Y'ALL. I am starting my journey around pregnancy and motherhood (not pregnant yet-- we are in this weird medical in-between space I would have never imagined before I got here) and I have been desperate for books that speak to the complicated nuances of pregnancy (and non-pregnancy and post-pregnancy and everything in between). I am DEVOURING this book. Angela is the friend I need right now. Also, how did I just find out a placenta is an organ????

Yesterday I went to the book launch for Many Love by Sophie Lucido Johnson. She made me cry. Sophie is beautiful, this book is beautiful. It will expand your heart, even if, like me, you fall pretty heavily on the monogamous side of the spectrum.

really excited about these works of translation we picked up at malvern books as part of #atxbookstorecrawl today

got my tourism on in nyc 🗽

I finished book one and immediately ran to the bookstore for book two. I cannot stop talking or thinking about this odd phenomenon, both the books and the author. I read a review that says, "it's like opening up someone else's diary and finding your own thoughts," "more real than reality".

lazy morning on this cold and sunny sunday with my favorite girl reading about repo justice. i don't like how much this book has been tied to the handmaids tale. it is a clear argument for abortion rights as tht but less dystopian. i could put this in the hands of someone and say, "read this and you will see why we need roe v wade". #dogsoflitsy #bookofthemonth #feministreads

There is a whole book in this tiny thing! #tinyreads

My first true pick of 2018 (was finishing up my last 2017 reads) is a Holy Smokes Wow kind of read. Like woah this woman can WRITE.

Happy 2018 litsy! It's been a minute.
Rang in the new year at @bookpeople with a store wide 20% discount and a visa giftcard burning a hole in my wallet. If the first day of a new year looks anything like the year ahead I am in for a great one.

when the day and the chapter match

This read is 🔥🔥🔥

Reading on Lake Travis this morning and everything is beautiful

The Blinds is one of the worst books I read all year. Perhaps one of the worst books I've read ever. My book club hated it too (see photo). There is nothing remotely redeemable about this book. Except that it is fun to tear apart with my friends.

getchu a man who reads pink books about unruly women
#catsoflitsy #dogsoflitsy #feminist

My husband is currently complimenting me on my "socializing" and "getting out of the house" and "meeting new people," all things that probably many people who spend their time on a social media app dedicated to books don't do a whole ton of. Y'all are pretty cool.

#austinlitsy #atxlitsy #texanswhobook #keepaustinreading

@Eyelit @Bookzombie @k.reads @Fortifiedbybooks @Snakes6atx @Soubhiville

The Austin Litsy meetup was great! So nice to meet all of you (and go home with new books). The second book was No Knives in the Kitchens of This City.

Thanks again @Soubhiville! Glad to meet all of you @Eyelit @Bookzombie @k.reads @Fortifiedbybooks @Snakes6atx 🐙

My Harvey read is this thick boi and my first fiction King (I read On Writing and HATED IT). We're staying hunkered in my apartment all weekend. It is prone to flooding so we are monitoring our towel levees around the door.

Thinking about everyone on the coast. Y'all stay safe.

This week has held a week of reading extremes. Monday I was in McMinnville OR for the eclipse. My eclipse read was The Joy Luck Club. Today I'm back in Austin where Harvey is starting to show up in the form of heavy rain. (See next post).

My sister is catsitting while we are out of town. This is how my cat expresses that he is not pleased by my absence. #catsoflitsy

The last two weeks have been BANANAS. I got a new job, I worked four different jobs in the transition, but now we are in Portland for the eclipse!! My in-laws and I decided my beloved Powell's might be madness with all the eclipse traffic so we decided to visit another local indie, Annie Bloom's.

These are the next four reads on my TBR. Help me pick. Which should I read next?

My review of Hourglass got a little personal. How could it not? Hourglass is a memoir about marriage. My husband and I were married in October. It was one of those Hit Me At The Right Time Books and was also a smack dab in my wheelhouse book. Hourglass is a melancholy and meditative little memoir full of the heavy weight of the past. You can read my review here: http://bit.ly/2v0sSxd

It has taken me a while to finish writing about Hunger both because I have been stressed and busy but also because it meant so much to me. This a book that deserves your time, and vise versa.

If you want to read my musings on Hunger you can find it here: https://www.jenerinoneal.com/reading/2017/7/5/hunger-a-memoir-of-my-body

I'm game, #letstalkaboutbooksbaby

1. On my couch, in my apartment, in ATX
2. Pachinko
3. Whatever strikes my fancy on my TBR shelf
4. Anything by Roald Dahl 💕
5. Series of Unfortunate Events (the Netflix version)
6. New His Dark Materials book (!!!)

I was #347 in line for this at my library and of course it came in on a week when I could have gone for something light. There is a curve in getting used to the style, but now that I have I can't put it down. Congrats on making the Man Booker long list!

Anne Helen Petersen so thoughtfully and thoroughly breaks down the fraught and fascinating aspects of female celebrity. I cannot gush about her or this book enough. #stayunruly To read more: https://www.jenerinoneal.com/reading/2017/6/23/too-fat-too-slutty-too-loud-the-r...

When you're having a rough week with a medical procedure thrown in the mix all you need is some good ole HP on audio. I, for the record, am #teamstephenfry. This is Jim Dale but honestly they are both the best, it is hard to complain.

I was complaining about New Year's yesterday for this exact reason. Time is a social construct, y'all. Also New Year's is always just hella depressing.

Sometimes you can (should even?) judge a book by its cover. This was certainly an example. I loved this fun adventure read. My full review where I talk more about cover art is live here: (https://www.jenerinoneal.com/reading/2017/7/5/enchanted-islands) for anyone who is interested!

Found at my parents house. This edition was published by Random House in 1947. On the inside cover my great-grandma wrote her name and the date 1950.

I've been debating whether or not to call a DNF on this one. Then I find a page where the main character lists all the things the book has been discussing and says she couldn't describe it to anyone because that person would "jump out of a window from boredom." Good rule of thumb, don't call your own book boring maybe?

👑

Couldn't pick just one #bookofthemonth this month. 🙃

My library's recycled reads bookstore is next to my neighborhood coffee shop, all walking distance from my apartment. #accidentalbookhaul all day every day when the books cost less than half of what my smoothie costs. #atx

Myopic Books in Chicago is three and a half levels of creaky wood floors, an excellent selection of used books, and punk music. It also sports a sign that says, "no pictures" that I saw after I took this picture. ?

There was not just one but TWO bookstore cats at Hyde Books in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was one of those bookstores that was stacked and winding and hectic and cozy and definitely not up to fire code. 😻 #catsoflitsy

I've been at my husband's family reunion for the holiday weekend and picked up this book from my TBR shelf on a whim. I am LOVING it. And that cover 😍

As a person grappling with her own body with pain and disability I am identifying with this:
"There are some things I want to do with my body but cannot... sometimes, it seems like they are genuinely oblivious to how different bodies move and take up space as they look back at me and suggest we do impossible things like go to an amusement park or walk a mile up hill to a stadium or go hiking to an overlook with a great view.
My body is a cage."

I picked this up on my commute home. Note the signing line ticket!

Two library holds in at once. Where do I begin??

Happy #HarryPotterDay!! ⚡🎉 I am so proud to be a member of the HP generation.

This is bad because it is a threat to our first amendment rights. This is also bad because I visit bookstores when I travel and usually dedicate half my luggage space to books. The people in the security line would HATE ME.

Picked these up after hearing D. Watkins speak at Austin's African American Book Festival. He talked about the power of storytelling and how books can transform lives by encouraging critical thinking skills and expanding readers view points. 📚

From chapter 3 "too gross" about Abbi and Ilana of Broad City: "Unruliness isn't just about calling attention to arbitrary expectations of how a woman should behave. It's also a willingness to expect better for all other women- and better of oneself." ?

I am so excited for this week's release. I've followed Anne Helen Peterson's work for years (via Celebrity Gossip Academic Style) and I am a fan. I'll also be going to her book signing at @bookpeople in July!

👋
1. Austin, Texas, apartment, chair
2. The Reading Women podcast
3. I mean, people are talking about The Handmaid's Tale for a reason. Personally I like the GoT show more than the books. These are both TV shows.
4. I have had many pet turtles. The first I got when I was 1. His name was Bubbles. We kept him in a baby pool in our backyard for years. Then we moved to Austin and he got eaten by a raccoon.
@saguarosally #welcomelitten

This was in the kid's section at the library (why??). I used a recipe for Irish Soda Bread. It was.. okay. But HP is known for the desserts, right?

My first audible subscription pick!

My husband got me this scratch off poster for my birthday. 100 classic reads that you mark as read by scratching off the gold foil. He also got me a copy of Gilead which is included on this poster and is something I have yet to read!

Reading my BOTM pick on a boat for my birthday.