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msmichaela's Reviews (546)
Loved this look at intuitive, economical cooking; it's definitely influenced the way I think about what's in my fridge and how I can make use of it. Adler's prose is self-consciously "literary" at times, and she clearly owes a debt to both MFK Fisher and Laurie Colwin. Neither of those factors were drawbacks for me, but others looking for a more straightforward approach might disagree.
Funny, wrenching look at life in the not-too-distant future, with well drawn characters and a glimpse of life as I really hope we won't live it.
Absorbing literary page-turner that updates "Jane Eyre" without slavish devotion to the original. Really enjoyable. And now I want to re-read the Brontë to get a clearer sense of where Livesey's tale diverges.
I love the way Beard writes about adolescence from a girl's point of view. I gobbled this novel up - leaving the two others I'm also reading aside - thanks to its strong plotline and well drawn main characters. At moments the depiction of the main character's family life feels a little sitcom-esque - drunk dad, hassled and put-upon mom, annoying sister, cute brother - but I was in the mood to get lost in a story, and on that count In Zanesville delivered.
Thoughtful, intellectual memoir about life with dogs. I was hoping for some catharsis while reading this book during the end of a beloved dog's life, but it wasn't the right time. Will likely pick this up again at a less emotionally freighted time.
Absolutely loved this absorbing novel. Wonderful characters, and a compelling plot that goes in directions I didn't at all anticipate (and yet could follow! Even while reading in short spurts late at night!). Can't wait to read more by Patchett.
Wanted to love this, but it's bleak and episodic - not much of a thread to follow. I was a Throwing Muses fan back in the day, but apparently that wasn't enough to get me through this. Perhaps I'll pick it back up again at some point....
I just can't get over Cheryl Strayed's generosity of spirit as Sugar, the advice columnist for The Rumpus. She is warm and fierce and unflinchingly honest -- and, of course, she writes like a motherfucker. I loved this collection of her columns and suspect I'll refer back to it every now and then, pretending that Sugar is writing just for me.
Casual Wilco fans should pass this by -- Greg Kot goes into excruciating detail about the band's roots in Uncle Tupelo, the early gigs in St. Louis, the varied influences, etc., etc. before getting into a stronger narrative about the formation and permutations of Wilco. Kot's reporting is impressive, though at times he'd have been well served by an editor with a strong hand. (Do we really need to know the birthdate and background of every A&R exec who was interested in the band?) He's also prone to the usual music critic sins, chiefly a cavalcade of references to obscure bands and inscrutable descriptions of musical techniques. That said, as a pretty huge Wilco fan, I found this to be an interesting look at their early years. In fact, as I write, I'm listening to "A.M.," their first album, and pondering what Kot reports Jeff Tweedy and others think of it in hindsight.
Absorbing novel about the impact on a family when the mother dies of cancer. This novel is obviously semi-autobiographical, and it's interesting to watch Strayed work out some of the same themes she returns to in Wild, her memoir.