spinningjenny's reviews
478 reviews

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Great read; it kept me engaged all the way to the end which was good seeing as it was pretty long. Especially loved Olive and Aunt Peg as characters. And her relationship with Angela's dad! Incredible story of love. 
Hold the Pickles by Vicki Grant

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Telling Ain't Training by Harold D. Stolovitch, Erica J. Keeps

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informative medium-paced

4.25

Shrill by Lindy West

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emotional funny medium-paced

4.25

A wonderful read from a dear friend; her points were salient and well made, and I learned plenty about my own internalized prejudices and biases, and somehow, she still delivered hope when things are feeling hopeless in so many ways. Overall, wonderful read, though not sure Lindy is really my style of writer, it was gripping and well written. 
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

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challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.75

Incredible read; Michelle Alexander does a great job laying out the history of Jim Crow and the new racial caste of imprisonment and what that impact has on our society. Further, she surmises at the end that continuing to  do work that is only focused on "civil rights" and not "human rights" will be unlikely to reap new rewards in the quest for racial and class equality.  An incredibly interesting read; would say more intermediate to advanced in terms of engaging with this topic; if you are new to the conversation or have trouble identifying your whiteness or your privilege as part of your journey, this book might be difficult to get through. 
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This stared really slow but I was actually really disappointed to be at the end. 
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

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challenging informative medium-paced

4.5

very informative, though a bit dense and at times felt repetitive to itself. The point was a good one though and one that I didn't know before; redlining was government sanctioned, not just something banks did to alleviate risk. 
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara

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challenging dark hopeful informative medium-paced

4.5

Very good true crime. Scary. Don't read alone at night. Good for road trips. 
Midnight Chicken: & Other Recipes Worth Living for by Ella Risbridger

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emotional inspiring slow-paced

5.0

Slow, glorious read. The perfect read for sadness, excitement, grief, confusion. A perfect book. I enjoyed it immensely.