title: Dream Count author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie publisher: Knopf publication date: March 4, 2025 pages: 416 peppers: 1 (on this scale) warnings: none summary: The book follows four women in their quests to find love, have families, and figure out what makes them happy. tropes: Since this book isn’t a romance, it isn’t trope-heavy. what…
Author: caritagardiner
322. Why Cheaters Lose
There was a morning in the fall when I woke up not in the mood to go for a jog, but I went anyway…and saw the view above and the one below. The real reward from the run wasn’t the sunrise or the rainbow, but the way I felt for having completed the run. At…
NetGalley Review of Promise Me Sunshine
title: Promise Me Sunshine author: Cara Bastone publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback publication date: March 4, 2025 pages: 416 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: lots of talk of death and grieving summary: Lenny (Helen) is barely getting through since her best friend Lou died six months ago. She can’t sleep, eat, or focus, except on the…
321. Why Day One
I’m a big fan of Peloton’s workouts. One of my favorite strength instructors is Logan Aldridge, whose photo above is a link to his website for those who want to learn more about him. On August 5, 2024, he taught a class that I took at a later time. (I almost never take the classes…
320. Why Love Future You
With Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought I’d write about one of the most important and complicated kinds of love. The idea was inspired by a different episode of Dr. Laurie Santos’ The Happiness Lab from the one I based the last five posts on. This episode is called “Does the You of Today Hate…
NetGalley Review of Never Planned on You
title: Never Planned on You author: Lindsay Hameroff publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin publication date: February 18, 2025 pages: 320 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: vomit, tattoos, drinking, hospital scare summary: During her semester abroad, Ali and Graham meet, tie in a bet, and get matching, worlds-worst tattoos. When they run into each other ten years later,…
319. Why Contemplate Your Death
The last topic in this five-part series based on Dr. Laurie Santos’ “The Happiness Lab: How Talking to a Friend Helps” (linked in the photo above) podcast is the most complicated one to broach. I would guess that Dr. Santos and I aren’t the only people who’d prefer to think about ourselves as eternal. I’m…
NetGalley Review of Can’t Help Faking in Love
title: Can’t Help Faking in Love author: Swati Hedge publisher: Dell publication date: February 11, 2025 pages: 272 peppers: 2 (on this scale) warnings: none summary: Harsha’s annoying, competitive cousin is getting married and when she sees Harsha talking with a man at a bar, she assumes the man is Harsha’s boyfriend. Unfortunately, Harsha’s family-approved-type boyfriend has…
318. Why Busy isn’t Productive
The fourth topic on Laurie Santos’ “The Happiness Lab: How Talking to a Friend Helps” episode is about how being busy can get in the way of happiness. At my school, and probably in your life, lots of people feel busy all the time. It’s true what Jim Croce sang, “There never seems to be…
317. Why Manage Stress
Today’s post is the third in my five-part series in response to Dr. Laurie Santos’ podcast episode “The Happiness Lab: How Talking to a Friend Helps,” which you can listen to by clicking on the photo above. Today’s topic is managing stress. I loved the way the podcast framed this topic in terms that reminded…