November 16: #covercrush - So I realized that almost every book on my immediate #TBR list has a blasé cover. But I do crush on Pretend We are Lovely‘s Vera Bradley vibe. #lilbookishthanks
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Pretend We Are Lovely: A Novel | 
November 16: #covercrush - So I realized that almost every book on my immediate #TBR list has a blasé cover. But I do crush on Pretend We are Lovely‘s Vera Bradley vibe. #lilbookishthanks
Day 17: Happy #SockSunday - Yes, let's pretend that it's not 90 degrees out, & that these socks are practical for today. "Pretend We Are Lovely" (#TBR) is about a dysfunctional family led by a mentally-ill mother in the 80s. Everyone has a complicated relationship with food, & then there's the fact that one of the children died. Novelist describes the writing as descriptive, compelling, & lush, & the characters as complex & flawed. Interesting ?
I need my next read! I'm going to "try a chapter" of each and report back!
pickI am a huge fan of @Tin_House books because they tend to produce books that stick with you. This one is no different. I would file this one under the glad I read it, but I never want to read it again category. This one deals with loss of a child, anorexia/eating disorders, messed up adolescence, adultery, and a whole bunch of other stuff. It is told from 4 perspectives in an almost stream of conscious. Parts of this book are just uncomfortable.
pickFinished this lovely read this morning. Heart-wrenching, real, wonderful story about a family mucking through some tough stuff. And also comes with dogs and donuts.
Morning read. Loving the family in Pretend We Are Lovely, especially Enid, the little girl.
Has anyone heard of this? Just started it. The story telling style is a little quirky but I am really enjoying so far!
Happy pub day to @NoleyReid and PRETEND WE ARE LOVELY!
"In magnetic prose, Reid offers up a scrumptious novel about the things we use to save our fractured relationships." --O, the Oprah Magazine
“I hid the doughnuts in the basement toy chest because the girls are too big for sock puppets and building blocks. Pink box. Glaze flaking overtop, gooed to the box on their bottoms. One cinnamon cake, one cruller, sour cream sugared, custard squishing out of chocolate. It‘s not impossible to taste glaze on the finger.”
Hungry yet? Noley Reid's PRETEND WE ARE LOVELY is out next week, in all its deliciousness.
"I pretended not to be there on my back in the long grasses, feeling tufts of clover flowers tucking up into the soft backs of my knees. This was when I was younger—maybe ten, even twelve. Those summers, those springs and falls too, I lay amid the weeds with the crickets and hoppy June bugs, forcing myself to keep still though all I wanted was to scratch." --PRETEND WE ARE LOVLEY, by Noley Reid
"The house is so quiet. I start pulling everything out on the counters. The muffin mix. I grab the bowl Ma had for the waffles and her swirly spring whisk, I crack a carton of eggs, being sure to scoop out any bits of shell, and start beating up the batter with one hand. I beat the corn mix, love that scrapey sound of the metal whisk against the clumps of corn and the side of the bowl, love sounding like Ma."
Lily has chosen our Friday night read. Wise kitty! I'm thinking we can't go wrong with @NoleyReid !
Look what just arrived at the office: PRETEND WE ARE LOVELY by Noley Reid, out July 18. We can't wait to share this one with you!!
Do you love books? Free books? Free books months before publication?
Tin House is inviting early readers to join our Galley Club! Be the first to read PRETEND WE ARE LOVELY by Noley Reid, a sharp and darkly funny story of family secrets, hunger, and forgiveness.
To join Galley Club for PRETEND WE ARE LOVELY, email your physical mailing address to galleyclub@tinhouse.com. (Hurry, limited copies available!)
Noley Reid's PRETEND WE ARE LOVLEY--out this summer!
"Reid writes potently of our most intimate blind spots: the tangles of love and bodies, nourishment and punishment, grief and comfort. In her agile hands the complexity of family is dramatically and vitally revealed." —Samantha Hunt
