Nonfiction, Recommendations Deedi Brown Nonfiction, Recommendations Deedi Brown

Becoming

Rating: 5/5 | What a truly fantastic memoir. You're probably hearing that from everyone who's read this book, and that's for good reason. Its beautiful prose and thoughtful structure make it an easy yet powerful read. (Click the post to read more.)

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Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices, #2)

Rating: 4.5/5 | This will be a quick review as it's a book two, and obviously I loved the first one and just can't wait to get to book three. And also I'm dying and was totally crushed by that ending and WHY JUST WHY. (Click the post to read more.)

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Rice Girls

Rating: 3.5/5 | Thank you to the author, Emily Kim, for providing me with a copy of this book so that I could review it! Rice Girls was a really unique (for me) and engaging story, once I fell into the rhythm of the writing style. (Click the post to read more.)

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Bonfire

Rating: 4/5 | This was an impressive debut novel for Krysten Ritter! I'm not always a fan of thrillers (they're such a rollercoaster ride), but this one was fun to read. She gives you just enough information to know that you have all the pieces of the puzzle, if only you could figure out how they fit together. I listened to the audiobook during my Thanksgiving car rides, and I really enjoyed it. (Click the post to read more.)

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Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, #1)

Rating: 4.5/5 | Cassandra Clare has done it again. There's a reason she's sold so many books: She's really great at writing characters you absolutely love and putting them through adventures you can't ignore. (Click the post to read more.)

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The President is Missing

Rating: 3.5/5 | This book was just plain fun. I think that's what you get with books in this mass-market thriller category in general: Not quite "literature" per se, but very exciting and entertaining quick reads. They are like sitcom television. (Click the post to read more.)

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Calypso

Rating: 3.5/5 | Calypso was delightful. I listened to the audiobook, actually, which I love to do with nonfiction because the author usually reads it. Listening to Sedaris read his books is especially fantastic, and this one was no different. To parrot what literally the entire rest of the world says, he is hilarious and very real. (Click the post to read more.)

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What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky

Rating: 4.5/5 | I first read the title short story from this collection ("What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky") through The Season of Stories. I was immediately blown away, and I forwarded it to all my lit friends so I'd have someone to talk to about it. (Click the post to read more.)

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Ruin and Rising (Shadow and Bone, #3)

Rating: 4/5 | This was the conclusion I knew would be excellent, the reason I read the first two books. This one flew by faster than the first or the second did; I read it in less than 36 hours. (Click the post to read more.)

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An American Marriage

Rating: 4/5 | Wow. There is so, so much to unpack from this book. It was an incredibly poignant and purposefully uncomfortable look at so many things—marriage, love, parenting, friendship, race, manhood. I will be thinking about this one for a long time. (Click the post to read more.)

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Siege and Storm (Shadow and Bone, #2)

Rating: 3.75/5 | Here's the summary of how I feel about these books so far: Alina is super dumb and makes me want to punch her, but the magic system is really unique, and the plot has drawn me in. (Click the post to read more.)

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Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone, #1)

Rating: 3.75/5 | I entered the world of Leigh Bardugo via the Six of Crows duology, which I loved. Friends promised that the Shadow and Bone trilogy wouldn't disappoint. The first book started slowly, but once it took off, it really drew me in. (Click the post to read more.)

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Call Me By Your Name

Rating: 4/5 | Call Me By Your Name was lyrical prose at its best. Aciman has written a masterpiece that rings with emotion, youth, and passion, both the good and the bad. (Click the post to read more.)

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Uncensored: My Life and Uncomfortable Conversations at the Intersection of Black and White America

Rating: 5/5 | Zachary Wood is an impressive person. He wrote his memoir like he lives his life: free of judgment, open to interpersonal connection, assertive but not aggressive, and with plenty of room for the reader to maintain his or her dignity and opinion. He seeks to understand, to connect, to challenge assumptions, and to broaden both his and his readers' understanding of the world. (Click the post to read more.)

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