Such a beautiful book! Perfect for anyone who has ever loved a dog.

Read this in one sitting. Sweet, smart and funny! #summerreads

My mom gave me this beautiful, only-blooms-once-a-year amaryllis this weekend. It reminded me that The Ensemble was in my to-read pile. I‘m only forty pages in, but so far, so good! I think fans of Mozart in the Jungle would enjoy it. It follows the lives of the members of a string quartet throughout the years.

Heart Berries in a gut wrenching memoir by Terrsa Marie Mailhot that traces her time on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in British Columbia. She began writing this slender memoir in a mental institution and she explores her experiences with addiction, abuse and poverty. It took me a while to stop being consumed by this book.

Going into this weekend with an awesome book and chocolate cake. I have been waiting forever for Meg Wolitzer‘s new novel, #thefemalepersuasion to come out and this week, my library delivered! I was trying to savor it and read slowly, but I‘m already 300 pages in. Such a great read loaded with humor and an exploration of feminism.

An America Marriage by Tayari Jones looks at the beginning of Roy and Celestial‘s marriage. When Roy is incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, their relationship is tested. This was a compelling read and I think would make a great companion read to Bryan Stevenson‘s Just Mercy, which is a look at our broken prison system.

The Perfect Nanny was perfectly disturbing! I suggest not reading while eating, especially the first few pages. I learned that one the hard way. (Tmi???) #creepybooksmakeforgoodreads

Just started this, but I‘m in! Now I want to look up her TED talk, which inspired The Misfit‘s Manifesto.

Green books from the library! Did you know that you can place a hold on any book at any branch of the library and they will deliver the book to your local branch for pickup? Also, if you have a library card you can join overdrive.com and check out e-books and audio books for free!

Body fuel. Brain fuel. Liked both books but really was intrigued and struck by the structure of Heather the Totality.

So much is covered in this gripping debut novel by Jung Yun: the housing crisis, cultural differences, race politics, financial issues, parenting, marriage and the unraveling of the main character, Kyung.

I participated in my first #24in48 last weekend. The goal: read for 24 of the 48 weekend hours. Between musical theater, a hockey game and kids‘ birthday parties, I realize this was a Sisyphean task, but I did it! #readingchallenge @24in48

The title could read like a self help book, but it‘s really a book about jellyfish! Jellyfish have been in existence for over half a billion years! (That‘s longer than any other animal on the planet) They‘re mesmerizing and venomous and graceful. I‘m so loving getting to know them better (especially from the safety of my living room.)

I read Ms. Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami as part of my pledge to read for 24 hours last weekend. I read four books. My eyes hurt. And I haven‘t read a page today. Not one page. And I didn‘t even spontaneously combust or anything.
Ms. Ice Sandwich is a Japanese novella about a boy obsessed with a woman who sells sandwiches. It is a slim, tender novel about being totally smitten for the first time.

Double feature! First the book, then the movie. Call Me by Your Name was such a beautiful, intimate, poetic read. And I was so pleased that the movie rose to the the book‘s high caliber.

After having read Kinae Minato‘s Confessions, I read her novel, Penance. I thought Penance was great, but I actually liked Confessions better, I think because the format was so novel that first go round. But does she know how to write a page-turner! And now I‘m on the hunt for the two movies that followed these two books. Although, I may be too creeped out to watch them alone.

Loved it! This book is told from five different women‘s perspectives and deals with themes such as women‘s bodies and borders (perhaps a nod to Judith Butler‘s lit theory, which I kept thinking of as I was reading.) Amidst the anguish and suffering of these characters as their rights are stripped away, it is a deeply funny book! It‘s so hard to successfully pair humor with pathos, but Zumas does an extraordinary job. I didn‘t want this one to end.