Thanks to @BookishFeminist for her post reminding me that reading and books are a form of protest. When you feel like your country just kicked you in the teeth, grab a book and gain perspective and ammunition. (All ideas are welcome here, but remember that while some are celebrating, some of us are also grieving.). 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

My kids are holding a mock election on Monday and, as part of the school-wide project, they had to write a short paragraph about why they chose their candidate. (The fact that parents had to be asked to keep things civil is beyond sad. But I digress.) Talking to my kids, I remind them that they come from immigrants. My 6YO yells in the middle of the restaurant "Did you say immigrants? Yeah! We get the job done!!" ?? I ❤️ you, Lin-Manuel!

A little light reading for me while my Baby Owl tackles superheroes, spiders and trolls 😊.

This US election has me revisiting books that galvanize me and feed my sense of justice and purpose. Came across these two books at my library and borrowed them (again). (Although, actually, I own the Pollitt book but lent it out 😩). Because I don't ever want to become complacent, or worse, apathetic. Probably not making much sense tonight ... I'm having one of those moments where I can't believe reality is what it is.

Road trip bliss. A book, a few minutes of quiet and a glass. 😋

Actual conversation with Hubby:
Me: I'm only bringing 3 books. Plus my Kindle.
Hubby: We are only going away for 2 days.
Me: Good point. I think I should bring another book.
Hubby: {stunned silence}
#bookpeopleproblems

Spending this rainy day with some chai and my favorite Supreme #notoriousRBG. Thanks to Hubby for giving me a few hours to myself. 😘

1000 followers! Wow! 💕💕 Love @Litsy !! You guys are the best. 😘

Finally getting to this one. Reviews have been mixed and, quite frankly, I've been acting as my own Feminist Fight Club most of my life, so I doubt the material is new. But I'll give it a shot.

I ❤️ books. I ❤️❤️ book festivals. I ❤️❤️books festivals near my house!! #Morristownbookfestival.

I don't normally rant but today I had the pleasure of having a man explain to me all the ways I am totally misinformed about my political beliefs, my parenting choices, my CAR, & basically, everything! Whew! Thank goodness he is so smart!! Because apparently my *vajayjay* disqualifies me from having intelligent opinions. As does my basic intelligence. Oh & that pesky law degree. Also apparently useless. Seriously. What century are we in?? 😱

I don't normally rant but today I had the pleasure of having a man explain to me all the ways I am totally misinformed about my political beliefs, my parenting choices, my CAR, & basically, everything! Whew! Thank goodness he is so smart!! Because apparently my *vajayjay* disqualifies me from having intelligent opinions. As does my basic intelligence. Oh & that pesky law degree. Also apparently useless. Seriously. What century are we in?? 😱

Late summer hurrah with a good book 🌞

Late summer hurrah with a good book 🌞

Confession: I have a (yoga) book problem. 😬 I'm up to about 40 yoga / meditation / spirituality books. Instead of giving me a hard time about my mini obsession (and my mega book obsession), Hubby actually made me a whole zen/yoga/writing room. ❤️💕 ❤️💕 It's seriously awesome, kids, when that guy you married a decade ago because he looked hot in jeans turns out to be a real keeper. ❤️

Enjoying an art date with hubby. Plus a stop at the Met Store for books before we leave. Because I plan all of my trips around bookstores! 😊

When work sucks and it's Friday, it's all about a good book and a glass (or two!). 😊🍷

#uniquefact about me ... Back in my salad days, and for 20 years of my life, I was a dancer. Ballet, tap, modern and everything in between. I was not good enough to go professional but that never stopped me from dancing. I've always been stubborn that way 😀 These days, yoga fills the space where there used to be dance, but how I miss those days! (Photo is not mine - borrowed from the Internet.)

#funphotoFriday @Liberty Love these two sports books by Kwame Alexander. My oldest loved them too, so much so that after he read the library copies, I had to go buy him his own set. That's high praise coming from an 8 year old!

Been a crazy two weeks! Too much work, not enough reading for fun and not enough writing. 😐 In serious need of some inspiration so I picked this one up after @MrBook recommended it. Need to get my groove back! 🤓

#funfridayphoto @Liberty I was a huge mystery reader as a kid, and my first "adult" books were also Agatha Christie. But I also remember taking my mother's well worn copy of GWTW off her shelf around the same time - age 9 or 10? It was the biggest book I had ever seen!

That moment when you and your 81 year old father are browsing at the local bookstore on vacay and he asks you whether you've read Fifty Shades and then he wants you to explain to him what it's about 😂😂😂 Um, maybe later?? Like, maybe never??

I was in the mood for something fun, with fantasy that wasn't too taxing. This one fit the bill. A bisexual Latina MC, full POC cast, brujas (witches), very cool mythology. A few quibbles: the story felt too big for how it was treated & resolved, MC's relationships were not fully developed (I had a few "wait, what?" moments), and I didn't love the parts in the alternate universe. Still a fun read! (Pic had nothing to do with book, but why not!)

#vacationlife #bookpeopleproblems How to read in the pool and not get the book wet while also watching children display their handstands, flips, etc?

Finally. Beach. Bag o' books. BOTM bag. My babies playing in the ocean. Perfect together. Hope everyone is enjoying @24in48 !!

Had to skip @24in48 this weekend because we are sitting on the highway with about 1 million of our closest friends 😩. Plus 2 kids, 2 grandparents, 1 great uncle, every conceivable stuffed animal we own (including a giant sized Nemo) and about 30 books. Some would call this vacation. 🤔 Enjoy the readathon!

#funFridayphoto My parents were immigrants to the US and my early childhood was filled with fairy tales and folk tales from Cuba and Spain. 💕 I remember stories about brujas (witches) and adas (fairies) and intrepid young girls who didn't listen to their to their parents ... 😊 Such great memories! (Couldn't find the book tag for the book in the pic but close enough!)

I feel like I've been stuck at work since last month 😩 Missing Litsy! Tonight I need something different to take my mind off work so of course I am dropping all my current reads to start a book that involves a 104-year old Zen Buddhist nun. So, definitely different. And a Litsy rec! 😊

Fun Photo Friday! @Liberty Favorite bookmark from my 198$ 😳 high school trip to my imaginary boyfriend's hometown in Stratford-Upon-Avon. 😏. Riverside Shakespeare edition is from my college days, so, um, about 25 years old? 😩.

#WCW .... Notorious RBG! As an attorney, this badass justice is my personal hero. "[W]hen I‘m sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court], and I say 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there‘d been nine men, and nobody‘s ever raised a question about that." ?

Only 35 1/2 hours on audio? Challenge accepted. 😬

Great premise with some very interesting angles (how real is reality tv? What role does the media hold in shaping our perceptions of reality?) But MC & side characters never clicked for me, partly due to the author's naming convention (Zoo, Black Doctor etc). Would make a great movie though 🌟🌟.5

Unexpected road trip to see sick father in law. Kids are cranky 😖, weather is dreary ⛈, but I've got my new Kindle and a story of brujas. Yep. I can do this.

Fun Friday Photo! I don't re-read many books. But when I'm stressed or need to disconnect from real life, reading with my children and indulging in the joy they have for reading is the best medicine. 💕💕 Today was one of those days for me, so we hit the bookstore and got lost in the stacks 😍

@Liberty #Recommendsday HIGHLY recommend Booked by Kwame Alexander and his prior book, The Crossover. My oldest loves them. They're smart and relevant and well written and great conversation starters for middle grade. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

For @BookishFeminist #WomanCrushWednesday. Current ❤️ include Kameron Hurley and Lindy West. Because they rip themselves apart on the page and let us see the raw, the hurt, and the fight inside of them. 👊🏼👊🏼 🌟Kapow!🌟

I'm always on the hunt for really good short stories. There's an art to crafting a perfect morsel of a tale in a few thousand words. You have to cram character development & story arc into such small real estate. When it's done well, it's so satisfying. Hopefully this one lives up to the reviews! 😊

Pool, book and sangria. 🇺🇸🎉🇺🇸🎉 Happy 4th!

Summer reading project 1 with oldest: Co-reading Frankenstein. 😊

This genre-busting book had me thinking of Atwood & Murakami. It's one book on the surface & another book at its depth. It's full of symbolism, wordplay & existential dilemmas, but the writing is spare in that every word & phrase seems essential. I had some quibbles about pacing, but still 🌟🌟🌟

Fun Friday Canadian-style 🇨🇦🇨🇦: Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, Louise Penny, Michael Ondaatje. Making my list made me realize I have to expand my reading borders! @Liberty (Full disclosure: Photo is not mine. I could not find the credit.)

Next up...

Not quite stories, more like explorations of very specific moments in the lives of these characters. How they deal with sexual molestation, sexual awakening, the decisions they make-that's what Noyes explores. Endings are ambiguous because in life, do we ever really "resolve" these things?

I'm craving a good short story. A story that makes me linger over the words and savor each emotion. A story that lets me glimpse someone's world so precisely I'm left wondering how to get back to that world after the story ends. Let's see if this collection brings it ...

Baby boy's pick from today's bookstore family outing. 😊

My writing partner today 🐶 had a *ruff* day. 🐾

Not home to photograph my shelves for @Liberty Fun Friday 🎉 but this quote on the wall of the pub 😂. So, what do I love to read? ❤️ Greek lit, mythology, Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, Henry James, Poe, books with strong, flawed characters, books about books, literary memoirs and bios, cookbooks...

I'm going through a Greek literature phase. Finished the Iliad and Odyssey and now am headed into the plays. Baby boy (he's 8) made me explain the Iliad to him but didn't seem satisfied with my brief brief recap and now he wants to dive in on his own. Hmm...

I won't even get to this one until late summer, but just knowing its in my queue makes me excited. This could be the story of my family and so many other Cuban relatives. Can't wait to dive in!

👍 because of her voice, her honesty & the LOL moments. But this book made me feel old. Her feminism is different than mine, more individual than collective, but it is no less valid or important. I wish I'd read a book like this 20 yrs ago when I was starting to understand what feminism was for me.