Cole's Corner

My name is Cole and I’m just a Midwest gay who enjoys reading, writing, and talking about books!

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Here are my current reads! I typically have a fiction and non-fiction going at the same time.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

What is everyone else currently reading? How many books do you read at a time?

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Finished book #9 of the year! Origin by Dan Brown!

Another great installment in the Robert Langdon series filled with adventure, cryptic codes and a race against time! I was enthralled the entire time! It’s been so cool to see the development of Robert Langdon from his first adventure to this installment. I really enjoyed how Brown explored religion and science and how they intersect.

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Happy World Book Day 📖

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Here’s is what I’m currently reading! With just finishing Half His Age last month, I’ve been looking for her memoir and I finally found it! Also started the next Robert Langdon book so I can finally read The Secret of Secrets!

What is everyone else reading?! 🧐📖

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My fiancé and I were visiting my sister and her husband and we decided to go to Barnes and Noble and I found two more books I’ve been searching for!

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Next up off my TBR is Origin by Dan Brown! This installment follows Robert Langdon as he adventures through Spain as he races against the clock solving cryptic clues to stop another imminent threat. I can’t wait to see where this book takes me!

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Finished my current reads! I’ve had a slow reading year so far but life has been busy so I’m doing what I can. What’s everyone reading this weekend?

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Finished this gem last night! I really loved this debut novel from Jennette McCurdy! Her writing is raw and brutally honest and Waldo is a character unlike any I’ve read before. I cannot wait to read more from Jennette in the future!

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Album Retrospective: Most Wanted - Hilary Duff

Album: Most Wanted Artist: Hilary Duff Genre: Pop-Rock Released: August 10th, 2005 Label: Hollywood Records

After two albums of original music, Hilary recorded some new tracks, but instead of a whole new album, she released her first compilation album. Hilary worked with her at the time boyfriend Joel Madden, lead vocalist for Good Charlotte and his brother Benji who helped produce 3 of her new tracks.

Track Listing (new songs only):

Wake Up - 10/10

Beat of My Heart - 10/10

Break My Heart - 10/10

Supergirl - 9/10

With this being a compilation album, fans were already familiar with Duff's previous work. Duff's new songs really stood out from the rest of the track list. Wake Up is a strong opener for the album, It definitely has pop influences but there is a rock influence as you can hear bass, guitar and drums throughout the track. The rock influence continues in the next new song Beat of My Heart with the start/stop cadence. Break My Heart feels the most rock inspired with electric guitar, drums and distortion during some of Duff's vocals make the new track stand out from the rest. The fourth new track Supergirl only appears on the deluxe version of the album. The track is still heavily rock influenced and Duff's vocals sound strong and at ease even with a slightly more rock leaning track.

All in all, this is a great compilation album revisiting many standout tracks from Hilary's previous work while including some new tracks for fans to enjoy and memorize. It showcases her range from straight up pop to pop-rock. I don't really like to compare artists really but I definitely get Avril Lavigne vibes from the new tracks and I rather enjoy her vocals against more rock influenced tracks.

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Album Retrospective: Hilary Duff - Hilary Duff

Album: Hilary Duff Genre: Pop Released: 2004 Label: Hollywood Records

This is Hilary's self-titled album and the follow up to her sophomore album Metamorphosis. After listening to her album start to finish it the sound is very cohesive and it seems to have more mature lyrics and I'm happy to see that Duff has writing credits on some of the songs. After doing some research on the album, it seems to have not done as well commercially but with a more mature album it is harder to break into an older audience as a child star turned musician. As a 33 year old gay man, I honestly really enjoyed the entire album and it's become one of my favorites, I don't think there is one skippable song. Below will be my ranking for each song:

Fly - 10/10

Do You Want Me? - 10/10

Weird - 10/10

Hide Away - 9/10

Mr. James Dean - 10/10

Underneath This Smile - 10/10

Dangerous To Know - 10/10

Who's That Girl - 9/10

Shine - 9/10

I Am - 9/10

The Getaway - 10/10

Cry (remix) - 10/10

Haters - 9/10

Rock This World - 10/10

Someone's Watching Over Me - 10/10

Jericho - 10/10

The Last Song - 10/10

Anyone else a fan of her self-titled album? Which tracks are your favorites?

My fav tracks are:

Fly

Weird

Mr. James Dean

Underneath This Smile

Dangerous to Know

The Getaway

Cry (remix)

Rock This World

Someone's Watching Over Me

Jericho

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Album Retrospective: Metamorphosis - Hilary Duff

Album: Metamorphosis Genre: Pop Released: 2003 Label: Hollywood Records

Even though this album is technically her second album, the first being a Christmas album, this is first one containing all original songs. I never had this album growing up and while I've always loved pop music, I did not start getting really into Hilary's music until after her Most Wanted complication album came out. I've been a fan of hers since the beginning and I will be going through each album to see how I feel about them now that I'm older.

Track Listing:

So Yesterday - 10/10

Come Clean - 10/10

Workin It Out - 4/10

Little Voice - 5/10

Where Did I Go Right? - 8/10

Anywhere But Here - 8/10

The Math - 10/10

Love Just Is - 9/10

Sweet Sixteen - 8/10

Party Up - 7/10

Metamorphosis - 10/10

Inner Strength - 7/10

Why Not - 10/10

There are a lot of standout tracks on this album including the three that were heavily rotated on Disney Channel, So Yesterday, Come Clean, and Why Not. Those three besides the title track are the most widely known, a lot of fans also love the track "The Math," it has a sound that screams early 2000s with it's pop rock sound that gives an edge that reminds me of early Avril Lavigne. I realize this is not Hilary’s debut album but I feel holiday albums are in a category of their own, this is her true debut album as it is all original songs. I did find some tracks I’ve never heard before that will be added to my Hilary Duff playlist!

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Artist Retrospective: Hilary Duff

During the late 90s through the 2000s one of the breakout stars among millennials was none other than Hilary Duff. Her breakout role was the starring role in Lizzie McGuire on Disney Channel. She was also one of first of her peers to fully transition into a musical artist as well. Throughout the next few weeks, I will be working my way through her discography. I will be ranking the track list and giving my thoughts on the album until we reach her current release. Feel free to join me as I explore each era!

Eras:

Metamorphosis

Hilary Duff

Most Wanted

Dignity

Breathe In. Breathe Out.

luck...or something

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Next up off my TBR mountain 📚:

Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy

How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley

If you’d like to pick yourself up a copy, I’ll link them below through bookshop.org which is a great alternative to Amazon, also don’t forget to check your local library too!

Half His Age

How Fascism Works

What is everyone else currently reading?

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January 2026 Wrap Up

Happy New Year! One of my bookish resolutions this year is to read more consistently and thankfully I have been reading everyday. Here are the books I've read this month:

Title: True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything In Between Author: Gretchen Whitmer Genre(s): Nonfiction, Autobiography Publisher: Simon & Schuster Published: 2025

This was my first read of the year and it was a quick one. The books pacing is quick and feels conversational. Whitmer is candid in her account of her upbringing and how she was raised to look for the good in people or in seemingly bad situations. One of the things that resonated with me is how she handles herself with humor. She writes about the difficult situations she handled in her first term like the pandemic and when domestic terrorists threatened to kill her. She also keeps the book light by sprinkling in things like her playlist, photos of her dogs and some of the social media campaigns that took on a life of their own. If you are someone who likes or admires her, I'd definitely give it a read.

Rating: 5/10

Title: The Ragpicker King Author: Cassandra Clare Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy Publisher: Del Ray Published: 2025

In the follow up to Clare's debut adult fantasy novel Sword Catcher, Clare takes us back into Castellane where we continue to follow Kel and Lin in their endeavors to protect the people they love, but in order to do that, they must work with the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal and King of Castellane's underworld. Kel is on a mission to find out who is behind the massacre of the Shining Gallery and Lin, who claimed to be the Goddess returned, needs to learn how to use her source-stone to not only heal her friend Miriam but to pass the trial to test her powers. Cassandra Clare is a seasoned author so her writing is concise and polished and her characters are so individual that one could never be mistaken for another. The plot is so intricately paced and the momentum builds and builds until you reach that particular point where all the pieces fall into place and you're strapped in for the long haul. If you're a fan of Cassandra Clare or the fantasy genre then you need to read Sword Catcher so you can read this sequel. It does not disappoint!

Rating: 10/10

Title: Educated Author: Tara Westover Genre(s): Nonfiction, Memoir Publisher: Random House Published: 2018

One of my bookish resolutions is to read more nonfiction and this is one of the memoirs I've heard is a must-read and I can confirm that this memoir definitely lives up to the hype! This memoir follows its author, Tara Westover and her journey to self-discovery. She is born to survivalist parents who believe that modern medicine and public school goes against their religion and will corrupt and poison their family. Tara is usually the type of daughter that does what she is told and believes what her parents tell her. One of Tara's older brothers had enough ambition and drive to leave the mountain and enroll in college and after he learns what life can be, he returns and tells Tara she is capable of going to college too. Tara gets the textbooks necessary to teach herself enough to pass the ACT and enroll in college. Once in college Tara's beliefs are challenged and as she grows and learns about things like the holocaust and the civil rights moment, her perspective changes not only on the world as she knew it but for the kind of life she was capable of having. Her writing is raw, honest and powerful as she accounts her trials and tribulations from feeling like she was betraying her family by pursuing a life in the secular world to understanding and accepting that you can still love someone while not having them in your life if their presence is conflicting with your peace. I think everyone should read this book, I haven't read a lot of non-fiction or memoirs but this might be one of the best memoirs I've ever read.

Rating: 10/10

Title: People We Meet on Vacation Author: Emily Henry Genre(s): Fiction, Contemporary, Romance Publisher: Berkley Published: 2021

This is the third Emily Henry book I've read and I'm happy to report that it does NOT disappoint! The thing I've loved about every Emily Henry book I've read so far is the characters. Her lead characters are unequivocally human with character flaws that anyone can relate to. I saw aspects of myself in both Poppy and Alex. I also loved the dual timeline between present day and the past, it gives you perspective on the characters history that has led to where they are in the present day. This book was a slow burn as the. plot inched closer and closer to whether Poppy and Alex would get their happily ever after. If you're a fan of romance then do yourself a favor and pick this up!

Rating: 10/10

If you're looking to pickup a copy of any of these for yourselves, I am going to link them below through bookshop.org, an alternative to amazon, you can also select a local bookstore and a portion of the proceeds will go to that bookstore!

True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything In Between

The Ragpicker King

Educated

People We Meet on Vacation

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January Wrap Up! I had a VERY good start to my reading year, read 4 books and over 1000 pages!

How did everyone else’s reading month go? Let me know!

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Next up off my TBR is none other than George Orwell’s Animal Farm! I’ve been hunting for a copy for awhile now and picked this up yesterday!

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Current read ✅

Snack ✅

Drink ✅

Time to settle in ☺️📖