Sarah

So good. Plus I think you feel extra smart for reading Greek myths :)

This book is why I should stop reading older works by male crime writers. The sexism is just ordinary and everywhere. Women are killed for their sexuality, our heroic detective is complex because he listens to jazz and “sensitive” for sleeping with a much younger female colleague. A violent gang rape is brushed off as a right of passage but don't worry, the survivor is fine now because she's a hippie and meditates. Sure, the writing is better than average, but we don't have to keep this in any canon of great crime writing.

Excellent story and historical detail, if light on the “mystery” part. To be fair, the title does make that clear :)

Holy complicated plot! I like the mathematical proofs as applied to detective stories, but including each permutation as a short story within this novel packed it with far too much information (and characters, and storylines) to allow for an enjoyable read.

Great for those who like mysteries, dogs, and Colorado. Not a literary suspense, if that's more your bag.

I have an inordinate fondness for writers like Russo and John Irving and their lengthy dives into 1980s New England/upstate NY life. There's some racist language that stands out in a 2021 reading, but a lot of heart and humor and empathy for the characters. It also inspired some wholesome cravings for nineteenth century real estate.

The audiobook is completely charming.

Overly complicated and confusing.

Witty and charming- just what a good cozy mystery should be. Looking forward to the next!

Not quite like anything I've read before - both human and hopeful.

Thank goodness this isn't as soul-crushing and depressing as The Witch Elm.

By the end, I was completely charmed by this book. The first half moves so slowly that it almost feels like a different novel. So maybe start in the middle :)

Maybe 4.5 stars, but we can round up. Wonderful, wrenching, appropriate to the times.

Meh. This strikes me as a very male mystery. I did appreciate the fun with Jane Austen titles, however.

I'd forgotten what an engaging storyteller Collins is and it was fun to escape back into the world of Panem. I sympathize with the impulse to humanize and complicate Coriolanus Snow's character, but his development at the end felt a little forced.
I would also like to lodge a complaint regarding the audiobook. When books are part of a series, or have been made into movies, it seems logical (necessary) to have internal consistency regarding pronunciation. The reader for this book pronounces Panem more like the defunct airline than the dystopian world. He also reads every song in the same cadence (even when songs are recognizably from our time.

I think I would have liked this more if I read it when it was first published. At this point in my mystery reading career, I'm over one-dimensional villains and have seen the key plot point/culprit's logic played out in plenty of other crime novels.

It's probably unfair of me to read a collection of memoir/essays by a 15-year SNL veteran and then negatively judge the book for a lot of SNL name-dropping, but c'est ça. The actual memoir chapters were quite funny, and I would call this a good audiobook for a road trip with friends (or your husband who never reads fiction). One more caveat - include pictures with audiobooks. It's done all the time. We have the technology. For every picture he describes, and there are a fair number, Jost unhelpfully tells the listener to “buy the book.” That's ridiculous.

I hate to give this 3 stars but I really didn't understand several of the stories. I think this deserves a second read, so maybe things will click for me next time. There was definitely some funny, LOL stuff, and I adore Brosh's depictions of animals. It's also clear that Brosh has endured some seriously awful, tragic, intense shit since her last book, so this is a very different tome.

3.5 stars. I especially liked the beginning and the end - the middle was good, but deals with difficult issues (racism, sexism, classism) that are upsetting and reminded me of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.

This was the right book at the right time, with lots of thoughts worth revisiting and remembering.

I gave this an extra star for making me long to travel to Italy. It was hard to listen to while driving because I got so hungry for pasta. While I loved the Crazy Rich Asians series, this book lacked interesting characters, not to mention character development or internal consistency. It would be fluff, except it's too irritating (ooh, poor little rich girl! IDGAF).

A fun middle-grade intro to systemic racism. That sounds weird, but this is a cute book dealing with serious topics.

Knowing what this book is about, and having read Miller's Emily Doe statement when it came out on Buzzfeed, I didn't know if I would be able to get through it. These are heavy times to read a book centered on sexual assault, but Know My Name is so well done, so achingly honest, that I felt part of a raw conversation between friends. I shook with anger, cried, and laughed (Miller is also a comedian). I hope to read more from her soon (maybe fiction? I do kind of need an escape after this).

Nice continuation of this sweet middle grade series

Poignant and hilarious captures this perfectly.