"You took a different path. It's not as clear-cut. You should offer yourself a little more grace."

As someone who has had difficulty getting a career started post-undergrad and compared myself to classmates who seemed to easily find full-time jobs in their fields, this hits home. While this book is about the publishing industry, I see a lot of similarities to trying to build a career in museums.

Another great Target Book Club find. This novel tells the story of a complicated family infused with magic. I enjoyed seeing the family dynamics unfold between the modern day story and the flashbacks. The story shifted from magical realism to fantasy in the last 1/4 of the story. I preferred the earlier parts of the story where the magic was unexplained, but I still enjoyed the book overall.

Taking inspiration from another #AsianReadathon pick, I made some Korean recipes from Cheap Lazy Vegan this morning. Unfortunately, the protagonist of this book doesn't have access to Rose's quick and filling recipes.

I stayed up way too late to finish this, but a cute, fun story was just what I needed to get out of a reading slump. I would categorize this as contemporary fiction with a strong romance subplot rather than a romance novel. Loved the story and the characters.

#asianreadathon

⭐⭐⭐ Another three star read for me. This French novel inspired by a real life New York crime is about a nanny who murders the two children in her care. From the first page, you know that this will happen. The story is not a mystery, but instead a look inside the lives of the nanny and her employers. For me, this was not a bad book, but also didn't give me much to feel engaged. By the end, I wished that the motivation had been more fully explored.

⭐⭐⭐💫 This book tells the story of a Swedish woman named Sara who comes to visit her pen pal, Amy, in the small town of Broken Wheel, IA. After arriving, she finds that Amy is dead. The plot follows Sara making a book store and becoming beloved by the town. Having grown up in small town IA myself, there were parts of the setting that felt unrealistic to me. The author did clearly do some research into Iowa geography, though.

Continued below 👇

I'm not a fan of the term ? "chick lit," but I agree with the sentiment! Give me all the Sophie Kinsella and keep away all the books edited and published by men who want to use stereotypes to sell books.

"See, the problem in this world ain't sinners, or even the dead. It is men who will step on anyone who stands in the way of their pursuit of power. Luckily there will always be people like me to stop them."

While telling a story of zombies taking over America, Justina Ireland makes it clear that the real evil is racism. I felt like this book really picked up in part two, but I enjoyed all of it. In the beginning it seemed like Ireland might use the YA trope of the pretty mean girl and the "I'm not like other girls" protagonist, but this was subverted as the story unfolded. I will definitely be picking up the sequel.

I decided to take part in a couple booktube readathons and filmed a TBR video. The stack in the photo is my TBR for #Summerween and the #TarotReadathon. I started reading Dread Nation yesterday and I'm looking forward to continuing it today.

https://youtu.be/4It-vZJErkw

A powerful exploration of the ways historical sites and museums tell the story of American slavery. Clint Smith mixes history, anthropology, and memoir to create a unique work that should be essential reading for all museum professionals and anyone else interested in history. I highly recommend listening to Smith's reading of the audiobook.

I'm looking for a July #buddyread or #groupread. Any suggestions? So often I feel like I don't have time for these, but I'll be a month out from starting my MLIS program and still not doing any theatre projects. I have a back log of #botm books, so if there are any discussions around one of those happening, that would be great, but I'm pretty open to anything.

#bookclub #julyreading

This one honestly started a bit slowly for me. It's been awhile since I've read YA, so I think that was part of it. I've been reading it off and on since May, but when I reached the halfway point, the story started to click for me. This book explores the history of Chinese immigrants in America in a way that is not often told. It also includes a family mystery, and sweet romance. 4/5 ⭐

Glad that I picked this one in my March #BOTM box! Just finished it and will hopefully do more of a review later.

I've been there. I still remember the girl in my first semester Arabic class who said "Even if I didn't already know you were from Iowa, I would have known from those pictures," after I did my presentation about my family. I stopped taking Arabic because the class was full of people like this and I didn't want to spend another three semesters with them. I still regret that I like condescending jerks be the reason I didn't lean a useful language.

I was so excited to get this book in June, but I decided to save it for our annual trip to Minnesota. We're staying at a family member's lake house with very few people around, which makes for a great reading environment.

Radical Reinvention explores Kaya Oakes return to the Catholic Church after leaving as a teenager. Oakes expresses her frustration with church teachings related to women and LGBTQ issues, but also shows her deep attachment to the cultural and spiritual aspects of the Church. This book is an excellent read for anyone with their own complicated relationship with Catholicism or those seeking to understand why a liberal woman would stay Catholic.

I have found so many things to love in this book. I have been having a hard time finding writing from the perspective of progressive Catholics, so this book has been incredibly refreshing. Unlike Oakes, I never officially left the Church, but I have found myself in small cycles of retreat and return, repelled and attracted by exactly the things she describes.

Sometimes the dogs bark while I try to read, other times they are good company. Tonight has been a bit of both, but this photo makes it all look peaceful, right? 😂 #readingbuddy #shelfie

I want to think this applies to me, but I'm not sure I'm that great of an actress. ?‍♀️ I do think there is something to be said for the way introverts tend to people watch in order to understand how to act in social situations (hopefully that's not just me!) that helps when developing a character. I hate when people respond "But you do theatre!" when I say I'm an introvert. Talking to people and performing for them are two very different things.

I picked up a few books from the library that fall into the "bad Catholic memoir" genre because I miss the liberal Catholicism of my college days in NYC. I'm only 11 pages into this one, but finding it very engaging. This paragraph definitely resonates, though my Irish Catholic ancestors became Iowa farmers rather than settling in a city.

While looking for something to listen to while I walk the dogs, I found out that my library recently added some American Girl audiobooks. Time to find out if this is any good while I indulge in nostalgia.

Our foster dog likes to sit with me on the papasan chair. #readingbuddy

I wonder how many people reading this book had no idea what Von Maur is. 😂

Did I just find a Duck Tales (woo hoo!) reference in my romance novel? 😂

Now that I know Dollar Tree sells decent hardcovers, I'm not not going to look at the selection while I'm there. 😆 The cover of this one caught my eye, and the blurb was intriguing enough to convince me to buy. It looks like reviews here are mixed, but I don't feel bad about spending $1 on a potentially so-so book.

Taking a week long vacation means I've finally been able to squeeze in some quality reading time. I started this one on the plane to NYC and it's now the first book I've finished in 2020. I quite enjoyed this even though I was getting frustrated with Drew and Alexa for not just TALKING about how they felt, and the weirdness of reading a romance novel with a hero who shares a name with my brother. 😆

No rehearsal, no plans. With a rare night off, I have decided to watch the adaptation of Can You Keep a Secret that came out earlier this year. So far I am envious of the very cool office.

I've been sitting on this one for awhile since my hold came earlier than expected, but it's due 12/2, so since everyone else is already moving past Thanksgiving into Christmas, I will, too! 😆

I haven't mentioned anything here yet, but I feel like I need to before I post anything else. On 10/27/19 my reading buddy crossed the rainbow bridge. Boo was very loved and will be deeply missed.

Just finished the audiobook. I liked getting more detail into the world building of Gilead and overall enjoyed the book, though I am glad that I got the audio book through Libby instead of purchasing a copy because I don't think I'd read/listen to it again. Who else has read it and has some thoughts?

I just found out that Overdrive is available on my Kobo! Not sure when that update was made because this is not the model that came with Overdrive access, but I am so happy that I can now check out ebooks and not have to worry about the fines I keep racking up from forgetting to return my physical books. 😳

Hit 1,000 Litfluence 😎 I know that's way lower than a lot of people here, but since I don't use the app super often, it's fun to see.

"Why do we create the boundaries people create for themselves as challenges?"

Like Gay, I am not someone who enjoys hugging strangers. I feel like that kind of physical contact is something that should be reserved for people I know and care for, but I've often had people do similar things where they try to make me hug even after I've said I don't want to.

September is here, which means it's basically fall and time for spooky reads! Since I never got around to finishing the third book in this series, I'm thinking of reading all three before Halloween. What's everyone else reading for fall and is there a spooky book #readalong happening on Litsy? Since this is my first time in awhile not doing a community theatre show, I'm looking forward to cramming in some quality reading time this month.

I've never attended performing arts school, but boy oh boy did Susan Choi capture how I feel about musicals being someone who does community theatre but can't sing.

Keeping this in mind for the next time I direct a show. 😜

With all of the rereading, highlighting, and annotating I'm doing, this book is going to take me ages to finish. 😂

Returning to some college reading before Mass today. We only had to read the intro in class and I've been interested in reading the full book for awhile. After this one, I have a copy of She Who Is by Elizabeth Johnson to dig into. #catholic

This is how to handle a day that mostly consisted of being out in the rain.

Your books helped me to reconcile my faith with my feminism. I could not believe it this morning when I heard of your passing. 37 was much too young and so much has been lost in your voice being taken from the world. I hope that as others see the news more will seek out your books and be encouraged to share in your spirit of compassion and acceptance.

Rest in peace, eshet chayil.

Photo from the Washington Post.

We're reading this for a book club at work and I am glad! I can see how this book isn't for everyone, but I loved it, especially the way Yoon explores the lives of side characters and how they affect the main plot.

Another show means listening to more audiobooks while driving to and from the theatre. What are your favorite listens for long drives?

I don't normally read romance (aside from Sophie Kinsella), but I bought this one after hearing about it on an NPR podcast and being interested by the theater aspect. Enjoyed the characters quite a bit, though the plot wasn't as compelling for me as stories in other genres tend to be. I'll likely continue with the rest of the series at some point. #romancy #slowreadersclub

Thanks @Amiable!!! This was a really awesome box. I love that you included a tote from a local bookstore. Thanks @BurghBookAddict for arranging the swap. #litsyswapoween

Between a pick and a so-so for me. Overall, I found the book compelling and the plot kept me engaged. It took me awhile to get behind the premise because I kept thinking about the logistics of actually creating this type of society, and I felt like it took too long for some of the basic questions about how it functions and came about to be addressed. As others have mentioned, the ending does feel rushed and too convenient.

@Amiable I got my #litsyswapoween package! It arrived a couple days ago, but I'm just now remembering to post this.

I love it when I can find special editions of classics on the $2 shelf at the library! This might get used on stage in my community theatre production of She Loves Me, even if it's not period-accurate.

I downloaded this audiobook on Wednesday when I realized that the movie had come out. I'd been wanting to read the books for a while since hearing Rebecca talk about them on All The Books, but I had no idea that the movie was about to be released. Ended up seeing the movie Wednesday night, but now I'm looking forward to reading/listening to the books. Did anyone else see the movie? I really enjoyed it!

I'm glad that I decided to go with the audio version of this book. Listening to the author read added to the emotional intensity of the story. You can hear all of her love, anger, and sadness. This book is great not only for Parks and Rec fans who want to learn more about Harris Wittels, but also for anyone who wants to learn more about the current opiate epidemic and how the rehab system are failing to provide effective treatment.