ralovesbooks's reviews
1431 reviews

Goldenrod: Poems by Maggie Smith

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4.0

My friend Erin introduced me to Maggie Smith when she sent me her ARC of Keep Moving. For no reason at all, I put off reading for a whole 8 months after I received it, and serendipity smiled on me because that was exactly when I needed that book. Similarly, I picked up the author’s most recent collection, Goldenrod, on a whim, and I found this poem exactly when I needed it. It reminded me that, given time, things rise and grow, even if you can’t see it happening from the outside.

“Prove”
I let a thought prove in my head overnight.
In the morning I check to see what’s risen.

I try to expect nothing, which is exactly
what I deserve. What kind of woman

demands her head deliver? But sometimes
I wake to a thought doubled, tripled in size

and as good sour as anything grown in the dark.
They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib

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5.0

“The truth is, if we don’t write our own stories, there is someone else waiting to do it for us.”

WOW, this essay collection is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It blew my mind – the precision of the sentences to get to the heart of the matter and a rhythmic velocity of the language that kept me leaning forward. I read a bunch of it while I was at Longwood Gardens, which felt like an incongruous place to read about things like rap music, violence against Black people, and church shootings, but for whatever reason, it helped me concentrate. I sat there, pretzel-style, on a bench with the sound of fountains in the background, while the author dropped sharp observations and deep emotion. Amid the tough content, the descriptions of joy and grief stood out to me. He writes, “Joy alone will not grant anyone safety. It can, however, act as a small bit of fuel when the work of resistance becomes too much.” And, “The real grief is silence in a place where there was once noise.”

You’ve got to be kidding me, right? This book does not kid.

I don’t really know any of the music that’s discussed in this book, and I probably would have gotten more out of it if I did, but the writing is so good that it didn’t matter, because he’s talking about things we have all felt in words that exude joy, name grief, conjure a sense of home, point out injustice, or shine a spotlight on musical brilliance. It reminded me of other books that knocked me out with their force: Men We Reap by Jesmyn Ward, Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin, and Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde.

It took me 5 years to read this book, but better late than never. I started shouting after the third essay, and I won’t shut up any time soon. READ IT! I already have Hanif’s newest release because it’s the Year of Essays, can’t stop, won’t stop. 
Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott

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5.0

“... I am angry at life. Actually, not sometimes. Always. I always feel that way. I don't actively think about it, but it's in there. At the same time, I am always looking for some gratitude, warmth, or hope. I often have to really search for it, but when I see something that makes me feel joy – even just a tiny odd hardly anything – you're damn right I applaud it.”

Right after I finished reading I Miss You When I Blink, I put Bomb Shelter on hold on audio at 3 library systems and hard copy at my local branch. An audio copy came in first, so I snatched it right up and listened to the author read her essays, which was a great reading experience. As with her first collection, the tone is earnest and clear-eyed. At times, I wished I had a print copy to reread and mark lines, but I also really enjoyed pretending that I was on a walk or out for brunch with Mary Laura, and we were commiserating about feeling anxious and like time is running out and yet there are still things to be happy about, but don’t we feel conflicted about it?

I think Bomb Shelter pairs well with The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green and These Precious Days by Ann Patchett. All three collections touch on the pandemic in a way that feels specific but universal. Anyway, upon finishing Bomb Shelter, I yelled at a friend via text to read this book next (and immediately apologized for bossing her so aggressively). I explained how Mary Laura Philpott, Margaret Renkl, and Ann Patchett feel like a kind of triad of Southern aunties for me. Between their 6 essay collections, I feel enveloped by heart and humor, and it’s the kind of writing and thinking I aspire to do for myself. 
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

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4.0


Dex would never forget. “You walked out of the woods, and you said, ‘What do you need, and how can I help?’”

Mosscap smiled at this. “I remember, yes.”

“Well, I didn’t know then,” Dex said, “and I still don’t. But what I do know is … you help. You’re helping me figure it out. Just by being here. You help.”

“Then we have the same answer,” Mosscap said. “I don’t know either. But you are my best help, Sibling Dex.”


I loved the first installment in this series, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, and I read it 5 times in 3 months last year. It was exactly the book I needed at the time, and I couldn’t wait to hang out with Dex and Mosscap again. I never use this phrase, but A Prayer for the Crown-Shy was my most anticipated release of 2022, and I eagerly picked up my copy from my local indie. 

I really enjoyed it. I always love a quest story, and this trilogy is that structure, although a sort of quiet take on it. The tone is a similar non-didactic contemplation that I found in Psalm, but this time considering ideas like purpose, companionship, space, and thriving. The passage I quoted above resonated so strongly because in the past 6 months, I have benefited greatly from people who have been here with me and helped me figure things out. It reminds me of that old saw, “Don’t just say something, stand there!” I hope that I can do the same for others and perhaps even be someone’s “best help.”

I don’t have the same visceral connection with this book that I had with Psalm, but that’s okay. I love the world of Panga, and I wave my card proudly as a shouting member of the Becky Chambers Fan Club! I think she’s a genius in how she asks these deep questions about existence without being heavy-handed or prescriptive. Reading this book while drinking tea, listening to my wood-wick candle crackle, and hearing birdsong was a peak reading experience, and I’m so glad to have this beautiful little book on my shelf.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

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5.0

Thank you to Penguin Random House and Libro.fm for my audio copy!

“The thing I find profoundly hopeful when I’m feeling despair is to imagine people playing, to believe that no matter how bad the world gets, there will always be players.”

Listen, I loved T&T&T so much that it has now surpassed Olympus, Texas as the best novel I’ve read this year, and I suspect that it will end up being a Shouting Book of 2022. I’ve recommended it to more than 10 people with subtle messages like, “THIS IS THE NEXT BOOK THAT YOU NEED TO READ.” I’ve typed the title and author so many times that my phone is starting to autofill it for me. The shouting has already begun!

I can’t stop thinking about this story of friendship and creative partnership. Trust me when I say that you don’t need to love video games to connect with this book because I know absolutely nothing about this world. I even had to look up terms as I went (non-player character, paladin, cut scene), but I didn’t mind because I cared so deeply for the characters. I think the author did such an amazing job exploring their stories and relationships. It reminded me of The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon and The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker, which are both about art, friendship, and hardship. Reading this book made me think about how we’re all non-player characters in each other’s games, and how friendship is a deep and worthy relationship, and how I really ought to play more in my life, and what does that even MEAN? 🤯

I listened to the audio production of this book, performed beautifully by Jennifer Kim and Julian Cihi, and right after I finished it, I had that itching sensation of needing to hold a copy in my hands, and I immediately bought a copy at my local indie with a gift card. Yay!
Kings of B'more by R. Eric Thomas

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4.0

This YA novel is great for summer, and the audio performer, Torian Brackett, does such a good job. The pop culture and musical theater references come at a rapid pace while you follow Linus and Harrison through a few days in Baltimore. I loved how it’s a story of friendship and how real it is. We need more stories like this! Highly recommended for fans of Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram and What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera.
Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas

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4.0

Thank you to Penguin Random House for my free copy! 

It was so enjoyable to listen to the author read the audio production. I loved hearing about his growing up in Baltimore and life in Philadelphia. It all felt immediate and specific. The humor is fast and clever, and the insights are resonant. I’m grateful to have this paperback copy to add to my shelves.
I Miss You When I Blink: Essays by Mary Laura Philpott

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5.0

"All of us have some prevalent personality traits, no matter what other qualities we possess. There's always one ingredient that flavors everything else about us. The cilantro, if you will."

Just down the street from my office in NYC, there's a community shelf that has everything from books to housewares. I always scan the bookshelves because you never know what you'll see, and look what I found! A book that everyone has told me to read, and I just ... didn't? Well, the joke is on me because I loved it. The author's Type A personality and introspection resonated strongly with me, and I kept chuckling and reading lines aloud to my husband. It was as if Leslie Knope and Liz Lemon wrote a book and then placed it in my hands at the exact moment that I needed it. I had that buzzing feeling like, "Yes, someone else is also fixating on details while having existential crises and reconfiguring the dishwasher, it's not just me!"
Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health by Leana Wen

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2.0

Thank you to Henry Holt Books for my free copy! 

I was intrigued to read this memoir because the author was the public health commissioner in nearby Baltimore. In recounting her journey from immigrant child to high-ranking government official to subject matter expert in the wake of the pandemic, the thought-provoking principles of advocacy were occasionally clouded by what felt like an overly detailed (but impressive) list of accomplishments.
Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina by Georgina Pazcoguin

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2.0

Thank you to Henry Holt Books for my free copy! 

This conversational memoir goes behind the scenes of the New York City Ballet, which is a world I am intrigued by but know very little about. I was most interested to hear her perspective as a person of color in this field, and I would have loved more on that.