Does listening to audiobooks count as reading? Here it does. Let’s discuss your favorite reads — or listens.
Expectation: A page-turning thriller about family secrets, potentially evil children and a mother trying to keep it all together.
Reality: A slower-burn domestic drama that borrows a lot of familiar tropes but keeps you entertained with sharp writing.
Targeted to middle grade readers, “Brown Girl Dreaming” is an exceptional introduction to more mature books in verse and poetry, and an accessible conversation starter about the experiences of BIPOC people in the southern United States during the tail-end of the Civil Rights era.
Expectation: A classic underdog overcomes Backman story.
Reality: A scattered and boring effort that showed glimpses of promise but never fully delivered.
Today marks one year since I launched Please Read It To Me, a quarantine hobby that provided both a creative outlet and distraction in a challenging year.
Expectation: A World War II historical fiction tearjerker.
Reality: A simple, yet layered story that leaves you with complicated feelings.
Like most pop science, or psychology in this case, the thesis – uncovering why some things become insanely popular while other, sometimes better things, don’t – is an interesting question, but not one that can sustain a 300-page book without becoming repetitive.
Expectation: A quasi-cozy romance with enough sass and drama to keep you interested but a firm ground in reality.
Reality: A sometimes far-fetched but utterly engrossing story of chosen family. I was surprised by the emotional depth of the characters and how their journey unfolds.
I had thought I was picking up an American true crime story in the same vein as "In Cold Blood," and while I did get that story, I was treated to nearly 200 pages of history on the Mormon religion.
Not expected.
Expectation: A dramedy about second chances with a strong main character and a colorful supporting cast of the non-penguin variety.
Reality: Predictable and outlandish, it is saved by a solid foray into Veronica’s past, but the contemporary chapters and almost every other character are unforgettable.
Expectation: A scattershot collection of stories from King’s uneven period of the mid-aughts.
Reality: A completely passable and often entertaining collection that bring forward some classic, and previously unpublished stories, and set the groundwork for some of his later works.
Expectation: A comedic take on racial inequities in Hollywood.
Reality: A layered, original and surreal examination of selling out, pushing forward and dreaming bigger than your circumstances allow.
“Why Fish Don’t Exist” is a podcast in book form, which makes it the perfect audiobook for listeners of that format looking to branch out.
Expectation: A crackling takedown of Big Tech, faux diversity and the work-life balance façade.
Reality: This was two books smooshed together. One, the corporate satire, was a helluva lot more interesting than the second, a basic bro wish fulfillment fantasy but with a BIPOC lead.
Expectation: A sappy romance about forbidden love that normalizes and celebrates infidelity.
Reality: A smart, engaging story with well-written leads and ancillary characters that help bring forward the consequences of Mallory and Jake’s actions.
The hype was lost on me, here’s six popular books I hated, plus five I couldn’t even finish.
Expectation: A heartfelt story about forming connection.
Reality: A solid first half is squandered by several convoluted plot twists that put Klara in the backseat.
Expectation: An overdone young adult romance about magical children.
Reality: A charming and queer-positive character-driven story that will keep adults and teens enthralled.
If you’re a fan of Bukowski, this collection is likely a must read as it features many previously unpublished works. But if you’re a cat lover looking for saccharine sweet stories, you won’t find them here.
Expectation: A warm hug for the soul.
Reality: A few reminders for how to live a fulfilled life, but there’s a lack of cohesiveness that detracts from the messages.
Baron presents the events as a tense, slowly unfolding disaster complete with disagreeing citizens, unconcerned politicians and a few people determined to raise the alarm. If you replaced great white shark in “Jaws” with a group of mountain lions, the plot of that movie and this book would be eerily similar.
