bookbrig's reviews
1794 reviews

This is a strange read, but a pleasant one. It's SO focused on one tree, but then also a little bit just about nature in general. I loved the audiobook as a pleasant calm listen. Plus it made me want to go spend time in nature, which is a really good endorsement honestly.

try the audiobook-the reader is AMAZING!

I picked this up because I love a Hollywood behind-the-scenes read, and I'm a big Blues Brothers fan. It's super informative and a compelling read. It's also a heartbreaking portrait of addiction, friendship, and love in a way I didn't quite expect. The audiobook has a great reader, and I found myself bursting into tears near the end of the book and needing to pull over to cry it out for a while. So, uh, maybe keep that in mind. ANYWAY still good, do recommend, definitely want a rewatch soon.

The art is warm and vibrant and the story is absolutely sweet and lovely. It's such a kind read! And I learned the artist, Iliana Galvez is local to CO, so I'm excited to seek out more of her art. Absolutely worth a read!

Maybe not the most memorable picture book I've read, but it was funny and I loved the goats and the increasing absurdity of the old woman's adventure. A very fun read!

The art in this book just glows, and it has such a cozy and welcoming feel. I love the song, the cooking, the little sister and big sister and grandma-ness of the story. Really wonderful!

I started this before the election, it got returned on Libby, then I finished it after the election. It was really nice to finish it and feel some of that connection and hope around the possibility of politics rather than the doom of it. It absolutely made me want to go back and watch the series through, and I may treat myself to that next year to keep in mind the possibility of the good that can come from dedicated people working together. Anyway, the audiobook is great, the stories are interesting, and there's a wealth of resources for how to get involved in causes that matter to you. Do recommend!

Parts of this were very engaging and I learned about a variety of initiatives and actions I'd never heard about. But I had trouble with the bits where the author imagines or theorizes about what may/might have happened at a given moment. She always makes it clear when she's doing this, but the specificity of those moments really felt like a novel rather than an examination of a past possibility. It drew me out of the story every time, because it felt like playing make believe with real peoples' lives. 

Aside from that, I felt like it went a bit hard trying to sell readers on the non-battlefield contributions. Like, they were obviously crucial, but there are several times where the author mentions them as though they're the only reason the Allies succeeded, which felt kind of over the top to me. I'm not sure it's a contest between people dying on the front lines and those risking their lives to provide the intelligence for military movements, and it sometimes read like the author kind of thought it was. 

Anyway, these are perhaps small pieces of the overall work, but they're why I didn't find it quite as engaging as other nonfic I've read about WWII. Still worth a look if you're curious about the spy/intelligence part of that history though.

I do love this series, it's just full of fun people even when the mysteries are maybe less engaging. That said, I liked this mystery quite a bit, but I was more engaged by the relationship stuff in this one. It felt so realistic and also messy but kind. Anyway, looking forward to continuing the series!

This was a super fun read, and I want to reread the first one now to compare. It took me ages to finish because I started it in digital form from the library, then it got returned, and finally I got it via audiobook to finish it. Julia Whelan (I think?) read the audio and did an amazing job. 

I really liked the characters and the plot twists, and it was just a fast and engaging story. Would read again!