caitlin_89's reviews
530 reviews

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

I would like to write so earnestly and honestly as Kate DiCamillo. A perfect chapter book.

Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontës by Devoney Looser
Did not finish book. Stopped at 4%.

I'm so sorry, Devoney Looser. You are right: the Porter sisters deserve their story to be told. They deserve to reclaim the fame they lost. Bigger than Austen in their day? Astounding. But I simply cannot garner the enthusiasm to make any headway in this girthy tome. And every other sentence doesn't have to re-remind me that women in Regency times had very limited means and opportunity. I understand you have to set it up, but you have to trust me to remember that you said it already. So, by page 23, it was just too tedious for me to want to keep going. 😩

The Book of Delights: Essays by Ross Gay
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.

2 stars just so I can leave an explanation for the DNF. I wanted to love this, and it just wasn't my cup of tea. I think I fell off around halfway when I realized many of the essays were not, in fact, delights, but musings on sadder things. This is not a problem, it's just not what I was in the mood for in 2024. 💕

Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace by Anne Lamott
Did not finish book. Stopped at 46%.

I made it about halfway -page 131. Lamott's essays are undoubtedly good, and warm, and wry, and meaningful, but not resonant enough for me at this juncture to want to finish the book.

How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth by Sarah Austin Jenness, Jenifer Hixson, Kate Tellers, Meg Bowles, Catherine Burns
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.

This sat on my currently -reading shelf for 2 years. I finally had the courage to officially DNF it. Maybe I'll get around to it another time. Honestly, after reading Matthew Dick's Storyworthy, this guide was boring and redundant. I preordered it and was super stoked as a fan of The Moth Radio Hour, but reading it on the heels of Storyworthy, it just couldn't win.

Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari
Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.

After the first couple chapters, this book was boring as hell. The author would spend an entire chapter explaining one concept three different ways. Bro, trust your reader a little bit. Just because everyone doesn't have your credentials doesn't mean we don't understand what you're saying. The repetitive explanations and overdrawn connectors between key points of the thesis made this straight up unreadable. The intro had a ton of interesting research and stats, and after that, it was a slog I had to give up on even though the premise was really interesting. 

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

3.0

Backman writes deliciously. However, if I'd known the plot of this book prior to going in, I wouldn't have read it. Enjoyed for the Backman prose style. I wanted to see how the Beartown story ended, but I did not enjoy it.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

3.0

I was looking for something akin to the electric energy of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House: truly nerve-wracking and scary but not something that would haunt me personally.

This book delivered on not haunting me. There was also no electricity. BUT. It's a solid ghost story, and well-written and enjoyable. And there were some good shivery scenes. Maybe I was just too cozy and content while reading? And maybe that's for the best, because I didn't want to be deeply scared. But the cover boasted four statements touting this tale as being deeply "chilling," yet it struck me as cozier than I believe it was meant to. Of course, the ghost and the recurring nightmare situation at Eel Marsh were chilling, but our main guy was so dang plucky! 

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

5.0

Insane good. I was enthralled. So smart. Such pacing. The dialogue! Masterful! Brilliant! I can't stop telling people how much fun and how impressive this book is. 🦖

Romancing Miss Brontë by Juliet Gael

4.0

I joked several times over the course of reading this that it should have just been called "Miss Bronte" - the life portrayed does not, in fact, feature much romancing. And, it seems that's as it should be. The bones of this story, to my understanding, are largely factual, with fictional atmosphere and dialogue and internality breathed into novel form by the author. I was captivated and couldn't wait to get home and read every day this week. I stayed up until 2 AM finishing the novel last night when I meant to "just read one more chapter." 

Charlotte's story, on its own right, is ... (3-minute pause while I try to think of the right word) ... grim. inspiring. warm. devastating. intriguing. To become the world's most celebrated author of your day, while also losing the loves of your life - to be so duty-bound and yet so high-minded. Ugh. It made me feel things. Thank you, Charlotte, and thank you Janice Graham.

I will say, there were a few expository passages that felt a little out of place and pulled me out of the storytelling - a few paragraphs that had that "I did a lot of research, so I want to add some more context and insights here" feeling. But those can be forgiven, because dang if the author didn't truly have a lot of context and insights from her research lol.