3/5 stars The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom, by Shari Franke (2025) TW: Child abuse (physical, emotional & psychological), sexual assault (adult/minor relationship), toxic relationships, religious trauma, cult-like authoritarianism. If you don't know, Shari Franke is the eldest daughter of Ruby Franke, former mommy-vlogger turned cult-like Mormon child abuser. Ruby ran a popular YouTube channel called "8 Passengers," referring to herself, her husband Kevin, and their 6...

5/5 stars - Yes, Please, by Amy Poehler (2014) - re-read 3/5 stars - Bossypants, by Tina Fey (2011) I read Yes, Please in 2017, and really loved it. This year, after I read Bossypants, I thought it might be interesting to re-read Amy Poehler's book and compare/contrast. And it was; It was interesting! All in all, Yes, Please was better (for me). Poehler's personality is a bit more fun, a bit more eager-to-please, and her approach to memoir is vulnerable and revealing. Fey's personality on the...

2/5 stars A Guardian & a Thief, by Megha Majumdar (2025) Bleak. If you like a book where everything goes wrong (to the point where you're like, all of this happened to one family in one week??) and everyone ends up miserable, I guess this one's for you. I'm not someone who needs a happy ending for every story, but some modicum of hope, at least, is what gets the reader through the worst sorts of depravity, poverty, and desperation. A likable character or two also helps. I really thought this...