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It’s been my goal for a few years now to diversify what I read, as I realized I had been reading SO many books by white men (especially about faith/theology) which was a very limited perspective. In the last few years, I focused on reading books by women and people of color (find them all here: #radreadswomenandpoc). ⁣ ⁣ This year, I’ve committed more specifically to reading books by BIPOC writers (see them here: #radBIPOCauthors) and even more specifically right now, Black authors (see them here: #radBlackauthors). ⁣ ⁣ Why? ⁣ ⁣ Because reading more diversely and more deeply is a hugely important way that I can learn, grow, check my own privilege, dismantle the learned patterns of systemic racism in me and in my world, love my neighbors, better fight for justice, understand others, deepen my empathy and compassion, have tools to help build a better world, and on, and on, and on. ⁣ ⁣ It matters. ⁣ ⁣ If the only voices you’re listening to sound like yours, you’re missing out. If the only people you learn from agree with you, you’re missing out. If the only stories you hear echo your own, you’re missing out. ⁣ ⁣ I challenge you to expand your mind, your heart, and your life, whether through books or podcasts or documentaries or news sources or Twitter follows or whatever else you want. It’s important and essential, now and always. ⁣ ⁣ If you’re looking for resources to help you get started or keep going, there are TONS linked in my bio. I hope they’re helpful. (And I share all about what I’m reading at @alltheradreads if that interests you.)⁣ ⁣ Onward and upward, friends. There’s good work for us all to do. // #alltheradreads #blacklivesmatter #ownvoices

Continuing the trend of dud books I don’t recommend reading... this one was not twisty, was confusing, had a lack of motive or real drive, the characters didn’t have any depth or likability or even interesting traits... it was a fast read that went backward in time and I wish I hadn’t bothered with it. // ⭐️— did not like it.

A suuuuper short collection of thoughts on womanhood, but not one I really connected to at all. I think older women would resonate more with the stories and find it relevant, but it never hooked me! // ⭐️⭐️— it was okay.

I confess I left this one unread on my shelf for too long, afraid of what it would open my eyes to and what injustices it would expose. It broke my heart a million times over, and was incredibly enlightening and devastating and then encouraging, too. Systemic racism and injustice run so, so very deep in our culture and legal structures and prisons and everywhere. If can’t be made right in an instant, but it can be redeemed and restored and reconciled through intentionality and action and commitment to justice through love, mercy, and humility. Grateful for powerhouse people like Bryan Stevenson who blaze trails and lead by example in the fight for freedom. Grateful for the work of @eji_org on behalf of innocent men and women condemned by a system that should be protecting them. Their work is important and essential and I’d love to encourage you to join me in financially supporting their work. Oof, friends, this is a must read (or a must watch, free on Amazon Prime and other streaming sites right now). // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— amazing. #radBlackauthors #radBIPOCauthors #radfivestarfaves

QOTD: What makes a book good suspense thriller? 👽💣🕴🕴👣👣 Is it the plot? Is it the mystery? Is it the protagonists way out from this riddle? Let me know in a comment below. I have this two super novel with a great plot and I m in love with both.❤❤ Well, I am happy to😊😇😉announce that my second novel 'PAPA' is going to launch very soon. I am going to share my happiness we you guys at every stage of launching plan. Soon I'll be sharing you the cover page of the book. Stay tuned. #suspense #thriller #murdermystery #mystery #booklover #booklaunch #secondbook #novelist #authorsofinstagram #authentic #authorlife #writersofig #booksbooksandmorebooks #booksbooksbooks📚 #mustread #readingisfundamental📚 #readingismagic #radreadswomenandpoc #readreadreadreadread📓📕📗📘📙📔📒📚📖 #writerlifestyle #amreadingfiction #microfiction #bookishmerch #bookwarm #littlebookworm #nerdygirl #bookstagram #books #bookwormproblems #bookworm

I love the way Marisa de los Santos writes — it’s beautiful and heartfelt and a joy to read. This story is layered and well-told, with old lies and hard truths and tragedy and nuanced relationships woven together in a way that keeps you hooked. I read it in one sitting and loved how it wrapped up! // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #radBIPOCauthors #radkindlereads

A fun read, but one that frustrated me too! Oona time travels throughout her own life every year on her birthday, jumping forward and backward to new years at random. Little details and missing links bugged me as I read it (how did she always have a letter waiting for herself when she leaped if she never knew where she was leaping to?!??) but it was a fun concept and had a plot twist toward the end I did NOT see coming that made it better! // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it.

Thanks to @randomhouse for this one on @netgalley! // This was the third book about detective Manon Bradshaw, and honestly, I wish I had stopped after the first. They’ve lost steam drastically in my opinion, and this one felt like a mess of ideas and storylines and attempts at relevance/deeper themes that just didn’t work. Not a fan. // ⭐️— didn’t like it. #radkindlereads

Thanks to @netgalley for this one! // If you are a fan of Jane the Virgin and telenovelas and hispanic culture, you’ll love this fun romance read! As the telenovela characters got closer, so did the actors playing them, and it was a cute (and steamy at times!) story. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it. #radBIPOCauthors #radkindlereads

What a juicy memoir this was! I didn’t grow up listening to/watching Jessica in anything but I still found this to be a really interesting and fun read with some great dirt on John Mayer and some actually decent writing, too. She’s got more to her than I ever gave her credit for! // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it.

Thanks to @randomhouse for the free book! // I looooved this one. It’s self-help in the best way — comical, not condescending, honest and helpful and hilarious, witty and wise, practical and purposeful, and just FUN to read. Highlighted the heck out of it and will 100% be adding it to my library which these days (when i’m purging EVERYTHING) says a lot. 😂 Also— THE COVER. I’m obsessed. And the title, too. (i love the f-word and all cuss words, fun fact. i just try to keep my online presence squeaky clean. 🙃) // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— amazing. #radfivestarfaves

In hindsight, I don’t know why I requested this one from @netgalley when I didn’t even like the first book I read from this author??? I got click happy and overeager, I think! It’s a true romance with little plot and much steaminess and that’s just not my jam. The storyline that was there felt 100% cliche and laughable and I couldn’t buy into any of it. If you’re into that kinda thing, you’d love this one, especially since it’s the story of side characters from the other books in the three-part Fix Her Up series so you can keep reading afterward, too! // ⭐️— did not like it. #radkindlereads

A random @bookoutlet add, and a suuuuuper fast read for today! A whole series of false starts and missteps and misunderstandings, all in a YA context and a London setting, with the classic tropes and stereotypes. Not a fave. 🤷🏼‍♀️ // ⭐️⭐️— it was okay.

Just finished this one. Still crying. It’s beautiful and touching and nuanced. An excellently written middle grade novel with deep emotion and strong themes and an ending that brought all the feels. Highly recommend (if you’re needing a good cry). 😭 // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it.

A modern romance, yes, but also some strong female empowerment themes, a dash of John Tucker Must Die vibes and a parallel undercover federal agent plot line, that was reminiscent of the Scottoline book i recently read, too! // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— I liked it. Book 2 of my #botmweekathon done! #radBlackauthors #radBIPOCauthors

Thanks to @randomhouse for this one! // This was just the twisty, surprising, unpredictable read I needed to mix up all the romances I’ve been reading lately! Cons and marks and grifters and theft and secrets abound in this one, and it kept me guessing until the end. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it. #radkindlereads

I feel the MOST accomplished when I read my @bookofthemonth books right when I get them. 😂 This one was a behind-the-scenes look at an elite NYC moms playgroup through the perspective of a burned out musician who gets recruited to be their entertainment. The beginning felt a bit slow, but it sped up toward the end and took a turn I didn’t expect! I wish it had gone juuuust a bit further into the dark underside and twistiness of the group and characters though. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it.

I went hunting for books to satisfy the last few letters of my alphabet reading challenge, and found this one in my Libby app for Z! It was a cute little YA read, totally predictable and enjoyable but nothing to write home about (unless you’re fond of French, in which case i recommend a read as they’re studying French and speak it a lot throughout the book!). // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it. #radkindlereads

I absolutely LOVED this one from @kelleynikondeha — so grateful @sarahbessey recommended it. It’s a beautiful and relevant and timely book paralleling the women of Exodus with women in our world today (and in recent history) and it is COMPELLING. This is what I love about reading widely and diversely— Kelley, as an adopted woman with a husband of a different ethnicity and adopted children, who has lived in America and Burundi, who has deep knowledge and a unique perspective, can illuminate things in and about Scripture in a way that others couldn’t. And I am better for having read her words from her heart and her thoughtful and thought-provoking work. Highly recommend this one. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— amazing. #radfivestarfaves

This one started out almooooost freaking me out with the direction I thought it was going (a guy with a fake identity trying to become a high school teacher to get close to a teenage boy... had me worried...) BUT THEN it took a turn I did not expect (!!!) and I couldn’t put it down and it unfolded in a great, fast/paced way that had me hooked and surprised until the end. Lisa Scottoline can WRITE, you all. Dang. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it.

I read this in one sitting (couldn’t put it down!) and loved it — female friendship, love and heartache, a dream that puts reality into question— it felt super quick and I wanted a bit more grit and depth to it, but it was good!!! // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it.

Yesterday’s read — a fun, politically-themed YA love story that was easy to fly through and enjoy. Never quiiiiite bought into the romantic spark between the two main characters and didn’t love the story nearly as much as What If It’s Us by Albertalli, but I liked it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #radkindlereads

I looooooove Barbara Brown Taylor so dang much and loved savoring these sermons/writings from her earlier days as a preacher. Girl knows her STUFF and these words were encouraging and rich in a way I needed right now. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it.

Thanks for the free book, @randomhouse! // This was a cute one! Very “PS I Love You”-esque, with a dual reality (one where Lydia’s fiancée is killed in a car crash and not with her when she’s awake, and one where she takes sleeping pills and continues life with a living fiancée in her dreams). It wasn’t terribly original or unique but I found it to be sweet and I enjoyed it but felt like the beginning was too slow and the ending was too short. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it.

Thanks for the free book, @randomhouse! // I laughed out loud reading this one SO many times. His voice is witty and winsome and wise and wonderful and this book is a TREASURE. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #radBlackauthors #radBIPOCauthors

Trying to explore some new-to-me poets and had this one on my shelf... but sadly, didn’t love it or find it resonated with me. Poetry is SO personal and artistic that it can be hard to connect with! Would love your recommendations on poets you love. ❤️ // ⭐️⭐️— it was okay.

This one was a bit of a doozy— it felt about 200 pages too long (it was over 500!) and suuuuper slow overall. It was the story of one woman’s life and was not at ALL plot-driven, so if you like slow and thorough and singularly-focused stories, you might enjoy this one! I mostly wanted to trim it waaaay back and skim ahead to see if it ever got more juicy/exciting... but, it didn’t. 🤷🏼‍♀️ // ⭐️⭐️— it was okay.

I added so many books to my “want to read” shelf and my library holds list after seeing all the contenders for the @goodreads 2019 choice awards, especially ones from the romance genre! (2019 was the year I fell hard for romance books... who have i become...) — This one ended up being a lot cuter and better and more surprising plot-wise than I originally expected, and I liked it a lot! The cover is irrelevant and cheesy though. 👎🏼 There are some Legally Blonde vibes, some heart wrenching moments, and some steamy scenes too— a winning combo, really! // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #radreadswomenandpoc

This was a fun one, even though I’m probably not the target demographic, as it’s all about a middle-aged single mom. When her ex comes back to town after three years and wants time with the kids, she takes a little getaway that ends up becoming a “momspringa” (like the Amish rumspringa tradition!) that changes her life. I loved the literary references (she’s a librarian!) and the mother/kid dynamics and the transformation of Amy over the chapters. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #radreadswomenandpoc

This one is COMPLETELY a How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days remake, with the roles reversed, and with an author named Andie just like Andie Anderson, but I enjoyed it! It’s much more my kind of romance read— a fun plot, good character development, a totally predictable but still charming story, etc. with the added bonus of having a biracial main character who talks about her struggle with her identity along the way. It’s not a new story idea by any means, but I’m a fan of the original movie and liked this take too! // Thanks, @booksparks, for sending this one my way. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it. #radreadswomenandpoc #radthreestarreads

A few updates: I now live in this Sherpa blanket. I am in a committed relationship with my space heater. I keep wanting to go to bed before 8pm. And I finally finished another Three Pines book! Still loving them. Still can never figure out who the murderer is or how they did it. Still a fan. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #radreadswomenandpoc #radfourstarreads

Thanks @randomhouse for the free book! // I was disappointed in this one. It had faint S-Town vibes at first (a backcountry town ravaged by opioids, death and drama and bodies found in the woods, trying to uncover the truth, etc) but it just felt slow and uneventful and ultimately pretty boring... 🤷🏼‍♀️ // ⭐️⭐️— it was okay. #radreadswomenandpoc #radtwostarreads

(Totally forgot to post this review a few weeks ago!) // I really enjoyed this one — young love that comes back around, second chances, misunderstandings, father/daughter dynamics, the effects of fame and celebrity, surprises and poignant moments, etc. It had me captivated and rooting for the characters and eager to have a hopeful happy ending, and I was not disappointed! // Thanks to @booksparks for sending me this one as part of the #FRC2019 #hitthebookclub campaign! #radreadswomenandpoc

Thanks @randomhouse for the free book! // I loooooved this one. Like SOLID 4 stars. If I did half stars, it would be 4.5. It kept surprising me, it unfolded beautifully, the characters felt dynamic and relatable, it had the perfect amount of suspense and drama and back and forth between character perspectives, and it ended up being a totally different kind of storyline than I first thought (which I love). Such a sneaky surprise book!!! Read this one. 🙌🏼 // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #radreadswomenandpoc #radfourstarreads

I’m really glad this book launched into the world today. It’s helpful, encouraging, motivating, accessible, rich, and necessary. I’m also really proud of my friend and pastor @nicoleunice for writing it and sharing her wisdom and heart for Scripture with us all through this @alive.method. She’s one of the best and most engaging Bible teachers I’ve ever heard, and I’m just so grateful for this tangible resource that she has poured all that passion into to help all of us better understand and love the Word. It’s a gift. She’s a gift. And speaking of gifts! I have copies to share with you all... soon. Fun things are coming. 😉🙌🏼 Congrats on your 5th book baby, @nicoleunice, and well done, friend. We’re grateful. // #alivemethod #helpmybibleisalive #radreadswomenandpoc

Supporting indie and new authors and the books they’ve worked so hard on is such an honor and a joy! Reading this one by @kaciemain_writes was like sitting down with your BFF and getting the scoop on their life— the boys, the flings, the drama, the identity crises, the life changes, and the ups and downs of all of it. I’ve totally been the girl to say she’s swearing off men for a season (and also the girl to go back on that promise the second I’m bored or watching the Bachelor and feeling lonely...) so I resonated with a lot of this one! Definitely worth a read if you can relate at all — reading about someone’s else experiences (and reading their journal entries!) makes you feel a lot less crazy and alone. Thanks for sharing this one with me, @kaciemain_writes!! 😘 Glad you followed those big dreams to write this book! (ps— use code “ALLTHERAD10” for a discount on your own book sleeve at @happygolovelysleeves!) #radreadswomenandpoc

Thanks @randomhouse for the free book! // This one felt perfectly appropriate to read today as my own little act of rebellion against this “holiday”... I’m not down for celebrating men who pillage and plunder people and land... but I am ALWAYS down for celebrating the beautiful, creative, world-changing, brilliant immigrants and refugees and humans who make up America and make it better. SO ANYWAY. 🙃 The heart of this one is spot on. It starts with who is in the book, where they are from, and then who isn’t in the book, and I so deeply appreciated the author’s notes explaining the choice not to include both Native Americans and enslaved people, as neither truly were immigrants and should not be falsely labeled or grouped in as such. 🙌🏼 for that! (And also would love to see books highlighting those people groups too!) The mini bios included in this collection were eloquently written (a feat since they’re so brief!) and wonderfully illustrated, and I learned so much about people who have impacted our country and culture in such diverse ways. This is the kind of history I want to learn more of. These are the people I want to know more about. This is what I do love about America still— its people. This book is a beaut. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— amazing. #radreadswomenandpoc #radfivestarfaves

I wanted to love this one, I really did, but I just think it wasn’t the right time for this one and me to meet. It didn’t resonate with me, but then again, I often struggle with books by Christian women for Christian women... I really think this one will be incredibly encouraging, empowering, and motivating for many women, but it just wasn’t what I needed to read in this season. Anyone who wants to read this one? I would love to send it to someone who could use a boost— the first to comment gets it! 🖤 // ⭐️⭐️— it was okay. #radreadswomenandpoc #radtwostarreads

A review + a giveaway! ✨ 👉🏼GIVEAWAY CLOSED!!! 👈🏼 This book was beautiful. Heartfelt. Tender. Lovely. I’m so grateful @sarahbessey gave us this gift — more a memoir than her other books, a treasure to read, and a story that bolstered my own faith and belief in a God of miracles. I’m so excited to share a copy of this one with one of you. I highlighted so many stunning lines in this one and found it so encouraging and moving, and hope you will too. All the praise hands. 🙌🏼 To win a copy of #ReasonableMiracles, follow @alltheradreads (and you def should follow @sarahbessey too!), like this post, and tag a friend in a comment! 🖤 // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— it was amazing. #radreadswomenandpoc #radfivestarfaves

Thanks to the author for sending me this one — I hate to say this, but content in the very opening pages was triggering for me with my story and I couldn’t keep reading. 😬 I love to support indie authors when I can (especially women and diverse authors!) and I really wanted to dive into this one, but avoiding triggering content just has to be my priority. If anyone is intrigued by this one, I would love to send it to you! Just shoot me a DM. #radreadswomenandpoc

This was my first Scottoline read and I was HOOKED. Flew through this one today and I’m so glad I didn’t have to take breaks in reading it! A teenage prank goes wrong (TW for gun violence) and years later, the secret is eating one of them alive... and it unfolds from there in ways I DID NOT EXPECT. 🤯 It’s not for the faint of heart (people die in a lot of intense ways — I feel like I should just give a blanket trigger warning... but definitely TW: suicide, drug overdose, etc) but it was masterfully written and I can’t wait to read more from her! // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #radreadswomenandpoc #radfourstarreads

WHAT DID I JUST READ. 🤯 This book was a TRIP, lemme tell you. It’s dark (like, really hard to read at times because of messed up mother/child things) and twisty and layered and just craaaaay. The ending threw me for another loop I didn’t expect and I’m feeling suuuuper unresolved about it all... this is a whole new side of CoHo and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it! I will say, the girl can WRITE, that’s for damn sure. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it. #radreadswomenandpoc #radthreestarreads

Starting this one today (thanks to @booksparks) on the dreamy porch at my parents house — I upped my 2019 reading goal from 150 to 175 so I need to hustle to try to make it! Still going strong on #readwhatyouownseptember and haven’t bought a single book this month, so I’m grateful for these #FRC2019 boxes that keep coming to keep my reading interesting. 🙃 (This beautiful booksleeve is from @happygolovelysleeves — use the code “BOOKSTA20” for a discount!) #radreadswomenandpoc

I’m making progress on my pre- @evolvfaith reads! 🙌🏼 I looooved this one and am so glad to have discovered Danielle Shroyer! Her way of walking through Scripture to illustrate how God moves and works and gives us great hope was so enlightening and inspiring and felt really fresh— no boundary holds God and he does so much more than we could dare to dream, and walking through the Old Testament to pull out those themes and threads was so cool to me. Give me allllll the books + Bible teaching from brilliant women, pleaseandthankyou. Cannot wait to hear more from her in a few weeks! // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #radreadswomenandpoc #radreadsdiversefaith #radfourstarreads

I nearly ran out of flags reading #thenextrightthingbook by @emilypfreeman — it’s THAT good. I’ve had this one for months but it needed to be read right now, and I’m grateful for it. I savored this one (as it should be) and resonated deeply with her wise, warm way of inviting us all into a truer and better way of living, one grounded in Jesus and guided by love as we take little steps forward day by day. Hear me when I say that none of that is how I naturally live, but it is truly a gift to be reminded that such a way is not only possible, but actual doable. This book is a balm to weary and worn out souls, and it’s a gift I’ll treasure for years to come. (Chapter 8 alone was worth every penny!!) // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— it was amazing. #radreadswomenandpoc #radreadsdiversefaith #radfivestarfaves

Thanks to @booksparks for this #hitthebookclub book! The Nine is a story of motherhood, of elite schools and secret societies, of privilege and finding your place in the world, of letting go and learning and loving, and of scandal and sacrifices. It was solidly okay in my opinion, but I think not being a mother and not being of the elite education world at all disconnected me from the story and major themes of this one. There would be so many good book club discussions to come from reading this one with others, for sure! If you’re reading this one, let’s discuss! // ⭐️⭐️— it was okay. #alltheradreads2019 #radreadswomenandpoc #radtwostarreads

Flew through this one and really enjoyed it! Four women confessed to a murder of one man, and throughout all the parallel plot lines and unraveling lives, I didn’t see the ending coming! It wasn’t super dark and twisty but focused more on the females, their friendships, and their personal drama, with transcripts from the detective’s questionings woven in throughout to add the drama. The ending still has me questioning and wondering!! A solid #FRC2019 read— thanks, @booksparks! // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #hitthebookclub #prettyguiltywomen #alltheradreads2019 #radreadswomenandpoc #radfourstarreads

An easy, breezy one night read (200% influenced by @hannahreadsmoer reading lots of Sarah Dessen this summer) — it felt slightly reminiscent of parts of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants storylines to me (divorced parents with new families, spending a summer in a new place with a mysterious love interest, teen girl cliques and boy drama, etc) and I liked it! Definitely would have loooved this one as a teenager. //⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it. #readwhatyouownseptember #readwhatyouown #alltheradreads2019 #radreadswomenandpoc #radthreestarreads

A quick little end of summer read, and a pretty “meh” one at that. Three in their 40s, a yearly night swimming ritual, a disappearance, and a lot of unraveling of lives and secrets as a result. Just felt solidly okay, nothing great, nothing awful (except the whole affair with a much younger human thing...). ⭐️⭐️ for this one! #alltheradreads2019 #radreadswomenandpoc #radtwostarreads

Fiiiiinally checked off another category of #aradreadingchallenge with this one— an author with the same name! I have loved other books by Rachel Joyce and this one was no different, even though it did take about 100 or so pages for me to really get into it. This storyline isn’t incredibly unique (quirky, older shop owner has a knack for “reading” guests to the shop and knowing exactly what music/book/etc they need in that moment) but it was charming nonetheless, and the end had me squealing I loved it so much! // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it. #alltheradreads2019 #radreadswomenandpoc #radthreestarreads

Had to read this one last night after reading Hopeless, since it’s Dean’s point of view in contrast to Sky’s! It felt mostly repetitive and not unique enough to really stand on its own, but there were some added insights and letters to his sister that did add dimension to the overall story. Mostly though, I think Hopeless stood fine without this one! // ⭐️⭐️— it was okay. #alltheradreads2019 #radreadswomenandpoc #radtwostarreads

I really wish I made better notes of where/when I heard about books or remembered who recommended them to me... I know there was a reason I snagged this one a while back but who knows what it was now. 🤷🏼‍♀️ It wasn’t a book I needed to read in the season of life and faith I’m in, but there were several beautiful lines and thoughts that I highlighted and loved even still. Just ⭐️⭐️ from me— it was okay. #radreadswomenandpoc #radtwostarreads

Flew through this one during last weekend’s @silentreadingpartyrva and I LOVED it. It tackled some hard and heavy topics in a real and readable way. Suuuuch a solid YA read, such timely content, such endearing characters. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #radreadswomenandpoc #radBIPOCauthors #radfourstarreads

This might take the cake for my most favorite Mary Oliver book... the focus on faith and the psalms just got me riiiiight in the feels and I flagged so many of these beautiful poems. Big, big, big fan. I’m still on a mission to read every word she wrote— couldn’t love her more if I tried. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— amazing. #radreadswomenandpoc #radfivestarfaves

This one was as good as you all said (@mommyfunk, SO GOOD!!) — I couldn’t put it down and it was just the best story of family and forgetting and remembering and rebuilding and redemption. Loved it. I get the Liane Moriarty hype now! What should I read next by her?! // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— amazing. #radreadswomenandpoc #radfivestarfaves

Thanks to @randomhouse for the free book! // First off— this cover is totally misleading... it takes place in the snowy Northeast? Second— the flap mentions a murder that tears apart a group of friends... nobody dies until the VERY end and it doesn’t tear apart the friends at all? Third— I kept waiting for something to HAPPEN or the story to start... it never really did. So... there ya have it. // ⭐️⭐️— it was okay. #radreadswomenandpoc #radtwostarreads

Picked this one up during the World Cup (because HELL YEAH @uswnt!!!) — didn’t realize it was really just a speech Abby gave at a college — still loved it and found it to be such a motivating message. Moral of the story: we are better together. INTO IT. 🙌🏼 (but also a little bothered by college graduation/commencement speeches being turned into books because it feels like a desperate money grab situation... do we really have to package and publish and profit on EVERYTHING?! ...just me?) // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it. #alltheradreads2019 #radreadswomenandpoc #radthreestarreads

Thanks for the free book, @randomhouse! // A main character you’ll root for and relate to and love. A straight male best friend. A baseball player who has the “yips” and can no longer seem to pitch. A Maine setting. Events that felt totally authentic to real life, in the best way. This one was meant for summer reading, especially on a front porch in the evening with a cool drink in hand (which is exactly what I did). It feels like a Hallmark movie just waiting to happen (and I hope it does). // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #alltheradreads2019 #radreadswomenandpoc #radfourstarreads

The second half (especially the last like 20 pages) won this an extra star from me, so if you’re finding it slow or just okay, hang in there! Loved Annika and her quirks (and love a main character on the autism spectrum! yay neurodiversity!) and the supporting characters (Janice... WHAT A FRIEND) and the highlights from counseling sessions. Yes, it’s a slower plot, and yes, it’s slightly predictable, but it was also charming and enjoyable. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— really liked it. #alltheradreads2019 #radreadswomenandpoc #radfourstarreads

It was good, but it was no Hating Game. (My new metric for books, basically.) I was super confused by how this one opened and it took me a while to get into a groove with the characters (although I’m not sure I ever really did) and the chemistry/dynamic between these two just felt weird and it didn’t have that spark I hoped it would. The moral of the story: read The Hating Game. // ⭐️⭐️⭐️— liked it. #alltheradreads2019 #radreadswomenandpoc #radthreestarreads