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A New York Tate of Mind
A New York Tate of Mind
In which this reader and explorer reviews books, muses on literary (and other) matters, and shares some of her adventures.

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My 1-5 rating system:
1 = I did not like it and would not recommend it.
2= It was fine. Read it if the subject matter interests you.
3 = I enjoyed it and would recommend it.
4 = I really liked it, and think you should read it!
5 = One of the best books I've read.
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Review: Real Americans
3/5 stars Real Americans , by Rachel Khong (2024) This is a reluctant 3, but the book is better than a 2, so here we are. The story is...
tatedecaro
Oct 11, 20243 min read


Review: The Golden Spoon
3/5 stars The Golden Spoon , by Jessa Maxwell (2023) Oooh this was fun. I enjoyed this. A murder mystery that takes place at an American...
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Sep 19, 20242 min read


Review: Cackle
3/5 stars Cackle , by Rachel Harrison (2021) Manhattan-living grade school teacher Annie has recently been dumped by her boyfriend of 10...
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Sep 14, 20242 min read


Review: The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson
3/5 stars The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson , by Ellen Baker (2024) Cecily is 94 years old, with a loving , if a bit neurotic, daughter,...
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Sep 14, 20242 min read


Review: A House With Good Bones
5/5 stars A House With Good Bones , by T. Kingfisher (2023) To me this was reminiscent of Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the...
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Aug 19, 20242 min read


Review: What the River Knows
1/5 stars What the River Knows , by Isabel Ibañez (2023) TW: Normalized alcoholism I feel like I can't really top the GoodReads review I...
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Aug 15, 20244 min read


Review: You'd Look Better as a Ghost
3/5 stars You'd Look Better as a Ghost , by Joanna Wallace (2023) TW: Child abuse, elder abuse, and. a lot of murder I'm very on the...
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Aug 15, 20242 min read


Review: An Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder
4/5 stars An Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder , by C.L. Miller (2024) Freya Lockwood was an orphan when she went to live with her quirky...
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Aug 13, 20242 min read


Review: Witch of Wild Things
3/5 stars Witch of Wild Things , by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland (2023) A fun little book of magical realism. Sage Flores has a special gift...
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Aug 8, 20242 min read


Review: Rivers of London
1/5 stars Rivers of London , by Ben Aaronovitch (2011) TW: Misogyny & sexism I was so looking forward to this because it's the first of...
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Jul 14, 20242 min read


Review: The Book of Delights
4/5 stars The Book of Delights, by Ross Gay (2019) It IS a delight, this book! Ross Gay's essays remind us to look around each day and...
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Jul 13, 20242 min read


Review: For the Wolf
1/5 stars For the Wolf, by Hannah Whitten (2021) Cover - good. Idea for story - good. Execution - terrible. I read this a while back and...
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Jul 10, 20243 min read


Review: The Familiar
3/5 stars The Familiar, by Leigh Bardugo (2024) I'm not mad, Leigh. I'm just disappointed. You can do so much better! This gets a 3/5...
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Jul 5, 20243 min read


Review: None of This Is True
2/5 stars None of This Is True, by Lisa Jewell (2023) TW: Pedophilia, Sexual abuse, Abuse of the mentally ill, Alcoholism, Victim blaming...
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Jun 27, 20242 min read


Review: Even Though I Knew the End
4/5 stars Even Though I Knew the End, by C.L. Polk (2022) At barely over 100 pages, this was a quick read, but Polk manages to create an...
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Jun 27, 20242 min read


Review: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac
3/5 stars Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, by Gabrielle Zevin (2007) Naomi would be your typical high school kid, except that she hit her...
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Jun 18, 20242 min read


Review: The Door of No Return
5/5 The Door of No Return, by Kwame Alexander (2022) TW: Violence, descriptions of the slave trade, mention of rape “Black history began...
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Jun 5, 20242 min read


Review: Book of Night
3/5 stars Book of Night, by Holly Black (2022) First of a series which.... I think I'd be interested enough in to keep reading? Not...
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Jun 4, 20242 min read


Review: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
4/5 stars Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, by Jesse Sutanto (2023) “People always say that your wedding day is the happiest...
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May 29, 20242 min read


Review: Then She Was Gone
4/5 stars Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell (2017) I've read two Lisa Jewell books before and really enjoyed them (The Family Upstairs...
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May 20, 20242 min read

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