Perfectly Imperfect

May 29, 2015

Even though I make mistakes, I can fix them. I like the lessons that teaches my kids: nobody is perfect, apologize when you hurt someone's feelings, and always try to do better.

E's Birthday Survey, 2015

May 22, 2015

The girl is five. Here are her answers to the tough questions in life.

On Being Older Than My Dad

May 18, 2015

Today is my dad's birthday and I realized: I am officially older than my dad ever was.

For the Moms Who Have Lost

May 8, 2015

It surprises me when the pain reappears, typically not on a scheduled day but just in a quiet moment or when I hear a song that reminds me of him.

April in Review

May 5, 2015

What a month!

Imagination Creation

April 29, 2015

From as far back as I can remember, I always loved reading and writing.

B's Birthday Survey, 2015

April 24, 2015

Here are a few of B's favorite things.

40 Before 40: Potty Training

April 20, 2015

Parenting is hard. And messy. And, to be honest, gross sometimes.

The Destroyer

April 17, 2015

I realized my son had turned overnight. He wasn't Brandon anymore... He was The Destroyer.

The Place Between Baby and School-Age

April 8, 2015

They were laughing. I was frozen, afraid to move, because I didn't want to interrupt their moment.

Featured

Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin

SJM is a master at bringing so many supporting characters to life with limited space. She shares their stories at the perfect time and then their reactions to events, their words--however few--mean so much more with how she sprinkles them in.

Review: The Opposite of Loneliness

One of my favorite things about Keegan and this book is her amazing talent to bring you immediately into a story (which is incredibly important for short stories and essays because you are working with such limited space).

Review: The Andy Cohen Diaries

I did appreciate how "real" Andy made himself--bad parts and all. There was no sugarcoating stuff. But, overall, just a "meh" for me.

Review: The Husband's Secret

I'm late to the Liane Moriarty fan club but I've enjoyed the three books I've read from her so far. Quick, suspenseful, and they usually leave you guessing until the end.

Review: Hi, Anxiety

I appreciated the author's humor when writing about difficult topics and it is her humor that saved me and kept me reading.

Review: King's Cage

I enjoyed this book a lot more than “Glass Sword,” but it didn't quite capture everything from the first book, which I loved.

Review: Southern Charm

And, let's be honest, because I'm a Real Housewives franchise fan so of COURSE I'm gonna read a book by one of the RHONY ladies. I mean, OBVIOUSLY.

Review: Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later

It was part nostalgic, part hate-read, part "guilty" pleasure--even though I felt no guilt.

Review: Glass Sword

I didn't feel connected to any of the characters--I'm not sure why I felt so disconnected after how much I enjoyed the first book in this trilogy.

Review: Big Little Lies

Rape as a plot point is lazy. You can display the same emotions, get to the same end, without using this constantly. It's cheap, it's unoriginal, and I'm just done with it.

Review: Bad Feminist

A hard-to-put-down book with equally hard-to-read essays. She went from making me laugh to making me shake in frustration to nodding in vigorous agreement.

Review: Most Talkative

Andy's natural tone feels more like he's talking to a good friend than an author writing a book.

Review: Truly Madly Guilty

It just felt too long. Too much buildup, too much aftermath. I would have loved the book if it was shorter because the core of it was really interesting.

Review: The Art of Asking

This book read more like a series of autobiographical essays centered on the themes of asking for help (obviously), SEEING people (not just looking at people), vulnerability, trust, and love.

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury

SJM is a master of character development. This book was a slow build yet so thrilling at the same time. Sorrowful, yet somehow joyous. This book even made me appreciate ACOTAR that much more. She added so much detail, made little things make sense.

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Once I got about halfway through it really picked up. This is a book that if you stick with it--which honestly isn't hard even though it's slow, SJM writes amazing characters--it's worth it in the end.

Review: We Should All Be Feminists

It has made me think about so many things--one of which being how I'm raising my daughter AND my son.

Review: Brave is the New Beautiful

I want every woman I know to read this. We are all brave. We all have stories, we all have struggles. We are in this TOGETHER and should lift each other up instead of comparing.

Review: Modern Girls

And the ending! If ever there was a book begging for a sequel, it was this one. I want to know what happened next!

Review: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

So funny and relatable.

Review: The Couple Next Door

Good luck putting this book down once you start--I was up way too late because I simply could not stop reading.

Review: A Re-Read of Bird by Bird

And honestly, if you're a writer, this really is a great book. There are so many prompts and ideas for jumping off points that I ALWAYS finish feeling inspired.

Review: West of Sunset

It is based on the last few years of Fitzgerald's life, a time he spent in Hollywood dealing with his demons and desperately longing for and trying to once again achieve some success.

Review: A Re-Read of The Handmaid's Tale

I just hope that in a few years I can still say the book is a work of fiction and didn't end up being a preview for things to come.

Review: Beauty Queens

I know a lot of people who loved it, and I enjoyed it enough to still recommend it to anyone looking for a satire. Libba Bray did a great job with that.

Review: American Housewife

You know it's bad when one short story takes you days to get through.

Review: Empire of Storms

Whenever I doubt SJM & a character she's created or a storyline, she ALWAYS comes through with something brilliant, exceeding all expectations.

Review: Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The biggest recommendation I can give is to read it in book form (as opposed to e-readers)--there are so many pictures, graphs, notes, and other fun things to look at as you read.

Review: Gemina

Just as in the first book, I loved the different format; the story was told via IM conversations and camera footage and even court records (and more!).

Review: The Girl Before

Suspenseful, page-turner, quick read.