nomadreader

The backstory: Young adult paranormal is not usually by thing, but lesbian witches in contemporary Salem, Massachusetts most definitely are. I picked this as a Book of the Month add-on last year, but I finally got around to reading it this month. The basics: The first in a duology (series of two--how refreshing to not have a trilogy!), this novel introduces Hannah, "Hannah's a witch, but not the kind you're thinking of. She's the real deal, an Elemental with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But even though she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself. If she's ever caught using it in front of a Reg (read: non-witch), she could lose it. For good. So, Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly by Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans." (publisher)...

As I've been home for more than two months, I've found myself (finally) reading through my backlog of comics I've checked out from the library (thank you extended due dates!) It's fun to dip into a book I can read in a single sitting, and it helps keep my reading momentum going. Here are three I've read this month: Stepping Stones  by Lucy Knisley Y'all know I love Lucy Knisley's graphic memoirs and comics, so I was excited to read her debut middle-grade graphic novel, which is inspired by her childhood. When Jen's parents get divorced, she has to leave New York City and moves to an upstate farm with her mom and her mom's boyfriend. His two daughters only live with them every other weekend. All three help sell at the farmer's market. As always, Knisley's art is lovely. I struggled with this graphic novel because I found it to be very sad. Because we only see things from Jen's perspective, and she's so young, the wisdom and persp...

The backstory: Stephanie Danler's debut novel, Sweetbitter , is one of my all-time favorites . The basics: Stray  is a memoir "of growing up in a family shattered by lies and addiction, and of one woman’s attempts to find a life beyond the limits of her past." My thoughts: One of the reasons I loved  Sweetbitter  so much is that it's the rare trifecta of a novel that has a great plot/characters, great writing, and great wisdom. Stray  is filled with great writing and great wisdom, but those looking for a traditional memoir may find the book's construction a bit confusing. It's broken into three thematic sections: Mother, Father, and The Monster (the married man with whom she has an affair), but the three characters overlap across all three sections. The vignettes also move across geography and time. Stray  is a writer's memoir. I'm grateful I had the time and space to read it in twenty-four (non-consecutive) hours. Many of the vignettes or essa...

The basics:  "This vivid graphic novel delves into his pioneering physical approach to making art, highlights the key characters surrounding the New York mid-century art scene, and reveals the intriguing relationship between Pollock's painting and the covert activities of the Cold War."--publisher My thoughts: I majored in Art History in college (and Journalism and Women's Studies), and I have a particular fondness for Abstract Expressionism and Jackson Pollock. I will never forget the feeling of seeing my first Pollock in person. The scope and scale and texture took my breath away and made me understand art in new ways. I was curious to see how this graphic novel (it is fiction, albeit very closely tied--for the most part--to history) told his story. I read this fascinating graphic novel in a single sitting. It has it all: history, art, drama, romance, politics, spies, and death. The visuals are stunning and capture the scale of Abstract Expressionism well. It...

Often I find myself listening to audiobooks that fit together, either by narrator, genre, theme or setting. As I find myself staring at a long list of them to review, I decided to start writing Litsy-length reviews and grouping them together in a new recurring series I'll call Audio Interludes. Today's installment features a trio of contemporary novels narrated in British and Irish accents. When All Is Said  by Anne Griffin narrated by Niall Buggy If an old maudlin Irishman narrator is your thing: do I have a book for you! Maurice Hannigan, over the course of one night, orders five different drinks a hotel bar and toasts each one to a different person who impacted his life. Through these five (very long) toasts that are more like stories, we learn about his life in interesting, and non-linear ways. For a debut novel, this book is bravely told, but for such an emotional book, it also felt like it was trying to be a little too clever. Is a lovely goal, but it didn't fu...

The backstory: The Library Book  is the January 2019 pick for the Hello Sunshine book club . I started listening to it December 27th, but it was nice to be well into it when Reese announced the January pick. My thoughts:  I saw Susan Orlean speak at the American Library Association conference in New Orleans last June. I had heard she had a book coming out in the fall called The Library Book , but I didn't know anything else about it. After moving to Los Angeles, her son had an assignment to interview a city employee, and he chose a librarian. While visiting Central Library in Los Angeles, a librarian mentioned to Susan that you can still smell smoke in some of the books. She was shocked to learn there had been a major fire at the library in 1986 and she didn't know about it. The Library Book is an investigation of the fire, which was intentionally set and still unsolved, but it's also an exploration of the long history of the Los Angeles Public Library and the current sta...

The backstory: I enjoyed the first thriller co-authored by Hendricks and Pekkanen, The Wife Between Us ( my review ). The basics:  "Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed. When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. Question #1: Could you tell a lie without feeling guilt? But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking…and what she’s hiding."--publisher My thoughts: I had low expectations going into this book. While I didn't end up loving The Wife Between Us,  it was really fun to read, and that's what I was hoping for with An Anonymous Girl : a fun read. And it was. As I read, I ...

The basics:   "Kim Lord is an avant-garde figure, feminist icon, and agent provocateur in the L.A. art scene. Her groundbreaking new exhibition, Still Lives, features portraits in which she depicts herself as famous, murdered women—the Black Dahlia, Chandra Levy, Nicole Brown Simpson, among many others—and the works are as compelling as they are disturbing, implicating a culture that is too accustomed to violence against women. As the city's richest art patrons pour into the Rocque Museum's opening night, all the staff, including editor Maggie Richter, hope the event will be enough to save the historic institution's flailing finances. Except that Kim Lord never shows up to her own gala."--publisher My thoughts: I am perhaps the perfect audience for this novel: it's a mystery, but it's also a thoughtful examination of the contemporary Los Angeles art world, the role of women in art (as artist and subject), and how we view violence against women. I would ...

Four years ago I bought the audiobook of Crazy Rich Asians when it was the Audible daily deal. This month, I finally listened to it. These are the things I learned: 1. There are A LOT of characters. Don't let it worry you. In the first chapter featuring all of the mothers, I almost gave up or started over. Keep listening. The more important characters emerge, and I wasn't confused. Part of that is due to: 2. Lynn Chen's narration is excellent. She utilizes voices so well, I wasn't even aware of them. I soon could tell who was talking simply through her performance, which makes me sad because: 3. She doesn't narrate the next two books in the series. This book is the last one she narrated. I hope it's because her acting career has really taken off and she doesn't have time. 4. Speaking of the next two books, this book's ending is: abrupt and unsatisfying. I looked at my phone and couldn't believe the book was over. It begs the reader to start ...

Livia Lone, the first in a series featuring the titular character, was my favorite mystery of 2017 . I've been looking forward to The Night Trade  since I finished Livia Lone . I loved Livia Lone  so much that I also wanted to read Eisler's other books, and I read the first in his John Rain series, A Clean Kill in Tokyo , earlier this month. I knew from the blurb that Livia returns to Thaiand in this book, and I managed to wait until I was in Thailand to read it. The Night Trade  picks up shortly after Livia Lone , and, as should be expected, there are tons of spoilers from the first book. It's clear this series is not one that can be read out of order. Livia Lone is a critical foundation for both the characters and story of Livia. Eisler recaps the highlights well in The Night Trade  in case you've forgotten, but there's no substitute for reading the book itself. What I wansn't expecting in The Night Trade  was Dox, a character from the Rain books. I didn...

Dear Ariel Levy, Many years ago, I read and enjoyed your first book, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture . For some reason, I didn't make the connection between the your books until I was listening to you read your memoir, The Rules Do Not Apply.  Granted, the books are very different, and I read them thirteen years apart. I wasn't even tracking my reading in 2005. Still: knowing you wrote both of these very different, thought-provoking books makes it clear I will be in line to read any book you write. I'm so glad you narrated The Rules Do Not Apply . It's such a personal story, and I can't imagine anyone else capturing the emotion, insight and thoughtfulness. Listening to this audiobook made me feel so close to you. When I decided The Rules Do Not Apply  would be my next audiobook, I didn't know one of the themes of the book would be your international travel. It was such a happy accident for me, as I listened to it while I'm tr...

Dear Caroline Preston, You hold a special place in my heart. I've always been a reader, but before I started blogging, I wasn't nearly as aware of all the new release books . When I was in high school, I discovered your first novel, Jackie by Josie , on the new release shelf at my local public library and checked it out. I loved it. I'm still drawn to fictional depictions of real women, and I loved that as much as the book was about Jackie O, it was more about Josie and her research. Your second novel, Lucy Crocker 2.0 , about a woman who designs video games despite having no knowledge of technology, lived on my shelves for years (and moved a few times) before I finally stayed up late to read it at my mother-in-law's house the week Mr. Nomadreader and I moved to New York in 2008. I love when books stick in my mind so clearly I remember where I was when I read it. When The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt  came out in 2011, I read it immediately and loved it . I gave my mo...

Dear Steven Hartley, I listened to most of The Music Shop  on flights from Des Moines, Iowa to Bangkok, Thailand (with stops in Chicago and at both Tokyo airport.) I don't like to fly, but I do love to travel, and flying is part of that reality. To help distract me from the fact that I'm flying, I like to pick books to transport me to a different place, and your narration made me feel like I was on Unity Street in the 1980's. I decided to read The Music Shop  when it was named a January Book of the Month pick. This year, I'm aiming to read all 60 Book of the Month picks , and to do that, I know I'll need to listen to one each month. I was quite intrigued when I saw The Music Shop  was your first audiobook. After listening, I'm surprised, but I'm confident it won't be your last. The Music Shop  is told from the point of view of Frank, a curmudgeonly, but loveable man who is passionate about music and vinyl (only vinyl.) Your performance made Frank co...

Dear Reza, A couple of years ago, I listened to you read the audiobook of Zealot: The Life and Times of  Jesus of Nazareth . I found it fascinating, if somewhat disappointing at the lack of (understandable) lack of information about Jesus himself. I really enjoyed listening to the book and liked the emphasis and enthusiasm you narrate with. When I heard you had a new book, God: A Human History , I wanted to listen to it too. I, like many, have a complicated relationship with religion. I was raised in the United Methodist church. My father is a United Methodist pastor. Many of closest friends are also pastor's kids, and many more of closest friends are friends I met through church. About six years ago, I realized I didn't consider myself a Christian anymore. It was a big deal to me because being a liberal United Methodist was such a large part of my identity for so much of my life. It wasn't a big deal because I hadn't been actively attending church for a few years. ...

The book I'm most excited about in 2018 is the new novel by Hannah Pittard, Visible Empire . I've loved two of her earlier novels, Reunion  ( my review ) and Listen to Me. Like me, Pittard grew up in Atlanta and now lives in the Midwest. I'd be excited about any new novel by Hannah Pittard, but the premise of this one took my breath away:  "an epic novel—based on true events—of wealth, race, grief, and love, charting one sweltering summer in Atlanta that left no one unchanged. It’s a humid summer day when the phones begin to ring: disaster has struck. Air France Flight 007, which had been chartered to ferry home more than one hundred of Atlanta’s cultural leaders following a luxurious arts-oriented tour of Europe, crashed shortly after takeoff in Paris. In one fell swoop, most of the city’s wealthiest residents perished." How, I marveled, did I manage to grow up in Atlanta and not know about a plane crash that killed 132 people? As I began my quest to know more ab...

I always follow the announcement of the National Book Award 's 5 Under 35 honorees each year. The award is given to work that "promises to leave an indelible mark on the literary landscape." This year I was thrilled to see all five are women , and three of the selections are novels. One of the things I most love about the 5 Under 35 is that each honoree is selected by a past National Book Award participant. A novel I might not otherwise pick up (or know about) may rise to the top of the list when I see an author whose work I've enjoyed thinks it shows immense promise. Chemistry  by Weike Wang  I'm drawn to fiction written by writers who are also scientists. While this novel is definitely about a chemist, but it's so much more. It's a refreshing take on a coming of age novel that challenges the genre's conventional tropes. I desperately want the narrator to have a name so I can talk about her, because I learned so much from her perspective ...

The basics: When Reconsidered, a podcast examining the murder of Charles Buhrman, becomes a huge hit, it sends many lives into chaos, including his daughter, Josie, who has done all she can to distance herself from the family after his murder. My thoughts: Although I didn't love it as much as some people, I was caught up in the podcast Serial several years ago. That podcast inspired the fictional podcast in this novel. Josie narrates this novel, but her narration is intermixed with podcast transcripts, Reddit forums, and Tweets. As a narrator, Josie is frustrating at times. She's not necessarily unreliable, but she doesn't share all she knows (and to do so would ruin much of the suspense.) As a reader, I know I see situations differently when I'm reading a book and looking for clues than I would if it were my life, but it can still be a frustrating experience. I knew very little about this novel going into it, and I think that's best. As we learn more about Jos...

The backstory: The Lucky Ones  is longlisted for the 2017 Center for Fiction's  First Novel Prize . The basics:   "A literary jigsaw puzzle of a debut novel set in Colombia during the peak of its decades-long conflict, and in New York City."-publisher My thoughts: When this year's First Novel Prize longlist was announced, I'd already read two. The Lucky Ones  was the first one I picked up from the longlist, so I had high expectations. I started it on my lunch break. The first chapter left me breathless; it was extraordinary. It, and many of the other stories, were originally published as short stories, and it shows. Some chapters are stronger than others, and the order certainly matters. Pachico uses names sparingly, and I spent the first parts of most chapters trying to figure out who the narrator was and if/when I'd read about them before. I enjoy non-linear stories told in this way, and I enjoyed it (for the most part) in this novel. I was hoping for ...

The backstory: Deadfall  is the 19th mystery featuring Alexandra Cooper. I've read them all and reviewed a lot of them . The basics: Killer Look  ended with quite a cliffhanger, and Deadfall  picks up right where it left off, so spoilers of Killer Look  abound in this review. My thoughts: Over the years I've criticized Linda Fairstein a bit for how little things change in this series. There's comfort in that, sure, but as someone who has been reading this series for fourteen years, I would love to see more time pass in Alex's life. Fairstein upped the ante with the ending of Killer Look --the murder of Manhattan District Attorney Paul Battaglia. Battaglia's demise had been coming for a few books, but the surprise at the end of Killer Look  was a great one. Deadfall  seeks to solve his murder. As always, one New York City landmark serves as the focus of the book. In Deadfall , it's the Bronx Zoo. Fairstein infuses current issues about illegal animal tr...

book quickie: when I want to talk about a book, but I don't have much to say Here's the description for this book: "America’s favorite recluse just got a life! With her distinctively funky drawing style and insightful wit, artist Rosanna Bruno presents a cross-generational Dickinson for the 21st century." This book is a collection of different things, some of which shine brighter than others, and some of which I'm certain I didn't fully understand the references because of my limited knowledge of Emily Dickinson. It's fun, funny, and clever. It's also pretty short and could be read in a single sitting. It left me wanting more. Rating: 4 out of 5 Length: 96 pages Publication date: March 7, 2017 Source: publisher Convinced? Treat yourself! Buy The Slanted Life of Emily Dickinson  from Amazon ( Kindle edition .) As an affiliate, I receive a small commission when you make a purchase through any of the above links. Thank you for helping ...