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All in Recommendations
Rating: 4.5/5 | Oh. my goodness. If you love words and language, you have to read this book (literally). Actually, I recommend that you listen to it as an audiobook, as I did. McWhorter is delightful and witty and very funny. Plus, a lot of his points depend on the pronunciation of words and inflection, so I think you'll get a lot more out of it that way. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | Circe was excellent. Miller's use of language is masterful, the story is unique and attention-grabbing, and the combination of the two is powerful. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4.25/5 | Lincoln in the Bardo is unlike any novel I have ever read. In fact, the format is entirely unique. But it's perfectly suited to the story (or, perhaps more appropriately, stories) Saunders spins. It left me feeling a little hypnotized, somewhat reverent, entirely intrigued, and hungry for more. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4.5/5 | The City of Brass has absolutely everything you're looking for in the first book of a fantasy trilogy: a beautiful AU with rich history, languages, politics, magic systems, and longtime oppression; a willful female lead who comes from nothing to rise to badass-ness; a devilishly handsome, super strong warrior love interest who is maybe not the greatest person ever but oh gosh you love him; a corrupt but genius and conniving king who is hard to outsmart; and a young rebel prince who knows what's right and is bound to bust out of his shell soon to help save the world. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | Reading Poor Your Soul was a beautiful, heartbreaking, moving experience. I found myself almost hypnotized by Mira Pitacin's masterful use of language and perspective. One evening, after I'd read a particularly emotional section of the book, I actually crawled into bed next to my husband and said, out loud, "I feel sad. Sad in the best way." (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | The Power was not a light read; it was not comfortable. It was weighty and important composed of layers and layers just waiting to be peeled back. I went into it without any real expectations, but still, I never could have imagined this novel would turn out to be what it is. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | When I finished this book on my way to work one morning, all I could think was, "UGH UGH UGH MY HEART UGH." I then started my workday as a blubbering ball of pure emotion. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | Wow. This is the book I didn't know I was waiting for. In this book, Ellen tells the story of how she was repeatedly promised the world and given the gutter at the behemoth venture capital firm where she worked. Then, she spent hundreds of thousands—if not a million—dollars of her own money to challenge the firm in court. She was eventually out-gunned by the firm's greater financial and legal resources, and she lost, but it was close. She had many, many opportunities to settle the case for a significant sum, but chose to surrender her money in order to be able to write this book and tell her story. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | I am always looking for ways to learn new things, especially as it helps me get closer to accomplishing my professional goals. As a result, I've read a lot of books in this "self-help-for-business" genre. At this point, I sometimes feel like I've read all the advice before. This book pleasantly surprised me; all of it was engaging and entertaining as well as educational and thought-provoking. I learned something new and related the lessons back to my experiences with every turn of the page. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | This book was not really comfortable, but it was important. In the story, which was developed after Picoult conducted extensive interviews with both Black people as well as former white supremacists, a white supremacist father goes after a Black nurse over the death of his baby. And the world lets him. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | This book will change the way I see the world forever. It is a genre so different and yet so similar to those I have read before, but it made such an impression on me. I am going to read everything Nnedi Okorafor has ever written, because it will make my world better and deeper. How many books can you say have done that for you? Few for me. I cannot recommend it to you highly enough. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | I didn't study English or literature in college, but I wish I had taken at least one or two classes. I love to read, and I'm sure there are deeper meanings I'm missing. I did some poking around online to figure out the best way to get started, and I found my way to this book. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I recommend that you do too. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | This book offers a perspective on the refugee crisis happening today. It never mentions the nationality or religion of the characters by name, but these details can be easily inferred. And yes, it uses a magical element—the doors that transport you elsewhere in the world—but it's not a fantasy book. Instead, these magical doors serve as a device by which Hamid emphasizes the experiences of his characters: that "elsewhere" offers hope, but for a refugee, it's hard to feel welcome anywhere. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | I worked at Barnes & Noble as a temp employee for last year's holiday season (which was awesome!). During one of my shifts, a coworker pulled The Final Empire off the shelf, shoved it at me, and said, "Read this." I am so glad that I listened! This was my first experience with Brandon Sanderson, but I have absolutely come to understand why he is such a fantasy powerhouse. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4.5/5 | My sister bought me this book for my birthday so that I could read it on the beach during my honeymoon. I wouldn't really call it a "beach read," as it was heavy and complex, but it was definitely worthy of being read. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | I picked this book up shortly after it was released, knowing that Michael Eric Dyson is a well-known, well-liked author who does a good job of framing social justice issues. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | This book seems like it is the original from which all other leadership books have been born. Dale Carnegie's advice is simple, straightforward, and timeless. Nothing is revolutionary, but it is all framed in a way that makes it easy to remember and apply in your daily life. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4.5/5 | A fantasy book with a heroine who loves libraries and studies history. What more could you want? Harkness does a great job of keeping the witches/vampires/daemons thing far from cheesy. It took a while to set everything up, but as the story is quite complex, that wasn't terrible. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | This book is one of the greatest dark horses of my life. My mother bought it for me many years ago, and I have re-read it several times since then. I also lend it to friends whenever I can, and they always love it as well. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | I picked up this book because I saw the opening paragraph displayed on a Kindle pictured on a sign in a Barnes & Noble. The first few sentences hooked me, so I googled them, identified the book, walked to the shelf, and picked it up. I'm so glad I did. (Click the post to read more.)
