I've never been a fan of Tom Perrotta...but I am LOVING this! Can't put it down!

Bad writing, ridiculous plot, awful dialogue. It's been a long time since I've bothered with a book this disappointing, and it was a vacation read to boot. 😕

This was an excellent read...and after just visiting the National Museum of African American History in Washington, DC last weekend it was timely for me. (I think every white American should be required to visit, fwiw) Hard to feel any misty-eyed patriotism about our first president after reading this.

Very well-written and, even though this occurred in 1924, shockingly relevant to today.

Thanks, Elena Ferrante, for taking a whole month of my life as I read the Neapolitan novels. (See my messy coffee table? Housework untouched) I'm on the last one, racing to the end at the same time I want to slow it down and make it never end.

This was a funny and beautifully-written book, a mix of memoir and information (interview excerpts with pianists, the story of Steinway pianos, etc). My piano teacher recommended it, since, like Noah Adams, I'm learning piano as an adult without having had any music as a child. It's a wonderful adventure. 🎼

I love this book. I've gotten it twice from the library now and probably just need to buy it.

Spent some time with Helen Schulman in Sicily...and finally came home and read one of her books! I liked this book a lot. It's not a perfect book--I did not like the ending--but it's funny and poignant and this was a compelling story without easy answers.

Was feeling kind of meh about trying Ferrante until someone told me at my writing conference in Sicily that I MUST read Days of Abandonment...and it did not disappoint. Ferrante is a genius. (Picture taken from the top of Erice at the Norman castle ruins, overlooking the Mediterranean in Sicily).

This was hilarious and insightful. Burroughs has grown up a lot, both in life and in writing. A very entertaining read.

So am I the only one who's just not loving this book? I was so excited to read it...and I'm a little more than halfway through and I am so not into it. I think it has to do with the constant shifting protagonist. Just as I get to caring about a character (and some I don't really care about), they disappear and we move on to the next generation. I'm almost ready to bail. Should I keep at it??

This book is incredible; Mary Roach is pure genius. It's funny and gruesome and fascinating....and regardless of my feelings on war and the current state of politics, I can't help but read it and be overcome with gratitude to those who serve or have served.

Very excited to read this. Heard the author interviewed on a podcast and he sounded so lovely.

I cannot put this down.

#uniquefact about me. I was a dog trainer for 11 years and owned my own business. I taught basic obedience classes using clicker training and I specialized in behavior modification for severe behavior problems such as aggression and separation anxiety. I loved my job--LOVED it--and miss it sometimes still. I closed my business when I started my family, but I had been doing it a long time and was ready for a break. Someday...I might be back.

Oh I am so so SO excited for this! I hope it's as good as Bernadette was. 🙏🏻

So excited about this cookbook...already made one recipe (Superhero Muffins) which my entire family went crazy for. Also, it is super fun to see how Shalane Flanagan actually eats. It's real food, and it's good!

Both my babies have loved this book more than any other. Son #2 was late to fall in love with it, but now he says soft "neighs" and "woofs" as we read. ❤️

Bailed on Midnight in Sicily...the narrative was too masculine, too hard-edged. This, however, is absolutely lovely. Author married a Sicilian man and moved there, and this is her tale of their lives with their children there. A beautiful immersion in Sicilian life and culture.

I read Rebecca for my freshman honors English class in high school and I felt as if my eyes had been opened. I had always loved to read, but that was the book that made reading essential to my life. (With conservatory photo, since conservatories remind me of the book. And Clue 😀)

Reading for my trip! Only six weeks till we go! 🛩🛩

So much love for this book. Maybe my favorite craft book ever.

Just a little light reading for the treadmill. 😂 It's too damn hot to even take a walk outside.

One of my all-time favorites.

I love this one too...and have struggled with my own equally-ridiculous versions of this ("If I don't have three full hours to write, then I won't"). Having kids took care of that one, more or less. Now I write in 20-minute increments. ?

This is such a great little book, full of cheeky cartoons about reasons to avoid making art (or writing or acting or basket-weaving or whatever you love).

The world needs more parenting books like this. "Misbehavior" is just an unmet need. Things get so much simpler when we cut out all the erroneous beliefs about why kids do what they do!

At the beginning of my morning run. Love all the books by the Another Mother Runner ladies. This first book got me started racing again four years ago.

What an outstanding read...SO well-written, often funny, fascinating story in a compelling narrative. Couldn't put it down. I'll be thinking about Eustace Conway for a long time to come.

Super excited about this one...

I think this is going to be a great read. I ❤️ Elizabeth Gilbert.

I know there have been mixed reviews, but I loved this book and I will tell you why: Cline has perfectly encapsulated the roiling emotions of adolescent girls, and how females are commodified. I was jarred by how spot on she was, and it brought back a surge of memories/feelings. Not all good.

An unassuming and beautiful memoir...gifted to me by my favorite professor upon completing my senior thesis. ❤️

Everyone's been posting about Richard Russo lately so I thought I would share my pick. I loved this memoir about Russo's relationship with his mother...their mother-son bond was complicated in a very human way.

Hanging out on the porch on a beautiful evening, just starting this and nibbling on some chocolate. 👍🏻 Edited to add: this relaxing scene has been interrupted at least four times by the 4-year-old wanting drinks, potty, medicine, etc. post-bedtime. 🙄

You might be able to see how much I loved this book by how wrinkled the cover is. Mayes's skill and experience as a poet is so obvious in her beautiful prose. I might need to reread this before we go to Italy in September.

Such a lovely read.

Great book...slow in parts, but the last half was suspenseful. Bleak but beautiful writing.

Hanging out in the camper reading while the baby sleeps. It's a beautiful Independence Day weekend!

This is just a portion of my TBR pile. 😬 What to read first?

Another awesome quote that I want to rip out of the book and tape to the wall.

Loving this book.

I've already read this to the baby eleven times this morning. It's his very favorite book...he wanders around the house begging for "kuh kuck." (Red truck) ?

And my other Bible. ❤️❤️ (I think I go to this one more often than The Places That Scare You. But I love them both)

My Bible. ❤️

A few of my CNF craft guides and "fun books" for writing play and inspiration. Favorite at the top. ?

Aaand another bail for me. I want to like it but I can't. Narrator's not intriguing and there are pages and pages of exposition without anything happening.

Meh. I quit. I really loved The Vacationers--and I hate to disparage someone's writing because writing is hard work--but I couldn't get past twenty pages of this.

After being blown away by Heat and Light, I'm hooked on Jennifer Haigh. This could have been 80-100 pages shorter, but it was still a great book. Loved it.

A lovely book...I had a couple minor quibbles with dialogue in two short places, but otherwise, this was a great read. Cleave is an outstanding writer.