When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Simply and brilliantly written.  Fail gently my friends.


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Book Slut

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are not many authors who can make you root for a scamming, sex addicted, thieving, selfish slime, but Palahniuk succeeds.  And this is his true gift.  Palahniuk makes us fall in love with life and people, even on the grittiest level.  He makes us see ourselves in dirty, sticky mirrors whether we want to or not.


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The Hours by Michael Cunningham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book gets three stars because it is honestly beautifully written.  This book fails to get any more stars because there is really only one character in the entire book, who is not one of the three main characters, who is written in such a way that you honestly care about what happens to them and who's story is truly meaningful (Richard).  The three women who we follow through the chapters struggle endlessly with feeling like they are watching themselves from outside of their own bodies and are simply too self indulgent and pained with their 'struggles' while they live charmed lives of creativity and excess.  This book rivals Eat, Pray, Love as a feminist's worst nightmare.


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The Hours by Michael Cunningham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book gets three stars because it is honestly beautifully written.  This book fails to get any more stars because there is really only one character in the entire book, who is not one of the three main characters, who is written in such a way that you honestly care about what happens to them and who's story is truly meaningful (Richard).  The three women who we follow through the chapters struggle endlessly with feeling like they are watching themselves from outside of their own bodies and are simply too self indulgent and pained with their 'struggles' while they live charmed lives of creativity and excess.  This book rivals Eat, Pray, Love as a feminist's worst nightmare.


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Phoenix by Chuck Palahniuk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars




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Guts by Chuck Palahniuk
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am trying very hard not to give my review of some of the other reviews here, which are clearly indicative of people reading material that is far more than an outlier to their comfort zone.  That said, my opinion of this short story is that it is classic Palahniuk; written in the manner that one would verbally recount such a story to another and worded with expert precision.


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2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut
My rating: 5 of 5 stars




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The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have a hard time giving books five stars, but with this one, I do so without reserve.  I read this book because I was simply engrossed in the HBO series and I wanted more.  Something about the darkness and the unknowing in the show felt like home to me and the book delivered the same.  As a person who is addicted to observing the human experience, this book could not have been more in my wheelhouse.  One of the things I love the most about this story is that all of the characters are reacting to an unexplainable trauma, and all of them are right in how they process their grief.  It couldn't possibly get more raw than the meandering thoughts of a woman whose entire family inexplicably disappeared who arrives at the conclusion, "Now that she knew the truth, she could see that she'd lost a little less than she thought she had, which was almost like getting something back."


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Stranger Than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So, to be fair, some of the stories are a little slow and I think that is mostly because I was disinterested in the subjects, but the biography and autobiography sections of the book by far make up for what is lacking in the initial stories.  I really loved the undercurrent of recurring connections in each story.


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Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Honestly, I had high expectations of this book and it just didn't do it for me.  I was ready to roll with a good story about a girl who was just alike all of us deep down, and I just could not connect with Bridget.  I had a few moments of giggles, but I honestly feel like the book encourages the very worst of obsessive female behavior, and while I see that Bridget was supposed to sort of represent 'every woman,' she certainly didn't hit the mark for me.


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The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories by Tim Burton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Still gets five stars!!!


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100 Reasons to Love Ryan Gosling by Joanna Benecke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sure did just read the whole thing while standing in Urban Outfitters.


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The Strain by Guillermo del Toro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Excellent!  Finally, a new and interesting take on the classic vampire genre that doesn't involve romance or emotional angst.  While I didn't really seem to identify or connect with any of the characters, the book was fast paced and read like a movie.  I had a fantastic time imagining the scenes.


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Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A solid read... but, I still think Gone Girl is better.  I kept waiting for something really shocking to happen; for an unbelievable twist in the story and it just never came for me.


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Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While this book was not epic or life changing, I truly enjoyed it and found myself unable to put it down.  I am quite certain that most women of the feminist persuasion will absolutely hate the stereotypes presented in the characters, but I found them to make fora quite fascinating ensemble.


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All the Lonely People by Jess Riley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had mixed responses to this book. Many passages were well written and well phrased. I just found parts of the story to be a little cheesy and predictable.  The writer does an excellent job of relating the human experience, but I was really unable to relate to or sympathize with the main character most of the time.


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Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Such a reliable author.  Never disappoints....  Burroughs and Sedaris need to get together and make a baby.


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The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the most beautiful and poignant stories I have ever read.  There is rare honesty in these characters.


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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Unbelievable.  Riveting.  Tragic.  Addictive.


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