-James Baldwin, in the first essay in this 1971 collection

A definite page-turner, but the twist wasn't twisty enough for me. It was just right to read on a flight, so I'd recommend as an airport grab or a beach read, but it didn't wow me.

My friends were divided on this one and I can see why- the romantics were in the no camp. It's not a love story. Or rather, it is a love story, but the kind that comes with every wart and wrinkle of imperfect people left to their own devices. Beautiful writing for the flawed monsters in some of us.

Read this essay collection on a flight home from New Orleans and it made mourning the end of an always too short visit a little bit easier. These short slice-of-life essays are well-written and often very funny and will make you want to sell your things and move into the Quarter.

A fun historical mystery to read on the train. There were a few spots where it got a bit bogged down in genealogy, but it picked back up and had some interesting twists and turns along the way and a compelling cast of real-life eccentrics.

I believe in the curative powers of what my mother used to call "getting a bit tarted up."

Loading up the "Candle" (as my TN baby cousin pronounces it) for a nine hour train ride this weekend.

Nancy had skills.

This is one of those books that I give as gifts at that point in life when someone thinks "Man, grad school was a waste of time, the world is out of control, and now what do I do with myself?" That seems to come up a lot. And it's funny. Very, very French and funny.

I loved this history of diaries and left it with a to-read list a mile long. I think I'll pick it back up for a re-read this summer.