Birchbark haul! Had such a fun afternoon browsing. It was tough to limit myself to just four.

Finally made the trek across the river today to visit Louise Erdrich‘s bookshop! Such a cool little place. Has an old confessional inside as well as a beautiful canoe hanging from the ceiling. I would have taken more pics, but it was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday afternoon. Book haul post to follow.

Watch for the Squatch! This was such a fun and entertaining page-turner. The story unfolds via diary entries, interviews and news reports. I raced through it in one afternoon a couple summers back.

#Bizarre! #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Eye-opening and infuriating.

#MadeYouMad #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Heartbreaking, but so good. Definitely had me in tears.

#MadeYouCry #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Fun thriller. Perfect for beach or poolside reading. Meg Williams is a con artist with a conscience who lives according to the “girl code.” It was very satisfying to see these slimy men get their comeuppance. #BOTM

I adored this graphic novel set in late 1960s Chicago. Amazing art and 10-year old Karen Reyes is such a wonderful character.

#Setin1960s #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I absolutely loved this rich novel spanning generations of one Dakhóta family. And what a cover!

Inspired by a story Wilson heard about when the Dakhóta people were forcibly removed from Minnesota in 1863. With little time to prepare, the women sewed seeds into the hems of their skirts so they would be able to plant and feed their families wherever they were being sent.

“Love the seeds as you love your children, and the people will survive.”

“One thing they don‘t tell you about mammies is that when they die you get new trousers.”

#FirstLineFridays

Excellent biography of Queen Victoria. Not at all dry. Baird really brings history alive.

#Royalty #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#libraryhaul! Was very excited to have these ready for pick-up today. A couple of graphic memoirs and especially looking forward to tagged. It is gorgeous and sounds so fascinating.

I read this memoir many years ago and it has really stayed with me. Helen is an adult when she learns that she is Jewish (she was raised Roman Catholic) and that her parents are Holocaust survivors. I also enjoyed her more recent memoir, The Escape Artist.

#Silence #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

🏺 Maurice Swift in A Ladder to the Sky
🏺 🏺 Tagged is a quiet and moving father-son story that I loved. Olaf‘s death definitely hit me.
🏺 🏺 🏺 Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul), Minnesota—F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Kent Krueger, Louise Erdrich.

@EadieB Thanks for the tag!
#WondrousWednesday
@Eggs

Today‘s mail brought this lovely nonfiction trio. They all sound so good! It will be hard to decide which to read first. #bookmail

Two children set off on foot from their home in an Alpine village on Christmas Eve to visit their grandparents. On the way back they are caught in an unexpected snowstorm. This novella was first published in 1845. A great little Christmastime read.

#InTheMountains #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I bought this several years ago, but haven‘t gotten around to reading it yet. Sounds interesting and I‘ve heard good things about Laing‘s writing.

#AboutAddiction #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

So glad #CampLitsy prompted me to finally read this! Really liked it. Very much my kind of humor. Look forward to spending more time with Selin in Either/Or.

Anya Von Bremzen, food writer and award-winning cookbook author, was born in the USSR in 1963 and emigrated to the US with her mother in 1974. Great memoir—Soviet history, family history and food!

#FoodOnTheCover #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Entertaining, twisty page-turner. Just what I was in the mood for this weekend. I love Shelley‘s Frankenstein and the 1930s films it inspired (Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein) so that element really added to my enjoyment.

A powerful and thought-provoking mix of essays, images and poetry. Rankine‘s previous book, Citizen: An American Lyric, is also a must read.

#ToldInVerse #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

New issue of bookmarks in my mailbox today! The “What‘s New in Asia” feature includes the tagged book. Sounds really good. Such an interesting premise. I guess it won the Dazai Osamu Prize in Japan. The English translation is expected to be published August 9 (US) and I can‘t wait!

This short and moving epistolary novel is a real gem. A farmer‘s wife in England writes to the curator of a Danish museum inquiring about the Tollund Man. A correspondence ensues and a friendship grows. And bonus, it sent me down a rabbit hole researching bog bodies which I find fascinating.

#Epistolary #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

It‘s here! One of my most anticipated new releases. #bookmail

“I opened the door that morning and the world seemed to right itself, as if all those years had meant nothing but waiting for that one moment.”

#FirstLineFridays

Canadian pianist Glenn Gould was a brilliant musician and one interesting character. I enjoyed learning more about his life in this graphic biography. Also recommend the 2009 documentary “Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould.”

#MusicRelated #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I‘m not really one for selfies, but this is actually a photo of me circa 1994. In high school I volunteered to be Durwood the Dinosaur for the elementary school library “Readasaurus Night.” My sweet grandma clipped this from the local newspaper for me. It was very hot inside that costume!

Started the tagged book last night. Interesting so far.

#CurrentReadAndSelfie #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I‘m really hoping one of these is crowned winner later today! Loved them both. #womensprize

🌿 Harvard (The Idiot by Elif Batuman)
🌿🌿 Tagged. So good and a perfect book club choice. Mine met last night and we had such a great discussion.
🌿🌿🌿 Upgrade by Blake Crouch

#wondrouswednesday
@Eggs

As you can probably tell from the state of the cover, this cookbook gets heavy use. We received it as a wedding gift (nineteen years ago!) and it quickly became a favorite. We have given copies to others many times. Tagged is the more recent/updated edition.

#BookYouRegiftOften #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Read and enjoyed this one a couple of years ago. Historical fiction set in 1927 Paris by writer, bookseller (owns Skylark Bookshop in Columbia, MO) and litten, @AlexGeorge .

#WrittenByALitten #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

My dear friend gave me this collection last Christmas. It is one of his favorites and wow, I can see why. Definitely interested in reading more of her poetry.

#AFriendsFavorite #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

My last from the #womensprize shortlist and it was a good one. As many have warned, this is a difficult and distressing read. Alethea is a great character - endearing and so resilient. Thank goodness Allen-Agostini gives us a little hope at the end.

The judges have a very difficult task this year in selecting the winner (announced June 15). Can‘t wait to see where they land!

A sampling of the many horse books that have been on my shelves seemingly forever. They first belonged to my uncle in his boyhood and he later passed them on to me. I went through a major horse phase as a girl and so loved these stories.

#BeenOnShelf4Ever #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I am always here for a new David Sedaris essay collection. As others have mentioned, this one is a bit darker, more reflective than his previous and brutally honest. Still great. Life can be dark and you have to laugh about it (or at least I do). I‘m sad to have finished. Now I‘ll just have to wait patiently for his next!

Phenomenal. Incredibly poignant. A powerful examination of women‘s autonomy and one of the most effective portraits of living with a debilitating disease (Parkinson‘s in this case) that I‘ve ever read.

I‘ll be discussing this one with my IRL book club this week. Our first meeting since the pandemic! Should be a good one. Lots to unpack.

Just a DNF for now. Made it to page 100 a few years back and set it aside for some reason. I fully intend to get back to it eventually.

#DNF #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#bookmail I‘ve really enjoyed Crosley‘s essay collections. Look forward to trying her fiction!

“I didn‘t know what email was until I got to college.”

#FirstLineFridays

This book is lovely and a fun one to dip in and out of throughout the year. Includes beautiful photographs, recipes and seasonal reading recommendations.

#IncludesRecipes #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Atwood is one of my favorite authors and this, for me, is one of her best.

#ByYourFavoriteAuthor #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Blue box day! I‘ve been wanting to try Jennifer Ryan for a while so this seemed like a good opportunity. I liked Julie Clark‘s last thriller, The Last Flight, well enough so thought I‘d add her newest. And I‘ve heard lots of good things about Fajardo-Anstine‘s story collection, Sabrina & Cora, so took a chance on her novel. #BOTM

🦩I‘m only about a third of the way through, but so far 😆 🔫 🕰 🇫🇷 ✉️ 🐜 😂
🦩 Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden was a fun debut thriller. It felt like it could be the set up for a series and I‘d love to get more Virgil Wounded Horse.
🦩 The Book of Cold Cases ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️—I liked it

#WondrousWednesday
@Eggs

Really enjoyed this Reese‘s Book Club pick from a few years ago. And just look at that gorgeous hardback that was hiding beneath the book jacket! I love little book design surprises like that.

#CelebBookClubPick #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

A quick, fun read. I liked The Sun Down Motel and The Broken Girls a bit more (this one lost some steam in the second half), but I‘ll still be reading whatever she writes next. #BOTM

#Bookmail! I preordered this ages ago and the pub date kept getting pushed back. So glad it‘s here. I‘m very ready for an Irish family memoir described as “heartwarming and hilarious.”

I was awed by this 771 page tome when I read it back in 2013. I haven‘t yet seen the movie. I later went on to read The Secret History which I also enjoyed. I have The Little Friend on my shelf and hope to get to it soon.

#600+Pages #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Sorry, I can‘t torture myself any longer. Made it a third of the way through and have to call it quits. I liked Emezi‘s The Death of Vivek Oji, but this foray into the romance genre is just not for me.

I‘ll be interested to read the thoughts of other campers in next month‘s discussion. #CampLitsy

I read this upon Ann Patchett‘s glowing recommendation and thought it was just stunning. She is actually why this is back in print and writes the foreword in my edition. It‘s also one of Louise Erdrich‘s favorites. One of the Short Perfect Novels listed in the back of The Sentence.

#4WordTitle #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I love Roz Chast and this graphic memoir is fantastic. So honest and moving. Had me laughing aloud throughout. For me, finding humor in the darkness (aging parents in this case) is essential and Chast does it so well.

#LaughOutLoud #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Saturday #bookmail! Was pleasantly surprised to receive the tagged book already as I wasn‘t expecting it until next week (pub date listed as 6/7).

Hope to start The Idiot soonish so that I can get it read before Either/Or.