my opinion matters

Because I read so much, not every book is a home run. Some are tedious and others are predictable, equally devastating sins for fiction. Sometimes I choose the wrong books and don't challenge myself to read something different. Even more disappointing, I sometimes judge books by their titles and covers and think they're something else without reading the description. Shame on me. My husband and I celebrate Jolabokaflod, an Icelandic tradition where you gift each other books on Christmas Eve, get in your pajamas, eat chocolate, and read. This past Christmas we had a 3-month-old baby at home and I didn't have time to choose books and my husband chose carefully from high-rated lists on Amazon, and he chose Klara and the Sun  for me, and I am forever thankful. It is rare to read a book that sticks with you and noodles around in your brain months later, and I believe that is the mark of successful fiction. Maybe it's shocking or sad or makes you think about things differentl...

 When You  was published, it was like nothing I had ever read before, or since, for that matter. I was in the head of Joe Goldberg, an obsessive murdering stalker who made you root for him. And it was amazing. So amazing, that Netflix optioned it and made it into a series, which is equally amazing even if it doesn't follow the book plot the way all of us book nerds would like. Then Caroline Kepnes [who you should really be following on Twitter because she's hilarious] wrote a follow-up, also starring Joe Goldberg, titled Hidden Bodies . Because the first book was so amazing, I had high hopes for the second, which is usually disappointing. And this was too - the book was great, but not as great as the first, and I figured this is where the series would end. The writing was great but the plot was a little too fantastical. But I'm a huge fan of Kepnes, so when You Love Me , the third in the installment, was announced, I of course pre-ordered on Amazon because even if it was ba...

Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life. Creepy but awesome There are a lot of ways to answer that question, and ultimately it matters if we mean essential to living, or essential to modern life. For example, I don’t have to have clothes depending on my situation, but because I have a job and I live in Ohio, I have to have clothes. How much I have is up to me, but I definitely have to have something. I would also include a laptop/tablet/phone on that list, because you have to be able to be reachable for work and by family. But I totally get the point, and that’s how The Girl Before begins. Apparently, I have a different perspective than most, because I still believe The Circle is the greatest thing ever and I would totally sign up for it today. While reading The Girl Before , I also found myself craving minimalism and how nice it would be to not have a thousand items cluttering up your space and your life. Plus, a super tech-centric home ...