Tali Mullins

I love this podcast!

Revisado: 06-10-24

I love listening to them talk about the movies of my youth. it gives me a new look at them, and helps me decide whether or not to show my kids my childhood faves. we usually do, and it leads to some interesting conversations. keep up the good work!

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funny and engaging

Revisado: 02-19-23

What's not to love about a book written by the amazing team of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman?

It wasn't hard for me to keep all the characters straight or to follow along with everything going on. I absolutely loved following the last week of the end of the world with these delightful characters and their attempts to twart the apocalypse.

Utter delight.

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great story of finding yourself and true friends

Revisado: 02-05-23

Quinn journals about everything, and one day, her journal goes missing, and someone threatens to release all her secrets unless she completes her "to do before I graduate" list. With the help of Carter and Olivia, two of the other very few Black kids at their elite private school, she begrudgingly sets out to do it.

This is a book about Quinn discovering who she is and growing up a lot, becoming comfortable in her own skin, letting go of her childhood, and really maturing. I'd read the author's other book last year and really enjoyed it, too, so this wasn't a risky read for me. She writes so well and the characters are relatable to anyone who has ever felt like they didn't quite fit in, no matter their skin color. Quinn is called an Oreo, and she says she's fine with it, but she really isn't. She hates the comfortable racism in her peer group, but isn't sure how to call it out, and she and Carter bond over that.

Quinn also has a grandmother dealing with Alzheimer's, and when she talks about that, and a scene with her late in the book reminded me of moments with my dad right after his surgery in 1998, and the last times I saw my grandfather in 2007 and my grandmother in 2012.

I thought it was realistic in the way teens talk and interact and their insecurities and anxieties and yet strength and courage. I really enjoyed it. Joya is great at writing these strong Black girls who don't realize how strong they are just yet.

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intriguing story

Revisado: 01-31-23

Rachel has lived a long life and is read to die. Several long lives, actually. She is 2000 years old and has been reborn, of a sort, several times, married many times and birthed hundreds of children. This is her story.

I liked the alternating between modern and original lives, though I wouldn't have minded hearing a bit more about her other lives. They were hinted at a bit in her memories and conversations, but I wanted more. It was sort of like Addie La Rue, but she isn't quite alone. The man she loved first, in her first life, is also trapped in this eternal life with her. And he keeps popping up, his story weaving in and out. He's super interesting.

I liked the insight to ancient Jewish culture and how it's changed over the millenia.

Very intriguing story.

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a sweet addition to the series

Revisado: 01-25-23

The third in a series, this follows Don as he navigates life as a husband and father and does his best to help his American son adjust to life in Australia and the differences there.

The first book, The Rosie Project, was essentially a Sheldon/Penny from the Big Bang Theory fan fiction (sort of) and I really enjoyed it. This is set about 12 years later and they are now married with a kid. Don has given up his job at Columbia University so that Rosie can advance her career back in Melbourne, to the dismay of their 10 year old son, Hudson. The rest of the story is Hudson navigating the ups and downs of 6th grade and Don trying to help him. Don has, essentially, undiagnosed Aspbergers, and the parents worry throughout about whether or not to have Hudson tested for autism based on numerous things he goes through.

The side characters are fun, the situations are suitably ridiculous, and as a parent, I felt their anxiety and frustration and, at times, sense of helplessness. Hudson did remind me a lot of my oldest son...who has been tested for autism.

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such a fascinating book

Revisado: 01-21-23

Took me a bit to get through this because of a busy week, but what a great listen!

This is a dual biography on two of Old Hollywood's biggest stars, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, and their legendary rivalry. The author tells about their parallel lives and the differences and similarities in their personal and professional lives and how they wove in and out of each other's orbits.

I loved it! So fascinating to me. I love old movies and I honestly wasn't totally aware of their feud, though I had some inkling in the back of my mind about it. I didn't know much about either of them other than both dated a lot, both were considered....bitchy? and Joan was accused of abuse by her adopted daughter Christina in Mommy Dearest, a book she wrote that was then turned into a movie.

I haven't seen many of either of their films, All About Eve starring Better Davis is actually one I really like, and Mildred Pierce starring Joan Crawford is *so* good, even as much as they tamed it down for that era's audiences. This book definitely made me want to seek out more of their films, especially Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.

My favorite story involved Joan obnoxiously knitting just off camera on the set of The Women, just to annoy her cast mates, then pleading innocent. 🤣

Overall, a great, fun, informative read. Both women were involved with it, as were their daughters and plenty of other sources who knew them, so it feels like a lot of the information is probably pretty accurate.

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friends and family aren't that great, but Luke is

Revisado: 01-16-23

This was a cute story, but not quite what I was expecting.

Jane has crippling anxiety around intimacy and relationships, and is in therapy for it. Her therapist suggests she try writing erotica as exposure therapy. When she is unexpectedly downsized, she publishes her stories under a pseudonym. At the same time, the guy she has a crush on, Luke, hires her to help out at his pie food truck.

The author never really comes out and blames purity culture, but as someone who grew up in the church in the late 90s/early 00s, that's pretty much what led to Jane's anxiety and issues. She's always worried about someone watching her, she references the old church ladies talking about never "touching yourself," etc.

Finally! Someone coming for the horridness of purity culture and how it messed up a generation of young women!

Jane's whole family and her best friend all know about her issues, but they seem to kind of brush it off as "oh, enough already. She's 26. 😒 Her best friend is almost callous about it a few times, pushing her into situations she knows will be extremely uncomfortable for Jane (and if it had been me would have resulted in a panic attack and tears).

But Luke is actually wonderful once he's made aware. Good for him.

The inevitable "we're not together anymore" point made a lot of sense to me in this story, though I was hoping he wouldn't be such a jerk about the situation. Luke is the best character, for the most part. Everyone else is...ok.

It took me a bit to get into the story. I kept hoping the other characters would be better to her. Having some experience with the horrors of what purity culture does to a person's psyche, I felt like some of this was pretty good. But her friends and family? Not so great.

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delightful way to spend a couple hours

Revisado: 01-13-23

This is a quick listen and quite an enjoyable way to spend a couple hours.

It's listening to Alan's show, so you do lose something that I'm sure was quite amazing in person, but I quite enjoyed the songs and stories as I was going about my daily chores this morning. I listened to his book Not My Father's Son a couple years ago and absolutely loved it, so was all in for a quick jaunt with him. Plus who doesn't love a Scottish accent?

He sings, he name drops, he tells jokes, he entertains with the best of them, ladies and gents. I'd love to see him in person.

He gets political at the end, but it's something he's passionate about, and something I feel the same way about so I didn't mind it at all, and I enjoyed hearing the immigrant stories and struggles.

If you have an audible subscription, I believe this is included. And it's only 2 hours long.

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challenging but so worth it

Revisado: 01-13-23

Flew through this and it.was.so.good.

Aubrey takes on a bunch of myths and harmful things people say about fat people and breaks them down with facts and statistics. So many times I swore out loud and got mad. I've heard many of them before from people or from her podcast, @maintenancephase but that doesn't make it easier to hear again.

I recognized some of the hurtful and possible harmful things I've done in the past myself, and it made me want to call up friends who are fatter than me and apologize (but that would probably be weird). But now I know better and can do better, something Aubrey always makes me want to do.

I love the layout with the questions at the end of the chapters. Really helps with self reflection and actions going forward.

I may be returning to this one again and again.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

male lead could have been better

Revisado: 01-11-23

Maggie travels around doing home renovations for a you tube show and this time, she's in a small town in Idaho. She meets Hot Landscaper Silas, who immediately falls for her and they begin working together on an old mansion in town with a fascinating history, while she tries to deny her attraction to him and he pursues her and tries to convince her to stay. But she never stays.

This had A LOT going on. Tons of side plots and characters with their own stories, lots and lots of found family members being brought in, lots of little secrets being dredged up and revealed throughout. I enjoyed most of it, but Silas was kind of hit and miss for me.

Sometimes, he was great. And sometimes he really grated on me. He literally drags her out of the house, puts her in a kayak, and pushes her down the river at one point because she needs a break and won't take one. His relentless pursuit of her, I can see how thst would be flattering and ok. And I don't remember if she ever explicitly told him to stop, because she was also attracted to him, but you get the feeling that if she had, he wouldn't have. But he's great with his family and his community and everyone else. Its just that he's pretty disrespectful of her boundaries and it's written as he cares about her so much he just wants to take care of her. So much so that at one point he's nearly driven to physical violence on her behalf. (Maybe it's just me, but ick.) So, yeah, I had mixed feelings about him.

I actually didn't have a ton of issues about her not talking to him about certain things because she was loving her life the way she always had and adjusting to a relationship that was moving super fast while under the stresses of the job was really hard. So...yeah. The non communication didn't actually bother me in this book. His acting like she wasn't treating him right did. Big ole baby.

The mystery was a nice twist i didn't see coming.

I absolutely loved the scene the morning after the big party, with their found family gathered around nursing hangovers together. 🤣🤣 We over 30s can't do it anymore. Farewell to our youths.

Overall, not bad, but Silas could have been better.

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