en-US Sun, 29 Jun 2025 12:01:03 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7694704826 Sun, 29 Jun 2025 12:01:03 -0700 /review/show/7694704826 Amanda gave 5 stars to Melissa (Kindle Edition) by Alex Gino
]]> Review7694698379 Sun, 29 Jun 2025 11:37:09 -0700 /review/show/7694698379 Amanda gave 4 stars to We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life's 20 Questions (Hardcover) by Glennon Doyle
bookshelves: betterment, non-fiction, want-to-buy
]]> AuthorFollowing109971780 Sun, 29 Jun 2025 11:37:03 -0700 ReadStatus9602354087 Sat, 28 Jun 2025 17:01:58 -0700 /review/show/7692751935 Amanda wants to read Welcome to Dead House by R.L. Stine
]]> Review6218158118 Mon, 23 Jun 2025 01:22:20 -0700 /review/show/6218158118 Amanda gave 3 stars to Oathbound (The Legendborn Cycle, #3) by Tracy Deonn
bookshelves: added-in-2024, fantasy, series-to-continue, 2025-releases
]]> Review6081302699 Sun, 22 Jun 2025 18:34:22 -0700 /review/show/6081302699 Amanda gave 3 stars to 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think (Kindle Edition) by Brianna Wiest
bookshelves: added-in-2023, betterment, non-fiction, from-good-authors
There are a lot of pretty trite and repetitive observations/passages in here, but enough essays that did actually make me think more deeply or reconsider the way I handle certain emotions or situations to justify a read. ]]> ReadStatus9578988159 Sun, 22 Jun 2025 18:33:21 -0700 /review/show/5192356748 Amanda wants to read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
]]> Review7654844127 Sun, 22 Jun 2025 18:19:13 -0700 /review/show/7654844127 Amanda gave 3 stars to Burn the Place: A Memoir (Paperback) by Iliana Regan
bookshelves: biography-or-memoir, non-fiction
It’s difficult for me to rate memoirs. In essence, they’ll almost always be a 5/5 - the honesty and bravery it takes to write a memoir is impressive, and who am I to critique someone’s life story?

Still, this memoir didn’t quite coalesce for me. It felt most true and engrossing when the author talks about cooking, foraging, and making meals come together, which was really only 20% of the book at most. The other through lines were around sexuality and addiction - obviously huge parts of Regan’s life and subjects about which I typically enjoy hearing various perspectives. That’s where things felt a little confused and impersonal for me, though. The author recounts events and shares very personal memories, but she herself feels removed from her own story. The emotions and thoughts behind her life story just didn’t come through. ]]> Review7654826455 Sat, 14 Jun 2025 18:02:07 -0700 /review/show/7654826455 Amanda gave 4 stars to Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention— and How to Think Deeply Again (Hardcover) by Johann Hari
bookshelves: 2022-releases, non-fiction
Incredibly informative - a must read for a wide-ranging perspective on our attention and how it’s being degraded on many fronts. I had some gripes with a couple of the chapters and some conclusions the author draws, especially around ADHD, but overall well worth a read. ]]> ReadStatus9532619600 Tue, 10 Jun 2025 15:15:19 -0700 /review/show/7644377151 Amanda wants to read When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines by Graydon Carter
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