Ashley

Having never read Jen's blog or previous books, I had expected this to be a humorous collection of short stories regarding over-the-top people during the holidays. This is what the books' title suggests and I didn't know any better until I began making my way though the book.

I DNF'd this book a third of the way in. The portion I read was complaining about her parents' collection of Christmas memorabilia, while, at the same time, talking about how she only has three Christmas trees in her house. This isn't interesting to read and does not live up to any promises suggested in the books' title.

All in all, I am happy I decided to read this book before I bought it for a friend.

In Five Words or Less: Your questions about death, answered.

I received this book from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review

BLUF: Very enjoyable Q&A with a coroner detailing just about everything you want to know about the death business.

The Good

The Format:

The Q&A format is perfect for this book. It keeps the text light and allows the readers to know what exactly we are delving into.

Morbid Curiosity, Answered:

Purcell answers your most important questions:

Do you judge hair people? Like a woman with unshaved legs?

Yes.

What's the strangest item you've found in a body?

I found a remote control and a Snickers bar, still in the wrapper, in the fat rolls of a really, really, obese person. It was sort of uncomfortable having to give the remove back to the family. “Um... We found this...”

“Death is something we all know is coming, yet isn't typically embraced”

“This stuff needs to be normalized.”

The Bad

Though the idea of human bodies being stripped naked and dumped out in nature, left to the animals and elements to desecrate, while researchers study the effects may seem horrific (or incredibly awesome depending on what level of mess up you are), there are tangible benefits to this important research taking place.

Favorite Quotes

I hate, hate, hate to watch shows about death investigations on TV. [...] They have unreal expectations and come up with so many “what-ifs” that it makes things ridiculous! It seems like people look at a case and ask, “Do we have DNA?” No. “Well, then, I don't know what else we can possibly do here. Let's add this to the 200,000+ unsolved deaths and we'll come back to it someday if technology advances.” The realist is, the offender for the majority of all unsolved case is listed in the case notes and is usually someone who'd been mentioned or interviewed within the first five days of the investigation.

If nothing else, I hope you read this book and developed a better understanding of how the death industry works and some of the options available to you. I also hope it encourages conversations within your family about your own wishes for after you die, because when your time comes, your family will want nothing more to honor you by granting your final wishes. Don't make it a guessing game

BLUF: Humorous insight into another's profession and/or the difficult years of being an intern/resident.

Let me start out with acknowledging that the author isn't always truthful in his accounts and has a history of embellishing his stories with events that didn't actually happen. If you're looking for an accurate account, this may bother you and you may want to research the author and his controversy before cracking this book open. If you're okay with the idea that this account may not be entirely truthful, you're in for a treat.

I didn't know anything about this book when I picked it. It was simply one of the new books on my OverDrive library, described as being a humorous account of a doctor's resident years. Well, this book is exactly that.

We follow Matt McCarthy through his first years on the job at a training hospital. As expected, there are many ups and downs in this novel, from interactions with patients and other residents to the trauma that a patient's death causes to the insecurity one feels being new in a field that requires experience.

It's amazing how well the writer can take an everyday life story and transform it into something captivating. This book is an emotional and entertaining read.

I DNF this at 57%..

Mommy Burnout gave me so many emotions that I can't imagine the book intended to provoke - I felt anxious, angry, and stressed. The majority of this frustration was from Chapter 3 because of the portrayal of Linda.

Linda's initial introduction in this chapter is when her family came to therapy together. Her family consists of a very sick youngest kid, two stressed older kids, Linda as the overwhelmed mom, and a busy dad. The book doesn't touch on the youngest kid (I assume he as in the hospital instead of the sessions), but describes how the older kids seem to overcome their stress, the dad was able to work better because of having less stress*, but Linda remained stressed to the core. Therapy sessions were reduced because they came as a family unit and the majority were less stressed.

The chapter continued on, but I couldn't move past this story.

I assume that reducing sessions because of the group dynamic was the practical, real life solution, but this is a book about mommy burnout. Where is the happy ending?** When, where, and how does the mom find relief? Don't get me wrong, I would be genuinely happy that my kids and spouse were less stressed, but I refuse to believe that the happy ending in this scenario, in a book about mommy burnout and whose audience is moms suffering from burnout, leaves the mom still stressed to the core.

I know I paused mid chapter and that there was potentially a happy ending to follow, but I couldn't stop wondering how I could possibly apply this scenario to my own life. The take away here seemed to be that it's okay for me to drown as long as everyone else is fine. I don't accept that. *I also don't accept that the best outcome for dads is for them to be less stressed so they can work better. Can you imagine if someone said the same towards working moms? Aw man, dad is completely overwhelmed with life and the kids, but hey, look at mom rocking it at work! She should totally keep all her focus on that. I'm not saying work or financial stability isn't important and I'm not saying that every family is the same. I am saying that I am offended at the idea that a dad's/husband's success is measured solely through his ability to financially support his family. Because my stress levels are high and I am offended, this may be more of a molehill than a mountain, especially since the book, up until this point, hadn't focused on dads contribution to the family. There is also mention that the less stress came from more “me” and family time, so perhaps the point was that he chose to make time for himself and his family, which then allowed him to be more successful elsewhere in his life. I'll tell you what though, this is not how it felt the first listen.

The next Linda scenario describes her conflicts with her mother and how these conflicts were primarily Linda's fault. It talked about how Linda was easily offended and reactive towards her mother, even when it was uncalled for. I get that it's that Linda's fault for the relationship, but where is the resolution? According to the book, the resolution was for Linda to set aside her differences by appreciating what her mother could give and not dwell on what her mother couldn't give, focusing on her mother's strengths, agreeing to disagree, tackling old relationship issues, learning to compromise because “the benefit of a close connection outweigh the costs”, connecting on your commonalities, and creating two way conversations (by asking questions about her mother's experiences).

Like with the previous scenario, I am left with the overwhelming feeling that everything is Linda's fault and that Linda (and the reader) needs to ignore their feelings in order to support their relationships. I currently appreciate what my mother can give (a visit to the family) and not what my mother can't give (a visit to my entire family - my spouse and often incidentally, my stepson, are excluded) and I don't think it's a healthy way to deal with a situation. The compromise erodes my relationship with my spouse, makes me feel shameful for not being able to successful set boundaries that allow my family - my whole family - to be present, and deadens my feelings towards my mother. Wouldn't establishing healthy boundaries go a lot further? I mean, this chapter is titled “I know my mom is just trying to help, but she's doing too much”, right?

I did not expect or appreciate the push to have family in your life, regardless of how toxic the relationship, on the basis of moms needing support. I think the emphasis here should be that moms need support. Toxic or stress-inducing family/in-laws are not support, even if that mom is the fault of their own drama. If you wanted to talk to me about mommy burnout back when I was around my in laws all the time, I would have started with how they felt compelled to say at least one negative thing towards me each time we stopped by, even if it was about the exact same thing that they praised their biological children for previously. That's not support. You don't have to know your worth to know that it's not worth putting yourself in an unhealthy position for the sake of having a relationship. Doing so seems counterproductive to resolving mommy burnout. (I do maintain a relationship with my and his parents, but it's healthy because of the distance. A close connection does not outweigh the cost.)

When I first listened to this chapter, I was too wound up to focus on the solutions at the end of the chapter. The solution for Linda (and the readers) was to rebuild her “tribe”. The book advises readers to assign friends to each area of our lives, trust others and loosen up on control, stop and say hello to our neighbors instead of running straight into our house, look to the people that are already close by and in our world and take small steps towards connecting with them, join a local club/class/group, follow our passions and interests to your new communities, talk to the people in our daily life, take time to get to know all the people we see every day, and create a leadership role for ourselves (HOA board member, neighborhood watch captain, etc.).

Overall, this seems like good advice and I understand that inserting some purpose into your life and having support systems are incredibly beneficial, but I have a lot of questions: Is the leadership role assuming that moms feel no control or power elsewhere in their life or is this on top of other things that give us purpose and control, like work? Why should moms keep or maintain relationships for the sake of having relationships? Shouldn't these relationships be meaningful or focused on quality over quantity? Why is every solution so extroverted? When does the payout hit for introverts, who are emotionally taxed by these sort of action items? Where is the mom's immediate family - is it assumed that the spouse and kids are helping?

As a total aside, I don't know if it was this chapter or another, but the book recommended walking up to someone at the gym and becoming friends. I am so self conscious and love that I can blend in at the gym. If someone came up to talk to me and beelined to me every time they saw me at the gym, I would be friendly, but completely mortified. Am I really the minority in feeling this way? I will chat at any time and place, to be polite, but I would switch my time at the gym to avoid this situation.

**Linda doesn't earn her happy ending in this chapter. I feel so tense not knowing if she was ever relieved of her stress. (She has to be, right? Why else would she get such a critique?) I can't let go of my frustration long enough to finish the book.

Girl, Stop Apologizing came at the perfect time for me. I was looking for a jump start in motivation and this book did just that.This book is broken into three sections: excuses to let go of, behaviors to adapt, and skills to acquire.Excuses to let go of was the section I needed. This section lists out 8 excuses that I am 100% guilty of making. These excuses cover everything from insecurities to procrastination.It's a catch-22, because your feelings of not enough keep you from proving to yourself that you are. You haven't yet achieved the things you hope for, and so you decide that you're unable to.I know I make these excuses and I know that I hold myself back by believing them. This is not new, but hearing someone else call out these excuses for what they are has allowed me to acknowledge their presence and let them go. This relief is the lasting impact of Girl, Stop Apologizing on my life.The behaviors to adapt section is a self-confidence booster. It's all about doing what you want and embracing your dreams. There is one exercise that I especially appreciate because it asks readers to look at the future they want as a way to set their goals, vs. just taking each day at a time and hoping you get somewhere, eventually. I struggle in the details and often feel overwhelmed in survival mode, so reframing life as striving towards an overall goal genuinely never occurred to me.The skills to acquire wasn't as helpful to me. It felt like a rehash of various self help book ideas - wake up early, drink water, be positive/grateful, etc. The section was so forgettable that I looked up other reviews and blog posts to jog my memory on what the section covered. Based on what I have read from others, I can only assume that I missed the point.To be honest, I came into this book uncertain if I would like it. I didn't click with [b:Girl, Wash Your Face 35542451 Girl, Wash Your Face Stop Believing the Lies about Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rachel Hollis https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513038393l/35542451.SY75.jpg 56965748] and I am often uncomfortable with how much Rachel talks about herself. I was similarly uncomfortable with the amount self talk in Girl, Stop Apologizing, but it didn't stick out as much as it did with her first book.Overall, I gained a lot from Girl, Stop Apologizing - I let go of my excuses, have a better way of establishing goals, and stopped eating as many mindless snacks. Rachel kicked off my motivation and helped me out of overwhelm.(I was not aware of the controversy surrounding the author prior to reading this book.)

I could listen to Brené Brown for days... and I did. While I enjoyed listening to her, I constantly wondered when the book would start. This book contains a lot of stories, but not a lot of actionable advice. My takeaway from Daring Greatly is that we are all insecure with our vulnerabilities and that we all trust/seek out people based on their vulnerabilities, but fear sharing our own.

The long lasting impact of this book on my life was unexpected. I have experienced more empathy towards others when they are vulnerable and I have also become more vulnerable in my relationships. I still hold shame in almost every area of my life, but allowing myself to feel and be vulnerable has let me let go of those negative emotions. More often than not, the shame that I share is not received by others as shame, but as vulnerability, and their response to this vulnerability is most has been comforting. I originally rated this as 2 stars, but increased the rating to 3 stars because of this mindset shift.

“Believe, really believe, that what you desire is here and available to you. And you can have it all.”

This book can be summed up as fake it until you make it and stop obsessing about where you are and start obsessive over where you want to be.

Going into this book, I assumed that the book's popularity was primarily because of its' catchy title. Having finished, I still feel this is the primary driver for it catching on.

The information in this book is pulled from various other self-help books, which is a fact the author shares with readers early on. As with other books, there are some hits and some misses. Some of the hits involve self-reflection, such as paying attention to the parts of your life you aren't happy with so you can determine which habits contribute to your unhappiness. Some of the misses involve unrealistic manifesting, such as purchasing something you want that is out of your means because the universe and your energy will cosmically work together so you will be able to afford it, somehow.

I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author. Her excitement and passion got me excited and more passionate than I may have been otherwise. I enjoy the idea that happiness is possible through changes in our mindset, but I also realize that I'm able to enjoy this idea because I am privileged that the things in my life right now can be improved via mind over matter. I intended to read this book in text form, but I am hesitant after reading other reviews because I completely missed the authors views on depression and physical health. I would likely struggle with this book if there were things heavily impacting my life that were outside of my control.

BLUF: Good way for those who prefer murder mysteries, but want to branch out into the post-apocalyptic genre. (Enjoy!)

I was provided a copy of this book from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review

Plot: Salt is set three years after our world has flooded due to solar flares and earthquakes. Our survivors are aboard a flotilla, which is (essentially) many ships secured together. Among the battles to keep the various clans civil and cooperative, the flotilla's residents must also be weary of a fatal sickness. Not everything goes as well as the flotilla's captain hopes, and when murders begin occurring on the ship he puts Eva, a former police detective, on the case. As she tries to find the killer, the tension between clans rises to an all-time high.

Overall: I really enjoyed this book, but I'm not sure I can do it justice in this review. All I can say is that it hooked me quick and I'm still thinking about how the characters are doing even though I finished the book. (I would definitely read the sequel!)

“Genre”:This book was part conspiracy, part murder mystery, and part survival. I'm a big fan of murder mystery, but new to the post-apocalyptic concept. I was afraid of disliking this book for the sci-fi factor, but I found that the day-to-day happenings in a post-apocalyptic world were well mixed with the murder mystery. The story is smooth and will keep you entertained.

Characters: I was impressed with the character development and how human they were (for lack of better words). Some books seem to make the narrators omnipresent when it doesn't make sense or for them to be over-aware of themselves and their surroundings. I didn't find that here. The characters were intriguing, and as much of a mystery as they would be in real life.

I had every intention of reaching the end of this book, despite the excessive use of exclamation marks and the questionable behavior, but I couldn't continue after what was said about an individual who killed themselves shortly after their gender reassignment:

“The reconstructed female organ looked like a thing from an extra-terrestrial alien! No wonder, a couple of weeks later, the poor patient ended his life by jumping out of the hospital window after his boyfriend walked out on him!”

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book does not provide useful or practical advice. Answers are too vague/don't provide a solid response to the questions/provide conflicting advice. It feels like you're asking someonr a question just to have them shrug and say “Eh, you're doing fine. Ignore your pediatrician, family, friends and keep doing what feels right for you”... but if it felt right, you wouldnt be asking the question to begin with..

Ex.

Question:
“When should I wean?”

Answer:
“If you can wait until he is ready to wean himself, the process will be simpler and more natural.”

After answer, sharing that NO ONE else may agree with you:
“Friends and relatives ask, “What's he doing with a bottle? Can't he drink from a cup yet?” The pediatrician may say, “He doesn't need to nurse or use a bottle anymore.” Others may comment, “He's too big for a bottle.” Negative remarks are directed not just at a child, but at the parents as well.”

Don't listen to them.. or you're messing up:
“If the bottle, breast, or pacifier is taken away from your child too soon, he'll probably look for other ways to satisfy his sucking needs.”

I understand that it can be difficult to find doctors with updated advice, but I would rather the emphasis be on WHY I should or should not do something instead of on ignoring the advice of my doctor in lieu of this book. This book would confuse me more if I hadn't read so many other baby books..

Sorry, last example:
“When will my baby begin to crawl?”“Crawling is an important stage in development, and parents watch with delight as their baby becomes mobile. Although some babies start crawling before they're six months old, most begin between six and ten months, and some never crawl, going from sitting to walking without the middle step. Because children develop at their own pace, each baby will begin to crawl when she's ready. But if your baby has not begun by the time she's nine or ten months old, you may want to talk to your pediatrician about her motor development.”

Ridiculously unhelpful, right? There are a few paragraphs that follow which tell you what your baby does prior to being able to crawl... assuming your baby will crawl..

BLUF: Steady paced murder mystery with realistic characters and relationships.

I was provided a copy of this book from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review

Zane, a recovering alcoholic, was fired from work. After a night of being black out drunk, Zane wakes to learn that his mother has been killed in a fire. Shortly after, Zane receives a strange text suggesting that his mother was not who she said she was. Zane and his sister, Lettie, search to find the truth surrounding their mother and uncover more than they bargain for.

I chose this book because I enjoy narrators who are try to uncover the truth, even if the truth shows that they are at fault for something unthinkable. This book is so much more than what its' (or my) overview can convey.

I found this book to hold a perfect pace. It's not fast or slow – its realistic. The pace unfolds the story in a natural, unrushed way. The relationships between characters were very realistic as well. Because of this, the reader will quickly feel familiar with and root for the characters.

I definitely recommend this book for those who are looking for a murder mystery with loveable, but realistic characters. The author writes in a way that will keep your attention and I plan on reading more from her in the near future.

The downfalls of this book, and please understand that these take little to nothing away from the book, are that the end is wrapped up very quickly. It's well done and leaves the reader feeling complete and content, but it would have been nice for something more drawn out. Also, it felt like the surprises were evenly spaced in the book, leaving the reader to realize that a twist was coming shortly, even if they weren't certain what it would be. I realize these factors will be turnoffs for some readers so I figured I would be honest and give those readers a warning. If these two concepts don't phase you, well, you're in for a treat!

Like with the Never Touch a Shark book, I really like the quality of the touch sections and how much my kids enjoyed this book, but am conflicted on encouraging my kids to physically do something Im verbally telling them not to. It doesn't affect their behavior outside the book, but I think it's a weird lesson. That said, I have bought this book for others because of how much my kid enjoyed it and I found it to be superior to the other touch books my kids had (both in story and in quality). My 1 and 3 year old both enjoyed this book so it has a pretty good range.

I borrowed this as an ebook and had no context to the length of the book except for its' title. Being a “big book”, I expeced 5 or more paw patrol stories and was surprised when the book ended without any story. This book introduces the Paw Patrol team (Chase, Marshall, Rubble, Sky, Rocky, Zuma, Rider) and the Paw Patrol Tower. That's it.

Putting my surprise aside, the 3.5 year old was very excited to read through this book. He had the 6 Paw Patrol beside him and proudly brought them out as the book introduced them. He was stoked.

It's funny because he doesn't actually watch the show. He watches Genevieve's Playhouse play with the Paw Patrol on YouTube.

YA with a twist. boy falls in love with girl, but can she get past the secret he's keeping? There is not enough action in this for me to consider it a full vampire novel. More like.. vampires are a side consideration on this YA novel and provide the minor conflict, almost an after thought, to the remainder of the book. The way the author writes draws me in though.

This quickly became my kid's favorite (3 years old at the time, now 4 and still loving it) and I often catch him “reading” it to himself (from memory). It helps that I made the baby bear a bit over the top, I'm sure.

To be honest, I was a little off put on first read - the book has minimum words and relies heavily on parents to remember the story from their childhood. This works for those familiar with the story, but leaves a lot of gaps for those who aren't.

I suffered a bit of a nostalgia shock when Goldilocks, in this version (and I assume most newer versions) ends the book by making up for her actions. It's a great shift for the story, but I was like.. c'mon, she doesn't even get eaten anymore? I was amused by this for way longer than I should have been. My spouse tells me it's been this way for at least 10 years.

I like these touch books because I like the quality of the touchable areas and because my kids adore touching the animals they shouldn't (after all, how often do you get to do the exact thing your parents are telling you not to do AND not get in trouble?), but I am also confused on why a book would encourage kids to do things they're told not to do in the first place. That said, it's catchy and I chose to buy the book knowing what it was about.

Only other thing was the idea/cheer rhyme. I can only assume idea is pronounced ‘idear' where the author is from?

The kids were gifted the Amazon Kids thing where they have free access to games and books. When this popped up, I wasn't excited, but I like reading so we went with it.. I really couldn't have expected anything else, but now I can share, for certain, that dinosaurs having diarrhea all the way home from outer space is not something I enjoy. Thankfully, the kids didn't either. But... if this is you/your kids thing, you do you.

Love the concept and the pages but.. uh... we had to change “squeeze the bunny” to “punch the bunny” and the bunny still wouldn't squeak easily for my 4.5 and 2.5 year old. It's a really hard squeaker.. I also didn't think through how difficult it would be to read a book when the kids are also trying to make it squeak.

Being fans of Never Touch a Dinosaur and Never Touch a Shark, I had high expectations for this book. Unfortunately, the textiles used weren't as interesting for my kids and they certainly weren't as durable - my 1 year old was all over the paper covering the textiles, causing many areas to become quickly ripped or bent. The kids seemed to like the story, but not as much as the other two books I mentioned so this had a short rotation in our ‘nightly reads' pile.

This is one of my 3.5 year old's favorite book. It's about a friendly little blue truck who gets cut off by a mean dump truck. The dump truck gets stuck and cries for help, but no one cares that he's stuck or bothers to help, except the friendly little blue truck. The blue truck gets stuck helping him and, when he cries for help, everyone comes and saves the two cars. Big mean dump truck learns his lesson and the book ends.

My kid likes it because of its rhythm and the repetitive horn beeping from the truck. There's a page or two that are awkward rhythmically to me, but overall I just think it's short, sweet, and cute.