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Book 866: Under the Whispering Door – T.J. Klune

After loving everything I’ve read by Klune so far it was obvious I was going to read this. And then, when it appeared on NetGalley AND I was approved, I had to sit on it for SO. MANY. MONTHS.* It was 100% worth the wait.

Having not read any of Klune’s “adult” books, this one feels more mature than his superhero books (The Extraordinaries and Flash Fire) or The House in the Cerulean Sea. Most of this is directly because there are no young adult characters and this deals so much with the topics of death and grief. And it brings up so many philosophical ideas about life and death that I’m sure I still missed plenty.

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Books

Book 683: The Gravity of Us – Phil Stamper

This was a good story. It’s probably better than I’m giving it credit for, but that’s the way it goes when you read a lot of books.

I’m not sure if it’s an across the board meh or just a meh for right now. I know this one will stick with me so maybe it’ll improve with time. I really enjoyed Cal (Jr.) and Leon’s story and adored the nerdiness of the whole work but most of it was overshadowed with the “realness” of the characters. And yes, I feel like a total ass saying I want less real characters.

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Book 342: The Anxiety Toolkit – Alice Boyes

My friend Caitrin (of podcast fame) sent me an article from Refinery 29 about this book and after checking it out I knew I needed to read this book. I reached out to the publisher, Perigee Books (publisher’s site), and they generously provided a copy of the book in return for my honest opinion. In addition to the book, there is an amazing free resource at theanxietytoolkit.com!

Last year I had a panic attack which resulted in a hospital visit when the lingering effects didn’t go away. I was already in therapy for stress, so I was convinced I was having a heart attack, but I wasn’t. That experience resulted in my researching more about anxiety and ways to deal with it. Between therapy last year, I “graduated” 😀 last month, and reading this book I’ve come to realize I’ve always experienced a lot of anxiety but I’ve developed really good coping mechanisms throughout the years. Now on to the book!

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