WOW. This was really something special. There were times where I felt like I wasn‘t getting along with it because it made me so uncomfortable. But then I would allow myself to sink back into the musical language and be swept away. A really unique reading experience. 👍🏼

This had its moments but ultimately was too 🦇💩for my tastes.

Monday morning mopes.

I had only somewhat recently been introduced to Paul O‘Grady when we started watching For the Love of Dogs. We quickly fell in love with Paul, his quick wit, and his love and adoration for rescue pups. I was heartbroken when he passed and dear Helen sent this to me as a pick-me-up. It did the trick! ❤️

I adore Samantha Irby so so very much. She is one of the few authors that consistently make me laugh out loud. This was the perfect accompaniment to a trash work week. 👍🏼

I pretty much loved this one. Anyone who dreamed of growing up and getting away will relate to Maeve. And as someone who was roughly the same age as these girls in the mid-90s but was woefully misinformed about the Troubles, I appreciated “experiencing it” through their perspective.

I had a hard time putting this one down. A delightfully quirky cast of characters and 2 rather maddening MCs, it was creepy without being scary.

Attention Brits! Kindle Daily Deal!

I adored this! Follows a messy ass family over the course of a year. It has heart and humor and was 100% in my wheelhouse. 👍🏼

#bookmail may not make Pickles happy, but it makes me ecstatic!

This novel is, to put it mildly, A LOT. It is a love story, yes but it is also a maddening, frustrating, heartbreaking tale of addiction. There were multiple moments where I wanted to throttle both Charlie and Leah but ultimately I wished them well.

I should know better by now to trust book marketers to stretch the truth but by marketing this as a thriller, I think they have done the author and readers a disservice. This is more of a family portrait than anything truly suspenseful. However, I was touched by the honesty and authenticity Jiménez presented and will be on the lookout for future writing.

Did my duty! #IndependentBookstoreDay #bookhaul #shopsmall

I think this suffered a bit from unfortunate timing. I don‘t typically read romance and I JUST read another “Hollywood adjacent falls for huge superstar” novel except that one featured lesbians. There was nothing inherently wrong with this, I just didn‘t think it was anything special. At least it was a #BorrowNotBuy.

Need to make this official before I‘m paralyzed by anxiety. 🤣 #CampLitsy23

This started out promisingly but then devolved into utter stupidity and nonsense.

#Bookmail is best mail!

Fiery, feminist revenge stories are ALSO my jam. This #womensprize nominee definitely snuck up on me. I was not expecting the level of humor found in this nor the very sobering examination of religious and caste discrimination. Although I‘ve only read a handful from the longlist, I think this one could be a sleeper hit. Loved it.

Can someone please bring me my book? I‘m being held hostage.

What do you do when you can‘t seem to focus? #StartASeries and read the first 3 entries back-to-back-to-back, of course. It‘s not insta-love like it was with Helen Grace or Jessica Daniels or Kim Stone, but obviously I still find Kay Hunter compelling.

I don‘t typically read romance but this was exactly the sort of sweet, sexy, Sapphic brain candy I needed. A touch of Notting Hill without the insta-love and a wonderfully drawn friend group and badass Aunt Lorna, this just made me smile. 👍🏼

Dysfunctional family stories are also my jam and oh boy, did this one deliver. I was completely mesmerized from start to finish. Just loved it.

#KindleDailyDeal for the Brits! 99p each.

This week was “messy queer women in Philly” week for me, I guess. Skye has a metric fuck ton of baggage. How she attempts to sort through that while also navigating a relationship with the 12 year old product of her previous egg donation was warm and witty. I really liked it.

Messy women are my jam. In fiction, not in real life. Keep your messy behind far away, please and thank you. I don‘t think the Mrs. Dalloway comparison is apt as this novel spends way more time flashing back than it does at said dinner party. But we had a very lively discussion about it at book club and while everyone liked it, we just wanted 50 more pages. Still I could relate to a lot of the mess. Mega bonus points for being set in Philly.

I‘m not making a concerted effort to read the #WomensPrize longlist because the road to hell is paved with good intentions and all that jazz, but I am happy I scooped this one up for 99p. It‘s a bit strange and the characters are a lot quirky, but it really worked for me. Right book, right time.

Meh. I didn‘t find this twisty or suspenseful at all. The good news is that by the time the series premieres on Apple TV next month, I will have forgotten everything about it.

Cold. Pouring rain. Just generally gross. I‘ve made my plan for the day.

I have no idea what compelled me to purchase this and read it immediately (perhaps a craving for breakfast?). Cloake travels the UK via bicycle to discover what constitutes a “proper” breakfast. This was easy to dip into first thing in the morning and last thing at night and for the record, hot sauce is the answer to her question. Non-meat eaters should steer clear.

Sarah Vaughn‘s books are great for my my Monday-Friday brain. Compelling legal thrillers with a pinch of politics.

Shaking like a leaf because the wind is howling. She‘s afraid of the wind.

THE.

WIND.

A light pick. I absolutely LOATHE influencers and everything they stand for so I had to sort of hold my nose a bit with this. Maybe we could pass out copies to young‘uns whose life goal it is to set social media on fire? I was hoping for just a bit more “oomph” but the issues she raises are sadly all too timely.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Helen, for turning my Monday morning frown upside down. What a lovely surprise. 🤗😘 (And no, I have not made the bed this morning. I‘m an adult, thank you very much.)

This wasn‘t bad but I felt like the author tried to do too much. There were so many disparate parts and I don‘t think she weaved them together successfully. The timeline didn‘t work for me either as it felt way too “of the moment.” I just couldn‘t see much of this journey happening 20 years ago. 👵🏼

Just absolutely gorgeous. I don‘t typically connect with dystopian stories unless the world the author has built is one that seems not terribly far from our current state and this totally fit the bill. Wonderfully evocative and atmospheric. I just loved it.

Breakfast and book club book. I‘m enjoying this one immensely.

I had taken a break from Karin Slaughter because the Will Trent series was driving me bonkers - the new show didn‘t help matters either. So I decided to pick up one of her stand-alones that has been hanging out in #TheVault. I don‘t think any other author writing today gets me ripping through 500 page books quite like she does. She really is a master. 👍🏼

I wouldn‘t know who this chick is if she walked up and punched me in the face but everyone else is reading this so I thought “Why not?” This was absolutely brutal. I hope she continues to get the support she needs. Flew through this yesterday and all I could think was, “Honey, I‘m glad your mom died too.” 😱

I think I admired this more than I enjoyed it. It‘s a rather “quiet” novel and I had to be in a VERY particular headspace to pick it up. The author is undeniably talented and committed to his research. I think I‘ll be mulling over this one for quite some time.

Utterly bizarre but eminently readable.

6 years ago today we adopted this nugget. She was such a teeny tiny little thing. Now she‘s our little tank. 🥰

What a marvel she is! Not simply because she is one of the greatest actors of my lifetime, but because this little girl endured decades of racism, domestic violence, sexual assault, extreme poverty, addiction, etc. in her family and not only survived, she is thriving. My only quibble is I would have liked more meat on her most recent successes but that wasn‘t really the point of this. Brava, Queen!

I guess I‘m reading this next! #EGOT 👑

I love Jennifer Haigh. She manages to center her stories around timely social issues and imbues her characters with such humanity. While this wasn‘t my favorite of hers, I did unfortunately recognize so many of the tactics of the anti-abortion protesters. We used to live in an apartment next door to Planned Parenthood and these gross old men would stand outside every Wednesday morning and harass EVERYONE reserving their most vile tactics for…

Bosch and Ballard never let me down. I won‘t say much more because I‘m not a spoiling asshole, but this one left me a little verklempt.

‘Sup Litsy?

I think that I am just destined to not really love any of the #TOB2023 shortlist with a couple of exceptions. This was a really heart-wrenching portrait of grief but for so much of it, it read like really simplistic YA. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I did “like” it but I am again perplexed by the panel‘s choices.

Meh. This was…okay. The airport conceit was completely unnecessary. I‘m rather perplexed as to why this made the shortlist. It wasn‘t bad, it just wasn‘t fantastic or terribly memorable. #TOB2023 @Ruthiella @Cinfhen @Suet624 @sarahbarnes @thebluestocking @Mindyrecycles @vivastory @kwmg40 @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB @amyrabbitt @MicheleinPhilly @Hooked_on_books @cariashley @batsy @Chelsea.Poole @Addison_Reads @RebelReader

This is my local indie‘s book club pick for this month. While I loved the author‘s Dietland, I didn‘t go into this with sky high expectations because I saw it characterized as witchy, magical, fairy tale-ish, etc. none of which is my jam. It has serious Gothic undertones but was remarkably accessible. It had a slightly similar vibe to The Change for me which I loved. Very atmospheric but NOT a horror novel at all. Stupid book marketing. 👍🏼

All my brain has been able to handle this week and it was not a favorite. The action seemed really gratuitous (which I recognize is ironic given the shit I read) but this was really over the top. Also, Peter James is obviously a horny old man. Dude, write to Playboy or something. 😖