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Friday Five – Home

“Home wasn’t a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go.” – Sarah Dessen, from What Happened to Goodbye

In exploring the concept of home, I’ve noticed that certain things stand out to me. For the rest of the year, a few of our Friday Fives are going to focus on books and think pieces that have sparked reflections about some of those things. 

  1. Shawn Smucker’s piece On the Road Again – “Now that I”m 46, homesickness is more of an ache for the place and the people where I belong, where I fit.” I spent most of last weekend on my parents’ farm, with a brief stint at the cousin’s place to attend a graduation party for his oldest child who is now an actual grown-up. [Aside – WHAT. I swear he was just born a minute ago.] It was so good to catch up with the extended family I came from, and we’re going to need to do that more often. I also really love coming back to Denton after a weekend away, though. Walking into my messy apartment where everything is mine and is just where I left it gives me a special kind of peace.
  2. The Secret of Poppyridge Cove by Rimmy London – Should you use an inheritance to buy a great house that comes with some land and a private beach entrance but that is also possibly haunted and/or frequented by a (maybe) serial killer? I know the “responsible” answer to this fantasy scenario is probably no, especially when the money is not all in the bank account quite yet, but then I had to keep turning up the volume on this audiobook to hear it over my upstairs neighbors and their cute dogs committing the grievous act of walking across the room in their own apartment, so WHERE DO I SIGN?! I am inspiring/torturing myself with a lot of books lately that revolve around the act of buying a home and making it yours (even if there are bumps and possibly corpses along the way). I liked both this one and A Traitor at Poppyridge Cove, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
  3. The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg – I’m not saying that, when I retire, I’m going to put everything in storage and just drive until I find the town and house I want to live in, but this book makes a good argument for it. I really enjoyed it. Yes, as a couple of the online reviews state, it does read a little bit like a Hallmark Christmas movie (minus the Christmas). But there are so many poignant moments about grief and friendship and delicious food and community that it might have well had my name in the title because clearly it was written for me.  It wasn’t just finding a place to land that helped the main character through her grief but also remembering to find joy in small, ordinary pleasures and with the people who showed up alongside her. I could use that reminder myself from time to time. 
  4. I love the way Christie Purifoy writes about place. In this guest post, she pursues the answer to the question, “What if our homes could be places that bring us back to life?” I love being at home, but sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things I want to get done there. I get started with one project and then have to work or be somewhere else, so it takes longer than I would like to make a dent or a difference. But at other times, I look out my patio door at the tiny garden that is thriving, or I sit in my office among my books and glance up to see one I’d forgotten I had, and I’m filled with gratitude for this little space of mine. More of these life-giving moments, please.
  5. How To Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis – This is the book I didn’t even know I needed right now. Usually with advice-laden books, I take notes because 1) that’s my best learning style, and 2) I want a succinct list of highlights to review later. I didn’t do that with this one because it’s short and I own it so I just decided to tab the pages. I have so many tabbed spots. It’s the tabbing equivalent of highlighting the whole book. But at just over 150 pages (if you include the appendix and the acknowledgments), it’s so rich in information. My favorite takeaway is that care tasks (whether for home or self) are morally neutral. You are not a better or worse person/adult based on how much you get done. I want this lesson to permeate my whole life this year. I already know it in my head but my heart and soul take a minute to catch up.

I’m very much looking forward to an easy weekend. Rest. Recoup. Also, dishes and maybe dusting. Putting some of those principles from Davis’s book into practice.

This is the second closedown day/summer move-in weekend at work. This one is a little slower than last week, so I figured an update was in order. I know that to everyone else it’s Saturday, but I definitely woke up to an alarm and I’m wearing shoes and sitting at my desk at work, so it’s Friday in my heart.

This week’s edition includes recipes of things I have been tinkering with and a few books I have finished in the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!

  1. One of my book clubs met last Tuesday, and we usually each bring a snack or some type of food to share. The snack I brought this month was margaritas. My go-to recipe is one I found in one of the Sweet Potato Queens’ books (I believe it was The Sweet Potato Queens’ Book of Love), because it’s four ingredients I can pour together, stir, and call it a day. Well, I like Triple Sec in my margaritas, so my version is technically five ingredients. And the grocery store didn’t have frozen limeade on Monday night, so I used the Simply Limeade, and now I have a new favorite way to make them that’s not quite so syrupy sweet. Anyway, combine 12(ish) oz. each of tequila and/or triple sec, Corona (or a Corona-esque beer – they’re actually better with Sol if you can find it), 7-Up (not Sprite or any other lemon/lime drink – it makes a difference), and frozen limeade (or Simply Limeade that you’ve slightly frozen). Stir, serve, and enjoy. It’s the perfect hybrid of frozen and on-the-rocks margaritas, and it is potent
  2. I’ve been dabbling with no-churn ice creams, and I took two flavors to Cookbook Club last Friday – Nigella Lawson’s no-churn coffee ice cream and Eric Kim’s no-churn Scotch ice cream. In related news, I enjoy boozy ice creams. And the no-churn is so easy to make (it’s essentially frozen whipped cream). This may become a habit. Cottage cheese ice cream is the next experiment.
  3. The Seven Stones: The Seastone by Robb Arbuckle – This is the first book in a new middle-grade series, and it’s a pretty standard good vs. evil, magical academia trope. It incorporates a lot of mythology and elementals and historical references, so it’s also pretty ambitious. I’m interested to see if many of those things will become significant to the plot of the series or if the author will focus on a few of them to tighten the narrative (I can see clear arguments for both, depending on what the author wants the story arc to be, so this interest is curiosity rather than criticism at this point). It made me want to read more of the story, so it was a successful first installment!
  4. I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver – This was my second time reading this book because I recommended it for my church book club. I loved it just as much the second time (and listened on audio, which is also good). The main character is nonbinary, and this is the story of their coming out and finding the people who love and support them. Deaver does a great job of showing the anguish and self-doubt that often accompanies this process. I wanted to fight everyone who hurt Ben throughout the book.
  5. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman – I really love the Thursday Murder Club series. I was feeling puny Sunday so I was not up for much else but lying about and drinking tea and reading this book. I started and finished it that day.

Added bonus – a morning routine is so important, and this kid is going places. But not until he’s had his morning lemon and honey constitutional.

I hope your weekend is going well!

Welp, Book Riot’s gone and done it. An alphabetical list of queer lit recommendations, just in time to start stockpiling for Pride Month in June. Or, you know, to read any time throughout the year, especially in places where administrators and lawmakers and other nefarious busybodies want to pretend LGBTQIA+ folks don’t exist.

Anyway, an update on my own alphabet project.

For the main list of book titles I’ve finished for this challenge, see this post. For reviews on specific books, see previous posts:

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

Update 4

Update 5

A

Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo 

B

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke 

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

C

The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood 

The Postmistress of Paris by Meg Waite Clayton 

D

Dear Bob and Sue by Matt and Karen Smith  

Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz 

E

Excuse Me While I Disappear by Laurie Notaro 

F

Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland 

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney 

G

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman 

Winter Recipes from the Collective by Louise Glück 

H

How To Be Perfect by Michael Schur 

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris 

I

The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

J

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry 

The Friend Zone and The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez 

K

Writers & Lovers by Lily King 

L

Lucky Turtle by Bill Roorbach 

Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón – This was one of my favorite poetry collections I read during April. A lot of them center around grief over a parent’s death, but the images extend to other types of grief as well. I need to buy it to have in my own collection to revisit later. 

M

Marie Kondo’s Kurashi at Home – If you’ve been here awhile, you know how big a crush I have on Marie Kondo. She infuses kindness into every book she writes. I never knew tidying could be kind. This one has gorgeous pictures, and that alone would have made me love it. The main takeaway I got was setting a project deadline for my bulk tidying (November 18. I think I’ll put up the Christmas tree in celebration), and I also set smaller deadlines for each room/section of my apartment so that I don’t get to November 11 and discover I’ve done nothing.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

N

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik – How dare you, Naomi Novik. How. Dare. You. *immediately puts the next in the series on hold at the library*

O

The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson 

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

P

The Pisces by Melissa Broder 

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath – I first read this during grad school, so it had been a few years. What drew me to revisit it was that the audio version is read by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Not only did the book itself stand the test of time with me, but Gyllenhaal’s voice is perfect for it. I loved it.

Q

Queen of the Flowers by Kerry Greenwood 

R

A Rhythm of Prayer, edited by Sarah Bessey

S

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle 

T

Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby – I loooove Hannah Gadsby and their humor, and I love this book. Highly recommend the audio, read by the author. It’s basically a glimpse into their formative years and the start of their success as a comedian. This is easily one of my top five favorite reads so far this year. 

Women Talking by Miriam Toews

U

V

Verity by Colleen Hoover – The pace of this story is amazing. That was what took it from the 3.5 stars that I gave it for the writing (which was fine…but it had been hyped up so much that I expected better) to a solid 4. My copy didn’t have the bonus chapter (if yours ends with Chapter 25, neither does yours, and you NEED IT). Thankfully, my book club leader had it. I have never read a chapter so fast in my life. 

W

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

X

Y

Z
Welcome Home: A Guide to Building a Home for Your Soul by Najwa Zebian

Hello, friends! We are heading across the street for lunch today because it’s staff discount day in the cafeteria and also because there are empanadas there. We are going a little early because it’s Reading Day at UNT (i.e., no classes are held), and we want to make it to the cafeteria before it is teeming with the students who are hopefully using this small break before Finals Week to sleep in and catch up on some rest.

It’s also Cinco de Mayo (i.e., the reason for the empanadas, probably). Please consider supporting local Mexican-owned businesses (particularly if they make tasty drinks because yay Friday) or donating to one of the following organizations:

I’m so happy it’s the weekend (soon). Here are five things I enjoyed this week:

  1. As an aspiring older female writer, I’m excited that people are seeking them out. Keep seeking, folks. I’m coming. Also, I love all the books listed in this article that I’ve read (e.g., if you haven’t read Lessons in Chemistry, you’re missing out), and I expect that June’s TBR is going to include some of the ones I haven’t.
  2. An excerpt from Maggie Smith’s memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful. Have you read Goldenrod? I’m so glad she wrote it. 
  3. Carrie Fisher is being honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, which was appropriately announced on May 4.
  4. Nigella Lawson’s Cook, Eat, Repeat is the audiobook I’m currently listening to. Nigella reads it herself, and I love how her humor comes across not only in her words but in her voice. I wouldn’t usually listen to a cookbook (and honestly, I skipped right through the recipe for black pudding meatballs just like I would if I were reading through the print copy because the description was already sufficiently vivid and…yuck), but I am enjoying this one. I’m going to need the print copy, though, because I’m now craving some of these foods. Just not the meatballs.
  5. And finally – I have jumped on the Substack bandwagon. Eventually, I want the paid portion (which is not active yet, so everything that’s there can be perused for free) to be an opportunity to share some of the fiction I’m writing. But for now, I’m having fun musing about how to be/feel like/identify as a writer when you have multiple jobs/gigs, a full-time job, children, volunteer work, high-maintenance pets, or other time-consuming responsibilities. I’m currently posting once a week on Wednesdays, so subscribe if you want to hear more!

I hope you get a chance to do something fun today. Have a good weekend!

May 2023 TBR

Welcome to May! My allergies are at war with nature, and we are closing down most of our residence halls for on-campus housing and transitioning to summer housing/conferences. Both sound like excellent reasons to use the downtime I have to stay inside and read and not talk to anyone at all.

Here’s the plan for the month!

Book Clubs

TBR

The section of my TBR that is the longest is the series section. This is where I list not only all the series that I’ve started (and all the books still left to read in them) but also all the series I’m interested in. That number is constantly expanding, and I’m becoming resigned to the truth that it is probably infinity. This group is listed only by the first book on my TBR spreadsheet, though. I’m not going to commit to the series unless I really like the first one. 

[This is a new rule that I’ve made for myself this year as part of my commitment to learning to accept that it’s OK not to finish books/series when I realize I’m just not that into them.]

So most of this month’s selections in this category are helping me whittle down that section-within-a-section of my TBR (can you whittle down infinity? I’m not sure that’s a thing). A couple of the following selections are from series I already know and love, but the first five are first installments that I have been meaning to try out for a while.

  • Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – One of my friends gave the book this ringing endorsement –  “It’s like Hogwarts and Buffy had a baby and sent it to Yale.” OF COURSE I NEED TO READ THAT.
  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – I think I have the boxed set in ebook form somewhere, but I’ll have to look. If not, I’m sure the library or friends who love historical fiction have a copy I can borrow.
  • The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie – You know I love a detective story. Can you believe I’ve never read any Hercule Poirot mysteries?!
  • Fable by Adrienne Young – I don’t remember who suggested this one, but their recommendation clearly made enough of an impression that I immediately put it on hold at the library, and now it’s in my borrowed pile. It does sound like something I’d like, so we’ll see.
  • The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay – This is a judging-a-book-by-its-cover/title situation. I have high hopes for this one.
  • The Bullet that Missed by Richard Osman – Have I gushed thoroughly enough about the Thursday Murder Club yet that you want to read it? Excited about getting to know these characters a little better in the third book.
  • Tricked and Trapped by Kevin Hearne – More of the Iron Druid Chronicles!
  • Why Design Matters by Debbie Millman – Not a series selection, but I’ve been waiting for it at the library for forever, and it’s finally my turn! It’s also a good choice for this year’s home theme.
  • The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg – Also not a series selection, but very “on brand” (as the capitalists say) for me. So…also a good home theme selection. Thus, I started it immediately after picking it up at the library and will probably be finished with it early this month. I’m probably going to end up buying it.

Collection

  • The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King – This is the first Stephen King book I ever read, but that was in 6th grade. I remember loving it, so it will be interesting to see what I think of it now. Bonus – it fulfills the prompt for Girlxoxo’s Monthy Key Word Reading Challenge (keyword “dragon”). 
  • A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews – After reading Women Talking last month, I’m interested in how this one compares.
  • Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro – I loved Never Let Me Go, so I pick up any Ishiguro I see at a book sale. Looking forward to reading this short story collection.
  • Placemaker by Christie Purifoy – This has been on my nightstand for a few years. Hoping to tuck into it as another home selection this month, if time allows.
  • Cook, Eat, Repeat by Nigella Lawson – continuing my Audible countdown with one of my favorite cookbook writers narrating her own book. It is delightful to have it read to me, and I’m already planning to buy the hard copy as well.
  • Laziness Does Not Exist by Dr. Devon Price – I enjoyed Dr. Price’s presentation last week, so I immediately used an Audible credit to pick up this gem to listen to this month.

Whew. That’s a lot. I probably won’t finish them all, but hope springs eternal!

Fawn

I had a readathon this weekend, and I forgot how nice and relaxing they are. I needed that. I didn’t realize how much I needed it until I looked at my calendar Friday evening, saw that I only had one additional thing scheduled the whole weekend (dinner at my friends’ house where I was plied with delicious food and wine and got to see their dog Charlie and catch up with them and watch TV – so, even the one thing was super low key), and burst into tears of relief. 

Welp, that’s telling.

In mental health news, it has been noted that I am describing a greater number of stress responses than usual in sessions. There are probably several factors. First, it’s the end of the semester, and transitions between application periods always have the potential for instability and extra wackiness. Even when the work week is reasonably calm – like last week was – just the awareness that this time of the year is particularly prone to changing in an instant is stressful.

I am also – once again – trying to do too much and not taking the time I know I need for proper rest and restoration. The writing project I’m focusing on is deeply personal and is uncovering some things I probably need to address in future sessions. And then there’s the ongoing, underlying theme of my brain’s particular neurospicy cocktail, which ensures that common elements in several environments I frequent often trigger an acute stress response, just as a matter of course.

A reasonable question might be, “Can’t you just avoid environments that hurt you?” As we discovered during the stay-in-place times during the height of the pandemic, the answer is yes – absolutely I can. That is technically a possibility that I could put in place if I really needed to, as these responses are rarely triggered at home. But since the aforementioned environments do allow me to do nice things like pay for food and rent or engage in creative pursuits and also socialize ever, they’re not really situations I would want to avoid, even if, technically, I could.

Up until recently, any time someone would mention the concept of fight vs. flight, I would state that I’m almost all fight. But while that may have been true at certain points in my life, I don’t think it is anymore. I still occasionally react in a tight jaw/tense muscles/knotted gut sort of way, but even then it tends to stay bottled up and internal, in ready-to-fight mode. More often, I get fidgety, which is more flight, or preparing to run away.

To my great dismay, though, the most common acute stress response I have these days is fawn. Particularly when the stressor is social. And it doesn’t have to be a big stressor – just something catching me off guard, conflict (even mild ones), someone talking more loudly than I can readily process, a slamming door (i.e., the doors at work all day every day), etc. I turn into this over-the-top people pleaser, which is not at all my usual personality. I switch into accommodation mode, giving the other people/person in the situation whatever they want or letting them control it completely. I become overly complimentary, saying things that, while they are truly what I think, are also in that moment specifically spoken to soothe their stress and, by extension, my own. I do anything I can to appear compliant, non-threatening, gracious, and useful. 

These things are not bad ways to be in general. But because I know it’s a stress response, and thus that the intention behind it is more about avoiding further stress than actual helpfulness, it doesn’t feel good. It’s not an honest interaction, but it seems to come across as one. It feels phony, and it’s hard not to judge myself harshly for that, even though stress responses are typically harder (impossible? I wonder) to control. At any rate, it’s my least favorite version of me, especially when I comply by doing something I didn’t actually want to do, but did do, and then felt compelled to either keep pretending that I wanted to or end the madness with an awkward conversation where I say all these convoluted things out loud and utterly confuse/hurt/disappoint everyone involved.

[That last sentence is what everything in my brain sounds like right now.]

Also, my skin hates it when I feel this way, and it’s acting out. That’s annoying. And itchy.

So that thing I was doing during Lent – taking the two time-outs per week instead of just one? I’m going back to that. It requires some creative corralling of my schedule for my second job, but it’s so worth it. I look forward to being myself most of the time again.

What are some things you do (or stop doing) to relieve stress?

Friday Five – Poetry

This week’s recap is going to be a little different. As you know, it’s National Poetry Month, and I’ve read a lot of poems! There were a few collections that were just meh for me and one that fell so flat that I couldn’t even bear to make it through, but I finished and enjoyed most of the ones I planned on:

I have also been bookmarking poems to share with my beloved Follow the Reader friends. I only shared a few snippets that night because I’m misfiring all over the place this week, so transporting from the page to my brain to my mouth is hard. But here are five of my favorites from the month:

  1. “A Song for the Status Quo” by Saeed Jones (Alive at the End of the World) – This whole collection is amazing. I also like this interview about his work. 
  2. “The Noisiness of Sleep” by Ada Limón (Bright Dead Things). I love the concluding line – “I want to be the rough clothes you can’t sleep in.”
  3. Elizabeth Wilder (Balefire) – “There is not much I trust so wholeheartedly as the musty-scented pages of a book.”
  4. “Perhaps the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo (Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light). Of course, the line about coffee charmed me – “Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children.”
  5. To continue the celebration of poetry (does it ever end, really?), I’m currently reading and enjoying Clint Smith’s Counting Descent

And finally, a little something to start your weekend off right. For your aural enjoyment, half an hour of Tom Hiddleston reading poetry. You’re welcome.

Have a good one, friends!

Tomorrow is my dad’s birthday (and also Earth Day). And the phone call I make to him may be the only thing I do tomorrow. Last weekend and this week have been full of fun things, but at this moment, the keyword there is “full.” I need a day. Well, I need a month. But I get a day, and I’ll take it.

Speaking of fun things, here are a few exciting happenings that are coming up soon (like, tonight soon) and a couple of books I had feelings about.

  1. Tonight! Our duo (Sarah and I), They Say The Wind Made Them Crazy, is playing at Rubber Gloves. In fact, the whole show is going to be great. If you’re local, hope to see you there!
  2. Dr. Devon Price’s book Laziness Does Not Exist has been on my TBR for a while, so I’m delighted that this program about creating adaptable educational environments to make them more accessible is coming to UNT next week.
  3. Spiderweb is hosting an open mic night at Rubber Gloves next Tuesday. I haven’t decided if I’m going to read one of the pieces I’ve been working on or just observe, but it should be a good time.
  4. Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass – What this main character needs is a sounding board. Someone she will actually confide in (as she already has many people she could confide in if she could put aside her pride long enough to do so). Because I wasn’t prepared for it to be me. Oh, I tried. I listened sympathetically as well as I could. Several times, I said (yes, out loud – you’re welcome, neighbors) that she should stop being clueless (you know things have to be hella obvious if even I pick up on them) and just have a conversation with the dude. Or her father. Or her best friend. Or maybe find a nice grief counselor. But alas, she could not hear me as we are both fictional in each other’s worlds. So instead, it was hours of repetitive whining about not knowing where she stood with other people, particularly the guy. I believe the audiobook reader captured the character’s voice perfectly. Unfortunately, her voice is super melodramatic, which grated on my nerve, because it’s hard to sustain constant, invested empathy, which is what seems to be expected when Every. Word. Is. Stressed.  Even when she’s just walking somewhere and sees someone in the far distance she has even the slightest twinge of beef with for any reason, it was told with Big Feelings. It is especially difficult when the character’s main conflict is her own stubborn insistence on making assumptions and thus constantly getting in her own way. It seems like I didn’t enjoy it, but I didn’t have any trouble finishing it. I did have to take a nap when it was over, though.
  5. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus – We read this YA selection for our church book club, and we all seemed to like it a lot. The plot moved along at a good, steady pace, and I found myself rooting for (almost) all of the characters. I would have five-star loved this book in junior high/high school, but it was thoroughly enjoyable even in my jaded adulthood.

What are you looking forward to the most this weekend/upcoming week?

This week has been an experiment in balancing fun and rest. I took both Tuesday and Thursday nights off. Tuesday was very restful. I came home, laid down on the bed to cool off for a minute, and woke up four hours later. I got up, ate a bowl of cereal, watched an episode of Veronica Mars, and went right back to sleep. Last night, however, I couldn’t slow my brain down, so although I technically took the night off, I can’t really say it was relaxing. I finally just gave up and worked on a project I need to have finished soon.

Wednesday, we painted rocks at work (fundraiser for We Care We Count). That night, we worked on a percussion part that we’re doing on Sunday before choir practice, and then I got to go to this month’s Molten Plains at Rubber Gloves. The show was phenomenal. 

Tonight is cookbook club. I’m taking a lasagna skillet because I don’t have time to make a full lasagna in the slow cooker, and it is now officially too hot to turn on the oven in Texas.

Here are five things I enjoyed this week:

  1. A list of the best bookstores in every state that I found on Pinterest led me down the rabbit hole until I also found 13 beautiful bookstores I need to see. I like having lists like these in my proverbial back pocket just in case I find myself in one of these cities with an afternoon to kill. You never know.
  2. The Spite House by Johnnie Compton – The audiobook was great and appropriately creepy. It’s not scary in the jump-out-and-get-you way, but rather a slow, eerie burn, which is the type of scary I prefer. The fact that I could only listen to the last half of the book during the day is a testament to its spookiness. The story was well-told and moved along really smoothly.
  3. Balefire: Poetry for the End of the World by Elizabeth Wilder – I took a poetry class several years ago from Elizabeth, and it was so helpful. I enjoyed this collection. One of my favorite things about it is the spare use of language that marks every word as intentional and full. Added bonus – it’s free today on Amazon! I’m not sure how long that will last but grab a copy if you can.
  4. This is a succinct synopsis of some of the best advice I’ve heard about pitching to a literary agent. Just in case you or anyone you know is interested in that kind of advice. In related news, I’d be a great literary agent. *ponders*
  5. I love this piece on how to fight for your library, particularly as many are being threatened with defunding for simply operating as libraries are meant to operate.

Tomorrow is a busy day. I have book club at the library (we’re discussing paranormal fiction) in the morning. Then I have lunch with my friend Karla and a birthday party for another friend afterward. I’m practicing with Sarah during the evening for our performance next Friday. May definitely need a nap and a whole lot of downtime on Sunday. I took Monday morning off because we were going to go to the club, but we postponed that outing. Am I giving up my morning off? Absolutely not.

I hope you have a fun and relaxing weekend and find that beautiful, elusive balance!

This update is a special occasion. With 30 books finished and reviewed, I am officially past the halfway mark! I may celebrate with a little treat tonight. 

For the main list of book titles I’ve finished for this challenge, see this post. For reviews on specific books, see previous posts:

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

Update 4

A

Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones – My favorites were “A Song for the Status Quo,” “Saeed, How Dare You Make Your Mother Into a Prelude” (along with the alternative titles proposed on the following page), and “the Trial.” Also all the ones with the collection’s title. And “Against Progeny.” And the odes/letters/notes to all the songwriters, singers, and writers. You know what? They’re all good. Just read them all. And then read his memoir How We Fight for Our Lives.  

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo 

B

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke 

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

C

The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood 

The Postmistress of Paris by Meg Waite Clayton 

D

Dear Bob and Sue by Matt and Karen Smith  

Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz – God, this collection is sexy. That was my reaction to the first reading. The second, slower reading had me holding the book open on my lap with one hand while searching all the words I didn’t know on the laptop with my other. The pieces that connected rivers with the body were my favorite parts. This should (and never will be…stupid Texas legislature) required reading.

E

Excuse Me While I Disappear by Laurie Notaro 

F

Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland 

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney – I like a book with twists and turns that you can sort of see coming but don’t really know how it’s going to turn out. This was a quick read because once I got started I couldn’t stop reading. It was fast-paced and ominous from the start. Definitely recommend.

G

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman 

Winter Recipes from the Collective by Louise Glück – What a lovely collection! This is the first time I’ve read Louise Glück on my own (I’ve had her poems read to me, which is also lovely and I also highly recommend), and I adore her and this exposition of the joys and sorrows of close relationships. Also, there are gems such as “If you can’t read, my sister said, can you be happy?” Highly recommend for National Poetry Month or literally any time.

H

How To Be Perfect by Michael Schur 

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris 

I

The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

J

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry 

The Friend Zone and The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez 

K

Writers & Lovers by Lily King 

L

Lucky Turtle by Bill Roorbach 

M

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

N

O

The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson 

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

P

The Pisces by Melissa Broder – I’ve never read anything that made me make so many different faces and exclaim for so many different reasons. Part superb dry wit, part “no no no no no that’s a terrible idea,” part “Ugh punch him in the throat,” part “WTF did I just read,” with a few minor sweet moments scattered throughout. I don’t know how Broder stacked the commonplace so neatly against the surreal, but I think she pulled it off. I’m still mad about the dog, though.

Q

Queen of the Flowers by Kerry Greenwood 

R

A Rhythm of Prayer, edited by Sarah Bessey

S

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle 

T

Women Talking by Miriam Toews – I picked this one up because my friend Brenda likes to go to Oscars Week at the movie theater, and she really liked this movie. I think I would like the movie better, as it was difficult for me to keep most of the characters separate, but their discussions were interesting. I think it would be a good book club selection (but I am not going to suggest it because I don’t think I’ll read it again).

U

V

W

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

X

Y

Z
Welcome Home: A Guide to Building a Home for Your Soul by Najwa Zebian

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