Read, Review, & Repeat

I read a bunch of books and tell you what I think. Goodreads Profile: https://www.goodreads.com/Katefinity

[katefinityreads]

I read 123 books last year and the three pictured here were my favorites. Here’s a list of ALL the books I read sorted by best overall, best for discussion, worst overall, and what was just average. They’re not in any particular order within their categories.

Best 1. Bad Blood 2. I'll Be Gone in the Dark 3. There There 4. Daughters of the Winter Queen 5. Educated 6. Dead Wake 7. Shrill 8. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine 9. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 10. The Hate U Give 11. The Great Alone 12. Becoming 13. In a Day's Work 14. Miss Kopp Just Won't Quit 15. Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions 16. Britt-Marie Was Here 17. Quiet Girl in a Noisy World 18. The Woman Who Smashed Codes 19.Then She Was Gone 20 Jane Seymour the Haunted Queen 21. No Stone Unturned 22. We Have Always Lived in the Castle 23. Forty Autumns 24. The Power of Meaning 25. Herding Cats 26. The Romanov Empress 27. The Storyteller 28. The Alice Network 29. The Bully Pulpit 30. Jane Austen at Home 31. Big Mushy Happy Lump 32. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

Conversation Starters 33. Lady Killers 34. Man's Search for Meaning 35. Fear 36. Not That Bad 37. When 38. Columbine 39. The Power 40. Sometimes I Lie 41. I Was Anastasia 42. Will I Ever Be Good Enough? 43. Helter Skelter 44. A Higher Loyalty 45. How to Stop Feeling like Shit 46. We Should All be Feminists 47. Dear Ijeawele 48. Selfish Shallow and Self-Absorbed 49. All the Single Ladies 50. What Unites Us 51. Are We Smart Enough to Understand How Smart Animals Are? Worst 52. How to Be a Good Creature 53. Settle for More 54. Two Dark Reigns 55. My Lady Jane 56. Bring Me Back 57. The Princess Saves Herself in This One 58. Something in the Water 59. The Oracle Queen 60. Summer Wives 61. Manhattan Beach 62. Lagom 63. The Prisoner in the Castle (Maggie Hope) 64. Convenience Store Woman 65. The Essex Serpent 66. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck 67. Sadie 68. Ikigai 69. Lady Kopp Makes Trouble 70. Girl in Snow 71. Pardonable Lies 72. The Story of the Lost Child 73. Victoria (Daisy Goodwin) 74. The Goldfinch 75. The Strange Library 76. Lone Survivor

Average 77. In Pieces 78. Women and Power 79. These Few Precious Days: The Final Year of Jack with Jackie 80. The Woman Who Would be King 81. Crazy Rich Asians 82. I Feel Bad About My Neck 83. Whose Boat is this Boat 84. I Was Told There'd Be Cake 85. Wallis in Love 86. Happiness is a Choice You Make 87. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes 88. Sourdough 89. We Two 90. Magna Carta 91. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows 92. The Art of the English Murder 93. Rust & Stardust 94. The Princess Knight 95. Hamilton

96. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

97. Pax 98. Rainbirds 99. The Devil in the White City 100. Killers of the Flower Moon 101. Big Little Lies 102. Inferior 103. Circe 104. In Cold Blood 105. Tower 106. The Manson Women and Me 107. Still Life 108. How to be a Bawse 109. The Female Persuasion 110. Thanks Obama My Hopey Changey White House Years 111. Dead Presidents 112. 1Men Explain Things to Me 113. The Winter King 114. The Bear and the Nightingale 115. West Cork 116. How to Fight Presidents 117. I am the Messenger 118. Birds of a Feather 119. The Little Book of Feminist Saints 120. Yes Please 121. Kick Kennedy 122. Hidden Figures 123. The Young Queens

[katefinityreads]

Three years ago, I left my hometown and moved over 70 miles to work in San Francisco. I've had the privilege of working with the smartest, most genuinely kind people ever since.  I picked Man's Search for Meaning for this post because I've always derived meaning from my job. But what happens when, later in life, you don't have a job? Where do you find purpose? In his book, Frankl discusses other ways to create a meaning, and how this helped him survive the darkest time in human history. 

[katefinityreads]

Different books, similar covers, both about sociopathic cult leaders. I tore through both of these books at the same time and have no problems comparing Elizabeth Holmes to Charles Manson. She was, after all, trying to "start a religion." It's baffling to read about all the people she fooled, and how far she was willing to go to get her "product" out to the public.

[katefinityreads]

“It’s hard to put into words what sometimes you pick up in the ether, the quiet, cruel nuances of not belonging—the subtle cues that tell you to not risk anything, to find your people and just stay put.” Michelle Obama’s memoir is a matchless example of grace under pressure. She covers many topics, but the one that resonated with me most is her exploration of vulnerability and failure.

[katefinityreads]

I told my friend I hadn't read Crazy Rich Asians and she immediately loaned me all her paperbacks.

[katefinityreads]

Probably the most interesting book I've read all year, it's hard to believe this is a debut novel. The narrative focuses on Native Americans in Oakland, California. Each character is struggling with something different (identity, heritage, alcoholism, domestic violence, etc) which produces many unanswered questions. I think this is a must-read for anyone who has lived in the Bay Area.

[katefinityreads]

Still have that fall feeling.

[katefinityreads]

This is one of those books I read awhile ago but keep thinking about. What happens to society when women are physically more powerful than men? Would they use their abilities for good, or evil?

The way Alderman flips gender roles produced more than one smirk from me. This is a landscape that is tragic, empowering, sometimes funny, and often terrifying. The structure causes the plot to suffer because it’s told from several different viewpoints, and you’re sure to be irritated by one of them.

[katefinityreads]

Arsinoe and Mirabella have fled the island, but are visited by the shade of an ancient Blue Queen. Meanwhile, deadly fog is murdering Katharine's subjects. WTF is all of this? Truly, the entire plot felt like a huge red herring. I'm hopeful that something central to the original plot (the sisters competing for the throne) will actually happen in the next book, because it feels like everyone is choosing their own adventure right now.

[katefinityreads]

Recommended by a friend, I absolutely loved this book! She explained it to me as a book about soccer that's not really about soccer... and that's exactly what it is. Britt-Marie needs to find a job. But she's not sure how to do that when she doesn't really have any skills. She eventually gets placed in a small town recreation center/pizza parlor/auto mechanic where she mostly cleans and feeds the rat Snickers.

[katefinityreads]

I was skeptical if this would be relevant to me at all since I'm not a romance reader, but I found the writing workshops hilarious. My workshops in college were not at all humorous. Equal parts romance, mystery, and general fiction, I think this book does a good job of appealing to a variety of interests.

[katefinityreads]

This is a good overview on dinosaurs if you can look past the author's personal stuff. I enjoyed reading about the different regions dinosaurs were found in, and how they migrated. The pictures also helped with my general confusion. It's probably best we don't live among dinosaurs, but maybe it's the Flintstones' fault for making me want one as a pet.

[katefinityreads]

Some people appear happy on the outside and you only know they’re broken inside if you listen as well as look.” 

Sometimes I Lie is one of the most interesting reading "experiences" I've had in a long time despite being a pretty crazy book. 

Amber is not a very likeable character. She takes revenge upon her boss for reasons which are revealed later (but don’t make her actions any less insane), yet we also know that she lies, causing us to question everything we're reading.

[katefinityreads]

My latest library pick is Rust & Stardust, a harrowing novel about the abduction of Sally Horner, the inspiration for Nobokov's Lolita. The subject matter is difficult, but the writing is beautiful. As Sally's abductor drags her across the country from Camden, New Jersey to San Jose, California, you keep hoping someone will save her. Cue lots of internal screaming when no one does.

[katefinityreads]

1/5 stars. This book is so bad that it's almost comical. Erin and her husband Mark go to Bora Bora to have their perfect honeymoon when they find something in the water. Promising, right? Except that what's in the water is predictable, and Erin quickly begins making the WORST decisions ever. It's hard to stay invested in a character who is a complete idiot.

[katefinityreads]

“Because when others serially talk down to you, assume authority over you, try to talk you out of your own feelings and tell you who you are; when you’re not taken seriously or listened to in countless daily interactions—then you may learn to accept it, to expect it, to agree with the critics and the haters and the beloveds, and to sign off on it with total silence. Because they’re coming from a good place.”

Full Review.

[katefinityreads]

One of my favorite books of all time! Inigo Montoya is responsible for me learning how to fence in high school. Only a book could encourage me to get in shape. 

Has a fictional character ever inspired you to do something you normally wouldn’t have?