dakotavander's reviews
73 reviews

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

5.0

🎬✨ The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid ✨🎬

I have very strict rules about books that I keep in my house. They have to be 5-Stars, they have to be books that I have a personal connection with, or they have to be something I know I would read again. 

Seven Husbands marks off all three of those criteria. 

I connected so much with Evelyn as a very human character. Not a villain but does things that are questionable at best. Not a hero but is relatable and we root for her. She shows herself not in the best of light and I admire that. 

I didn’t see the twist until it happened. And it happened so perfectly. I was already crying about something in the plot and then, BAM! There it was. 

10/10. Recommend highly. 

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

3.0

🩸 ✨ “A Darker Shade of Magic” by VE Schwab ✨ 🩸 

For the first half of this book I was painfully aware that this was a YA fantasy. Ever since I stopped reading YA for my former students, I haven’t been able to enjoy reading them. Once the story picks up and the plot starts moving, though, I really began to enjoy this. 

There are still times when I would be pulled from the story by the choices made that scream YA to me but those things were easy to overlook for the sake of continuing. I loved “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Schwab, one of my top 5 of last year. This is not that, unfortunately. But I’m interested enough that I’ll probably read the rest of the series at some other time. 

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

4.0

👑 💍 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien 💍 👑 

After years of reading YA fantasy to my students and then watching Game of Thrones at home (and even listening to that audiobook a long time ago) I have FINALLY sat down to read probably the best known epic fantasy in the world. And I wasn’t disappointed!

I loved these movies growing up. But when I would go to read the books they always felt they were above my level. Hell, I thought that even now! Maybe it’s because I’ve had far more practice reading these past two years, but this time the words slid into my brain like butter. Tolkien’s writing is beautiful and there is no debating that he is a genius in world building. I still had trouble focusing a lot in this book. I won’t be continuing the series IMMEDIATELY because it was very dense and I need to relax a bit. But I am so pleased. I am guilty of skipping around at bits, which apparently is a very heated debate topic on Reddit about whether that’s ok, but I’m fine with missing some of the intricate details that he seems to love splicing in. 

I really started reading this finally for a couple reasons: 1) it was on Kindle Unlimited 2) I’m watching GoT again and it makes me want to watch the LoTR movies and new show and 3) I was already thinking of revisiting my fantasy WIP and wanted to read a proper fantasy to get me back in that headspace.

Overall, this was a challenging read but so worth flexing that muscle. Now I’m excited to watch the movie knowing what I know now!

Living a Life That Matters: Resolving the Conflict Between Conscience and Success by Harold S. Kushner

3.0

😌 Living a Life That Matters by Harold S. Kushner 😌

I was reading this because I thought it would be more about Kushner’s theological perspective. Instead this reads more like an inspirational self-help book (totally my fault for not reading the back of the book). I don’t mind that at all but it certainly wasn’t what I was looking for.

That being said this book was short and sweet and full of stories that will inspire you to be a better person and to live a better life. Even though it wasn’t what I expected, I couldn’t think of a better first read of the New Year. 

Happy 2024 everyone!

Ten Rungs: Collected Hasidic Sayings by Martin Buber

3.5

📚 Martin Buber’s Ten Rungs: Collected Hasidic Sayings 📚 

I found this a very quick and easy read as it’s more a collection of quotes rather than a book. Still, though, I feel like I’ve learned a lot about Buber’s view of god and our own role in life. I don’t know much about Hasidism but this makes me want to learn more for sure even though I know I won’t agree or relate to everything they have to say.

The Sacred Table: Creating a Jewish Food Ethic by

5.0

🥗 The Sacred Table 🥖 

I was challenged by my rabbi to practice kosher for one month. He told me instead of just blindly following the laws I should read this book and come up with my own rules. 

With the ideas of Reform Judaism largely being that of evolving ideals, where do the traditional laws of kosher live? In this collection of essays, the history of kosher law is explored and then expounded upon with the addition of ethical consideration. Is a food really kosher if its production went against other Jewish values like the humane treatment of animals and fair labor practices?

I found this conversation far more interesting than I ever thought I would. As someone who doesn’t have a great relationship with food I found this compelling and it made me want to start paying more attention to what’s on my plate. 

I recommend this book to Jews and non Jews alike so that maybe you too can put a little more thought behind what you’re eating l. 

Finding God: Selected Responses by Rifat Sonsino, Daniel B. Syme

5.0

🧐 “Finding God: Selected Responses” by Rabbis Rifat Sonsino and Daniel B. Syme 🔍 

One of my biggest insecurities in my conversion process has been my belief in God. I thought that my lack of faith in a mythologically massive all-powerful sky zaddy was going to keep me at odds with my Jewish identity forever. I was so happy to find myself and my views within these pages and to realize that ”God” is much more than that.

In this revised edition there are 13ish sections that explain different views and images of God through the wide spectrum of Jewish thought. From the absolute theism of Biblical and Rabbinic belief to the naturalistic humanist approaches of Kaplan and Fromm, I was genuinely surprised by the wide breadth of thought this volume provided. 

I feel so much more comfortable now proclaiming myself as Jewish while also holding onto my personal thoughts, views and beliefs on God and religion. I encourage anyone, Jewish and non-Jewish, to read this to maybe help discover where they may fit in the world of Jewish theology.

Choosing a Jewish Life Choosing a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant

3.5

Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott

3.5

🦁 Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott 🦁 

A pregnant woman goes on a road trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to visit her husband’s family. When complications arise with the pregnancy a different plot seems to unravel.

The first 60% of this book? Yawn. I could see what it was trying to do but it seemed a little obvious to me. When it finally picks up a bit and becomes more about the plot instead of build up I found it more exciting. All in all I didn’t hate the book but do think a lot more could have been done. 

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

3.5

🕰️ How to Stop Time by Matt Haig 🕰️ 

There’s a strange unexplained disease that causes a few people to age at a rate of 1 year for every decade. One man, born in the 1400s, has spent his life running from place to place to protect himself and his family from those who don’t understand the anti-aging disease. His daughter so happens to have the same disease and has been searching for her for centuries. Can he find her? Is there any way for him to stop running from his past?

I have loved reading Matt Haig since I read The Midnight Library. This year I have read 3 or 4 of his books and I haven’t been disappointed yet! This wasn’t the favorite of the bunch but I still enjoyed it. Maybe it’s because I also read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab earlier this year and it was a much better read, but I didn’t like this version of immortality/time play. 

I don’t like it when stories like this try to shoe-horn in bits of history as if it’s totally normal that this random guy interacted with both Shakespeare and a well known explorer. What I liked about Addie LaRue is that it was just a normal persons perspective throughout time. I want more of THAT. Nothing crazy, nothing too notable. Just someone going through time without anything remarkable lol. 

I saw the twist coming and called it well before it happened. But all in all, I still enjoyed it!