Review: Harriet Can Carry It

Harriet Can Carry It by Kirk Jay Mueller

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I liked the rhyme, the illustrations and the Australian animals. I'd read this to Kait.



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Review: Dear Life: Stories

Dear Life: Stories by Alice Munro

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



So, so good. I sometimes wonder if I like short stories , but this collection makes it clear that I do. I particularly loved the four semi-autobiographical stories at the end, but there wasn't a disappointing story in the bunch. So much love for Munro.



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Review: Why Dogs Are

Why Dogs Are by Tana Thompson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



It's such a sweet story but I'm such a big atheist. I could see gifting this to a religious child, but I wouldn't read it to my own.



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Review: A Life For Nicholas

A Life For Nicholas by Matt Zachary

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



This was a free kindle book and is a short prequel. Unfortunately it lacks depth and needed some editing. Too much happens in too few pages.



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Review: Find Yourself: a Poet's Journey

Find Yourself: a Poet's Journey by Feng Zhou

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



"There is joy in sudden descent
My child is like me at the time
Heading straight for his plane
And I return to the land at my journey's end"

It's hard for me to rare and review poetry. I've read little of it and I tend to find it washes over me, often with little comprehension.

I really liked the poems about Wang Yue. I remember the news report of the two year old run over by two trucks and ignored by those around her. So incredibly sad.



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Review: We the Animals

We the Animals by Justin Torres

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Interesting, though the ending felt a bit rushed. It tooke a bit to get into the style of writing, but once I settled into it, I enjoyed it.



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Review: Go the Fuck to Sleep

Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Wyatt played the version by Samuel L. Jackson sometime late last night. She isn't even old enough for stories and bathrooms and cups of water, but yes. This. Isn't sleep regression fun?



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Review: Everyone's Reading Bastard

Everyone's Reading Bastard by Nick Hornby

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



"That's what family stories were-amusing accounts of the messes and the fuckups. Take away the love and the laughter, narrate the stories as if the characters had acted with malice and self-absorption, and everybody was in a bleak independent film..."

An amusing short story. I have a soft spot for Hornby.



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Review: The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



"You were doing fine, a familiar voice informed my ear, until that man stepped into your path."

This ended up exceeding my expectations - it's too bad it took me fifteen years to get around to reading it - as I recall getting a copy the end of summer before my last year of university, having just returned from Scotland and house hunting with a week to go before classes. I guess on the rush, it just got put aside.

I thought it was a good exploration of the stifling roles for women and the pressures of academia. As a look at a nervous breakdown, also interesting. It's often compared to Catcher in the Rye and I think it's miles better.



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Review: The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was just a lot of fun.

Also, I'd like my own Luggage.



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Review: Seen Reading

Seen Reading by Julie Wilson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I loved the short stories and it was interesting to see that a lot of the books being read were Canadian. Coincidence or do Canadians tend to read a lot of their own writers? I'd assumed I'd be able to see the connections between the stories and the descriptions of the readers and I generally couldn't.



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Review: Conduits

Conduits by Jennifer Loring

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Well, that was weird. I'm not sure I entirely get what happened. There were some nice spooky bits.



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