Kristen Lepionka can‘t write a bad book. If you want an incredible detective you‘ll root for forever, get to know Roxanne Weary.

Wow, do I have a lot of feelings about this wonderful book. I have a lot of shame around feeling like “too much”—too loud, too flirty, all over the place, a know it all, and on and on. RVC blends memoir and literary and cultural criticism in a frank and engaging way. The intro will hook you, I promise. And yes, I stole the poster from our bookstore‘s event 😊

It‘s a good morning to wake up early & read.

My partner multitasked last week, watching our bookstore‘s Facebook Live (that‘s me, talking about how much I loved Untamed!) and playing his beloved Animal Crossing. As for me, Untamed surprised and delighted me. Reading Doyle is like drinking cool water after an arduous but rewarding hike. I wasn‘t sure what to expect—saccharine? self-helpy? Nope! It‘s full of emotion, but it isn‘t sickly sweet. Doyle is inspiring and hilarious.

I read Optic Nerve as a part of Curious Iguana‘s annual #ReadBroader challenge. It‘s autofiction about a woman—an Argentinian art critic—obsessed, wonderfully, with her field of study. It‘s interspersed with musings about passerby, her friends, and her family. March‘s Read Broader theme was Women‘s Work in Translation. If you want to know the other titles we chose to feature, comment!

In the midst of this pandemic, I‘m rediscovering social media I don‘t use as often, like Litsy, Tumblr, and Pinterest. I guess I‘m looking for any way to connect to others. I‘m lucky to live with a loving partner, to have a steady job and be able to do a work from home/work in the bookstore combo, and to have friends who check in regularly. But I‘m afraid. I‘ve had a lot of panic attacks. Murderbot is such a comfort.

As a bookseller, I work weekends. Thursday & Friday are my days off. This past week was exhausting, so I‘m spending today catching up on laundry and reading next to my precious cat, Tesla. THE ONLY CHILD is a total page-turner, recommended to me by my coworker Lauren. Debuts in 2020!

The bookstore is closed now. I stayed late to finish MY DARK VANESSA. This is not a book I planned to read. I don‘t like reading about relationships between teachers and students. It hits a little too close to home. But Kate Elizabeth Russell has told a very difficult story with nuance and complexity. It is well-written, a page-turner. I devoured this book.

We love a spooky read in a quiet theater basement on a late summer‘s eve.

I‘m grateful for authors writing YA about depression & anxiety in raw, real, heartfelt ways, for authors writing YA differently. Morgan Parker‘s YA novel is like a solid mix CD given to you by someone who knows and loves you and has seen your ugly parts.

We went a little bit overboard (not really) on the new release table re: Atwood, but I‘m going to handsell the hell outta Gideon the Ninth.

“... no red wool scarf damp with morning dew festooned across the bushes.”

Debuts tomorrow. Started today. Heart eyes.

One of my favorite writers! Lenz‘s honest, incisive exploration of religion in the Midwest blends her own story with a more anthropological approach. It could‘ve been three times as long and I would‘ve devoured it still.

Almost done with this book and I have NO idea how it‘s going to end!

I‘m a sucker for Josh Malerman. I loved BIRD BOX. INSPECTION is a lot longer—more slow-burning dystopian fiction than thriller/horror. I think it could‘ve been tightened up and edited down. I made it to Part Three, and I‘m enjoying this section much more than the first two sections. I‘m going to keep reading it, even though it‘s not my favorite.

give nicole chung‘s memoir to everyone in your life

Like all book professionals & aficionados, I cycle through totes from my favorite publishers. Europa‘s my current favorite.

“The first place you live alone, away from your family, he said, is the first place you become a person, the first place you become yourself.”

I‘m reading this book because I love memoir, true crime, and Maggie Nelson, and because I‘m leading a book club about it on Monday night. I find Nelson so intimidating. She‘s so smart. I hope we have a great discussion, and I hope I help to do her book justice.

I slammed the preorder button so hard. I carried Megan Boyle‘s first poetry book everywhere with me during undergrad. It was my lifeline in a deep period of depression. LIVEBLOG is gonna be great.

Drove an hour to Politics and Prose to hear Ottessa Moshfegh read. We stan a legend. #MyYearOfRestAndRelaxation

Happy early book birthday to #TheIncendiaries. I‘ve read it twice, and I notice new things each time. Congratulations to R.O. Kwon ❤️ Go get your copy tomorrow!

Read it.

Currently reading, lent to me by a good friend 🦄

Here‘s a sneak peek of my current staff picks! We‘ve got Louise Erdrich, Sam Graham-Felsen, Tamora Pierce, Jesmyn Ward, Akwaeke Emezi, and a few more. Katie Heaney‘s charming, smart memoir is face-out. I dig that cover so much!

I loved AND NOW WE HAVE EVERYTHING, and I think you‘ll love it, too. It‘s a quick, beautiful read about the vulnerability inherent in desiring motherhood, how there‘s no “right time.” I can‘t wait to see what Meaghan writes next.

High hopes for this book. #transgender #unbound #queer #trans #galleybrag #ARC

So. Many. Galleys. Our back hallway is officially at capacity. That cart pile is about five feet y‘all. Not pictured: the galleys reserved for Pre-Pub book club.

My coworker Bonnie met Mary HK Choi at #WI13 this year & asked her to sign a copy of EMERGENCY CONTACT for me! Choi‘s one of my favorite writers. I‘ve followed her journalism for years. I‘m so excited she‘s written a novel, and YA at that. It‘s wonderful so far—I‘m about 100 pages in. #amreading #currentlyreading #ARC #galleybrag

New Year‘s greetings from me, my cat, and The Job of the Wasp! Two of my 2018 resolutions are to read 150 books and to stay on top of Indie Next picks to better handsell to Curious Iguana‘s customers. The Job of the Wasp is a January Indie Next pick, and it‘s spooky and fun so far.

#TBT Meeting Mimi Pond at her book release party in Chattanooga & barreling through THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS WRONG in three days. I️ laughed. I️ cried. I️ adore Mimi.

Preparing for Pre-Pub Book Club at Curious Iguana, which I️ lead once a month. I write short summaries and author bios for around 20 books. Members choose one or two ARCs to read & report back next month about what they liked & didn‘t like.

Read this tender, tough memoir.

WHAT WE LOSE blew me away.

If you know me IRL, you've heard me rave about this excellent collection. Go buy it. Have your eyes opened.

It's #pubday for Zan Romanoff and GRACE AND THE FEVER, and I've read in two different parks today.

Do you like my new shirt?!?! I had the opportunity to see FUN HOME at the National Theater in Washington D.C. last week. It was incredible. Alison Bechdel is one of my favorite cartoonists. I've read Dykes to Watch Out For, Are You My Mother?, and, of course, Fun Home. I've loved them all. Try to catch the musical on its national tour, if you can!

It took me a bit to get into this essay collection, but now we're in sync. Thanks, Sarah & @HarperPerennial for Sunshine State & a sweet note 🌞Hits shelves this Tuesday 4/11 & is an Indie Next pick for May!

An important #galley arrived today.

Fascinating and informative. Well-written and beautifully drawn.

💙 I won an Instagram giveaway from @coffeehousepress & received a copy of this beautiful book by Barbara Browning 💙

To this day, even as Sylvia is long dead by her own hand, her cautionary tale is not about lives poorly lived but about feelings too earnestly expressed. Nearly half a century after her death, we remain more interested in girls' being kept palatable than being kept alive.

Curious Iguana (the bookstore where I work in downtown Frederick, MD) has a beautiful window dedicated to Women's History Month. I don't ID as a lady, but many of my favorite authors do. My pick for this month is REDEFINING REALNESS by the indomitable Janet Mock. Mock is a trans woman of color, an activist and TV host and an author, of course. Her second memoir will be out this year, so stay tuned! #transliberation #womenshistorymonth

My partner Kevin and I are at a sold-out event at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Washington DC to see George Saunders and a team of actors read from LINCOLN IN THE BARDO. We're so excited!

Stayed up late to read this after a tough day. Nicole J. Georges is one of my favorite cartoonists.

"You get a chance to keep on going, you take it. You keep on living. That's how it works. Because you don't know what's coming." THIS BOOK WAS SUCH A RIDE.

Here are the amazing books I received for Christmas from my friends & family. (My grandparents always find weird & wonderful cat-themed books for me at thrift stores and estate sales.) Now, to find a place to put them all... #bookhaul #haul #christmas #amreading #bookstack

Bidding Curious Iguana goodnight. See y'all after Christmas!

My wonderful friend Kirby sent me snacks to help survive the intense world of working holiday retail & sent Micah a bow tie! I added the crown. Now we're reading (and napping) until another friend comes over for gifts & chats.