emmasiporatyler's reviews
15 reviews

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

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adventurous emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book truly had it all. It was so beautifully written - I was amazed by Zevin’s ability to make me absolutely transfixed by a topic I normally don’t care much about (video games). At times I wanted to speed through to see how things ended, but I’m glad I took my time with it (though it wasn’t exactly intentional). Digesting the story over a longer period of time made all the references and call backs throughout so much more meaningful and heart wrenching. I was so enveloped in these characters stories, and cared deeply for all of them - I didn’t know who I related to more! There were a couple chapters that felt like really strong tone shifts and a bit awkward at first but in retrospect, I think they were by design and, in the end, it worked for me. The way Zevin weaves together such a layered and detailed story of love, friendship, and fame is remarkable and extremely moving. This will probably end up my being my top read of 2024. I don’t normally reread books but I already want to read this one again! I could gush about it for a long time but I’ll stop there :)
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Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous challenging dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I absolutely adored this book. Definitely worth ALL the hype it receives. I started reading on July 4th, 2024, which was spooky because the first chapter was set on July 20th of the same year. This plot pulled me along like no other book has in years! The characters and setting are captivating and chillingly prophetic of the current state of the U.S. Eerily relatable and yet, in a way, inspiring. Like idk I might want to join the church of Earthseed? I will probably never shut up about this book. Can't wait to read the next book and reread these until the end of time (which might be sooner than we think!).
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Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal

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informative inspiring fast-paced

3.5

This was a nice read! For me, it read more like a series of reminders rather than introducing new productivity concepts, but that’s probably because I’ve watched a lot of Ali Abdals’ YT videos. I didn’t find myself being moved to take any action from the “experiments” throughout the book, which made me question the book’s effectiveness in some ways. Maybe some stronger language earlier in the book that encouraged readers to be a “productivity scientist” and actually make an effort to try the experiments might have helped them feel less like case studies. I did enjoy the different research studies he shared to illustrate bigger concepts! Those were super cool to learn about and some were very illuminating and interesting. Overall, I think this would be a lovely introduction for a productivity newbie interested in learning some helpful framing concepts.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

My rating is probably skewed because it took me a million years to read this book! But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy it!! I think it was just a first-time kindle user thing. A friend pitched it to me as “Twilight but if Bella had agency” and they were so right! I loved the academic setting, the unique types of sorcery, and of course the romance. At times the plot/their relationship felt choppy for me but that might have been because of my reading habits. Starting from about halfway through onward I was HOOKED and I will definitely be finishing the series at some point in the future!
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Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

3.75

Read this to fulfill a reading challenge prompt and I enjoyed it! The art style was stunning and it was fun to see the similarities and differences between the book and the musical. I think a lot of the literary references throughout went over my head a bit, or I just didn’t filly grasp the depth of their meaning. Overall, it was a very intricately woven, well-structured examination of Bechdel’s life, family, and her father’s role in both.
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I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works by Ramit Sethi

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funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

Everyone should read this book! Very practical advice written in an engaging way (a hard combo to find).  I love Sethi’s perspective on the new realities of handling finances nowadays. Maybe he’s just really good at writing, but he just comes off as such a genuinely nice guy in this book. I kind of weirdly trust him with my life after reading this book?? Not totally, but I do think his advice is solid and simple. He does a good job of cutting through all the bullshit money opinions flooding the internet these days!
The Color Purple by Alice Walker

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

So good. A must-read for everyone!! Beautifully written - raw, earnest, and deeply moving. I feel like the song “I’m Here” from the Broadway musical feels the most like the tone of the this book, but the rest of the musical pales in comparison (how/why they did so little with the letter reference is BAFFLING to me). The relationships in this are just so rich and deep even though the book is pretty short. Felt like a true exploration of what it means to be a Black woman. Will definitely have to re-read this later in life!
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Really enjoyed this! Easy listen with a great cast. Expertly written - perfectly paced to swell and twist at just the right times. Loved the moments early on when I started the doubt certain characters (saying what they wanted to believe rather than the truth). The ending didn’t wow me but definitely tugged at my heartstrings (and made me want to watch the new tv show!). Overall, I liked how this had a little bit of everything - romance, adventure, conflict, and, if course, rock ‘n roll 🤘🏼 
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Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I love Emezi’s work - their writing is just so striking and mesmerizing!! For some reason it took me a while to finish this book…maybe a pacing thing or the large cast of characters? Either way, I love the concept of this book and the storytelling (and the equally important sub-messaging throughout). Something about it didn’t thrill me as much as Pet, but it was still an impressive and imaginative depiction of revolution which I think is very needed right now!  
The Year of No Nonsense: How a Little Less Bullsh*t Can Change Your Life by Meredith Atwood

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challenging inspiring reflective slow-paced

2.75

Parts of this were inspiring, parts made me feel very bad about myself (maybe that was the point?) I found it a difficult book to pick up again and again. I had to really push myself to finish this one and not due to the difficulty of the content. Maybe it was the audiobook narration (a bit too slow, and monotone for my liking), or just the structure of the narrative. Some great nuggets in here about people pleasing, and embracing failure, though! 
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