Hooked on Books discussion

Diversify Your Reading Partner Challenge 2023
January: Memoir

Once you and your partner have finished your challenge, stop by and let us know what you thought of your reads!

🖋️Did you have a favorite book?
🖋️Did you HATE one?
🖋️Did you learn something new?

Let the group know!

My partner was Prinzess Book Dragon : ) I asked that my picks come from a shelf and this is what I read:

First Book Finished:


I had hoped to like this one a lot more than I did. It was more about court cases that some how touched on RBG's life. The randomly distributed bits of biographical information wasn't anything that hasn't already been shared in other works. The formatting also makes it difficult to follow as it isn't in chronological order. Not a true biography/memoir about her life. Probably not something I would ever recommend. I rated it 2 stars.

Second book!


I love Dolly!! She lives less than 20 miles away from me. Her home/property is beautiful. I enjoyed this book. Can't say that I loved it, but I liked it. I listened to the audiobook and it was formatted/narrated like a mash up of various interview clips. A male narrator either asked the question or made a statement and she responded. It worked but I would've enjoyed it more written as non-fiction written like fiction. She speaks frequently about her songs that she would like to see become a story for her shows/anthology series Heartstongs on Netflix. I rated it 3 stars.

Third book : )


I liked this one! I read Free Lunch by same author a few years ago and both books are very similar...both books contain basically the same information BUT I liked this one a lot more. Very sad and a difficult memoir to read due to the neglect, abuse and domestic violence. This was an easy read due to it reading like fiction. I rated it 4 stars.

Fourth book : )


This was a good coming age of story about how many of our choices have life altering consequences. This was a young reader's adaptation of the adult version of The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates that I would like to read in the future. I really enjoyed this book and rated it 4 stars.

Final book : )


This was a very interesting story that I knew very little about. It was well researched and written. True crime just isn't a genre that I read a lot of but glad I read this one : ) I will definitely look into reading more by this author!! I rated it 4 stars!

Thanks Ashley for this fun challenge! I thoroughly enjoyed this and definitely read some books that I probably would've kept putting off until who knows when!

Looking forward to what next month brings!

Robin (Saturndoo) wrote: "Thanks Ashley for this fun challenge! I thoroughly enjoyed this and definitely read some books that I probably would've kept putting off until who knows when!

Looking forward to what next month b..."

Awesome! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed!

I finished Living History and really liked it. I found lots of stuff I didn't know about Hillary Clinton and really want to read more about her. I really admire her breaking some glass ceilings.

My Partner was Lynette and this is what she chose for me and my thoughts:

Completion Post



Book - Educated
Author - Tara Westover
Date Read - 1/12/23
Rating - 3 Stars

Review - I've been listening to this for the past week in bits and pieces. The first part infuriated me to the point where I could feel my blood pressure rising. Then I get to the 2nd part where she starts studying for the ACT and to the end and like everyone else who has read this I began to feel a bit skeptic. I know recollection is tough especially from someone who has suffered abuse by the hands of a family member, but I do have some doubts.

What I believe without a doubt:
1. Her parents are nuttier than a fruit cake. Her dad may have had some mental health issues, but his religious zealously is extreme. Without a lot of contact from the outside world I can see how that would affect the kids and their lack of trust from outsiders.

2. The abuse she suffered from her brother Shawn. He is the biggest POS and he belongs behind bars for life. The fact that people saw and did nothing when they witnessed him hurting Tara is not surprising in the least. Many people will look the other way when confronted with other peoples family affairs. People are afraid of "getting involved" especially when one of the people involved is a fucking violent psycho.

3. That she worked her ass off to get where she is now in her education.

Things that I doubt or believe were possibly exaggerated.

1. Going from absolutely no education, to passing the ACT's with just a couple weeks of study and then getting accepted into BYU. What? Nah..sis, not possible. She claims there was no homeschooling going on, but there had to be something. Also where did she get all the money for all her schooling. I know she received grants, worked some, and received some help, but what about the rest. None of the schools she attended are cheap. Does she own a fortune in student loans or something?

2. The accidents with her father and brothers. You're telling me her brothers brains were leaking out of his head and yet he went to the hospital and then came home the next day. I also have the same doubts about her father's accident in where he supposedly had half his face melted off and recovered without any medical intervention save for his wife's herbs and oil?. I've seen a later picture and he does not appear to have a face that looked like it was melted. Has he had plastic surgery? Not that I can find anywhere.

3. The trip they took to Palmyra, NY. So they drove from Harvard to Palmyra. Ok that's doable. Then she says they took a little detour to Niagara Falls. Umm..I live in upstate NY. My husband's family is from Buffalo. I lived in Buffalo for a little bit. From Palmyra to Niagara Falls is over 2 hrs going in the opposite direction. That's not a detour, that's a planned trip. Once in Niagara Falls, one simply does not go look at one of the falls. If you properly look at the falls, it's a half a day venture in the least if you walk around really fast. Then they supposedly turn around and go back to Harvard which is a 7 hour drive. They didn't stop anywhere and stay the night? It kinda annoyed me when she referred to is as a little detour?

Am I being a bit picky? Probably. It's that some things don't quite add up right.

My partner was Michelle and she chose Finding Me by Viola Davis. My thoughts I love love love Viola Davis but I’m not a big fan of memoirs. Like most memoirs I’ve read, this one meanders and isn’t super well written. The story of her life is REALLY interesting but I never think that I need to know that much about anyone. She’s an amazing actor and a beautiful representative of herself and many Black women but she did not convince me that memoirs are a good idea. Not her fault, just not a fan of the genre.