I enjoyed going back to 1970‘s Northern Ireland, a time & place I don‘t read about often. Cushla is a teacher by day and a bar maid at her family‘s pub in the evenings, living a quiet life with her alcoholic mom when she meets Michael. A secret affair begins…

1970‘s Detroit. Reporter Elena Abbott digs into flyers being distributed during a big election with the possibility of the first black mayor to be elected. There‘s a dark force working against her. I enjoyed reading this graphic novel but I felt there‘s a whole previous story I missed and another story not written yet? Too many holes, I needed more! #ReadHarder ~any book from the Ignyte awards list #Pop23 a book set in the decade you were born

I hosted the library/senior center book club this month and read In Cold Blood. One of the ladies read Furious Hours. She tied Lee & Capote together which I didn‘t know about and I got a little lesson in their history. I had no idea Lee Harper helped Capote do the research on this one and that they were childhood friends! As for the book, I enjoyed it but some of the story annoyed me. I added Furious Hours to my TBR. I‘m so curious!

American Heritage month! Though I could see where the story was going, I found myself looking forward to extra long walks and a lot of cleaning just to listen to Daunis‘s story of her life as part Ojibwe and what happens when an investigation is launched into a meth ring amongst her community. I put a physical copy in my Little Free Library and I really home someone takes it home to read ❤️ #ReadHarder23 ~read a YA book by an Indigenous author

Waiting for Getty and scored his new book! Any Rush fans around? #MGMNationalHarbor

This was a gentle story that takes place in Vietnam. Maggie, born in Vietnam but raised in America, goes back to her birth country seeking information about her father. Along the way, friendships are born. And lots of Pho is eaten, leaving me wanting to stop for a bowl. #Pop23 ~a book by an author with the same initials as you

This is a clever satire about an island named after a man believed to have come up with a sentence using all 26 letters in the English language. After many years, the tiles holding the letters begin to fall and the tyranny of the local government mandates these fallen letters not be used in any way. Dystopia at it‘s finest. #Pop23 ~a book your friend recommended

This is a raw memoir about love, family and gender. I really like what Nelson had to say and the experiences she shared. Parts of it were like being in her head. She would be sharing one story, and another would pop up and she‘d veer course and come back around with the original thought. Overall it was pretty good. #Pop23 ~a book with just text on the cover #ReadHarder23 ~a nonfiction book about queer history #Booked23 ~about reproductive rights

Ohhh, how did I not know Salem‘s Lot is a vampire story?! I do love a good vampire book and I loved King‘s version. Perfect October read! 🧛🏻‍♀️ #Pop23 ~a book published the year you were born #Booked2023 ~a modern take on a classic

This one is a pretty risqué YA! It‘s good, kept my attention but I definitely liked Sadie better. #Pop23 ~a book with “girl” in the title

#Pop23 ~a book you read more than 10 years ago. I read this in 6th grade, living in Massachusetts at the time. Revisiting it in my adulthood as a Maryland resident, the eastern shore life is much more prominent. It made me sad as these islands are sinking and becoming inhabitable but it was fun to revisit this coming of age story.

Born to Jamaican parents that have immigrated to Miami, Trelawney‘s life is anything but easy. His parent‘s split up during his childhood, Trelawney going with his mom while his brother goes with his father. Trelawney has hardships fitting in, his lighter skin tone vs his cultural background and a batch of bad luck. You also get chapters from his brother and cousin. I enjoyed this audio and found his stories about earning extra cash entertaining.

Starting this book club choice, I thought I‘d be slugging through it, but I really enjoyed the listen! I do love a good time travel book and was intrigued by the time loop Jen was stuck in as she continued to go back in time putting the pieces together after her 16 year old commits a murder.

I adored this book. It was funny and quirky and just when I thought the worst had come for poor Penny, I turned the page and her story got more outrageous. It was a fun read overall.

Not my cup of tea but I‘m also not the audience for this one. Celine & Brad did remind me of a high school neighbor, family friend. I thought the book did a nice job of bringing anxiety and OCD to the story without it overpowering the plot. #Pop23 ~romance with a fat lead #ReadHarder ~romance w/ bisexual representation
Also, I hate the wording for this prompt and Celine is ‘heavy‘ not necessarily ‘fat‘

Fantastic audio production, but could you expect anything less from Tom Hanks? This book is different in a great way. I loved not only getting to know the actors and actresses throughout the shoot, but the background of how the film came to be and the behind the scenes people that make everything run smoothly. Interesting and I learned a little something about the movie business.

This song has always been a favorite of mine and so I‘m sharing that the song has become a Vox book 😂 If you‘re not familiar, Vox books are picture books that read (or in this case sing) along with the reader. Cheers to the next generation of strong, independent women! #Pop23 ~a book with a song lyric as it‘s title

I adored all the characters in this story; each of their eccentric personalities will stay with me a while. I loved how the story unfolded, how Elsa learns about and befriends her neighbors and the connections the neighbors have to one another. Elsa‘s emotions are raw and real in dealing with so much. I also really enjoyed the fairytale aspect of the story. And the ending is the typical feel good Backman ❤️ #pop23 ~a book you bought second hand

A simple storytelling story of a mom who tells her grown daughters of the summer she spent at Tom Lake in a theater production and her relationship with a special someone who became a famous actor. The story also ties in with her chosen life on a farm. Extra points for Meryl Streep‘s narration. #Pop23 ~a book that comes out in the second half of 2023

I enjoyed this #popsugar23 ~ a book about or set in Hollywood. Actress Kitty Karr passes away and unexpectedly leaves her fortune to another wealthy Hollywood family. The story goes between present day Elise tying up Kitty‘s estate and learning Kitty‘s secrets to Kitty‘s life growing up and how she made it in Hollywood. This one has Lessons in Chemistry and Evelyn Hugo vibes.

I‘ve enjoyed listening to this one over the last couple of days. Lesbian, atheist, hypochondriac Gilda lands a job as a secretary at a Roman Catholic Church. Most of this book is spent in Gilda‘s anxiety ridden head. Funny parts around a kinda sad story.

This was recommended to me and thrillers aren‘t my favorite genre. This one took a hot minute to get into but eventually I looked forward listening. I thought the twists were clever, but too far fetched or too many for one story?! Overall it was an okay read. #Pop23 ~a book about a holiday that‘s not Christmas (I‘m going out on a limb, using the British definition of holiday)

An autobiographical graphic novel by Craig Thompson. Craig shares his story growing up in central Wisconsin, his first love, and Catholic upbringing as well as his struggles with his faith and identity. Beautiful story and amazing art ❤️
#Booked2023 ~Quiet YA book

A friend from bookclub has been wanting me to read this for a while now. It‘s a great middle grades graphic novel to highlight deafness or really any disability. It touches a lot on feelings and being different from your peers. #ReadHarder23 ~a graphic novel that represents disabilities
#Pop23 ~a book with a rabbit on the cover

An extremely disturbing book that I could not put down! Fifteen year old Vanessa‘s relationship with her teacher is today‘s Lolita on steroids. Russell did an amazing job of putting me in Vanessa‘s head as a 15 year old and continuing into adulthood.
#Pop23 ~a book about forbidden romance

I‘m not sure what I missed with this one! I was really looking forward to this story with so many glowing reviews but for whatever reason, I just couldn‘t get into it. The world building and characters were good so it was either the writing or the story itself or most likely a combination of the two. #Booked2023 ~Afrofuturism book

I‘m not usually a fan of short stories. They always seem to leave me feeling unfulfilled and wanting more. These short stories were different. Twenty-one stories from authors of color; many different backgrounds, cultures and nationalities, all sharing a story about their time living in the America‘s southern states. Just a little snippet, enough to make you think but not necessarily needing more.

Pretty good listen! This is a story based around a cold case murder but it dives deep into white privilege and racism. I liked that you get to know the characters involved with Alice‘s final night as the timeline slowly unfolds. Narrated by Alice‘s much younger, awkward sister, the reader learns the effects of her sister‘s murder that she‘s carried with her throughout her life. #Booked2023 ~Sunshine Noir

Far from perfect, I enjoyed Connell & Marianne‘s relationship. It‘s messy, and sometimes ugly, and often miscommunicated, but throughout it all, their bond is beautiful. I really liked Rooney‘s writing style and look forward to reading more from her. #Pop23 ~a booktok recommendation *I edited this to a booktok rec

I liked the weirdness of this one but it dragged on and I struggled a bit trying to keep up with who is in what family. #Booked2023 ~Featuring neighbors

I loved this one and Kuang is becoming a favorite author of mine! My bookclub had a long and in-depth discussion about so many aspects of this story. I‘m going to have to read her Poppy Wars series now.

Books and chocolate? Yes please! This was a cute ADULT book by beloved children‘s author Sandra Boynton. It‘s a nonfiction about chocolate with all of her wonderful humor. It was recommended by a parent after storytime in which a Sandra Boynton book was shared. ❤️

I was curious about Hunter since he seems to be in the news a lot. His memoir talks about his many life heartaches, his alcoholism, drug addiction and his many, many bad choices. I‘m hoping he can continue his path of sobriety and I‘m cheering for him. I liked that he read his audiobook.

I finished up this little rom-com book before work today. I enjoyed the way Henry told the story through a decade of vacations, alternating with the present vacation. I also liked the characters. It took me longer to finish because once I set the book down, I wasn‘t pulled back to it to see what would happen next. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
#Pop23 ~a book about a vacation

Strangely, I really enjoyed this book even though I couldn‘t stand the characters. They were all awful, and the plot was based on the characters awfulness. The story and the writing are top notch and would make a great discussion! Tons to discuss including the publishing industry, what an author should/shouldn‘t write about, mental health, cyber bullying, effects of social media. #Pop23 ~a book with a color in the title

This will take me a hot minute to process and is quite possibly the best memoir I‘ve ever read. I listened to the audio read by the author. It‘s his migrant story of making the trek from El Salvador to the United States to be reunited with his parents. He was 9 years old, traveling alone with a small group of refugees and coyotes. This one has all the feelings. #ReadHarder2023 read a book you know nothing about based solely on the cover

Lots of hype over this one! I adored the main character as well as the ‘supporting‘ characters. The 1960‘s setting was great and I loved the female takes against the patriarchy world of the time period. Reading this also made me nervous for my daughter going into the STEM field for her career, even in today‘s environment. 😬
#Pop23 ~a book with a pet character

For some reason, this book took me 5 weeks to read but I sure did love it! Kingsolver created a wonderful story about the western VA, eastern TN Appalachia country, the poverty that strickens these people, the foster care system and the opioids crisis. I‘ve read a lot of nonfiction on these topics and it was nice to read a fictional story. #booked2023 ~set in a mountain region
#Pop23 ~a book you think your best friend would like

I didn‘t care for this one at all, which is unfortunate because I loved People of the Book and Horse. The story had a lot of potential, but I found it to be a boring and annoying read. At least I completed #Pop23 ~a book with an alliteration in the title

I remember the news story of the SUV that was driven off the cliff in California. This is a journalistic approach to this incident. Jennifer and Sarah adopted two sets of siblings for a total of 6 kids. We learn the stories of both sets of families whose children were adopted as well as Jennifer and Sarah‘s story, and the time with these children. Such a sad story all around and an eye opener to the issues with the foster system\CPS in America. 💔

The Escape Artist is an excellent historic/biography that I listened to. It‘s the story of Walter Rosenburg, later Rudolf Vrba, who, along with Alfred Wetzler escaped Auschwitz. He is given credit to sounding the bell about what was happening at Auschwitz. A sad story but an important one. Winner of the National Jewish Book Award. #Booked2023 ~wrongly incarcerated main character #Pop23 ~a book with a map

Such a beautiful story of friendship and
family. And Marcellus the octopus was a wonderful addition to the story. All the feels for this one. Looking forward to a book club discussion next month.

“I am the law” This is the story of a KKK Grand Dragon in Indiana, 1920‘s; how he accumulated the power he did in 4 years and the woman who took him down. Thank goodness for women like Madge. D.C Stephenson was a horrible man, and I see similarities in another awful American figure today. This is why ALL history should be learned, not just some history. #Booked2023 ~about a monster

Excited to start this one! 😊

#Pop23 ~a book you meant to read in 2022 (checked out of the library for ~5 months!)
#ReadHarder23 ~a challenge from the previous years challenge “Best_Writing of the year *Stonewall Book Award, Asian/Pacific American award, National Book Award
I really enjoyed this story. It was slow at the beginning but I loved the 50‘s era, LGBTQ+ and Chinese American history, San Fran ❤️

Fitting to be finishing this at Lo‘s alma mater while dorm stuff get transported to a storage unit. ❤️ #WellesleyCollege

#Booked2023 ~Book was more weird than expected
(I had no idea it was about a possessed puppet!) I love how Hendrix intertwines different genres into his stories. This one begins laugh out loud funny, then gets creepy, a little gory, turns horror, yet stays consistently funny and has a sweet ending. Puppets are super creepy and Pupkin is no exception. It also reminds me how important communication is, especially among family.

I love this movie so I thought I‘d check out the book. Now to wait for vol 2 through an interlibrary loan.

A great memoir for Asian Pacific American month! This memoir focuses on her parents health and the American healthcare for the poor. Living on the opposite coast and not being able to care for them as she‘d like causes a lot of anxiety and guilt that comes from that. I‘m looking forward to reading her first memoir, All You Can Never Know, focusing on her adoption.
#Pop23 ~a book published in spring 2023

There‘s been a lot of love for this book so I‘m in the minority for this one. There were definitely interesting parts, but some parts were a bore. It‘s well researched, an interesting overall book but too long for me. I am looking forward to discussing it at book club and I‘m pretty sure I know the readers of the group who will have enjoyed the book and those who DNF 😂