ryliereadss's reviews
284 reviews

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes on by Franny Choi

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced

4.25

I really enjoyed this collection of poems! There are poems written about the pandemic during the pandemic that I thought were relatable and unique. She writes about past loves, and the guilt she feels about one of them. The formatting of some of the poems was interesting and I liked the way they flowed together. I’ll definitely have to pick this collection up so I can give it to my friends to read!!
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Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

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emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

This is such a great book about three generations of women and the struggles they each faced. I loved how well Ann and her mom could read each other. The flashbacks were enlightening and heartbreaking. It was also great to see Ann reconnect with people from her childhood and keep her ex Nick at a distance. I loved seeing Ann's mom, Huong, become empowered and learn a new skill. It was heartwarming to see them mend their bond with each other. The ending was surprising and caught me off guard but really shows how much these women love each other.
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The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

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adventurous dark hopeful slow-paced

3.5

The narrator for this audio book is so talented and engaging for each character to have a different voice. The story wasn’t as boring as I worried it would be with them walking through the forest a lot. I will admit my mind wandered a bit during some parts but I don’t feel like I missed too much, I never got confused. I liked hearing the songs that were written in the book, that made me really glad I chose to listen to it. I hope I can finish listening to the next two before the month is over!
A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

The book hooks you by first talking about dancing marathons and you can’t look away after. The essays about times he has forced himself to dance are so poetic. There was a lot of research put into this collection about black performers and I felt like I learned so much. He balances personal stories, his observations about past and current black performers and the discourse that surrounds them, and history so well. I loved the essays in the fourth Movement, those were some of my favorite. Incredible work, I can’t wait to read his newest collection!!
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Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton

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challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

3.5

For some reason I didn't expect this book to be so dark! The author is one of the few women who work in an oil camp, and she experiences a lot of sexism and harassment because of that. She didn't really have anyone to lean on while she was going through that. It was a tough read at times so definitely check trigger warnings. She also touched on subjects like the jobs people will do to pay for their student loans and the damage that oil rigs do to nature and to the people working on them.
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Spring: A Novel by Ali Smith

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

4.0

This book is my favorite in the series so far. I loved seeing Richard and Paddy's relationship through the years. It was crazy that I just so happened to be reading Rainer Maria Rilke's Sonnets for Orpheus when I started reading this book. Paddy is such a lovable character, you can see why Richard is feeling so much grief. Florence is amazing and I love her dearly, the magical realism is so awesome. Brit was a tough character to like but her protectiveness of Florence was sweet. I really enjoy all the research that goes into these books. We learn about Rilke and Katherine Mansfield, illegal immigration camps, and what happens to those immigrants. There are also a couple pages about social media and face recognition. I also kind of like not having all my questions answered at the end of the book, leaves room for mystery and theories. Really really enjoyed it. 
Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke

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challenging reflective medium-paced

4.25

This was a great read, lots about nature and the human condition. My favorite sonnets were at the end of part 1 and the beginning of part 2. I loved having the original sonnet on one page and the translated sonnet on the other page.
Piglet by Lottie Hazell

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dark emotional reflective medium-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

4.0

This book was fun to read. The tension towards the end of the book was exciting. I loved seeing the little life Piglet built with Kit in the beginning fall down by the end. The descriptions of food were delicious and made my mouth water. We see Piglet trying to find herself and who she is outside of her relationship with Kit. I feel like Piglet is also a good representation of our tendency to push every bad feeling down and keep up the illusion that everything is fine in our lives. The ending was everything I hoped it would be.
I felt like Piglet was a little bit in love with Margot. I wish Piglet would have listened to Margot and not the people that told her to stay!! But like of course her dad would tell her to stay because her mom stayed. Yay for breaking the pattern!! Piglet really started to notice things about Franny's boyfriend towards the end and I think that made her like him more. The way her dad acted made me so sad, and he didn't even apologize.
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

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

5.0

THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER IS SO SWEET 😭😭😭 The premise of this story is so good and there’s such great build up to the reveal of what’s happening and why they can’t be together. Ricki and Ezra have so much chemistry it’s insane. I wish Ricki got more support from her family but I love her found family with Tuesday and Della. I like the third person omniscient perspective we get in the book and I really enjoyed reading the spicy scenes. This was a joy to read, I really recommend it!!
I wish that Ezra had taken more of an active role in trying to find ways to break the curse. Ricki did all the work and Ezra just tagged along. It didn’t seem like Ezra had tried before he met Ricki either, you’re telling me Ezra spent decades thinking about this beautiful woman, knowing she would die when they met, and he didn’t do anything to try to make it not happen?? Come on dude.
Autopsy by Donte Collins

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.5

Collins is an incredibly talented poet and this poetry collection is so heartbreaking. He very effectively illustrates the sadness one feels when a parent passes away and the emotions after. So impactful.
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