Scan barcode
samarakroeger's reviews
519 reviews
House of Gucci: A True Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden
dark
informative
slow-paced
3.0
kinda clunky and trying to do too much
The Perfect Score Project: Uncovering the Secrets of the SAT by Debbie Stier
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.0
I had no reason to pick this book up other than a passing interest in standardized testing (never taken the SAT, though). It’s a memoir of an experimental year-long project, in the same mold as an AJ Jacobs book.
It was entertainingly written and also out of date (SAT was overhauled, post-pandemic standardized testing is a different landscape, rise of test-optional schools, computer-based tests, etc.).
It was entertainingly written and also out of date (SAT was overhauled, post-pandemic standardized testing is a different landscape, rise of test-optional schools, computer-based tests, etc.).
The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
a fairly run of the mill memoir that took a preachy turn towards the end.
Dr. Harper tries to interweave her traumatic upbringing with vignettes about her ER patients but spends too much time lecturing on the beauty of yoga and not enough on meaningful self-reflection. I thought she was leaning too heavily on the inevitable emotions of the ER (like dead babies) to carry the heft of the memoir. It didn’t really work.
There’s still plenty of interesting material to engage in, though, so I’m not mad about finally reading it.
Dr. Harper tries to interweave her traumatic upbringing with vignettes about her ER patients but spends too much time lecturing on the beauty of yoga and not enough on meaningful self-reflection. I thought she was leaning too heavily on the inevitable emotions of the ER (like dead babies) to carry the heft of the memoir. It didn’t really work.
There’s still plenty of interesting material to engage in, though, so I’m not mad about finally reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Cancer, Rape, Medical trauma, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Death, Gun violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Hotshot by Clare Lydon
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
say. it. with. me. we're here for the sapphic sports romance!
never got the point of sports romances until i tried a sapphic one lol. yay women's sports!
never got the point of sports romances until i tried a sapphic one lol. yay women's sports!
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.75
by the time i finally got around to reading this, my expectations had been so sufficiently lowered that i wasn't mad about it being (almost) 3 stars. idk what that says about me.
also, why would you use the word exciting in your title if the book is anything but?
also, why would you use the word exciting in your title if the book is anything but?
Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
maybe i'm in my cowboy era now?
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
didn’t love the repetitive writing style but I can’t help but admire Backman’s excellent character work. There’s a lot of people to keep track of (I kept a running list), but it’s worth it.
this took me a really long time to read. it’s heavy and in hindsight not the best candidate for annotation.
this took me a really long time to read. it’s heavy and in hindsight not the best candidate for annotation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Rape
Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti
reflective
3.75
I’m shocked that I actually read this book bc my track record with Heti is middling at best. I first encountered her writing through excerpts from this project that were serialized in the New York Times in early 2022, though, which I remember liking. I then read Motherhood (eh) and Pure Colour (nope) in 2022.
This is a really cool concept for an experimental book, and it is exactly what it claims to be. I’d highly recommend listening to the audiobook in one sitting — the entries naturally become more cohesive in that format. It’s almost like looking at a shuffled photo album of someone’s life: there’s some recurring characters, though it’s unclear what their relationship looks like as a whole, and only a selection of life is actually documented. We don’t get to truly know the narrator or the characters, but some intimacy is achieved through small glimpses into private thoughts and feelings.
Anyways, this book certainly isn’t for everyone, but I’m glad I gave Sheila Heti another shot. Maybe it’s all the Annie Ernaux I read last year.
This is a really cool concept for an experimental book, and it is exactly what it claims to be. I’d highly recommend listening to the audiobook in one sitting — the entries naturally become more cohesive in that format. It’s almost like looking at a shuffled photo album of someone’s life: there’s some recurring characters, though it’s unclear what their relationship looks like as a whole, and only a selection of life is actually documented. We don’t get to truly know the narrator or the characters, but some intimacy is achieved through small glimpses into private thoughts and feelings.
Anyways, this book certainly isn’t for everyone, but I’m glad I gave Sheila Heti another shot. Maybe it’s all the Annie Ernaux I read last year.
The Distance Between Us by Maggie O'Farrell
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
yikes. this was so confusing? Maggie O’Farrell keeps switching between two main threads, a ton of different timelines, and WAY too many inconsequential side characters. It felt unfocused and like she was trying to discuss too many themes at the same time without giving any of them sufficient depth. I ended up just not really caring about any of the characters because of the kaleidoscopic nature of the novel.
I don’t have a great track record with books where the two threads eventually become one at the end somehow, and the sappiness that came out of the blue in The Distance Between Us was no exception. (And what a boring, generic title — I should have known!)
Anyways, the writing was beautiful on a sentence-level but that can never fully save a book for me.
I don’t have a great track record with books where the two threads eventually become one at the end somehow, and the sappiness that came out of the blue in The Distance Between Us was no exception. (And what a boring, generic title — I should have known!)
Anyways, the writing was beautiful on a sentence-level but that can never fully save a book for me.