Finished the ARC last night & it is so good! Full review coming soon on litandleisure.com.

Just got into this one this morning. Beautiful, soulful. Anyone else read it?

I used to teach this when I was in the classroom. Rereading for the first time in nearly 20 years! ❤️📚🇫🇷🇬🇧📚🇫🇷

Heard about this one on What should I read next? podcast & it has not disappointed! About 150 pages to go!

It isn‘t every day that snake handling comes up as a topic, but when it does, I‘m interested. This is a firsthand look at the mysterious and mystical practice of handling poisonous snakes in religious worship.

Covington‘s firsthand account of living and worshipping among this unique breed is authentic, balanced and is the closest to what I think an accurate portrayal could be.

Full review at www.literatureandleisure.com.

When I survey the most memorable of evil characters, it is female versions that first come to mind. Ron Rash‘s title character Serena. Steinbeck‘s Cathy in East of Eden. Lady Macbeth. With A Ladder to the Sky, John Boyne has provided a new one – and he‘s male.

Maurice Swift is a want-to-be writer except for one thing – he has difficulty coming up with a good story. And so, he steals them.

Full review at www.literatureandleisure.com

This is a readers book!! In On Reading Well, Prior pairs a work of literary fiction with a virtue – cardinal, theological and heavenly – in each chapter to illustrate how a good reading of fiction calls the reader to a more noble sensibility.

http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2018/10/book-review-on-reading-well/

Y‘all. I finished this book this morning and WHY. IS. EVERYONE. NOT. TALKING. ABOUT. IT?

I picked it up as a recommendation from @annebogel on her Podcast because it is a modern retelling of Antigone. And well, that‘s my dog Antigone (Annie for short) in the background, but I should have been hearing about this one all over the place.

Anyway, that‘s all for now because I‘ve got to get myself together for a minute before I can process further.

For those of you in the #botmbuddyread conversation, I heard Amor Towles speak earlier this year. It was 👍🏼👍🏼. He talked about both of his books & his current project. Here‘s more:

http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2018/03/meet-the-author-amor-towles/

The History of Loneliness by John Boyne was an interesting book to be reading right now because of the Pennsylvania grand jury report. Boyne is best known for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, and like that novel, it is told from the point of view of an “innocent” on the side of the guilty - in this one an Irish Catholic priest. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2018/09/book-review-a-history-of-loneliness/

Day 30: Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving; a favorite of mine, Irving is a master of character and narrative; set in a logging camp, Irving adds his experience to the life of Danny, who becomes a writer #31Books #BooksIRecommend

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Day 29: Stoner by John Williams; this is the one I've been talking about all summer; quiet but beautiful, great characters and themes; college English professor finds meaning in life #31Books #BooksIRecommend

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Day 28: Perfume by Patrick Süskind; if you share my penchant for the dark, a story of a murderer with a remarkable sense of smell - to him, a person's smell is as unique as a fingerprint; not for the faint of heart #31Books #BooksIRecommend

Day 27: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles; A life sentenced to a posh hotel - such is the premise, set just post Russian Revolution; Towles has it all - rich characters, setting, themes, style and language #31Books #BookIRecommend

Day 26: Shattered Dreams: God's Unexpected Pathway to Joy by Larry Crabb; we all have them (shattered dreams) & this is the best book I've read about what to do with them #31Books #BooksIRecommend

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Forgot to post yesterday!!!

Day25: After the Arena by Pat Dye: in honor of the start (for some) of college football, this memoir by former #Auburn head coach Pat Dye is a great read for anyone who loves the game #31Books #BooksIRecommend

(For some reason, this book isn‘t in the database so sorry the photo doesn‘t match the one selected! Is there a way to correct that?)

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Day 24: A Little Life by Hanya Yangihara; a beautiful & painful portrait of friendship; not everyone can go this dark, but if you can and love a good book hangover, read more #31Books #BooksIRecommend

http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2017/10/book-review-a-little-life/

Day 23: We are Water by Wally Lamb: multiple narrators done well; Annie is leaving her husband of 27 years for her female publicist; POV = hers, Orion (husband) and their son; about the secrets we carry & the damage they cause #31Books #BooksIRecommend

http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2014/04/book-review-we-are-water/

Day 22: Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff: like yesterday's book, a ton of allusions to Greek drama; the story of a marriage from each spouse's POV; one of the most memorable female villains in contemporary fiction #31Books #BooksIRecommend

http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2016/07/book-review-fates-and-furies/

Day 21: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides: his brilliant debut is a modern myth complete w/ a chorus, Sirens and a host of allusions to #GreekTragedy; neighborhood boys look back on 5 sisters who commit suicide in 12 mos #31Books #booksIrecommend

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Day 20: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout; collection of stories about the title character, a deeply complex teacher living in small town Maine; excellent discussion for a #bookclub winner of 2009 Pulitzer Prize

#31Books #BooksIrecommend

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Day 19: Where Do We Go from Here by Martin Luther King, Jr.; his last book & what he thinks it will take to move Civil Rights forward; prophetic & regrettably all to applicable to current day, a comprehensive cannon of King's ideas #31Books #booksIRecommend #justice #nonfiction

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Day 18: Book of Marie by Terry Kay: what Kay calls his most important book; in the middle of integration, a well-told story about friendship, love and the sometimes blurry line between the two

#31Books #BooksIRecommend #SouthernLit

http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2014/04/book-review-the-book-of-marie/

Day 17: Rules of Civility by Amor Towels: perhaps in my top 10 of all time; 1938 NYC & for three young adults, anything is possible; may remind you of Gatsby, but more beautifully written

#31Books #BooksIRecommend #literaryfiction

http://ow.ly/AAMg30ln9gA

Day 16: My Reading Life by Pat Conroy: one writer's story about falling in love with literature and his life as reader & writer told with the same beautiful language Conroy is known for; the perfect read for all book nerds

#31Books #BooksIRecommend #memoir

http://ow.ly/ADYJ30ln91H

Day 15: The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield: don't let the sweet cover fool you - this book has all the rich layers, darkness, and complex characters we love in a good Southern story #31Books #BooksIRecommend

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Day 14: The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich: part memoir part expose' about murderer /pedophile on death row; reads like literary fiction while getting you to think about what it means to have justice served

#31Books #BooksIRecommend

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Day 13: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath; fictionalized account of Plath's own career in journalism and struggle with depression; her poetic use of language provides a rich contrast for the misery she's describing #31Books

http://ow.ly/Uvji30lkm7e

Day 12: The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning; I read this book earlier this year and it made me rethink how I think of God's love for me #31Books #BooksIRecommend

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Day 11: The Blue Notebook by James Levine; not a book everyone will be able to read, but a powerful story about child trafficking in India written by a physician & based on his personal research

#31Books #BooksIRecommend

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Day 10: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood; way before Hulu made this a pop culture sensation, I was raving about this dystopian portrayal of a world where women have no rights #31Books #BooksIrecommend #dystopian

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Day 9: The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell; taking a break from fiction for a day to share a favorite study on what contributes to social epidemics; a great place to start if you've never read @Gladwell

#31Books #BooksIrecommend

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Day 8: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese; spanning 50 years, the story of Siamese twins, cut apart after birth at a mission hospital in Ethiopia; richly layered story of brothers and all their complex relationships
.
http://ow.ly/rDqT30lgegr
.
#litandleisure #31Books #bookishlife #bookblogger #bookrecs #literaryfiction #loveliterature #literaryloves #bookclub #bookclubs #bookrecs

Day 8: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese; spanning 50 years, the story of Siamese twins, cut apart after birth at a mission hospital in Ethiopia; richly layered story of brothers and all their complex relationships
.
http://ow.ly/rDqT30lgegr
.
#litandleisure #31Books #bookishlife #bookblogger #bookrecs #literaryfiction #loveliterature #literaryloves #bookclub #bookclubs #bookrecs

Day 8: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese; spanning 50 years, the story of Siamese twins, cut apart after birth at a mission hospital in Ethiopia; richly layered story of brothers and all their complex relationships
.
http://ow.ly/rDqT30lgegr
.
#litandleisure #31Books #bookishlife #bookblogger #bookrecs #literaryfiction #loveliterature #literaryloves #bookclub #bookclubs #bookrecs

Day 7: Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson; Southern literary humor at its finest and quite good as an #audiobook as well #31Books #BooksIrecommend

http://ow.ly/pe5L30lg86m

Day 6: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery; precocious 12 year-old comes to learn she isn't the only one in her apt building hiding her real self (have your dictionary handy for this one!)

#31Books #BooksIrecommend

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Day 5: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis; a conversation between two demons, Lewis uses satire as commentary on society and theology #31Books #BooksIrecommend http://ow.ly/jW5k30lg7Jl

Day 4: Ava's Man by Rick Bragg; memoir of Bragg's grandfather that speaks loudly about the complexity of being a man in the South in the early / mid 1900's; read the comments (Blythe is my mom

Not a part of my #31Books so consider this a freebie!

Thunderstruck is a collection of nine stories about people who are missing – some runaway, some die, others just disappear. It is an interesting thread for what appears to otherwise be unconnected stories.

http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2018/08/book-review-thunderstruck-and-other-...

Day 3: A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon; on the lighter side but very well-written; in short, there's nothing like a wedding to bring out a family's true nature #31Books #BooksIrecommend

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Day 2: Dear Life by Alice Munro; short story collection by one of the masters; review includes a list of topics / themes for #bookclub discussion

#31Books #BooksIrecommend @LitandLeisure

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Day 1: I Know this Much Is True by Wally Lamb; an intense family saga that covers a host of relationships as well as mental illness #31Books #BooksIrecommend

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In August I‘m sharing 31 books I highly recommend. Whether you need a rec for the end of summer or are heading back to school and need a new story to escape into, there will be something for you. Follow me for #31Books on Twitter (@elisabeth_wang) or Instagram (elisabeth7291) for the best of my book recommendations.

#litandleisure #31Books #bookishlife #bookblogger #bookrecs #literaryfiction #loveliterature #literaryloves #bookclub #bookclubs

Nick White‘s collection of stories Sweet and Low are best described as evidence of the new South. Ever present are the themes that demonstrate the complexity of the South. Students of the Southern greats will recognize the peculiar, the odd, the disfigured, the freaks – in setting, narrative and character.

Read my full review at: http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2018/05/book-review-sweet-and-low-stories/

These are the books I added to my TBR when the Man Booker Long List was announced this week. Which ones did you add? (Normal People cit off at the top.)

This book is being turned into a movie starring Melissa Gilbert & is being filmed in my hometown. Anyone read it?

This is the best book you‘ve never heard of. I‘ve been hesitant to publish my review bc I know it won‘t do the book justice. You‘ll just need to read it for yourself. **Spoiler-free review.**

http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2018/07/book-review-stoner-john-williams/

Y‘all. I had to share this here. Lauren Groff is 🔥🔥🔥.

Five years ago my book club started keep track of books & ratings. Here‘s more about that including a really interesting tidbit - the same author has the highest & lowest rating!

http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2018/07/book-clubs-on-book-record-keeping/

#litandleisure #bookishlife #bookclubs #bookblogger