Southern Festival of Books was brimming with fabulous vendors. Story Keeper Studio (look for them on IG) had so many adorable tiny book cases, and I could not believe my eyes when I saw the Vonnegut one!! I had to have it. 🤩

Southern Festival of Books swag. 💸 Zero regrets!

(Next post will be a close up of the tiny book case.)

37th Southern Festival of Books! A huge thank you to Vanderbilt University for throwing support to this event so it could still happen this year after gov‘t cuts to humanities programs. 😤 There were tons of authors, but I chose Ruth Reichl, Silas House (w/ Ashley Judd), Kevin Wilson, and Pulitzer winner Jonathan Eig. All incredible!!

While in Palm Beach over fall break, we visited this rare books shop on Worth Avenue, one of the richest shopping districts in the US. (This is the only store we went in, lol). This first edition of The Catcher in the Rye, unsigned, $11K. Word is there‘s a signed first edition of The Hobbit there for a cool $475K. Imagine!!

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My “Halloween” decor. 🤡📚

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Found a good reading spot outside the gym where my 11 year old is participating in a basketball clinic with our high school team. It‘s a gorgeous evening in middle Tennessee!

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Spot on color coordination! My husband and I spent a few days in Turks & Caicos for an incredible trip courtesy of one of his customers. Lucky, lucky us!

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A ghostwriter is tasked with writing her estranged-horror-author-father‘s memoir? Yeah, sign me up! This is the kind of thriller I can get behind. I‘m generally not a fan of the genre because there‘s often too much plot, not enough development. This is well-written and not so far fetched my eyes rolled out of my head.

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Facing decades-old trauma to help the next generation. The last of Boyne‘s four novella series. All intertwined, all explore abuse and trauma. Very thoughtfully crafted.

#TheElements

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Quietly unhinged. Then loud. What happens when pain expresses itself as harm.

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Make dumb choices, win stupid prizes. A hauntingly written battle of conscience.

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A situation arises where a “retired” getaway driver needs a bunch of money, fast. Pretty typical Cosby, but we like it. Things go awry, and our guy has a moral conundrum.

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The title is a bit too on the nose, but I‘ll allow it. Brothers get mixed up in some bad business and shit gets gritty. And toasty.

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Susan Powell‘s story. This is very disturbing from the newlywed start. Creeps beget freaking creeps. There is ZERO doubt what happened, and yet, ZERO justice. These types of cases are utterly infuriating. Grabbed this after listening to a recent episode of Murder in America Podcast.

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A study of new age spirituality. More cultish goodness (eh, weirdness), if you will. Fascinating, and well researched. Thanks to my friend Sarah Stewart Holland via a recent Pantsuit Politics pod episode!

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An American history of cult ideology: legitimate cults, fringe groups, and general things that make you go “hmmmm.” An oddly fun, and truly riveting read. If you know me well, you‘re familiar with my fascination with human behavior. Definitely recommend!

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Current front runner for my best nonfiction read of 2025. This is going to piss you off, but it‘s an important read, so please I urge you to pick it up. So many scandals. These companies DO NOT CARE. They just don‘t. Please also add Empire of Pain by the incredible Patrick Radden Keefe to your TBR, if you haven‘t read it yet.

#coverlove

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I didn‘t read the synopsis and was confused as shit at first. Don‘t be like me! I often skip to avoid possible spoilers, but I needed the heads up for this one. Once I got a grasp, I thought the writing was quite good, but the use of domestic abuse by way of different name choices, felt too gimmicky for me. Was it bad? No, of course not. But did it live up to the hype, also, no. Did we have a solid #bookclub discussion, though? Yes.

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Picture it: 2064, post war. California is not part of America. The service industry is largely run by sophisticated robots. After an extended shut down period, the robots must figure out how to survive. Is it a “national emergency or corporate bullshit?” This is a scathing satire of so many things, and done expertly in a short page count. Clever, effective, and unique. And my favorite cover of 2025!

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Randomly stumbled upon this book. Never heard of this author, nor this serial killer. Which sadly shows just how many have existed in this country especially in the decades prior to technological advancements in DNA testing, etc. A decent read. We owe it to the victims to hear these heinous stories.

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I appreciate how Copaken exposes the myriad broken systems in this country. And placing emphasis on how women are just expected to deal with things quietly, which is garbage. She‘s right about that stuff. But she is also insufferable and exhausting. Often doesn‘t take responsibility for anything negative in her life. Zero problem solving skills. Additionally, this desperately needed editing down. I‘m a memoir fan, but this wasn‘t for me.

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Let‘s call this a weird, but also kind of funny, palate cleanser, recommended by one of my most trusted voracious reader friends. There are over 20 books in this series. I‘ll probably pick up the next one at some point.

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Die now or die in a week? Maybe you‘ll like this if you excel at suspending belief. Idk. I love Jackson‘s YA books, but this adult debut simply felt like YA but with slightly older characters. I guess I expected the writing to be more complex, more grown up. If the plot hadn‘t sucked, maybe I would be less critical. A disappointing experience for me.

Hit up my local used book shop today, and the incredible owner remembered me as the Vonnegut collector, and had a book for me! I‘ve only been in a couple of times, so it meant the world to me. 🩷 #CitySquareBooks #bookhaul #shoplocal

There‘s a new book shop / wine bar coming to my Nashville suburb, and I‘m BEYOND excited! While their space is being built, the owner is out and about doing pop-ups. This was today at our farmers market! #TheGildedSpine #bookhaul #shoplocal

My youngest‘s, now in middle school, first school library haul: One Piece vol 1-4. For those who remember, he was 2 when I joined Litsy. He‘s now 11, and taller than me. 😭 My oldest is now in 8th grade. I‘m living in a time warp!

#raisingreaders #libraryhaul

Been a while since I‘ve relaxed with a book at soccer practice. It‘s warm but pretty nice out! 📖⚽️

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Cute follow up to Clueless: Senior Year. Here, Cher, Tai, and Dionne get into some last-summer-before-college shenanigans, mystery solving, party planning, relationship stuff. Fun story told in the appropriate vernaculars and vocabularies. Bonus enjoyment if you can read each character in the actors‘ voices.

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Working through Cosby‘s backlist, since I‘m a newly-found fan! Sad, tease, infuriating as hell. The character growth and adult maturation was solid. I won‘t say too much, but definitely a good one. I tore through it!

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Mixed feelings on this one. Unique premise, good writing, but Annie frustrated me to death. Starting with waiting until nine months pregnant to buy a crib. That set the tone for me. Aside from that, the story is creative, but ultimately unsatisfying.

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Imagine having to hide yourself for fear of your life. Think about that, truly. I don‘t know what that feels like. Reading builds empathy. You don‘t have to understand gender identity in order to be respectful and kind to others. People who aren‘t exactly like you don‘t have to be a threat. They are just living, too. This is a very thoughtful, and thought-provoking read.

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I‘ve been meaning to read Bell Hooks for so long. Public love, private love, self-love. Hooks examines society, culture, and the everyday role love plays in our lives. This is by no means all-encompassing, but I found it personally relatable. Fun fact: she is (was) from the midpoint between where I was born and where I currently live.

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This fiction #bookclub pick took me super long to get into. It was obvs where the story was going then took too long to get there. Some really good moments, but not really my jam.

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I had a hard time getting into this. I kept thinking of Just Mercy, which is an incredible read and focuses on one main case. Each story here was mind-bogglingly infuriating, but started to run together for me. I should‘ve just read one story each day; should‘ve dipped in and out. My focus was off. I do think I‘d like a full book on a couple of the cases. A good nonfiction #bookclub pick regardless of my experience.

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Finally getting around to some S.A. Cosby, and wow this was freaking DARK. Lots of content warnings, like all of them, but I couldn‘t put it down. Immediately added his backlist to my TBR.

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My second Cara Bastone, and she just kind of restores your faith in humanity, doesn‘t she? She nails the FMC quirky lovable mess vibe which I think is relatable to so many. Always conflict balanced with happy stuff. Very enjoyable!

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This Teen Titans iteration is so fun. Volume 5 introduces Kori (Starfire) and her sister with their cool pink and purple hair, respectively. Engaging plot and gorgeous art. I‘ve really enjoyed this whole series by Garcia and Picolo. The next one, out later this year, brings the whole group together. Looking forward to that!

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I haven‘t seen a single episode of America‘s Next Top Model, but pop culture memoirs are fascinating, and I love getting book recs from Sounds Like a Cult Pod. Hartshorne, a “plus-sized” contestant on ANTM: Cycle 9, speaks to her experience, specifically regarding the models‘ treatment, and the incessant harassment about her size and where she fits.

Hagrid lives near me. Who knew?! 🤣