skeltzer's reviews
271 reviews

Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson

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challenging emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

3.5

Listened to the audiobook. Her delivery felt distant throughout. She's clearly a thoughtful person when it comes to most things in her life, and very well read. One of the lines near the end seemed to sum up how she lives her life: "I am provided for." She's been through a lot and I came away with much empathy for her. She'd be fun to have a drink with.
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Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

3.0

This was a difficult read for me. My favorite poem was "Untitled (Blue, Green, & Brown): oil on canvas: Mark Rothko: 1952"
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

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

5.0

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We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu

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dark funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Shrill by Lindy West

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challenging funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Heartburn by Nora Ephron

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

2.0

I realized halfway through that this is the comedy cousin to The Year of Magical Thinking. This is a very upper middle class story with associated humor and puchlines (everyone has a maid; everyone sleeping with everyone else) with dated references and cringeworthy passages (peep the content warnings). I do like the recipes sprinkled through.
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Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au

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

3.0

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore, Tavis Smiley

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dark hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.0

Wanted to read this because Wes Moore is about to become governor of my state. The writing was fine but not impressive (he admits, and it's clear, that he has no journalism training), and there were a few small details that seemed inaccurate that took me out of the narrative (Baltimore wasn't the birthplace of Edgar Allan Poe; one of the high schools mentioned isn't located where they described it) but not enough to make me stop reading. The Tavis Smiley call to action was jarring in the switch of tenor and tone. Moore seems quite aware that he could have ended up as the other Wes Moore did if not for a supportive family who wasn't necessarily privileged financially but had an understanding of how the world worked. The thing that bothers me about this book is that it's kind of exploitative - Wes Moore is using the story of the other Wes Moore to prove a point and effectively promote himself. I remember when this book came out but I don't remember the reaction when it did. I wonder what Wes Moore is or has done for the other Wes Moore since the book came out. Not that he's obligated to do anything, of course, and the other Wes Moore agreed to be a part of the book, but it makes me pause. 
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I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

Whew. Trauma city. JM is an excellent writer; I like her style and the vignette-like structure of the book. Almost bite-sized (the irony). She gives detailed descriptions of the abuse her mother put her through and her eating disorders which hit home for me on both counts. It was a hard read but also hard to put down. The last chapter of the book is a really clear eyed reflection on her trauma. I hope she writes more. One personal nitpick is that I listened to the audiobook and she talks really fast; I had to keep checking to see if I had the pace sped up but nope!
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Scenes from My Life: A Memoir by Jon Sternfeld, Michael K. Williams

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

What an immeasurable loss. This memoir is honest, raw, tragic and hopeful. MKW had been through so much pain and yet ended the book on such a hopeful note. They way he describes bringing Omar Little to life and how he brought the character to him gave me chills - he put so much into his craft. I listened to the audiobook and man I wish he could have been here to read it. A beautiful book about a beautiful man.
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