I have so many thoughts about this book. So many that I needed to talk it out. See the discussion here: https://youtu.be/ZDP3tV56Kos

Continuing my Roman reading, I grabbed this audiobook from the public library‘s digital stack and am enjoying it as much as I did with the first one. It doesn‘t have the seriousness of Bernard Cornwell‘s Fools and Mortals, which I just finished. But I don‘t need it to be. I like being transported to Ancient Rome as a prompt for my imagination for our upcoming trip. ⁣

My husband bought it when we were in London last summer but put it down with a quickness when he realized that it was Shakespeare. 😂 I am loving a peek at London, through the eyes of his wayward younger brother, including dirty handed tricks/ crimes from other playhouses seeking favor of the Queen and her ⁣retinue. The details in here are great and there is a gravitas that elevates the material. I‘m looking forward to reading more of his work!⁣

This is on ebook sale ($2.99) now in some platforms and I highly recommend it! It‘s a well crafted tale of the pressures one couple and specifically one woman faces to have children.

I love my library holds! There is something almost mystical about how it delivers me the right book for my mood. I was just wanting something historical, sweeping and a little fun. Well done, library gods! Well done.

Just posted my in depth review to BookTube last night- https://youtu.be/AlA0YY4voSw

I‘ve read a lot of Victorian era novels, but not many Edwardian. After Women Talking & Milkman, I was in the mood for something lighter. This is my first time reading this author, though I have watched her Agatha Raisin tv series. The protagonist is Lady Rose Summer, who is wealthy and “over educated”. She marches with the Suffragettes and faces ruin in ch. 1. Checks all my boxes - smart, rebellious women in an interesting time period? Sign me up!

The form of the book has many detractors for authorial choices of not having people‘s names, & by a stream of consciousness flow of the narrator(Middle Daughter). I have flipped between the audio and written book as I am under a time crunch. The experience is different. I like the audio- the Irish brogue helps with some of the language. And, what language! I‘ll not say anything more so I can share it with my book club first.

I just posted a video of my week review of reading and what‘s on deck plus a vlog on my month of book purchases and unhauls. Link in bio and here: ⁣
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGNpG_pEmpa3rmQ4obUhh4Q ⁣⁣
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This new book is on sale today in digital form. Not sure if it‘s across platforms or only for Kindle so check your preferred retailer if you are boycotting Amazon. I find that Apple Books tends to match the deal prices almost all the time.

This was a fun read! I like her Ruth Galloway series but this stand alone was 👌🏻.

Oh, this one is exactly what I needed. I‘ve wanted to read a good emotional (but non-sentimental) book for a little while. This is it! And when I googled an image with the phrase “young love” this came up and I feel it‘s quite apropos for the book. I chose this for a work book club to get more engagement from the younger members after the last book was a non fiction slog. Hoping this revives the membership. I know it‘s revived me. ❤️⁣

Any Bay Area Littens going to see Miriam Toews at Green Apple on the Park tonight? I just saw the post on IG that she will be there and I‘m already changing my plans to make it! (It‘s 5:27 am and I‘m so excited!)

I love this time of every month. The BOMC club pick has been made! I‘m a fan of books set in Egypt, so I‘m especially excited for this choice. Plus I missed the boat the first go-round with Miracle Creek. It‘s all the talk on BookTube, so I figured I would grab it. What did you all pick?

Just uploaded my lasted video about this book and the insane story of the Mitford Sisters! https://youtu.be/bSHUnDe82oc

Overnight escape to Calistoga! I‘m reading by a lovely water fountain feature, in perfect weather, and couldn‘t be happier. Finishing up The Lost Man by Jane Harper on audio, Women Talking by Miriam Toews, and Milkman by Anna Burns. It‘s so nice to read in a lovely setting.

You can see where I get my bookish nature... my mother ( @Mrsemz ) is visiting me leading me up to my birthday! We took a lovely visit to a used bookstore, had lunch and came back to the apartment. When I looked up, she was already in my reading chair, enjoying a book! ❤️

Adding a Jane Harper to the Aussie April readthon mix! It just came up in audio from my library hold, and the narration is sublime so far. I also have Boy Swallows Universe queued up on Scribd as soon as I am done with A Few Right Men. I am loving the exposure to so many great books and authors! Well done, Jaclyn and Doris.

I have re-establishing my old Scribd subscription for the Aussie April challenge as there are so many Australian authors on the platform. I left Scribd when they throttled the audio options, so now that it‘s unlimited, I am thrilled to be back. I‘m especially excited because this has an appearance of Sir Walter Mosley- the odious fascist who married a Mitford. I filmed a vlog about the Mitford sisters. One word- WOW! That family was bonkers!!!

New video up on my YouTube channel. In this video I talk about books I am reading to get ready for an exciting summer trip this year. https://youtu.be/QGtQ6_KgWIM

In this episode, I sneak away from my desk, find a not-so-hidden spot to film my reaction to The Overstory winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. 😂. https://youtu.be/ByDD_oZmluY

For my bday coming up-I treated myself to a subscription to Slightly Foxed. It‘s a delightful publishing company that puts out a quarterly journal + old classics. I came across an edition they did of my favorite, 84 Charing Cross Road. Their podcast is also so charming! It‘s makes me want to grab a cup of tea before settling in hear their lovely voices talk about books. It‘s an Anglophile‘s dream. I‘m thrilled with my first installment

Jumping into #aussieapril with this book, hosted by SixMinsforMe and AllDBooks on YouTube. I was suspicious that it may not be called an Australian book, but Kate at The Novel Nomad on BookTube calls it Australian, so who am I to argue? Really excited to try to read some new -to-me authors from that part of the world. Any Australian authors or books that I simply must read? Anyone else joining in?

Well, I‘ve started a YouTube channel to talk about books. I am enamored with the community- so many interesting books being read by interesting people. Apparently, being in multiple book clubs isn‘t satisfying my need to talk about books! I have more that will be released soon. Please wish me luck. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGNpG_pEmpa3rmQ4obUhh4Q

The weekend can‘t come fast enough. Look at all these amazing library holds that have come in!! The top row are all the ebooks and below are all the audiobooks. I‘m practically sweating with anxiety over this bevvy of riches bestowed upon me! Luckily, the library gives me 20 days for the check outs, and I tend to listen to most audiobooks at 1.5 speed. Should I take bets on how many I can finish? 😂.

There are times when I develop an aversion to a book only because of the hype. This was one. But a co-worker sang it‘s praises so I grabbed a library copy. I am 73% through it, & am now slowing it down to savor every moment. I just adore Kya, our narrator. I marvel at the real depth in these characters & the overwhelming sense of place with this marsh. I have been assured that this book will stick the landing. I am dreading when it will be over.

I am enjoying this lush story with a macabre mystery at the center! I‘m trying to work through my backlog of Book of the Month Club books. The writing is evocative and I could see this being optioned into a movie. So far, so good!

I was blessed today with a rare private event with Rachel Cusk, on her tour for the paperback release. Our small talk was quite illuminating. She mentioned how the blowback from her first two books was so intense because of the rage evident in the content and yet this series has the exact same material- but the narrator is “passive” this time & it‘s a critical success. But she purposefully constructed it for that effect. Kudos, indeed, Ms Cusk!

I decided to do some library digging for an audiobook about The Mitford Sister. I only have a cursory understanding of their story but it is epic- how 6 sisters not only grew up to be so different, but also spanning the political climate of England/Europe in WW2. I‘ve heard great things about the book of their letters to each other, which I hope to get to soon after this. Are there any famous families that spark your curiosity and interest?

This is a good sign- the first page has a map (gold star) and the library is the first room identified! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. But I am stumped by room 7- the Reredorter. I had never heard of it before. Google tells me it‘s a common area latrine, usually found in monasteries. I learned something before really starting the book. This could be fun!

The Faber 20 shorts have blown my mind this month. Only a few were misses for me and some were absolute revelations. I am so thrilled to have broken through my mental obstacle with short stories, especially with so many writers I have always wanted to read. Huzzah!

Well, even I am stunned at all the books I was able to read in March!
I finished 42 books:
-women writers (30)
-classics (2)
-short stories (17) from the Faber 20 series
-graphic novels (3)
-non-fiction (3)
And 6 of those were 5🌟s!!

Pressure! This is the 2nd time I have borrowed this book. I kept putting it off because it‘s so slim that I was sure I could knock it out quickly. So I kept bumping it. I am not known for repeatedly checking out the same book without reading it. So I brewed up a pot of tea, watched the sun rise & spent a little time with an 88 year old serial murderess! She is horrid, but it was oddly satisfying to see what she got up to in her old age.

While I feel I am a better than average writer, I know there is vast room for improvement. I heard this author being interviewed by the NYT Review of Books and found him engaging, humorous and very clear. So when I saw this pop up on Net Galley I put in my request. I‘m only on chapter 2 but I am thoroughly pulled in by his approach. I am hoping this will continue for the duration of the book. 🤞🏻

Friday night perfection- at the end of an accomplished day, after a nice meal, while in a hot and soothing bath, I come across a fact about my future vacation site. It says that during WW2, when Naples was under blackout, Mt Vesuvius was erupting. What an event! Can you imagine?

If you want a book that subverts the traditional spy novel, here you go! I read this and immediately wanted to revisit. (But be aware that it‘s a polarizing read due to the pace and style. ) Kate Atkinson is just a great writer. On sale on Apple Books and for Kindle today!

I‘m going through these Faber 20 stories too quickly! I finished this Sylvia Plath and a P.D. James while enjoying a cappuccino at a local cafe. I only have 5 more to go and I‘m a little sad about it. It‘s been such a revelatory experience to try my hand at so many short stories and authors without a big commitment. It‘s completely changed my outlook toward short stories.

I‘m so excited for these books to arrive from Book Depository! They were both on the Women‘s Prize long list & I was intrigued by these specifically. Bottled Goods is set in Communist Romania, blending magical realism and political turmoil. Old Baggage is the story of a woman who was a suffragette who finds herself in Middle Age, unsatisfied with her normal existence. Now I just need to win the lottery so I can quit my job and read all day!

These 4 stories from the Faber 20 have kept me engaged during this early daylight savings time week of commutes. I may have gotten over my aversion to the form of short stories with this collection. And I feel like I am getting acquainted with writers I have always meant to read but haven‘t gotten around to it. It‘s a brilliant collection. I‘m glad I ordered them from Book Depository as they are UK only releases.

The San Francisco Zen Center has been my spiritual home for years. Tassajara is SFZC‘s monastic retreat in Big Sur. I was living across the country when I heard about the fires and that David was leading the fight to save Tassajara. I am excited to hear the story. It helps one gain perspective on what is a crisis (encroachment of a wildfire while you are isolated in the mountains) and what is not (most of our daily torments/traumas).

What a glorious am commute! I am in love with this series which is miraculous as I haven‘t enjoyed short stories before. Maybe I read ones with jarring twists that made me uncomfortable/anxious. Since I read to escape those exact feelings, I was always let down by the genre. Reading these compact stories, one by one, has allowed me to see variance in the genre ( is genre the right word here?) and I am building an appreciation for the form.

I am learning a lot about how being a white person in the US means I have been bolstered by the system of white supremacy- regardless of whether I wanted it or not. It protects/ advocates for me in a myriad of ways every day that I used to be blind to seeing. I‘m interested in understanding how this work will compare to Layla Sass‘s Me + White Supremacy challenge. There is a lot of work to be done to be better allies of people of color.

I learn so much as I google search for images to go w/ the books I am reading. This book is about a Palestinian family who live in NY‘s Bushwick neighborhood. I looked for images of Palestinian family life in NYC but all were protests. Without a doubt, the Palestinian people have reasons to protest, but are there really so few images of Palestinian women smiling & enjoying their lives? Or is there a bias that Arab women are angry/dangerous?

Short story Sunday! (That‘s not a real thing, but I‘m so excited about my Faber 20 collection that I have binged every chance I could on these gems.) I‘m relaxing in a Lush bath, with three of these at my fingertips. Is anyone else reading these? I need to talk to someone about Cosmopolitan by Akhil Sharma! Hope everyone had a great reading weekend.

This Marie Kondo method is working in my favor! I dropped off bags of clothing only to realize that I bet people are dumping books. So I walk into the Goodwill and found 3 books in great shape for $.99 and I grabbed them. 😂

After the intensity of West, I needed to shake it off with something lighter. I really found the first book delightful so I decided to pick this up after seeing the series mentioned by @reallifereading ! In looking through images that might stand in for Ms Precocious Herself, I saw this photo & couldn‘t help but laugh. It captures the guileless genius of this little girl detective who has a penchant for poisons. Flavia is full of endearing charm.

Just finished West, and the hype was valid. The imagery, the characters, the encroaching menace, and ending were just exceptional. (That ending!!!) It‘s a fast and powerful reading experience and I will never forgot some of the descriptions and characters in this book. Hat tip to @SavidgeReads and Russell from Ink and Paper Blog for recommending this during our City Lights stroll! You were both right.

Thanks, Library goddesses for the audiobook of the most hyped book of spring. I am looking forward to listening to this over the weekend. And Jennifer Beales is 👌🏻 as a narrator! Should be fun.

Sale! I think this book is an exemplar of the rich complexities of women‘s lives. It‘s dense, lush, political, evocative, at times disorienting to a western reader in the way that immersive foreign travel can be, & illuminating. I think the reviews have been polarized by her lack of pandering to the reader. I loved that feeling and googled so many things while I read this book to get the nuance. I hope that more may be willing to take the chance!

More of my order of the Faber 20 Shorts arrived today and I am head over heals in love with these covers!! Happy World Book Day, Littens!

Happy World Book Day!! I came home from an exhausting day of work to so much book mail that even I was shocked. Not only did my BOTMC selections arrive, but the Faber 20 shorts AND my collection of Nancy Mitford special editions arrived. I‘m feeling blessed by the literary gods today. It‘s going to be a fantastic weekend of reading.