A plane lands in JFK and stops on the runway. Everyone on board is dead, prompting evaluation by a CDC epidemiology team. We continue to follow the investigation as very strange things start to occur. I liked the show and thought I‘ve give the book a try and enjoyed it. But I didn‘t know it was a trilogy! Nothing is resolved at the end and now I need to go find book 2. 😫

Rueckert has a background in both voice (music) and radio. Here she explores women‘s voices, both literally and as a concept, and how they are judged and silenced. She gives tips about harnessing ones voice and shows how specific women‘s voices are shown in society. It‘s a feminist hell yeah of a book, encouraging women and girls from childhood forward.

#ReadingUSA2019 #Wisconsin

Now that‘s a chapter title!

Frank knows too much about who REALLY killed Kennedy and is on the run from his fellow mobsters in the aftermath. Charlotte is fed up with the typical housewife life of 1960s Oklahoma. In this well-crafted, well-plotted story, the two are destined to collide and no one seems to be safe. The tension building is pitch perfect. Highly recommend. #BOTMBuddyRead

#dogsofLitsy #Bindi

Kim Miller has not only dieted her entire life but worked as a writer for diet and fitness articles. In her memoir, she blends her own story with diet research and good humor. It‘s a good exploration of body dysmorphia/poor self-confidence without ever using those terms. Hopefully the rest of the group enjoys it as well. #LMPBC #memoir

#dogsofLitsy #Greta

Body parts are found in a cooler floating in the Gulf of Mexico, prompting FBI profiler Maggie O‘Dell to investigate. While I enjoyed this quick read, it had too many characters who were largely one note. All the storylines came together in the end, but they were a bit far flung. And no actual profiling took place. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Saw this online today, knew you guys would get it. 😆

This book is really dark in places, but sometimes the life choices of the characters bring forth ideas like this.

A worthy end to a terrific trilogy. I just loved it. If you like the idea of a future earth in which people are immortal and population control is achieved by scythes who “glean” people, start with Scythe and read the whole trilogy. I highly recommend the Barnes and Noble version of this book—it has notes from the author on every chapter in the back which I found quite illuminating.

Campbell and Lena are pushed together when a violent fight starts at their high school football game and they seek shelter together. As they attempt to get to a safer place, they discover rioting in the streets. While an interesting premise, I found this a bit superficial and lacking the punch and depth of a book like The Hate You Give.

Ranger Darren Matthews is asked to look into the disappearance of the young son of a member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. He finds himself in a racist viper pit of a small town. It‘s a good story with some interesting parallel stories occurring, but for me it wasn‘t as strong as Bluebird, Bluebird. I really like this character and hope to see him again.

I‘ve really been enjoying #ReadingUSA2019 and have just signed up for #ReadingEurope2020, hosted by the fabulous @Librarybelle and @BarbaraBB ! Head on over the Librarybelle‘s post for the sign up link if you‘re interested in joining in. It‘s a fun, no-pressure challenge.

YOU GUYS!!! This is a thing! It‘s a little kit you get and you make your very own little bookstore!!!!!!! It‘s about 7 x 9 x 7 inches completed. I‘ve asked for this from my husband for Christmas, so hopefully he comes through. 🤞🏼 How cute is this!?!?!

Now that I‘ve told you, you guys better not buy them all up before I get mine! 😑😬😆

Well, I‘m planning to tighten my budget, so this will probably be my last book haul for a while. So I made it a good one! The Lindy West is a signed first edition. 😍 And I‘m going to jump into The Toll pretty much immediately. I can‘t wait!

Heather, what a welcome surprise! Thank you so much for the book—it looks really good. And the card is 😍! This was really sweet of you.

(FYI, I recommend the flat rate envelopes—they‘re much cheaper! 🙂)

I don‘t watch tv anymore, but used to watch a lot of it, including Buffy, Nussbaum‘s inspiration for becoming a tv critic. Here she‘s collected some of her pieces from over the years. I enjoyed the listen and appreciate her thoughtful approach to these shows, which becomes societal commentary.

After a neighbor dies suddenly, several other members of a small Polish community start to die in odd ways as witnessed by our eccentric main character. This is truly a character study of a woman more in touch with nature than people, with a mystery draped over the top. I enjoyed the humor of it but I did find it bogged down in places for me.

Technically…#foodonthecover.

😬🤣

Couldn‘t help myself. Hopefully I‘m not the only weirdo.

This is a theory of the main character. She goes on from here. My husband didn‘t seem to appreciate this, but I think she‘s a riot.

😬😆

I think I‘m going to like this one. Page 3 and I‘m already loving the snark. 😆

I thought I‘d give this book a try because it sounded interesting—a woman learns her father is not her biological father after an Ancestry DNA test. But frankly it‘s reading like overwrought melodrama to me. And I just don‘t relate, but I‘ve always felt how one feels is more important to family than biology. #unpopularopinion

“The cluster of buildings on the endless grassy plain looked like a patch of stubble a man missed while shaving.”

There‘s some good lines in this one.

#BOTMBuddyRead

From 2000 to 2004, Jesmyn Ward lost 5 important young men in her life and community, including her brother. Here she weaves the stories of their lives and deaths between her own brutal childhood story. It‘s amazing that she survived. This is a tough read from which I had to take a lot of breaks. It‘s filled with heartbreak and tragedy but ultimately proves the author‘s resilience.

@Cinfhen

#ReadingUSA2019 #Mississippi

I originally was not planning to read this book because I stopped watching tv a few years ago, but then I heard the author on a podcast. She was funny and I wanted to hear more from her. Most importantly, she talked about how her tv reviewing career started because of one of the best shows of all time, Buffy. I‘ve had some heavy reads recently, so I‘ve started this one to lighten things and am enjoying it so far.

Your House Will Pay is a thoughtful exploration of the impact and reverberations of violence on two families, one Korean, one Black, in current and 1990s LA. It‘s well structured and keeps its focus small while exploring the nuances of race in our society. It‘s a bit emotionally tough but really good.

A quarter of the way in and Jesmyn‘s youth makes me think of the above quote. And I‘m struggling with the presence of dog fighting, which I find so terribly wrong.

I do love how she evokes a sense of place. You feel like you can see, feel, smell southern Mississippi.

Thanks for the tags, @Addison_Reads and @sblbooks ! I wanted to use all books I already own for #myidealbookclub and here‘s what I picked. Half fiction, half nonfiction, and a couple of lighter picks to balance out the heavy topics and the chunkster.

What books would you choose for your book club?

I‘ve just finished the prologue and clearly this is going to be a really tough read. Imagine losing 5 young men close to you I‘m under four years. Then writing about it. This is my fourth by Ward and I have mad respect for this woman. #JWBuddyRead

I recently gave my aunt a gift subscription to Libro, a great audiobook service that benefits indie bookstores. As a thank you, they gave me a free copy of Circe, BUT I have no interest in this book. First come, first served, I will pass it along to whomever wants it. The link should work anywhere in the world. All you need is the libro app on your device to download it. You DO NOT need a libro membership.

Filipino-American Jay‘s cousin Jun is killed in the Philippines. So Jay travels there over spring break to try to understand what happened. He learns a great deal about Duterte‘s police state, his family, and himself. This is a terrific, heart-wrenching book (I nearly teared up and I‘m NOT a crier) that sheds light on the reality of our current world.

An intemperate white supremacist US president flouts laws and openly wars with Congress, setting up his own impeachment. 2019? Nope. (Well, ok, yes.) This is Andrew Johnson in the 1860s. While dense in places, this book is a great read, especially as a primer for what is likely to come in the modern era. The parallels are extraordinary.

Fill in the blank!

It‘s Andrew Johnson. But I‘m going to guess you were thinking of someone else.

My #BOTM box has arrived! From OCTOBER. 😑 The very slow transit time notwithstanding, I‘m glad my books are finally here. The slowness does take a little of the wind out of my sails, though.

My #LMPBC book has returned home! I enjoyed reading everyone‘s comments from this roller coaster of a book, and the bit above made me snort-laugh. I guess it‘s just us, @suvata ! Thanks for a great round, everyone! @Kaila-ann @Mynameisacolour

High-schooler Kiera develops an online game for people of the African diaspora around the world which celebrates black culture. After a tragedy linked to the game, she is threatened from both inside and outside of the game. I thought this was a fantastic look at finding a safe space in a hostile world while also being a fast moving, fun, and thoughtful book. I loved it.

Hmmm…now what‘s that line about history repeating?

Rose awakens in a memory care unit with an early onset dementia diagnosis and feels as though she is incarcerated. Then it becomes clear that things aren‘t what they seem. This is a good mystery with an overall serious tone but some good funny moments. I love Barr‘s Anna Pigeon series and this is just as good.

#dogsofLitsy #Greta

😂

This is definitely a serious mystery, but it has some good light-hearted moments.

It recently occurred to me that I had never read this book. (I know.) So, I rectified that! It was a fun listen, though I‘m a little surprised at the amount of violence and talk of killing others in a children‘s book. I‘m not sure how this would be received in a new book nowadays.

A black woman disappears in 1960s Baltimore and no one seems to care. A white woman learns a body has been found and decides this will make her newspaper career. I liked the idea of the historical mystery, but I found the audio a bit hard to follow as the story jumped around and I ultimately struggled to care about what was happening. Definitely not my favorite Lippman.

A bomb goes off in a Delhi market. We the follow multiple people: parents of the dead, and injured boy, the bomber. I just love this premise. But I found the book to be told at such a remove that I never became invested in the story or characters. I see other Littens had the same issues. To be honest, I‘m disappointed. #botm

Charley is a PI who just happens to be the grim reaper—she helps souls pass on. Here she is looking for a missing woman who has numerous friends who recently died mysteriously and may be the next target. I would typically run screaming from something labeled as paranormal romance, but this was fun and not heavy on the romance. A great line: “If it has tires or testicles, it‘s gonna give you trouble.”

Hello #LMPBC round 7 #memoir group! I‘m looking forward to seeing what you guys pick. Here are the books from which I am planning to choose. I‘ll tag the others in the comments so you can look into them a bit. Let me know if you‘ve read any already or if any don‘t work for you. I‘m excited to start reading next month!

A story spanning decades, Wunderland follows Ava and Ilse separately through time as we learn about their mother-daughter relationship in post-WWII Germany and the US. We also hear from Ilse‘s friend Renate pre-war. This is a devastating book that reveals the poison of lies and the consequences of treating other humans as “other.” It is historical fiction that speaks to today between the lines. Excellent.

After her teenage daughter Olivia falls from a bridge and ends up brain-dead, Abigail is desperate to understand what happened. Overall a solid, enjoyable mystery, but I did have a couple of small issues with it. The medical scene at the end was not realistic, which pulled me out of the story, and comments like “skin toned folders” just don‘t belong in books in 2019. #oliviabuddyread

Someone is sabotaging NYC elevators, causing death and fear across the city. This is an awesome thriller that doesn‘t shy away from some humor as well (a mayor named Richard Headley). I tore right through this one. This is my third or fourth by Barclay and I‘ve enjoyed them all.

In Catch and Kill, Ronan Farrow details his efforts to investigate the sexual predation of Harvey Weinstein and the methods HW employed to try to stop him. This book is a primer on how wealthy, connected, predatory men operate and is given even greater credibility by the efforts to suppress its publication and distribution. It is harrowing and so, so good.

Yeah, I would do this. 🤣

I‘m enjoying reading these so I thought I‘d join in!

❤️ Between Mountain View and Volcano on Hawaii Island (the Big one)
🧡 43
💛 I own a flower farm and am trying to build the business, so mostly through the library and savings at the moment.
💚 Eloped earlier this year
💙 The female ones
💜 Hooked on Books was my favorite used bookstore growing up in Colorado Springs. And they‘re still going strong!

#gettingtoknowyou

I‘m not a huge sci-fi fan, but there‘s a sliver of it I just love and Blake Crouch is right in that sweet spot. His latest book, about the nature of time and memory, is a tantalizing, fascinating, mindfuck of a book and a total page turner. I loved it.