Your morbid friend, me, is super hyped to read about death in Caitlin Doughty's new book!! From Here to Eternity is about how different cultures deal with dead bodies in the ways that they deem most dignified. Did u kno in Japan, post-cremation, the family can come in and pick out the bones from the ashes with chopsticks? Dope. The world is a weird place & cultures react in v different ways to death. Look for this one October 3 from W. W. Norton

What a true crime time to be alive! Podcasts and shows focused on real murders are super popular right now. But let us not forget an equally fascinating crime, the object of Sia and Rihanna's attention in several music videos: arson! What else is super popular? The examination of rural American life. This book gives you both, with a side of thorough research and beautiful writing.
.
I love American Fire! Check out my review on my blog- link in bio

This book was KILLER. Holy shit. Give me more Samanta Schweblin stat.

Omg this is some heart stoppingly good #bookmail. Thank you @fsgbooks for bestowing such benevolence upon me in the form of women killing it with words. Last year Samantha Hunt released Mr. Splitfoot, one of my favorite novels ever. Can't wait to read her short stories in The Dark Dark (out in July). I haven't read Catherine Lacey, but I heard her on a podcast & she was so interesting. The Answers sounds amazing & it came out yesterday I think??!!

I was getting mad Nausicaa art vibes from Edena, then I flipped to the back cover and saw Miyazaki's blurb saying it inspired Nausicaa. NO WONDER. Loving this space travel comic so far!!

Meant to post this days ago OOPS.
Got some creepy weird exciting #bookmail today! Mysterious recordings from a place that might not exist & people who share the tapes vanishing?? Hi hello yes. @Xiankiefer describes it as "part Borges, part VanderMeer, part forgotten '70s psychedelic action movie." Found Audio by N.J. Campbell comes out in July!! Thanks, Two Dollar Radio, can't wait to start it.

My second and final read of the #readathon! I managed to finally finish it at 2 am. It's the sequel to Sleeping Giants and it was a ton of fun. Recommended for those who like Pacific Rim and Ancient Aliens.

I finally finished the audiobook of The Fishermen! It's my first book finished this #readathon. Sadly, I didn't love it as much as everyone else did. I'm not sure what I'm missing!!

My #readathon TBR pile gets more and more ridiculous each time. I'll have a mini-challenge up on my blog hour 3 and I'll be co-hosting on the @DeweysReadathon blog & Twitter account hours 11 & 12!

Right now we're 42 minutes in and I'm listening to an audiobook of The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma. What are you reading??

Just met Jeff VanderMeer and gave him the Annihilation themed hat I made & designed AAAHHHHH

Excuse me while I fawn over this beautiful book about the history of women in comic books. It will 100% adorn my coffee table forever. Such a great reference!! Thanks @QuirkBooks for the cool book & the like 100+ comic recs inside it.

#comics #superheroes #girlpower

Got a sicknasty collection of books at #reparama in Minneapolis. Some creepy & odd books, some that sound just beautiful, v relevant nonfiction, and one Japanese scifi novel. How do I decide which to read first???

Finally found a fast paced book to keep me almost completely engrossed despite America falling apart. I'm loving it even though I rarely read thrillers. Glad I heard about this one on All The Books! @Liberty

My best shelf talker yet

Omg there's more 😍😍😍 #bookmail

Well, my day was made. A big thank you to Jeff VanderMeer!! I can't wait to start this. #bookmail

In case you were curious about the extent of my reading slump, here's my shelf of books I've started and not finished (in most cases to not fault of their own... Except flatland, that shit's dry af). 😶😶😶

Does this count? #artrelatedbooks #seasonsreadings2016

#seasonsreadings2016 day 7: #setonanisland AND it happens to be one of my favorite books ever. With writing so so lush, Yanagihara takes us to a remote place to witness dark and strange things. It seems like a dense book, but the writing is so beautiful that pages fly by. TW: sexual abuse. This book is dark, dark, dark, but absolutely amazing.
#recommendsday @RealLifeReading

When you're unsure about a book then see that Alexandra Kleeman wrote a blurb for it and suddenly you need to read the book RIGHT NOW. Do you have any authors like this??

#seasonsreadings2016 day 6: #bestblurbs

I think this might be my favorite horror novel ever, idk.

#seasonsreadings2016 day 4: #notinenglish
This is totally an old insta, but I love it so much. I have the English copy and I got the Japanese copy in a train station bookstore in Tokyo when we were about to head to Kamakura on the coast. I started trying to read it on the train and it is set in Kamakura! Spooky. Still haven't finished, because I only know 700-something kanji, but I'm working on it.
#japanese @RealLifeReading

#seasonsreadings2016 day 2: #kickassheroines

I'm normally not into the "kickass heroine"/" strong female character" thing bc I feel like it results in 2 dimensional characters who are praised for emulating typical masculine traits which is SO NOT progress as far as seeing females as equal and valuable. But how else can the Rat Queens really be described? This book is fantastic and hilarious. Definitely kickass.

#seasonsreadings2016

OK, Litsy. I'm going to actually try to do an entire challenge this month. Day 1: #wanttoreadindec
I don't actually have a TBR at all rn, but these are some of the books I'd like to read/finish before the year ends!
@RealLifeReading

November really derailed my life (just wrote a post about THAT struggle at http://outlandishlit.blogspot.com)
At the suggestion of @theshrinkette & @alli.sos, I made a stack of nonfiction books to try to get me out of my slump. I've also got the audiobook of This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein on the way. Anybody have social justice/environmental nonfiction audiobook recs???

I've had an impossible time reading since the election. I've had an impossible time doing anything really. Any advice??

Bonnie Jo Campbell: "If you see a problem you can solve, solve it. If you see a problem you can't solve, write about it." This is a photo of her being great and calling out the photographer (me). Feels good to hear somebody talking about the importance of stories right now.

We will not back down. We will continue to fight to help others and to help our planet. Take as many days as you need to take care of yourself, but don't ever stop learning, teaching, creating, helping, and loving. We are too amazing for this.
#recommendsday

What a topical book to happen upon! Happy #NaNoWriMo everyone!! I'm being a little rebellious this year and working on my novel from last year. It was kind of a mess but I loved the idea (ufos + feminism), so hopefully this book can help me get my act together!

This is my 6th national novel writing month. Are you writing this month?? My username is ulianne if you want a writing buddy 💕💕

How is this already amazing just 20 pages in?? I'm so glad I book hopped my way into Marcy Dermansky's arms. #readathon

Audiobooking is definitely the nicest way to ease into #readathon even though my progress is slower. Almost done with Zero K. I think I sometimes like it, but who can say?

I've finally narrowed down my #readathon pile........ On the left we have the books I'm in the middle of. On the right are the future books I'll be in the middle of. I'm super hyped bc I'm going to help host for a couple hours that night!! What are you most looking forward to reading? And where in the world should I start?

I've been so anxiously awaiting bringing this home for 2 days and I finally have it!! I just started rewatching Twin Peaks the other day, I'm meeting Mark Frost on Saturday, and I can't WAIT to dig into this. At first I didn't know this: it's a novel in the form of reports about happenings in the Twin Peaks area. I LOVE IT.

They all laughed, except for me, who thinks this book is so annoying. We get that you're set in the present day. WE GET IT.

I bailed on this bad boy a couple months ago because I was cringing so much and bookmarking every other page not bc lines were good but bc they were so ridiculous. Whoever was responsible for modernizing the story for America REALLY wants you to know how aware they are of technology and the Internet. It's a lot, but I'm going to try one more time.

One of my most prized possessions: Karen Russell's autograph. Sadly I didn't get to meet her, but when I heard she and my mom would be in the same place, I demanded that she get my books signed. Swamplandia! is an all time favorite; dark, wholly original, and just gorgeous. Every sentence is a masterpiece.
Much to my dismay, my mom told her I referred to her as "the word goddess of my life" but luckily she was delighted. #signedsunday

Selling books that authors are signing at the #twincitiesbookfestival! Any other Minnesota littens here??

If you can't read that, the title is: Selected Unpublished Blog Posts of a Mexican Panda Express Employee. At first I thought I didn't have a #longtitle I hadn't seen someone else do until I looked at my shelf and found this favorite!! Categorized as poetry, but it reads like tweets and blog posts. An absolutely hilarious and raw portrayal of being a 20-something and struggling. Megan Boyle is on point about everything. #booktober @RealLifeReading

Happy book birthday to Scratch by Steve Himmer!! I'm halfway through and hooked. A forest, a shapeshifter (who is also the narrator), holes full of bones, mysterious disappearances - this book has it all.

Last night was publisher rep night for booksellers in the Minnesota metro! We have these events where publishers pitch upcoming books to us, so we're in the know, and we get in on some glorious ARC action. It's as much fun as it sounds. Here's what I took home, in order of most to least excited about from top to bottom. In a few days I'll feature some from local Minnesota publishers that I'm hyped about!

So frustrating to be in a reading slump right when litsy comes out for Android omg. I just haven't been able to get myself to read much more than 20 pages at a time. I've mostly been crafting lately. I should really find an audiobook. Do you have a riveting audiobook recommendation for me?? #knitting

I think I'm going to start this bad boy despite being in the middle of several other books. Feat. my matching home decor. I don't believe in ghosts/haunted places, but I'm suuuuper interested in the paranormal for whatever reason. Do you believe in ghosts??

Wow, how gracious of Chuck Palahniuk to compare Lidia Yuknavitch to a man. Thank you for not leaving her behind in unimpressive slums of female authorship!! 😠😠😠

Thanks for trying, Chuck, better luck next time.

The first essay in this collection is called "Against Exercise" and it's just as good as you'd think it would be. Already sold on Mark Greif, damn. Has anybody read this whole collection??

I'm a day late, but happy birthday to Bilbo & Frodo and happy #tolkienweek!! Lord of the Rings is my favorite trilogy of all time. I reread it the way people reread Harry Potter. I might have a problem. #hobbitday

I probably have more coffee table books than I need. And I'm definitely the only person who looks at them. I have no regrets. Have you read any of these?? (ok, one of them is a magazine) #funfridayphoto #coffeetablebook

I don't want to say that I'm the best daughter ever, but I did just create some blind book dates for my mom's birthday. All thrillers or historical fiction, but I did buy her a new copy of fantasy, Traitor Baru Cormorant bc DUH. Points to anyone who can guess these! They either just came out or are being published within 5 months (note that I bought her a new copy earlier, I'm not completely cheap).
#blindbookdate

"Life in a small town takes a dark turn when mysterious footage begins appearing on VHS cassettes at the local Video Hut."
HOLY FUCK I am so ready for this book. And the arc comes in a VHS case!! Danielle's debut, Wolf in White Van, was amazing. Can't wait to start this. #bookmail

Got an amazing present from @Heather_Reads!! The title is perfect and it's soooo up my alley. We all love it, as you can see. THANK YOU!
#bookmail #cat

Spending the evening working on my very first embroidery project while listening to the Traitor Baru Cormorant audiobook. It's SO GOOD. Amazing political fantasy with really interesting gender stuff. I already want everyone to read it.
#embroidery #crafts #audiobooks #fantasy