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I’ve had this on my TBR list for a while, and there’s always a wait. I figured it would eventually be available, so I waited. Finally, I put it on hold and it was ready after 6 weeks. This book came out in 2009! So I knew it would be a good read/listen.

I got the audiobook from Libby and it was narrated not by the author, which is uncommon among memoirs and autobiographies. But the narrator did a great job and maybe Agassi wasn’t interested in doing it. This book was incredibly detailed; I felt like I was living his life alongside him. I always wonder how people remember so much about their lives, down to conversations and feelings. Some people journal a lot so that makes sense that they have a record, but Agassi shared that he began journaling after his son was born. So maybe he just has a good memory or took creative liberties. Either way, this was an excellent autobiography and I enjoyed it. I had heard of him and other tennis players, but I’m not a sports fan so I didn’t really watch games or get into it. I like that the book started with him in real time, and then went back to detail his childhood and how he got into tennis (immigrant Iranian Armenian dad). It was so interesting to see his relationship with his family and the sport itself and how he actually hated tennis. I loved the relationship between him and his good friend Perry, his brother Philly, and especially his trainer/friend Gill. I didn’t know he dropped out of school in the 9th grade to pursue this sport. It was nice to see him recognize the value of education by opening up his own charter school. I was happy when he and Stefanie reconnected and got together, I would’ve liked to hear more about their relationship like he detailed about him and Brooke Shields.

Overall, this was a really good book and took me a bit longer than usual to listen to due to the length, but it was worth it.

A funny side note/synchronicity: I was watching a 2022 movie a few days ago and one of the main characters was reading this book. I was so surprised haha.

Julia Whelan is one of my top fave narrators! Everything she touches (narrates) turns to gold imho. That is why I picked up this audiobook from my library. I haven’t been too taken by any Emily Henry novels yet but this one got me hooked. I liked that the fmc is a librarian, as I am. The premise was interesting as well; Daphne was broken up with by her fiancée for his childhood best friend, so she moves in with the jilted boyfriend of the best friend. Miles was a yummy mmc and I enjoyed his personality. Lot of family dynamics at play and found family, which I love. Overall an enjoyable read with excellent narration and hopefully a movie in the future.

Julia Whelan is one of my top fave narrators! Everything she touches (narrates) turns to gold imho ☺️ very into this book so far

Not a long book, but it was a few weeks before I picked this up and read 3/4 of it in 2 days. I’ve read/listened to a few of this author’s books, and I’ve liked some more than others. I liked the premise of this one: a walk to work in Ramallah and reminiscing on how the city has changed. I was initially put off by the author’s perception of increased religiosity in the form of the call to prayer and Quranic recitations. The way he phrased it was borderline offensive though he concluded that it was just different getting used to. There were a few other instances where I was suspicious of his feelings as well.

I did find it interesting to see how the dynamics of society evolved with time, becoming more individualistic and material. I think my favorite part of this book was recognizing the landmarks since I had recently visited Palestine in summer 2025. It was familiar to read about the streets and buildings and how they have changed. Overall, the author’s perspective is fairly pessimistic which is warranted but this was also published almost 10 years ago, so curious if his views have changed.

I’ve listened to one other book by this author and thought it was cute. This one is more of the same and the narration was done well for the female characters but not so much for the males. I was so upset for Leah at her cousin’s wedding. Couldn’t she have just wished the bride & groom well in English and avoided any mistakes? I liked the idea of connecting to one’s roots and learning the mother tongue, but wasn’t too invested in Leah’s journey and Cyrus was too much at times.

I’ve read The Martian by this author 10+ years ago and when I saw they made a movie adaptation for this one, I decided to read it. There was no digital audiobook available through my libraries, so I waited for the physical audiobook CDs, to which I only listened to in my car while driving. So it took me a while to finish but I did it. Narrator was good and I liked the special sounds effects, especially with Rocky. Dunno if I would’ve read a physical or digital version of this.

This has an interesting premise but honestly it was a lot to keep up with, science-wise. I’m sure I tuned out some bits but I got the overall gist. I thought Rocky was adorable and it was fun to listen to the interactions between him and Ryland. I’m curious to see how the movie compares and how much is similar or different.

I've been meaning to read this book for a while. I bought the hardback last year but gifted it to my cousin before reading it. I found the ebook on hoopla so knew I'd be able to read it another time. Recently, I came across audiobook on hoopla and was so excited. I listened to it in two days since it's pretty short and it was a great way to take in the words of the late Dr. Refaat Alareer, may he rest in peace. I was happy to see the narrator is a Palestinian woman, but I would have liked her to pronounce some of the Arabic words and names more accurately. I finished reading the ebook as I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything from listening, but it's harder for me to comprehend from text than it is from audio.

This collection of short essays, poems, and interviews gave important insight into what it's like to grow up and live in Gaza, and the framing of how many wars each person has lived through to denote their age (ex: Amal is 4 wars old). It's heartbreaking to hear how people have lost so many loved ones, their homes, schools, livelihoods. Every single person in Gaza is affected by the siege and bombardment of their homeland and the fact that we are currently witnessing a 2.5+ year old "war" is very tough. It would be easier in a sense if Palestine was free and this was a historical overview of these brutal massacres, but the fact that the zionist entity is continuing to murder Palestinians every day makes it a difficult read/listen.

Some of the text is repetitive because of the various sources, but it does a good job of emphasizing the details of these stories. I liked how Refaat noted the importance of storytelling and how it keeps us alive. Palestinians in Gaza do not need to be given a voice, they already have one and it just needs to be widely shared. I appreciated the mix of essays and poems, as well as transcripts from interviews done in the last months of his life. I particularly liked the essays about his brother and his cousin and how they were both senselessly killed while trying to help others. His reflection on the 2018 Great March of Return was enlightening as well. From that chapter "Every Palestinian Was a Target": "If Palestinians shoot rockets, fire rockets, or carry guns, Israel will destroy them and will criminalize and demonize them. If Palestinians carry stones and Molotov cocktails, if Palestinians fly kites, if Palestinians breathe, Israel will hate them. And Israel will want them to be submitting and abjectly kneeling." I was honored to listen to and read his words and it reminded me how sad I am that he is no longer with us and cannot provide current feedback on world events, or share his knowledge and talent. However, books like this bring our martyrs to life and it keeps them alive as we continue this material life without them.

From his poem "O'live Tree":

My twigs shall grow,

The oil shall flow,

My people shall glow,

And you, you will go.

Someone recommended this book on Twitter so I got the audiobook from hoopla. It was a quick listen with solid narration and I thought it was interesting. I’ve personally not owned a gun or used one, but I can definitely see the case for it, especially when most non-violent means do not achieve much. I appreciated how folks worked together despite these differences and were firm in their ways. The kkk kept pissing me off but it was satisfying to see the cowards retreat when faced with armed opposition. Black folk were not presented with many options to defend themselves and guns were seen as generally acceptable, even by white supremacists. I hope there is a resurgence of this movement in modern society as it is much needed due to the violence committed upon people by the state and government and other bad actors. This is the only language the oppressors will listen to so we might as well use it.

I finished watching season one of this show, and decided to get the audiobook from my library. They had a narrator for Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), Agnes (Bryce Dalls Howard) and Daisy (Mae Whitman), which helped differentiate their POVs. The author herself narrated the chapter names. I liked the series and was curious how different it is from the book. There’s a few key differences, like how Becca and Agnes became aunts instead of getting married, Daisy being Nicole, and the two sisters escaping from Gilead. It was cool to see what happened after The Handmaid’s Tale and the epilogue into the future was interesting but honestly not very realistic. I doubt we will learn from past mistakes and rebuild society; it just feels like we’re headed towards complete destruction.

Finished the audiobook and started reading the ebook, but didn’t feel like finishing it. Picked up this book because there is a tv adaptation for it.

The narrator pronounced a few words wrong so that threw me off. Ex: rifled. I had a feeling this book would be similar to TSITP and it was in some ways. I was really hoping there wouldn’t be a love triangle between the brothers but alas there was one revealed towards the end. The relationship between Percy and Sam was okay, I didn’t like Percy much and kept mistaking her for a male character due to her nickname. And for her to befriend her bully Delilah was strange, and to not apologize to her for so many years?? The miscommunication that led to the main characters not talking for 12 years was not worth it, especially when the mmc knew about it and wouldn’t return any emails.

There’s a sequel with Charlie’s story but not sure if I’ll pick that one up, might leave the Barry’s Bay universe behind.

I don’t think I’ve read a book that has a single dad trope, or if I have it wasn’t a major plot point, which is why I was intrigued by this book. I’m not into comics so that aspect was boring to me. Sam’s mom was pretty awful and I didn’t care for their dynamic. Hal was annoying to read about too. The romance was okay but there could’ve been more chemistry. Overall not my cup of tea.

This was an entertaining audiobook. The narrators did a good job and I liked the few sound effects scattered throughout. I thought it was neat that the podcast episodes were interspersed with the main story. The grandma was my favorite character and her misandry was refreshing, badass woman. The rest of Lucy’s family and acquaintances sucked and were not supportive at all, no wonder she left town. Lots of cheaters too, no one seemed too surprised about it all either.

I enjoy mysteries and like to guess who the murderer/suspect is, but this one has me guessing throughout the whole book. I cried when Lucy’s memory of that fateful night came back to her as it demonstrated the strong friendship between her and Savvy; willing to protect each other no matter what. It was emotional! Maybe not the most realistic reveal, but it did the job.

Overall this was an enthralling book and I’m interested in more from this author.