*favorites are highlighted

A Handbook of Contemporary Spanish Grammar, Second Edition

boring, dragged on forever, wouldn't have finished if it weren't an audiobook for some long drives

thought-provoking, insightful. easy to read without being shallow. one I'll come back to.

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf

had trouble connecting with parts of it, prob bc I'm white, but loved certain parts

insightful but I found the sexual assualt scenes deeply disturbing - maybe worse bc I was listening to her narrate what happened?

enjoyed but didn't love it. couldn't really relate to the main character and didn't like the ending.

good recap of Caliban, with some updated info (more global focus)

more detail than I'm interested in, but I'm glad I stuck with it because the last section was my favorite. overall an incredible piece of scholarship.

clearly meant for a broad audience, very skim-able, but some moderately helpful takeaways

various papers/articles/chapters about environmental valuation

wonderful. space-time is curved! space IS the gravitational field!! quarks exist as interactions but not as objects!! the multiverse is mind-boggling immense!!! we are all stardust!!!!

also read a bunch of papers/chapters about policy analysis

Obnoxiously male-centric. Also directed towards beginners so felt less relevant to me than Friel's. Also included less of the science behind it all than Friel did. Still helpful to have a different POV, though.

vey compelling, well-written, strong relatable voice

informative, but I want more specific workout suggestions. or how to translate a normal workout plan into HR-based training.

beautifully written, inspired me as a writer

not a fan - she writes off (and kind of mocks) everyone who doesn't share her worldview.

Oct. 2019 (I got distracted by my roommate's Netflix account for the first couple weeks of October - Grey's Anatomy lol)

very good, thought-provoking, somehow less depressing to me than Brave New World - a comparison I find really interesting.

interesting but after listening so much to Where Should We Begin, and after reading State of Affairs, I felt there weren't very many new ideas for me to discover here.

fascinating! Convinced me that total sexual exclusivity for life is a potentially toxic expectation even in the most compatible of couples. Opened my eyes to the broad spectrum of ways you can negotiate monogamy and the meaning of “commitment" within your relationship. Hammered home the point that being in a relationship does not mean you are entitled to your partner’s sexuality or any other part of their identity; and that it takes a lot of careful, intentional and open communication to work out a system of expectations/commitment that works best within each unique relationship.

super interesting; I was more interested in some parts than others (of course) but loved learning about what training approaches are actually evidence-based, and what the evidence is for each technique. For example, one of the easiest ways to increase your biking velocity is by using an aerodynamic bike/position. Also, there is exactly zero evidence that strength training on dry land can make you a faster swimmer. And warmups are pretty important, but there's no scientific evidence that cooldowns have any positive benefit. I am full of triathlon training facts now!

laugh-out-loud funny and also upsetting. Would recommend to anyone.

I felt disappointed that it was so policy-oriented with so little personal detail. But I came away with a deepened respect for her! I especially liked her leadership lessons described in the last chapter.

just as good the second time! I read it to inspire myself to sign up for that OBX marathon in November.

made me love her. I wrote a couple of paragraphs about it on my website!

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

good but too long/detailed. Also too binary for my tastes, even though she tries to acknowledge that.

I couldn't help but compare to Educated, since I read them back-to-back and they're both memoirs by people in their 20s. Sissy brings up some important points about gender but I feeel won't be approachable to (cisgender) people who've never thought about gender. Also I just don't like "sassy" or jokey or self-depricating writing styles. But overall, worth a read if only to hear an oft-unheard perspective.

loooooooved it - felt so relatable even though her life is totally bizarre! amazing

liked way more than I expected. clever dialogue, likeable main character even if her inner life can sometimes feel flat.

obviously very good - a little more fantastical / weird than I'd expect but way more sociocultural diversity represented than would be typical - which I love!

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

really interesting; I wish there were a full updated version (as it came out in 2008)—the afterward felt lacking. A lot of the specific examples in the book weren't interesting to me, but the examples that did interest me were super compelling. Overall I think they make a strong argument for the kinds of policy changes they're recommending!

dumb. assumes thin = better and doesn't question the sexism pressuring women to be smaller in general

interesting to think about what's going on in the head of someone on the spectrum

I liked learning about the sugar industry's influence on not only policy but also public perceptions/opinion

incredible - super complex novel that came together with what felt like a non-predictable ending

excellent insight into the life of a poor black family in Mississippi. I even liked the ghost that showed up towards the end

love that best-selling fiction by a black woman exists. excellent world-building, but the YA elements (dramatic one-sentence paragraphs, predictable coupling-up of characters) was a little tiresome

John Bradshaw and Sarah Ellis

fascinating... but so far I've been unsuccessful in implementing these techniques

Sustainable Agriculture and Resistance: Transforming Food Production in Cuba (parts)

Martin Bourque, Nilda Perez, Luis Garcia, Fernando Funes

more technical than I wanted, but still very interesting

super memorable characters and scenes. liked a lot more than Handmaid's Tale!

loved how personal this is! I was especially interested in her thoughts on balancing a career with motherhood. And her comments on the challenges of being married to Barack Obama!

I know she's been criticized for failing to acknowledge how much her money enables her to "lean in," but I still was impressed by how she managed to explain the ways women hold ourselves back--without putting blame on women.

so clear-headed, detailed, and eye-opening. For a Hillary fan, I was shocked to realize how little I actually understood the email scandal-- and that was part of her problem.

a really engaging read but also kind of forgettable.

incredible. her writing is poetic, but also perfectly captures the monotony of long miles on the road without being boring

super engaging. love how she tackles issues of race and culture differences

good but I couldn't really relate to the strong themes of motherhood (or even daughterhood)

funny but I wasn't motivated to finish it

boring - but turns out he's fascinating in person

Our Towns: A 100,000-mile Journey into the Heart of America

Deborah and James Fallows

UNC Admissions Book Club

fascinating. I thought it would get monotonous or repetitive but it never did!

I love that I sort of understand some of these things now!

Excellent - really insightful into the life of a writer

UNC Admissions book club

excellent. dark in a funny way. no redeeming characters.

good but more for someone in a new leadership position than someone at the bottom of the ladder

Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the Upward Spiral That Will Change Your Life

I'm trying to get better at buying into this.

I think I've been using a lot of these tactics for a long time without realizing.

honestly: it was lovely, dark, and deep

good but I couldn't help but compare to Americanah which I just LOVED

interesting. couldn't figure out if this was feminist or... antifeminist

excellent - could relate to large group of siblings with stepsiblings thrown in the mix

really good; but not as mind-blowing as I'd expected

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie