brookegabor's reviews
213 reviews

The Employees by Olga Ravn

challenging mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

i’ve never read a book like this and was surprised by how impactful i found it. it’s critiques on late stage-capitalism and inquiries about what it means to be human really struck a cord with me. 

my favorite statements were 91 and 159

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

literally could not put this down!! so good and so insightful, definitely a favorite this year

Pageboy by Elliot Page

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

really insightful and emotional. i didn’t love the nonlinear narrative structure but i did love everything else. read along with the audiobook and it was amazing!!

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

maud slays

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

reflective medium-paced

2.5

i love carrie fisher and listening to her talk about filming star wars was super interesting!! however i do not care about her affair with harrison ford at all to be frank and her journal entries written about them were the epitome of the modern day notes app poetry. interested in reading more by her because this one wasn’t really for me!

Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

probably my least favorite volume so far. wallace better still be in the future volumes !!!!! 

I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

literally couldn’t put this down!! i love nora ephron and i can’t wait to read more by her

Lemon Meringue Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.25

there are not enough words in the english dictionary to describe how much i hated this book. 

the first 3 books in the series were not great but at least i could look past the subtle fatphobia since it was easy to listen to at work and the mystery was interesting.

this book, on the other hand, was blatantly ableist, fatphobic, racist, anti-woke (?) and was all around just an uncomfortable read. half of the book was about how hannah needed to diet to fit into her new pants which (spoiler: didn’t even belong to her!!!) and the other half was a lackluster and predictable murder mystery.

with the way the author wrote jed and freddy’s characters, it was incredibly obvious from the second they were introduced that jed was the killer and freddy would be harmed. what made me especially uncomfortable was the way the narrator voiced freddy’s character. terrible terrible terrible.

i might pick up the 5th book to see if it’s as bad as this or if it goes back to normal levels of bad. otherwise this may be my official farewell to the hannah swensen series 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Fatphobia, and Ableism

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, and Body shaming

says the r-slur SO many times it’s ridiculous

Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

this was my least favorite of the 3 i’ve read so far. i will say that no matter what happens, hannah’s mom having the same bit of dialogue when she finds out hannah found another body will always make me laugh 

A Book of Days by Patti Smith

reflective slow-paced

i’m not sure how to rate this one so i probably won’t. i will say i will read anything patti smith writes. this book both made me laugh and tear up. while the specific contents of the book probably won’t stick with me, the idea behind it and the way she reflects one her own life and inspirations within it have already started to impact the way i think about my own life and probably will for the foreseeable future. can’t wait to read more of her work :)