What I Read: 2021 so far

Well, what I read in January, February, March, and April, at least, is below. Enjoy! As always I’d be delighted to hear what you’re reading too.

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, by Ross Gay - I adore Ross Gay. His writing hits me in precisely the right spot with charming honesty, calming and particular awareness, and a superb ability to pinpoint reality with all it’s grit and despair and somehow leave you hopeful and inspired and a little more in love with yourself than you were at the start. This is a collection of his poetry that I loved. His book The Book of Delights, is one of the most transformative and important books I’ve ever read and should be required reading for everyone.

Network Effect, by Martha Wells - Murderbot is so fun. I love this series. This is the 5th of them all, start with All Systems Red. Murderbot is a security robot who has become sentient. Has to decide whether or not to engage with the human nonsense going on or watch programs. Fantastic character, exciting story. Great stuff.

Happily Ever After Playlist, by Abby Jimenez - A fun and light contemporary romance. I listened to this and the narration was good, the story interesting, and the steam was nice. My only irk about it, which is just my thing, is that part of the plot and the relationship surrounds one of the characters hectic work life as a musician. My thing is that if it’s their passion (which in this case it is), then I have a hard time reading about someone’s “true love/soulmate” trying to compete with or make them do the thing they love less, you know? Anyway, that’s a rant for another time. It was a small thing and the story was cute.

Broken, by Jenny Lawson - I really appreciate Lawson’s honesty, her humor, her detailed writing of struggles with mental illness and the multitude of ways it manifests. My favorite of hers is still Furiously Happy, but this was a great read.

Terry Goodkind books - Pillars of Creation, Naked Empire, Chainfire, Phantom, Confessor, The Omen Machine, The Third Kingdom, Severed Souls, and Warheart - I can’t talk about these well enough. This is a series that branches off into other directions, and I came to a stopping point with Warheart that I’m sitting with for a while. There is a conclusion to lots of the issues, a resting point for lots of the characters, and I’ve never read anything better in my life than this series. Nothing I’ve ever read before has become part of my brain and my life like these did. If I was cursed to read only this series for the rest of my life, that’d be absolutely fine. I don’t know how to express it but you should go get them, starting with Wizard’s First Rule, then hit me up and let’s chat! I need more people to get their eyes on these words. I’m already rereading them.

Call Me Zebra, by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi - I did a review of this book here

Goodbye, Again: Essays, Reflections, and Illustrations, by Jonny Sun - I got an ARC of this book and found it absolutely delightful. It’s on the quiet and meditative side, but delves into some big questions, and does a lot of thinking about solitude, worthiness, and family. There are essays, poems, some just sentences, but all are lovely bits and pieces of words, with drawings interspersed. If you’re a houseplant person, you should make an effort to get this. There’s a wonderfully lovely theme about caring for plants here that expresses what I aspire to (I suck at houseplants and am currently just trying to keep succulents alive) in a way I haven’t seen before. My favorite bit is at the end of the book, where Sun ranks the last few minutes of life in order of meaningfulness before the end of the world. It’s incredible what he accomplishes here in just a few pages.

Grin and Beard It (Winston Brothers #2), by Penny Reid - I started this last year on audio after the series was recommended on a podcast I enjoy. I read the first one and thought this was cute too. A smidge lengthy for my personal taste in romance reading, but it was nice. The series as a whole follows the adventures of brothers who all have beards. The way Reid incorporates such a large cast of characters, all of whom are quite distinct, is commendable. Steam level is pretty significant, but not super frequent if that is a factor you want to consider.

Lireal, by Garth Nix (Abhorsen #2) - TIM CURRY NARRATES THIS SERIES WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT. Ok, here’s more. This is the second in a series, but I think you could read it on it’s own and not be too lost. It follows a different character several years after the events of the first book ends. It’s a great adventure with dark magic, cool library stuff, a talking dog sidekick, and a main character/hero who doesn’t seem to fit in and isn’t sure what to do with themselves.

Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro - Before this, I had only read one Ishiguro book and that was way back in college for one of my English classes. I loved that book, The Remains of the Day, and just never ended up getting to more of his work until now. This story revolves around Klara, or about how Klara discovers the world. She is a service bot, and her universe is both complex and simple. In telling a story like this, Ishiguro is able to highlight the things that make us human, that make relationships intimate and valuable, and what possibilities subtle shifts in attitude, choice, and understanding can mean for different people. This book was compelling for how impacting it was. It’s not fast or a thriller, the things that are mysterious aren’t shocking or jaw dropping, but they make you think in a significant way. An excellent demonstration of what 26 letters can accomplish. Also the cover design is lovely.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Act Your Age, Eve Brown, and Take a Hint, Dani Brown, by Talia Hibbert - These are quite a treat. I listened to them and the narration is very well done, in my opinion. Each story follows one sister of the Brown family as she navigates personal choices, career goals, overcomes struggles, AND (of course) meets an incredible dude who delights in her, supports her, struggles with her, and cherishes her. I loved the reality these books share. They have minimal angst and Hibbert describes relationships that are healthy, loving, and improving. There are significant challenges that both the sisters and their counterparts each have to deal with that I haven’t seen described elsewhere, especially in romance books, and I appreciated seeing that. Another thing I enjoyed about these women is that they reflect real human bodies. The banter, the situational romance tropes, and the steam are well measured (for me). These would be great vacation or beach reading. They were highly entertaining to me.

Celebrity Book Club Update: May 2021

What are the book clubs reading in May? Here are some highlights:

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - Open Water, by Caleb Azumah Nelson

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - And Now I Spill the Family Secrets, by Margaret Kimball

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - Great Circle, by Maggie Shipstead

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner

Oprah’s Book Club - What Happened to You? by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey

Celebrity Book Club Update: April 2021

Here are the celebrity book club choices (and a few other club’s picks) for the month of April 2021. Several of these titles are ones I haven’t seen or heard of before and are now on my TBR list.

Happy reading!

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - Northern Spy, by Flynn Berry

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, by Deesha Philyaw

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano: A Novel, by Donna Freitas

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - Good Company, by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - Crying in H Mart: A Memoir, by Michelle Zauner

Girls Night In Newsletter - Detransition, Baby, by Torrey Peters

Celebrity Book Club Update: March 2021

Well…it’s March…again…

This time last year I was about to order a giant cheesecake from Costco and eat a slice a night all on my own while contemplating the state of things that now have been…the state of things for a year. No cheesecake this time. Maybe later.

Here’s what folks are reading this month:

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - Infinite Country, by Patricia Engel

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - Sorrow and Bliss, by Meg Mason

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - The Arsonists’ City, by Hala Alyan

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - What’s Mine and Yours, by Nalma Coster

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - This Close to Okay, by Leesa Cross-Smith

Girls Night In Newsletter - Milk Blood Heat: Stories, by Dantiel W. Moniz

Amelia Unabridged: A Novel, by Ashley Schumacher

Amelia Unabridged, by Ashley Schumacher, is a deeply touching story about loss, grief, and how it moves with us through time as we grow, and the ways in which we deal with the painful absences that life brings with it.

Here’s the synopsis:

“Amelia Griffin is obsessed with the famous Orman Chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy N. E. Endsley. They’re the books that brought her and her best friend Jenna together after Amelia’s father left and her family imploded. So when Amelia and Jenna get the opportunity to attend a book festival with Endsley in attendance, Amelia is ecstatic. It’s the perfect way to start off their last summer before college.

In a heartbeat, everything goes horribly wrong. When Jenna gets a chance to meet the author and Amelia doesn’t, the two have a blowout fight like they’ve never experienced. And before Amelia has a chance to mend things, Jenna is killed in a freak car accident. Grief-stricken, and without her best friend to guide her, Amelia questions everything she had planned for the future.

When a mysterious, rare edition of the Orman Chronicles arrives, Amelia is convinced that it somehow came from Jenna. Tracking the book to an obscure but enchanting bookstore in Michigan, Amelia is shocked to find herself face-to-face with the enigmatic and handsome N. E. Endsley himself, the reason for Amelia’s and Jenna’s fight and perhaps the clue to what Jenna wanted to tell her all along.”

And that’s just the beginning. There’s so much that happens in this story.

I adored the way Schumacher deals with family difficulty, friendship pains and loss, immense remorse, feelings of guilt and abandonment, trauma from unexpected hardships, all the while weaving an intricate adventure of fantasy that helps Amelia to confront and deal with these griefs, and explore mysteries that need to be untangled.

I was so impressed by all that this book accomplishes.

Amelia clings to narrative and stories to help her through life and through these deeply painful experiences in ways I recognized. It is handled so precisely and beautifully.

This story will resonate with readers who are still in their youth and less youthful folks like myself who felt that books were a lifeline during times of chaos and deep personal pain.

The hints of magic and fantasy illuminate the beauty of the grief we all deal with at some point or another. Schumacher writes about love, loss, community, and belonging in ways I’ve never seen managed like this before. It’s cultivated so well.

For me, Amelia Unabridged was not a light read. But I loved it.

It pulled emotions out of me that were heavy and thick and intense, and I think it’s important for readers to know that about this story going into it. But I wasn’t mad about it. Schumacher earned these feelings from me and not once were they, or I, left un-cared for.

It was a wonderful reading experience I would highly recommend to everyone. I’m eager to see what Schumacher writes next.

Amelia Unabridged, by Ashley Schumacher, is available now wherever you get your books. You can find it here on Amazon, here on Bookshop.org, and as an audiobook here available from Libro.fm (worth noting that purchases from Bookshop.org and Libro.fm help support independent bookstores which in turn benefit their communities).

**Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for my digital review copy, all opinions are my own.

Let's Get Back to the Party, by Zak Salih

I am so thrilled to have the chance to share this book with you. Let’s Get Back to the Party, by Zak Salih, is a phenomenal exploration of culture that explores the impact of changing laws on different generations, the ways we love and how we live, and captivates with an exquisite, sharp narrative and well drawn characters that share their entire worlds with us readers.

Here’s the synopsis:

“It' is 2015, weeks after the Supreme Court marriage equality ruling, and all Sebastian Mote wants is to settle down. A high school art history teacher, newly single and desperately lonely, he envies his queer students their freedom to live openly the youth he lost to fear and shame.

When he runs into his childhood friend Oscar Burnham at a wedding in Washington, D.C., he can’t help but see it as a second chance. Now thirty-five, the men haven’t seen each other in more than a decade. But Oscar has no interest in their shared history, nor in the sense of belonging Sebastian craves. Instead, he’s outraged by what he sees as the death of gay culture: bars overrun with bachelorette parties, friends coupling off and having babies. For Oscar, conformity isn’t peace, it’s surrender.

While Oscar and Sebastian struggle to find their place in a rapidly changing world, each is drawn into a cross-generational friendship that treads the line between envy and obsession: Sebastian with one of his students, Oscar with an older icon of the AIDS era. And as they collide again and again, both men must reckon not just with one another but with themselves.”

I was incredibly impressed with this novel and with Salih’s mastery of language and story. It’s heart rending and so well told. Sebastian and Oscar’s choices, circumstances, opinions, values, and lives, prompt empathy, critical thought, and hold nothing back. It’s a brilliant honesty of feeling that I was so grateful for.

I won’t soon forget this book and am so eager to see what Salih writes next. Let’s Get Back to the Party is out Tuesday February 16th, 2021, wherever books are sold.

I’m giving away a finished copy of this book over on my Instagram account if you’re interested (open from 2/15-2/17 at midnight PST, US entries only this time)

**Thank you so much to Algonquin books for the gifted review copy, all opinions are my own.

Accidental emails

At the very end of last year, an unexpected email ended up in my inbox.

Not in my spam or promotions or whatever Gmail decides to use as classifiers.

This one ended up in with all the others I go through daily.

It was from a nursery; the gardening kind I used to go visit with my mom and her then-fiancé on Saturday mornings when I was 8 and they were planning landscaping for the front and back yards, and the dark pavement inside was always mostly damp and we were always there much earlier than I wanted to be awake so my skin felt that prickliness of being not asleep anymore but not fully present either, but definitely colder than I’d choose to be.

I haven’t been to a nursery like this in years and have no idea how their newsletter ended up in my email.

Was it just a mistake or simple typo, a letter or a number off between me and some other stranger who does want to know what the 3 most popular types of lavender are?

It’s different then getting someone else’s letters in the physical mail, because at least you can send those back to the post office and they can do some reverse change of address + address forwarding magic and deal with it and it’s out of your hands. You’ve done your duty.

This though. This there’s nothing to do anything about.

Anyway, I saved that first email.

Marking the year’s conclusion, the author referenced the final turn of a hummingbird calendar. They spoke of the gratitude and solace that had been found in turning to the earth for comfort during the multitude of trials during the year that wrecked nearly everyone in some unforeseen way.

Woven throughout was the thoughtful attention and acknowledgment of the loss of one of the community’s dear friends.

The whole 2.5 paragraph note was infused with the most peaceful and inspiring sense of calm supportive safety, the likes of which I haven’t ever seen in an email before, and rarely come across anywhere for that matter. Digitally or otherwise.

I was floored and reread it three times.

It’s miraculous that I happened to stumble onto this, or that it ended up in my pathway in the first place.

It feels like I have accidentally wandered into this inside communication of tenderness between these people who cherish the earth and the things they are growing and each other.

I often daydream about the other members of this email list while I’m doing errands, washing dishes, or out on a walk.

How many of them have been to this place?

How many of them open their email and know what they are looking for?

Did they see a plant featured and think, This is the stuff I’ve needed and now I can make my garden better, so go grab your gloves, Louise! We’re going to the nursery!

Today’s letter was about the different varieties of sustainable grass and grass alternatives that might be right for your specific lawn care needs.

I imagined someone with a rambunctious dog seeing the little image for “dog tuff grass plugs (for foot traffic)” and them sighing with relief at this suggested solution while their little terrier chews a ball in the corner of their office.

What if I had deleted it?

I would have missed an entire world.

Call Me Zebra, by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi

“It occurred to me that the best thing to do, given the circumstances, would be to eat only the sentences I loved and loathed the most, and chuck the neutral ones into the sea.”

I’ve been reading this book, Call Me Zebra, by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, for three years. It’s less than 300 pages.

Not because it’s long, or boring, or anything like that. But because it deserved to not be binged. It required slowness from me and I benefited from following that urging.

I’ve never read anything quite like this. As best as I can give you a sense of it, it’s got the same literal and theoretical sense of adventure and cultivated reality as Don Quixote. It deals with death, family trauma and legacy, exile, personal dedication, the tangible immersion of words and emotions, and the absolute relentless fierceness of passion.

“I needed to look at something more blue than blue or else I would start crying.”

There is a dense exploration of philosophy, life, literature, existence, and humanity and there are entire feasts in mere sentences of this book, some that I read over and over again in awe. Almost as if Zebra was giving me a master instruction on purpose, reasoning, and incredible writing.

This is a book that makes your jaw drop with what 26 letters can accomplish. In many places it is not easy to follow. It, like so much art, draws reaction from you if you’re paying attention, and demands your focus, but doesn’t ask you for it.

“Love, like death and literature and liberty, is everywhere and nowhere at once.”

I’m incredibly impressed by this, and think it is absolutely one of the most incredible literary works I’ve ever consumed.

Celebrity Book Club Update: February 2021

Always interesting to see what the book clubs are choosing to read during Black History Month (which is all the months not just February).

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - The Sanatorium, by Sarah Pearce

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - The Orchard, by David Hopen

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - Milk Blood Heat, by Dantiel W. Moniz, and Milk Fed, by Melissa Broder

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - Four Winds, by Kristin Hannah, and Send for Me, by Lauren Fox

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - Detransition, Baby, by Torrey Peters

Girls Night In Newsletter - The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories, by Danielle Evans

How to Fail at Flirting, by Denise Williams

“Lord, give me the confidence of an old, rich, white man.”

I love a good romance with sass, steam, and reality - for me it’s refreshing and fun to have a nice place to put my brain for a while, and How to Fail at Flirting is a charming diversion from regular life, while still being about regular life. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I appreciated that this story deals with some very real issues. There is some difficult content in this story that I felt was handled tremendously well, with adept language and wonderful resolution. While it was tense, at times, it was reassuring and actually very nice to read about characters who have real problems, real baggage, and are able to come to solutions in healthier ways than I often read.

Naya and Jake feel like responsible people who are not still in the chaos of early adulthood. They are able to find a chemistry that I found delightful for how it didn’t feel needlessly dramatic. It’s well constructed plot, wonderful charm, and mutual respect that is here is an absolutely refreshing approach.

They treat each other like real people, and what’s at stake for them is valuable and important. They respond well to each other, and give space, time, effort, attention, and thought to themselves and each other as things progress. It was wonderful to see that their issues weren’t just things that could be solved by one conversation. Reading a romance with 30-somethings as the main characters was so good.

I’m excited to see what Williams does next!

**Thank you to the publishers for my advance reader copy - all opinions are my own :)

At the Edge of the Haight, by Katherine Seligman

“People believed what they saw, but it was not the same as what was really there".”

At the Edge of the Haight, by Katherine Seligman, is an incredible force that requires the readers empathetic growth and participation. This story is about Maddy, a homeless young woman living in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

Her situation becomes immensely more complicated than it already is when she witnesses the murder of a young homeless boy. She is even less safe now than before and has to navigate an onslaught of interest as this murder becomes a catalyst for attentions and questions that she now has to manage and balance. How much does she want to extend herself?

Homelessness is not something I have had direct experience with. Recently, I took a course for my master’s program that was all about librarians and crisis management and a chunk of our learning surrounded the situations that patrons experiencing homeless undergo.

Learning to see and become aware of the constant stress, relentless exhaustion and worry, and the intense difficulty and prejudice felt by those folks was incredibly eye opening. Exercises in that course gave me a glimpse of perspective from which to begin to empathize and try to understand more.

People experiencing homelessness are at a much higher chance of other dangers and risks, and the constant judgment of their choices can be nearly suffocating. The complexities surrounding each unique situation are so deeply difficult to untangle.

Reading this story made me reflect back on that course and my experience working in libraries. Many of our regular patrons were folks experiencing homelessness. They would come stay for hours to have a place to sit down for a while in a heated or air conditioned building.

Remembering that people are more than their circumstance is a tremendous value.

This book adds positively to that discussion.

It addresses homelessness in a sensitive and thoughtful way without making grandiose sweeping assumptions or placating gestures. The reality is confronted with thoughtful consideration by Seligman. I was deeply touched by these characters and the depiction of their reality.

This novel helps readers to see conditions and people who are so often ignored and dismissed. Maddy is an impressive character, and Seligman brings her to life so fully in my mind.

In an interview with NPR, Seligman says she hopes readers will be encouraged “to see beyond the person sitting there with an instrument and a cup or a dog” after finishing this book. For me, this novel accomplishes that intention. I’m eager to see what Seligman writes next.

At the Edge of the Haight is available now wherever you get your books.

**Many thanks to Algonquin Books for the advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Celebrity Book Club Update: January 2021

Well the year has begun. I had not heard of Outlawed before, and two of these groups picked it to read this month! An interesting roundup to start the new year. Hope you’re all finding something good to read!

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - Outlawed, by Anna North

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - What Kind of Woman: Poems, by Kate Baer

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - Outlawed, by Anna North

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - Black Buck, by Mateo Askaripour

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories, by Danielle Evans

Girls Night In Newsletter - The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices, by Casper ter Kuile

The value is in the practice: a lesson from fridge magnets

Recently I’ve thought a lot about how old systems of thought no longer serve me. Then never did very well when I held them either, to be honest.

Shedding them has been a delight, a blooming, an adventure full of feeling and learning and growth that’s been saturated with joy.

That tells me I’m onto something.

It’s sad to think about just how small my opinion was of my value. Embracing that I am “a good thing” has been the catalyst for more growth than getting up at 5am, drinking more water, or any form of resolution or habit could even dream to touch.

What’s my point? I’m coming to it:

Instead of thinking the value was in what I produced, I began to find joy in the practice of the thing. Running, writing, talking through my thoughts, not having everything I do or say be perfect before I share it, being wrong, it all improved when I thought of it as practice instead of the final exam with judgement attached - judgement that was only in my head anyway, never really ever real.

Related to this, I don’t like to make strict resolutions.

“I’m going to do X specific thing for X days and accomplish X result” is a good pattern sometimes, and definitely the motivation that works for some people, and that’s great! But it’s not what I need to do for myself right now.

Instead, I’m figuring out how to listen to myself again, and I’m learning how to trust myself again after over a decade of second guessing, doubting my intuition, my feelings, and my emotions.

I’m making notes of things I want more of and things I want less of and paying attention to the why and how of both.

More messing around and finding out (scientific method, yeah?) is high on the list.

Recently I sorted the fridge poetry magnets I have and, aside from learning that I have lost all the words that started with K, I played with them and made a bunch of haikus just for the hell of it.

Are they good? I don’t know. I didn’t assign them any value at all.

Here’s why.

I had fun creating them, so whether or not they’re good doesn’t matter to me.

I let myself be free with these little magnets and combined them in ways that I hadn’t before. It was a delight to sit on my floor with my hot chocolate and my music up loud and just mess around with the only goal being to enjoy myself.

And I did.

The value was in the practice.

And yes, the next thing I did was google “how to clean stainless steel” ;)

My favorite books of 2020

I am well aware that the year isn’t over yet, though it feels like it should’ve ended at least 2.75 months ago.

This morning my daughter (7) asked me to look up when Home Alone 2 was made because, “I just want to know how old the movie is” and boy, howdy friends was that a trip.

Turns out, that movie was made in 1992.

Making it 28 years old.

I am part of that annoying group of folks that still thinks the 90’s was 10 years ago, so learning this information really sparked a fun little time related existential crisis.

Anyway. it’s unlikely that I’ll read anything much else before the year ends, so here’s what’s been my favorite:

1. The Sword of Truth series, by Terry Goodkind - I’ve read 5, maybe 6, of these by now and they’ve been life-changing in many ways. I love them so much and am already eager to reread them all once I’m done with the series. They’re better than Harry Potter. Better than LOTR too. I said what I said! They’re that good and I’m gonna try to get more people to read these - I will even rec them at my funeral. Go get the first one, Wizard’s First Rule, and read it!

2. The Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher - I read this entire series over the course of this year and it was the best escape, the most fun, and such a delight to fall into a world where the writing is so immediately engaging and interesting, the characters are charming and clever and funny, and I don’t have to think about the real world for a while. Highly recommend.

3. Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir - I just finished Harrow the Ninth, the sequel to Gideon, and this series together is some of the most clever, creative, inventive, trustworthy writing I’ve ever experienced.

4. Beach Read, by Emily Henry - I didn’t read a lot of great romances this year, but this was the best one. I really enjoyed the story, the characters acted like real people, the plot was charming and the problems were real. It was cute.

5. Qualityland, by Marc-Uwe Kling - This is a super clever story about the future, if it was run by the smiley boxed company that nearly runs everything already. In this timeline the algorithm knows what you want before you ask for it so it sends it to you before you even know you need it. But then! Our hero in this story gets something in the mail that he does not want and tries to return. I loved this and would be stoked to see it turn into a movie someday.

6. Once Upon A Time I Lived on Mars: Space, Exploration, and Life on Earth, by Kate Greene - This turned out to be a timely read even though it wasn’t intended to be. Greene’s examination of solitude was really interesting to me. I read this when the COVID-19 shelter at home orders were just getting started earlier this year. It was fascinating from an individual in search of creativity pov and from a science view. I enjoy non-fiction about space and the thoughtful essays on being a human in the world and this nudged both of those interests for me real well.

7. The Friend, by Sigrid Nunez - I was attracted to this book by the cover. It’s beautiful. The story itself was heart-rending and impressive to me. I loved it. It contemplated things about pet ownership, friendship, the inevitability of death, the importance of choices, and the passing of time. Big thoughts and big feelings. Highly recommend.

8. Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America; Essays, by R. Eric Thomas - I listened to this and laughed so much at Thomas’ wit and charm and extraordinary observations of the ordinary and ridiculous way pop culture infiltrates and infects and distracts our souls. It was a treat.

9. Parasol Protectorate series, by Gail Carriger - Technically, I read most of this series last year but I finished the last book in the series in January. So I’m counting it. They were all a paranormal treat and I loved the shenanigans, the characters, the romance, the mystery, and the fun of it all. It was a hard time in my real life when I read these and they were an excellent and entertaining diversion.

10. Such a Fun Age, by Kiley Reid - This book got lots of hype and I found it to be worth it. For me, the story managed to describe slippery feelings and difficult situations that I wouldn’t know how to put into words. I could barely put it down and was so impressed with the writing. I’m excited to see what Reid writes next.

Here are some “best of 2020” lists I enjoyed looking through:

From Book Riot

NPR’s 2020 Book Concierge

From tor.com reviewers

Time’s 100 best of 2020

And finally, a list of things to look forward to next year (hint - they’re all books - wink)

What did you enjoy reading this year?

My kids favorite books of 2020

My kids read a fair amount.

Sometimes I have to encourage them to read for school. Sometimes they also stay up way too late immersed in a story. Sometimes they devour everything I can give them and sometimes they don’t. I’m happy with the way their reading lives are and it’s always fun to talk books with them.

Here’s a simple list of what each of them read this year that they thought was noteworthy:

Samantha - 7 - Ivy and Bean series, by Annie Barrows

Abby - 10 - The Warriors series, all of the versions, by Erin Hunter

Wings of Fire series, by Tui T. Sutherland

Story Thieves book 1 and 2, by James Riley

Pax, by Sara Pennypacker

Skunk and Badger, by Amy Timberlake

The Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer

Matthew - 11 - Harry Potter series, by JK Rowling

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

The Wizards of Once series, by Cressida Cowell

Bad Magic, by Pseudonymous Bosch

Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series, by Chris Grabenstein

If you have kids in any of your circles, immediate or otherwise, maybe this list would be useful to you.

I think it’ll be fun to look back on later and see what they think!

Be well, dear readers.

Celebrity Book Club Update: December 2020

The last month of the year is always a bit of a weird one in the world of books. The “best of” lists are out, the publishing of new releases slow down a bit, people are putting out gift guides and gift books and recommendations for what to buy your bookish friend, your uncle, your long lost nephew, and it can be a lot. Regardless, the book clubs carry on.

Here’s what folks are reading this month:

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - The Chicken Sisters, by KJ Dell’Antonia

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - The Shadow King, by Maaza Mengiste

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRule, by V. E. Schwab

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - Cobble Hill, by Cecily von Ziegesar

Girls Night In Newsletter - The Death of Vivek Oji, by Akwaeke Emezi

Book Review: Big Girl, Small Town, by Michelle Gallen

“Sometimes Majella thought that she should condense her whole list of things she wasn’t keen on into a single item:

• Other People.

It was people who talked shit. It was people who made up rules that said you were cool or not because of what you wore. It was people who judged one-half of the human race for not wearing make-up, and the other half for wearing it. It was people who switched on lights, made noise, sweated and fought, wept and shouted. Majella knew when she came down to it, she wasn’t keen on Other People.”

I liked Majella from page one and think everyone can relate to feeling some of these things. Isolated and stuck. Small, but at once too large, and like you take up too much space and often wondering whether or not you deserve it.

Big Girl, Small Town, by Michelle Gallen, is a coming of age story unlike most I’ve read before.

Majella is in her 20’s and is managing life as best as she can. Things are still tumultuous in Ireland and the division between Protestants and Catholics is still tinglingly sensitive and often tumultuous.

Her life has a predictable pattern to it, and who can’t relate to that right now I wonder? In spending time with her we see how she manages to get through it, to keep going, what things she finds interesting, what sustains and encourages, comforts, occupies her thoughts, and challenges her.

What makes this debut special, to me, are the ways in which Gallen highlights the most universal sensations about growing up that apply so singularly to Majella, and still, to all the rest of us too. Majella describes her body often, and in ways that had me nodding and chuckling to myself thinking, yes, I’ve felt that way too but had forgotten.

Gallen writes charmingly dark observations through the eyes of Majella that have just the right balance of humor and edge to have my heart strings plucked and taught.

She manages to take an interesting character exercise - a list of things Majealla likes and dislikes - and with it create an annotated examination of Majella’s life in incredible and fascinating detail.

This is a wonderful debut novel and I’m eager to see what Gallen does next. Majella will be in my thoughts for a long time to come.

***Thanks to Algonquin for the free review copy - all opinions are my own :)

Some of my favorite things this year

A different type of year in review post - but these small and charming things have made the repetition of the days a smidge more bearable than they would’ve been otherwise

-This deliciously fluffy blanket that I wear around myself daily has been the best and coziest addition to my winter accessories

-This mug is my very favorite, holds a ton, and is obviously not allowed on school Zoom meetings

-This calendar, which makes turning over a new page an extra joy, and anytime I look at the wall, I grin

-Art from Molly Kars - next year I will get frames, but how can you not be charmed by her work?

-This sweatshirt, which I intended to buy oversized but accidentally bought MUCH oversized. A happy mistake as it’s become my very favorite thing to wear to sleep (I also have this shirt from them and it’s my favorite lighter thing to sleep in, also intentionally oversized of course)

-The table I got over the summer - It feels like I do everything here and I love it

-Every single time I bought myself flowers it was money well spent - from Safeway, from Costco, from Trader Joe’s, it didn’t matter it was always always worth it

-Getting my audiobooks from Libro.fm instead of Audible - listening to audiobooks is a big way that I read more. Not once have I looked for something I wanted and not found it with Libro.fm. BONUS - they let you pick an independent bookstore to support with your purchases and it’s literally the same price as Audible and they have all the features in the app that I like to use

-My favorite perfume - it smells so good and I love it and hope they never stop making it (it’s Juliette Has a Gun - This is Not a Perfume, in case the link goes weird)

-Jami Attenberg’s newsletter, Craft Talk - at $5 a month she sends writing advice and fosters connections and it’s an easy and wonderful way to throw some support at a person who’s work has been helpful and inspiring to me, and the rewards she sends out are golden - I would suggest, if this specific thing isn’t the one for you, to look and see if the authors, podcasters, or other artists you enjoy have. a Patreon or newsletter subscription you can engage in. It’s easy to do and makes a difference

-Also this incredible nightgown that makes me feel like the spinster I aspire to be

I’d love to know what little things have brought you joy or helped you find a grin - be well!

Stuff I read kinda recently

It’s been mostly wizard books lately and I know you’re shocked to hear it, dear reader. It’s a treat and I love escaping to this gigantic realistic but alternate reality that is so different from this one. It’s a delight and I don’t intend to stop reading them anytime soon.

Since I last updated this most riveting section back at the beginning of October, here’s what I’ve been reading:

Finished:

My Calamity Jane, by Cynthia Hand, Brody Ashton, and Jodi Meadows - this is the third in a loosely connected series (The Lady Janies) and it is tremendous fun. I don’t get how the three authors are able to write so seamlessly but they do a good job. The’ve been retelling adventures of fictional and real ladies named Jane and giving them a supernatural twist. It’s a lot of fun and this one retells the story of Calamity Jane, but with 200% more werewolves. My kids (11, 10, and 7) and I listened to this on audiobook during some driving over the past couple months and everyone loved it.

Blood of the Fold, by Terry Goodkind - Incredible, continues to be the best, I don’t know what other good words to use, just go read these they’re insanely good! This one has wars and fighting and great stuff.

Temple of the Winds, by Terry Goodkind - I keep saying each one of these is better than the last, but THAT’S THE TRUTH. This specific one is a story unlike any I’ve read before. I know they obviously have to succeed in these quests and trials or there wouldn’t be a million more books in the series AND YET I still wondered and held my breath for their efforts. It’s so good.

Battle Ground (re-listen), by Jim Butcher - I had to listen to this again to see what I missed the first time through. It was just as good, but also just as tremendous in the stuff that happens that I don’t want to spoil. I love spending time with Dresden and just want to see what happens next and how the events of this book are going to impact his future.

Barely Functional Adult: It’ll All Make Sense Eventually, by Meichi Ng - this is a really fun comic memoir sort of a book with delightful illustrations to go with some charming life stories that discuss growth, lessons learned through obscure pet care, and how to find your way in the world when it doesn’t seem to make any sense for you. It is a quick read and would be a great gift for someone in the midst of a life change or on the brink of a new adventure (and this year, that’s kind of everyone you know isn’t it?).

Currently Reading:

Soul of the Fire, by Terry Goodkind - Yes, this is my priority book and my favorite place to go with my brain. In this adventure it seems that the heroes are again in some trouble and the peril is once more a big deal to solve. Also in this volume is even more of the world. I don’t get how Goodkind managed this. He write so much and it doesn’t feel like too much. He gives just enough exposition at just the right times so it never feels overwhelming. It just feels so absolutely real that you don’t ever doubt it. It’s fun. I’m into it and hoping to finish it this week.

A Rogue of One’s Own, by Evie Dunmore - The second in a historical romance I read the first of last year. I just started listening to this last week while doing chores and stuff and it’s been a fine low stress background story.

Harrow the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir - I ADORED Gideon the Ninth (the one that comes before this one) and listened to it twice before picking up Harrow the Ninth. It’s a great book so far, but again, I got distracted and busy so I have been slow to get through this one. ALSO maybe because Gideon ends on such a stab to the heart that I’m nervous for my feels. It’s still tremendous though - all the necromancy one could hope for and then some *wink

The Happily Ever After Playlist, by Abby Jimenez - I started this earlier this year and then just couldn’t with romance for a while. The premise is cute, but I needed a break from people falling in love for a while and put this one on hold. I’ll probably finish it before the year is over. Oh, I should mention - this book brings the heat, so make sure you bring your fan.

Call Me Zebra, by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi - I know, I’ve been reading this one for over a year now. It reminds me of Don Quixote and I’ve been intentionally taking my time with it. I’m enjoying it. It’s provocative and sometimes dense, but makes me think a lot.

Celebrity Book Club Update: November 2020

Better late than never, I suppose. Here’s what some folks more organized than I, are reading this month:

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life, by Christie Tate

Reese’s YA book club - A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, by Laura Taylor Namey

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - Collected Stories, by Shirley Hazzard

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - White Ivy, by Susie Yang

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - Plain Bad Heroines, by Emily M. Danforth

Girls Night In Newsletter - Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation, by Anne Helen Peterson

Nerdette podcast - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V. E. Schwab

Happy reading!