This story was so relatable to me. Like Jess, I'm a lawyer in my early 40s. We even have the same maiden name! And though my issue wasn't necessarily infertility, my husband and I wanted kids but it didn't happen for us for other reasons, and we both had to process that and grieve the what could have beens in our own way and time, and that puts a strain on a marriage. Keane writes beautiful novels with such realistically flawed characters.

I loved the concept of this thriller if not the writing itself. I figured out the who pretty early but not the how and why, so I read it in one afternoon!

Every now and then I need a quick mystery/thriller to cleanse my pallet between more "serious" reads. I mostly liked the way this dealt with mental health and the excuses we will make to ourselves and others to cope, but as a lawyer with a husband who struggles with mental health like the character of Pippa, I found it hard to believe that she could be so naive from the very beginning of her relationship with Gabe.

This book was outrageously good. I'm not a big nonfiction reader (never mind science) because I have a job that requires a lot of serious reading and I have ADHD. But this was worth the effort. Just endlessly fascinating, and witty to boot. Absolutely brilliant.

“A grown man‘s nipples can, under the right circumstances, deliver milk. It‘s not nearly as good at it as the adult female nipple, but it can do it. Seriously. Men can - inefficiently, and with difficulty - nurse a baby.”

This book is FASCINATING.

A poor neighborhood of mostly Black and Jewish people in the 1930s, looking past their differences especially in times of need, while the white people who live down the hill look down their noses and fail to recognize the value of this beautiful community. Some things never change, but I loved this little world McBride built.

I quite liked this little novel and it made me rage at the way my country prides itself on the American Dream where anyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and make a better life for themselves and their family, while simultaneously vilifying people who have heard this fantasy and come here trying to do just that. My only complaint is that it wasn‘t longer. At less than 200 pages, I didn‘t get to live with this family long enough.

This is a well crafted epic about how we cannot outrun our past. It switches narratives styles depending on the perspective and again, cleverly, as the drama intensifies. And despite being over 600 pages, it feels like a faster read than it is. All that said, I think it‘s been a *bit* overhyped. But I definitely liked it enough to check out Skippy Dies.

Taking imposter syndrome, professional jealousy, loneliness and the human desire to be seen, appreciated, and remembered to a twisted next level. I‘m not sure I loved the ending but it was certainly logical. And I definitely recommend it.

A poetic and profound story that is not a simple or traditional story of slavery in the deep south, but is a rich telling of ancestry, inherited and shared traumas, and how love and survival can make us do things we never thought possible, both good and bad.

I personally didn‘t love this book, but giving it a pick because I think I‘m biased. A friend recommended it because she though it gave good insight into how lawyers argue criminal cases and that she was fooled by the whodunnit, which is rare. As a lawyer (albeit not a criminal one), I tend to find books about legal process tedious. But this was a quick read and an otherwise compelling mystery.

Maybe it‘s just me, but this gave me [non-violent] American Psycho vibes. It had the same increasingly erratic narrative, and had a similar satirical commentary structure (AP on the yuppy culture of the 80s, this on the “quick fix” pill obsession of the 90s). But unlike AP (which gave me actual nightmares), I was so bored by the end of this.

The summary describes this as a thriller, but that‘s not quite accurate. It is more like a fictional “where are they now” about siblings who survived horrific child abuse. It is beautifully written, but it is very sad and won‘t be for everyone.

I do not understand the appeal of this novel. It is 300 pages of tension with only the barest semblance of plot. There is no backstory, no resolution of any kind, and no likable characters.

A slow start, but a really insightful story about relationships and our instinct to protect ourselves and those we love, sometimes at the expense of what is good or right.

I read this in an hour. Marriage is hard and often lonely. We‘ve been through the ringer lately and this really captured how that can feel. Including the moments of levity that still break through. It may not be for everyone, but I found this to be a truly stunning book.

It‘s 1983, and after being accused of her own unthinkable crime, Kit is hired to be a caregiver for an incapacitated woman who is believed to have murder her own family more than 50 years earlier. The pacing is a bit a off, but there are some really great twists and turns.

I really love Lisa Taddeo's writing style and the raw way she describes the societal burden of women. But this felt forced in a way I can't really put my finger on. I think it's that a character like Joan is understandably damaged, but the narration is too perceptive. If Joan was this self-aware, it's unlikely that she would make many of the choices she does.

Despite the gruesome plot (and one extremely gory scene) it was honestly kind of boring.

So cute!

It‘s hard being a woman. Even the reviews for this book show that. We‘re rightfully mad when movies don‘t pass the Bechdel Test, but we take for granted that our culture rarely passes it because as women, we are viewed as a provider - to our kids, to men, to our aging parents. If we dare exist in the world outside of these norms, we are shamed, even if we are not the driving force that pushed us outside those norms in first place.

“There are no good guys here.” A still fun but darker and more interesting take on how “super powers” come to be. I didn‘t know this was one of two when I picked it up, but I look forward to reading the second one!

A quick page turner about two teens who escape a doomsday prepper cult. The story was decent, but it dealt with extremely serious topics and I was disappointed by its superficiality.

Somewhere between a so-so and a pick, mainly because it wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a relatively chronological novel about the creation of an app and its unexpected social ramifications. It was more of a fragmented novel that switched perspectives, time, and styles. I just never felt connected enough to any of it to truly get into it, but I can see how other people would really love it.

Kitty is an Influencer who is part Patrick Bateman (materialist psycho) and part Dexter (vigilante serial killer). It had so much potential but it was just so lazy. The timeline often didn‘t make sense, characters were named dropped as if we knew about them even though they had never been mentioned, plot details contradicted themselves. Rather disappointing but fine for a lazy day beach read.

This took me a little while to get into, but once I got there I couldn't put it down. I literally gasped out loud at one point and startled both my husband and the dog!

A collection of interconnected short stories that start with a global plague in the not-so distant future. Having survives a global pandemic and watching climate change slowly destroy us, this was often bleak. But it's a poignant reminder that, in all of history, most people have only ever wanted love, safety, and a sense of community.

This is the first book I haven't wanted to put down in a while. It was about so much more than the underlying mystery. I would have perferred they stuck with the switching narrative scheme and revealed what actually happened in Lily's voice, but overall a really touching read.

Apparently I‘m in the minority, but I just couldn‘t get into this. I was bored out of my mind and finally bailed at around page 200. I may try to come back to it after a break, but it just really isn‘t doing it for me right now.

Home invasions and a cabin in the middle of nowhere are two of the scariest things I can imagine. That said, despite the extreme violence, this was a bit slow. It sort of had that slow tension-building common to '70s horror movies, but something was just missing for me.

This was a little (or a lot) overhyped. But like all Taylor Jenkins Reid's books, it was an easy, enjoyable read. I love a book that makes me think, but it's just as nice to breeze through something more frivolous and this book fit the bill.

This was the most unique, brilliant memoir I have ever read. I‘m not really a memoir person (I didn‘t realize it was a memoir when I bought it), but Machado is such a gifted writer. Her collection of short stories, Her Body and Other Parties, was the first book I posted about on Litsy and I remember similarly being blown away by her sheer talent after reading that. Highly recommend.

A timeless story, both in terms of young love and, unfortunately, the oppression Black people are subjected to in this country. I really loved Tish and her family and what a true picture Baldwin paints of the lengths a supportive family will go to protect their loved ones.

The writing was excellent but the story was too abstract for my taste.

I've been in a reading rut and this pulled me right out of it. This book spoke to me. Something to do with my wanderlust and always feeling like I need to escape, and maybe also my rejection dysphoria. It felt good to be really IN a book again.

I found parts of this short book to be quite funny, and it nailed what an ADHD brain can feel like. But I think my own ADHD brain actually struggled with the fragmented style, so it took me an embarrassing amount of time to finish it.

On a whole, this was a good read with an interesting narrative. It had a lot of insightful moments about people and their motivations and power struggles. But it would definitely have helped to know more about Sri Lanka and the war.

I feel guilty giving this a so-so. It‘s beautifully written, but it‘s so slow. Plus I don‘t think I was ready to revisit 2020. This way my first book from Louise Erdrich and I‘d definitely like to check out more of her writing.

I love Celeste Ng. This dystopian novel felt so very possible - as a lawyer, I‘m constantly aghast at how easily our constitutional rights and values can be subtly weakened or set aside entirely in the name security and patriotism, and how it‘s human nature to self-preserve by turning a blind eye when not directly impacted. Truly a breathtaking read.

I liked this a lot more than I expected to and, on balance, would recommend it. I had many of the twists figured out early but getting to the "how" made this a real page turner, although the "how" was, IMHO, overly simplistic for an otherwise well-devised story. But it's a well-written, atmospheric novel that's worth checking out.

I have mixed feelings about this one. The writing is very good, but I know too many sixteen year-olds and the parts from their perspectives were too profound at times that it kept taking me out of the story. There were some unnecessary subplots that were over expounded on and others that could have really taken the story to an interesting place that were barely touched. But overall it was an engaging read.

A sweet little fantasy novel about love, adventure, and finding where you belong. Fantastic writing, as usual.

When I travel, I love to read books that take place in my destination. I managed to read the first half of this book on the flight to Savannah and the rest on the flight back. It set the perfect scene. Nonfiction has trouble keeping my attention but Berendt's writing is excellent. Highly recommend!

My husband caught me sobbing as I finished this if that tells you anything about it. Backman really knows how to tell a beautiful story.

This was a beautiful little novella about how a teen girl's murder affected her sister and two classmates. It's not really a whodunnit or even really a crime story, it's more of a story about how we process grief and guilt, but there's definitely a little revenge mixed in.

Although Parnassus books has been at this location since 1962, the building that houses it has served as a general store and bookshop since the early 1800s. They sell new and used (and often rare) books. This outdoor wall of books is open 24/7. Books are $1.00 unless otherwise marked, and there is a mail slot to drop your payment if it‘s outside of regular store hours.

I loved the premise of this - if all those slasher films were based on real events, what happened to the “final girl” who lived? But it was a bit over the top. My guess is that all the twists and turns were meant to mimic the films it was inspired by, but it just really made the story drag at times instead.

Another adorable book shop down the Cape

Vacation bookstore #2!

There was no location tag, but this is an adorable bookstore/cafe with a social justice theme in Hyannis MA. Highly recommend if you‘re in the area!