sareidle's reviews
155 reviews

Traveling the border of Russia was quite the feat, and I felt like I was on this journey with Erika. When I told my friends and family about what I was reading, I would often say: "We're in [insert country] today," to describe my progress in the book. I learned a lot about Russia's influence and history through the changing borders and conversations with locals. Historical anecdotes could be dense at times, and I was thankful that I took a course on Imperial Russia in college. I also recommend reading her book Sovietistan first as she references those experiences in this book.

I first read Gatsby ten years ago, and it's interesting what I remember from that read versus what I noticed this time. As a teenager, I was enamored by the glitz of the Roaring Twenties and found a role model in Jordan Baker. I enjoyed Nick as a stand-in character for the reader, as he is a keen observer and does not take initiative. The story is very tragic, but I appreciated how information was gradually revealed.

I recognize now how Fitzgerald designed the characters to illicit different reactions from the reader. For instance, Tom's awful personality and affair make him unsympathetic, so we don't care about his feelings

when Gatsby and Daisy get together.

Jordan and Daisy are foils, representing two distinct paths for women in the 1920s. However, their similarities in social class and carelessness for others matter more than their life choices.

Overall, I think part of what has made The Great Gatsby a classic is that you can learn something new about the characters and about yourself each time you read it.

A fantastic sports novel with an excellent voice cast. I especially enjoyed the music for the tennis announcers before their commentary. Basic knowledge of tennis is helpful in understanding the descriptions of the matches and strategy for different players. Carrie is tough to love, but I think it's great to have a ruthless female athlete when male athletes are praised for the same traits.

I liked the essays at the beginning of the book about being the only Black friend someone has and the microaggressions that well-meaning white people still make. Ben's perspective as a Haitian-Canadian who moved to the United States was enlightening and made me re-examine America's structural racism and how unnatural it is. The narrative dragged in the middle, and I wish Ben unpacked some of his loaded experiences with friends and acquaintances who used him as a pawn to act out their racial fantasies. Overall, this is a fine book but I prefer All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson. 

It took me some time to get invested in this story, partially because it was over-hyped as essential reading for girls and young women. I did enjoy Anne's wonder of the world and Marilla's internal dialogue when she thought Anne was justified in her response but still showed poor manners. I was surprised at the time span of the story; it is truly a coming-of-age tale. I am more familiar with The Little House on the Prairie which spends more time on the Ingalls girls' youth and I thought this series would have similar pacing.

I will start Anne of Avonlea soon and look forward to reading more of Anne's adventures!

I think it is a great shame that I learned of this title because of its status as a banned book rather than the quality of the writing. I'm so glad I listened to George's story and I hope LGBTQ+ teens can read it, too. George's maternal family is truly special and shows the benefits of accepting all family members, regardless of their identities and personal lives. George's tribute and apology to their trans cousin was touching.

I enjoyed learning about Soviet Central Asia through Erika Fatland's eyes. The prose was very readable and propelling. I liked how the history of each country was woven in to the travel diary style of writing. I was most interested in the Soviet era history, but each country has a long and rich history that is often unknown by westerners. 

This book helped me place all of the puzzle pieces together of things that I observed and criticized in American Evangelicals for years. Seeing the bird's eye view of how mainstream Christianity has shifted in response to societal changes demonstrates how Evangelicals care more about power and influence than Christ's message. There are many factors that have led to the current predicament of the United States in 2025 and Kristin Kobes Du Mez did an excellent job presenting her research on the white evangelical side.

That said, the misogyny and dog whistle racism was hard to listen to repeatedly. I felt myself getting angry when quotations from evangelical leaders and conservative politicians were read because it was so divorced from the actual teachings of the Bible. While this is a very important book to read, based on my experience, I recommend reading it in moderation.

An enjoyable reflection and reminiscence on life in the '90s and 2000s. I liked Kate's voice and how she played with words - their sounds, double-meanings, etc. While the narrative did drag a bit at the 60% mark, I appreciated Kennedy's honesty about her struggles with infertility and her advocacy for reproductive healthcare.