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Another mother-in-law story (the second one I've read in a matter of months). This one is a who-dunnit told from the perspective of the victim and her daughter-in-law, and as the story unfolds, you see that things are not what you might think in the beginning.

Another winner by Jenkins Reid. ❤ She has such an understanding of humanity - that's probably why she is so good at writing such real characters. Forever, Interrupted is a story of grief - the different ways people go through it, the difficulty of surviving it, and the complexity of trying to "move on" in a meaningful way.

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I love the original Hocus Pocus movie, and it's a staple of our Halloween traditions. I found the book to be accurate to the original, and the written sequel was true to brand. Can't wait to see the movie!

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I've continued to read all of McManus' YA novels to date, because they are well-written, with well-developed characters, and a suspenseful plot. I enjoy them at my age, and I would have loved them as a teenager.

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Over the last few years, Jenkins-Reid has quickly become one of my very favourite authors. Daisy Jones is still my favourite of hers (and in my top 5), but this one is another solid contender. The best I can do to describe it is like a feel-good rom-com, but with some serious depth.

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I read this one a few months ago and forgot to post a review. It was an interesting take on the wife/mother-in-law dynamic; It seems like a classic toxic, narcissistic mother-in-law disapproving of her soon to be new daughter, but, as in real life, things aren't always as they seem.

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I don't have a whole lot to say about this one, other than it was a pretty good read, and kept me guessing.

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I highly recommend reading this one WITHOUT reading the back, or any reviews that might have spoilers. I would liken it to The Devil Wears Prada meets Anna Sorokin.

I hate to say this, because I have a soft spot for Gaiman, but I just could not get through this. I put in a good effort, I think, and made it about halfway through. It gave me Coraline + The Witches (Dahl), but not in a good way. 🤷‍♀️

I read Firefly Lane just a year or two ago, and it was the first book in a long time that made me cry. I only just found out that this sequel existed, and of course I had to subject myself to an extension of that emotional torture. 🤣 It is true to the continuity of its predecessor - it has all the same feels, and (most) of the characters I fell in love with in Firefly Lane. If only I could scrub away the image of Katherine Heigl as Tully... 🙄

I hate to give a rating to a memoir - how does one rate the pouring out of another person's soul? I do think that it is important to read about the lives of others - especially when their story is so vastly different from your own.

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Let me preface this by saying that I do not condone slapping the living crap out of someone for making a joke...but I also don't believe doing so negates everything else about a person.
This memoir was introspective and insightful. Smith laid it all out there, including moments that he could easily have kept out to make himself look better. He wraps up his life so far in a way that can be difficult when writing of a life in progress.

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This one kept my interest throughout, and definitely had a relatively unique storyline. It was interesting that Covid, the Australian wildfires, and other headlines were mentioned sporadically throughout, helping to illustrate how crazy our world has become, and give a tiny bit of validity to the ideas of doomsday peppers. 🤏

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This was my second Chevy Stevens book, and I will definitely read more. I had previously read Dark Roads and though I found it only so-so, I wanted to give her writing another try. It was quite graphic in parts, (TW: SA, DV), but not any more than needed for the seriousness of the topics. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it.

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This pseudo-memoir, written by a therapist about her own time in therapy, as well as her experiences as a therapist. There, say that 5 times, fast! I found this book to be incredibly insightful, philosophical, and almost like a form of therapy in its ability to force introspection. I LOVED it! ❤️

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This story had a relatively unique storyline, and kept my interest and armchair expertise actively engaged. 😊

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I truly never have anything negative to say about Jewell's writing. Like her other novels, this one was well planned out, and kept me guessing the whole way through.

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This one was pretty slow going for me most of the way through, tbh. There were a lot of characters introduced from the get-go, all with relatively uncommon names (think Grey, Seraphina, Hart, Honey, Lysander, etc), so my skepticism was triggered. I almost bailed a few times... but ultimately, I'm glad I kept going. The last 1/3 made my reluctant tenacity worth it, and the ending was unexpected.

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This one caught my interest at page one, and kept my mind racing with possible scenarios, but ultimately I found the resolution to be a bit unsatisfying.

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I always find it hard to review someone's account of personal trauma - it seems kind of heartless or something. Yet here I go: This book was so-so. There were a few good insights on how the hospitalization of a spouse affects someone, and how the dynamic is forever changed. I didn't expect it to be wrapped up neatly with a bow - It's a life still in progress. But I also didn't feel that it had any sort of resolution at all. 🤷‍♀️

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This mystery novel is exactly what you would expect it to be - a light, easy and somewhat cheesy read. 🧀 This type of book is the comfort food of books for me, and I'm honestly not sure why I don't read them more often.

Parts of this book verge on poetic, (the very beginning & very end), dealing with the tragedy of the high incidents of violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada. However, the only other mentions of Indigenous culture are in passing, leaving me feeling like the Highway of Tears was being used as a gimmick to reel the reader in with a bait and switch.

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Slaughter is one of the author queens of thrillers. I saw this was turned into a Netflix series, so of course I had to read it before watching. My only complaint is that there is some unnecessary repetition throughout - presumably to help readers make connections through the somewhat complicated storylines. I'm optimistic about the show 😊

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If you've ever been heartbroken, and found that the person you had loved was never truly who you thought they were, this book will make you cry from the memories and the empathy you have for Waite.

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Miller's relationship with food and dieting is one that I definitely relate to, and this book provided some useful insights that I can apply to my own journey. I'm not 100% sold on rhe idea of "insightful eating", but I do think it has some good takeaways.

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Like many, I have spent many hours of my life watching true crime documentaries, shows, and YouTube channels, and listening to true crime podcasts. This book is McNamara's comprehensive investigation of a monster who raped 50 women, and murdered 13 victims. Good read for true crime fans like myself.

I got about 1/4 of the way through before the discomfort outweighed the interest. This is an ironic attempt of a self-diagnosed sociopath to help non-sociopaths understand/empathize with sociopaths. Who don't empathize. I understand that not all sociopaths are criminally dangerous, and that it is not their fault they are the way they are... but that doesn't mean I would invite one into my life knowingly.

I'm not not a Seth Rogen fan; I think I feel an allegiance to him based on 1. His Canadianness, and 2. Freaks and Geeks. This memoir was highly entertaining, and worth reading for many reasons, including but not exclusive to: his experience spending the day with Tom Cruise at the height of his couch jumping days, and his experiences on shrooms and acid.

It's my own fault - I apparently missed "A Memoir" written in bright red on the cover, and didn't read the synopsis, so I was expecting this to be a comedic compilation of conversations similar to Mercer's Talking to Americans videos. I listened to about half of the book, and though Mercer is funny and a great storyteller, I just couldn't commit to follow through. So many books, so little time. Great book for anyone who is a Mercer fan, though.

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Confession: In 1995, at age 13, I read Seinlanguage. I also watched the occasional episode of Seinfeld, since we had exactly 2 channels on our TV at the time. The confession is, I had a HUGE crush on Jerry. Until I realized that he was an OLD MAN (41 years old!!!).
I am now 40. 😱
Good book. If you like him, read it.

I'm not usually one for self-help books, but this one seems made for me. Here's hoping...

Not sure that I prescribe to this, but it's definitely a thinker.

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Not gonna lie - I chose this book for the title; it reminded me of the Gilmore Girls episode title "Friday Night's Alright for Fighting". The voice is well done and convincing - both the voice of the 9yo narrator, and the way she describes the other characters and how they speak. I liked the characters and the family dynamics. There were also some very insightful moments that I was able to connect with, and that really made me interospect.

Book #7
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This is one of my very favorite books since I first read it a couple of years ago. I heard that the audiobook was great, too, so now here I am. The performances - not just reading - were amazing, and did what I didn't think was possible, by making the characters even more real than Reid had already succeeded in making them. ❤❤❤ But why aren't they real??? I would give up chocolate for a year, just for a copy of their album, Aurora.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⚡️I am not all caught up on This Is Us, because it is emotionally exhausting so I have to watch just one episode every so often - but I do think it's a fantastic show! This memoir/autobiography/self-help book was a light, insightful read. As always with autobiographies, I recommend listening to the audiobook (I borrow them digitally from the library).

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I say this with every book of hers I read, but it's true: Reid has a way of making characters feel so incredibly real. She lets you know not only WHO the characters are, but also WHY they are that way. This is the story of one family, and a wild party. The ending is wrapped up in a nice (though admittedly not so tidy) bow.

Made it about halfway through listening to this one... maybe it's just me, but I could not stay interested. Time to let it go, I guess. Life's too short. ;)

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I don't want to get all political, but when I started listening to this book, I did not know anything about Vance's political leanings, or twitter comments he has made since the book was published.
Having said that, living and teaching in a Canadian province with a high child poverty rate, I see a lot of parallels between Vance's early life experiences, and those of many families in my community.

I wanted to like this one, I really did. But almost 4 hours into the audiobook, and the storyline has just lost my interest completely. I'm not saying it's bad - it just isn't for me.

I can't give this a numerical rating.
Elizabeth Smart is an extraordinary woman, who not only survived 9 months of torture by two deplorable criminals at the age of 14, but has also gone on to help other children. At the beginning of the memoir, she says she doesn't subscribe to the idea that all things happen for a reason; instead she believes that God can make something good come from something bad. I think this is an important distinction.

I always struggle to rate memoirs like this. Elizabeth Smart is an extraordinary woman who endured 9 months of torture with her captors at the age if 14. Her incredible strength and determination got her through the ordeal, and she has gone on to do incredible work helping others. She states in the beginning that she doesn't believe everything happens for a reason,

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This was another feel good romcom from Lauren. The characters are likeable, and the storytelling is good. The DNA match premise is maybe a tad much, and the romance follows the usual formula (which led cynical old me to a few eye rolls), but I was mostly able to push my cynicism aside and enjoyit for what it is. ❤

I was drawn to this book for its gorgeous cover and promising synopsis. I hate to bail on a book - especially after I've invested hours in it - but over halfway through and I've got to call it. I found the story terribly disjointed, and there were a number of times throughout where I felt as though I must have skimmed over something important. It's as though Blackwood had this world all planned out, but forgot that the reader can't see it.

Sticking with my new motto of "If I haven't read it yet, I probably won't", I am clearing of my To Read shelf on Goodreads, and starting to actually use the app for the first time ever, for 2022. I started reviewing what I read on Facebook a few years back, and joined here last year. Might as well become active on Goodreads, too. Lol. I read 83 books in 2021, which is roughly twice the amount of the usual. I'm aiming for 90 this year.

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This is a must read if you are musician, or a fan of those who make music. I have been a somewhat passive Foo Fighters fan for years, buying and listening to their music, but without the "fanatic" part. When they recorded their 7th album, Wasting Light, in Grohl's garage using analog equipment as a return to the roots music recording, my interest, and respect, was piqued.... ?

I mean...I love food. And Gaffigan has some funny stuff to say about it. I made it half way through...but like a really large meal, it was just too much food.

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I started reading this book after it was first released a few years ago, but only got about 1/4 of the way through it at the time. Finally decided to start over and plug through. The premise is interesting, and reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale, but unfortunately begs the comparison and then falls short. While I connected with the horror of possibility of a world where women are - literally- silenced, I felt no connection to the characters.

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Reid is just SO good at writing characters in a way that makes then REAL - their umanity, and the accuracy of the time and situations which they have lived through. I felt like I was reading the autobiography of someone legendary, like Marilyn Monroe. I'm left rather sad that Hugo is a fictional character.