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My December, January, & February Reads

Will I ever have time to read again????? Here's a pathetic roundup of the past three months.

Thin Skin, Jenn Shapland - One of the most beautiful book covers I've ever seen. The essay topics are a real bummer—radioactive waste, consumerism, the struggle to find meaning—and as someone who loves contemplating life's horrors, I had a great time reading this collection.

Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind, Molly McGhee - This would kill as a TV adaptation. Apple, since it seems like we're never getting Severance season two, here ya go!

Winter Storms, Elin Hilderbrand - I have no critiques; a perfectly pleasant, festive read.

Big Swiss, Jen Beagin - An incredibly fun time, pulled me right out of a reading slump. It's hilarious and I haven't read anything like it—thank you, Jen Beagin!

#books #monthly reads #jen beagin #big swiss #upstate #women writers #elin hilderbrand #winter storms #molly mcghee #jonathan abernathy you are kind #jenn shapland #essays #thin skin

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You deserve a little treat: read this essay (from an issue of The Morning newsletter) on the power and pleasure of other people's discarded books.

#books #literature #stoop books #new york times #the morning

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I get my best reading done at the laundromat.

#am reading #david sedaris #happy-go-lucky #books #laundry day

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Maybe that's what being a coworker is: spending all your time together and knowing nothing about one another. Not knowing who someone is but instead knowing how they will act. It's a strange and unique intimacy. It means nothing and it means everything.

Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind, Molly McGhee

#quotes #book quotes #work #coworkers #molly mcghee #jonathan abernathy you are kind #literature

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My October & November Reads

A Life of One's Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again, Joanna Biggs - One of my favorite reads of the year! A delicious blend of memoir and literary history, the author researches the personal and professional lives of women writers (including Toni Morrison, Virginia Woolf, Zora Neale Hurston, and George Eliot) as a way to cope with her decision to leave her husband. I learned so much and wanted to murder Ted Hughes. It's an excellent, gossipy good time.

I Meant It Once: Stories, Kate Doyle - I would rename this collection Stories for Sad Girls, which used to be my brand........but to be honest, at first I felt too ancient for all of the early-twenty-something emotions. A few stories in I adjusted, however, and then the reading experience became more like a journey to a time when the future was unknown and excitinggggg rather than ya know, constantly fearing that life's various, terrible inevitabilities are just around the corner.

Lives of the Saints, Nancy Lemann - A novella that made me laugh, cry, and consider booking a trip to New Orleans.

#books #monthly reads #nancy lemann #lives of the saints #new orleans #novella #kate doyle #i meant it once #short stories #joanna biggs #essays #women writers #a life of one's own

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So now, removed from there, I am here, in a bar in New York ten years later—unable to locate the lost plot, the source of my own slapdash language, the nesting bowl of intent stacked inside the other four of what I tried to say and do, did say, did do. Having outgrown the situation by years, in contact with none of them, yet here still with the unresolved story nested inside me, garbled, disorienting. And why do I care anymore? Because the closeness between us all was transforming, made the empty room of who I was then bright and shiny like a holiday, like everyone gathered around a table?

"Briefly," I Meant It Once, Kate Doyle

#quotes #book quotes #kate doyle #holiday #short story #I Meant It Once #new york city

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Revisited a classic in Guanajuato 🐶

#books #because of winn dixie #kate dicamillo #dogs #travel #mexico

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My July, August, & September Reads

Quietly Hostile, Samantha Irby - These essays reminded me of Irby's first book, Meaty, which happens to be one of my favorite collections—hallelujah! Quietly Hostile is so so funny and occasionally disgusting; it's perfect.

Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson - Some beautiful sentences, but overall it is too much of a bummer. It messed me up for a few days.

Scattered Showers, Rainbow Rowell - Words can't express how thrilled I am that Rainbow Rowell has a multi-book deal for brand new adult novels. I enjoy her YA as much as everyone else, but Attachments and Landline—her two adult novels—are so cozy/funny/wonderful. Also, I'm old! I want to read about fellow olds. This collection is a mix of YA and adult stories; she revisits characters from past books and introduces us to new characters as well. The standouts for me were the Covid lockdown love story, the Attachments story, and the mermaid fairy tale at the end.

Less Is Lost, Andrew Sean Greer - I'm not generally a fan of road trip novels, but I'm a huge fan of this author and his character, Arthur Less, so I gave it a chance and thank goodness for that! I laughed out loud over and over again. Fingers crossed for a third Less novel.

This Story Will Change: After the Happily Ever After, Elizabeth Crane - I took this with me on a milestone birthday/anniversary trip to Mexico, and it was the ideal vacation read—I was riveted by the drama. Whew!

The Last Picture Show, Larry McMurtry - My first Larry McMurtry book and now I have to read all of them, because this one is a masterpiece. It's devastating but it also has some laughs, and by the end I fully believed the characters were real. If you read this based on my recommendation and don't like it......I simply don't care and you don't need to tell me!

Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo - This was on the shelves at my Airbnb in Guanajuato, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to re-read it on what must be one of the world's most beautiful balconies. Kate DiCamillo, thank you, you goddess.

#books #monthly reads #kate dicamillo #because of winn-dixie #dogs #larry mcmurtry #the last picture show #elizabeth crane #this story will change #marriage #andrew sean greer #less is lost #rainbow rowell #scattered showers #marilynne robinson #housekeeping #samantha irby #quietly hostile #july #august #september

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Because to love someone ridiculous is to understand something deep and true about the world. That up close it makes no sense. Those of you who choose sensible people may feel secure, but I think you water your wine; the wonder of life is in its small absurdities, so easily overlooked. And if you have not shared somebody’s tilted view of the horizon (which is the actual world), tell me: what have you really seen?

Less Is Lost, Andrew Sean Greer

#quotes #book quotes #andrew sean greer #less is lost #love

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Opening day at The Ripped Bodice in Brooklyn! Casey McQuiston did a book signing and the line wrapped all the way down the street.

#books #casey mcquiston #the ripped bodice #romance #indie bookstore #brooklyn #park slope

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Having a sister or a friend is like sitting at night in a lighted house. Those outside can watch you if they want, but you need not see them.

Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson

#quotes #marilynne robinson #housekeeping #sisters #books #book quotes

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Last month, we went to Chicago and visited Myopic Books!

#books #independent bookstore #chicago #myopic books #bookstore tourism #travel

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My May & June Reads

Dominicana, Angie Cruz - A book club pick that I've thought of several times since I read it in early May. It's incredibly upsetting! A teenage girl is forced to marry a thirty-something man because it's her family's chance at immigrating to the United States. Excellent writing, but I wish I could Eternal Sunshine a few scenes from my brain.

Vintage Contemporaries, Dan Kois - A lovely ode to Laurie Colwin.

Unlikely Animals, Annie Hartnett - A perfect novel. It is so weird and unexpected and heartwarming (and heartbreaking) and funny. An all-time favorite!

#books #monthly reads #booklr #annie hartnett #unlikely animals #dan kois #vintage contemporaries #laurie colwin #angie cruz #dominicana #favorites #may #june

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Katherine Heiny with Laurie Muchnick at Books Are Magic

I saw Katherine Heiny last month at Books Are Magic! My coworker Laurie joined me and we had the best time because Katherine Heiny is as hilarious in real life as she is on the page.

Read Games and Rituals, read Early Morning Riser, read everything she's ever written. Books Are Magic posts recordings of their author talks on YouTube; you can be charmed by Katherine Heiny from the comfort of your home at this link.

#author talks #author events #Books Are Magic #brooklyn #katherine heiny #laurie muchnick #games and rituals

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#books #am reading #Annie Hartnett #unlikely animals #booklr #animals #long weekend #memorial day weekend #weekend reading

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The variety of human creativity expressed in landscaping isn’t always a pleasure, but it is a wonder.

Rules for Visiting, Jessica Francis Kane

#book quotes #books #Rules for Visiting #Jessica Francis Kane #creativity

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Ann Napolitano with Helen Ellis & Hannah Tinti at Community Bookstore

Oh hey! I forgot to post about Community Bookstore's launch event for Ann Napolitano's Hello Beautiful (Oprah's 100th book club pick!) back in March.

I very nearly skipped this reading due to garbage weather, but I'm so glad I braved the wind because these three women are everything. Ann Napolitano, Hannah Tinti, and Helen Ellis have been in a writing group together—just the three of them—for the past 28 years. The chemistry, the history, the sisterhood on display: incredible.

#author events #readings #writers #women writers #ann napolitano #hello beautiful #community bookstore #hannah tinti #helen ellis #writing group #brooklyn