Big latte. Small book.

My neighbor‘s little library post New England Nor‘Easter! #littlelibrary

Eh. I received this #trilogy as a gift otherwise I don‘t think I would have continued on after Book 1, which reads as fairly unoriginal #dystopia - so many better books to read. I did think it improved in Books 2 & 3, and has a satisfactory ending. The characters were never that believable to me. But would I have rated this differently if I was 15-years-old? Oh yes.

After a run of dystopia, this was the charmer I needed! Sloan doesn‘t disappoint in his follow up to Mr. Penumbra‘s, this time turning to conflicting San Francisco worlds of high tech and artisanal craft to see if they can coexist. Stereotypes come to life in wonderfully quirky characters. The end feels a little flat and rushed, but minimal drama is also a relief for those who want the charm to go on. (Photo at Tartine Manufactory, SF) #foodie

This behind-the-scenes read gives color to Sedaris‘s evolution to reach success. It‘s fascinating to read some of the real time thoughts behind some of his best known stories, such as The Santaland Diaries and Me Talk Pretty One Day. The early years are shorter entries and a bit choppy; the book picked up for me as his entries expanded into longer vignettes. Great one for his fans; if you haven‘t read Sedaris, don‘t start here! #memoir #diary

Reading The Power while watching The Handmaid‘s Tale is seriously messing with my brain. I keep wondering what would go down if the Handmaids could suddenly jolt people.

Orchard House, Louisa May Alcott's home for 20 years and the setting for #LittleWomen, decked out for the #holidays. Her bedroom is behind the two upper right windows, and the desk between them (no interior photos allowed) where she wrote the first part of Little Women in 6 weeks. He house was preserved only 20 years after she moved out, so 80% of the objects are those of the Alcott #family. #homefortheholidays #seasonsreading #noveldestinations

Lockwood's memorable #memoir had a unique voice, with a poet's love of language combined irreverent #humor and an eye for the absurd. She explores the Sedaris-level wackiness of her highly unusual family and reflections on her lapsed Catholic faith. Weird and wonderful, laugh (or snort) out loud funny.

I really enjoy Gilbert's writing and she has some thought-provoking ideas on the pursuit of creativity. The book started to slog when I tried to read big chunks; I got much more out of it when I stopped that and just read a few pages a day. Bonus: super short chapters. So short they aren't really chapters, so it is an #easyread. Good to compliment other books on #writing and #creativity, just didn't think it worked as a stand-alone on the topics.

Yes, yes, they are. Say it proud.
Mural on bookstore owned by author Emma Straub and her husband in Brooklyn, New York. Small, well curated selection and an amazing line up of author signings and talks. Well worth seeking out. #nyc #indiebookstore #indie #bookstore

When a #pocket sized book finally delivers...it fits in my coat pocket! One of the lovely new pocket editions from Picador Modern Classics designed to be "small enough to fit in your pocket and unique enough to stand out on your bookshelf."

I was planning to end my #magic kick post Halloween, after reading First Frost, then The Fifth Petal, followed by this. But now I feel like I need to reread Practical Magic to connect the dots to The Rules of Magic! So it continues!

Reading Siracusa in #Siracusa - I love reading books set in places I vacation. Any tips for #Rome based fiction? We are there next. #vacationreads

Visited my first Amazon Books retail store today, and found this Will Schwabe #quote on the wall

Another entertaining installment about the Singapore-centric crazy rich. Kwan delves into one of the key characters backstories with some flashbacks, and it did take some effort to keep track of his ever-expanding cast of characters, but the third book of this trilogy didn't disappoint. Kwan continues to use his exceptional eye for details to bring the decadence to life.

Love is your husband trekking out of his way to #persephonebooks during his London business trip and him not making a peep about the fact you asked him to bring home a door stopper. #ilikebigbooks

Admiring the #bookcovers on the next 2 in my #TBR pile. I think I'd wear a shirt inspired by Enchanted Islands and lounge in a living room inspired by The Essex Serpent. I see lots of green velvet happening there.

Adding to all the Pachinko love. #bestofmay Excellent multi-generational saga of a Korean-Japanese family struggling with war, racism, poverty and belonging. Well-developed engaging characters made this a relatively easy read despite its almost 500 pages. Recommended for fans of Homegoing interested in similar read in a different setting. Thanks to Littens for helping me discover this book! #blameitonlitsy

Q on the #TBR: after being charmed by her delightful 84, Charing Cross Road, I picked this up to get more of Hanff's backstory and her love of literature. Q in the title is Sir Arthur Quiller-Crouch, an author and professor at University of Cambridge. #startswithQ #maybookflowers

The followup to Reichl's bestselling #memoir Tender at the Bone, this book covers her post-chef life of being a restaurant critic. Recipes included! Reichl is a must read for any #foodie readers. 🍎🍎🍎#maybookflowers #fruit

Entertaining and informative, Bosker spends a year in true participatory journalism investigating the world of sommeliers and seeing if she can transform herself into one, a true cork dork. Bosker is an engaging curious self-admitted nerd with a touch of clumsy, like a good friend. Great one for #foodies, but even if you aren't, you'll get a better understanding of "what's the big deal about #wine?" Warning: likely to increase ? drinking.

Spent my evening walk putting books in 2 little libraries in my neighborhood - replace the ones I've taken over the years! #littlelibrary

#wisdom #bookquote

She looks nothing like me, but my genes show up in my niece when it comes to a love of books. She has to pick out a book each day to take into her crib for nap time. #ilikebigbooks #reread #kidlit

Hello, pretty! Just got back from two weeks away to this happy arrival in my mailbox, courtesy of @WilliamMorrow and @Tav Looking forward to this read with its gorgeous cover and blurbs like this gem: "You feel the influences of Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, and Hilary Mantel channeled by Perry in some sort of Victorian seance." Come on! #bookmail #blurbs

Just finished my first #persephonebooks, one I totally choose because of its beautiful butterfly #endpapers. Though they are all beautiful and different with Persephone, and best part is that each comes with a matching #bookmark. Must return to London soon!

Fandor posted a trailer of 30 famous authors portrayed by famous actors. Who played it best? https://vimeo.com/171274156

A literary memoir combined with thoughts on craft, this is book is great for fans of #stephenking and aspiring writers. He is refreshingly blunt when it comes to writing advice, despairing of adverbs, and the need to make the time. Great insights on King's writing influences, all the way back to childhood, and an all around great read. Will put it up with Bird by Bird for best books on writing. #stephenking17

Finally finished this after months of dipping in and out! Loved the concept (and the subtitle) - revisiting favorite childhood literary heroines with an adult's perspective - but so it was disappointing that I didn't relate to the author and realized that I haven't read enough of the classics to be familiar with the heroines. Check to see if you've read enough of the books - I got much more out of those chapters. #booksaboutbooks

Perfectly timed for #happyreads, I love a good fish-out-of-water-in-a-foreign-country tale. A lighthearted look at adjusting to life in rural Denmark when her husband gets a job at Lego, Russell combines entertaining personal anecdotes with journalistic research to explore the cultural, political and sociology-economic reasons that keep Denmark at the top of the happiness charts. (It's definitely not the weather, but the pastries seem to help!)

Structured as 3 novellas following one character, this book is a thought-provoking read about the politics of vegetarianism and the limits of what we have the freedom to do to our bodies. Some it it is brutal to read, but the beautiful writing elevates it. Set in South Korea, but can easily be generalized to Western societies. Could be a great #bookclub read for the discussions it will create, for me it was a #readaroundtheworld #southkorea.

Ahrens compares his coming-of-middle-age, fish-out-of-water West Virginian in Korea story with the changing times of Korea and Hyundai, his Korean employer. The concept surprisingly works, as Ahrens' puts his journalism experience to good use. There was more about the car industry in the book than I expected but it was well-written and engaging. Good choice for anyone with interests in Korea, American expat experiences, or the car industry.

"Hope is contagious"
Ending #blackhistorymonth with current events, this anthology edited by the lovely Veronica Chambers shares 16 perspectives on Michelle Obama's impact and legacy. #signedsundays

For lovers of #foodiefiction, the appealing main character in this novel is revealed over time through the people she interacts with and the food that she cooks. While I would have liked even more about the main character - there isn't enough of her in some chapters, in my opinion - it's a lovely book with an unusual structure and a strong sense of place.

#lovetitles on the #TBR

Bailed on page 37, found this adult fairy tale a little too slow and riddle-me-this for my frenetic mind right now. I really liked Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, so this was a disappointment to me. Perhaps worth trying at another time? It's going back to the library right now. #fairytale

The awesome program for Fun Home the musical playing in San Fran with original program cover art by Bechdel of the theater. And first time I've seen this - program is published by McSweeney's! #alltheworldsastage #booktoplay

My 2017 goal is to diversify my reading more, in perspective and geography - Does my first ever zombie novel might count toward that?! It admittedly took me a while to realize "oh, this is a zombie book" - publisher didn't play that up and Carey never uses the word. Well-paced multi-perspective read that combined solid science fiction thinking with human emotion. Left me guessing about the outcome until nearly the end. #zombie #diverseread

This tale about the Forbes children discovering that they are descended from a famous theatre family and are to be trained for the stage in WWII England is probably the first "theater" book I read. Multiple times. Still have my 1983 edition on my bookshelf. #alltheworldsastage

What did I just read? Inventive, crazy and gory, I never knew where this book was going, but so much love for this book on Litsy pulled me through until I got sucked in by the book itself. Great, well-developed characters and fantastic world-building. The ending felt like he left the door open for a possible sequel...anyone else think that? #blameitonlitsy #changedmymindabout

Naturalist non-fiction is becoming my #escaperead genre these days. This is a lovely short book from an author who ended up studying a snail on her bedside table while bedridden with a serious illness. Part #memoir of serious chronic illness, part quirky naturalist book, it's a meditative read on what matters in life. Plus, it explains snail sex! (Which is, um, unusual) 🐌#bestofjanuary

Trying to avoid political posting in Litsy, as this is a sanity haven, but this image from a supporter of Alt NPS, the social media activists speaking out in the shut down of comms from the national parks, is too good not to share. Someone should write this novel! Park rangers leading the resistance actually makes perfect sense! Check out www.altnps.org if you want to learn more. #dystopian #rebelrangers #science #nps

If you aren't ready to let go, here is a helpful list of every book Obama recommended or was known to have read during his presidency. Includes recommendations he made to Malia, purchases at independent bookstores, and favorite summer reads, making for an eclectic list! #obama #getindie #diversebooks #readharder https://www.google.com/amp/ew.com/books/2017/01/18/barack-obama-book-recommendat...

I just heard Schwalbe speak at #Keplers bookstore in Menlo Park, CA. Totally a "reader's reader," as he was introduced, Schwalbe discussed the eclectic books that made him think more and feel more. Certainly the first time I've ever heard The Girl on the Train and The Odyssey discussed in the same context! He is on a 38 city #indie bookstore; check if he is coming somewhere near you!

This was my #MLKinspired read, and it is a heart-rending depiction of the daily burden of being black in America. Coates' descriptions of race and racism are the result of his long personal, academic and philosophical study, and exposes the reality of how far we still have to go in America. In the face of all this ugliness, his prose is beautiful and at times like poetry. #readJanuary

Truth for today. #diversebooks

Three #royals in my #TBR pile, with no idea when I'll get to them. Henry has been in the pile for years. Anyone read this one? #readjanuary

This #memoir is extraordinary for Wariner's ability to recall specific details of her childhood, which was spent in a polygamist Mormon village in Mexico. In simple prose but with great pacing she recounts the reality of her community's poverty and impact of their belief system on women and children. Hard to put down, this is an eye-opening tale of resilience and love.

Patchett is a favorite but I wasn't sold until the second half of the book, which picks up pace once the novel within the novel is introduced. Unlike the unusual environments of Bel Canto or State of Wonder, this book plays out family dynamics in the most ordinary of backgrounds - the suburbs. Patchett says it is her most autobiographical novel http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2016/09/ann_patchett_discusses_her_new_...

I already love this book based on the #epigraph