My home region has the second highest rate of opioid related deaths in the country and it is absolutely ravaging my age group. A kid my age was found behind my place of work a few weeks ago. My graduating class of 150 some odd students has already lost three to opioids. It can be difficult to get to the root of such a complex biopsychosocial issue, but I have so much respect for the authors who do the work and try.

I‘ve been reading a few essays a week from this collection since August and it is full of exquisite insights. I can never get over the way that Cole speaks about art: in general, his own, or that of others.

To preface, I am a Nancy Drew superfan. Still, you don‘t need to know every piece of micro trivia about the brothers Hardy or my beloved titian-haired beauty to enjoy the hell out of this noir take on dirty crime in idyllic Bayport. It is a genuinely gripping mystery full of blood, grit, betrayal and great trench coats.

This book gutted me; I was dazed after finishing it. As a former serious classical musician who left the umbrella of the church, it was a double-punch. I just want to sit with RO Kwon and look in her eyes and tell her that I heard what she was saying, that her book spoke into difficult, tangled places in me and brought them some light. I don‘t know if any of you have similar experiences, but I think this book will touch you even if you do not.

I appreciate the throwback decore tucked away in my small town library‘s study corners.

I live in a community that is being affected by sea rise, so this was a particularly poignant read for me. Rush‘s lyrical approach to long form journalism can be a little dense, but it is worth a little wading to get to the facts behind her urgent message.

My local library is kind of amazing. They are also running a food drive right now called “Feed the Muggles”.

Not a bad thing to wake up to on a Monday... I‘m so excited to read this!

Susanna Clarke‘s descriptions of spaces, indoor or outdoor, really bowl me over. She strikes me as someone who could fall deeply in love with a room after only noting that it had particularly nice doorknobs, something I am prone to, as well.

A friend just tagged me in this. I think the word is getting around...

A little obsessed with all of the exquisite descriptions of place in this book.

An airplane feels like the most appropriate setting in which to read a Teju Cole collection.

Have you ever been reading a really amazing book that you can‘t wait to get back to and yet the whole universe is conspiring to keep you from it? I have been trying to carve out spaces of time (from restaurant work, to boot) to jump back into this crazy, crazy accurate memoir from a great craftsman and man. Every few pages I snatch is as delicious as the last.

This graphic novel is so lovely and gentle and sweet; it was everything I needed to push back against news cycle blues. This is definitely a kid appropriate pick, but I think that adults will be equally swept up by the story and its amazing characters. This one has loads of heart and is packed to the brim with great moments and great dresses 💕

The Hobbit was my introduction to the thrill of quests, to the magic that could be wrought through words, the doors opened, the friends made. After a number of years of pining for it, I finally got my Hobbit tattoo today, a rendering of the dwarven compass from Thorin Oakenshield‘s map. May I always have the courage to take one more step on an unknowable path towards a worthy destination and may a sense of wonder always be only a few pages away.

If only we could all live by such ideals. That last sentence really got me.

From comic “Jake Likes Onions” on Twitter 😉

This is the best mystery I‘ve read since Tana French‘s Dublin Murder Squad series. It‘s perfect for a hot summer day, to boot. Part of me wishes that I was reading it in the pale yellow days of August. 🔥

My new library is hip and looking out for their community! 😎

I love the story of Beowulf; it has fascinated me since I was still too young to understand either its violence or its glory. This graphic rendition is disturbing, dark, beautifully drawn, and true to the spirit of the original ballad and also showed me new corners and ways of seeing a tale that is as familiar to me as my heartbeat.

I came across a throwback copy of Harriet the Spy in the funkiest little tea shop yesterday. I felt like I was inside a lazy Sunday morning daydream of Boy George‘s.

Eiichiro Oda, legendary manga artist and writer behind One Piece, totally gets us.

My loves of Victoriana and all things magical are two bottomless wells and this is definitely known among my friends. This book has been recommended to me so many times, I just kept passing it by. Finally, at 15 pages in, I‘m already in love. This is extremely my jam.

There are so many moments of raw honesty and insight in this book by a self-described “bad Christian”. Anne Lamott‘s way of walking through life feels like a gift for anyone who listens; she shares moments from every corner of grief and joy without an ounce of ego or judgement.

Scanning in old family photos for my mum means that I have come across approximately one thousand photos of me reading through the years. #noseinabook #always

Severe back pain means this is my view a lot right now. Thank goodness for books (especially thrillers)!

Finally reading the last volume in what has been my favorite graphic horror series for a couple years now. I'll miss the heck out of this writing, Gothic Southern setting, and art. I'm crossing my fingers that Emmy sends evil to the depths for good this time and that she doesn't have to send herself with it.

Post hike-and-yoga reads!
As a Side Note: this would make for a beautiful graduation gift for anyone 🎓

Happy Independent Bookstore Day! PRINT in Portland, Maine hooked me up with this NYRB title (and awesome pin) that just so happened to match my outfit most wondrously!

Entering the Horror Vault at The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles (I spent three hours in here, guys)...

I've FINALLY finished Lonesome Dove, so I'm treating myself to a favorite fun read! #manga

A giant Western kind of morning here in sunny Santa Fe

Don't forget your wrist stretches when taking on a paperback this mighty! 💪

"In the second place most of what I write about in this book is already gone or going under fast. This is not a travel guide but an elegy. A memorial. You're holding a tombstone in your hands. A bloody rock. Don't drop it on your foot- throw it at something big and glassy. What do you have to lose?"

These editions of the Memoirs of Casanova were so beautiful and I am kicking myself so much for not buying any of them. #thelastbookstore

Quintessential California reading on a California beach. Today, I touched the Pacific for the first time! Any recs, fiction or nonfiction, that capture the spirit of this state for you guys?

This bookstore is one of the best I have ever had the pleasure of browsing. I wish I could have come back a number of times during my trip, but Denver is now in the rear view mirror.

Reading about people who buck the system and create something new in its place is an inspiring vibe for this cross-country adventure.

As a non-hugger, this passage is too real, particularly the questions that lead the second paragraph. I can't even say how many times I've told people that I'm not a touchy person and then they wrap me in their arms, like they are the person to change that.

"'Just as one uses a burning candle to light others with,' so the teacher transfers the spirit of the right art from heart to heart, that it may be illumined. If such should be granted to the pupil, he remembers that more important than outward works, however attractive, is the inward work which he has to accomplish if he is to fulfill his vocation as an artist."

I have been following Roxane Gay for years, so I am embarrassed to say that this is her first full piece that I am reading. It's tough going so far, not because her writing is anything less than excellent and direct, but because some of the themes are so searing and hard to look directly at.

TFW the only book you want to be reading is the only one you can't locate in the house...

The library trip today definitely yielded a pretty diverse range of topics and genres. I'm in one of those hungry reading moods, where I can't get enough of anything.

Getting back to a regular practice is going to be so difficult for me, but my mental health is never better than when I am coming to the mat with regularity. #Icandothis

My heart...

This #shakespearesheroines Ophelia t-shirt from Literary Emporium is definitely going to be my birthday gift to me when May rolls around.
(Photo from the literaryemporium Instagram story)

Sick days call for scary stories in bed.

Forever reading horror novels in broad sunlight because I'm a big baby- I wasn't sold on the cadence of this book when I first picked it up, but now that I've adjusted to it, I'm finding that it has a wicked momentum.

I keep coming back to the opening of this short story.

My sister-in-law has great taste in mugs and my brother has great taste in coffee ☕️