Tag: College

Books

Book 711: Sticks & Scones (Check, Please! #2) – Ngozi Ukazu

Geoff W

I’m so sad this is over. I waited a full year for it, and it was wonderful, but I’m still sad. I re-read each of the two books twice this time to really soak them in and make sure I looked at the artwork and appreciated the dialogue.

I’ll be frank and say that I’m not sure I enjoyed this as much as the first one. I don’t think it was anyone thing and I don’t think that should detract anyone else from reading it, but for me it didn’t have the perfection or the je ne sais quoi (that’s a nod to Jack ;-D) the first book did. There are spoilers after the jump, so don’t read ahead unless you want to know where #Hockey ended.

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Books

Book 710: #Hockey (Check, Please! #1) – Ngozi Ukazu

Geoff W

After reading this last January, I knew I would revisit it. And thanks to a gift card for Christmas to Barnes and Noble, where I don’t usually shop, I ordered a copy of this and the follow up Sticks & Scones. This was all before coronavirus, and I had Sticks & Scones shipped to my office, where I hadn’t been able to get to it for almost a month after it was delivered 🙁

But when I got it, you know I had to re-read this one. And I loved it as mush as my first read. This time around I spent more time luxuriating in the artwork since I’d read the story previously and didn’t need to focus so much on who’s who and it was worth it.

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ARC, Books

Book 651: Sorted – Jackson Bird

Geoff W

I am always on board for reading anything from LGBTQ+ authors, but particularly nonfiction (memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, etc.). So when the publisher reached out about this one I downloaded it (and somehow actually got to it the week it was published).*

Overall, I really enjoyed this. I mean page one is a J.K. Rowling/Albus Dumbledore quote, of course I was going to enjoy this. I had no idea about Bird’s connection to Harry Potter (or that the Harry Potter Alliance, now known as Fandom Forward even existed)! This being said, I wasn’t totally enamored with the book and didn’t figure out why that was until roughly 80% of the way through the book.

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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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