Children of the Land

When I originally heard about this novel, for some reason, I thought it was fiction. I actually thought that all the way through when my hold on it at the library came through and I checked it out and brought it home. I seriously don’t know what I thought it was about or why I…

Real Life

This book was first on my radar long before it’s publication date by a couple reviewers on bookstagram whose opinions I highly value (@allisonreadsdc and @parisperusing) who both commented things along the lines of it being one of the most anticipated reads of the year and, then, absolutely destined to be one of their favorites.…

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.

Irby’s collections have been on my radar since I started getting more into short story/essay collections. Everything I’d read about them was unanimous in commentary on how funny she was and honestly, if there was ever a year/time that needed more comedic relief, it’s this one. So, as you all know by now is normal…

Pet

I read Emezi’s debut novel, Freshwater, last year and was completely enthralled. It was unique and fascinating and like nothing I had ever read before. So I was pretty sure this was a novel I was going to read eventually no matter what the circumstances, but it moved up my TBR pretty quickly after it…

When the Moon Was Ours

I’ve wanted to read something by Anna-Marie McLemore for awhile now. I love magical realism and all her stories sound so wonderful. Over the years, the book I wanted to start with changed, but the wanting itself never did. And this Hispanic Heritage Month seemed like the perfect time to finally pick one up. Why…

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

I grabbed this one at a used book sale a few months ago, after seeing tons of positive reviews for it. It’s been sitting on my shelf since then. Last week, I went ahead and posted on #bookstagram a stack of books that I am hoping to get to this summer, with a call for…

Heads of the Colored People

I’d heard a lot about this collection, both on bookstagram and listed in numerous online pop culture “top books” lists. The praise was wide and deep and, though I am not always one for shorts stories, convinced me fairly quickly that this was a collection I needed to experience. Heads of the Colored People by…

The Girl Who Smiled Beads

I was intrigued by the title of this book before I even knew what it was about. I wanted to know who the girl who smiled beads was and what it even meant to smile beads. After reading the description, I realized it was completely different than what I was expecting (though I am not…

The Map of Salt and Stars

Joining in for my third @words.between.worlds monthly book (this being their December choice). After three amazing reads (Speak No Evil and Fruit of the Drunken Tree being the last two), it’s pretty safe for me to say that, even if I can’t join on the correct month, I’ll be adding all their choices to my…

Heart Berries

This is one of those books that I had on my radar as a book to help me get more diversity of perspective in my reading, but it wasn’t necessarily at the top of the list. Probably because it’s nonfiction…and I’ve just always preferred fiction. But then I was at my local bookstore a few…