This book...THIS BOOK. I have always thought the death penalty is barbaric, so Anthony Ray Hinton is preaching to the choir in my case, but it‘s still important to read. If you‘re against the death penalty, read this. If you‘re for the death penalty, READ THIS. Anthony is a ray of light and an inspiration.

Told from the perspective of twelve people who are trying to figure out what it means to be Native American in Oakland, California. Fantastic debut. Highly recommended.

If you‘re not already a fan of DFW, this book is probably not for you. But if you ARE a fan, read it. I miss his mind so much, and I‘m still very, very sad about his suicide. This novel would have been fantastic had he finished it.

This is a great debut novel—the setting and the magic are very cool, and the story is both fierce and inspiring. I‘m looking forward to the next book in the series. #recommended

This is up next. It, too, has a gorgeous cover. 😍

My new favorite book of the year (and possibly to become an all-time favorite). If I could give them, this book would get ALL THE STARS. It‘s beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting, and inspirational. Highly recommended. [hugs book close to my heart]

This is my new favorite book, and I‘m maybe halfway through it—going to have to buy this one and put it on my shelf to be reread. #ThePoetX

The cover of this book is just gorgeous. [SWOON]

I love this. The characters are great (Perry is my favorite—love his music choices), the satire is great, and I‘m all for the ideas about tight-knit communities and local economies. Recommended.

Know what really stinks? Leaving the book you‘re reading at work. CRAP. 🤬

The inside flap of this books says it “envok[es] The Handmaid‘s Tale for a new millennium.” I disagree—this is kind of a walk in the park compared to The Hamdmaid‘s Tale—but Red Clocks is still very good. The laws in Red Clocks bring women about halfway to The Handmaid‘s Tale, which is scary enough in itself. Definitely worth a read.

I liked In a Dark, Dark Wood...I didn‘t really like The Woman in Cabin 10...Ruth Ware has redeemed herself with The Lying Game. This one was definitely more interesting and worth reading. Plus, I like books about close friends sharing a big, dark secret.

Another slam dunk by Madeline Miller! I love her retellings of gods and myths. Recommended.

Haven‘t been getting a lot of reading done, because I‘ve been at the Evergreen International Conference in St. Charles, MO. Library/software/data nerd alert! Started rereading American Gods (audiobook) on the plane to St. Louis, and had completely forgotten that St. Louis is the first place Shadow lands after getting out of prison. Cool coincidence! #evgils18

Rereading the first few of these as my bedtime books so I can finally finish the series. They are so good.

This is my fifth(?) time reading this series, and the last couple books never get easier to read. I love all of them, though, and I never get tired of them.

It was the cover of this book that made me borrow it from the library. It‘s frickin‘ gorgeous, isn‘t it? The summary on the inside flap made it sound interesting, too.

And it‘s...just okay. It‘s about two girls from India who go through a ton of awful sh*t, mainly because they‘re girls. And that‘s about it. There isn‘t a whole lot of positivity in the book, as the prologue kind of leads one to believe. And it ends super abruptly. Meh.

Three books in three days on this three-day weekend. Wooooo! Anyway, I‘m glad I watched this movie before I read the book—I don‘t think I would have liked the movie as much otherwise. VanderMeer leaves a lot to the imagination in this one, and I‘m a big fan of that. What exactly is Area X? What was the Event that started it all? What exactly is happening to the people who go into Area X...and never leave?

Another good one by Clare Mackintosh. The twists and turns are good, but my favorite part of the book is the story and relationship of retired investigator Murray Mackenzie and his wife Sarah—beautifully written.

“I speak the truth not so much as I would, but as much as I dare, and I dare a little more as I grow older.” (Originally said by Michel de Montaigne) #TRUTH

Can you imagine what it would be like to live for over 400 years...but still look no older than 40? Tom Hazard has a genetic condition that makes him age MUCH more slowly than normal. I think Haig imagines this well—the strength it would take, the heartbreak, the fear, the exhilaration, the paranoia. Recommended.

Library haul (which pretty much happens all the time since I work in a library)! This 3-day weekend will be all-reading-everything. *\o/*

Semiotics and suspense and Foucault...oh my! Binet writes fictional stories (alternate histories?) about real-life historical events. This book turns Roland Barthes‘s death into a suspense novel about semiotics, assassins, and the seventh function of language. All the greats are there, including Chomsky (hitting on a student and smoking a joint at a frat party at Cornell). Recommended!

Finished Behold the Dreamers last night. Gave it five stars on Goodreads. It‘s about a family of immigrants from Cameroon on temporary visas in NYC. The husband is a chauffeur for an exec at Lehman Bros. The book chronicles the issues both families have and how very different those issues are. I‘m not doing it justice — highly recommended.

Next book up. I really enjoyed HHhH, so I‘ve been looking forward to reading this one, too.