Meh, I thought it was pretty predictable but it kept me entertained enough while walking/doing chores. I wouldn't recommend it though, it was too formulaic.

Not to take away from her accomplishments as an athlete, but this was dry, repetitive, and gave me no real insight what it's like to train for something of this caliber. Honestly I would rather have read a memoir by her coach. I hate to say it but this is the kind of memoir people are referring to when they say young people shouldn't write memoirs. It's really not the age of the writer, but there isn't enough real insight there.

I ended up really liking this travelogue from over 40 years ago. Occasionally I would pick up my phone to Google the little towns and see what they're like now (if even still in existence). Yes-- sometimes it got a little slow, but just skim a few pages and I'd end up sucked back in. It reads like a series of blog posts. He hits the region I grew up in and I think he caught the spirit of that region during that time well.

Recovering from another crappy cold, so guess I'll read this tonight. I'm allmost halfway through, it's just ok thus far. He's a good writer, but it can lose steam in sections.

A few September reading ideas. The right 2 books are library and the left 2 are owned backlist. I've also got Wild Game coming from #botm and my book club choice for September is Sing Unburied Sing, which I did read already but long enough ago I need a refresher. And I plan on finishing the Frederick Douglass bio.

Eh.... not the greatest. She bikes around India to follow the central characters of the Ramayana, which is told alternately throughout her memoir. But I get no sense of how these locations really impacted her nor the story, it all felt very surface level and biking hardly played a role. I've heard her other books are better but this was the only one I could get through the library.

A historical business book that goes into the bookkeeping and business analytics of plantations holding slaves. It details the ledgers used to track daily cotton production and how slaves were valued. It compares this to free labor industries of the same time and then tracks how bookkeeping changed after emancipation. Interesting stuff if you've got a background in basic accounting, if you lack that I'd skip this book.

Turns out this book is due back the 3rd and can't be renewed 🤦‍♀️ guess I know what my weekend plans are! At least it's only 200 pages, and written in an easy to read manner.

A short story collection focusing on Nigerian women-- some in US, some in Nigeria. The themes are motherhood (wanted and unwanted), freedom of choice, relationships with parents, and domestic violence. I found the most affecting stories here to be the ones about dom. Violence and what options the women had. Same author wrote Under the Udala Trees, also excellent. Get this on Hoopla as ebook!

#botm is live! I'm getting Wild Game and adding on The Goldfinch so I can have a nice paper copy of one of my favorite books.

What are you getting?

I do miss the nonfiction botm :(.

Sorry no pic, it was an audiobook and I got nothin 😂. Anyways--I did like this book a lot. I liked how she painted the details of how these two families combined after the father of one family accidentally shoots the son of the other family. BUT: there were just way too many details here and side stories that could have been cut out completely and the ending just kind of fizzled away. Erdrich reads it herself and she's a great narrator!

Clocking in at only 95 pages this translated epistolary novella addresses the life of a Muslim woman in Senegal who is frustrated with the polygamy present in her culture and is left to raise 12 children after her unfaithful husband dies. It also addresses colonialism and changing cultures--a perfect book for a readathon or for your reading challenges! I counted it as epistolary for #readharder #summersendreadathon

Super informative, easy to read, and comprehensive. Read this as one of the five #literatureforjustice books the national book foundation put together and I'm so glad I did. A terrific companion to the new Jim crow.

Enjoying this poolside this evening. It's a library copy but pretty sure I'll end up buying my own copy.

TFW you're all caught up on the serial you ignored for like 3 weeks 🙈 gotta be honest I don't entirely care for this book, Swann is insufferable and the first half went on and on about not much at all.

Omg this book is RIVETING. a CNN correspondent follows the Boko Haram kidnapping in Chibok and tells the story of four specific girls kidnapped. Also goes into Nigerian history as well as how the author's background relates to the girls and the struggle to accurately report in Nigeria. Highly recommended.

It may only be Monday but I'm 2/3rds through this book and wooooow is it riveting.

Firstly, this isn't really a straightforward memoir but more like a collection of personal essays. But they're REALLY interesting and I love his writing style. It's biking season now so my reading has really slowed down, but I'm loving this.

About to read another chapter in the very interesting tagged book but sharing a picture of my special little gal first ❤

Also last weekend, my parents came to town and we swung by city hall to get married! As you can see we really dressed up for it 🤣 (not pictured: he's wearing shorts lol) not your traditional wedding but it was fun for us! We went out to dinner later in the day as well.

Also, I've been quiet here due to peanut getting kidney failure and declining in a matter of wks. Her care took up basically all of my free time-- feedings, medicine, baths, you name it. It takes more time than you'd think.

She passed last Thursday. I miss her but she was suffering terribly. It was no way to live and the vets determined her health was too far along after a point. You can see she was too weak to lift her head even. 😭

Oh hey! It's a heat advisory weekend here and I've got no plans but to stay in the house. I guess I shall unofficially participate in #24in48!

First up, get caught up on a few back issues of my serial reader book.

@Eggs
Lately it's plain yogurt with granola, nice and cool on summer mornings
I know there's a toilet themed restaurant in Japan or at least there was at one point.
No, I'd rather focus on the food.
I'm pretty happy with all the ice cream that does exist :)
@Ashley_Nicoletto @felinesandfiction

Important story for sure but the plot felt like it was the same conversation over and over again by the halfway point and some of the dialogue felt clunky. I'd still recommend it, 3.5ish/5.

Have you read Elliot Ackerman before? Well if you want to hear this generation's military voice, you owe it to yourself. His new memoir is haunting. I've read 3 of his books now and let me tell you, this man knows how to end a book. All three endings have haunted me. I woke up in the middle of TNT night last night thinking about how he ended this memoir.

Look, I'm on the same page as Kendzior in many aspects. But this collection is flawed. 1. It's not edited, it's just an anthology of al-Jazeera essays from 2013-15ish, and focuses heavily on academia and freelancing. Not "the view from flyover country". It's very repetitive. And 2013-15 issues are pretty old hat to anyone paying attention. Skip this collection, read a few of her writings online instead.

Absolutely gorgeous writing from a brilliant person. This account of science, geography, nationalism, bike travel, exploration, you name it, manages to tie everything together in a way that was completely satisfying to me even if I wouldn't have taken this trip in the same manner she did. I immediately want to read it again.

Check out the hobbit mcmansion I found on my walk! Tagged book is my current audiobook..... honestly it's pretty dated for 2019 and isn't saying anything new but it's not bad either.....

This is a wild ride uncovering a global drug and arms ring that also hits the online pharmaceutical industry. The amount of reporting, on a subject straight up filled with unreliable narrators, is astounding. Really fascinating what goes on in our world.

Well I just started this on my commute in today and I'm so hooked already that I need some sort of fake emergency to get me out of work and back home so I can binge read this on the couch. Any ideas?

High four star book turned 5 stars due to the absolutely fantastic audiobook cast. I couldn't help but fall in love with these characters and I rooted for their happiness. As noted it's about 70s rock band, and it manages to hit some of the cliches you'd expect but turns others upside down and as a whole it was very satisfying. I suspect the ending will really stick with me. I would make up excuses to listen to it!!

@mrbook #litsyneighborhood for you. This is just a temporary neighborhood for me, we expect to live here a few more years perhaps, but I'm enjoying all the lovely homes on the days the weather's nice enough to get out (which is rather infrequently)

I'm sorry but this was a pass. Characters felt one dimensional, too much strained credulity. And way more teen romance than I anticipated, which I hate reading about. The nature writing worked. But yeah I don't get the hype, sorry.

A delight of a memoir. While he does address some serious elements here the book keeps a lighthearted tone overall and also offers up fashion and life tips. I particularly liked hearing about how he started his clothing line, and he speaks so lovingly of his husband throughout.

Let me tell you, any reading slump I felt like I was in this past spring has been blown to bits because this book is connecting with me in a major way. Yes it's sciencey and clinical but it's also this gorgeous study of female friendship, motherhood and profound grief.

I think I'm gonna pick Recursion, but I honestly don't know!!! I'm also eyeing Ask again yes and the golden hour. Thoughts??? Or I could skip....

This is a 2 star read, bumped up by good narration. I learned far more about Offerman's sex life than I had any desire to, and he spends a lot of time griping about office jobs and how you should follow your passion..... that unrealistic advice always grates. How do you expect society to function if everyone followed this advice? Pass. I loved his book recently released with his wife though.

This almost never happens, but I'm kind of savoring it for now before diving into anything. Lately it feels like even when I like a book I'm not excited and connected to it, so I'm going to contemplate my next pick before diving in

This book has been on my radar for a while, so I snapped it up as soon as I found it on hoopla. It's an exploration of race through a white woman's perspective as she navigates a dual race family. I admit a few sections the pacing felt off and there were times the main character was frustrating, but the section where she reflects on how in 1999 things are certainly getting better and we live in a prosperous and equal time, was spot on.

I'm bound and determined to finish this book this week, I'm almost halfway finished. Got a cuddle buddy who will not leave my side as I read this morning.

Another fabulous house seen on my #audiowalk today. Book is alright so far. A bit slow to start but it's picking up.

This book combines ancient Egyptian history with modern Egyptian history with a big dash of memoir and language study. A pleasure to read thus far!

I wish this had been better organized. His story is certainly interesting, but the book feels really scattered. Some sections went on much too long and there are other sections I'd love to have heard more about. Listened on audio, here's a shot from a walk.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new tote so much! With my new job, I'm back to primarily commuting via public transportation, so this bag is just perfect for that! I started my May #botm as well and it was a great start to the day.

Passed this lovely home while #audiowalking today and listening to the tagged book. It's for readharder. #litsywalkers

This is genius. So sharp and wistful and clever and lonely all in just over 100 pages.

This is all the more poignant as we know that her son died young and she immediately miscarried her pregnancy after his death. 😭

Had a terrific time celebrating #indiebookstoreday at four great Chicago bookstores with @WhatDeeReads , @cdreincarnate and @atlasclouded plus another non litsy friend. Definitely going to binge read the top book on this pile, which I've tagged, tonight.

Reminds me so much of Asymmetry but not as interesting to read IMO. I couldn't connect with these kids at all, and the ending didn't pull it together. Interesting concept though.

Spoiler alert! Pretty sure this is a may #botm choice. Any others out there?