Mimi

A book of manga for the 2019 Read Harder Challenge.

Tomlinson writes so well about how hard it is to live in this world as a morbidly obese individual. Hard to read in places, but also hard to put down.

A cozy mystery for the 2019 Book Riot Read Harder challenge. I chose it because it takes place in the Texas Hill Country, which I have visited a few times. It's from 1994, so the plot sometimes hinges on outdated considerations like having to get to a telephone to report a body. Otherwise, it still feels surprisingly contemporary.

A re-read, just because it's a favorite.

Why haven't I read anything by Denis Johnson before? This book is fantastic. And now that I see the audio version is narrated by Nick Offerman, Michael Shannon, Dermot Mulroney and Will Patton, I may have to listen to it as well.

Some parts were challenging–science!–but overall this is a fascinating and readable book.

Reread this for the Book Riot Challenge category of “a book with a cover you hate.” In this case, the publisher seems to argue that the cover was made intentionally vulgar to make a point (https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/07/elena-ferrante-covers-bad-no-good/488732/). Maybe, but still, I hate it. I also noticed that the blurb on the cover refers to the book as being “amiably peopled.” “Amiable” is about the last thing any of these characters are.

Still one of my favorite books ever, and 2018 challenge complete.

Intelligent and satisfying. Looking forward to reading Winter.

Well, I saw this on the shelf at the library and thought I'd give it a try. Mostly fluff written by a wealthy actress, but some of the recipes and the southern pronunciation key did remind me of spending time with my southern relatives. And it has a recipe for a sorghum syrup old-fashioned which seems worth trying.

I kept thinking that this is exactly what it would be like if you were a surviving office worker in Manhattan while the rest of the world's population was being wiped out by a deadly fungus. Among other believable details, there would definitely be a Bob the IT Guy taking charge and displaying his latent survivalist tendencies.

Five stars for throwing shade where shade is well-deserved. And an apropos follow-up to [b:Becoming 38746485 Becoming Michelle Obama https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1528206996s/38746485.jpg 60334006].

Sharp little novel, bitter and funny. Think I will give it to my sister for Christmas.

For the Read Harder Challenge “a genre book in translation.” Genre: fantasy. Original language: Polish. Done and done.

I would like to give this book 11 stars, but will settle for 5.

I have a queue of new, unread books waiting for me, but for some reason picked up an old copy of Gone with the Wind and got sucked in. Despite its weaknesses, this is how you tell a story.

Scary little book.

Twenty-three in the series, and a good one. On trend with the birdwatching.

Always good to be inspired by Anne Lamott. My favorite quote from the book, out of many: “Even my Buddhist friends have been feeling despair, and when they go bad, you know the end is nigh.”

~4, maybe closer to 5, stars for being a pleasure to read. This book was written in 1958, but feels like it could be a Parker Posey movie today. Includes parties, martinis, avocados, some dark turns, and best of all, unexpected yet positive librarian portrayal.

Not as exceptional as I wanted it to be, but it still sucked me in. Murakami remains one of my favorites.

For the Read Harder “A book of colonial or postcolonial literature” category. So much packed into a small novel–symbolism, hate, history. The introduction by Edwidge Danticat is terrific and helpful.

Not quite laugh-out-loud funny, but witty. Discovered this book after spending a full day (I have a cold) listening to the podcast Backlisted. It (the podcast) was recommended to me by my British friend, Matt, and I recommend it to you.

Not sure what makes this “Nordic,” but enjoyed the emphasis on moderation and the fact that it wasn't too wordy.

I was only going to start this book today, but ended up reading it all. Admirable actress, admirable person.

For the 2018 Read Harder Challenge: a comic written and drawn by the same person. A clever story told well.