Celebrity Book Club Update: February 2022

Happy February!

This is an interesting round up to me., but it always is when you see what folks with influence pull from the plethora or books published each month. This time we have a mix of coming of age stories, friendships that twist and curdle, a memoir, family mystery, and secrets aplenty. I’m considering adding the Book of the Month subscription box’s monthly choices to these roundups to add another layer of selection and see how much overlap there is. Happy reading!

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - The Christie Affair, by Nina de Gramont - Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days and still nobody knows why. This book retells that time and imagines what could have been behind that disappearance. Themes of revenge, marital

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - Lost and Found, by Kathryn Schultz - This memoir is called “and uncommon book about common experiences” and that is an intriguing descriptor to me. The goop book club is reading this for January and February.

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - When We Lost Our Heads, by Heather O’Neill - This novel set in the 19th century is about two friends and the twisting ways their relationship develops. It looks like a hefty tome at almost 450 pages, and the blurb says it deals with issues of gender, class, identity, and desire. I’m curious about this one. It sounds like a juicy read, almost like Social Creature in that sense of a friendship that is overcome with gossip and influence and some violence. I could be way off on that, but that’s the vibe I get from the description.

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson - I’m eager to read this and have a digital ARC waiting for me. The cover is absolutely gorgeous too. When their mother dies she leaves behind a voice message and a recipe. The story looks like part mystery, part family and self-discovery story, and takes readers to London, California, the Caribbean, and I’m really interested to see how this many elements come together. This is Wilkerson’s debut novel.

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - What the Fireflies Knew, by Kai Harris - This coming of age novel told from the perspective of a young Black girl looks like a great fit for those who like stories about family, intergenerational relationships, healing and delving into family trauma, secrets, and discovering your voice and identity. Looks interesting!

GMA Book Club - The Violin Conspiracy, by Brendan Slocumb - This one I wanna read. It’s about a Black violinist who wants to pursue music, is not well supported or encouraged by those around him, and ends up with a Stradivarius that folks then claim is not actually his. The violin goes missing and I want to know what happens!

Ashley Spivey’s Book Club - Wish You Were Here, by Jodi Picoult - I’ve heard mixed things about this one. I’ve never read Picoult and am not sure I will. I know her books work really well for a lot of people. This one is her newest and seems to be about a woman facing her life with a new lens and a pandemic that turns her plans upside down.

Honor, by Thrity Umrigar

Honor, by Thrity Umrigar, is indeed as immersive and wonderfully written as folks have been saying. This would be an excellent read for the upcoming spring, sitting with the sun’s heat on your legs to match the heat of the setting and discussing with a book club, as Reese suggests.

The book is about Smita, a journalist who travels to India to work on a story. The story she goes to cover is the other half of this book, and the intricate ways that Smita’s history and own personal journey weaves in and out of the lives of those she interviews is very interesting.

An interfaith marriage ended in tragedy, Smita covers the dimensions of grief, the heart-rending struggle that people go through balancing love with culture, religious expectations with personal convictions, and the consequences and reasons that rip us open as humans.

The story is vivid, and Umrigar’s writing is lovely. There are difficult passages as Smita covers the details of arson, murder, and intense feelings of shame, guilt, grieving, loss, and as a few episodes of intense trauma related to the story she is covering are told in the book.

This is a great fit for book clubs, and what I loved about it most was how well it touches on the disparity that can exist but is often overlooked between religion, culture, and personal expectations and how those three things pull at all of us in wonderful and sometimes disastrous ways.

Honor, by Thrity Umrigar, is available now wherever you get your books.

**I was invited by Algonquin books to read an ARC in exchange for featuring this book on my blog. All opinions are my own.

Crushing, by Sophie Burrows

Crushing, by Sophie Burrows, is a visual delight. It is sparsely colored and uses shades of red to evoke emotion, intensity, and catches your eye in the best ways. I am always impressed how artists and illustrators can express so much with what looks like just a few lines of a pencil and this book has an entire story that everyone can relate to and will enjoy looking at.

The story reflects modern life in a city, going to work, confronting an empty fridge, the take out restaurant we love to go to, and that particular feeling when all the ads and programs on TV seem to know exactly the specific type of heartbreak you’re in and are hitting too close to home.

The moments where folks intertwine and briefly connect, or almost connect, in their daily routines, and the way the rhythm of the city and environment around your life becomes a huge part of it. There are few words in this book and the illustrations do not lack anything.

If you’re feeling the strain of connections missed or longed for, the unique sense of being alone that is both wonderful and sometimes isolating, or just want a quick and lovely book to wrap up with, I urge you to go find Crushing, by Sophie Burrows. Out now wherever you find your books.

**I received a digital advanced reader copy from the publisher, all opinions are mine.

What to Read Next if you liked Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir, seems like it had a big moment among some of the internet spheres I’m next to. I finished it earlier this week on audio and enjoyed it. I liked it better than The Martian, and think it’s a solidly entertaining space adventure book. Definitely grab the audio if you can. Ray Porter is the narrator and he is one of my very favorites. I love his voice and his style He sounds, to me, like a combo of Tom Hanks and Tony Stark in the best way.

As soon as I finished Project Hail Mary, I thought of some books that would be a good fit for folks who really loved it and I’m really happy with this list. There are different parts of Project Hail Mary that I think this list hits. Hopefully it will provide some good reading material!

The Bobiverse series, by Dennis E. Taylor, on Audible - If you listened to Project Hail Mary on audio and liked the narrator, if you liked the regular human person ends up in space predicament and nothing is as you had imagined it would be you really ought to get the Bobiverse series. It’s phenomenal and I’ve listened to the trilogy multiple times. Ray Porter narrates and I adore the space nonsense and space peril and space thinking that this story contains. Here’s my pitch for it - Man gets rich fast, signs up to get his head frozen when he dies, is immediately hit by car afterwards, wakes up as sentient space probe. The first one is We Are Legion (We Are Bob). Go get it. I think I’m going to download it again and listen to the series again this year. It is SO good (I did not read book 4, heard it was not the best and decided to decide it is just a trilogy in my brain).

Waypoint Kangaroo, by Curtis C. Chen - If the thing you liked about Project Hail Mary was competent man stuck in space encounters much danger and many problems and space is so cool then you should try Waypoint Kangaroo. It is about a man with a special skill stuck in space. While Ryland Grace has the special skill of competence and science thinking, Agent Kangaroo is a sometimes competent spy with a one of a kind ability. He has his own personal black hole he can access at will. He can store anything and everything he wants to, whenever he wants to. Kangaroo’s adventure begins when he is sent on a mandatory vacation cruise fo Mars because he messed up another mission. Then, two people aboard end up dead and he has to figure out what is going on and how to save everything. It’s great. There is a second book but I haven’t read it yet.

Six Wakes, by Mur Lafferty - If the thing you liked about Project Hail Mary was the guy stuck aboard spaceship, the peril involved in trying to not die, and memories that do not unfold evenly, then you should try Six Wakes. This is a locked room mystery aboard a spaceship. This concept is so cool, and for me it was really successful. A crew of clones wakes up in space. The catch is, every time they die, their memories reset. So when one wakes up in dried blood they know there’s been a murder, by one of their own, and nobody knows who did it or why. It is intense and clever and so so good. Excellent use of memory loss, clones, and the closed room of a spaceship.

Spaceman of Bohemia, by Jaroslav Kalfar - If the thing you liked about Project Hail Mary was the other thing I can’t mention because spoilers, and maybe wish Project Hail Mary was a smidge more literary or contemplative or more character driven then you should try Spaceman of Bohemia. Oh I adore this weird little book. It’s about a man who becomes his country’s first astronaut, thinking of it as a chance to right personal family history and be an actual hero for the sake of doing the right thing. This is a great blend of character driven writing but still has the great space setting and pressing tension of being the one person who can do the thing that needs doing. In this book, our spaceman grapples with isolation and the near crushing and relentless loneliness in ways Weir’s novel doesn’t come close to. There is a friendship in this book that remains one of my absolute favorites in fiction. Jakub, the spaceman of Bohemia, befriends a creature that might be a figment of his imagination and has a fondness for Nutella. Intrigued? I hope so. This book is lovely, poignant, weighty in the feels and the plot does not lag. I wish more people would read this it is a phenomenal story. Spaceman of Bohemia is the best comp to Project Hail Mary that exists, in my opinion.

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, by Colonel Chris Hadfield - If the thing you like about Project Hail Mary was the parts about navigating space, the talks with the controls, the logistics of doing the thing that they’re doing, or wish there was more insight into Grace’s life before the space part, you should try An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth. I love this book. It is non-fiction, written by someone who has actually been to space and done so multiple times with great success. Hadfield is an amazing guy and in this book he talks about what it takes to be an astronaut, and the behind the scenes is absolutely fascinating. Hadfield seems to have the best attitude and I found this to be both an endlessly interesting book, but also pretty inspirational. His discussions about trusting your colleagues, knowing your job, having and cultivating the temperament to be successful at this job, and how those things are just useful in creating a meaningful life. One of the books I really am actually grateful for that has stayed with me and I think about often.

If you pick up one of these recommendations I would love to hear what you think!

Happy reading, and yay space books!

What to read next if you liked Don't Look Up on Netflix, and maybe even if you didn't

I watched Don’t Look Up on Netflix recently and was quite entertained. I enjoyed it, and while I’m sure you could read into things and really get into the subtle jabs at nearly every part of the culture we find ourselves in, I’m not here for that this time. I liked how smart it was, I enjoyed the obvious satire of current events, and thought it was fun to watch. I also, as I tend to do, thought of some books it reminded me of and that really deserve more readers. If you liked Don’t Look Up, and maybe if you didn’t, you might still want to try these books. The hit similar parts of the movie in interesting ways and all deserve more readers.

The Last Policeman trilogy, by Ben H. Winters - This is perhaps my very favorite of the apocalypse disaster books that have been written in the last two decades. The series of three books has an amazing arc to it, and the conclusion is unparalleled in all the media I’ve ever consumed in this somewhat dreary genre. I love it. Detective Hank Palace has just graduated. And there’s an asteroid slotted to hit earth in six months. Everyone knows, and there’s no getting out of it. Six months is all that is left. So, who cares about a little murder? He does. This series is fascinating, thrilling and contemplative in turn, asks what we owe to each other when we know when the world will end, and examines how society crumbles when extinction is near. If you liked (or didn’t like) the messy humorous disintegration of everything in Don’t Look Up that was prompted by the impending doom of the planet, but want something that’s not a comedy, you should give this series a try. The final scene of the final book wrecked me it is so good. One of the best things I’ve ever read. Writing this reminds me I should reread them.

Qualityland, by Marc-Uwe Kling - If your favorite part was the hilarious satire of the film, it’s mockery of media, government and the out of control and over the top portrayals of tech bros, you should really grab this one. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read before or since and I loved it. Imagine a time when a certain brown smiling box company is nearly running everything. In this version of the world (a future version of our present timeline) that company has gotten so good at predicting what you want that they send it to you before you even know you need it, or have thought to order it. And they’re never wrong. Well, until they send something to Peter Jobless that he doesn’t need and very much doesn’t want. He sets about trying to return it, along with his ragtag group of somewhat broken robots, and ends up calling into question the very foundations of QualityLand and all that it stands for. Also, there is an election approaching and one side is trying to prove that the other candidate is maybe not entirely a human. It is one of the most creative things I’ve ever read.

Sweetness #9, by Stephan Erik Clark - This is a hilarious satire of how often what is promoted as New and Amazing and So Cool is just really really bad and not good at all, but because it’s new and cheap it’s a go. If the part of Don’t Look Up you enjoyed what the absolute disregard for truth and the way that ignoring the obvious was portrayed in a humorous, but alarming, way, you might really get a kick out of this. Except that it shines that humor into the eyes of big food chemicals instead of an extinction level event. The story follows a fellow who is a flavorist in training as the company he works for discovers and creates a new sweetener (sweetness #9) that is going to change everything. Years later, the effects of this sweetener are showing up and maybe, being totally ignored. The guy’s son has stopped using verbs and his daughter is expressing more than normal levels of emo angst. Is it just life and teenagers or is it maybe the sweetener that he himself helped to develop? It is funny, irreverent, and satirical and I enjoyed it. It has a vintage obscurity vibe that is a lot of fun.

Celebrity Book Club Update: January 2022

First book club picks of the new year! I hope you find something good to read this month, enjoy.

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - Honor, by Thrity Umrigar - I haven’t read this yet but I have an ARC of it I’m excited to get to. The book deals with two couples, the struggles of multiple cultural expectations, and seems to explore the dichotomy of being true to one’s self while also unpacking the expectations of culture.

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - Lost and Found: A Memoir, by Kathryn Schultz - This book was just published on Tuesday the 11th, and looks like a fascinating memoir. Schultz is a Pulitzer winner.

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - Fiona and Jane, by Jean Chen Ho - This looks like a great book about two friends who’s relationships change and evolve as they grow. I’m all for more books about female friendships. The cover is lovely, I’m putting this on my list.

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - The School for Good Mothers, by Jessamine Chan - This is high on my list. The cover is amazing and the story takes the question of, what makes a good mother? to a realm of surveillance and a dark wit. I’m intrigued and looking forward to this one.

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - this book club is also reading Fiona and Jane, by Jean Chen Ho, that’s a neat coincidence!

GMA Book Club - The Maid, by Nita Prose - Another one I’m looking forward to. Another cover I love. This is a murder mystery that sounds like clue, and I’m here for it. A maid with quirks she is working through, finds the dead body of a very rich man. A locked room mystery that promises twists and turns, I’m excited to spend a weekend with this one.

What I Read: October - December 2021

It felt like I didn’t get much reading done this fall/winter, but when I compiled this list I read some great things. I still feel like I’m in a rut. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to sit and read and lose myself in the pages of a story for an hour or two. Part of that has been due to life changes, and while the things I’ve read have been mostly good, it has been a while since I’ve read something that has grabbed me in the feels in the weird and wonderful way I love most. Fingers are crossed for some really tremendous books in 2022.

October

Please Don’t Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes: Essays, by Phoebe Robinson - Phoebe is hilarious. In this essay collection, which I highly recommend listening to, she shares covid and quarantine thoughts, lovely and honest reflections on her relationship, and so much more.

One Punch Man Vol. 1 & 2 - I’d never read manga before. Someone recommended One Punch Man to me, and hearing it was about a guy who decided to become a super hero just for fun, who trains so hard he goes bald, and knocks everyone in every fight out in just one punch so now he’s bored, I was interested. The art is great, the humor is dry and clever, and the storyline is engaging. It’s like rooting for the underdog, except Saitama is actually the strongest of them all, but he really doesn’t want to miss the sales at the grocery store.

Personal Effects: What Recovering the Dead Teaches Me About Caring for the Living, by Robert A. Jensen - This was a fascinating listen. I wrote more about this book on Instagram here, but to give a little bit, Jensen is in charge of disaster management so whenever there is a large scale issue (think hurricane Katrina, 9/11, a mass shooting etc…the worst moments of our collective memories), he is there navigating and implementing the logistics of finding the dead, communicating with the governing laws, helping to obtain reliefs and more. It is intense, but also one of the most interesting things I’ve ever read.

Leave the World Behind, by Rumaan Alam - I loved this novel. It was interesting, weird, compelling, and great on audio. Wrote a little review here, but think this would be a great book for someone who’s looking for an end of the world story that is a little bit literary, and not necessarily optimistic. I enjoyed it.

The Survivors, by Alex Schulman - Wrote about this one here, and the more time goes by the more it is fading from my mind. I think it was fine, maybe just not the right book for me at the right time. Worth trying though if you like stories of family secrets, dual points in time, and a quieter tone to your mysteries.

I Hope This Finds You Well: Poems, by Kate Baer - A creative poetry collection, I received an ARC of this to review and I enjoyed it. It is short and clever and poignant as Baer’s poetry is. In this collection she took DM’s she has received on Instagram and used them to create poetry. The original message is on one page and the poem she turns it into is on the opposite. The juxtaposition is my favorite part. A great little book.

Sunny Makes a Splash, by Jennifer L. Holm - Fun graphic novel in a series. In this one, Sunny works at a swimming pool. She earns money, learns more about responsibility, deals with her parents and some frustrations experienced at home, and has some romance. Set in the 70’s this is a fun series for middle grade readers and I enjoy it as a break between more serious reading.

The Anthropocene Reviewed, by John Green - I enjoyed this one and wrote about it here a little. I would love to see another volume of these reviews and it had me thinking about what I would rate elements of my life. Highly recommend the audiobook.

Reprieve, by James Han Mattson - I wanted this one to be more, but I think that was my fault. My assumptions about what the book was were off going into it so my expectations were set in the wrong place. I wanted a horror novel to give me the spooky spooks that was captivating entertainment, and instead, this was a more literary horror adjacent suspense read. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it just wasn’t what I was looking for. Had my expectations been more accurate I think I would’ve enjoyed it more than I did. All that being said, if you’re looking for something a little bit spooky that also makes you examine societal injustice, unrequited love, the tiny things that add up to create dangerous action, you’ll probably enjoy this book.

November

The Tea Dragon Festival, by K. O’Neill - A delight of a graphic novel/large comic geared to a younger audience but a complete treat and escape. Love it. Such gorgeous illustrations. Highly recommend.

No One Returns from the Enchanted Forest, by Robin Robinson - Cute graphic novel about a mystical critter that needs to save her sister and save her world and stumbles into a completely unexpected situation. Magic and fantasy, family dynamics and great illustrations as well.

A Slow Fire Burning, by Paula Hawkins - I haven’t had a whole lot of luck with mystery or thriller books lately. It’s been difficult for them to keep my attention, and while this was just fine for me, it might be a good fit for you. If you like mysteries where someone has died, a handful of people could have been involved and everyone has secrets to hide this could be a winner for you.

One Punch Man Volumes 3 - 11 - Saitama is up to more cool things, trying to fight more bad guys, figure out how to be the best hero and find an opponent that makes fighting fun or challenging again. Great Manga and I’m always entertained by how this character has so much expression in his face when it is often drawn with just a couple of lines.

Murder on Cold Street, by Sherry Thomas - This is the 5th book in the Lady Sherlock series, which I highly recommend you read in order and on audio if you have that option available. The series is a gender swapped Sherlock Holmes retelling in which a lot of wonderful shenanigans ensue and the bad guys get caught by a lot of clever thinking and the tropes that Sherlock fans love will be there and if you just enjoy a good mystery or victorian times, you should try these. I love them.

December

Miss Moriarty, I Presume?, by Sherry Thomas - The 6th and most recent book in the series. In this one, Mr. Moriarty himself enlists Charlotte to find his daughter. She has become involved with a cult and as you can imagine, all is not what it seems to be. Loved it.

One Punch Man Volumes 12 - 20 - Saitama continues to explore the ways he can be a better hero, and the world expands too. Other heroes, the system of organizing them, the other organizations both good and bad that dispatch heroes and monsters are given much more space in these volumes of the mange. It is still a very fun read and, while Saitama does not feature quite as prominently as he did in earlier books, it’s a great story and very entertaining.

The Sunny Nihilist: A Declaration of the Pleasure of Pointlessness, by Wendy Syfret - This was an ALC I received from Libro.fm that I enjoyed much more than I expected to. Nihilism can be a really depressing thing to consider, but I find it very beneficial to put a critical eye to what you think matters, what you have decided gives your life meaning, and in this book, Syfret manages to discuss how relenting on some of those things is actually rather freeing. I like thinking of it as finding just the right amount of indifference to not be stuck in an anxiety spiral of pressure. I liked it.

101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think, by Brianna Weist - This was excellent. I listened to it on Hoopla through my library, then ordered a copy and have been revisiting these essays in recent weeks. I loved it a lot. It is way more than I expected it to be and discusses ways to be a healthy person, socially and emotionally intelligent, and sort out yourself in practical and encouraging ways without being woo-woo or cheesy, it’s just really solid content that I needed and am enjoying and finding incredibly beneficial. Wrote about it here on instagram too. Highly recommend.

Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor - Super fun and quick sci-fi novella. Listened to this through Hoopla from my library and am eager to get to the other two books/novellas in the trilogy. Binti has the great tropes of being the lone person thrown into a new situation, but in space and with incredible cultural detail. I’m not describing it well, but it’s great and you should give it a try if you like science fiction, need something quick to get lost into, or like stories with unlikely heros with excellent skills and wonderful worldbuilding.

The Comfort Book, by Matt Haig - I needed this in my life. Wrote a smidge on instagram here, but it is a book of comfort. Haig has been through a lot. His reflections are helpful, encouraging, and none of them are very long. I read it in chunks but it would also be great to do one piece at a time. There’s not quite essays, but almost. So so so glad I found this.

All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business, by Mel Brooks - Wrote a little about this one on instagram here, but it is sooooo entertaining and fun! If you need a memoir, want to read a behind the scenes story, see how the work goes into making things like movies and comedy, or have any fondness for Mel Brooks’ work you should grab this on audio. It really is a treat.

Celebrity Book Club Update: December 2021

Another month of reading choices! Here’s what folks picked for the end of 2021:

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - Lucky, by Marissa Stapley

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - Oh William!, by Elizabeth Strout

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness, by Claire Vaye Watkins

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - Bright Burning Things, by Lisa Harding

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - The Fastest Way to Fall, by Denise Williams

GMA Book Club - Dava Shastri’s Last Day, by Kirthana Ramisetti

What I Read: June - September 2021

I had lots of reading for work this summer, but ended up to read these also:

Fugitive Telemetry (murderbot #6), by Martha Wells - I love the Murderbot Diaries series. This one is a full length novel and was just as amazing as I’d hoped for. Great for listening, the audiobooks are a treat and all narrated by the same person. A snarky self-aware security bot has to continually decide how involved to get in the dramatics of human frailty and do the job assigned. Very fun.

On Juneteenth, by Annette Gordon-Reed - Educational for me, and short, I will likely read this again. It’s hard for me to retain history, but this is a great entry place in understanding more about Juneteenth.

The Listening Path, by Julia Cameron - An interesting book. Content is directly related to folks who have read and/or practiced the Artist’s Way. I have not, but still found the specific types of listening that Cameron describes to be interesting, if somewhat repetitive. Great way to work on developing more meaningful and lasting relationships and connections, and trust in yourself.

The Multi-Hyphen Life, by Emma Gannon - Another interesting one about developing more life skills. This is more business focused and talks about how Gannon specifically was able to create a life in which her career has many umbrellas. There are parts of this book that have great practical advice, and that also talk about how to balance or work on constructing and discovering the directions the reader might want to take their professional career. Prompted lots of thought in how we exchange time from our life for money in which to sustain it.

Academ’s Fury, and Cursor’s Fury, by Jim Butcher - Jim Butcher’s books are just a fun place to escape to. I heard this series was the result of a dare Butcher was given to blend Pokemon with the setting and political cultures of Ancient Rome. It’s entertaining and as the books continue, the world widens and is fun to explore.

Midnight, Water City, by Chris McKinney - Loved this one. Creative, inventive and set far in the future. Blends the noir/P.I. style of narrative with science fiction in a way that was new to me. The story follows a detective who is suddenly being chased,

Don’t Let It Get You Down: Essays on Race, Gender, and the Body, by Savala Nolan - Wonderful essay collection narrated by the author.

The Temple House Vanishing, by Rachel Donohue - Interesting gothic-esque mystery. Didn’t quite hit the thriller vibe for me but I was entertained by it. Atmopsheric story of a girl who vanishes with her teacher from boarding school, and nobody knows what happened. Their disappearance has taken on a legendary quality, and at the 25th anniversary the case is regaining attention. Told in alternating perspectives.

The Truth of You (poetry), by Iain S. Thomas - Comforting short book of poems. Accessible and original. I liked them.

The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert, by Shugri Said Sahl - I wrote about this book here.

Assembly, by Natasha Brown - This is the most literary thing I’ve read in a while. I’m not sure it totally landed for me, but it was a really interesting look at the way folks are writing about life as it currently is in more high brow and deeply contemplative than I have been reading lately.

How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope (poetry), Edited by James Crews - This is a great collection with a forward by Ross Gay. Poems included come from such talented folks as Amanda Gorman, Tracy K. Smith, Jane Hirshield, and lots more. An uplifting and affirming collection that would be a great gift or to dip in and out of whenever you want to read some poetry.

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That A Movement Forgot, by Mikki Kendall - Fascinating and unflinching. Kendall says all the things and looks at all the ways that white feminism leaves minorities and those in poverty and a huge range of other circumstances out of the loop. Examining the ways in which white feminism fails, Kendall clearly and succinctly explains how linked issues are and provides solutions for how to actually go about lifting people together rather than only benefiting a few. Very interesting food for thought.

Black Nerd Problems, by William Evans and Omar Holmon - This is a hilarious collection of essays. I’d highly recommend you get it on audio if you can as Evans and Holmon narrate their work brilliantly. Examining nerd culture from the point of view of Black men is a perspective I hadn’t read before and appreciated. The nuance and humor here are delightful. I hadn’t heard of these guys before and very much enjoyed listening to their essays.

A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries 2003-2020, by David Sedaris - David Sedaris is one of my personal favorites. He is grating and upfront and not for everyone. He is hilarious, crude, observant, and interesting. I appreciated his previous collection of diaries and think reading it helped me to understand writing in a better way. Not that I’m a great writer yet by any means, but it was interesting to see him develop over this period of time as he becomes more well known and those experiences he has on tours, being recognized, and in his professional persona are detailed in this collection more. I like how honest Sedaris is - even when he comes off as a bit of an ass, or a complete ass too, he just writes what happens and what he thinks or thought, and that type of honesty is something I think is useful to see demonstrated. I definitely did not agree with all of his opinions expressed in this collection and there were times where I thought, gee, David, you’re really gonna say that? But those moments made me ask myself, could I ever be able to achieve that level of frankness about myself, my feelings, my actions, and others? I also really enjoy the random things he notices and chose to include in this collection. Reading Sedaris always makes me want to be more observant. People are funny and strange.

The Heart Principle, by Helen Hoang - Cute and fast romance. I like how Hoang includes folks in her romance stories that aren’t typically main characters. She features people with real limitations and that makes them more relatable to me. In this story, the main character is suffering from burnout - she’s a violinist who had a video go viral and she hasn’t been able to pick up her violin since. She’s overwhelmed from family and self-imposed pressures, and when her boyfriend decides he wants an open relationship, she has to confront some things. Elderly parents are also part of the story, and the discussions of family pressures, end of life care, and that feeling of life passing by without being able to grab a meaningful hold on it, were poignant. Still, the romance between her and the motorcycle riding, tatted up guy she gets involved with is the focus of the story and it is a delight to see how the two of them navigate misunderstandings, their differences, and how they make and hold space for each other. I don’t think you need to read the others in the “series” at all the enjoy this one.

Celebrity Book Club Update: November 2021

Well, the end of the year is fast approaching. I am delighted by all the great books that have been published this year and woefully behind in my reading goals. At least there is not a lack of reading material.

Here’s what the book clubs have picked this month:

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - The Island of Missing Trees, by Elif Shafak

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - China Room, by Sunjeev Sahota

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - The Days of Afrekete, by Asali Solomon

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - The Family, by Naomi Krupitsky

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - All Her Little Secrets, by Wanda M. Morris

GMA Book Club - Still Life, by Sarah Winman

Oprah’s Book Club - Bewilderment, by Richard Powers

Celebrity Book Club Update: October 2021

It’s finally spooky season!!! Woot. My favorite time of the year. Hear’s what people are reading this month:

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - Sankofa, by Chibundo Onuzo

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - China Room, by Sunjeev Sahota

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - The Between, by Tananarive Due

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - The Night She Disappeared, by Lisa Jewell

GMA Book Club - We Are Not Like Them, by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

Oprah’s Book Club - Bewilderment, by Richard Powers

Egg Marks the Spot, by Amy Timberlake

“I do not know why yaks will not take muffins. The best payment is a delicious payment. Everyone knows this.”

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Egg Marks the Spot, is the second book in the Skunk and Badger series by Amy Timberlake, with pictures by Jon Klassen. The story is reminiscent of Frog and Toad in tone and friendship and will delight young readers and any adults who grab the story.

In this story, Skunk and Badger are off on an adventure. Badger, in search of an elusive rock, and Skunk just wants his Sunday Times Book Review and a cozy morning of peace. They help each other, understand each other, and make space for the quirks, peculiarities, and gifts they both have.

Skunk and Badger embark on a camping trip to search out the mysterious agate and encounter a suspicious chicken at their campsite who prompts even more mischief, twists and turns from unforeseen people and places that test Skunk and Badger’s wits, patience, and skills.

A fantastic combination of cozy, witty, and adventure, I hope Skunk and Badger continue to adventure together for many more books to come. Marked as for ages 6-8, the book has a large vocabulary that would also be fun for ages up to 10 or beyond as well. Would make a phenomenal read aloud for classrooms or family’s.

Egg Marks the Spot, by Amy Timberlake is out now and available wherever you like to get your books.

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**Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for the free advance reader copy - all opinions are my own.

Celebrity Book Club Update: September 2021

I, for one, am thrilled this year is progressing at rapid speed. Bring me the cool mornings, bring me the chilly nights, bring me the sweaters and the thiccc books and the cozy blankets and the slippers. And then let me read until I fall asleep.

Maybe I’ll pick up one of these:

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - L. A. Weather, by Maria Amparo Escandón

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes: A Son’s Memoir of Gabriel García Márquez and Mercedes Barcha, by Rodrigo García

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - The Shimmering State, by Meredith Westgate

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - Beautiful Country, by Qian Julie Wang

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - The Heart Principle, by Helen Hoang

GMA Book Club - Several People are Typing, by Calvin Kasulke

Oprah’s Book Club - The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois, by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

Celebrity Book Club Update: August 2021

What time is it? It’s time for books. Again. And also always. It’s always time for books.

Ok, here’s what people are reading this month. Most of these are new to me! Always fun to add to my infinite TBR (to be read) list. Enjoy!

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - We Were Never Here, by Andrea Bartz

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - Immediate Family, by Ashley Nelson Levy

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - Build Your House Around My Body, by Violet Kupersmith

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - The Turnout, by Megan Abbott

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - We Were Never Here, by Andrea Bartz

GMA Book Club - The Husbands, by Chandler Baker

The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert, by Shugri Said Salh

“My ancestors traveled the East African desert in search of grazing land for their livestock, and the most precious resource of all - water. When they exhausted the land and the clouds disappeared from the horizon, their accumulated ancestral knowledge told them where to move next to find greener pastures. I am the last person in my direct line to have once lived like that.”

Salh, the fourth daughter in her family, was sent to live with her ayeeyo (her grandmother) at six years old to learn the nomadic lifestyle and help her ayeeyo. The rest of her family lived in the city of Galkayo in Somalia.

Salh now lives in Northern California and her memoir details her journey, her stories, her incredible understanding and learning. She masterfully blends personal experience, cultural details, political and familial upheaval, and her perspective of all of those things as she reflects on those experiences.

Memoir is always an exploration in honesty, and Salh’s honesty is solid and unflinching. She describes experiences that might be triggering, so read up on the content, but I felt that all of the things she details she does so with precise care, and nothing unnecessary is included.

The Last Nomad left me feeling a great amount of admiration for all the many lives it feels like Shugri Said Salh has lived. Salh shares so much joy and beauty in every type of culture she was and is a part of, she navigates openly the transitions and difficult pieces of her journey in going from the desert of Somalia to Northern California, and writes with the clarity that is needed in this time when so many people fear what is unknown or strange or different.

Salh’s memories are saturated with love for land and people and family.

She speaks with love and acceptance of the places and peoples that she belongs to. She, and her story as she tells it, spill over with a quiet self-acceptance, love for ancestral skills and lifestyles, and an unyielding ability to be resilient, to find delight, and I found it incredibly inspiring. And still, she is able to acknowledge hardship, challenges, and pivotal moments in her understanding.

This is a great read for book clubs, for anyone who feels like they have lived in several different worlds, for those who want to keep and share their own ancestral history, and for everyone who has wondered what it would be like to live a nomadic life.

I’m impressed, so inspired, and grateful Salh acted on the feeling to write down her stories, to keep, preserve, and detail her ancestral history and hope she writes more. Her voice is lush and wonderful with a sense of inner contentment and gratitude that I long to be near and feel more often in my reading and in my own life.

The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert, by Shugri Said Salh, will be released tomorrow, August 3rd 2021, and is well worth your time, attention, and book dollars.

**Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin books for the free review copy of this memoir. All opinions are my own.

Celebrity Book Club Update: July 2021

I do not accept that the summer is flying past us this quickly, but here we are in the second half of the year. Here’s what people are reading! Enjoy :)

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - The Paper Palace, by Miranda Cowley Heller

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - The View Was Exhausting, by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - Animal, by Lisa Taddeo

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - Hell of a Book, by Jason Mott

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - Skye Falling, by Mia McKenzie

Oprah’s Book Club - The Sweetness of Water, by Nathan Harris

You want some romance? Here's some romance (books)

Recently a friend of mine asked for romance reading recommendations.

Thrilled to be asked I immediately started a list in my head and thought, what the hell, why not just write it down so all of y’all can see it, and I can add to it later too.

She asked for things that are well written, with plot and characters that are meaningful, engaging, plus good banter and steam of any level.

Let’s dive in.

1. Christina Lauren - This writing duo does some great and spicy things. I haven’t read all of their work, but can highly recommend the following as some incredibly compelling, entertaining, and delightful reading romps: Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, The Unhoneymooners, and My Favorite Half-Night Stand.

2. Talia Hibbert - I recently went through her new series following 3 sisters, each with their own book, and loved seeing representations of actual human style bodies, a variety of careers and relationship dynamics, healthy coping mechanisms displayed in those relationships, and growth in these characters. Also, they made me laugh aloud several times and were quite entertaining. You do not need to read them in order: Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Take a Hint, Dani Brown, and Act Your Age, Eve Brown.

3. Beach Read, by Emily Henry - I loved this one. I haven’t read her new book, People We Meet on Vacation, but have heard it’s also really amazing. Beach Read is about two writers, has great plot twists, and manages to pull off both a second chance romance and a bit of enemies to lovers at the same time without being annoying, at all. I loved the characters in this story so much and would shove this one at you first given the opportunity.

4. The Right Swipe, by Alisha Rye - This book is the first is a series and absolutely brings the heat, with great success, and without sacrificing the story. The characters are funny and charming, the setting and premise is extravagant and fun, entertaining and poignant. It deals with the NFL’s handling of CTE, dating apps, toxic work structures, and I very much enjoyed it.

5. Well Met, by Jen DeLuca - This is -such- a charming story. It’s about a grumpy dude and the girl who manages to get through to him. They end up working at a renaissance faire together and it is just the cutest. There’s a bookstore involved, some excellent banter, and adorable characters.

More to come later, and this obviously demonstrates my preference for contemporary romances over historicals, but if you’re looking for something spicy to read this summer I hope you’ll give one of these a try.

Enjoy!

Temple House Vanishing, by Rachel Donohue

Temple House Vanishing is a debut novel and a simmering twisty puzzle of a story. It is quietly unnerving, subtly raises the tension, and works with dual timelines to unravel the disappearance of a teacher and student.

Louisa, one of the narrators, is a little out of water, being the scholarship student at a Catholic all girls boarding school where she meets and connects strongly with a classmate named Victoria who is provocative, bold, and who says precisely what she thinks.

The friendship is thick and reminded me of how connections formed in environments like the one Louisa finds herself in can quickly become twisty and compacted. When an art teacher at the school sparks attention in both of the girls things become tangled and uncertain, and nothing that was easy, obvious, or clear, is anymore.

Then one day, Louisa and Mr. Lavelle, the compelling and mysteriously charming art teacher, completely disappear and aren’t seen again. Ever. The two vanish without a trace and fade into legend, two figures now only talked and written about online and in tv specials near the anniversaries of their disappearance.

The other narrator is a journalist who is writing one of these pieces 25 years later. We switch from her perspective and Louisa’s. We follow the journalist as she gathers interviews, personal accounts, her own memory of the time when it happened, and as she listens to how much is intentionally left unsaid, we watch these two timelines put together the pieces.

Temple House Vanishing would be perfect for reading in the fall with the academia vibes and boarding school setting. Available now from Amazon, Bookshop, or anywhere you get your books.

**Thank you to Algonquin Books for the free ARC - all opinions are my own.

Celebrity Book Club Update: June 2021

Summer is here! And here are more book club selections. Enjoy.

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - Seven Days in June, by Tia Williams

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - The Ensemble, by Aja Gable

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - The Rock Eaters, by Brenda Peynado

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - Malibu Rising, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - The Other Black Girl, by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Oprah’s Book Club - The Sweetness of Water, by Nathan Harris

Legends of the North Cascades, by Jonathan Evison

“And so, as another lean winter beat down upon them, they took refuge and comfort in their stories.”

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One of the reasons I enjoy reading fiction so much is that it’s a way to run through the wild ideas we all have without leaving your couch, or the daily comforts of your life. This book felt to me like the answer to an I wonder what would happen if… scenario of epic, but very personal conditions.

Evison is no stranger to writing character driven stories that feel immense and internal at once. If his name sounds familiar, he wrote Lawn Boy, This is Your Life, Harriet Chance, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, and two other novels.

In Legends of the North Cascades, Evison brings us into the world of Dave Cartwright and his daughter, Bella, as they navigate tremendously unique situations, deal with and learn to confront and grow through personal struggles, and examine relationships with landscape, nature, isolation, and being human.

In this story Dave deals with PTSD after three tours in Iraq. He is struggling to make connections with people and feels isolated, unable to fit in as he feels he should. I would be surprised if we all haven’t had the idea to quit everything and go live in the forrest, and well, Dave decides that very thing might be the solution. He wants to feel in charge of his own life again and frustrated by so much of the goings on of the society around him.

So, after suffering a tremendous loss he makes a big decision and with Bella, his 7 year-old daughter, they go live in a cave in the wilderness of the North Cascades.

Yes, really.

As you can imagine, things aren’t necessarily smooth sailing or as solved as Dave might have initially hoped. The logistics of living in the wilderness, surviving on one’s wits and skills, having a daughter who, at 7, is still significantly young, learning, dealing with loss and expression also, and it is an immense examination of feelings, responses, and interactions with each other, and the world around them.

That alone would make for a compelling read, but when Bella begins to see things, interpreting the paintings on the wall of the cave as the story of a mother and son from the ice age, we see an incredibly intricate and precise overlap of a vast timeline.

In exploring these two time periods, Evison goes deep into themes of isolation, human connection, expression of grief, the daily maintenance of living, and what community love, support, family, empathy, and belonging in ways I found to be new, interesting, and immensely thought provoking.

While I didn’t necessarily agree with Dave’s decisions, and many times was quite worried for them both in logistical survival and for emotional reasons, I appreciate how well Evison writes a flawed and realistic human character in Dave. I appreciate it when a book makes me think, and this will provoke lots of thought, insight, and response from its readers.

Legends of the North Cascades, by Jonathan Evison is out now (as of June 8th 2021) wherever books are sold

**Many thanks to the folks at Algonquin books for my free review copy. All opinions are my own.