expandingbookshelf

Long time lurker, occasional contributor. I like long walks on the beach, immaturely judging people and wine. Follow my reviews at https://expandingbookshelf.wordpress.com

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expandingbookshelf's Reviews:

I Have a Lot of Feelings about “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling and Jack Thorne

February 20, 2017 by expandingbookshelf 6 Comments

*Warning: this review features a LOT of Caps Lock and has a tendency to ramble. Buckle up* Back in 2007, we all stumbled home from our midnight release parties and read the final Harry Potter book, racing against the sunrise, desperate to find out how it ended. We turned off our phones and chugged coffee, stopping only for reluctant bathroom breaks. Hours passed, and with three small words, the story that defined a generation ended: “All was well.” Flash forward a decade. Turns out…all was not well. For those of you who don’t know, “Harry Potter and the […]

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2/20/2017 expandingbookshelf's CBR9 Review No:4 |

A Nazi, a Fascist, a Communist, a novelist, a countrywoman, and a Duchess walk into a bar-and I don’t know what happened because I didn’t finish the book

The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters by Laura Thompson

January 21, 2017 by expandingbookshelf 2 Comments

I hate quitting on books. Hate. It. Because I’m a fast reader, I can usually convince myself to stick with my read. But I white-knuckled my way through about 100 pages of “The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters” before I finally tossed it and moved on. Life’s too short. I’d never heard of the Mitford Sisters before but I guess they’re pretty famous. They were socialites who managed to deliver more drama than the Kardashians. Beautiful, witty, articulate and unpredictable, they were at the forefront of a changing Europe. There was Nancy (the writer), Pamela (the boring one), […]

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1/21/2017 expandingbookshelf's CBR9 Review No:3 |

Did I Write a Book and Forget??!

You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein

January 8, 2017 by expandingbookshelf 4 Comments

In this fractured, fearful and uncertain climate, one woman is challenging the status quo, speaking truth to power, and asking the questions the system doesn’t want you to ask. That woman is Jessi Klein. Her question: “Seriously, did Richard Gere shove a gerbil up his butt? Like all the way up there? Whatever, I’m just going to believe it’s true.” Now, I’m not going to pretend the occupancy status of American Treasure Mr. Richard Gere’s backdoor is the central thesis of Klein’s “You’ll Grow Out of It” buuuutttt…it does show up. That’s all I’m saying. “To Kill […]

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1/8/2017 expandingbookshelf's CBR9 Review No:2 |

God Save the King

The Woman Who Would Be King by Kara Cooney

January 6, 2017 by expandingbookshelf 2 Comments

I think all of us went through an Egypt phase in school. It was right after our paleontologist phase and right before we became too cool for phases. We devoured any National Geographic with the pyramids on the cover, became a little too knowledgeable about the macabre process of mummification, and spouted off as many facts about the “cool” pharaohs that our patient parents would listen to. There was the trifecta of the most badass pharaohs to ever pharaoh-Nefertiti, King Tut and Cleopatra. Well, with due respect to the Big Three, Hatshepsut might leave them in the dust. Kara Cooney’s […]

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1/6/2017 expandingbookshelf's CBR9 Review No:1 |

Gone, Baby, Gone

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

October 28, 2016 by expandingbookshelf 7 Comments

It’s the kind of story that keeps parents up at night. After Anne and Marco Conti’s babysitter cancels at the last minute, the couple argues about what to do. Anne wants to cancel their dinner date next door. Her neighbor Cynthia has made it very clear their six-month old daughter Cora is not welcome. Marco convinces Anne to go anyway. They’ll bring the baby monitor. They’ll check on their daughter every thirty minutes. She’ll be fine. Annie, wine-drunk, struggling with postnatal depression and watching her husband flirt with her hot-ass neighbor wants to leave after a few hours. It was […]

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10/28/2016 expandingbookshelf's CBR8 Review No:70 |

How can something so weird be so unmemorable?

The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman

July 6, 2016 by expandingbookshelf Leave a Comment

So I have a confession team. I’m seriously behind on my book reviews. Like ridiculously behind. Like my to-review pile has morphed from an achievable goal to a series of personal insults. Even the heading doesn’t respect me. Way harsh, Tai All of this to say, when I realized my next book to review was this book I finished weeks ago, called The Teleportation Accident, I had one reaction. A quick scramble to Wikipedia gave me this blurb. From the author of the acclaimed Boxer, Beetle comes a historical novel that doesn’t know what year it is; a noir novel that turns […]

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7/6/2016 expandingbookshelf's CBR8 Review No:69 |

Buckle. The Fuck. Up.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

July 5, 2016 by expandingbookshelf 3 Comments

Like Tyrion Lannister, I used to be a cynic. I thought it possible there were not truly original ideas left in fiction. I used to think, after so many years of reading like it was my job, there weren’t any books left that would knock me on my ass, keep me awake until 4 a.m. when I had to work in the morning, cause me to be so engrossed that I literally did not hear my friends trying to get my attention. I thought I knew things. Dear Reader, if you feel the way I did, may I humbly direct […]

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7/5/2016 expandingbookshelf's CBR8 Review No:68 |

I Feel Like I’m Taking Crazy Pills

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link

June 27, 2016 by expandingbookshelf 3 Comments

It’s a terrible feeling to hear praise heaped upon a new book, read it yourself and…not get it. Your mind starts playing games with itself: Everyone else liked this book, what’s wrong with you? Do you just not understand it? Is that it, you idiot? You focus on the book a little harder, maybe if you squint at the freaking book, all of this praise will make sense. But still…it’s just not there for you. That was my experience with Kelly Link’s collection of short stories Get in Trouble. Ecstatically reviewed, roundly praised by authors I admire, I really thought […]

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Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name.

6/27/2016 expandingbookshelf's CBR8 Review No:67 |

faintingviolet on Quick Questions with a Cannonballer – Jen KI'm so glad you're back, you were one of the first cannonballers (along with Malin, emmalita, narfna...) to make me feel truly welcome my first...
Jen K on Random Pennyroyal Green SelectionThe oldest brother’s story is the last in the series. It’s good except for a flash forward epilogue that was a bit corny.
Jen K on Questioning identity and a prophecy to fullfillDamn autocorrect - I even corrected it the second time. Kushiel!
Jen K on They do it because they canSometimes I wish people with intriguing ideas would pitch their premises to great authors and let them run with it.
alannaofdoom on Two are one, life and death, lying like lovers in kemmerLove love love love LOVE Le Guin. If it's not already on your list, I recommend "The Dispossessed," which is my favorite of her Hainish...