I had an appendectomy recently and while I was recovering I rewatched a lot of Gilmore Girls. I looked at complete lists of all the books and movies made from books mentioned in the show and compiled a list of my favorites. Check it out on bookshop here: https://bookshop.org/lists/best-of-rory-gilmore-s-reading-list

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Honestly have too much to say to pick a snippet to post here. My summary, review, and analysis can be read here: https://www.pickingbooks.com/blog/alias-grace

I got a good laugh out of this sweatshirt that I saw at a coffee shop near me. I think most of us bookworms can definitely relate to this message. I may need to go back and buy it for my sisters and I.

Some books are meant to be devoured. Others should be savored. I devoured The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. With ever-increasing stakes and intense themes like survival, love, and abuse, you can‘t help but binge read it. Read the full review here: https://www.pickingbooks.com/blog/the-great-alone

While we all anxiously await Emily Henry‘s Happy Place release next month I made a list of Emily Henry‘s books and other must read romances. Purchases on bookshop help support independent bookstores. Check out the list here: https://bookshop.org/lists/unputdownable-romance-novels-emily-henry-and-other-mu...

Max is enjoying a good book on this #lazysunday

Band of Sisters puts things in perspective (maybe things aren‘t so bad or scary after all) and is a reminder that we are all capable of more than we think. Band of Sisters is a fictional account of the experiences of the Smith College Relief Unit. Never heard of the Smith College Relief Unit? Neither had I. Get the rundown on the relief unit and read our full review here: https://www.pickingbooks.com/blog/band-of-sisters

“Imagine you‘re a bird.”

#firstlinefridays @shybookowl

I love this quote from Good For You. This is my favorite book thus far this year. Read my full review here: https://www.pickingbooks.com/blog/good-for-you

To any of us, the world can seem like a disgusting place deeply lacking in humanity, and Burnt Sugar shows that what we make of the world is a rendering of our experience. But Doshi also reminds us that hurt people, hurt people. Burnt Sugar is a depressing book, sickening almost but intriguing, nonetheless. It‘s a fly on the wall look at a truly dysfunctional family. Full review: https://www.pickingbooks.com/blog/burnt-sugar

Currently reading. Only about 90 pages left to go and really enjoying it! What are you reading right now?

Checkout our bookshop list of all the pre-orders and recently released that we have been eagerly anticipating. https://bookshop.org/lists/most-anticipated-pre-order-and-recently-released-fict...

“I cannot go to school today.”
Said Little Peggy Ann McKay.

- Shel Silverstein was the first poet I ever read as a kid. I credit him with getting so many children interested in poetry. Sick was my favorite poem of his. It always made me laugh. I don‘t have room here to type the poem in its entirety so I kept to the first 2 lines. Anyone else a Shel Silverstein fan as kid?

#poetrymatters

My sister, Laura, and I (Sam) have a book review website together and we would love and appreciate it if you checked it out. We are also on Pinterest (@pickingbooks), Instagram (@picking_books), and Twitter (@picking_books). Fun facts: Laura is working on writing her first novel, we both homeschool our children, and we have another sister (Sarah) who breeds and sells bunnies (Goshen Bunnies)

Genre: Classic cozy mystery with a lovable cast of characters
Review: I absolutely loved everything about this book. Vera is one of my favorite mystery characters ever. She really is full of unsolicited advice for her suspects, and her ability to command a room is impressive. Read full review here https://www.pickingbooks.com/blog/vera-wongs-unsolicited-advice-for-murderers

What Aly had been trying to keep wasn‘t the position; it was her identity. But a title would never make her exceptional, or even normal. It would never make her feel accepted or loved. All of that had to come from within her . . . and to a lesser degree, from the people she loved. “Without that desire, I won‘t be any good.”

Florence is a ghostwriter who can talk to ghosts, her latest ghostly friend is her very hot editor who finds her in her hometown, a place she loathed to return. The story follows Florence as she faces her old life and tries to help her ghostly love interest with his unfinished business. Overall it‘s a cute story and relatively PG. I had a few quibbles but all was forgiven at the end because the ending was so good.

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is full of second chances, relatable characters with the right amount of quirk, and the escapism that all of us moms need. Moms will relate to Amy in so many ways and will want their own momspringa. This is a great summer read. The romance is *chef‘s kiss* but it‘s so much more than that. It is also an exploration of how moms lose themselves in parenting and how Amy finds herself again.

“The first mark she left upon the world, long before she knew the truth, that ideas are so much wilder than memories, that they long and look for ways of taking root.”

An interesting observation on both the paradox of womanhood and the modern obsession with living a life that is anything but ordinary. These themes and scenes of survival and heartbreak make this a heavier read, but it is anything but boring. My favorite thing is the thread of art Addie is able to help others create throughout the book. Full review here https://www.pickingbooks.com/blog/the-invisible-life-of-addie-larue

Because of the unique obstacles to marriage posed by the American Revolution and westward expansion, Bauman spends the bulk of the book discussing personal ads prior to 1900, which is unfortunate because after 1900, things got interesting. Overall Matrimony Inc. is interesting, despite being thin on modern ads. Bauman keeps things fun and light, adding humor where appropriate while being sensitive to the lonely souls she references.

This is one of, if not the most, well-deserved happily ever afters that I have ever read. I have read two of Camille‘s other books so it was not a surprise to see her tackling difficult life circumstances. What did surprise me is how romantic and lighthearted Good For You is despite its heavier themes. This is a wonderful romance pick with depth. https://www.pickingbooks.com/blog/good-for-you

1. There is an existential crisis. I don‘t know about you, but my life feels like one existential crisis after another.
2. The time hopping makes you want to keep reading.
3. The emotional toll of time hopping got me emotionally invested in Oona enough that even if I didn‘t have my own reasons for getting tied up in tht ebook, Oona is a character worth reading about.
https://www.pickingbooks.com/blog/oona-out-of-order

Although the book centers around tennis, it is equally, if not more, about the things that unfold off the court. Carrie is an imperfect heroine, brash and hard headed, and at times somewhat unlikable, but this makes her personal growth through the novel that much more compelling. https://www.pickingbooks.com/blog/carrie-soto-is-back

Initially, I thought I loved The Master and Margarita. Upon further reflection I realized I loved that I finished The Master and Margarita and at least sort of understood it. It‘s a complicated work of capital-l literature and I finished it. The best bits were the satire and the fantastical plot. It is worth reading for the dark silliness.