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This is an absolute masterpiece.

I picked this off a list of 'new feminist speculative fiction books' and dove in without knowing anything about the author or the book itself, and I'm glad I did.

The story incorporates AI, sexual servitude and the sex trade, power, the parameters of the human condition, slavery, and love. It's told from the point of view of a 'doll' who has been created to fulfill the needs of men, and beautifully echos the experience of women in societies around the globe for centuries.

If you get a chance, check out the audio book. It's narrated beautifully and you get to hear the transformation of the main character as she evolves throughout the book.

All of Murakami's books have an element of melancholy to them, but this one particularly so. I appreciate the straightforward storytelling because it adds an element of realism to the characters' engagement with one another and builds empathy for all of them - each caught in their own despair.

I also really appreciate how he writes about sex in such a straightforward manner. It keeps a book like this - with a major component being sexual longing - from turning salacious and gratuitous.

This is my first Katherine May book, and I knew very little about her when I started reading. I love hiking, though, and loved how she took us along with her as she followed this trail over a year's time while working through her own personal journey of self-discovery. May is funny, and also, honest with herself and her readers about her challenges and triumphs. It was a relatable book - not aspirational, but inspirational.

Maybe its just that I, like Havrilesky am a middle aged Gen Xer, but these essays hit the spot. Each one was a satisfying delve into the lifelong materialism and hubris of our parents' generation. Sometimes a little too sanctimonious, but who among us has not fallen into that mode at some point? The world, after all, is a hot mess - and Havrilesky is unafraid of pointing it out while reminding us that who we really are, and what we really need can't be bought or borrowed from popular culture.

I'm new to Roddy Doyle so I didn't know what to expect, and I picked this book because it's pretty short. I really enjoyed it.

Here's the thing about this book. It's not meant to be an academic or scientific exploration of the creative process. It's very much a series of reflections and creative lessons from one of the most dynamic creators alive today. It's got tons of little gems - I read it with a highlighter - and I intend to re-read it. Probably multiple times. It's the kind of book you can pick up and leaf through and find some bits of wisdom that will boost your own perspective on creativity and possibly inspire. Some of it will be useful, some will not - and Rubin acknowledges this.

I really enjoyed it.

This is an 'easy' book to read in that the format allows you to dive in and get immersed quickly in the lives of a whole population of Japanese-Americans at a specific time in our history. The format of telling fragments of multiple stories in the first person is so unusual, but so very effective. However, that doesn't mean the subject matter is easy, and having finished it I'm sitting with some uncomfortable feelings about human nature, American imperialism, and the unfathomably cruel lives that immigrants (from all time periods) have to suffer when they come to this country.

I read Brave New World many years ago and decided to re-read it this year. I'd remembered the general storyline but most of the details so it felt fresh, and I'm glad I chose to go back to it because the perspective I have now in my life makes this book even more fascinating. There are layers of meaning in a book that is at once a commentary on our collective past and a disturbingly clear portend of our future. The peace-built-upon-rampant-consumerism setting is chilling in its likeness to where we already are (and where we seem to be headed) as a global society. It's well worth a re-read if you've not picked it up in a while.

I'm age 49 and I'm going back and reading (and re-reading) some of the classics. I'd not read Orlando before and I have no idea what took me this long. What a story! Virginia Woolf's reputation for being a brilliant, mould-shattering feminist writer and thinker is absolutely well-deserved and I'm in awe that this book was written so long ago but still have such poignancy and relevance to our understanding of the world, gender & sexuality, and the illusion of time.

I started this book on the recommendation of a friend, and while I appreciate the topic and think it's important for everyone to confront the false beliefs that bolster their privilege, I'm not Christian and there was just a little too much Jesus in this book for me. I quit reading it about 1/4 way through.