pickGood Material is about a break-up. Except for the last chapter, it‘s from Andy‘s perspective. He‘s a struggling stand-up comedian in his mid-30‘s who‘s just been dumped. It‘s got real High Fidelity vibes. The last chapter grants the reader access into Jen‘s mind. I‘d never read Dolly Alderton before & almost *immediately* became a devotee. Her writing feels so natural. The way her characters think, OVERthink, speak & act is modern & true-to-life.
I‘m not typically 1) a joiner, or 2) a person who spends big.
That being said, Katherine May is hosting a retreat *in the US* this coming October and I‘m seriously considering dropping everything to go. Details will be released this Wednesday. You can sign-up to receive them here: https://katherine-may.co.uk/retreat-waiting-list?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=...
Any Littens want to be (quietly) wild with me?
#5JoysFriday
1. Kai, my ridiculous 4-year-old niece
2. The Merlin Bird ID app
3. (Re)discovering the band Mazzy Star
4. Blossoming trees
5. The tagged book
Previously, I‘d only used the Merlin app on-demand, to ID a specific bird call. This week, I started opening it just to capture the chorus of birdsong around me. The variety thrilled my heart every time! And I love that it highlights each bird as it sounds, which helps you learn as you smile.
I‘ve read some truly phenomenal books this year. The tagged by Sabrina Imbler & Ann Patchett‘s Tom Lake are April‘s winners. 🪼🌸🍒
For those (like me) who sometimes struggle to see:
Jan: Turtle Diary
Feb: The Book of Speculation
March: Greta & Valdin
April: How Far the Light Reaches
Bonus 1: Tom Lake
Bonus 2: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Volume 6)
#ReadingBracket2024 #2024ReadingBracket
pickI really enjoy Emily Henry‘s books…but when I learned that the protagonist of her newest romance was a Children‘s Librarian, I have to admit I was a little worried. Given that it‘s my day job, I knew I was going to be on high alert for inaccuracies. Fortunately, she did her research! Aside from a couple of tiny nitpicks, she really got it right. Add to that a bearded love interest (ahem, like my husband)? This is my favorite E.H. since Beach Read!
I finished Tom Lake and was left wondering if I should read Our Town.
On my commute the next day, I remembered that I‘ve been meaning to dive into Iris DeMent‘s catalog. A friend introduced me to her song “Let the Mystery Be” (linked below) & I was instantly hooked.
Guess what I found upon listening? Her most popular song on Spotify is called “Our Town.” Another, from her newest album, is “The Cherry Orchard.”
OK, okay. I‘ll read Our Town! 😅
I‘ve been struggling a bit lately. A lot of people I love are *really* going through it. I‘m feeling burned out, candle‘s going at both ends, compassion fatigue is at an all-time high. But this morning (after getting labs done and dealing with bridesmaid responsibilities), I sat in front of my house for a brief moment in time and just listened to the birds. It helped.
Thanks to:
•The song sparrow
•Coffee
•A hermit cookie
•Fat bumblebees
•Azaleas
pickAnn Patchett once said, “That moment when you write a single, perfect sentence is worth more than an entire box of biscuits.” In Tom Lake, she writes her sentence: “Sweet cherries must be picked today and every day until they‘re gone.” Simple & mundane on the surface, it‘s also the wisest counsel. In her novel, she shines a soft, springtime light on the juxtaposition & interplay of joy & sorrow, the sweet & the tart (& how both require work).👇🏻
“If we‘re going to be miserable and cry, let‘s do it in the lake.”
…
“Swimming is the reset button,” Pallace used to say. “Swimming starts the day again.”
“I walk past the kitchen garden. The lettuce and tomato plants and zinnias are already straightening up from the beating they‘ve taken. Those tiny periwinkle butterflies are working their rounds. Where do the periwinkles go in rain like that? It‘s not that I‘m unaware of the suffering and the soon-to-be-more suffering in the world, it‘s that I know the suffering exists beside wet grass and a bright blue sky recently scrubbed by rain.”
so-soWould it be wrong if I just posted a screenshot of @Chelsea.Poole ‘s review? I agree wholeheartedly! It took me a long time to settle into Iyer‘s narration. He speaks very deliberately & also very haltingly. His British accent feels remarkably posh.
Iyer travels to places that lay some claim to being “paradise” on Earth: Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Jerusalem. Of course, these places are also known for being “circled by violence & terrible poverty.” 👇🏻
pickI read Imbler‘s blend of memoir & science journalism slowly, & I think that‘s exactly right. Their essays are beautiful, aching, & hopeful; informative, uncomfortable, & probing. They write through their questions & don‘t settle for easy answers or metaphors.
Favorite essays: “Pure Life”, “Beware the Sand Striker”, & “We Swarm.” They‘re about: the yeti crab, queer joy, & safe spaces; sexual abuse & predation; salps & being buoyed by community.
The penultimate essay in Samantha Imbler‘s connection opens, “Imagine you are something like a snail.”
…I don‘t have to imagine. 😅 I like to live life in the slow lane.
#ThreeListThursday #TLT
“Fast Car“ by Tracy Chapman
“The One I Love“ by REM
“Hallelujah“ by Leonard Cohen
“Stop Draggin' My Heart Around“ by Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty
“Push It“ by Salt-N-Pepa
Listen, math isn't my strong suit.
Also, I was reminded recently (by Rob Harvilla) that “Push It“ had a choreographed dance routine that went with it. I found a tutorial and my mind is BLOWN. In the words of S&P, “Let's Talk About“...a recovered memory!
In the span of a dozen pages, Ann Patchett‘s referenced Sandra Boynton‘s “Hippos Go Berserk” and Melville‘s “Bartleby the Scrivener.”
I didn‘t know it was possible for my already abundant estimation of her to grow. Yet here we are.
Hyperfixation and voting for #CampLitsy24 complete!
#BookHaul from The Book Barn in Niantic, CT. Can you believe I visited exactly one structure in their sprawling, 3-location empire before my hands got too cold and I quit? 😅🥶 My wallet gives thanks to Mother Nature.
Well, #CampLitsy, I've only gotten through the B's on the longlist & there are already 5 books I want to vote for. This is going to be a *process.* 😅
I'm so excited about the tagged, though, which I didn't nominate and which I am ABSOLUTELY selecting. I loved Disappearing Earth so much and I didn't realize she had a new book coming! Thanks to the nominator!
Nominations for #CampLitsy24 are as follows:
•The Material by Camille Bordas (tagged)
•Followed by the Lark by Helen Humphreys (👇🏻)
•Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (👇🏻)
•Get the Picture by Bianca Boskek (👇🏻)
My first choice is tagged in the header of this post. The following three are tagged in the comments below. I went with two fic & two nonfic - hopefully neither too heavy nor too light.
Exciting! 🥳🏕️📚
“I didn‘t want to be at the party, but I couldn‘t bear to be alone, so I turned on Blue Planet.”
pickBased on my reading experience to date, I don‘t think Japanese Literature is 100% my jam. I enjoyed guessing who the Librarian character, Sayuri Komachi, was meant to represent, however. I got the impression that she was an incarnation of some goddess or deity: my best guess is White Tara. I liked the message about how important it is to feel like you belong, though as one character observes “belonging is an ambiguous state.” 👇🏻
so-soI struggled to separate my complaints about the audiobook from how much I liked or disliked the actual writing. Zimmerman did a great job reading his own words. I enjoyed the sound of his voice. However, there was no distinct, audible cue for when one essay ended & another began. This was a huge problem for me. It erased my ability to notice the intentional craft behind each piece. From what I could tell, I think I'd prefer the author's stand-up.
I‘m 14 days into a challenge from wool& to wear the same dress for 30 days. The idea is to discourage fast fashion, cut down on needless consumerism and waste, and promote sustainability.
Am I learning? Yes…ish. Do I miss my jeans? Yes. Full stop. 🙈
pickThis wasn‘t my favorite of Mary Roach‘s investigations into bizarre topics…but I‘m always pleased to be gifted a view into her brain. She‘s so funny & smart, & I‘d be delighted to invite her to share inappropriately grotesque facts around my dinner table.
Now, excuse me. A beloved English professor once taught me the definition of tappen: “the non-existent rectal plug of a hibernating bear,” & Roach wrote that they do exist. I must fact-check.
so-soBased on cover art alone & the promise that Tibble would “challenge a dazzling array of mythologies — Greek, Māori, feminist, Kiwi —“, I was excited to dive in to her poems.
Unfortunately, I struggled to connect & rarely found a turn of phrase that caught me quick. It seems like others listened to the audio. Perhaps Tibble‘s intimate reading & cadence would have impressed itself upon me differently. It read very young; I‘m happy to be moving on.
pickVolume 7 seems to be missing from the Litsy database! Hopefully, it will be added soon (as requested).
Am I worried the “golden age” of these journals has passed? Admittedly, yes. Emma has begun to make choices about her life (as we all need to); it means that other possible paths are closing. This one feels even *more* bittersweet to me than the others! But I trust that Brower will handle the plot (aka Emma‘s life) deftly. She‘s in good hands.
pickStill catching up on reviews!
Plenty of Hawkes in Vol. 6, which makes it one of my favorites. In this installment, Emma is reading Whitman. Aflame, after finishing “Song of Myself,” Emma asks Pierce “what to do with such language?” He advises, “Take what you will as a talisman…carry it in the pocket of your soul.”
I‘m not a natural re-reader but these may stand a chance! Though not always happy, it feels a comfort to have them “in my pocket.”
My favorite coworker at the library, who has also worked as a nature educator, created a haiku challenge for #NationalPoetryMonth. She‘s provided photo inspiration (complete with ID). I chose the pictured and tried my hand:
Delicate flower
I am not. Instead, call me
a sensitive fern.
If this is the kind of nerdy wordiness that appeals to you, I‘m sure she‘d be thrilled to have more entries!
https://tinyurl.com/AFLHaiku
pickI regret to inform myself that I was so eager to read what happened next that I forgot to review Vol 4.
There‘s no way I could separate this piece of the narrative now from the rest of it; I‘m on Vol 7.
I/you will need to be satisfied with this quote from Emma‘s book of Latin Phrases for the Unrepentant: “Credo quia absurdum.” Translation? “I believe because it is absurd.” And from her reading of Emerson: “All things swim and glitter.”
PERFECT.
WELL. The end of this reading month certainly took a turn…over the Atlantic Ocean and through the meandering, idyllic streets of St. Crispian‘s.
I‘ve been averaging about 8 books per month but at the tail end of March, I picked up first volume of Emma M. Lion‘s Unselected Journals — and then promptly read 5 more (and am currently halfway into the 7th volume). I suppose that puts me at 13 books this month. Thanks for the boost, Beth Brower!
“Oh, how words love Hawkes. They wrap around the unexpected inflections of his voice, eager, offering their best cadence and lilt and soul. They know him well, and he them. Almost as if words are the one thing in his life he has never had to push away. He speaks words the way they pound in my chest. And it feels like a miracle, finding such a dear part of oneself walking around in someone else‘s body.”
pickA not insignificant portion of this volume is a Christmas story. And, even in the early spring, it‘s a lovely story with an even lovelier ending.
Brower, under the guise of Emma commenting upon Treasure Island, describes her own works. She writes, “Foolishness perhaps. Yet comforting. As stories are sometimes meant to be.”
Note: Emma is still dealing with her grief, so the tone is both heavy *and* lighthearted.
Which will I run out of first: unselected journals or rabbit mugs? 🙃
pickAnother day, another journal…
Alas, I‘ve finished this one before the fourth had a chance to arrive. And so, my lazy days with Emma are drawing to a close. For now.
Set in the 1880‘s in a tiny English village, these personal tales of Emma M. Lion‘s spirited encounters and innermost thoughts are a delight. I love the romance, the quirk, the inexplicable little touches of the otherworldly (e.g. the ghost that haunts their neighborhood). Perfection.
pickAfter reading Volume 1 of Emma‘s journals, I was charmed but not *addicted.*
Consider me addicted to the romance and wit of her everyday affairs. On to Volume 3!
“Our conversation was very June and very Afternoon, meaning it meandered like a honey bee.”
“I have found that on occasions of high absurdity, one either discovers a great friend or someone to never speak with again.”
pickMy husband & I are childless by choice but I can‘t help wonder if our daughter would be like Emma: Portuguese with dark hair, like him. An Irish reader with sea green eyes, like me. Spirited and feisty with a quick wit and a quick temper, like our rabbit-daughter, Miss Moxie Crimefighter. It goes without saying that I‘m rather fond of Emma, am rooting for her, and will continue to take delight in reading her journals.
My time has arrived — the time when it‘s socially acceptable for your house to be filled with rabbit-themed items! 😅🌸🐇
🌸Spring Vibe: No Barfing on the Flowers!*🌸
How do I love spring? Let me count the ways…
Bunnies, blooms, poetry, & the very first dip of my bare toes in the Atlantic since the previous year. Never mind reading peacefully while the rain patters on the windows and the rooftop. Or riding my bike while the wind whips through my hair & the sun warms my skin. I could weep. 🥹
Happy #SpringEquinox!
*Real photo I snapped while camping one year. 😆
pickNorth Woods is my favorite kind of story; it floats liminally between ghost story & not.
As a MA native who became a devotee of apples while pursuing her Lit degree in VT, I was predisposed to like this.
It‘s a fully immersive reading experience. Mason flaunts his ability to inhabit different voices - not just gender, age, or sexual identity but era & time, even species & kingdom. Come for the gorgeous prose. Stay for the sexy dragonfly erotica.
1. Catch up on my correspondence & visit the post office; celebrate “Won‘t You Be My Neighbor” Day with kids who visit the library on the 20th! 👔🐯🚂
2. It depends on the day & my work schedule. It can range from 20 (or zero) minutes up to a few hours or even the better part of a day.
3. I think I‘d excel at writing a collection of short essays based upon a common theme. I‘d love to write a picture book but the limited text is a challenge!
1. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
2. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
3. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
#ThreeListThursday #TLT
1. Alyisha is a combination of my grandmother‘s name, Alice, and my mother‘s name, Patricia. The spelling is its own story…Basically, my mom wanted either the “y” or the “i” and couldn‘t decide which, so she wrote them both down, planning to erase one later. Then, she promptly fell asleep. It was printed on my birth certificate with both. She‘s apologized to me so many times. 🙈
2. The tagged is pretty close. Alyosha is only one letter off!
pickI devoured this so quickly and now I want nothing more than to devour some peach cobbler just as quickly. That‘s a lie. I also want to go to bingo…but I cant find anyone to accompany me to the Drag Bingo & Easter Bonnet Competition later this month. So, I guess I also want cooler friends. 😅 Steamy and full of empathetic understanding for neurotypical folks (anxiety, PTSD rep). Could‘ve used more sassy elders and fewer pairs of soaked panties.
so-soSasha LaPointe ends her memoir with a poem (or perhaps song lyrics; she‘s a poet as well as member of the Seattle-based punk band Medusa Stare). Poetry strikes me as a much better format for her writing. LaPointe, a Coast Salish author from the Nooksack and Upper Skagit Indian tribes, is an “aging Millennial” who has not lived an easy life. She‘s been homeless, has survived sexual abuse, and has worked to heal herself from inherited trauma. 👇🏻
This email made me laugh. In the endlessly quotable words of Neil Gaiman, “Truth is, there aren‘t any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.”
“Normally he hated cooked fruit. It was too soft and too mushy and no matter what it was put in, way too damn sweet. But Minnie‘s cobbler had a special place in his heart.”
Do I want Minnie‘s peach cobbler right now? Yes. But do I think Walker‘s dead wrong about cooked fruit, in general? Also yes. It‘s almost unforgivable, tbh. 🙈
pickI haven‘t experienced such uncomplicated joy and love for a novel in I don‘t know how long. I mean, I‘ve loved plenty: Turtle Diary, Saltus, Rouge, The Sentence, The Memory Police, and Disappearing Earth (to name a few). But…they‘ve all been a bit *sad* on some level. And it‘s not that the characters in Greta & Valdin don‘t struggle - with their mental health, money, racism, sexism (all the usual culprits) — because they do! 👇🏻
![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png){kind=icon}