Hey y’all! Sorry it’s been a hot minute… I had a vacation this month, and a visitor, my birthday, and catch-up at the “real” job. So book/blog life kinda just escaped me for a little bit. I did manage to treat myself to some new books (I let my wallet blame my birthday week)! I found some of these at Half-Price Books and the others at Barnes & Noble during the 20% off member discount weekend. I’m excited to read all of these, I just wish I could read them all at once… but I am horrible at book juggling <insert eye-roll emoji>.
After I read Lauren Graham’s autobiography about Gilmore Girls this month, I knew I had to pick up her other book Someday, Someday Maybe. Graham is so funny and witty and honest. She writes clearly and without holding back. Her book made me reflective and optimistic – so I hope for fictional book won’t let me down either.
I love, love, love Margaret Atwood. She is a wonderful author, and has such a great way with words, I knew I had to pick up Alias Grace. I watched the series on Netflix and enjoyed it thoroughly. I have also read The Blind Assassin and The Handmaid’s Tale, which ignited my love of feminist authors. The novel is based upon true events, so I hope the book will blend the lines between reality and the details Atwood created.
I read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger back in college – and it spoke to me deeply. While I browsing the shelves at Half-Price Books, I saw this one hanging out… I decided I would pick it up again and give it a re-read in the new year. I loved The Time Traveler’s Wife, so when I saw Niffenegger had released another book, I immediately bought it (even though I was on a much tighter budget back in those days). I hope this book can keep up with my memories of it.
I haven’t anything by Sarah Waters yet, but I did pick up both The Little Stranger and The Paying Guests, and have heard amazing things about both. After seeing the book come to screen, I wanted to read the book before I went and saw (or rented) the movie. Have you read any Waters? What are your thoughts?
I have seen this cover floating all over social media, and as much as I thought it was pretty – I didn’t really have a desire to pick it up…. purely because I had no idea what it was about. Once I picked it up and read the synopsis, I knew that it would definitely be coming home with me. It seems like a perfect winter read.
This book was on the ‘buy 2, get 1 free’ table, so I figured – why not? I love music, much in the way that I love books, and I have always enjoyed reading about physics. Finding a book that can talk about physics and its relation to music is one that I’m definitely down to read – especially because John Coltrane is involved. Fingers crossed for this one!
I watched the movie of Call Me By Your Name, and as much as I enjoyed it, it was hard for me to connect to. It felt as if something crucial was missing from the movie, but it was beautiful all the same. I heard that the book was better (as usual), so I decided I would give it a shot. Besides, when it’s included in the ‘buy 2, get 1 free’ bunch, you can’t really lose out.
I saw Severance floating around a bit, but finally got to read the synopsis in an Oprah book list. The plain pink cover is nothing to write home about, per se, but the summary struck a chord with me. A sort of apocalyptic, last-group-of-people-alive scenario, it seemed to be a grown-up version of all those YA novels floating around in recent years. I’m definitely excited to read this one.
I’m ashamed to say that I have not read Gone With the Wind before, even though my grandparents loved this movie and introduced me to the epic when I was very young – too young to truly understand it all. When I found this gorgeous edition hanging out alone on the shelves of B&N, I had to bring it home. Margaret Mitchell was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for this gem, and is still considered a must-read by many.
This cover. I cannot get over how beautiful the simple, art deco design is. This, much like The Essex Serpent, I had seen floating all over social media but I had no idea what it was about. There was 1 copy left on the main feature table right when I walked into B&N, and I walked straight over to it, and read the inside of the jacket. The story is just different enough from everything else I’ve seen, that it came home with me.
Finally – Lake Success. I read Super Sad True Love Story back when I first graduated from college. It was so odd and very sad, actually, but I loved it. Shteyngart always writes about a relevant topic, but puts an odd, comical spin on the ‘horror of reality,’ so to speak. When I heard he was releasing another book, I knew it had to come home with me. I haven’t read Absurdistan, but I wasn’t intrigued by the summary I had read, so I’m hoping this one lives up to my adoration of SSTLS. Besides – look at this cover!
What books have you recently read, or purchased?
Soft Bound Skeletons 