betsyrisen's reviews
823 reviews

Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America by Jared Cohen

informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

John Tyler succeeded William Henry Harrison who died 30 days into his term. He was kicked out of his party and became the first president threatened with impeachment. Millard Fillmore succeeded esteemed General Zachary Taylor. He immediately sacked the entire cabinet and delayed an inevitable Civil War by standing with Henry Clay’s compromise of 1850. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded our greatest president, sided with remnants of the Confederacy in Reconstruction. Chester Arthur, the embodiment of the spoils system, was so reviled as James Garfield’s successor that he had to defend himself against plotting Garfield’s assassination; but he reformed the civil service. Theodore Roosevelt broke up the trusts. Calvin Coolidge silently cooled down the Harding scandals and preserved the White House for the Republican Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression. Truman surprised everybody when he succeeded the great FDR and proved an able and accomplished president. Lyndon B. Johnson was named to deliver Texas electorally. He led the nation forward on Civil Rights but failed on Vietnam.

"The Secret Service is not particularly interested in highlighting failures, the President doesn't want to engage in his own mortality, it is awkward for the Vice President to say anything at all, and after Al Haig declared he was "in control here" following an attempt on Reagan's life, cabinet secretaries are programmed to keep their mouths shut."

I enjoyed this book immensely. Drawing a through line through the history of accidental presidents without bouncing around or getting repetitive, I appreciated the way the book was structured and written. I am glad to never run out of things to learn about the office of the president, and this is just another slice of niche trivia to be glad to hear more about. 

The Steal Like an Artist Audio Trilogy by Austin Kleon

funny informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

“When you first get started, there's usually a big gap between what you are and what you want to be. If I'd waited to know who I was or what I was about before I started being creative, well I'd still be sitting around trying to figure myself out instead of making things. In my experience, it's in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are.” 

“You do not need to have an extraordinary life to make extraordinary work.” 

2025 has been and I hope will continue to be a lot of reading books that have been on my TBR too long. So here is another one accomplished.

A Bar in Toledo: The Untold Story of a Mafia Front Man and a Grammy-Winning Song by Stephanie Abbajay, Dominic Vaiana

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative fast-paced

5.0

I pass by this building every day on my way to work, and it has recently gone through a renovation. One day while on my commute, I was confronted by large "Country Palace" signs which had been uncovered during the construction work inside, and I think all of downtown Toledo was smiling that day.

So much of my life takes place in as is about downtown Toledo, and I love to hear stories about its heyday (and also bemoan the fact that we've got a long way to go to get them back). 

Fascinating story, very well presented, would highly recommend. 

CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush by Cathy Alter, Dave Singleton

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

I picked this book up as a Valentine's Day inspired read, and it definitely fit the bill. A star studded collection of essays, covering a wide range of topics. Full disclosure, my first celebrity crush was Brad Renfro. I was not a "tape pictures of teen heartthrobs to the bedroom wall," until I was. 

For the record I'd also like to point out that I also taped a photo of Frank Sinatra to the wall. I have always had varied and unique tastes. 

Floral Estrangements: Taunt Your Rivals and Vanquish Your Enemies Through the Language of Flowers by Rebecca Fishbein

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

5.0

"There are bosses who offer up tough but fair criticism on your work in the hopes of steering you toward a better performance. And then there are the bosses who prefer to dole out their disapproval in bite-size morsels. There are the “I’ll just do this myself” bosses, the “I think we’ll have Betsy give the presentation instead” bosses, the bosses who specifically cc’d you on emails to let you know that they did not bring back enough chocolates from their trip to Portugal for everyone in the office, so please don’t take any from the kitchen unless they’ve already told you that you can. These bosses deserve an “I Love When You Talk to Me in a Passive-Aggressive Tone” bouquet."

I mean, come on. I was only a few pages in to this book and immediately bought it for a coworker. Absolutely fantastic, and beautifully illustrated!

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My reasons for reading this book at this time: the world is on fire, so reading a fictional take of a Fox News-like organization feeding demon possession straight into half the population felt, oddly soothing? I understand most of you will wonder how the hell I make that logic work, but what can I say, I dig it.

I can't think of a single person who reads my recs who would enjoy this other than me. Gory horror, graphic violence, needless killing of family pets, this book has it all. I couldn't stop reading it. Again, I feel like this review has more to say about me than anything...

I really enjoyed this frenetic writing style, and while I feel like I could predict at least the direction the story was going in, I was still at least caught off guard now and then.

Predictable ending, however, was predictable. And boy did this get long in places. Could have probably trimmed down 100 pages and not lost any punch.

Sidenote: It wasn't until I'd finished this book that I realized I've had 2 others by the author on my TBR forever, before ultimately deciding they weren't for me. 

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society by C.M. Waggoner

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

"The part of Sherry that was always just outside of everything, the part that was quietly taking notes in the back of the classroom, the part that volunteered to take the photo, the part that stood behind the table at the prom and ladled out the punch - that part of Sherry thought, "I didn't know that someone's knees really could buckle. I didn't know what they meant when they said that their stomach fell through the floor."

This is not generally my kind of book, but I'm trying to diversify. I feel like it took forever to get through. And I'm also stubborn, so even though I was 70 pages in, I told myself I'd get to the end of the chapter and then decide whether or not to continue reading. Which is EXACTLY when it got good (ain't that always the way?)

This book keeps you wrong footed as a matter of course, and it works for the plot, but it makes my head hurt. And I think there were too many characters. I kept losing track of who was who and why they mattered. I appreciated the conclusion of the story being wrapped up with a cozy little bow, and didn't even mind a little tease at the end. 

The Paranormal Ranger: A Navajo Investigator's Search for the Unexplained by Stanley Milford Jr.

adventurous emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

"Once more, I had caught a glimpse of the truth lurking beneath our day-to-day existence: The universe is much bigger and stranger and more wonderful than we can even begin to imagine. But the least we can do is try. "

I had this book on my TBR for ages, and I was so excited when my turn came up. I had some trouble getting into it at first, and found myself annoyed that it seemed more like an autobiography (including a ton of background of the author with hardly any paranormal text in sight!) and the book was half over before we got to what I had wanted in the first place. But I realized, as I kept reading, that just because it wasn't what I was expecting, didn't mean it wasn't interesting or important to the overall story.

I wholeheartedly agree with the majority of the conclusions the author came to, and actually found it very uplifting in the end. Some of the writing could have used some polish and got repetitive in places, but all in all, a truly interesting read. 

The Cycle: Confronting the Pain of Periods and PMDD by Shalene Gupta

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

"Try being taken seriously when you're suffering from crippling anxiety, or on the verge of tears, or screaming."

"Women have much to be angry about, but aren't given many avenues for expressing their anger. People with PMDD are caught between their biology and sexist expectations. Many people with PMDD have reported that their symptoms are less serious when they're alone." Great, the perfect excuse for why I rarely leave the house (also, truth)

So apparently, lots of INFJs have PMDD. >mind blown emoji<. "INFJs represent 2% of the population, and are known for being emotional and analytical, as well as sensitive." 

I found this book so interesting and helpful. Hopefully I can utilize it to make some changes in my life or bolster the ones I'm already undertaking in order to make it easier for me to exist, as well as not turn homicidal at the people around me. 

Revolutionary Roads: Searching for the War That Made America Independent... and All the Places It Could Have Gone Terribly Wrong by Bob Thompson

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

I enjoyed this book so much.

I really have a soft spot on my TBR for historical books that read like travelogues. I probably know more than the average high schooler about the American Revolution, but it is one bit of history I'm always telling myself I want to learn more about, and this was a great way to do it. Lots of names you would recognize, plenty you don't, (a working understanding of the musical Hamilton comes in REALLY handy here), and I want the author to write an entire book about Benedict Arnold alone! This is one of those books where I'd tell myself "just one more chapter" but then couldn't resist continuing.