Brittany Joiner

Great discussion of how women can succeed in our current society. Explores some of the societal issues that really need addressing and potential alternatives while giving practical advice to work in the system we’re in now. Also Katie is hilarious so you’ll get some chuckles in.

I wasn't sure if a was a historical fiction person or not, but I love empowering female stories, especially ones that involved planes, and this did not disappoint. It was so cool to see three generations of awesome ladies, all living different lives and being their own persons, but still finding things in common with each other. It's a bit of a long read, but I actually feel like it kept up the pace well and I didn't really feel like any sections were particularly slow— you were kinda always wondering what was going to happen next, and it bounced around between stories enough that it's always engaging. It was really deep and sad in some parts, but honestly that gave me a lot of perspective that I think i needed to remember there are bigger problems out there than the ones I'm facing today, so while it was sad it also gave me some strength, courage, and gratitude. And just thankful for everything women before us have done to pave the way.

Started on this but just felt more the same of her last book and couldn’t really finish

This is a heartwarming read!! All about belonging and finding your people, not without some struggles along the way but it’s a classic “all part of the journey and brings us closer together”. Kinda cheesey in some ways and I’m not usually into that but I loved it. Also it was fascinating to learn so much about bees. Now I want to be a beekeeper

A great read that gave me hope that good things are being done in the government. Made me feel a little happier about paying my taxes haha.

A fantastic book about belonging. For any queer folks who wish they could go back and hug their younger selves, this is a must read.

I’ve followed financial samurai newsletter for a while and thought I liked it and was looking forward to this book, but it just didn’t really hit for me. It just felt like the classic “stop eating avocado toast and save save save and then you’ll be rich!” And didn’t really felt like any new advice, maybe I’ve just read too much like this already. Overall I agree with his points, just didn’t feel very novel. He also lost me at the pitch for asking your parents to help you buy a house and how that meant you need to communicating with them and a good kid and show you’re learning about real estate lol. I’m sure there’s some good tips in here and info for folks who’ve never thought about financial freedom, but if you’re looking for a good finance read to get your life in order, read anything by Ramit Sethi

I really liked this. A gripping story and also helped me think through and get perspective on the different struggles of POC and explores wealth inequality and the idea of can you actually be rich without hurting people.

Dark (yes I was warned) and not really a gripping story for me at least. Only made it about a third through before stopping though.

A good commentary on the struggles of being a modern woman and trying to succeed in business and motherhood, and just existing as an “other”. It was a really gripping read! I read it in less than two days. My only frustration was that I didn’t feel like there was much of an action item or a real solution offered. But I guess that’s sometimes life.

Talking dragons. Enough said.

This was mostly good, just not entirely my type of fantasy. It engaged me through the book but didn’t make me want to jump to read more.

Also I was very sad the otak died 😭

I liked this!! It actually helped me learn a little about science while being entertaining and not feeling like a textbook

I’m usually into space stuff but this one didn’t hit for me for some reason, and wasn’t really drawing me in from the start so it’s a DNF for me

I liked this! I wouldn’t say it’s the absolute best I’ve ever read, and I struggled keeping up with some of the characters and the timeline switching (but I struggle with that generally, not because this one was particularly hard), but otherwise it was really great. Lots of great quotes and really makes you think about the world we are moving toward.

Not sure if I’m just maybe not a zombie book person, or if this one just didn’t hit for me. But this didn’t make me wanna read more books like this. Story felt kinda over the top, even for a zombie book. The two main characters who were like maybe not over each other seemed to have a really terrible relationship, so the story kinda acts like you’re wanting to pit them together again but they definitely should not. And you find out someone was involved in and their “redemption” arc isn’t really redemption-y enough for me.

it’s a pretty good but but id only say okay. The beginning was a really good build up and I always love a good alien + human becoming friends story, but it kinda went too quickly for me? But this was my first novella so maybe I’m just not a novella person.

this was really good! Very actionable.

This was amazing. So inspiring. An amazing woman doing awesome stuff in a time where is was even worse to be a woman than it is now 😭 very inspiring and full of laughs with a few almost tears

I am not an emotional person and I’m full of emotion after finishing this book. Was a bit of a slower start but once I got sucked in, it was a whirlwind. Literally page turner where I couldn’t stop and needed to see what happened next. Fascinating to think of what is possible in the world as this book really stretches your brain (but not in a hard to follow way). You’ve got humor, you’ve got love, you’ve got emotions and tears. And you’ve just got a bunch of humans all trying to figure out the point of life and how to best live it. Beautiful book.

I wish I could rate higher than five stars!! This was amazing. I don’t even typically like fiction and I loved it. It’s funny, there’s some science and learning, and such a heartwarming story. I loved the take on alien life being friendly and not terrifying. I also loved watching the world team up together.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll also be inspired. Lots of great quotes in this book and honestly just feeling really inspired to go live life and be brave and wish and work for my wishes. Definitely recommend. I’m not a big fiction reader but I loved this and will read anything else Meg Shaffer writes!

This was awesome. It made me think way harder about stuff (in a good way) and it was fascinating to learn things like why air conditioning was invented! I also had no idea the impact barbed wire would make. Wild!

I thoroughly enjoyed this. I’m not even a huge gamer but it was fascinating to read about the rise and fall of Sega from a business and marketing perspective.

some of the language around food can be a little triggering if anyone has eating disorders, but overall I think she does a pretty decent job at highlighting health benefits and making sure to clarify there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself and doing thing even if they’re deemed “unhealthy”.

And overall has some really great advice and really inspired me to do a better job of taking care of my body, and small things I can do rather than big sweeping changes.