Born a Crime–Stories from a South African Childhood: Trevor Noah

I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus when it comes to posting on this blog, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading. Rather, I’ve noticed an interesting shift in my reading habits in the past few weeks. I’ve had a lifelong love for fiction, particularly literary fiction, and I found myself gravitating more

BookCon Freebies!

This past June I had the chance to go to BookCon, an annual convention for writers, publishers, and book lovers all over the country. Now that I live in New York it feels there are events like this everywhere, and while ComicCon skews a little too nerdy for me, BookCon seemed right up my alley.

A Visit from the Goon Squad: Jennifer Egan

I was drawn in by the hype for this one. A Pulitzer Prize winning novel with the mass appeal of rock stars, drugs, warfare, and celebrity culture? How couldn’t I like this one? Multiple friends recommended it as well, and I found this copy for less than four dollars. There was no reason not to

The Buddha of Suburbia: Hanif Kureishi

A few weeks ago I joined a book discussion group on Discord, in hopes of hearing from fellow readers about books I normally wouldn’t have picked up. The first suggestion was Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, which I had already read some years ago. The second was this, The Buddha of Suburbia, the debut novel

You Are A Badass: Jen Sincero

I’m new to reviewing nonfiction, partially because I’m fairly new at reading it. Self-help books especially aren’t my forte, as I usually turn to blog posts and Dear Abby columns when I’m in need of advice. But I read this book, cover to cover, since it had been recommended and I received a copy for

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Jonathan Safran Foer

This one was another recommendation from my fiance, who read this book for a high school English class and remembers it fondly to this day. Yes, I realize there’s a movie as well. No, I haven’t seen it. I’ve heard it’s treacly bloated award bait, though it does have Tom Hanks, which is always a

The Trumpet of the Swan: E.B. White (Childhood Favorites)

Like a lot of people, I read voraciously in childhood. My mom likes to say that I would read any cereal box in front of me, any newspaper ad. Still, there were some standout books from my early years that I cherish to this day. I thought I’d devote a handful of reviews to some

The Vegetarian: Han Kang

I’m usually good about saving money, but I do have a weakness: books. I try to buy used or sale books whenever possible, but every now and then I find myself unable to resist an attractive cover and intriguing premise. I passed by The Vegetarian for months and finally succumbed.  I have little experience with

One Hundred Years of Solitude: Gabriel García Márquez

This will not be an easy book to discuss. I considered waiting a few days to write this review, since I finished the book just yesterday afternoon. However, doing so would risk me losing the odd swirling feeling I’ve experienced for the last day and a half. I ask you all this: have you ever

The Year of Magical Thinking: Joan Didion

There is a folk singer named Phil Elverum, also known as Mount Eerie, who released an album last year entitled A Crow Looked at Me. The album was a raw, aching exploration of his own feelings after the death of his wife. I never listened to the whole album. In fact, I could barely get