Happy Release Day! I had high expectations for this book as a pop nerd and I‘m over the moon the author exceeded them! While at its heart this is a depiction of a pop star in the 90‘s (shades of Britney/Christina/Justin/Max Martin abound), the central focus was really on exploring female sexuality and the media narrative microscoping it.

I‘m a little over halfway thru with this ARC that arrives on shelves on Tuesday here in the States.

It‘s easily the best modern music business fiction novel I‘ve read - and I‘ve read a lot. Also as a millennial pop nerd, I‘m tough to impress when it comes to this topic.

I‘m so excited to crack into this ARC! I‘ve been excited about it for months - as a music nerd & 90s pop/boyband aficionado, I hope it lives up to the hype. 💿🤞🏻🎶

I saw this show live for the first time *just* after my 35th. Sondheim always nails the nuance. His musicals somehow always feel real and the characters feel like friends. 🥺🫶🏻🎶

I‘m thinking this author isn‘t for me. I‘ve heard so many good things going into it, but there was so little detail or world building here and I feel like the writing really suffered because of it. The theme of accepting and “righting” your mistakes, especially when it comes to racism & bigotry, is valid to be sure. But this felt like it was written like a 90s action film starring caricatures of real people. #AuthorAMonth

Celebrated my bday weekend at my happy place (Broadway 💖🫶🏻🎭)

On to the next! A pick for #AuthorAMonth …

Maybe I‘m just the prime demo for this but I loved it. There were moments where I wondered where the plot was headed, sure, but ultimately this felt intensely human and relatable to many women‘s lived experiences to some degree. A few parts made me chuckle. A few made me tear up while reading on a public subway train. It also was painfully raw regarding a parent‘s medical diagnosis. I‘m impressed considering this was the author‘s debut.

As a gal in her 30s who‘s spent quite a bit of time single, this author‘s really hitting it on the head with this one. I also wish I had a friend like Lola. 😂🤷🏻‍♀️🙌🏻

This one was a bit of a head scratcher in a good way. The central character is “in love” or rather obsessed with an alleged serial killer, and her obsession leads her right to his family‘s doorstep. It is purposefully uncomfortable and often reveals our culture‘s darker impulses in “true crime” and misogyny. Some of the plot felt too fluid for me, too aimless and unbelievable. This type of dark “comedy” is def not for everyone.

3rd IRL book club was so much fun! 💖🫶🏻💫

2 of 3 library holds came in this week so scooped ‘em up this AM. The tagged was recommended by the Brooklyn Public Library for their Taylor Swift/Tortured Poets Department challenge. 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

The other will be the first of two #AuthorAMonth reads. I‘ve been wanting to tackle this author. 👏🏻💪🏻

Decided on the above to be my requisite swap/donation gifts for tomorrows IRL book club here in NYC. 🗽

The tagged fits because 1) June is #Pride Month, 2) it was a romance I thought was done quite well (never saw the film version, though).

That‘s a wrap on May! June will bring the tagged ARC, at least 3 library reads, 🤞🏻 I can squeeze in the Divine Rivals sequel, and a book club pick.

May: 2 audiobooks, 4 paperbacks, 1 hardcover
Fave of the Month: Station Eleven but Sea of Tranquility came in a close second. #AuthorAMonth was good to me. 🥰

Labeling this a romance feels…odd. The over arching themes here are mental health and complicated family dynamics. Being in a healthy relationship won‘t magically fix your life and a lot of the cute elements in this are straight up codependent and not believable. My heart goes out to poor BFF Maddy — where is her gold medal for being a side character in all this? 🤔😂🤷🏻‍♀️

Starting in on my third pick for my IRL book club. Romance is not my usual fare and I‘ve got plenty of dark/horror lined up for June so…we‘ll see. This has some pretty stellar reviews everywhere I look. 🤷🏻‍♀️🫖☕️

Like so much of Sondheim‘s work - it only grows truer & more ubiquitous with time. It‘s shocking, really.

The fact that this show debuted after his arguably most commercially accessible musical (my fave - Into the Woods) shows the range this man offered us.

Maybe this libretto is a weird choice to crack into this weekend but its subject matter feels more relatable than ever in this divided nation mindset. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Now I need to look up clips from the original off-Bway cast bc Terry Mann? Victor Garber? Annie Golden? Phew.

Starting the tagged book this AM. Hits the itch points so far of common modern “anxieties” that feel very personal but are largely a common (or at least wider) overall experience.

A clever idea in theory but in execution, it felt like a *long* walk to an obvious point. At times it reminded me of The Midnight Library but while I loved that book, this just felt shallow and sad.

Not sure what the takeaway of this tale truly is. Maybe that also got exchanged along the way in the attic? 🤷🏻‍♀️🪜🫖☕️

Starting this today courtesy of my library. It‘s quite funny so far… 💡 🪜

Excellent. A thought provoking addedum (or a sci-fi epilogue) to Station Eleven that was perhaps a bit autobiographical? (Maybe that‘s just my assumption.) Even more relevant to our beyond-pandemic lives today without being navel-gazey.

I think I need to read everything by this author.🥺 #AuthorAMonth

This was phenomenal. While I toggled back and forth between 4.5 and 5 stars (the ending felt too neat for me), I ultimately decided it was my first 5-star read of the year.

I‘m curious if folks who have read it pre-pandemic vibe with it differently, but man - post 2020? This and Parable of the Sower hit where it hurts. #AuthorAMonth

Started my #AuthorAMonth pick. My library copy is pretty beat up — it was apparently part of a school assignment. I‘m just a few chapters in and I‘m getting why this book would be pretty relatable for kids in school right now. 🥺🫣

I enjoy this author‘s writing style - it deals with dark content in an upbeat way. She manages to make her central characters very likeable despite being layered and flawed (& in this case very nuanced). This story deals with DID (dissociative identity disorder) in the mix of a murder mystery on a haunted island. Is it too much? Probably. But the author provides a quick read. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 3.5/5 stars.

This book mentioned it was set in 2022 and I thought “Are they going to mention…all of it?”

Sure enough 😅😂🤷🏻‍♀️

Month 4 complete making this year my longest continuing reading streak!

I like this Calendar feature in the Bookmory app a lot. 😂🤷🏻‍♀️ April brought lot of scares. May is shaping to be more upbeat, I think.

Fave read was def the Ruth Ozeki…but Grady Hendrix came in a close second.

Library coming in clutch! I *loved* ‘When No Ones Watching‘ - don‘t let me down Ms. Cole!! 💅🏻✨🫣

GR Goal complete 😅

I feel a little ambivalent toward this story. The prose was well-written & poetic but I feel like the metaphor present wasn‘t carved out enough. To me, this was a story of solitary lives & generalized depression - the shadows being a metaphor for this? So little happens that I‘m not sure what the author is trying to convey. I enjoyed the slice of life in Korea. But, I‘m not sure I fully understand the story presented.

What. A. Book.
Blows my mind it was written 25+ years ago bc it‘s every bit as heartbreaking and relevant today. Triggers abound tho. I‘m not technically a full vegetarian (more like flirting with it these days lol) but this makes me want to commit. Beyond just meat tho, the heart of the story is anti capitalist, pro feminist, it‘s just so *much* 🤠 #AuthorAMonth

It‘s Indie Bookstore Day so I bought my next in-person-book-club pick (& some Swiftie pens) at my neighborhood shop, aka my Happy Place. 🥰

Slotting in my #AuthorAMonth right under the wire 😅

I had originally planned to read two by this author because the titles seemed intriguing - perhaps another time. Like a lot of the authors this year, she is “new” to me.

I hovered between soft Pick & So-So but ultimately the love story at the crux of this felt a bit needless in my opinion. The originator of the “curse” on the other hand was very compelling and the final quarter made me like the book infinitely more. This is ultimately a story of family (both found and inherited) - I wish that was the focal point throughout. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Overall, was a quick read with a great setting.

The tagged *finally* came off hold for me! So on to a belated #AuldLangSpine pick 💖 @DGRachel @monalyisha

Well, this lil dally into horror was a bit of a fail. Interesting premise that took too much of a walk to get to, then crash ending that was bewildering. Maybe if you‘re into Lovecraft you‘ll get more from this?

Hmm. I won‘t pan it - though I‘m tempted. Maybe with time, I‘ll change my mind (like I did with Book 2) but this as an ending to an epic world building that started with Chainsaw (the absolute best horror book I‘ve read in a long while), the homage to slasher films turned too navel-gazey and ultimately got far too convoluted and confusing. I‘m sad about it to be honest. But Jade will always be a final girl to me.

I eat sweets for breakfast and horror movies for lunch. 🤷🏻‍♀️

As a horror movie & book nerd, Jade Daniels has become one of my fave heroines to root for. It‘s for that reason that I had to postpone all my holds to read the ending to her trilogy as soon as I humanly could. 😭

I‘m a third in and not a lot has happened yet, which feels slow for this author, but I trust him to not let me down.

Despite this being a horror novel, this was quite wholesome. I‘d argue it‘s Hendrix‘s most accessible novel to horror-averse people yet. There‘s only a handful of scenes that are remotely “gory” (generous)…unless you‘re afraid of puppets. In that case, avoid this.😅 Overall, it‘s a well done commentary on family dysfunction and grief.

Requisite eclipse pic 🌙🌖🫣

Another successful in person Book Club meetup, discussing the tagged book! Scored a swap that I know so many on Litsy are raving about, as well as two used bookstore finds for under $10. 📚💖💪🏻

Finished this ARC today just in time for its release on April 9th! 💃🏻

As a fan of the original ‘West Side Story‘ film since my childhood, I was intrigued to learn more about the actor behind my fave character, Riff. His memoir is quite thorough and unflinchingly honest, even about the more grimy parts of his past & behavior. I‘d recommend to fans of Old Hollywood &/or 60‘s counterculture.

My Library Card expired so went in person to get a new one…featuring Jay-Z‘s album art. Brooklyn Public Library did a huge installation with him a few months back. 🔥

Book Club pick finished! I found this one pretty clunky - rather than building a compelling mystery, so much is just held back til the last few pages like a giant gotcha. Also the MC? What the heck you doin‘, girl? So many elements took me right out of it. Still hoping it‘ll lead to a rousing discussion on Sunday, tho. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣🫣

Photo is adorable Hello Kitty mochi a coworker brought back from his Japan vacay! 💖

I inhaled this (just as I have every other Jewell book I‘ve read🤷🏻‍♀️). Admittedly, while it‘s twisty, many of the twists are predictable (the title seems like…a choice) but in terms of popcorn fast reads, this author is top class.

Will be gifting this in a swap for my Book Club on Sunday. Off to start our pick (with less than a week to spare 😆🥳🤯💪🏻).

The low rating on here has me baffled!

This is the perfect mix of wild, unnerving, and twisty- set through a lens of Black Women in the workplace. But if that is not you and you‘ve worked in (or can imagine) any cutthroat office environment, this really works, and makes you question *everyone‘s* motives. Some points shaved for some loose strings, but this has been one of my fave reads so far this year.

Learned a new phrase: “tabula rasa” = “blank slate”.

I like when books (about book editors!) teach me new vocabulary 🤣🤷🏻‍♀️🤌🏻

Raining ☔️ hard outside so cooked up this cozy sheet pan meal and started diving in to the tagged book. Need to bring two books to Book Club in 2 weeks to swap (and I haven‘t even started the Book Club pick!) so figured I‘d use the weather to get a move on.

Halfway through and really enjoying the world building in this who-dunnit thriller set in rural Australia during a severe drought - adding an environmental element to the “why” in addition to cinematic setting. Apparently there‘s a film version starring Eric Bana 😍 - may need to find when I‘m done.

I don‘t think I‘ll get to another Harper book this month but I‘d def continue this series. 🇦🇺 #AuthorAMonth

A timely choice — Women‘s Month, Ramadan, obviously the devastating situation in Gaza. This book sets up a modern-adjacent timeline from the POV of a young Palestinian woman (and largely focuses on the women in her orbit, her family & friends), a history of sorts of her life as effected by the conflict & general misogyny. Well done but a painful read. Triggers abound.

Happy St Paddy‘s! ☘️🇮🇪💪🏻