Fight Oligarchy

Concise, easy to read, well stated, ESSENTIAL! I read this short manifesto in under 90 minutes and man it packs a punch and gets you mad. Bernie Sanders has been fighting the oligarchy for decades so he knows what he's talking about and he knows what's effective at disrupting it. At no point in our country r world's history has so few people held all the money and power. It's disgusting, disruptive, and dangerous. This book is perfect for anyone, regardless of political affiliation (he craps on the democrats too!), because it is a cliffs note book on what is wrong in our country, how it got that way, and how to fix it. Very impactful, I've already passed this book on to someone else to read!

Yesteryear

I don't normally enjoy books where the main character is supremely unlikeable, but this book was hard to put down! Natalie Heller Mills is an influencer, a tradwife to be exact, although she resents the term. She and her perfect husband and her perfect children live on a huge ranch and they work the land, homeschool their children, and live simple lives. But what if it's not all that it's cracked up to be? What if there are two realities, the one that social media users see and the one that's really happening? One morning Natalie wakes up and she's in her room, but it's not her room and it's not her family. She's back in time, in the late 1800s and she has no idea how or why? Is she on a reality show? Did she eat something weird? Life may have looked wholesome and easy, but having to put in this level of work (no washing machines!!), is tedious. Told through multiple storylines, Yesteryear is raw, thought provoking, and unputdownable. I didn't see the end coming!

Thinky Thoughts

Very much in the same style as Jenny Lawson, this collection of humorous essays discuss motherhood, trauma, womanhood, writing, friendship, love, and more. I felt personally seen in some of the essays. Gwenna has a way with words and her humorous turn of phrases or funny insight really helped this book shine. I especially loved the essay that was from the sofa's perspective, it was so sweet and heartening, and her author's note at the end was a delight as well. An excellent book of essays that will make you feel less alone and more seen. 

Make Believe

Are you freaking kidding me?!? This book is a love letter to children's literature and is a MUST READ! It was funny, insightful, and so essential. Mac Barnett is a beloved children's book author and he decided to use his influence and platform to write a book for adults about the importance of making and reading GOOD books for children. No summary will do this book justice; Make Believe is a slim, 180 page rallying cry for authors, librarians, editors, educators, and adults who read to children. Mac talks about why kids are so amazing and why we need to make the books they WANT not the books we think they need. Kid's books are worthy and not just for kids. Kids deserve the same appreciation and care that give to adult books. Essential reading! I liked it so much, I bought my own copy after reading the library copy.  

Murder in an Irish Village

This was the cute start to an Irish cozy mystery series. I related to this book a fair bit. Not because I'm a gorgeous, talented red haired Irish beauty; but because Siobhán O’Sullivan is the oldest daughter, has six siblings, and has dead parents (I have one dead mom and that's enough, but you get the picture). Since her parent's unexpected death by a drunk driver, Siobhán has become guardian of the younger siblings, taken over running her parents cafe, and deferred her dream of going to Trinity College to stay home and make sure the family stays together. When they open up the bistro one morning and find a dead body (the brother of the drunk who killed their parents!), Siobhán knows she has to get to the bottom of it to clear her family's name and save them from financial ruin. It doesn't help that the town police has their eyes firmly set on James, the eldest brother because he was on a drinking bender the night of the murder. Full of twists and turns, figuring out who the murderer was, eluded me until the very end! I'll read more in the series for sure! 

The Daisy Chain Flower Shop

Dream Harbor is so cute and lovely and I love getting to read every new book in the series. The Daisy Chain Flower Shop features Daisy, flower shop owner and newcomer to town, Elliot. After the mayor has a vision of a storm cloud above Daisy's flower shop and three couples who used Daisy to make their wedding floral arrangements have split up, the town of Dream Harbor has decided that the Daisy Chain Flower Shop is cursed and business practically dries up. Desperate for newcomers, Daisy decides that a fake relationship might be the thing to turn her business around. They'll never actually develop feelings for each other... right? Fake dating is probably my least favorite romance trope, but whatever, it's fine. Not my favorite in the series, but it's cute, quick, and fun. I'm interested to see who the next couple will be, it's shaping up to be Elliot's brother and the town vet!

Dungeon Crawler Carl

I'm annoyed it took me so long to read this! Freaking obsessed. Hell of a great start to a series. I was hooked from the very beginning. Snarky, laugh out loud funny, adventurous, gory, and fun - this has something to appeal to most everyone. When Carl runs outside in the middle of the night to rescue his ex-girlfriend's cat he doesn't expect the world to essentially end. But while he's outside in his leather coat and frayed boxers coaxing Donut down from a tree every building in the world sinks into the earth's surface killing anyone and anything that was unfortunate to be inside at 2am. Immediately after that happens, thousands of portals open up and tempt surviving humans to enter within one hour if they want to survive. Inside the entrance is a series of levels filled with insane beasts and monsters. Carl and Donut will have to take them on in order to survive. And if they do well, they can get sponsors and be featured on intergalactic tv as trillions of beings around the galaxy are tuned into the games. How deep in the dungeon can he go? And did he just become best friend's with his exe's cat (who can also talk now). So much freaking fun!