Fight On, Read On

Just your average bisexual bibliophile stumbling through this life one book at a time

[thegreatbibrarian]

Autoboyography

the7/29/19- 7/30/19

I was rooting for this book, and I am so glad that I enjoyed it! I think it paints a great image of what it’s like to be openly bisexual, but forced back into the closet because of a certain situation or location. This is what it’s like to know you’re not straight in high school, but have to get through it anyway. I think this book was charming and a good time, even if it wasn’t totally realistic. I recommend this book to those that are peeking out of the closet and waiting for your time. I think this will be a good read for you!

Special shout-out to @genthebixperiment for recommending it to me!

[thegreatbibrarian]

Crank

8/5/19-8/6/19

I have read other Ellen Hopkins books, but I never got around to this one. I waited way too long because holy shit. This book is messed up, and not for everyone. I think Hopkins is a greatly talented author, and has no trouble addressing complex and sensitive issues. She has a gift in making you so invested in her characters, and I adore her writing style. This was not my favorite book of hers (of the ones I have read), but it’s definitely in my top 10! I recommend this book to anyone that is interested in these types of books. I can’t wait to read the sequel!

[thegreatbibrarian]

Dopesick: Doctors, Dealers, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

8/2/19- 8/4/19

This book is so incredibly important and eye-opening. While I no longer work at the crisis unit I used to work for, I heard so many stories in the 2 1/2 years that I did. While there, I watched so many people come through those doors, broken beyond belief. In the time that I worked there alone, we lost 10 people to overdose and other addiction-related circumstances. The system is so broken, and there is not nearly enough help out there to fix it. Most rehabs and detox facilities are insurance or cash scams meant to create a bigger problem, and not fix it. These places aren’t interested in saving anyone, just padding their own pockets. The doctors are no better. They pump people with narcotics, and then once they’re hooked, they cut them off. A great example of this in when I went to the Emergency Room because I thought that I had an infection in my jaw where I had a wisdom tooth come in. First, the guy told me that it wasn’t a wisdom tooth, it was a cavity(???), and then offered me a month’s supply of oxycodone. For a fucking cavity??? I didn’t take it, but so many others were given no choice. Once they realize it’s a problem, it’s already too late. How many more people have to die due to greed before we say enough is enough?

If you, a loved one, or someone you know has ever struggled with addiction or lost someone to it, please read this book and take a stand.

[thegreatbibrarian]

Carry On

8/1/19- 8/4/19

I found out that this existed after reading Fangirl, and there was absolutely no way that I was going to miss out on reading this. It was a bit slow at times, but I really enjoyed this. It was funny, nerdy, and full of gay subtext, which is my favorite kind of story! Simon and Baz are a riot, and this story fills you with all types of feelings. I genuinely enjoyed this, and yes there parallels with Harry Potter. No, it’s not Harry Potter fanfiction. This story has its own characters, its own conflicts, and its own charm. The dynamics between the characters are so refreshing to witness and it makes for a great story. I can’t wait to read the sequel! I recommend this to anyone that enjoys a good story full of magic and humor! Definitely one of my favorites.

[thegreatbibrarian]

Water for Elephants

7/30/19- 7/31/19

This book had great reviews, and I heard so many good things about it. I think that my expectations were too high, and that affected my overall experience of reading. I think that the pacing was too slow, and I struggled to push through because of that. Beyond that, I thought that the story was charming. I did enjoy reading it, but my one main complaint is that it crawled along. I can see why the reviews were so high, but overall, not my favorite read this year. I do recommend it to people that are interested in the Great Depression Era and enjoy good storytelling!

[thegreatbibrarian]

Autoboyography

7/29/19- 7/30/19

Is it acceptable to reference your feelings toward reading as a slow burn? I wasn’t feeling it at all and Tanner’s personality really just made me want to put this down. It was recommended to me by a follower, and I didn’t want to give up so soon. I’m so glad I persisted. This is a really cute book, and I was rooting for both of them so hard! I think this was a really challenging topic to take on, but Christina Lauren did a great job with it. I’m so happy that I not only finished it, but that it was one of my favorites I read this year! (And I’ve read a lot of books!)

I recommend this book to anyone that is against homophobia, and that adores happy, gay boys. You won’t regret it!

[thegreatbibrarian]

Update

I’ve been away for far too long. These past few months have been extremely stressful, and I haven’t been able to get back to this. I have officially completed my semester of grad school! I have reviews to post from before I left, and I have a reading goal to finish! Let’s get this read! Bad joke, I apologize.

[thegreatbibrarian]

The Girl on the Train

7/27/19- 7/30/19

Everyone had me super excited to read this book because of all the hype it had, and I finally got around to it. I didn’t like this book.  I am able to see why others liked it, but I thought the pacing was wrong, and didn’t really connect with the story at all. I was expecting it to be thrilling, but I couldn’t hold my attention on the story whatsoever. I want to recommend this book to you guys, but I just don’t feel that it deserves the hype that it got. Sorry, not sorry.

[thegreatbibrarian]

Beartown

7/28/19- 7/29/19

Okay, now that I read the first one, the second book makes so much more sense. This book was difficult to read in the way that a community treats a victim when a young athlete is accused of rape. This books shows the fallout that a situation like this can have on the victim, the family, the community, and life as it is. Fredrik Backman is quickly becoming one of my most anticipated authors, and I think that he has created something special with the Beartown series. He explores issues that the world doesn’t want to address, and he does it in a tasteful and realistic way. I recommend this book to everyone because I think it does a great job of telling a story about so many characters.

[thegreatbibrarian]

The Cupcake Queen

7/29/19- 7/29/19

I wish that I liked this book more than I did, but I’ll chalk it up to the fact that it’s not meant for my age group at all. I usually enjoy reading books like this because I like to find books to recommend to my nieces and nephews, but I guess my heart wasn’t in it. This book was cute, and I think it accomplishes what it was meant to do, but definitely not for me. I recommend this book to teens, especially those starting into high school and struggling to stay afloat. I think you’ll enjoy it.

[thegreatbibrarian]

Jerkbait

7/24/19- 7/26/19

This book really took me by surprise. It provides great insight into depression, suicide, the pressure to be perfect, being gay, and an athlete in high school. The twin brothers are both hockey players that could not be more different, but they find a way to come together to save each other in the end. I would like to throttle the parents for caring more about hockey stats than their own sons’ mental health and happiness, but everything turns out okay in the end. I really enjoyed this read, and I feel that it could be a great thing for teenage LGBT+ individuals struggling to find their way!

[thegreatbibrarian]

End of Hiatus is Coming!

I didn’t mean to take a hiatus, but things were too crazy between work and preparing for vacation that I just couldn’t find the time and energy to make posts! Plenty of reviews coming your way soon! Stay tuned!

[thegreatbibrarian]

The Kill Order

7/23/19- 7/24/19

I was stoked to read a Maze Runner Prequel because I was like “hell yeah, gimme that”. This book had none of my attention. I had to force myself to focus on it because I couldn’t do it on interest alone. It was kind of interesting to see the origins of the flare virus, but it felt like this book was done more as an afterthought than as part of the story. This might be the first book that I wouldn’t recommend to others. I would still give it a shot though because what’s not for me might be better for someone else.

[thegreatbibrarian]

Say Goodnight, Gracie

7/24/19- 7/24/19

This book physically hurt me. This book walked right up to my heart, and kicked it in the teeth. This is a story of friendship and love, talent and confidence, grief and depression. This is a book about losing a friend and not knowing which way is up or down. This is a book about coming to terms with grief and how it affects everyone differently. This book will follow you down an alleyway and rob you of your spare feelings. It will shake you down and leave you longing for the better days before you read it. I loved it. I recommend this to anyone who has experience losing a friend. I especially recommend this to teens or young adults that are struggling with grief. This book will help you along the way.

(Also, I couldn’t find a bigger cover picture that wasn’t super blurry)

[thegreatbibrarian]

The Poisonwood Bible

7/20/19- 7/23/19

I’m going to be completely honest. I have no idea what the fuck is going on. This book was recommended to me by my ex, and I went into it with high expectations. All I can say is wow. This book has a lot going on, and maybe it’s because I have never been spiritual or religious, or taken the time to really study the bible, but I just thought it was weird. I can’t understand how the mother allowed her children to go through that for so long, regardless of their father’s lordly power trip. This book was a bear to get through, and I’m disappointed that I didn’t like it more. I still recommend this book to others that might enjoy this type of story, but for me, it just fell flat.

[thegreatbibrarian]

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

7/20/19- 7/21/19

This book was good. It was eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and overall good at what it is meant to do. That being said, this book was not great. While I was interested in the story, the pacing was not great, and I had a hard time engaging with what was going on. I felt that it ended abruptly, too. I don’t want to fall into this pattern where I hate on all of the books I read, but just personally for me, these things make a difference. I think this was a wonderful account of a traumatic and violent past, and I still think it was a good read. I recommend this book to others so they can draw their own opinions.

[thegreatbibrarian]

Side Effects May Vary

7/19/20- 7/20/19

Is it possible to love a book but hate the main character? That’s how I feel about this one. Alice is dying, but because she is dying, her goal is to make the people who love her miserable, too. I know that’s not the point of the book, but I just couldn’t get past the way she treated everyone. I don’t know what it’s like to be in that situation, but I just feel like I couldn’t enjoy the book as much with her shitty attitude. That being said, I did enjoy reading it, and I recommend it because it’s funny and heartbreaking. Plus, that ending.