OMG SO GOOD. If you loved Between the World and Me, you‘ll love this. I was hooked from the start. It was entertaining and educational and made me want to get more involved in community organizing. I highly recommend.

Good short palate cleanser between some of the heavier books I‘ve been reading. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of Appalachia and the sense of adventure. One warning, though: it‘s a serious sausage fest.

This book was good, but I didn‘t LOVE IT love it. I also recognize that I‘m not the target audience, being neither an immigrant or a young adult. I learned some things and I‘m glad I read it, but it was faaaar from being the most compelling memoir I‘ve read recently.

I‘m a big Sloane Crosley fan (loved I Was Told There‘d Be Cake). That being said, the first 1/3 of the book was disappointing because the essays felt like they ended prematurely or were collections of witty observations that didn‘t add up to a full narrative. HOWEVER, the rest of the book redeemed itself because that‘s where all the good essays are. So I say stick with it!

The first half was boring, but if you can get past that it really picks up. I‘m intrigued enough that I‘ll most likely read the next one in the series. I think the problem with the first half is that it seemed shallow and the stakes weren‘t high enough. Once the tension became more palpable and the dark underbelly of the kingdom was revealed, it got good.

Nothing happened in the first 65ish% of the book, but the ending really heated up!

I can‘t get enough!! I‘ll be waiting anxiously for the next one. 😃

I‘m loving this graphic novel so much!! It might be my favorite graphic novel to date. 🧛🏼‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧙🏼‍♀️🧞‍♀️🧞‍♂️🧙🏼‍♂️🧟‍♂️🧛🏼‍♂️🦖🐲🐉

I took a little break from Litsy because my work schedule got super busy there for awhile, but I‘m baaackkk!

I recommended The Female Persuasion to my library months ago and they bought it. So when it came out this past week, I was the first person to get it! YAY! 😃

And let me tell you. It really does hold up to all the hype. It‘s AMAZING. 📚📚📚💗

Confession: I‘ve never been to a National Park.

I‘ve been to lots of state parks & love camping, but never a national park. I don‘t think I truly appreciated them until today when I finished this book. & I don‘t think I can appreciate them properly until I go to one.

& while I recycle & compost & garden & hardly drive, I don‘t think I really understood what being a climate activist meant until I read this.

I‘d call it a life-changing book. 🌱🌲

It had me at this weird-ass cover. 🤪

Lately I‘ve had super specific book cravings: memoirs by women about coping with the loss of a parent through the lens of nature. I loved When Women Were Birds by Terry Tempest Williams a few months ago, so I was thrilled to find H Is For Hawk, which is also in that vein. It, too, was excellent. Now let‘s see how long I can keep this trend going...

In addition to being a short story writer, Leonora Carrington was a surrealist painter. So her stories are like if you took a Salvador Dali painting and tried to make sense of the weirdness.

They‘re like strange, delightful, disturbing fairy tales. It‘s hard to describe, so you‘ll just have to take my word for it. 😘

I‘m pretty sure all the bad reviews are because the “big reveal” at the end was a little disappointing, but sometimes mental illness just doesn‘t make sense, okay? Okay.

And even if the big reveal was a bit of a letdown, the rest of the book is good enough to compensate. I‘m glad I read it.

Also, if you‘re suffering with any kind of mental illness, please get help. It gets better and the world needs you. 💗💗💗

I‘m glad I finally got around to reading this, especially since I recently read The Bell Jar.

At first I thought it was odd that a class of emotionally fragile teens were given The Bell Jar to read, but then again, I‘m suffering a depressive episode right now and this depressing book is making me feel better, oddly enough. Maybe there‘s something to it!

Either way, I‘m glad I found it & I‘m excited about the new Wolitzer book coming out soon.

I may have to give this one a try at some point later. I was listening on audio while doing some tedious stuff for work and I was 13 hours in when I realized that I don‘t care about any of the characters or the city or what happens to any of them because I feel zero emotional connection to the book. No one seems genuine or relatable in any way. Maybe I‘m just in a mood, but for now I‘ll have to bail.

I have mixed feelings. On one hand, it kept me up reading past 3am two nights in a row, so that‘s good. Brent also did a good job capturing what his middle school self was thinking, using language he would have used back then.

But overall, it wasn‘t well written & it‘s clear he got a book deal because of his unique experience, not because he‘s a good writer. He‘s offensive to women & refuses to acknowledge his mental illness in a meaningful way.

I‘ve been thinking about what to say in this review for days and I‘m still speechless at how perfect this novel is. I don‘t often say that—I‘m a professional book reviewer and write reviews for magazines, so it takes a lot to render me speechless for days. And I NEVER say a novel is perfect. But this one truly is. I already know it‘s going on my best of 2018 list.

Columbus, OH folk!

Come hang out with me and other bibliophiles at Silent Book Club tomorrow night. Just bring a book you‘re currently reading and we‘ll have a silent reading party. No pressure, no homework, just fun. It‘s the community of a book club without the assigned reading.

Tomorrow 1/9 at 6:30pm at the Arby‘s on N High St.

http://meetu.ps/e/D0QWQ/t9sJp/a

This book doesn‘t officially come out until April from Dzanc Books, but TRUST ME you‘re going to want to preorder it.

The emotional buildup is palpable and how the characters treat each other is frighteningly real. It‘s like a manifestation of that thing my therapist is always saying: “hurt people hurt people.”

My favorite book of 2017!

It‘s not often I find a book so perfect I can‘t come up with a single complaint, but that‘s how I feel! It was the first book I read in 2017 & it stuck with me vividly.

I don‘t even know what to say it‘s so perfect. Whatever you do, read this book. Ignore the rest of the countdown, but read this book.

That‘s why it holds the #1 spot on my #top10 of 2017!

Full list: https://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog/best-of-2017

A must-read for everyone who‘s ever felt angry, frustrated, confused, & sad after another police officer kills an unarmed POC.

Having the novel from a teen‘s perspective, you see the emotional trajectory & how she processes seeing her bff murdered. This novel should be required reading for ALL.

Necessary, important, & timely, this book holds the #2 spot on my #top10 of 2017.

Full list: https://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog/best-of-2017

I‘m not a big music buff, but I still couldn‘t put this book down. The essays weave the personal, political, & musical in an epic way. Like, going to a Springsteen concert conjures thoughts on Michael Brown. It‘s just SO well done.

I‘d recommend it to anyone, but esp music lovers. It‘s music & culture writing like I‘ve never seen before. That‘s why it‘s #3 on my #top10 of 2017.

Full list: https://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog/best-of-2017

This is the best memoir I‘ve ever read. EVER. The way Terry Tempest Williams is able to weave meditations on nature, grief over her mother‘s death, & memories that shaped her is indescribably beautiful.

As a creative nonfiction writer, this is what I aspire to. I‘d recommend this book to everyone, but especially writers.

That‘s why this book holds the #4 spot on my #top10 of 2017.

Full list: https://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog/best-of-2017

Of all the books I read in 2017, this one broke my heart the hardest. I have trouble articulating how much this book has haunted me. I read it shortly after the news of the fall of Aleppo & it broke me.

It‘s such a humbling reminder of the human cost of war & how fragile life & love can be. It‘s like modern Romeo & Juliet in Syria.

That‘s why it gets the #5 spot on my #top10 of 2017. Full list: https://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog/best-of-2017

You know that book everyone tells you to read & you put it off forever & finally you get around to it & LOVE it? Kindred is that book for me.

I‘m so glad I finally read it. I couldn‘t put it down. 3 hours later I looked up from the book for the first time & realized how much time had passed! It sucks you in FOR REAL.

That‘s why this book holds the #6 spot on my #top10 list of 2017. Full list: https://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog/best-of-2017

Immigrants make America great! ✊🏽✊🏻✊🏾✊🏼✊🏿

With travel bans & racism coming out of the White House every day, I wanted to read stories about immigrants. Their contributions, & consequently their stories, aren‘t honored nearly as much as they deserve.

This novel will make you hurt for the immigrants you love & the sacrifices they‘ve made. That‘s why it‘s #7 on my #top10 of 2017.

Full list: https://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog/best-of-2017

You don‘t see many anthologies on “best of” lists, but this one is SO GOOD.

Growing up, I couldn‘t wait to graduate high school so I could get out of Alabama & go to NYC. Well, one thing led to another & it didn‘t happen & I‘ve guilt tripped myself for it for a decade. This book put that to a stop & I‘m forever grateful.

That‘s why this book holds the #8 spot on my #top10 for 2017. See the rest https://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog/best-of-2017

Queen Didion reigns! 👑

This book is so heartbreaking and beautiful and definitely one I recommend for anyone who carries the loss of someone they love in their hearts. 💗

On my #top10 of 2017, out of 101 books, this holds my #9 spot. See the rest here: https://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog/best-of-2017

Any Joan Didion fans in the house?! 🙌🏻

AND Virtue. Litsy cut that part off. 😏

I read 101 books in 2017, so it was really hard narrowing it down to my top 10! But I did eventually rank them and this one holds my #10 spot.

I‘ll be posting the rest of the list throughout the day, or you can check out the full list now on my book blog https://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog/best-of-2017

Did you love this book too? Or are you planning to read it in 2018? Let me know! 💗📚

I gave this a 👍🏼 but it‘s really somewhere between that and so-so. I went back and forth the whole time reading it.

I realize that being white I‘m not the target audience, so it makes sense there are some things I wouldn‘t get, but there was a lot that confused me. This is probably more about my intelligence or cultural unawareness than about the actual quality of the writing. I also admit there‘s a lot of poetry I don‘t understand. ... 1/2

I can‘t believe I waited so long to read this! It‘s excellent and definitely a book I see myself returning to again and again.

It was weird and wonderful and delightful and funny. I appreciated how the characters were, all things considered, pretty normal and how they thought their strange town was normal because they‘d never been anywhere else. It was nice to have a sci-fi novel where ALL the characters have a suspension of belief, as opposed to the one hero protagonist who can magically see through the veil.

I usually find that as a series progresses the books get (slightly) worse with time, but this series just keeps getting better! I can‘t wait until the third book comes out and I hate that I have to wait 6 months! 😭😭😭

This is one of those books where, as a lit major, I see the literary merit but that I didn‘t actually enjoy reading. It‘s pretentious, utterly lacking in plot & chock full of obscure references. It‘s ironic the title is The Idiot because you‘ll feel like one after reading this book. It was TRYING to make some good points about emotional availability (I think?) but any meaning the author wished to impart was lost in all the unnecessary mumbo jumbo.

99.9% of the time I don‘t write bad book reviews. Just because I don‘t like something doesn‘t mean someone else won‘t & I don‘t want to discourage them. BUT...

How the fuck did this woman get a book deal?!

This is one of the worst books I‘ve ever read. The writing is terse & stilted & there‘s little to no substance to speak of. And it‘s nothing like the So Sad Today twitter account.

This is the most pathetic excuse for a book I‘ve ever seen.

Don‘t let the ugly cover fool you, this book is HILARIOUS! If you‘re feeling disenchanted with office life, I highly recommend it. Very fine satire.

Just started and I‘m hooked!

Two words: HELL. YES.

I‘m here for this Wonder Woman girl power adventure novel party all day every day. It‘s only Wednesday and I‘ve had so many annoying trolls on the Internet this week (all men because OF COURSE; lord knows women have better shit to do) and this book was exactly what I needed.

I can‘t believe I never read this as a kid! It‘s never too late, though. And now I‘m passing it on to my god son. 🙂

Good, but not great. Some of the individual scenes were good, though it just left something to be desired overall. I almost felt like it was so similar to Station 11 in theme that they could almost be part of a series.

Question of the day!

What‘s a genre you‘ve never read before? (Or a genre you read once and will never read again?)

For me, it‘s westerns. I don‘t think I‘ve ever actually read one!

Damn Litsy cropping tool! 😂

Anyway, it‘s #WhatchaReadingWednesday! Let me know what you‘re currently reading. 📚📚📚📚📚📚

I‘m reading The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett and The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke.

What about y‘all? What‘s good?

Columbus, Ohio!

I️ hope you can come to our Silent Book Club meeting tomorrow night. It‘s especially awesome because we‘re being written up in the Columbus Dispatch! There will be a reporter there who wants to know all about your love for books and may want to take your picture. All are welcome and I‘d love to have a good turnout. 🙂

Get the scoop ⬇️⬇️⬇️

http://meetu.ps/e/CWnwS/t9sJp/a

I️ run a fun Facebook group of book lovers and recently started asking (almost) daily questions on there. Folks are loving it, so I️ thought I‘d post them here too!

Today‘s question is...

Do you request ARCs or do you prefer to just wait until the book is released?

Super excited about the book release party for Beasts of Extraordinary circumstance! I‘m hoping to get my book signed by Ruth. 🐺📚

Yes yes yes yes yes yes YES!!!!

Just in from the library. I‘m way too excited about this one!

#bookmail is the best mail! Thanks Dzanc Books!

So much YES. I️ don‘t even know what to say about this book except it‘s an absolute must-read for media literacy and understanding issues of social justice in action. It‘s brilliant, searing, insightful, and makes a whole lot of sense.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I️ had the joy of going to a book signing on Tuesday where Eve was speaking. I‘ve been following her on Twitter and admiring her work for years, so getting to hear her read in person definitely made my week. I️ so can‘t wait to dive in to Electric Arches! 😍