Tag: College

Books

Book 647: Red, White & Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston

Geoff W

This is your warning—this post is a mess. I’m going to have to re-read this a few times before I can really wrap my head around why I enjoyed it so much.

I’m not even sure I’m going to be able to say why I loved it as much as I did. Just know that I read the entire book in three sittings (an hour at the gym, roughly seven hours at home [from 5 pm – to midnight] and then about an hour-and-a-half in the car on our most recent trip to Maine.

I was always going to love it because of the numerous Jane Austen [“‘Stop trying to Jane Austen my life!’ he yells back.” (180); “But you went after him!!! That’s SO Jane Austen!” (281)], Star Wars, and Harry Potter references, but other than that the chemistry of Alex and Henry was to-die-for. Like my heart hurt on so many occasions from joy and sadness and y’all, the cliffhanger between chapter nine and ten nearly broke me.

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Books

Book 605: Almost Like Being in Love – Steve Kluger

Geoff W

I knew Tim didn’t read this blog, but I didn’t realize how little he paid attention to what I read. He recommended this after I basically forced him to read Check, Please! (#Hockey! #1) and the whole time I was reading this he was worried I would think it was too corny. And I kept telling him, PLEASE, you don’t even know how much I love this shit.

Almost Like Being in Love is the story of Travis and Craig told in a modern epistolary format, including internal memos, diaries, research requests, and eventually emails. From their budding love as seniors at a boarding school to 20 years later when Travis seeks Craig out after they grew apart when they went to separate colleges on opposite coasts in the US.

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Books

Book 590: #Hockey (Check, Please! #1) – Ngozi Ukazu

Geoff W

(Check out my updated 2020 response.)

My heart is glowing after reading this. Seriously—I will probably read it at least 2-3 more times before I surrender it to the library. There’s just something so sweet and innocent about this and I cannot wait to read volume two: Sticks and Scones.

I found this after Sarah over at Sarah Reads to Much released the list of the Morris Award finalists (which she helped select). The blurb and the cover pulled me in so I added it to my list to check out at some point and then it appeared on someone else’s blog and I was like alright I’m in.

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ARC, Books

Book 545: You Think It, I’ll Say It – Curtis Sittenfeld

Geoff W

I’m slowly making more progress on my ARC/Galleys. It’s been a while since I last read a collection of short stories, last summer I read a couple of collections, but they’re not something I seek out very often. So when the publisher reached out about this one I figured why not.*

I’ve enjoyed Sittenfeld’s writing, Prep, from way before I started this blog and more recently Eligible, her retelling of Pride and Prejudice as part of the now (seemingly?) defunct The Austen Project. The downside of this collection in particular, is because I enjoy Sittenfeld’s writing, I had already read at least three, if not five of the previously published short stories of the ten, but I’ll talk more about this later.

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Books

Book 524: The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet – Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley

Geoff W

Like the Damon Suede book I just finished, when I finished finally reading The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, I went to my local library to see if they had this. I didn’t necessarily want to read it, but the completionist in me was like there are only two books in the series so why not. So here I am almost two months later finally writing my response.

Let’s start with the bad: I honestly don’t think Austen would’ve wanted Lydia to be this likable or this redeemable. I get that Rorick and Kiley, and the writers of The Secret Diaries of Lizzie Bennet web series made creative choices, but Austen very rarely wrote redeemable characters unless they were the stars of her novels (i.e. Elizabeth and Darcy). Lydia’s comeuppance  was to spend her life with Wickham basically exiled from her family. That doesn’t happen in The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet and this isn’t a bad thing as it definitely makes this a lot more readable, it’s just not the same to me.

Now on to what worked great!

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