A

Wanting to find some more joy and fun in my life - i've been having a good summer and I wanted to continue the fun. It's mostly looking for delight, identifying real fun/active vs. passive, and being free from distraction.

This is probably a re-read at some point.

My players had a lot of fun in the abyss - it's the perfect campaign to have a bunch of evil aliment characters all play together without tension with the group setting. They fit right in! Not the typical story or environment, it was fun.

Sometimes I feel like the chapters drag on in bits but the pace will depend on DM and player.

13% in.

It seems like most creatures know how to play - A story about grace, when a fox wishes for something to play with spend the day with a jump-rope and some children to play with!

I love the name sharing and connection that was made so effortlessly through play that the girl would gift her jump-rope without correcting or contesting ownership. Beautiful story.

Will try this again - I had it on audio and it's probably a better read as a book.

Learned about concepts like shifting conversations and asking better questions. This is one I will probably re-read at some point because it was really good - but since I had it on audiobook at work sometimes I was pulled away. (ironic, right?)

I felt like I learned a lot from this book.

Cute slice of life, nature, with some sprite type folks!

A really interesting take on magical girls and mixing them in with sports. The world building isn't too serious so it makes for a really fun read! Some messy disaster girl lgbt+ romance!
Would totally pick up the next volume!

Magical girls + fruit is such a cute idea! The beginning is a decent start and the art is great! I would read the next one!

More of a 2.5 - decent start! I would def. read one or two more to see where it's going to go.

2 hours in (audiobook) nothing really has happened ...like your housemates aren't going to want to help you with your child. Duh? I get it - There is more to the story and I was getting there- It seemed to be getting into its stride and just didn't want to continue. Maybe some other time.

Typical disaster girl story.

A charming romance story but the main story was about discovering Deaf culture.

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream- I read this so long ago and didn't really think it was that great. The IHNMAIMS audio has been making it's rounds on tiktok AND Harlan Ellison was in the episode of Scooby-Doo I was watching. No, Seriously! The episode is called “The Shrieking Madness” in the mystery incorporated series. So, I thought I would read it again and a few others.

It's much better on my second read, probably because I'm older and the current state of AI makes this story particularly more impactful. The conversations we are having about AI now and that development ages this really well. I've even seen AM's monologue been put on tiktok's text to voice feature and that completely captured me - it got me thinking about a more modern day version of this (aside from maybe portal). It's big topic right now, which is why I think this is connecting with a lot of people.
Combining sort of religious perspective and a cynical kindness ending really it what makes this story a big draw for me.

Harlan Ellison's hatred to everyone isn't really apparent to me completely here because our particular characters have be tortured so long - it kind of makes since they will not be at their best or think their best about each other. However, the more I read the more tiresome this take starts to get in his other works.

Big Sam Was My Friend - A space circus story. A teleport person choosing death - this seems like he had the premise but not a great follow up with the story. imo

Eyes of Dust - Pretty privilege, but by someone who hates everyone. I loved the explanation of the government of planet spends more on cosmetics than educations. I thought it was really an interesting idea to make beauty a branch of the government.

World of the Myth- Telepathic space ants. - this one was my least favorite.

Lonelyache- Harlan Ellison going through a hard divorce and you can tell.

Delusion for a Dragon Slayer-

Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes -

Cheesy, kind, and maybe feels a bit inauthentic? I gave the benefit of the doubt because I'm not sure who this person is.

There was a lot that i did connect with on levels. This is a good book if you have been trying to improve yourself for a long time and you have finally gotten results so you can enjoy the view for a little bit. I think this person has also done a lot of that work and now gets to take a bit of a break to also enjoy the view. I thought it was a good read!

A fascinating read - A bit repetitive. I got quite a lot of take aways from this book, especially trying to get a better grasp at retirement by the time I am ready and being a bit more savvy in this area. I've seen two of my family members “retire” only to go back to work at their age because they didn't have enough to retire on. I'm not fully aware of their finances - but I do think that is such a nightmare that the title really pulled me in right away...because that's exactly the steps they took.

Kind of a depressing read to be honest.

Not so much a retirement plan book, more of a society piece.

This is a bit different than I anticipated. I thought it was going to be maybe a bit more of story telling (and yeah, legal battles too) of people having to get married or settling into marriage. And it started out that way with history and what marriage was typically about and folks motivations. When we get to modern day then it basically was like the government and society want everyone to get married so they sort of rig the system in favor of marriage with several examples - in detail - why that is. So, the book gets off base a bit when we hit modern times, i feel, though still relevant to be included. I guess I'm more invested in the historical part since I know less.

It's always sucked to be a woman. But, it was an interesting read.

This is the next step in your finance game, folks! I'm sure if you have been on the journey like me - you realize after awhile most of these books are mostly the same advice or have you look at your money trauma. Which is good, BUT this one is actually about investing! I was SO excited when I skimmed through this book and saw that!
It approaches more investment terms, types, and options in a really friendly way. (i'm loving those pros and cons lists - super helpful) and has a great glossary and reference sheet in the back for some folks who may be interested in getting help with abuse or medical debt.
This has leveled up my game! I def. picked up a few tips and better grasp of the investment options I have.

If you have a grasp of basic finance and money trauma understanding AND you have started to invest...this is the next book to read to boost that understanding!

A story within a story. Great premise with a murder in the library and sort of a beta-reader & author within the story was different. Good read!

I had this on audio and would sometimes drift off when reading. But solid 3 stars!

Skimmed! Good so far

This is going to be meaningful to plenty of folks and I'm glad I read it. It's a fine book and good for a quick read.

This book is probably a 2.5 ~

OOH, this has some great art and a really promising premise! It's off to a great start and i feel really hooked onto the world and the mission for these characters!

A coming of age story with a bit of fantasy thrown in. I think this would have been wonderful if it was longer and had the time to tell and elaborate on the story it wanted to tell, but it ends short and feels like it was being rushed along.
Good short read - good art!

2.5 stars
Fine read! It was about 3 hours to listen to it. It's like a nice fan-fiction type of read/vibe (compliment). A series of these would be really fun because I like the premise and I might grab the next one if I want something quick.
I like the side by side of sleeping beauty and being “cursed” with illness of our protag. The author did this well I think.

I am for the idea of having a picture book talking about banned books, but this book is a mess to read. I did give it an extra star because it's the only kids picture book I've seen on this topic and it's a growing concern so it's good to get this conversation going. I'm wondering about folks who read this to their kids, did they get it? Did you have that conversation about freedom to read and libraries?

Probably about 60% read.