Mari

Ikigai (a reason for being) is a concept that reaches into so many more cultures and philosophies than I expected beyond Ōgimi, Okinawa. This book does a great job of connecting supercentenarians' sage advice into easy to understand frameworks like meditation, anti-fragility, flow, micro-flow, yoga, and Stoicism (to name a few!) and how those frameworks can be applied into our daily lives in small ways so we can be fulfilled, not catastrophize about things we have no control over, and live fully in the present moment. Finding beauty in natural imperfection, slowing down, and funneling energy into activities we enjoy with our entire beings are just a few of the ideas in this book that reached into my core being. This book is such a solid jumping off point to further learning and personal growth! Or it can be a reference guide to life for years to come. Highly recommended!

Eye-opening and mind-blowing. I couldn't put this one down. There are so many concepts in this book that seem obvious, but when you're stuck in one mindset for your entire life the obvious becomes hard to see. I now feel like I have more self-awareness and a larger capacity for self-forgiveness so I can continue to build my emotional future in the healthiest way possible. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a primer on how to pick a part their childhood to be a better human, find some form of inner peace, and understand how to identify and handle their parents.

This is my second read-through of A Dance Through Time—it's a total guilty pleasure and fun summer read. This book's still a floofy medieval romp from beginning to end with two of the most hilariously stubborn characters I've ever read, despite a few cringey, outdated 1990s gender dynamics.

I spent this entire book railing against Oona's every decision, but each time I reminded myself she was literally just acting her age. Each jump could be years or decades in the past or future, but what a unique experience to learn about Oona's life while Oona is learning about it too. What a ride! My only regrets are: I wish the book were longer, and I wish there was a sequel about Madeline's life as she dealt with Oona's timey-wimey condition.

This book is full of 1920s sparkle and longing—I love this classic story more from a queer Asian American point of view. Jordan Baker is everything—a dreamer, supportive, strong, adaptable, sensual. Watching the story play out from Louisville to West Egg with Baker at the center helped me come to some new realizations about Gatsby, Tom, Nick, and Daisy. With gin babies, speakeasies, and demoniac dancing around the periphery, this story stayed true to the class struggle, racism, and grime at the edges of 1920s glitz and glamour. Love this book! And I'll read The Great Gatsby again with new eyes because of it.

I came for the time travel romance and stayed for the beautiful love letter to Cornwall. This book is as much a travel book as it is a work of fiction. Yet somehow the detailed setting didn't distract from the sweet characters and their wants and needs. This book is a delight from cover to cover.

I didn't expect to enjoy this book so much! A lost princess finding where she belongs, a forbidden romance, hilarious quippy exchanges and misunderstandings--this book is fresh and effervescent. Just ride the frothy, sweet wave that is this rom-com and learn more about Japanese culture than you ever expected to learn from a contemporary romance. If you liked Crazy Rich Asians, you'll love this one.

Liked the premise and loved the prose, but did not love the characters as much I thought I would. Still, this was a fun adventure around heaven, hell, and the spaces in between.

This is less one sci-fi novel and more a collection of short stories as we get to know this Pilgrim Fellowship on their way to undermine the Hegemony. All stories are radically different but equally interesting. What a ballsy way to start a book with the Priest's tale! I was cast down an oubliette of horrors only to be yanked out of a funk by Kassad's warrior tale—very cool Edge of Tomorrow Live Die Repeat vibes. The Poet's Tale was a dirty-mouthed romp with a few laughs and a ton of time-trippy scenery. I welcomed Silenus sardonically chewing scenery for most of the book. Wientraub's tale was equal parts heartwarming and heart-wrenching. Then, Brawne Lamia's tale felt like a noir nod to Bladerunner. Merin and Siri's story was a little creepy, but I was a too enthralled with time debt details and couldn't look away. Still wondering why dolphins would miss sharks? All in all this was a fun read, but I'm kind of peeved the book ended before delivering the goods.

This book is more a clinical look at scam psychology with cautionary tales, so the tone is a little drier than expected in the first third of the book, but the individual scam stories make it an interesting read. Amazing how the same scams we have now existed centuries ago, (i.e., invest now and get 10x back, fund a prince in a distant land, etc.) and people are ashamed to admit they were scammed so new marks are unawares. There's a little more information about scammers and victims involved in the Made You Look Netflix doc, but it's just a part of case studies illustrating behaviors of people who may realize they have were scammed but retreat further into the delusion as they refuse to admit they've become victims. Overall, an interesting read for the scam-curious.

This book has an unexpected start but then the rest just rushed over me. The ebb and flow of Nora's decisions are believable and feel so personal. Regret over the roads not taken is common but Nora let herself be ruled by it, worn down to her last thread of sanity. The Midnight Library is an interesting concept elevated to an exploration of Self, identifying internal and external motivators, and a search for happiness that almost reaches Odyssean proportions. Nora's journey feels truly earned as she realizes throughout her many lives that her decisions and their consequences extend beyond herself. The definition of a “perfect” or “good” life is completely subjective and this book fearlessly runs the gamut. I'll definitely be reading this one again!

Underdeveloped characters, meandering tension build-up constantly interrupted by unearned relationship drama/wealth-related events, and no resolution. Absolutely not reading the rest of this series just for the satisfaction of an ending.

An eloquent, heady read from the road to the Oval through Operation Neptune Spear with some much-needed levity threaded throughout. I understand more about the Great Recession, Iran sanctions, and a myriad of other things than I ever did before. This book reinforces the idea that the White House and what it stands for is not about one person but instead what a team of people entrusted with America's values and safekeeping can chieve together. What a fascinating look inside that sphere and how far respect, listening, and compromise can truly take us as a nation.

The history behind one of the most infamous, petty sociopaths of our time undistilled and unapologetic. Excellent read.

This book scratches that insider's-tell-all itch. So many of these tech bro tropes sadly still hold water even years later and Wiener spares no one, even if it's through a veil of vague shorthand. Both conscious and unconscious bias still runs rampant in the wake of the Bon Appétit debacle and so may others like it, since a number of tech managers have tech backgrounds but no management laurels. Wiener describes the tip of the ice berg while the rest is still bobbing along under the surface waiting to be scrutinized and changed for the better before it sinks us all.

Classic Bex! Letting her good intentions get her into all sorts of mischief, including being completely lost on how to vibe with her newfound sister. Bex has this totally believable tendency to build up ideas in her head of how people/relationships should be that she overlooks the reality. I really love the Bex and Jess dynamic and wish there was more of them in the series.

This book serves a several purposes:

1) What happens after Bex and Luke's happily ever after Book 1.

2) Bex's personal growth when she realizes her sister Jess has different, unfamiliar passions and that's okay.

3) Bex's morality and emotional self-awareness out-shining her conspicuous consumerism.

4) The social rift when some friends become parents earlier than everyone else.

Love this book--it delivers on all promises and it's one of the best in the series.

Forget breath of fresh air, this book is a wind tunnel of realness! “Relatable” is a vast understatement for what lies between these digital covers. I laughed, I got the feels, I felt personally attacked–everything necessary for memorable book I'd recommend to all my friends. There will be more than a few re-reads of this book in my near and distant future.

Wow, what a speeding bullet train of Eurocentric philosophy! But I'm here for it. This is possibly the densest, messiest little book I've ever read with philosophers and their ideas even peeking out from margins in the form of comics and anecdotes. I expected a fun philosophy refresher since my university literary theory course years ago but what I got was a messy, philosophical Choose Your Own Adventure. Still, I'd recommend this book just the same for its ambitious scope and unique execution.

Love this ending more than movie! The book spends more time developing the characters, which made me warm up to them more. Also, Sophie is adorable and shouldn't have been left out of the movie. What's more Christmasy than a charming, bossy kid who knows everything? Whitley and Meghan both go on to be way more fulfilled personally and professionally together in the book than in the movie—just heartwarming.

What a twisted comedy of errors, like the worst political domino effect. If you'd like to read bear mishap after bear mishap because everyone stays in their lane instead of actually managing a town, then this book is for you.

Slow build in the beginning as all good Gothic horror does, but whoo! That ending's fire. What a great spooky season read. A little Poe, a little Crimson Peak, and a lot of slowly unraveling sanity with a dash of the grotesque. Noemi's every nightmare and visceral reaction within the walls of the Taboada estate gave me chills.

Tom's journey is tinged with Miniver Cheevy's regret; he lives in the past and believes he's hardly ever at the right time or place. He longs to go back to the long lost loves and places he cherishes the most, but discovers living in the moment is more possible than he thought. Tension crests and wanes in the past while the current relationships play along the edges. Then, everything comes together in a satisfying way. The Albatross Society feels incomplete and could fill a book itself. Omai is also in incredible character with a philosophy all his own, and I was left wanting more time with him and his own journey. This entire book could be the foundation for a more in-depth Outlander or Highlander-esque book or television series.

Okay, so this book started out strong with Steel Magnolia vibes. Then, I somehow simultaneously hurked and cheered for wilting Patti to kick some butt a lá J.Lo in Enough. The midway point ignited my hatred for Carter (seriously f*ck that guy) and his Good Ol' Boys club–they were easily bought and obviously useless. Most interesting was which women chose to turn a blind eye because they were comfortable with their situations and which women chose to flex for some positive change. All in all, a fun spooky season read complete with those don't-go-in-there-shouting-at-the-screen feels.

Excellent book about the pitfalls of the gig economy, consequences of tying healthcare to a job, and letting private companies get out of providing pensions.

This started as a love letter to Creatives everywhere with keen insight on what makes us tick, but it ended with an extremely technical few chapters strictly for makers.