mkduds's reviews
731 reviews

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

4.0

Audiobook review. I really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and fun and the narrators stupendous. I also did not know where this story would go. 

Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman

3.0

Audiobook review. I really enjoyed this book. It was mostly about family, and I love stories about the inner workings of people who are tied together in some way. Norman is proving to be an author I want to read more of. 

(Sadly, I didn’t love this narrator…his female voices were tough to listen to.)

The Women by Kristin Hannah

4.0

Audiobook review. 
The only reason this isn’t 5 stars is because it was a tough book. I’m so glad Hannah wrote it but as a military spouse, it was difficult to read. But Hannah told this story so beautifully and with compassion. 

Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman

4.0

Audiobook review. I read this in two days - I just enjoyed it so much. It was fun to read about Baltimore (a place I love) and middle-aged adults figuring out love. And I really related to the Hopkins and Stanford dilemma. This was like a modern family version of High Fidelity. I’m excited to read more by Norman. 

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

3.0

Audiobook review. I enjoyed hearing Spears’s account of her life so far. There was a lot to cover but it was done economically. Cheers to the ghostwriter. As I listened, I thought, is it still news for celebrities to go to rehab? That used to be such big news and either it’s not anymore or I just don’t pay attention. But wow, she has gone through a lot and had little opportunity to grow up and live a life, it seems. 

Julia by Sandra Newman

2.0

Audiobook review. This was an interesting book but I found it very hard to listen to. I know I missed a lot of detail and wish I got more out of it, but sometimes that’s just how it is. 

Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski

5.0

Audiobook review. This book has a lot to offer…anyone (unless you’re a gay man probably). I read it after reading her follow up book and while there is some overlap, it’s not much so there was a lot to chew on here. I was listening to this updated version while reading along to the original version. It was interesting to see how the updated version more directly matches the language of “Come Together.” I appreciate everything about Nagoski’s books - her writing style, the science mixed with vignettes, and the encouragement that she is sending to the reader. I would have benefitted greatly from reading this book in my 20’s. 

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

5.0

Audiobook review. This book had me hooked in the first two minutes: “I bang my head against it [Hebrew] sometimes.” You can tell this author knows Jews - the life he paints of them in this book and how they are in community with others connected me to this book so deeply. I loved this story of family and friends and the people that keep you going, and about home and safety and connection. It is a story about race in America but also assimilation and class and disability but it also just a story of humans. When I finished the book, I immediately had to hear the first few chapters again - what a start and what an end!

The narration is phenomenal - one of the best. For the first few chapters, I assumed a Jew was reading. 

Mazel tov to you, McBride. This is a triumph. 

Come Together: The Science (and Art!) of Creating Lasting Sexual Connections by Emily Nagoski

5.0

This was really excellent. The idea of the emotional floorplan makes so much sense to me and helps me understand some of the other ideas I’ve been learning in therapy. I’m sure no one wants to be in a position to need this book, but there’s likely something for everyone to learn. 

I had the physical book in hand as I listened to the author read it to me. It was so delightful. 

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

3.0

Audiobook review. This was an interesting book and I know there would be more to glean with more times through it. At the heart seems to be pain within a family and how that affects the lives of those in it.