megansmith's reviews
201 reviews

How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job by Marshall Goldsmith, Sally Helgesen

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective

1.5

If you know me from work and see this review, no you didn't!! 

I did not pick this book for my work book club, but it was chosen in my women's mentor pod and man...I wouldn't touch this book again with a ten foot pole. I know I'm kind of in a crap work situation and don't really have any more opportunities to move up anymore, so I'm coming at this with a cynical lens, but this was just not what we need to be preaching right now?

I think elements of the book could be useful here and there, but it felt A) too generalized and B) too focused on fixing women to become men rather than fixing the system. There was about one or two acknowledgements at most about working against an unfair system and then the rest of the book dived into "if you just fix all these behaviors and do none of these wrong, you'll be set! But only worry about one at a time!" I think a lot of the feedback felt geared towards men, IE "men are concise and women like providing context, so be more concise." and there were two habits about providing too much context and also minimizing what you're talking about. There were some moments that offered solutions for keeping your inherent traits as a woman still in tact but just reframing how you're using them, but not enough to justify this book and it's choices. 

I also just really feel like there's sooo much generalization that doesn't really allow for any nuance. And maybe that's me bean-souping (taking that from one of my favorite creators, Tell The Bees). One book in under 230 pages isn't going to solve the structural inequities of the workplace. BUT I think the angle of this book, especially having it be a rewrite of what seems like a very male-centric book written by one of the authors, just got too broad. Hell, half the time I felt like I identified more with the male counterparts / generalities than what women do. IE I do mostly reflect my anger outward rather than judge myself. What do I do then? I think this book could've offered more up but just went for the rewrite of the original book with the word women sprinkled in more often than not. 

Last note, I was also really quickly turned off at the beginning by the multiple mentions of some eating habit being a "bad" habit. Yeah, maybe that's also me bean-souping, but it's such a turn off diving into a women's empowerment book and one of the first negatives is about having snacks. It shocked me a bit this book was written in 2018 with that kind of nuance but I'm also not THAT surprised given where we're at today. 

Overall I wouldn't recommend this. It didn't feel like an intersectional lens, some of the feedback could be useful and I will have to ruminate on what I take from this (maybe the end with more concrete solutions, like peer coaching or "feedforward") but I ended up rushing through this book half-assedly after starting with full focus because it was bothering me so much. 

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Ann Patchett, the woman you are, thank you for getting me out of my reading slump!

Admittedly it took me a minute to really dive in but once I did, I deeply enjoyed what I was reading and I stayed up late just to find out what happened to get Emily and Joe together. I loved the realistic nature this had while still making Tom Lake feel so idyllic, I loved the subtle storytelling in the beginning that enforced the character’s choices in the end, overall it was so well done and just a light read for being a pandemic novel - but still touching on important themes in a well done manner. 

My two complaints were 1) Emily’s Duke obsession (it wore me down so bad, not even my peak Hannah Montana obsession era could compete.

the signs were so clear early on he wasnt her dad but yet she was the onllyyy one who didnt realize….smh)

and 2)

the switch from Nelson to Joe was kinda jarring and confusing but eventually i got there

Overall though, loved her, definitely hit the spot for me

South and West: From a Notebook by Joan Didion

dark funny informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

This was interesting! Honestly for the narrator being kinda stale at times, it kept my interest and I struggle with audiobooks so, credit to where credit is due here. I liked the dive into questioning her own reality towards the end after her experiences, and many of the questions she asked throughout are still relevant today. For having most of this be unfinished notes, it reads incredibly well. 

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Oof, this was pretty bleak! Lots of great writing here and I truly felt immersed in the scenery, but the weight of this just bears down on you from the first page all the way to the last. The message felt lost, or at least muddied, under the stifling weight of suffering being inherent to the human condition. I understood what the narrator was going for in the ending but it felt a bit trailing for me also. Lauren Groff is a very talented author, but this was not my favorite to read. Even The Matrix had some light moments, for being such a dark and religious book. 

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

One of the few times I read from a series and not a singular novel, and maybe I’m biased because of it, but I think this book is somewhat of a miss, rarely a hit compared to its predecessor. I think at times, the messaging was integrated nicely in the fantasy setting, while other times the themes around queerness or anti-transness felt too overt in a forced way. I think the first book tackled the deeper themes well without feeling overdone, so I know it could be explored without being so heavy handed. The inspector felt almost too comical of a villain for most of the book, almost like a cartoon rather than an actual looming threat for over 100 pages of the book. Other small things like, jokes that got overused (im glad the fourth time they joked about Chauncey and pinecones was the last) or long descriptions of what people looked like / what they were wearing wore on me a bit and took me out of the moment.

On the other hand - moments with Lucy and his growth felt very fleshed out and well done. I enjoyed his character exploration this time around. Other jokes in the book did literally make me laugh out loud, and overall it was still a fun time by the end. Something about this book didnt have the full magic of the first, but it was still enjoyable. 


I definitely needed a buddy read to keep me more motivated this time around vs flying through the first book, so thank you Alex for the motivation :,) 

Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I’m not gonna lie, for a while I was unsure if I was gonna make it to the end of this book or not. This one was  LONGGG. Long, with small text, and a lot going on. But I did really like it! 

Taffy Brodesser-Akner is an incredible writer, and I truly loved her writing and the story she weaved. The ending was satisfying, the setup was so enticing, and while I hated these characters so deeply, I was entranced by the true ruts they kept digging for themselves. They’re all so despicable but equally, fascinating. 

I’d dock this book points just on length, and maybe how despicable they all were, but overall this was such a fascinating read. Plenty of themes were so prevalent to life today - IE disdain between classes in society, the dive into inherited trauma and what constitutes “struggle”, and even what money can or cant buy in terms of success.  I’d highly recommend this one!

Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir by Dolly Alderton

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

4.0

My love for this book can be fit into what I'd consider the meat of this book sandwich. The beginning with the chapter on MSN cringed me out a bit(I feel like I've read 20 variations of a millennial waxing poetic about MSN chat and it's just given me the ick at this point, i've read it too much). 

The middle (AKA most of the book), I loved. I think Dolly's writing was strongest here, and what I gravitated towards in Good Material, shined here. I loved hearing her stories and how her perspective on love changed over time. 

The end, mainly about her time turning 30, again I just got cringed out a bit. I don't think anything new or interesting was being said, and I felt like I was reading something I've read a lot of times. Like it felt so close to the premise of saying something interesting or meaningful about your 30's, and it was just lost on me. I think the last few pages kinda cleared it up but by then I was pretty lost and ready to be done. But I still did save the last page's quote for my quote book. 

This was a strange place to be in for a book, where I really loved a good chunk but the beginning and end felt so dated and stereotypical, and I just know Dolly could pick something else out! I still highly recommend it, I think this is a fantastic book and a great reminder of how important friendships are, and finding how to love yourself, even if you need a little tough love for growth. 

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.25

I love a good Louise Erdrich book, and this one had me thinking deeply about it’s themes. I liked the more granular, smaller-town focus on the effects of pesticides and harmful practices that are ruining the environment. Following one farming community’s relationship with the dying soil, the inability to kill weeds without killing yourself slowly, and rethinking about what constitutes valuable crops from weeds was a fascinating throughline throughout. I do also love how Louise Erdrich pulls the spiritual in the day to day that feels realistic - life I think contains some unexplainable magic, and this book approaches those moments in a way that keeps the mystery alive, but also feels relatable to many people’s own experiences. 

I did struggle with Kismet / Gary / Hugo for some time, I know many of Kismet’s struggles were propelled by things outside her control but it was painful to read some of the events unfold as they did. Just frustrating but worth the payoff in the end! Martin’s storyline also irritated me at times but, I do think his last chapter really cleared that up for me.

Overall I enjoyed this, I do wish the pace had been a bit quicker at times but the writing is stellar and its a great book to sit and think on well after it’s over. 

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was really fascinating. Im on a bit of a vampire kick right now so getting this over the holidays was really well timed!

I like the storyline of following a struggling vampire, one that doesnt have massive generational wealth to hide behind and is just trying to make it with an extra set of odds against them. Lydia’s grappling with her vampire nature against her human one was fascinating. There’s a lot of great world-building done here and I think pairing it with the mundane nature of the day to day was really well done.

I’m debating whether this book needed more pages, or if I just want to be seeped in the world more but it ended at the right time. This definitely kept me wanting more of the story and to see where Lydia would go next. On the other hand, there were moments this book meandered but, it didnt bother me too often.

Overall I really liked this perspective on vampires and the story in general. I have very few complaints - if you want a short and sweet read and vampires interest you, I think you’ll enjoy this! 

Evenings & Weekends by Oisín McKenna

emotional funny reflective sad

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

4.0

The writing style and buildup to this was stellar, truly so good from that pov. I think the multiple storylines interwoven were also great. I dont have a ton of hard criticisms but this book didnt hit the spot quite like id hoped. I truly hated Ed and found most other characters to be pretty frustrating and selfish, and I think while they were really well done, it was hard to enjoy this story more fully. But overall, still really well done, and i can still understand why people are loving this one.