Viola Davis is so raw and vulnerable here and her ability to connect her childhood to the way she navigates both her life and her career is compelling. I do think there is some awkwardness with the writing and structure but not enough to ruin the reading experience. If you enjoy this, please also pick up some of Maya Angelou’s autobiographies. I see some similarities there.

girl, whatever

This is a fun time! I love the game-like quality and seeing Floralinda’s character growth throughout the story. The fairy, Cobweb, is so funny and I even love the witch by the end. Great if you want a short audiobook!

You know what? Hell yeah. This is so sweet and I devoured it! It's cozy and beautiful and it's exactly what I need after days of spiraling.

this is fun. unsettling and then chaotic, exciting ending with humor throughout. if you grew up in the southern US, I think this will be especially relatable

I mean, I guess. idk, this was fine but the writing isn't the best. it was interesting especially in the first half but it got repetitive after that so the back half is a big of a slog.

much of this is plodding along and then something really interesting will happen and then we plod along for a bit. I did really enjoy the ending where Grann discusses the impact of this event, the literature it inspired, the people who weren't able to tell their side of things, and the reasons the story is so different depending who you ask (empire).

What do you mean it's over? 😭😭 I miss them already 😭😭😭😭

I've read almost all of Samantha Irby's essay collections now and the others are fun but there are several in here that go on for far too long. I skipped a good chunk of the sex and the city one. I'm sorry I did not care one bit.

wow! everyone read this duology right now! Octavia E Butler is an unmatched talent. she was able to make me invested deeply in characters in a scifi setting (kindred) and now a dystopian in this duology when I've had trouble connecting to characters in these genres before. the fact that this was written in the 90s is, at first, surprising because of how accurate it is to the world we're living in right now but then sad because we've always been heading here. I did find some kind of comfort and power in all of that, though.

this is fun. nothing groundbreaking but a good time