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BooksForEmpathy

BooksForEmpathy

Joined March 2016

Reading to connect & empathize with the world. School MFT. I ❤️ SF, movies, food, travel, asking all the questions + reading all the books.
review
BooksForEmpathy
Exhalation: Stories | Ted Chiang
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Pickpick

Happy Valentine‘s Day, Litsy!!

I made a fattoush salad and it‘s delicious with lots of sumac and herbs. We also recently had our Book Club meeting and discussed this phenomenal collection of short stories by Ted Chiang. I was dazzled and humbled by the ideas. The title story starts with, “The universe began as an enormous breath being held.” These words haunt me. Our resources are finite and will end with the final exhalation. Beautiful book.

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled We just read The Story of Your Life and Others for book club last week. Everyone enjoyed it! It made for good discussion 4y
GrilledCheeseSamurai Love his short stories. This one has been on my tbr for awhile now & I really oughta pull the trigger. 4y
BarbaraBB That salad looks great 👍🏼 4y
QuintusMarcus I just realized I never posted about this one - superb collection! 4y
72 likes4 stack adds4 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Such a Fun Age | KILEY. REID
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Made kale and white bean toast with some crispy prosciutto today for lunch. We went hiking this morning and spent some time reading in a coffee shop afterwards. Perfect Saturday!

aartichapati Does sound like a perfect day! 4y
85 likes1 comment
review
BooksForEmpathy
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Pickpick

Taken earlier this afternoon when I finished this book. Marsha Linehan is brave, smart, and a true leader. She has been to Hell, and she has climbed out of it. Slowly, yet unflinchingly. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is practical and satisfying for therapist and client, and I use the skills she created every week at work with my students. Radical acceptance can be life-changing. Her memoir left me inspired, a feeling I needed today ❤️.

saresmoore I want to climb into this picture. That light is lovely! 4y
JennyM Beautiful pic and amazing book - ‘if you‘re a tulip, don‘t try to be a rose. Go find a tulip garden‘ 💐 ♥️ 4y
74 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Such a Fun Age | KILEY. REID
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We made French onion soup last night and I made it again today for lunch. So comforting on cold days.

I have found keeping up with Litsy to be more challenging than expected. I recognize it‘s a habit, and habits need to be practiced. So here I am.

This is my next book and after a few pages I think I made the right choice. Who else has read it!?

Lcsmcat Your soup looks delicious ! 4y
Megabooks I‘m on the fence about this one. I‘m first at the library but I have it frozen because I‘m behind on what I have checked out!! 😂 4y
BookNAround Your soup looks yummy. My dad left two mostly finished red wines here when he visited and since I‘m not a wine drinker, I‘ll have to cook with them. French onion soup is one of my favorite recipes to use up the dregs. 4y
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BarbaraBB It was such a habit for you! I hope you‘ll get back to it and make it a habit again! Enjoy the soup and the book 💙 4y
ferskner So glad you're back! 4y
Linsy Yum! 😋 4y
Suet624 I‘ve missed your posts! 4y
82 likes1 stack add7 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Becoming | Michelle Obama
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This journal came in the mail today and I made creamy mushroom soup 🍄🥣. Happy Monday!!

review
BooksForEmpathy
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Pickpick

A 2019 favorite. This book was hidden in my bookshelves since 2016, and I am stunned by the treasure. Lately, the city is grey and foreboding; I wanted an escape. This novel delivered me to the astonishing and dangerous (and very grey) Farrallon Islands (30 miles away from SF). I learned about sharks, whales, seals, and birds through the eyes of Miranda, a photographer struggling with loss, violation, and rebirth. I was enthralled. I wanted more.

Tamra It is quite atmospheric! 4y
batsy I enjoyed this too! 4y
67 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Cozy | Parnell Hall
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Feeling cozy inside tonight. Rainy and cold weather calls for fires and reading and warm hats 🍁🔥💕.

BarbaraBB Great picture 😍 4y
55 likes1 comment
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BooksForEmpathy
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Today was one of those very fantastic days, where real life is paused and a new, magical world awaits. We spent the majority of our day in a theater, watching Part I and Part II of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and it was exceptional. The stage design, production, and illusions were breathtaking. The cast disappeared, transformed, and flew, and the time-travel effects were a treat.

review
BooksForEmpathy
Little Weirds | Jenny Slate
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Pickpick

Jenny Slate has written a gem that spoke directly to my soul and I wasn‘t expected it. Jenny Slate is tidy, lovely, and wild. She shines with color. Jenny Slate is a poet and she has delivered me a gift so surprising and true that I almost don‘t want to share it. Her observations are incandescent; warmly and delightfully lit from within. George Saunders said it best, “This book is something new and wonderful: it made me remember I was alive.”

Lcsmcat Great review! 4y
BarbaraBB Sounds wonderful! 4y
65 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
All This Could Be Yours | Jami Attenberg
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Pickpick

Went and saw Jami Attenberg tonight. Loved it. I finished the audiobook earlier today and had a very good time reading it. It‘s juicy. It‘s fast-paced. It‘s about what a dysfunctional and very wealthy family does when the patriarch (an undeniably BAD man) is in a coma. One child asks, “Do you promise?”

Jami described the book as kaleidoscopic and I agree. Central characters exist, also cameos of others; every one has a place and feels explored.

Texreader Great review 4y
Cinfhen I really love her writing. She‘s a great observer of human nature. This is high up on my reading #WishList 🧡Also glad to see you back posting xx miss your salads 4y
Emilymdxn I really want to read this one! 4y
67 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Find Me | Andr Aciman
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Pickpick

I went to see André Aciman speak before I read this book and found out this was not a full sequel to CMBYN. So I began reading with an open mind & adjusted expectations.

Well worth the read. We follow Elio‘s father, and then Elio with a new love, but we ache for the truth and rawness we felt alongside Oliver and Elio when they were young. The same way we do now sometimes, as we get older. Aciman knows what we want though, so try to be patient ?.

Emilymdxn I adored this book, I‘m so glad you appreciated the same things about it as I did! Andre Aciman is so perfect 4y
MicheleinPhilly I haven‘t read this yet but I‘m going to see Aciman next week. 🎉 4y
readordierachel Glad to read this review! I'm really looking forward to the book. 4y
50 likes2 stack adds3 comments
review
BooksForEmpathy
Runaway | Alice Munro
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Pickpick

Sunday Book Club brunch. We read Runaway by Alice Munro and it was superb. Also, a bit tedious. But maybe that‘s the point. A dense read, with great rewards. These stories will stick with me for a long time.

PS. HI! I am coming back to Litsy and I feel excited about it. After a longgg break, I‘ve realized that this platform gives me a specific place to process and be intentional about what I am reading, and to share it all with YOU.

MicheleinPhilly YAY! Welcome back!!!! 4y
BarbaraBB I love AIX! My agency designed that label 😊, it‘s cool to see it make it‘s aT across the ocean! 4y
Blaire Welcome back!! 4y
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mklong Welcome back!! I have missed drooling over your food! 4y
readordierachel Nice to have you back! 4y
batsy Lovely to see you back! 4y
youneverarrived Great to have you back 💛 4y
55 likes7 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
The Ghost Bride | Yangsze Choo
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Beautiful day in San Francisco. We are having bagels and morning reading time 🥯☀️!

ferskner Hope everything is okay with you. I'm miss your posts! 5y
BarbaraBB Me too. Just checking in. Hope all is well 😘 5y
Cinfhen Just thinking I haven‘t seen you post in a loooooong time. Hope all is well 4y
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BooksForEmpathy @ferskner @BarbaraBB @Cinfhen Thanks got writing! Just seeing these now and I am happy to be back!! 4y
Cinfhen Glad you‘re back 🥰 4y
BarbaraBB There you are! I hope you will be posting again 😘 4y
ferskner Yayyyyyyyyy! 4y
75 likes7 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Puzzleheaded Girl | Christina Stead
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My newest puzzle! Usually I think these kinds of photos/art of stacked books are not diverse enough or relevant enough, but I was so happy with this stack! So many amazing books here. Can‘t wait to dive into this one over the weekend.

saresmoore I love this! 5y
fleeting Oh wow I've been meaning to find a 1000pc puzzle to keep my mind off things and help me calm down. I wish we had that here! 5y
auntie_jenn galison makes great puzzles 🧩 5y
73 likes3 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Supper Club | Lara Williams
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Pickpick

One of my favorite covers of all time.

Coming hot off Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, I was HERE FOR THIS. I loved the premise: a supper club full of women who unapologetically eat and drink and indulge and take up space and gain weight and dance wildly. It got even deeper as we learn about these women, their traumas, and the sacred way women have of healing other women. I long for more of this open rebellion against being smaller in my own life.

61 likes9 stack adds
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BooksForEmpathy
Whiskey When We're Dry | John Larison
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Savoring my time reading and buying flowers and daydreaming and organizing for next year before heading back to work in a couple of weeks. I‘m moving through this book slowly and deliberately, and it‘s really gotten into my bones. I don‘t read westerns nearly enough. They are always so soul-satisfying.

65 likes2 stack adds
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BooksForEmpathy
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Pickpick

I just read the last page of this book and I can only say that it rocked me to my core. The second half of this novel is heavy. Heavy with the weight of love: the disappointments and transformations and fragilities.

It reminded me of “Idaho,” another quiet book about the intimacy of a marriage and how a devastating turn of events can deliver a tragic blow as well as expose the greatest strengths between two people. This one broke my heart.

JennyM I got this yesterday- will get the tissues ready x 5y
saresmoore I‘m thinking I might hold off on this and Idaho for a while. 🙃 Sounds beautiful, though. 5y
mauveandrosysky I just logged on in the first time in forever and OF COURSE your last several books are books that I fucking loved. (This one, The River, Supper Club, Fleischman, and I just started Three Women.) Thinking of coming back to this space now that the fog of PPD has lifted. Miss you and am comforted to find that we are still so aligned on so much. (edited) 5y
63 likes7 stack adds3 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
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Pickpick

Angie Kim‘s novel is a must-read courtroom drama w/fascinating characters, a need-to-solve mystery, and explorations of race + culture + gender + motherhood + mental disabilities.

I love books about motherhood and this story soars above the rest. Motherhood when your child is healthy is one thing, but very different when your child has a mental or physical disability. The toll it takes to take care of someone, with no end in sight, is mighty.

cathysaid Just started this one last night (an promptly fell asleep). Looking forward to it. 5y
Suet624 Just started and already sucked in. Can't wait for the grandbaby to take her nap so I can keep reading! 5y
80 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
The River | Peter Heller
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Pickpick

I read this on my flight back from Amsterdam. I still think about it. I studied art history in college and one of my favorite themes was the “sublime” as it relates to nature. Nature is ambivalent to us; it has the remarkable power to move us to both feelings of awe or terror depending on the moment. Heller‘s book is tense, and shows us our fragility in the face of nature. Heller‘s book also has an emotional depth I resonated with. Bravo!

75 likes3 stack adds
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BooksForEmpathy
Three Women | Lisa Taddeo
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Pickpick

The most enthralling book of 2019 so far for me. It was heart-pumping and intense, familiar and wholly new. This book is hard to describe. Or maybe it‘s simple: an exclusive peek into the sex lives of three ordinary women. All of them impacted by the men and women around them in subtle, unknowable, and also devastating ways. Like us all. True humanity exists in these pages. We are all so much more complex than we give ourselves credit for.

Megabooks Great review and I 100% agree halfway in! 5y
saresmoore Love this review! 5y
Megabooks I started to hate it and ended up giving it a bad review. I‘m glad you liked it though! 5y
71 likes7 stack adds3 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
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Chicken noodle soup and this read. I would highly recommend this book so far... loving the quiet writing.

63 likes1 stack add
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BooksForEmpathy
Disappearing Earth | Julia Phillips
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I‘m home! Dinner was saag feta again from the Indian-ish cookbook. I had some incredible Indian food in Amsterdam and I was excited to make this again when we got back!

This book and author seem fascinating to me. I think I want to wait to read it for Book Club though?

BarbaraBB Which restaurant are you referring to? Just curious! 5y
BooksForEmpathy @BarbaraBB Oh! I went to one called Sherpa (I think) and it was one of those “exactly what I wanted at exactly the right time” meals and I had a Kingfisher and the sun warmed my face and the saag paneer was transcendent. Also, it has Nepalese food, and so that means MOMOs!! (edited) 5y
BarbaraBB Oh I know where it it but haven‘t been there because it is so turisty in that neighbourhood but your food sounds great! Next week I‘m flying to SF to follow up on some of your foody suggestions! 💜 5y
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BooksForEmpathy @BarbaraBB Yes we were trying to get out of the touristy parts (really unbearable!!) between the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum and this place was just far enough away down the street. You have to go!! 5y
802Librarian I was in Amsterdam in November with my mom and sister and that Sherpa restaurant was our first dinner 👍 5y
kspenmoll Yum! 5y
64 likes6 comments
review
BooksForEmpathy
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Pickpick

I think the podcasts and interviews with the author I have sought out after finishing this novel have been even more engaging than the book itself. I finished it quickly, and believe it is one of those “very important” books to read. It is a story we (hopefully) have read before, yet the cycles of abuse and oppressiveness between men and women AND women and other women are striking all the same.

Also, the food scenes made me so hungry 😋.

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BooksForEmpathy
The Idiot | Elif Batuman
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50 local Netherlands beers on tap might give me the motivation to get through this book. I have not been pulled to it the way I was hoping for. I‘m going to keep trying...

Dolly I bailed on this one. Don‘t remember why or what it was about. It‘s gone...gone...gone. 5y
KarouBlue Beautiful pic! 5y
Lindy I listened to the audio edition, narrated by the author. I'm not sure how she managed to keep me enthralled with all the mundane conversations but it worked for me. I chuckled often. 5y
55 likes1 stack add3 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Fleishman Is in Trouble: A Novel | Taffy Brodesser-Akner
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Pickpick

I devoured this book. It is SO smart + on point with the social circles and constructs I am finding myself at the edge of right now. Firmly in my early 30s, I am at the cusp of having to come to terms with what having a child and a career will look like. The pressures of being a woman have never seemed so daunting.

This book is about marriage and ambition and divorce and mental health and gender and it is so OF THE MOMENT it took my breath away.

8little_paws I've heard a lot of great stuff about it! I'm in my late 30s, I hear ya. 5y
8little_paws I will say now in my late 30s, I got so burned out on work I no longer care what my career looks like. It's a source of income, that's it. I do what's asked of me and I don't go above and beyond any more. It's not worth it. 5y
Ashley_Nicoletto Great review! I must pick this up. 5y
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saresmoore I just got this from the library—can‘t wait to read it now! 5y
TrishB Stacked, great review 👍🏻 I‘m in my early 50s and saddened to hear that the choice is still so difficult ☹️ 5y
AmyG I just picked this up for my ibooks. I will have to bump it to the top. 5y
57 likes6 stack adds6 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
The River | Peter Heller
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It‘s our last day of vacation in Amsterdam! And I was seriously craving a big salad to eat 😂. It‘s time to detox and get back to working out and having a routine and consistent WiFi. Next up for me is The River. Hopefully I finish on the plane tomorrow!

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BooksForEmpathy
Amsterdam | Ian McEwan
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Our Airbnb in Amsterdam is so thoughtfully arranged and designed and provides so many delightful reading spots. Last leg of our trip!

LeeRHarry I am at Amsterdam airport! 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻 5y
Libby1 Wonderful! Have fun! I adore Amsterdam. 5y
JacqMac Lovely! Enjoy! 5y
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Leftcoastzen It‘s beautiful. 5y
Megabooks Great place to read!! 5y
Crazeedi ❤❤❤ 5y
Lindy Beautiful! I have wondered what it would be like to stay on a houseboat in Amsterdam. 5y
youneverarrived Looks amazing. Enjoy 😊 5y
MaleficentBookDragon Beautiful! 5y
BooknerdsLife That looks amazing!!! 😍💖Have a wonderful trip! (edited) 5y
Kalalalatja Gorgeous! 5y
Gissy 😍❤️❤️❤️ 5y
Toniyesss Houseboat!! 5y
saresmoore This is a bit out of the blue, but I‘ve been thinking of you lately and thought you might have some helpful insight. I‘ve been going through some pretty shitty life & marriage things and was wondering if you could recommend some books on healthy marriage and/or raising tweens. Also maybe a book I could recommend TO my tween to help her make sense of life? Any thoughts & ideas are welcome! ♥️ I hope you had an amazing trip! 5y
BooksForEmpathy @saresmoore Hi! I am so happy you reached out. I think about you too when I‘m on this platform and just thinking about life and would love to help and connect ❤️. I do have some great recommendations and would be open to discussing further through email? Email me, so I have yours and can pass along what has/does help me, and also whatever you have that you can share too! gcdrocco@gmail.com 5y
75 likes15 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Claude Monet | Claude Monet, Sean Connolly
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Visited Monet‘s gardens in Giverny today. Really breath-taking and idyllic. We missed our train coming back (very difficult to find a taxi from Giverny to the train station!) so I am trying to stay calm and peaceful with my photos from earlier. It does give me some extra reading time though...

stacybmartin So jealous - this is so gorgeous! 😍 5y
mreads Wow 😍 5y
Toniyesss Oh man Giverny is definitely on my bucket list!! So beautiful! 5y
BookishTrish So incredibly glad seeing this photo. I‘ve never been but am happy you got to go 5y
saresmoore Oh, oh, oh! Incredible! 5y
68 likes5 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
The Idiot | Elif Batuman
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An absolutely perfect afternoon spent reading in the Jardin des Tuileries 🌳☀️🌸🌷. I am loving The Idiot so far, although I‘m sure I‘m missing more than a few references...

BarbaraTheBibliophage Looks lovely! 5y
youneverarrived I‘m jealous. Enjoy 💚 5y
sparrowssavvy So jealous! This looks amazing! 5y
sprainedbrain Wonderful photo! ❤️ 5y
LeahBergen Beautiful photo! 5y
91 likes5 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Bookshelf Design | SendPoints
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We have made it to Paris! Our first stop last night was to see my aunt and cousins who live in the 6th. This is a picture of their covetous wall of bookshelves and books. So dreamy 🥰.

erzascarletbookgasm 😍 whoa! 5y
Susannah Oh my goodness. How wonderful! 5y
BethM 😍 5y
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Sarah83 Gorgeous 😍 5y
Eggbeater Wow! 💓 5y
saresmoore Incredible! 5y
MicheleinPhilly I‘d be moving in ASAP. 😍 5y
youneverarrived Amazing! Have a great time in Paris. 5y
LeahBergen How marvellous! 5y
Gissy I can stay there a looooooong time🙌 5y
ferskner 😮😲🤯 5y
77 likes11 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
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Everyone! I did something SO cool this morning. I got to witness a TRUFFLE HUNT 🍄!! This was our sweet guide and three of his eight dogs 🐕 (each worth 6,000 euros!) and we followed them throughout this protected forest as they found 4 kilos of truffles in about 2 hours! Incredible. Truffles are shaved onto most dishes here in Umbria, and it has been delicious. I have downloaded the tagged book to learn even more now that I have some context!

Crazeedi So you have to read this one too! It's part of a series, but all about truffles!!! 5y
cariashley So awesome, I would LOVE to do this!! 5y
BarbaraBB I looove my truffles, but they are not affordable most of the time. Enjoy your vacation ❤️ 5y
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BooksForEmpathy @BarbaraBB Oh I knowww 😤. It is so frustrating (but understandable now that I know more) that here in Umbria a huge truffle is very affordable at around 20 euros only. It is a way of life here, but back in SF, the same size truffle would go for hundreds of dollars. 5y
LeahBergen Very cool! (edited) 5y
BellaBookNook Thanks for sharing. That‘s so cool. 5y
ferskner WOW!!! That is so cool! How did you get hooked up with him? 5y
BooksForEmpathy @ferskner It was very cool! The Airbnb we are staying in is actually part of a hotel here (we didn‘t know this!) and they have a list of fun activities to do that we could sign up for. Truffle hunting was our first choice! 5y
ferskner It would be mine too! It sounds like the experience of lifetime. 5y
BookishTrish Wowza 😍 5y
73 likes11 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Umbria: A Cultural Guide | Ian Campbell Ross
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Happy Monday and happy reading 📖 💕!

erzascarletbookgasm Gorgeous! Happy reading! 5y
Crazeedi Beautiful!! 5y
BarbaraBB Incredible! 5y
Gissy 😍❤️❤️❤️❤️ 5y
55 likes4 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
East of Eden | John Steinbeck
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So EXCITED for this buddy read of #EoE! My second time reading it, and it was pretty life-changing the first time through.

Cinfhen 🧡 5y
64 likes1 comment
review
BooksForEmpathy
Into the Jungle | Erica Ferencik
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Pickpick

I have a thing for books about jungles. I think it‘s the risk and the heaviness and the sounds and the tricks it can play on you. Like it‘s alive.

Thank you Erica Ferencik for bringing me this novel that is magical and real and full of pain and sorrow and also hope. For this novel that took me into the jungle, to feel the humidity, the fear, the thrill, the curiosity, and the ever present astonishment you are nowhere you have been before.

65 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Ask Again, Yes: A Novel | Mary Beth Keane
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Pickpick

This novel washed over me. It felt familiar; gently holding up a mirror to parts of my own life and buried history. My childhood was wonderful in many ways, and it was also strained (and later broken) by mental illness and its effects. For a long time this was shameful. I tried to act perfect, showing no one my pain. I resonated with how one isolated incident is never really isolated and it ripples for generations.

“Love is only half the story.”

squirrelbrain What a wonderful, honest review. ❤️ 5y
BarbaraBB 💜 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ❤️❤️❤️ 5y
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Eyelit 💙 5y
Toniyesss I love you!! ❤️❤️❤️ 5y
Cathythoughts I can‘t wait for this book to come out here 👍🏻 5y
82 likes5 stack adds6 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Ask Again, Yes: A Novel | Mary Beth Keane
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Sometimes after an all-day food tour in Perugia, you just have to wear your favorite bookish shirt (can anyone guess!?), pour yourself some Sagrantino 🍷, and finish your newest read. All from the comfort of your bed.

Cathythoughts Can‘t wait for this book to be out here in August 5y
Reviewsbylola Heaven! 5y
youneverarrived Perfect 👍 5y
BarbaraBB A Little Life! I recognize the font! 5y
BooksForEmpathy @BarbaraBB You got it!! Yay! 5y
66 likes5 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Ask Again, Yes: A Novel | Mary Beth Keane
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This book is SO good. I hope to just read all day right here and finish it 💕.

marleed I felt the same way! 5y
Cinfhen I enjoyed this one more than I initially thought I would 5y
Crazeedi What a beautiful place to read!💕 5y
Bklover 💙💙🌞lovely! 5y
77 likes4 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
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Home for the next 6 nights. I feel like I‘m channeling my inner Elio from CMBYN. Italian country house and lazy days by the pool reading.

I don‘t see any 🍑 though... just a bunch of olive trees 🌳!

Bklover Enjoy! 5y
DivineDiana So beautiful! ❤️ 5y
Christine Totally re: CMBYN vibes!! 😍 5y
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Crazeedi Oh my aren't you just in heaven! 5y
BarbaraBB Great place! 5y
Toniyesss OMG YASSSSSSS 😍😍😍 5y
66 likes6 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
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A little taste of what we‘ve been mostly doing in Rome 🍝.

britt_brooke Totally envious!! 5y
LibrarianJen Mmmm pasta 😋 5y
Leftcoastzen I want that!! 5y
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Kimberlone 🤤 5y
CouronneDhiver The best 👌🏽 5y
KarouBlue Super jealous ... and hungry! 5y
Bklover Yum!!!!! 5y
readordierachel You are doing it right 👍🏼 5y
71 likes8 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
Ask Again, Yes: A Novel | Mary Beth Keane
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We are off to Europe for 3 weeks! I‘m only bringing a kindle, but these are the first books on my list to read on our flight to Italy! I love both covers so very much. Happy summer ☀️ 🇮🇹 📚!!!

TheLibrarian Enjoy Italy!! It‘s gorgeous! What part(s) are you going to? 5y
Crazeedi Bon voyage! And have a wonderful time! 5y
Megabooks Enjoy your trip! 5y
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BooksForEmpathy @TheLibrarian First stop is Rome and then some more time driving and eating through Umbria!! Time to re-charge! 5y
Leftcoastzen Enjoy! 5y
Simona Enjoy❣️ 5y
ferskner I covet your travel schedule! 5y
94 likes7 comments
review
BooksForEmpathy
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Pickpick

What a cover, right? Well, the book is even better. The tone is reflective and haunting, and I felt on edge while tearing through this collection of essays about T Kira Madden‘s childhood, her parents, her friendships, and her relationship with herself. There‘s a lot of brutal moments, and I wanted to reach through the pages and hold her in my arms. There‘s also a lot of strength and truth, and real tender moments of love. Highly recommend!

49 likes3 stack adds
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BooksForEmpathy
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It‘s here!!! As a true 4, I cannot wait to dive into this one and be alone with my feelings and learn more about why I do the things I do. Who has taken the Enneagram test!? What‘s your number!? I would be so curious!

Caterina Ohhh I love the Enneagram!! My brother is a 4(w5). 💕 I'm a 1(w2). Honestly the Enneagram has been such a healing experience for me and my entire family (mom's a 9w1 and dad's a 6w5). ❤️ 5y
Caterina Have you listened to Sleeping at Last's Enneagram songs? 5y
EKonrad I‘m a 6. Just started following enneagram stuff on Instagram. It‘s so fun! 😀 5y
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BooksForEmpathy @Caterina WOW. So many thoughts! Yes. I am a 4w3, and I need to embrace more of my 1 tendencies to move toward health. I love knowing about your family‘s experience with the enneagram. I‘m glad it was healing for all of you. What‘s your experience being a 1w2? What do you identify with? And then! This album! I had never heard of it before, and I just listened to the Four song. Beautiful and sad and melancholic. I need to listen to more songs! 5y
BooksForEmpathy @EKonrad Yes! I have a high score of 6 tendencies as well. This book is really fun, and the author has a podcast that discusses the enneagram in a really relatable and accessible way. Enjoy your exploration!! 5y
merelybookish I love the Enneagram! 🙌I'm a 5. It's been helpful for me to understand my solitary ways. (I have this book from the library! 👍) 5y
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BooksForEmpathy
Into the Jungle | Erica Ferencik
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Super in love with everything in this picture! We made chickpea flour pancakes topped with baby kale + chicken sausage + halloumi. Plus PEONIES! And, saving the best for last means this new #bookmail. I am dropping everything and reading this one. Right. Now.

Drocchio03 Hard yes to it all. Beautiful picture! 5y
mhillis Peonies 💕 5y
saresmoore So lovely! 5y
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BooksForEmpathy
Lost and Wanted: A Novel | Nell Freudenberger
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The more I sit with this novel, the more I come to appreciate this slow-burning story. Love and death is examined here, within the context of science. I can get behind love and death; science has always dragged for me. Still, I pushed through and found myself surprised along the way by Freudenberger‘s ideas. Like, one person dying is not just losing one person, but actually ALL the people that person was to all the people who knew that person 🤯!

minkyb Wow. That is a lot to contemplate. I can't decide if that is comforting or disturbing! 5y
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BooksForEmpathy
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Ahhh! Did anyone else know about this!? How did I not!?

One of my all-time favorites coming to the big screen in September. I cannot wait!

glitterkitty459 I'm excited!! 😁 5y
Zelma Interesting cast! 5y
Kalalalatja I‘m beyond excited! 5y
QuintusMarcus It better be good, it was a fantastic novel. Being released in September is a bad sign - that month is usually a dump for movies that the studio didn't think quite worked. 5y
readordierachel I guess it's time to pull this one off the shelf! 5y
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BooksForEmpathy
Birthday: A Novel | Meredith Russo
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Pickpick

Beautifully and powerfully done, Meredith Russo. I loved her first book, and I loved this one even more. Definitely listen to it - there‘s an interview between the narrator and the author at the end!

Recently, a student I work with came out as transgender to me. It was emotional for me, and also for him, especially when he said that he liked telling me because I had a positive reaction. Like it wasn‘t guaranteed 💔. WE NEED TO DO BETTER.

MicheleinPhilly Oof. That‘s a punch to the gut. 😢 5y
Crinoline_Laphroaig 💔 is right. 5y
readordierachel Yes we do 5y
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BooksForEmpathy
My Education | Susan Choi
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Where I‘m at this Sunday afternoon 💕. Wine tasting + hiking + swimming + cooking + chatting + books + cheese shops. Loveeeee.

Also, liking this book so far. Immediately after Trust Exercise I bought this one from the same author.

erzascarletbookgasm Sounds wonderful! Enjoy! 5y
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BooksForEmpathy
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Pickpick

I‘ve been in a bit of a reading rut and Susan Choi‘s novel was everything I wanted and didn‘t even know I needed.

I loved the structure and the story (with A+ themes of memory, first love, artistic endeavors, power and abuse, relationships between mentors and students) and most importantly, how Choi forced me to take an active role in what I was doing + reading + believing. Reading is a “trust exercise” itself, and this realization was thrilling.

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BooksForEmpathy
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We made saag paneer style spinach + feta from a new favorite cookbook: Indian-ish. BLEW MY MIND.

And. My therapist recommended this book to me because I do reflect (and ruminate if I‘m being honest) on death and my death and other people‘s deaths. I didn‘t know that there is a tradition of zen monks writing haikus the days, or hours, before their own deaths. They‘re beautiful, and touch on the meaninglessness and meaningfulness of our lives.

readordierachel Can I ask which cookbook? That looks amazing. 5y
readordierachel Ohhh, gotcha. I thought that was just a descriptor, lol. Thanks! 5y
ferskner Ooooo I have a galley of that cookbook! I'll move it up my list to test. 5y
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BooksForEmpathy
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Yesterday was really nice 💕.

I have about 50 pages left in this book and I think it‘s exquisite. It‘s subtle and can be dense, yet I was all in from the first “trust exercise” the characters take part in. I loved participating in drama therapy exercises in grad school and this reminds me of how immersive, terrifying, and deeply cathartic they can be.

saresmoore ♥️♥️♥️ 5y
BarbaraBB That picture 😍 5y
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