About Me

Hi there! You can call me Gil (pronounced Jill). I’m a twenty-something psychology grad student who loves to read in my spare time, and I started this blog because I wanted to keep track of how I think about what I read. Nowadays I mainly read contemporary literary fiction and romance, with the occasional mystery/thriller or YA fantasy novel on the side. Sometimes I also pick up memoirs and nonfiction on feminism, social criticism, and psychology. If you’re also enthusiastic about those genres, I’d love to connect with you! I enjoy talking about books almost as much as reading them.

I post mainly book reviews on this site. I follow the Goodreads guidelines for my ratings:

• 5 stars – I loved it! It’s absolutely my thing and it’s very nearly perfect.
• 4 stars – I liked it. It wasn’t trying to do anything new and/or it had some minor issues, but it was a solid and reliable read.
• 3 stars – I liked what it was trying to do, but I had some problems with the execution.
• 2 stars – I didn’t like it but it had one or two redeeming qualities.
• 1 star – I hated reading this. I am likely not the right audience for it.

In my reviews, I expound on why I liked the book or why I didn’t, and I break down the elements that made it work or not work for me. I also tend to weigh books by how well it meets the standards it sets out for itself instead of comparing it to other books. So I can rate a romance novel 5 stars and a literary work 2 stars, because the former could be well-executed while the latter failed to live up to its promise.

Other things about me:

• I discovered running in early 2019 and now I’m nuts about it, so when I’m not reading (or studying), you can bet that I’m out running. I find that reading and running function in remarkably similar ways for me—they’re both activities that I can immerse myself in long enough to escape the world for a little while.
• I also own a cat called Cat (yes, really), whom I enjoy having around while I’m reading. Doesn’t mean he feels the same way, though, but I bribe him to keep me company.
• I don’t actively maintain my social media accounts, being somewhat old-fashioned for a millennial, but I’m pretty active on Goodreads. You can also find me there.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy looking around.

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