To Read or Not To Read

I think Talia Hibbert covers it all her in Goodreads review, but I would be remiss not to add my own (less brilliantly articulated) praise for Seven Days in June , because this book deserves all the hype and love! A beautiful and heart-wrenching novel that depicts chronic illness, motherhood/generational trauma, a steamy second-chance romance, and just plain old growing up, there's something for everyone between these pages!  Tia Williams had a fifteen-year career as a beauty editor for magazines including Elle, Glamour, Lucky, Teen People, and Essence . In 2004, she pioneered the beauty-blog industry with her award-winning site, Shake Your Beauty. She wrote the bestselling debut novel The Accidental Diva  and penned two young adult novels, It Chicks and Sixteen Candles . Her award-winning novel The Perfect Find  is being adapted by Netflix for a film starring Gabrielle Union. Tia is currently an editorial director at Estée Lauder Companies and lives with her daughter and...

Angie Kim's sophomore novel is a gripping mystery/thriller, about more than just the disappearance of one family's father. While that remains at the center of the story, what swirls around it—including philosophical discussions of happiness, searing looks at human connection and ability, and a not-always-pleasant analysis of family history—creates and unforgettable portrait of a novel.  Angie Kim moved as a preteen from Seoul, South Korea, to the suburbs of Baltimore. After graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy, she studied philosophy at Stanford University and attended Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review . Her debut novel, Miracle Creek , won the Edgar Award, the ITW Thriller Award, the Strand Critics Award, and the Pinckley Prize and was named one of the best books of the year by Time , The Washington Post , Kirkus Reviews , and the Today show. Angie Kim lives in northern Virginia with her family. You can find her online at angiekimbooks.c...

Maru Ayase's The Forest Brims Over is a lush yet concise look at gender dynamics in marriage, domesticity, love, and consent. Told in a mere 194 pages, this is the type of story that will haunt you, in more ways than one.  Maru Ayase  has published eighteen books, many of which have been finalists for major awards in Japan. The Forest Brims Over is her first title to be translated into English.  Haydn Trowell  is an Australian literary translator of modern and contemporary Japanese fiction. His translations include Love at Six Thousand Degrees by Maki Kashimada and the forthcoming title The Rainbow  by Yasunari Kawabata.  Nowatari Rui has long been the subject of her husband's novels, depicted as a pure woman who takes great pleasure in sex. With her privacy and identity continually stripped away, she has come to be seen by society first and foremost as the inspiration for her husband's art. When a decade's worth of frustrations reaches its boiling point, R...

As I read the first few chapters of The House on Mango Street , I kept thinking to myself that I was simply appalled at how I was forced to endure Tangerine while in 8th grade. I simply don't remember a single thing about that book other than how miserable reading it made me (me! a voracious reader who literally read everything under the sun!). Every vignette in The House on Mango Street  only solidified my belief that this is what I should have had the chance to read in 8th grade, because it would have changed my outlook on what writing and what stories can be. I think, if you ever have the chance to read The House on Mango Street , you should absolutely take it.  Sandra Cisneros is a poet, short story writer, novelist, and essayist whose numerous awards include NEA fellowships in both poetry and fiction, the Texas Medal of the Arts, a MacArthur Fellowship, several honorary doctorates, and national and international book awards, including Chicago's Fifth Star Award, the PEN C...

The Essex Serpent is a historical fiction read examining the relationships between people in Victorian England during a time when science and faith and mythology all battle for prominence. Not at all what I was expecting, I have a feeling that had I known more about what the book was trying to do before diving in, I might have liked it better.  Sarah Perry was born in Essex in 1979. Her first novel, After Me Comes the Flood , was longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Folio Prize. She lives in Norwich. The Essex Serpent is her American debut.  London, 1893. When Cora Seaborne's brilliant, domineering husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was an unhappy one, and she never suited the role of a society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space, she leaves thee metropolis for coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive eleven-year-old son, Francis, and the boy's nanny, Martha, her fie...

Colson Whitehead brings everyone's childhood question to life in The Underground Railroad —what if the Underground Railroad was an actual railroad underground? Cora, a young slave in Georgia, takes her chance to flee, and through her journey about America, Whitehead paints a portrait of slavery in America. Combining some fantasy elements with the horrible truth of experience, Whitehead's The Underground Railroad is a powerful and unforgettable read. Colson Whitehead is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Underground Railroad , which In 2016 won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and the National Book Award and was named one of the Ten Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review , as well as The Noble Hustle, Zone One, Sag Harbor, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, Apex Hides the Hurt , and The Colossus of New York. He is also a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a recipient of the MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships. He lives in New York City. You can find him onl...

Meg Mitchell Moore's Vacationland  is a delightful summer read. A look at womanhood, privilege, motherhood, and what family means to any one person at different points in their life, this read is more of a  thoughtful beach read than dramatic page-turner, but is compelling and entertaining, and will keep you intrigued until the end.  Meg Mitchell Moore worked for several years as a journalist for a variety of publications before turning to fiction. She lives in the beautiful coastal town of Newburyport, Massachusetts, with her husband and their three daughters. Vacationland is her seventh novel.  Louisa has come to her parents' house in Maine this summer with her three kids, a barely written book that has a looming deadline, and a trunkful of resentment. Louisa is hoping the crisp breeze will blow away her irritation for her life choices and replace it with enthusiasm for both her family and her writing. But all isn't well in Maine. Louisa's father, aa retired judge ...

A bighearted and emotional novel, The Sweeney Sisters was a delight to read. Both hilarious and insightful, Dolan tackles sisterhood in an innovative and truthful way. Lian Dolan is a writer and podcaster. She is the host of Satellite Sisters , an award-winning podcast she created with her four real-life sisters. She is the author of two bestselling novels, Helen of Pasadena and Elizabeth the First Wife , and the coauthor of two collections of essays, Satelliite Sister's UnCommon Senses  and You're the Best: A Celebration of Friendship . She has written columns for O, The Oprah Magazine and Working Mother  and is currently a columnist for Pasadena  magazine. A graduate of Pomona College, she lives in Pasadena, California, with her husband, two sons, and a big German shepherd.  Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother's death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their gold...

The coziest of books, Legends & Lattes is a must-read. Following Viv through her adventure to open a coffee shop in a city that's never heard of coffee, Legends & Lattes is a story of second chances, finding our life's purpose, and all the people along the way who help us realize our dreams. Full of lovable characters, descriptions that will make your mouth water, and stakes that are low but not too low, Legends & Lattes is a perfect fall/winter read. Travis Baldree is a full-time audiobook narrator who has lent his voice to hundreds of stories. Before that, he spent decades designing and building video games like Torchlight , Rebel Galaxy , and Fate . Apparently, he has now written one book. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his very patient family and their small, nervous dog.  After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time. The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of T...