Despite the struggle to get my footing, by the end of this book I LOVED the story. I never thought about architecture as much as i have in the last few days while reading this book. Look for it in October! It's short, and reads fast, so it's worth reading twice, as I did. ☺️

I haven't made up my mind yet, but so far this book is not going over well. I just read 10 pages about a bird flying around the temples of Kolkata. #readersunite

😔😥😔Oh Michiko Kakutani, I have never known a world where you weren't a prolific NYT book critic. Thanks for being the classiest, most fearlessly honest critic in the world. Good luck in your future writing! You have always been an inspiration to me.

guzzled on
pleasure and pain

--Akkamahadevi

Made it to the halfway point of this ARC! A great thing to read during #24in48

If you like The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra, you will LOVE this book! Interspersing points of view and different stories contribute to a wider story, one that ends so beautifully it will make you cry. Check this book out when it's released in July of this year.

You're not sad, his mother says. It's called being an adult.

My personal winner of this book: Sterling Plumpp "I Hear the Shuffle of the People's Feet". This was the one that shook me. To my husband who is going to be out late tonight fighting for justice in our community: "freedom rings/ feel so good/ black out loud/ dancing in the streets/ with the fighting crowd"

Coffee is superfluous when I have this book of protest poetry to wake me up! So far I'm loving Reginald Harris "New Rules of the Road", Tyehimba Jess "Infernal", and Marilyn Nelson "Cells and Windows". Read this to be soothed and inspired! #readersunite #weneeddiversebooks

Amazing book featuring a strong Gujarati girl who learns to find her voice through rap. Great Native Hawaiian and Asian American characters, and an ending to make you cry. As an Indigenous person I loved seeing strong Native characters who live life on their own terms. Highly recommended! And I love this cover!!! #weneeddiversebooks #readersunite

The book wins for being the most authentic, most heartfelt story I've read in a long time. The characters are beautiful, flawed, and real. The dialogue rings true. Best book of the year! (So far anyway.) #weneeddiversebooks #readersunite

This charming, modern take on the classic Cinderella fairy tale was awesome. I don't geek out over much, but fairy tales are my weakness, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this ARC sent to me by Quirk Books. When this book comes out in March be sure to grab a copy! It was excellent holiday reading, and is sure to be good springtime reading!

"Magic you wanted was a miracle, magic you didn't want was a haunting."

I LOVE this book and not just because my husband was born in the Philippines. Today I reread the story "Old Girl" which is about Corazon Aquino, who became the first female president of the Philippines and all of Asia. Her husband was assassinated by the Marcos regime. It takes a certain bravery to return to the country you left behind to make it better, even knowing you face certain death. Today she is an inspiration to me. #hereforthebooks

The only thing I can stomach today is The Fire This Time, especially this essay by Kevin Young "Blacker Than Thou" because it makes me laugh and shout "Yes!" I need that today instead of constantly crying and moaning "No!" We need this book now more than ever. #hereforthebooks

Darkness isn't a hole you hide in; it's the cosmos

"For a long time I only saw two possible endings to our story: either Jason had to die or we had to get married." I'm not liking this book, but I do relate to the above paragraph, especially the first line.

If you like Jennifer Weiner you will LOVE this book, since it's all about .... Jennifer Weiner! Some of these essays were better than others, and there was a sense of "poor me, I'm so fat, why can't I lose weight" that got annoying after awhile. However, there were moments of heartbreak and humor that were very well done. When Weiner writes about her family her talent really shines. Read for her family dynamics, and skim the rest.

Graham Moore, writer of the movie The Imitation Game has a new book out this fall about the legal feud between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. I was lucky enough to score an ARC from Random House!

...the people there , like well meaning decent and caring people anywhere, were loath to think of themselves as racists but also loath to think of race at all.