the show Parenthood? That is this book. I'm part of a big family and what this book does is show you the seperate lives of a great many people that also are entwined together because they are family. I loved it. I could read it forever. I like and dislike many things about some of the characters but that's real. People are multifaceted and that's what makes this realistic. I enjoyed how the book was written. Very well done family saga.

I had to give this a minute before I started liking it. My kids are grown, so I was thinking 20 years ago some of these stories he tells would of hit home harder. But then there came the times I laughed out loud. Surprisingly loud. The waiting for luggage story, the puke in the friend's ear story, the bunny in the refrigerator box...I really do like this guy! It's short, entertaining, and at times quite poignant.

This is the sort of book that is much better when you read it rather than listening to the audiobook version. I started it out on audible, then switched to the ebook. I didn't like the narrators. They made the story seem shallow for some reason.
As soon as I started the ebook I was hooked. Couldn't put it down! Did not expect a few of those twists, especially at the very end.
4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Is this book on anyone's radar yet? It's SO good. If you're into science and space and love a good narrator check it out! I love the guy who reads this, he's one of the best (in my opinion) - it's on audible. He sounds like Tom Hanks. Some of the science talk is going over my head, but the storyline is excellent and has me hooked.

I think this book helped me get out of a reading funk. I was hoping for more and wanted to keep going on the Oona ride.
Every New Year's eve at midnight (Starting at 19) she time travels to a different year in her life. So lets say she might be 25, but wakes up in her 51 yr old body. It was disorienting at first, but as you learn more about her life it becomes enjoyable. Oona grows with wisdom and begins to look at the time she has in a new way.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very good book!

"I know life well enough to know you can‘t count on things staying around or standing still, no matter how much you want them to. You can‘t stop people from dying. You can‘t stop them from going away. You can‘t stop yourself from going away either. I know myself well enough to know that no one else can keep you awake or keep you from sleeping."
?❤

Would I recommend this book?
No.
I finished it, but it felt like a punishment. I have no idea why it is included in The New York Times Book Review's "100 Notable Books" ??

My first Emily Henry book, and won't be my last. The phrase "gave me all the feels" is a perfect way to describe it.
I'm betting that if you like Colleen Hoover, you'll like this one.
I wish I could come up with quick and witty responses like Poppy. I love her sense of humor! Such a sweet and pure relationship between her and Alex.
4.5 stars

I really really liked this one. 🤩

“Everything always works out in the end. And if it didn‘t work out yet, then it isn‘t the end.”

I absolutely adored this book! I identified some of my own personality traits in quirky bookish Nora, loved the crazy fun family she discovered she was a part of, and honestly was sad when I finished it. So cute and funny.
4.5 stars

Good book! About life and love and death..one of those that makes you laugh and cry. It was a sweet book. Lenni is a 17 yr old girl and Margot is an 83 yr old woman. Together, their lives span 100 years and they have a goal of creating 100 paintings of their different life experiences. I love their friendship. Heartwarming, though it did make me tear up..it left me with an appreciation of what being human and what living life truly is about.❤

Blame it on #booktok for this one! I kept seeing it pop up as a spicy romance recommendation on tiktok and I did like it. At first, I wasn't loving the main character. It made it a little hard to get into. It grew on me though, and loved how their relationship turned out!🔥
If you're in the mood for an easy contemporary romance with some spice, this is a good one.
4 stars

A good read. It didn't give me 5 star feels, but kept me interested and wanting to know the full story. A lot of people really loved this one. I can only give it 3 stars. Good, but didn't blow me away.

This is a fun read! I was a bit skeptical at first that it would be too fluffy, but it was a great light story that I had a hard time putting down. I had to see how it ended. The story's premise is a stay-at-home mom and a working mom swapping bodies (like the movie Freaky Friday) and finding out what it's like in each other's shoes. It's a good reminder that you never truly know what another woman's life is really like.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Such a great series! More of you should try this one out. If they ever make these into movies, it would make for fantastic entertainment. I just finished 'Year 2.' The heroes are another year older in this one, so it's getting even more interesting.
These are free on Kindle Unlimited. If you like Harry Potter, you'll most likely like this. (As long as you aren't going to be offended by cursing, sex, and underage drinking)
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Okay, why. Why did it have to end like that? 🤦‍♀️
Excellent book about a family that has to deal with the devastating diagnosis of Huntington's Disease. Joe, a 43 yr old Boston police officer, has to come to terms with what this disease will do to his mind and body. How this affects him and their family is heart wrenching. Each of their 4 adult children have to decide if they want to find out if they also have the disease. Eye-opening story. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was searching for books that are motivational and this book kept popping up as one to read. I'm loving it. It is definitely inspiring me in my quest to not give up and just morph into a ball of laziness. 😅 It's so much harder these days to lose weight and get into shape now that I'm in my 40s. It can get super frustrating!
Any other books you can recommend?

Loved this one! I can see how a person like Elizabeth Gilbert is able to create a story filled with characters that unapologetically live their lives the way they want to.
I liked Vivian. She starts off as a naive, spoiled, and lost 19 yr old girl. She leaves us as a wise 95 yr old woman who truly lived her life. What a wild and beautiful life.

Much more of a horror story than The Stand, but I didn't enjoy it quite as much. Still a great book to listen to as an audiobook! I'm a fan of Stephen King and all of his brilliance. I give it 4 stars.

4 ⭐
I really enjoyed this, so glad I read it! It got really good in the middle. Like, really really good. I grew to really like the main character. Strong female lead, lots of interesting things happening, good characters throughout.
The ending was a little too quick. It did tie up all the loose ends. I'm glad for that. But there were a lot of loose ends and they all got tied very very quickly. 😅

Isn't this cover pretty? Love the bright colors.

Why haven't I heard more about this series?! I first heard of it a few weeks ago and was intrigued. An underground school at a college campus designed to help kids learn to use their powers in order to become heroes.
This first book was published back in 2013, and it's the start of a five book series. It was so fun to read (all 800 pages)- I loved it. I'm very committed to reading all the books! Got to see how it all plays out now.

5 stars!
I can see why people keep mentioning The Hunger Games when reviewing this book. It's more violent, does has a lot of the same elements, but there's a lot more going on in this world. Some advice- skip trying the audiobook (this is a story you need to read) and go in knowing that it will take a bit to suck you in. Once you get pulled in though, you won't be able to stop.

Recently, I've been exploring the bookish side of tiktok. There's a few accounts on there that have recommended this series and a bunch of other good (hot romance) recommendations that unfortunately have covers like this or titles that are just embarrassing to admit to reading. But I don't care! Its fun to mix up the type of books I read. This is surprisingly a great book! It's an easy one to get into and a hard one to set aside.

I really liked this one! I both read the e-book and listened to the audiobook (thanks to audible/kindle unlimited, that little perk was free and it was amazing, first time I've been able to do that) and the audio version is just as good as reading it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Reading this book has lit a fire in me over the genius that is Stephen King! It's been a while since I read a book by him. He's brilliant with his characters and creates such intense stories.
This is obviously an iconic display of good vs evil...and of course you root for the 'good' side but delving into the minds of the people on the 'evil' is so very interesting.
Now I'm looking forward to reading more of King.
A great #summerread
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a beautifully written book!
A story told from two perspectives..Jude and her twin brother Noah..in a unique and fantastical way. The way Noah sees the world in brilliant bursts of art kills me. He captures what he is feeling by making them into drawings in his mind (or on paper)- I love Noah. Actually I love all these characters! The book is very good. The storyline is interesting and keeps you guessing as you try to fill in what happened.

I feel like this would be a good book to read when it's raining or snowing. It's such a quiet read. Like listening to a old country song or reading a poem. I kept forgetting I was reading it and would set it aside while I went back to reading an e-book or two before picking it back up.
I did like it. If I was in the right mood for it, I wouldn't of taken so long to get through it. The writing was excellent. 3.5 stars

Oh. My. Gosh.
This book annoyed me to no end.
She loves him. She hates him. She loves him. She hates him. He's the best thing. He's the worst thing. He's the most amazing person she's ever met. He's the most evil human on the planet. 🤦‍♀️🙄🙈🤔 Make up your damn mind.

Pretty good read. I'd rate it between 3 - 4 stars. Some parts were very exciting and some parts dragged. I got a little tired of the enormity of some of the details, although it was interesting to see how the characters coped with the circumstances they were dealt with.
I do wish the ending was different!

I needed a easy book like this to jump into! I keep reading books that I have to kind of keep after. Books that I have a hard time losing myself in. But this book was a great escape! It reminded me of 'Me Before You' in how you actually really like the characters! You admire their will power and how they never stay down. Even after life keeps giving them hardships. They keep going. I like a nice tidy ending too, and this didn't disappoint.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Such a good #audiobook! Recommend. It was a 4 star rating for sure. I very much enjoyed all the twists and trying to figure out who did what. I kept guessing and was wrong almost every time. (Warning: Some scenes were a bit uncomfortable to get through due to the young age of a character. )
Anyone watch the movie??

It's been a long time since I started a book and within a few pages was hooked. The first half was a 5 star can't-put-it-down gotta-see-what-happens type of experience. Something happened for me about halfway through, and it wasn't quite as good for some reason. So in the end, I gave it 4 stars.
A really good inspiring story with some great characters. (Kitty is a favorite!)

What a great audiobook!! This is one of those that made WANT to find more things to do around the house so I could keep listening to it. So crazy..I wanted to know how this was going to end. I could not imagine being in the position Grace was in. A suspenseful read (or listen) - definitely recommend.

Not my favorite Backman, but I enjoyed it. I love his quirky and eccentric characters. What I loved most was the intense love seven-year-old Elsa's grandmother had for her, and all the ways she tried to protect and guide her. That was beautiful.
The last little bit at the end made me cry. So typical of Fredrik Backman, he gets me every time. 😅

If you have teenagers or kids in their 20s, this might be helpful to read. I love the title! I wish I would of picked this up 5 years ago. It has some great advice! Some of his ideas might not fit in with your beliefs, and that's okay. You don't have to agree with him on everything.
I had the experience of having a 'failure to launch' kid & it was traumatic for us as parents. He offers multiple tips on this situation that would of come in handy.

This was an okay read. What was interesting to me was also reading 'Three Women' by Lisa Tedder at the same time...and that book is about women's sex lives and sexual desires. 'Coversations with Friends' centers around a young woman and her relationships. Reading both books shed a different light on the main character's thoughts, experiences, and feelings. Still, at the end I wasn't impressed with this book. 🤷‍♀️
2 1/2 stars

Ugh. So good.
Told from the point of view of 12 yr old Jack. Who has a new 14 yr old foster brother Joseph. Joseph is a father. He became a father at 13. What we discover about him is- he loved Maddie. His biological father is a terrible human. Joseph has gone through hell, and we watch as he tries to cope with his reality. This is a quiet, beautiful, and tragic story. It's a quick read that will leave you shook.

I liked this one! So refreshing to have an easy and somewhat relatable book. I enjoyed the dynamic between the family members. Their stories are complicated in a way that everyone's relationships to their family members are complicated. I'm at that age where I'm not so young anymore, and my kids are (pretty much) fully capable adults. I can see things from Astrid's point of view, as well as Porter's.
Engaging and entertaining.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

I like reading (or in this case listening to) a book like this occasionally. A memoir, from a woman with a sense of humor, who puts her life experiences out there for everyone. Chelsea Handler is probably the absolute opposite of who I am. Her personality scares me, yet is fascinating. I wish I had some of her confidence. I actually got something from this book. She made me laugh out loud at some of her life observations. Not a book for everyone.

A really good psychological thriller! Had me engaged from the beginning. The way the book starts, you almost think you know how it's all going to play out. But this is no Lifetime movie. It gets pretty suspenseful. I liked the mix of characters. Such an array of personalities. #IshouldbecleaningforEaster #couldntstopreadingthis #worthit
⭐⭐⭐⭐

"..she had given them what mattered: they were loved and they knew it. Everything else was decoration.
Love remains."
A mother's love and strength is unmatched.
Great story! A bit on the depressing side, so bear that in mind. Elsa is the very essence of what a warrior is.

"As we know, there are lessons to be learned from history. Hope is to be derived from hardships faced by others."

Another odd book.
This is a horror story. Similar to a short Stephen King novel. It might be more fitting to compare it to an episode of The Twilight Zone.
Will you like any of the characters? No.
Will you keep reading to find out what craziness is going to happen next? Most likely.

I've never read anything by Michel Faber, but I'm now interested in trying something else he has written. I've never read anything quite like this. It's science fiction, with a big dose of religion thrown in. It's a big heavy book (500 pages) but I really wish there were another 200 pages. It ended too soon. What happened next? I really want to know what happens!
I enjoyed this weird strange book. Not sure if everyone would.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all! 🍀💚
This has always been a fun day for me because it's my birthday.
My grandpa (Patrick Ryan) was 100% Irish. He was so pleased when he had a granddaughter born on this day. I think of him and miss him a little extra when this day comes around.

This was included in a list on a booklover's blog containing the titles of all the best romance books. I liked a few on the list, so I figured this was probably a good one to try. It was made into a movie that Anne Hathaway starred in. (❤ her!)
This was really really good.
Emma and Dex meet on their graduation day, July 15 1988. They begin their topsy-turvy friendship from that point on. We get a glimpse into their lives every year on July 15.

You ever have a book on your wish list that once you read it you are left thinking "why in the world did I have this in my tbr?"
That would be this book for me.
I don‘t understand what actually went on. It was all over the place. Am I suppose to like any of these people? What the heck happened exactly?
I give it 2.5 stars only because I didn't stop reading it. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't good. The cover says it's "electrifying" ?
No. #false

This may be an unpopular opinion since I've only heard great things about this book.
So, the main character's voice comes across as much younger than most 11th graders voices do in YA books. Its throwing me off. I keep thinking he's 12.
(I still like the book, and I'm still in the process of reading it. Not done yet)
ETA: It got good
Oh my heart!! 😭💔 So many emotions..
I can now see why there is all those great reviews. I definitely recommend.

Sometimes short stories are hard to get into, but this is an exception. I've loved Jojo Moyes ever since I read 'Me Before You.' I'd give anything she writes a try. Pleasantly surprised that I liked this one. The first story is plenty long enough to really become invested in and enjoy. The shorter stories at the end were each pretty good as well!

Great book if you're in the mood for one of those with lots of twists! I had whiplash by the end. Maybe I should of figured out what was going on, but honestly I was quite completely confused. Not very likeable characters (I really didn't like any of them) but a good read.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not my cup of tea. It made me depressed about what marriage is to some people. How important random sexual encounters are to people. 75% of the time I was wondering what the heck is Rachel's deal. I guess we figure that out eventually, but still. 🤦‍♀️🤨
In case this review sounds too negative, I DO like how Toby was to his kids. So that's something. He's a good father.