I now understand why a nearly 500 page book about sheep and coffee is such a classic. One definitely needs to be in the right headspace to focus on this type of novel, but once you give over to it, it‘s rewarding. It has many themes but the one that resonated with me most was resilience in hard times. Because wow, the times were so often hard in this kind of life. Bjartur is one of the most infuriating and memorable protagonists I‘ve come across.

A wholehearted and enthusiastic pick for this excellent memoir. Read to moving effect by the author on audiobook.

I generally liked this one but felt the second half dragged a bit and it felt longer than it should have been (and it‘s not a long book). Definitely an interesting framework and provocative theme; would say it‘s a low pick for me. I really love the purple, though.

Kate Atkinson can do no wrong in my book, and I loved her latest collection of linked stories. It was really fun to read her work in a new type of format. I‘ve been watching the BBC adaptation of the Jackson Brodie novels and am getting myself really psyched for the new one coming out later this year!

Loved the prose in this book, which was just gorgeous. The first half was excellent but the second half lost me a little, but still appreciated this for its beautiful writing about truly horrific things. #LitsyTOB24 #botm

Really enjoyed this memoir by a longtime NYC medical examiner. It was sometimes hard to listen to - she doesn‘t hold back on the detail. She tied in her own mental health struggles in a really effective way. Definitely recommend.

I really liked Rooney‘s debut novel, which I finally got to after reading her newer ones. The characters frustrated me a good amount of the time, but I expected that. There were a few parts that snuck up on me and took my breath away with the realness. And that ending - I loved it.

I found this to be very entertaining, once I suspended my disbelief and stopping quibbling with plot inconsistencies. It was good, page turning fun. Can‘t wait for the inevitable screen adaptation. #botm

I liked but didn‘t love this one. It started out very strong and I love deep character studies, but the way some of the relationships developed (or degraded) just didn‘t always feel true to life to me. I‘m glad I read it, though. #litsytob24

#audiorun views today on the East River. Just started this audiobook and the subject matter is shocking and fascinating, as advertised. But I‘m finding the main thing I can‘t get over so far is the fact that this woman ate an enormous, messy corn muffin during her first therapy session and had to be asked not to bring food to future sessions because she got crumbs everywhere. Truly psychotic behavior 😆

Really liked this novel, which tells the story of a family through a unique structure of three specific days one year apart (2019-2021, so you know where that‘s going). The writing is impeccable.

Also taking the chance to show off my orchid, which I‘ve managed to keep alive for over a year and it‘s blooming again! 🤗

Claustrophobic and enraging, and overall pretty well done. But man, is it bleak. A soft pick.

A little all-tell-no-show, but I get the hype. This was totally addictive and fun and made me want to take martial arts classes 🤪

A perfect one-day vacation read, but man is it stressful. Cline really leans in to the problematic, reckless and self destructive protagonist theme to the point that it‘s hard to watch, but impossible to look away. I loved the snarky take on the Hamptons - as a lifelong (admittedly, mostly seasonal) resident it‘s completely warranted and not far off the mark.

This is one of the best audiobooks I‘ve ever experienced - Smith‘s narration is such an incredible performance. The book itself started out strong then meandered a bit too much, but I could happily listen to Smith read another several hundred pages with her impeccable accents. Truly wonderful.

A nice, light one day read - perfect for the beach! This was very cute and a good reminder to read more Tessa Dare. #romantsy

I absolutely love Nesta as a character and her journey to redemption was so satisfying. Great, spicy vacation read. 🌶️

Christmas book haul! 🎅 Very excited about all of these. Which one should I read first?

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday week!

I hit my reading goal with this one!

Chilling and bleak with George Saunders vibes. I‘d had this on my shelf for years and glad I finally read it as Atwood is a master of dystopian fiction. I wish there was a little more depth to the relationships though.

Oof, this is a tough review to write as it‘s very close to home. Keane writes about the world I grew up in and it‘s almost eerie how familiar it is. My dad has been a Queens bar owner my whole life and she really nabs the challenges of the restaurant industry, down to its shady dealings and side hustles. Even more personally, she captures the desolation of IVF and its impact on relationships in a way I haven‘t read before. Highly recommend. #botm

I was actually surprised when I checked my #botm stats as I thought I‘d have more in the “liked” category. Also wow, that‘s a lot of books 😅

Not a fan of this one. I found it slow aside from ~50 promisingly exciting pages in the first half, after which things went back to a snail‘s pace. The “reveals” were entirely predictable and the fantastical elements were flimsy. The relationships weren‘t well drawn and the southern country theme was grating. Just not my cup of tea. #botm

I really liked this book, which is character study, gay coming of age story and cultural history all in one. It‘s ambitious and maybe trying to do too much, but Farrell and Nate‘s relationship is so charming and tenacious that it really won me over. If not for my Strand fiction subscription I wouldn‘t have heard of it.

Fun note, my dad is named Farrell and I‘ve never seen the name anywhere else! It‘s Irish (which this Farrell is not, weirdly).

View from today‘s #audiorun here on Long Island. This is a really interesting read. Was a little challenging to muster the wherewithal to pick it up as my own womb has caused me tremendous stress in the past year. The tone is both clinical and compassionate however, and I find knowing more about the science is only helpful.

One of the most harrowing books I‘ve ever read. The word “unflinching” is in all the blurbs but this is truly a book that does not look away, not for one second. I read it as quickly as I could to just get through it. I‘m glad I read it and I‘m amazed at Gay‘s ability to write this story, but this was tough. Don‘t go into this lightly.

A fluffy, super easy read about rich New Yorkers, but with a Brooklyn twist. A decent palate cleanser but pretty mediocre in terms of writing and character development. #botm

Entertaining one sitting read imagining a house cat‘s existential musings. I picked this up at a David Sedaris event last year. Recommended for cat parents 🐱

A quick but not easy read. It was painful to observe the protagonist‘s unraveling and the one section in the second half really felt like a horror novel, it was so disturbing. A low pick as I‘m glad I read it, but it gives me a shudder to think about.

Summertime reading at its finest, with rose 😎

Absolutely loved this examination of reconciling the art and the artist, something I think about a lot. Superbly written and observed. I loved the veering into memoir. Dederer is also a great audiobook narrator, which isn‘t always the case when the author reads their own book.

Brace for an #unpopularopinion - did not like this one. It wasn‘t a dense read but it felt like a real slog to get through. The narrative flitted over the (many) characters so superficially, it didn‘t feel like any of them were really fleshed out. The plot also took some real sensational turns for apparent shock value, especially near the end. #BOTM

Achingly beautiful and wrenching. I‘m not usually a fan of historical reimagining but this was done perfectly. Just wow.

I pulled out a bunch of random titles from my towering TBR to reacquaint myself. I love reshuffling my stacks from time to time! Are there any titles here I should move to the top of my list?

Finally got around to reading this. The stories did start to feel a little same-y but I‘m a big Saunders fan, so really enjoyed them anyway.

This audiobook was the perfect companion for my morning runs last week on a London work trip! Love staying in the city center and being able to run up the Royal Mall 😊🇬🇧

Really interesting mix of science writing and memoir. Especially good on audio as there is a carefully curated soundtrack and lots of audio clips of real conversations.

I adore Olive and I loved returning to her in this follow up. The poignancy of the writing just did me in. Cheers also to the return of summer poolside reading! 😎

Loved this smart, super entertaining literary romance. I‘m a huge SNL fan so the first half was a bit of catnip, while the second half went deeper on the character development in unexpected ways. #botm

Finally read this one, might be one of the last people on earth 😅 I liked it! It was a little feel-goody and contrived, sure, but the Swedish locale helped. I probably would have hated it if was set in the US (I won‘t explore that thought more right now 😬). This author clearly also doesn‘t have a cat, but I was entertained by this Disney version of a feline.

I love Frank Bruni‘s nonfiction. This was a lovely and thoughtful meditation on aging, illness and disability, resilience, what matters in life - all the things. Really enjoyed it.

Didn‘t love the madcap, over-stylized tone or the scatological elements, but it was short and I powered through. I‘m finding I don‘t love fiction about musicians in general, for some reason (The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Rushdie is an exception 🤷🏼‍♀️). A disappointing Strand fiction club pick.

No brainer #botm pick for me! Can‘t wait for this one, I love Sittenfeld!

Loved this follow up to Ninth House! Alex Stern is an excellent heroine - flawed, complicated and reckless but wildly entertaining to follow. The action started from page one and kept up a breathless pace to the last sentence; I blew through the second half of this in a day. Can‘t wait for the third book. #botm

And with that, I‘m a #tob23 completist! (Well, except for the one I bailed on halfway through 😅)

I really enjoyed this. It was all over the place in a good way, and I loved following all the threads. This sort of rambling, character driven writing is right up my alley. It didn‘t always work perfectly but it‘s really impressive for a debut. A strong contender for the tournament but still second to Sea of Tranquility for me.

One of the saddest, most honest memoirs of grief I‘ve read. It‘s brutal and devastating, but it doesn‘t wallow. Delaney narrates beautifully. It‘s excellent, if your heart can take it. As he quotes at the outset, a heart that hurts is a heart that works.

After thinking book one was good but not great, I‘m now totally in on this series. Maas writes a really compelling romance and it‘s just what I needed right now. It got me through most of my waking hours on a 15 hour flight so that‘s saying something! There was way more action vs the first book, and though the plot left me scratching my head at times (did they really think through their plans sometimes??), it was all very entertaining.

I tried… but I couldn‘t. Bailed at around 45% of the audiobook. I just found I didn‘t want to keep listening. I respect the author for the boldness of the subject matter, though! Second to last #tob23 book for me, sadly I won‘t be a full completist since I couldn‘t finish it.

There‘s a lot going on in this Booker prize winning novel. Sometimes too much, especially with so much brutally gruesome material. Once I got used to the style it did flow better for me, and I did like the surprisingly hopeful way things were wrapped up. Still took me a couple weeks to get through, though. Will definitely be interesting to see how this does in #tob23!

I liked this well enough, but it feels like an unusual choice for #tob23. I liked the section about the narrator‘s adult life the best, but that was just a part of the final third. An interesting portrait of how deep grieving affects one family, and a surprisingly easy read given the content.

Trying to manage some anxiety around some medical stuff I‘m in the middle of (nothing dire, still stressful), so I did the logical thing and went to The Strand. The walk combined with picking up these two books definitely helped! Seven Moons is for #tob23 and Liberation Day is a signed copy that jumped in my bag - am a huge Saunders fan and had been meaning to pick it up ☺️