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mstewa02's reviews
106 reviews
Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard
5.0
Just as seeds take decades to become fully matured trees, humans also take decades of life experience and perspective to understand their purpose and impact—that is the picture Simard paints throughout this book. She blends scientific research and memoir together to drive home the main findings of her life’s work—that the world around us is less a puzzle of data and more of a network of life, eerily similar to what exists inside of us. And as we grow and understand ourselves, we will find that same growth and understanding mimicked back to us amongst the trees. We start with her experimenting with seedlings in her early twenties, unsure of what her path forward will look like. And we end with her as a highly regarded scientist, who changed the world’s understanding of tree networks; and as a mother who has battled all that life has thrown her. Her storytelling, especially in the second half of the book, had such a deep impact on me and made me feel even more connected to the Earth. This was a beautiful and inspiring read.
Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby
5.0
Most short story books are easy to focus in and out on—this one held my attention for every single page. This was incredibly fun and insightful and I highly recommend.
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
4.0
This was less balanced amongst the three women than I expected. Felt like I read twice as much about Maggie’s story than Lina and Sloane.
This had some really hard-hitting passages—most of them extra hard to read today when Roe v Wade was overturned.
It’s a good read though.
This had some really hard-hitting passages—most of them extra hard to read today when Roe v Wade was overturned.
It’s a good read though.
Come with Me by Ronald Malfi
4.0
I really loved the mystery of this book. It was incredibly well written and a complete page-turner. There’s elements of the ghostly supernatural, but not in an overbearing way for anyone who isn’t really into that. Still blown away from how well written this was tbh. Also really liked the author's take on what makes people mentally dark--it was a really creative way of looking at it.
I'd really like to see this as a movie or TV show. I think it could be the perfect level of spooky and mystery for streaming. :)
I'd really like to see this as a movie or TV show. I think it could be the perfect level of spooky and mystery for streaming. :)
Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon
fast-paced
5.0
It’s 1AM and I’ve just finished reading half of this book in one sitting. This story is beautiful. It never had a pacing problem, and it grew into something more beautiful and complex as it went on. Will update this review tomorrow when I can think again.
Update:
"The hardest thing about life is knowing what matters and what doesn't. If nothing matters, then there's no point. If everything matters, there's no purpose. The trick is to find firm ground between the ways being."
This book is full of quotes like that that make you pause and read again slowly. The characters were so incredibly well developed and you can't help falling in love with nearly all of them. You'd think there would be a pacing issue when reading a story about people traveling hundreds of miles in a wagon, but I ready 200 of its 330 pages in one sitting because I couldn't get enough. The pacing is perfect. The main characters are perfect. This book is perfect.
In the first 150 pages, I couldn't help but see major similarities between this book and the show 1883. But as it goes on, it grows into its own and feels less like that show. (Not that it needed to because this book came first.) All that to say, if you were a fan of 1883, you will probably LOVE this book.
Update:
"The hardest thing about life is knowing what matters and what doesn't. If nothing matters, then there's no point. If everything matters, there's no purpose. The trick is to find firm ground between the ways being."
This book is full of quotes like that that make you pause and read again slowly. The characters were so incredibly well developed and you can't help falling in love with nearly all of them. You'd think there would be a pacing issue when reading a story about people traveling hundreds of miles in a wagon, but I ready 200 of its 330 pages in one sitting because I couldn't get enough. The pacing is perfect. The main characters are perfect. This book is perfect.
In the first 150 pages, I couldn't help but see major similarities between this book and the show 1883. But as it goes on, it grows into its own and feels less like that show. (Not that it needed to because this book came first.) All that to say, if you were a fan of 1883, you will probably LOVE this book.