en-US Mon, 25 Nov 2024 22:54:10 -0800 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 195954250 DEE KWAN’S SECRETS FOR A HAPPY LIFE:

* Always remain positive, no matter the cost

* Realize that every setback is a hidden opportunity

* Never, ever question whether any of these mantras actually work


For Dee Kwan, every day is the perfect day. No, really. She has a house she loves, a job she adores, and a ridiculously attractive “nemesis�� who never seems to mind when she wins their favorite online game. How can life possibly get better? (It can’t, obviously. It can only get much, much worse.)

Soon Dee is forced to share her adorably cozy home with her parents and prickly estranged grandmother. Then she's tossed into the deep end, tasked with cleaning up a scandal for intimidatingly chic luxury fashion firm Celeste. If that weren’t enough, she discovers her hot-nemesis works there, too…and Teddy is nothing like the man she thought she knew.

Before she can cry foul, Teddy comes clean about his double life: he’s the heir to the CEO and he needs her help to make Celeste a better place—for everyone. But that means taking down the old guard—including his father—intent on standing in their way. Now in the center of a dizzying corporate coup, Dee is forced to decide whether she’s ready to stop watching the world through rose-colored glasses and instead face the truth: about herself, about her feelings for Teddy, and about what she’s willing to do to truly make a difference.]]> Lily Chu Lisa 0 3.61 2023
author: Lily Chu
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: could-not-finish, fiction, romantic
review:

]]> 44323385
Get the whole picture with this honest, humorous, and empowering survival guide to the tween years. It’s packed with straighforward illustrations, easy-to-understand scientific information, interesting studies, and tips from experts, covering everything from breast development and gender identity to acne and mental health.]]> 192 Gina Loveless 1635653533 Lisa 4 4.33
author: Gina Loveless
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/21
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves: childrens-nonfiction, adviceandhelp, funny, nonfiction, visual
review:
Comprehensive, inclusive, useful. I’ll update my review after reading it with my 8yo! (Who is not close to puberty yet, but likes information. And being prepared.)
]]> 74882249
Anna Moss is pop music’s rising star. She’s idolized Eden Sands for most of her life—so it’s a dream come true when she’s invited to perform with her at the Grammys. Anna’s tired of being defined by her bubbly persona. She wants to be taken seriously as an artist, and a duet with Eden could be just what she needs.

As Anna and Eden rehearse, they soon realize they have more in common than their musical talents. Now they just have to decide if what is between them is a one-hit wonder or the making of a romance worthy of one of the greatest love songs of all time.]]> 313 Rachel Lacey 166250912X Lisa 3 fiction, queer, romantic 4.01 2023
author: Rachel Lacey
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/18
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:
I really enjoyed this story, up until the last few chapters which felt rushed and perplexing on multiple counts. The writing was serviceable but not the greatest; the song lyrics were uninspiring and there were a lot of clunky phrasings.
]]> 37830514 307 Julian Winters 1945053623 Lisa 0 could-not-finish 3.66 2018
author: Julian Winters
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: could-not-finish
review:

]]> 58320935 166 Trish Hutchison MD FAAP 1610025695 Lisa 0 to-read, childrens-nonfiction 4.61
author: Trish Hutchison MD FAAP
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.61
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: to-read, childrens-nonfiction
review:

]]> 65214594
A one-way ticket to love or a bumpy ride ahead?

Flying-phobic ER nurse Olive Murphy is still gripping the armrest from her first-ever take-off when the pilot announces an in-flight medical emergency. Olive leaps into action and saves a life, but ends up getting stuck in the airport hours away from the marathon she's running in honor of her brother. Luckily for her, Stella Soriano, the stunning type A copilot, offers to give her a ride.

After the two spend a magical day together, Stella makes a surprising Will Olive be her fake girlfriend?

A video of Olive saving a life has gone viral and started generating big sales for Stella's airline. Stella sees their union as the perfect opportunity to get to the boys' club executives at her company who keep overlooking her for a long-deserved promotion. Realizing this arrangement could help her too, Olive dives into memorizing Stella’s comically comprehensive three-ring-binder guide to fake dating. As the two grow closer, what’s supposed to be a ruse feels more and more real. Could this be the romantic ride of their lives, or an epic crash and burn?]]> 384 Andie Burke 1250886376 Lisa 0 3.94 2023
author: Andie Burke
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: could-not-finish, fiction, queer, romantic
review:

]]> 41150487
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?]]> 448 Casey McQuiston 1250316774 Lisa 4 fiction, queer, romantic 4.06 2019
author: Casey McQuiston
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/15
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:
This definitely won’t be what everyone would want to read at this particular historical moment, but it worked for me.
]]> 13521501 301 Grace Lin 0316215538 Lisa 4 4.17 2012
author: Grace Lin
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves: childrensandyoungadultfiction, fantasy
review:

]]> 65214313 A sapphic rivals to lovers rom com for fans of Ted Lasso and A League of Their Own, where two soccer teammates are at odds before falling in love as their team gears up for the World Cup.

Grace Henderson has been a star of the US Women’s National Team for ten years, even though she’s only 26. But when she’s sidelined with an injury, a bold new upstart, Phoebe Matthews, takes her spot. Phoebe is everything Grace isn’t—a gregarious jokester who plays with a joy that Grace lost somewhere along the way. The last thing Grace expects is to become friends with benefits with this class clown she sees as her rival.

Phoebe Matthews has always admired Grace’s skill and was star struck to be training alongside her idol. But she quickly finds herself looking at Grace as more than a mere teammate. After one daring kiss, she’s hooked. Grace is everything she has been waiting to find.

As the World Cup approaches, and Grace works her way back from injury, the women decide to find a way they can play together instead of vying for the same position. Except, when they are off the field, Grace is worried she’s catching feelings while Phoebe thinks they are dating. As the tension between them grows, will both players realize they care more about their relationship than making the roster?]]> 328 Meryl Wilsner 1250873304 Lisa 4 3.72 2023
author: Meryl Wilsner
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: fiction, funny, queer, romantic
review:

]]> 65646568
When his sister’s betrothed vanishes the night before her politically arranged marriage, Raff Barden must track and return the elusive groom to restore his family’s honour. William de Foucart �� known to his friends as Penn �� had no choice but to abandon his fiancé, and with it his own earldom, when he fled the night before his enforced marriage. But ill-equipped to survive on the run he must trust the kindness of a stranger, Raff, to help him escape. Unaware their fates are already entwined, their unexpected bond deepens into a far more precious relationship, one that will test all that they hold dear. And when secrets are finally revealed, both men must decide what they will risk for the one they love…]]> 352 Emma Denny 0008620075 Lisa 3 fiction, queer, romantic 3.74 2023
author: Emma Denny
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:

]]> 35335039 In her childhood home, she meets small-town nurse Holly Drummond, who isn’t impressed by Leo’s fame at all. That isn’t the only thing that makes Holly different from other women. She’s also asexual. For her, dating is a minefield of expectations that she has decided to avoid.
Can the tentative friendship between a burned-out pop star and a woman not interested in sex develop into something more despite their diverse expectations?
A lesbian romance about seeking the perfect rhythm between two very different people—and finding happiness where they least expect it.

Word Count: 107,000 words]]> 322 Jae 3955338649 Lisa 3 fiction, queer, romantic 4.18 2017
author: Jae
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:

]]> 31546428 Dr. Hope Finlay loves her job as an emergency room physician, especially since it allows her only brief encounters with her patients. She learned early in life not to get attached to anyone because it never lasts.
Laleh Samadi, a waitress at her aunt’s restaurant, is the exact opposite. She easily connects with people and loves her big, boisterous Persian family, despite their tendency to meddle in her life.
When Laleh needs to be rushed to the ER with heart trouble, Hope saves her life. Afterwards, strange things begin to occur: Why does Laleh suddenly know even the most obscure diseases, while Hope is fluent in Farsi?
Soon, they can no longer deny that there’s a mysterious connection between them—one that becomes stronger with each passing day.
Are they losing their minds…or their hearts?

Length: 109,000 words
Themes: empathic connection · ER doctor · Iranian-American · lesbian · medical romance · Persian-American · waitress]]> 312 Jae 3955337324 Lisa 4 Unexpectedly really charming. 4.23 2016
author: Jae
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/10
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves: fantasy, fiction, queer, romantic
review:
Unexpectedly really charming.
]]> 61358639 How to Do Nothing, Jenny Odell wrote about the importance of disconnecting from the “attention economy�� to spend time in quiet contemplation. But what if you don’t have time to spend?

In order to answer this seemingly simple question, Odell took a deep dive into the fundamental structure of our society and found that the clock we live by was built for profit, not people. This is why our lives, even in leisure, have come to seem like a series of moments to be bought, sold, and processed ever more efficiently. Odell shows us how our painful relationship to time is inextricably connected not only to persisting social inequities but to the climate crisis, existential dread, and a lethal fatalism.

This dazzling, subversive, and deeply hopeful book offers us different ways to experience time—inspired by pre-industrial cultures, ecological cues, and geological timescales—that can bring within reach a more humane, responsive way of living. As planet-bound animals, we live inside shortening and lengthening days alongside gardens growing, birds migrating, and cliffs eroding; the stretchy quality of waiting and desire; the way the present may suddenly feel marbled with childhood memory; the slow but sure procession of a pregnancy; the time it takes to heal from injuries. Odell urges us to become stewards of these different rhythms of life in which time is not reducible to standardized units and instead forms the very medium of possibility.

Saving Time tugs at the seams of reality as we know it—the way we experience time itself—and rearranges it, imagining a world not centered on work, the office clock, or the profit motive. If we can “save�� time by imagining a life, identity, and source of meaning outside these things, time might also save us.]]> 400 Jenny Odell 059324270X Lisa 0 to-read 3.60 2023
author: Jenny Odell
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 54670332 Flirting has never been Denny’s strong suit, but so what if she’s too shy to ask women out? She’s content with her simple life, working as a cashier and helping her sister raise her niece.
But then she gets a wrong-number text message from a stranger named Eliza, asking her of all people for dating advice!
Eliza is Denny’s total opposite: witty, outgoing—and straight. Despite their differences, the accidental text sparks an unlikely friendship. Soon, Eliza—self-proclaimed queen of disastrous first dates—would rather banter back and forth with Denny than to keep trying her luck at online dating.
When they meet in person, there’s an instant connection. But what Eliza is feeling can’t be attraction, right? It doesn’t mean a thing that she’s starting to wish the guys she dates would be more like Denny. Or does it?
Can the wrong number lead to the right woman after all?
Wrong Number, Right Woman is a light-hearted, slow-burn lesbian romance that embraces likable characters without all the drama.

Length: 116,000 words
Tropes & themes: slow-burn romance, low angst, relatable characters, butch/femme, age gap, “toaster oven�� romance, craft romance, Portland romance, shy character]]> 370 Jae 3963244038 Lisa 3 fiction, queer, romantic Very cute. 4.09 2020
author: Jae
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/26
date added: 2024/10/27
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:
Very cute.
]]> 27503310
Meanwhile, Crash is trained to fall, but she didn’t count on falling in love. Despite their growing feelings for each other, Jill resolves to let Crash into her bed, but not her heart. As they start to play with fire on and off camera, will they really be able to keep things just physical?]]> 288 Jae 3955335364 Lisa 4 fiction, queer, romantic 4.20 2015
author: Jae
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/23
date added: 2024/10/23
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:
I really enjoyed this book, AND I deeply, deeply appreciate the reviews calling it ableist. The characters live in an ableist environment and have internalized those views (just as they’ve also internalized that it’s best to be as thin as possible, because they work in Hollywood). I felt that their story was beautifully and believably told, but yes, that’s within a foundation of ableism that is never really questioned on the page. Your capacity for tolerance for these views will inform your ability to enjoy the book!
]]> 24712341
Desperate for a publicist who’ll convince America that she’s straight, Grace hires Lauren Pearce, one of Hollywood’s leading PR agents, not knowing that she’s a lesbian.

Lauren has dealt with PR nightmares for years, so doing damage control for one more rich, spoiled client shouldn’t be a problem—or so she thinks. But the more time she spends with Grace, the more she realizes how different she is from her television persona.

Getting involved with her client is not in her game plan, especially since it would confirm the rumors and ruin Grace’s career, but the attraction between them is growing as they run the gauntlet of the paparazzi together.]]> 347 Jae 3955333701 Lisa 4 4.25 2015
author: Jae
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/10/21
shelves: fiction, picture-books, queer, romantic
review:

]]> 22493231
Amanda has never been attracted to a butch woman before, and Michelle personifies the term butch. Having just landed a role on a hot new TV show, she’s determined to focus on her career and doesn’t need any complications in her life.

After a turbulent breakup with her starlet ex, Michelle swore she would never get involved with an actress again. Another high-maintenance woman is the last thing she wants, and her first encounter with Amanda certainly makes her appear the type.
But after a date that is not a date and some meddling from Amanda’s grandmother, they both begin to wonder if it’s not time for a departure from their usual dating scripts.

Words: 54,620]]> 240 Jae 3955331970 Lisa 4 fiction, queer, romantic Sweet and sexy. 4.00 2014
author: Jae
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/21
date added: 2024/10/21
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:
Sweet and sexy.
]]> 61434762
Winter Sullivan isn’t looking for love. She’s an aloof workaholic who’s built walls of ice around herself. She would rather drive toothpicks under her fingernails than cuddle, and she certainly doesn’t want to share her space with anyone.

When Winter’s estranged father dies, he leaves her one last surprise: she and Hannah, a perfect stranger, will inherit a building together. But there’s a catch: first, they have to live together for ninety-two days.

Winter is determined to dislike her rival, but soon finds Hannah isn’t what she expected at all. Thanks to a hilarious doormat war, a cuddle dare from Winter’s half sister, and a kiss in the most unusual of places, the frosty fortress around her heart begins to melt.

Will she be able to accept that love might be just a touch away?

120,000 words
Tags: enemies to lovers romance, forced proximity romance, ice queen romance, opposites attract romance, roommate romance]]> 434 Jae 3963247126 Lisa 4 fiction, queer, romantic 4.30 2022
author: Jae
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/20
date added: 2024/10/20
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:
Wow, I loved this book. I didn’t know anything about the author but I’d gotten an excerpt from this book in a free collection, and after reading that and the Kindle sample I was ready for the rest. I’m a total sucker for characters with fascinating jobs (professional cuddler!), when those jobs are described in a way that feels really lived-in. I also adore characters whose way of being shows me something I hadn’t thought about in my own life (Hannah has aphantasia, as does the author, Jae). There was so much thoughtfulness and care in this book.
]]> 203956637 May should be thrilled. But some of her teammates, including her supposed-to-be-friend Ralph, aren’t too pleased with the attention she’s getting—and they’re even questioning her skills. Backed into a corner, but not one to back down, May makes a move as bold as any of her chess tactics: She bets Ralph she can win the school’s internal tournament and be chosen as team captain for nationals.
The crown is May’s for the taking . . . except she’s starting to crumble under the weight of everyone’s expectations. Anxious feelings begin to affect her performance and, what’s worse, eat away at her love for the game. Now May is left to wonder: Can you still play for fun when you’re playing to win?]]> 240 Kyla Zhao 0593615867 Lisa 0 currently-reading 4.08 2024
author: Kyla Zhao
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 176443480
After 30 years as a manga editor, Kazuo Shiozawa suddenly quits. Although he feels early retirement is the only way to atone for his failures as an editor, the manga world isn’t done with him.

On his last day as an editor, Shiozawa takes a train he’s ridden hundreds of times before to impart some last advice to a manga creator whose work he used to edit. Some time after, he is drawn to return to a bookshop at the request of a junior editor who wants Shiozawa’s help dealing with an incorrigible manga creator who refuses to work with any editor but him. For this manga editor, Tokyo these days is full of memory and is cocooned in the inescapable bonds between manga creators, their editors, art, and life itself.]]> 216 Taiyo Matsumoto 1974738809 Lisa 0 to-read 3.95 2021
author: Taiyo Matsumoto
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 219520745
However, nothing is turning out how Beatrice imagined it would. Sir Huxley, famed gentleman inspector and Beatrice's former crush, is still considered the real investigator in London, so the only cases left for Beatrice and Drake are lost pets and spectacles. Not that Beatrice has much time for crime-solving, anyways, as her mother still expects her to find an eligible (rich) husband to protect their family from destitution. Beatrice is struggling to balance all the demands on her and begins to wonder if she can become a true detective in a city that feels full of false promises.

That is until a string of murders thrusts Beatrice and Drake into the center of a scandal that pits the neighborhood's wealthiest against the arts community, spreading fear and chaos throughout the city. As they follow the trail through bewildering ballrooms, secretive shops, and odd operas, Beatrice must survive threats to her partnership, her business, and her place in society to break the case - before it's too late.]]> 320 Julia Seales 0593450019 Lisa 0 to-read 4.37 2025
author: Julia Seales
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62794526 When a wealthy bachelor drops dead at a ball, a young lady takes on the decidedly improper role of detective in this action-packed debut comedy of manners and murder.

Feisty, passionate Beatrice Steele has never fit the definition of a true lady, according to the strict code of conduct that reigns in Swampshire, her small English township--she is terrible at needlework, has absolutely no musical ability, and her artwork is so bad it frightens people. Nevertheless, she lives a perfectly agreeable life with her marriage-scheming mother, prankster father, and two younger sisters-- beautiful Louisa and forgettable Mary. But she harbors a dark secret: She is obsessed with the true crime cases she reads about in the newspaper. If anyone in her etiquette-obsessed community found out, she'd be deemed a morbid creep and banished from respectable society forever.

For her family's sake, she's vowed to put her obsession behind her. Because eligible bachelor Edmund Croaksworth is set to attend the approaching autumnal ball, and the Steele family hopes that Louisa will steal his heart. If not, Martin Grub, their disgusting cousin, will inherit the family's estate, and they will be ruined or, even worse, forced to move to France. So Beatrice must be on her best behavior . . . which is made difficult when a disgraced yet alluring detective inexplicably shows up to the ball.

Beatrice is just holding things together when Croaksworth drops dead in the middle of a minuet. As a storm rages outside, the evening descends into a frenzy of panic, fear, and betrayal as it becomes clear they are trapped with a killer. Contending with competitive card games, tricky tonics, and Swampshire's infamous squelch holes, Beatrice must rise above decorum and decency to pursue justice and her own desires--before anyone else is murdered.]]> 352 Julia Seales 0593449983 Lisa 3 fiction 3.67 2023
author: Julia Seales
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/13
date added: 2024/10/13
shelves: fiction
review:
Veering between funny and over-the-top silly, but I enjoyed it, especially once the action got going (I listened to this on audiobook, which made the slow beginning especially slow).
]]> 59656358 Follows the adventures of an entirely unconventional heroine who throws herself into the London Season to find a wealthy husband. But the last thing she expects is to find love...

Kitty Talbot needs a fortune. Or rather, she needs a husband who has a fortune. Left with her father’s massive debts, she has only twelve weeks to save her family from ruin.

Kitty has never been one to back down from a challenge, so she leaves home and heads toward the most dangerous battleground in all of England: the London season.

Kitty may be neither accomplished nor especially genteel—but she is utterly single-minded; imbued with cunning and ingenuity, she knows that risk is just part of the game.

The only thing she doesn’t anticipate is Lord Radcliffe. The worldly Radcliffe sees Kitty for the mercenary fortune-hunter that she really is and is determined to scotch her plans at all costs, until their parrying takes a completely different turn...

This is a frothy pleasure, full of brilliant repartee and enticing wit—one that readers will find an irresistible delight.

]]> 325 Sophie Irwin 0593491343 Lisa 4 fiction, funny, romantic 3.91 2022
author: Sophie Irwin
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/10/09
shelves: fiction, funny, romantic
review:

]]> 63018956 Internationally bestselling author Sophie Irwin brings us another fresh, witty take on a romantic escape led by a deeply lovable heroine determined to start living on her own terms

When shy Miss Eliza Balfour married the austere Earl of Somerset, twenty years her senior, it was the match of the season--no matter that he was not the husband Eliza would have chosen.

But ten years later, Eliza is widowed. And at eight and twenty years, she is suddenly left titled, rich, and, for the first time in her life, utterly in control of her own future. Instead of living out her mourning quietly, Eliza heads to Bath with her cousin Margaret. After years of living according to everyone else's rules, Eliza has resolved, at last, to do as she wants.

But when the ripples of the dowager Lady Somerset's behavior reach the new Lord Somerset--whom Eliza knew, once, as a younger woman--Eliza is forced to confront the fact that freedom does not come without consequences, though it also brings unexpected opportunities . . .]]> 359 Sophie Irwin 0593492005 Lisa 5 fiction, funny, romantic
"Girl who has been cowed by her family all her life decides to take up with publicly outrageous man who turns out to be deeply supportive and a joy to be with" is one of my very favorite tropes, as evidenced by my enduring affection for LM Montgomery's The Blue Castle. I love that Eliza is a painter and can talk art with Melville. Melville is an absolute delight, as are Margaret and Caroline. I laughed so much while reading this. ]]> 3.77 2023
author: Sophie Irwin
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/08
date added: 2024/10/08
shelves: fiction, funny, romantic
review:
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH

"Girl who has been cowed by her family all her life decides to take up with publicly outrageous man who turns out to be deeply supportive and a joy to be with" is one of my very favorite tropes, as evidenced by my enduring affection for LM Montgomery's The Blue Castle. I love that Eliza is a painter and can talk art with Melville. Melville is an absolute delight, as are Margaret and Caroline. I laughed so much while reading this.
]]> 173404080 Love & Other Disasters, named a "must-read" by USA Today, PopSugar, SheReads, and Harper Bazaar.��

When smart-mouthed Vanessa Lerner joins the high school basketball team Julie Parker coaches, Julie’s ready for the challenge. What she’s not ready for is Vanessa’s new foster parent, Elle Cochrane—former University of Tennessee basketball star. While star-struck at first, soon Julie persuades Elle to step into the unfilled position of assistant coach for the year.
��
Even though Elle has stayed out of the basketball world since an injury ended her short-lived WNBA career, the gig might be a way to become closer to Vanessa—and to spend more time with Julie, who makes Elle laugh. As the coaches grow closer, Elle has a hard time understanding how Julie is single. When Julie reveals her lifelong insecurity about dating and how she wishes it was more like sports—being able to practice first—it sparks an intriguing idea. While Elle still doubts her abilities as a basketball coach, helping Julie figure out dating is definitely something she can do. But as the basketball season progresses, and lines grow increasingly blurred, Julie and Elle must decide to join the game—or retreat to the sidelines.]]> 384 Anita Kelly 1538754916 Lisa 5 4.10 2024
author: Anita Kelly
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/05
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves: fiction, funny, queer, romantic
review:
I laughed a lot, I cried a bunch, I loved everybody in this book and it kept me very good company while I was on planes all day. And �� not related to the book itself, but definitely related to feelings of happiness, which the book also gives me �� the last line of Anita Kelly’s bio is about how they hope I get to pet a dog today, and I DID, which I think the characters in this book would appreciate a lot (as I did)!
]]> 61399138 From the author of��Love & Other Disasters comes a sparkling grumpy-meets-sunshine��romance featuring two men's sweeping journey across the Western wilderness.

Alexei Lebedev’s journey on the Pacific Crest Trail begins with a single snake. And it is angling for the hot stranger who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Lex is prepared for rattlesnakes, blisters, and months of solitude. What he isn’t prepared for is Ben Caravalho. But somehow—on a 2,500-mile trail—Alexei keeps running into the outgoing and charismatic hiker with golden-brown eyes, again and again. It might be coincidence. Then again, maybe there’s a reason the trail keeps bringing them together . . .

Ben has made his fair share of bad decisions, and almost all of them involved beautiful men. And yet there’s something about the gorgeous and quietly nerdy Alexei that Ben can’t just walk away from. Surely a bad decision can’t be this cute and smart. And there are worse things than falling in love during the biggest adventure of your life. But when their plans for the future are turned upside down, Ben and Alexei begin to wonder if it’s possible to hold on to something this wild and wonderful.]]> 384 Anita Kelly 1538754886 Lisa 4 fiction, queer, romantic 4.24 2023
author: Anita Kelly
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:
I don’t remember when I read this, but my partner mentioned the Appalachian Trail to me today and I suddenly remembered, with great fondness, the vividness of physical and emotional detail in this book, and went looking for the title.
]]> 40798099 This soccer star is determined to win�� his woman’s heart.

For millionaire footballer Nikolas Christou, one look is all it takes. The minute he sees Aria Granger, he’s a goner. Playboy Nik knows lust—intimately—but his need for Aria goes far beyond that. Of course, the plus-sized beauty isn’t interested in romance�� but Nik isn’t interested in giving up.

Aria Granger has sworn off relationships for her own good. After all, her ex nearly murdered her best friend, so clearly��her taste is questionable.��When charming, gorgeous Nik bounds into her life, Aria can't decide if he's as innocent as he seems... or if her bullsh*t-ometer is broken.

The super-sweet sports star��claims��he needs a fake girlfriend to protect him from 'misunderstandings'. And Aria, with her tattoos, piercings and dangerous scowl, fits the bill. But there's no way a guy as handsome as Nik can be��that��bad at handling relationships. Can he?]]> 202 Talia Hibbert Lisa 2 fiction, queer, romantic 3.73 2018
author: Talia Hibbert
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:
Not my favorite Talia Hibbert book. I listened to it on audiobook and really enjoyed the narration, but otherwise found it slow going. I echo the other reviewer who said this book is basically smut + recovery from a highly specific trauma �� and though I liked the characters well enough, I wasn’t deeply enough invested in anybody to be that excited about the smut, either (demisexual tendencies extending to fiction too!). I did finish it because, as I said, I liked the narration. But I’m SO glad this isn’t the first time I tried one of Hibbert’s books!
]]> 198283633
Born in Taiwan, Grace Loh Prasad was two years old when the threat of political persecution under Chiang Kai-shek’s dictatorship drove her family to the United States, setting her up to become an “accidental immigrant.�� The family did not know when they would be able to go home again; this exile lasted long enough for Prasad to forget her native Taiwanese language and grow up American. Having multilingual parents—including a father who worked as a translator—meant she never had to develop the fluency to navigate Taiwan on visits. But when her parents moved back to Taiwan permanently when she was in college and her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she recognized the urgency of forging a stronger connection with her birthplace before it was too late. As she recounts her journey to reclaim her heritage in The Translator’s Daughter, Prasad unfurls themes of memory, dislocation, and loss in all their rich complexity. The result is a unique immigration story about the loneliness of living in a diaspora, the search for belonging, and the meaning of home.]]> 268 Grace Loh Prasad 0814258972 Lisa 0 4.48 2024
author: Grace Loh Prasad
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: currently-reading, asian-american, autobiographiesandmemoirs, nonfiction
review:

]]> 51824384
Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry—and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right.

Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore—and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.]]> 400 Talia Hibbert 0062941283 Lisa 4 fiction, romantic 4.07 2021
author: Talia Hibbert
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: fiction, romantic
review:
I listened to this as an audiobook. I so enjoyed this pair!
]]> 49976087 Talia Hibbert returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him “rescuing�� her from their office building goes viral...

Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.

When brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and ex-rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Now half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?

Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf’s secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his... um, thighs.

Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint?]]> 400 Talia Hibbert 0062941259 Lisa 4 fiction, romantic, queer
(Also? Slight spoiler alert here, but "of course I read your [academic] papers" is DEFINITELY swoonworthy.)]]> 3.98 2020
author: Talia Hibbert
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/07
date added: 2024/09/07
shelves: fiction, romantic, queer
review:
I listened to this as an audiobook. I really enjoyed the relationship between Dani and Zaf. I suppose in some ways it's just a swap of some gender tropes -- he's the emotionally articulate romantic and she's the one who doesn't "do" romance and just wants to focus on work -- but I loved seeing that play out against their characters' backstories. I love bisexual representation. And I'm also beginning to wonder, the older I get, if the real draw of romantic cismale heroes like Zaf isn't their hotness but the fact that they HAVE SUPPORT NETWORKS and TALK to them when they're in crisis. Imagine!!!

(Also? Slight spoiler alert here, but "of course I read your [academic] papers" is DEFINITELY swoonworthy.)
]]> 112974861
Long inspired by mature adults daring to express their creativity and individuality through their style choices, New York Times bestselling novelist Connie Briscoe shines a light on these often overlooked and underappreciated sharply attired individuals. Accompanied by the marvelously talented Milton Washington’s dazzling photographs, Briscoe’s vision comes alive in these pages. From intrepid to chic, and sophisticated to free-spirited�� Stepping Out captures the very essences of a vibrant cross section of Black elders, showcasing their stories, their styles, and how their love of fashion was born and bred. This book contextualizes the cultural, spiritual, and historical influences on decades of Black style and testifies to this dynamic legacy for generations to come.]]> 240 Connie Briscoe 0593236114 Lisa 4 nonfiction, visual Glorious! 4.29
author: Connie Briscoe
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.29
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves: nonfiction, visual
review:
Glorious!
]]> 43884209
�� Enjoy a drunken night out.
�� Ride a motorcycle.
�� Go camping.
�� Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.
�� Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.
�� And... do something bad.

But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.

Redford ‘Red�� Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.

But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…]]> 384 Talia Hibbert 0062941208 Lisa 4 fiction, romantic 3.79 2019
author: Talia Hibbert
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/28
date added: 2024/08/28
shelves: fiction, romantic
review:
Loved the audiobook narrated by the incredible Adjoa Andoh!
]]> 171833509
Even an earl needs his ride-or-dies, and Archibald Fielding-Burton, the Earl of Harcourt, counts himself lucky to have two. Archie (the jock), Simon (the nerd), and Effie (the goth) have been BFFs since their school days, and their annual trip holds a sacred spot in their calendars. This year, Archie is especially eager to get away—until an urgent letter arrives from an old family friend, begging him to help prevent a ruinous scandal. Archie’s childhood pal Olive Morgan must be rescued from an ill-fated elopement—and her sister Clementine must be rescued from rescuing Olive. Suddenly the trip has become earls-plus-girls.

This . . . complicates matters. The fully grown Clementine, while as frank and refreshing as Archie remembers, is also different to the wild, windswept girl he knew. This Clem is complex and surprising—and adamantly opposed to marriage. Which, for reasons Archie dare not examine too closely, he finds increasingly vexing.

Then Clem makes him an indecent and quite delightful proposal, asking him to show her the pleasures of the marriage bed before she settles into spinsterhood. And what kind of gentleman would he be to refuse a lady?]]> 320 Jenny Holiday 1496745078 Lisa 3 fiction, romantic 3.55 2024
author: Jenny Holiday
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/08/19
shelves: fiction, romantic
review:
I’m not averse to emotionally anachronistic historical fiction, but this one really took a while for me to get into. Once I felt like I understood the parallel universe it operates in, I enjoyed it very much.
]]> 112079858 A stunning non-fiction children’s book celebrating everything Palestinian!

From culture and food, to music and literature, We Are Palestinian is a celebration of Palestinian heritage. Brought to life by award-winning writer Reem Kassis, every spread is filled with wonderful anecdotes, fascinating facts, and memorable quotes. It is beautifully illustrated by Noha Eilouti, an emerging Palestinian-Canadian illustrator.

Discover ALL about the history of iconic Palestinian symbols like tatreez embroidery, or the inspiration behind Mahmoud Darwish's poetry. As you turn every page, you'll find yourself lost in the world of Dabke (the folk dance of Palestine) and amazed by its famous old cities; you'll try traditional food like knafeh, explore the different religions, and find out much more. Each spread of We Are Palestinian is accessible, richly inspiring, and visually stunning.

Young readers are going to love discovering more about Palestine. This is the perfect book for parents, educators, and caregivers wishing to explore new worlds of culture and custom with children!]]> 112 Reem Kassis 1623717256 Lisa 0 4.49
author: Reem Kassis
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.49
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/18
shelves: currently-reading, childrens-nonfiction, picture-books, nonfiction
review:

]]> 209563735 The newspapers called us the Seven Wonders. We were a group of friends, that’s all, and then Toby died. Was killed. Murdered.

1905. A decade after the grisly murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham, the case remains hauntingly unsolved. For Jeremy Kite, the crime not only stole his best friend, it destroyed his whole life. When an anonymous letter lands on his desk, accusing him of having killed Toby, Jem becomes obsessed with finally uncovering the truth.

Jem begins to track down the people who were there the night Toby died �� a close circle of friends once known as the ‘Seven Wonders�� for their charm and talent �� only to find them as tormented and broken as himself. All of them knew and loved Toby at Oxford. Could one of them really be his killer?

As Jem grows closer to uncovering what happened that night, his pursuer grows bolder, making increasingly terrifying attempts to silence him for good. Will exposing Toby's killer put to rest the shadows that have darkened Jem’s life for so long? Or will the gruesome truth only put him in more danger?

Some secrets are better left buried��

From the bestselling, acclaimed author of The Magpie Lord and The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen comes a chilling historical mystery with a sting in the tail. You won’t be able to put this gripping story down!]]> 273 K.J. Charles 1805082280 Lisa 4 fiction, mysteries, queer 4.33 2024
author: K.J. Charles
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/10
date added: 2024/08/13
shelves: fiction, mysteries, queer
review:
I read it twice in a row, and then I listened to the audiobook. (I wish the narration were more dynamic, but still, it was good to listen.) Very, very good.
]]> 50067134 How did the USA become a superpower?
Why do people go to war?
And why are some countries rich while others are so poor?

Find the answers to these questions and many more in this eye-opening book, which uses maps to explain how geography has shaped the history of our world. Discover how the choices of world leaders are swayed by mountains, rivers and seas - and why geography means that history is always repeating itself. This remarkable, unique introduction to world affairs will inspire curious minds everywhere.

A stunning abridged and illustrated edition of the international bestseller Prisoners of Geography, by acclaimed author Tim Marshall.

PRAISE FOR THE ORIGINAL EDITION OF PRISONERS OF GEOGRAPHY:

"Quite simply, one of the best books about geopolitics you could imagine: reading it is like having a light shone on your understanding... Marshall is clear-headed, lucid and possessed of an almost uncanny ability to make the broad picture accessible and coherent ... the book is, in a way which astonished me, given the complexities of the subject, unputdownable... I can't think of another book that explains the world situation so well" -- Nicholas Lezard, Evening Standard

"A fresh way of looking at maps... as guideposts to the often thorny relations between nations" -- New York Times ]]> 80 Tim Marshall 1783964138 Lisa 5 4.41 2019
author: Tim Marshall
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2024/08/11
shelves: childrens-nonfiction, nonfiction, visual
review:
Incredible. Beautifully illustrated �� and my 8yo and I learned SO MUCH. Also tons of space here for making connections with other things we’ve been talking about.
]]> 39013987 In 1930, we wore monocles.
In 1973, we wore leather.
In 1995, we wore flannel.

Queer people have been sending messages to each other through clothes and accessories for ages, and we’ve always had ways to find each other in a crowd. Queer Looks celebrates a selection of iconic aesthetics and symbols used by queer folks in the west from the last 150 years, through a gorgeous fashion illustration zine.

Queer Looks brings together seven amazing illustrators to create a survey of queer aesthetics and worn symbols from the 1800s to the near-present. The looks span from carnation codes in the 1890s, to the queer blues divas of the 1920s and 30s, and even to the denim and pins trends of the present day.]]> 16 Zora Gilbert 0997664312 Lisa 0 to-read 4.48 2018
author: Zora Gilbert
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59029632
Fresh off the exciting discovery that her sketches of a beautiful kingdom and band of rebel kids have come to life in another world, Kiki Kallira has an unexpected visitor. One of those rebel kids has come into the real world to ask for her help—again. The river Kaveri, a crucial source of water for Mysore, has suddenly vanished! With no water to grow food or for wildlife to drink, Kiki's kingdom is doomed.

Kiki enters her sketchbook once again, and her search for answers reveals the origin of the it's actually a princess from long ago who was transformed into water by a terrible curse. It's up to Kiki and her friends to restore the river without sacrificing the princess again—easier said than done! And with her mounting anxiety, enemies seeking to stop her, and a city growing weaker by the minute, Kiki's confidence falters. Will she be able to unravel the curse and save her kingdom before it's too late?]]> 336 Sangu Mandanna 0593207009 Lisa 4 4.29 2022
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/10
shelves: childrensandyoungadultfiction, fantasy
review:

]]> 208918808 Don't miss the second thrilling Regency romance in the Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune series by KJ Charles...

The Duke of Severn is one of the greatest men in Britain.

He's also short, quiet, and unimpressive. And now he's been robbed, after indulging in one rash night with a strange man who stole the heirloom Severn ring from his finger. The Duke has to get it back, and he can't let anyone know how he lost it. So when his cousin bets that he couldn't survive without his privilege and title, the Duke grasps the opportunity to hunt down his ring-incognito.

Life as an ordinary person is terrifying...until the anonymous Duke meets Daizell Charnage, a disgraced gentleman, and hires him to help. Racing across the country in search of the thief, the Duke and Daizell fall into scrapes, into trouble-and in love.

Daizell has been excluded from polite society, his name tainted by his father's crimes and his own misbehaviour. Now he dares to dream of a life somewhere out of sight with the quiet gentleman who's stolen his heart. He doesn't know that his lover is a hugely rich public figure with half a dozen titles. And when he finds out, it will risk everything they have...]]> 336 K.J. Charles 1398715794 Lisa 4 fiction, queer, romantic 4.19 2024
author: K.J. Charles
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/10
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:

]]> 199212560 Charlotte Holmes is accustomed to solving crimes, not being accused of them, but she finds herself in a dreadfully precarious position as the bestselling Lady Sherlock series continues.

Charlotte’s success on the RMS Provence has afforded her a certain measure of time and assurance. Taking advantage of that, she has been busy, plotting to prise the man her sister loves from Moriarty’s iron grip.

Disruption, however, comes from an unexpected quarter. Lord Bancroft Ashburton, disgraced and imprisoned as a result of Charlotte’s prior investigations, nevertheless manages to press Charlotte into service: Underwood, his most loyal henchman, is missing and Lord Bancroft wants Charlotte to find Underwood, dead or alive.

But then Lord Bancroft himself turns up dead and Charlotte, more than anyone else, meets the trifecta criteria of motive, means, and opportunity. Never mind rescuing anyone else, with the law breathing down her neck, can Charlotte save herself from prosecution for murder?]]> 335 Sherry Thomas 0593640438 Lisa 4 fiction, mysteries, romantic 4.05 2024
author: Sherry Thomas
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: fiction, mysteries, romantic
review:

]]> 45032 488 Jane Austen Lisa 3 classics, fiction 3.86 1814
author: Jane Austen
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 3
read at: 2009/09/29
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: classics, fiction
review:
I'm a little bit torn on this one. On the one hand, I think it's nicely written and has a great many fascinating physical details of life in the era. On the other hand, I've read too many "shy, over-modest heroine must defend against conflict without really doing anything" stories from the period to find such tales appealing. Granted, Fanny's shyness makes sense in the context Austen creates for her, and thankfully she is not constantly having to fend off attacks on her virtue. She does have all my sympathy. But I just can't get as deeply into this book as I did Pride & Prejudice or Emma.
]]> 43605178
Maizy has never been to Last Chance, Minnesota. . . until now. Her Mom’s plan is just to stay for a couple weeks, until her grandfather gets better. But plans change, and as Maizy spends more time in Last Chance (where she and her family are the only Asian-Americans) and at The Golden Palace—the restaurant that’s been in her family for generations—she makes some discoveries. For instance:
�� You can tell a LOT about someone by the way they order food.
�� And people can surprise you. Sometimes in good ways, sometimes in disappointing ways.
�� And the Golden Palace has Secrets.

But the more Maizy discovers, the more questions she has. Like, why are her mom and her grandmother always fighting? Who are the people in the photographs on the office wall? And when she discovers that a beloved family treasure has gone missing—and someone has left a racist note—Maizy decides it’s time find the answers.]]> 288 Lisa Yee 1984830252 Lisa 5 I loved this so much!!! 4.24 2022
author: Lisa Yee
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/30
date added: 2024/07/30
shelves: asian-american, childrensandyoungadultfiction, fiction, food, history
review:
I loved this so much!!!
]]> 59776461
What if the giant who abducted you was actually thoughtful and kind? What if you didn’t want to marry your handsome, popular, but cold-inside suitor? What if your one true love has all the responsibilities that come with running a kingdom?

Award-winning author Melanie Gillman’s phenomenal colored-pencil art creates another "ever after" for the characters who are most worthy of it.]]> 240 Melanie Gillman 0593303202 Lisa 4 4.04 2022
author: Melanie Gillman
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/30
date added: 2024/07/30
shelves: childrensandyoungadultfiction, comixandgraphicnovels, fantasy, queer, visual, women
review:
The art is just stunning. I love the weirdness and the open-endedness of these short tales, though if I’d read this as a much younger person I would have found them confusing. Which isn’t necessarily bad.
]]> 60831929 ��
Natasha Pickowicz is a creative force in the world of baking. Her pastries are uniquely delicious and surprising. She’s picked up three James Beard Award nominations for her time as a professional pastry chef. Her buzzy bake sales for Planned Parenthood and other nonprofits have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now she shares her recipes and baking know-how in a debut cookbook brimming with the energy, passion, joy, knowledge, and spirit of generosity that define her work.

The recipes are fresh and uncomplicated, drawing on the author’s Chinese and Californian heritage. She pairs nectarine and miso in a tarte tatin and makes a layer cake with olive oil, mascarpone, and fennel. Black cardamom gets tucked into pecan sticky buns, and galettes go savory with kabocha squash. Brown butter is the secret to irresistible buckwheat chocolate chunk cookies.
��
And she’s a born teacher. Of course pastry requires a real focus on detail and technique, but the author is here at every step with invaluable underbeat meringue; boil your plum stones to extract even more plum flavor; look for “first-press�� yuzu juice; for the flakiest pie dough, first freeze your butter, then use a grater to get perfect shreds.
��
More Than Cake means baking to bring people together. It calls on you to prioritize pleasure. As the author writes, “Dessert is beyond simple calories and nutrition. . . . It spreads delight in a way that no other kind of dish can. This is something I think people really need—it’s not optional.�� It’s a philosophy to live by.
��]]> 320 Natasha Pickowicz 164829054X Lisa 0 3.71
author: Natasha Pickowicz
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.71
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/29
shelves: adviceandhelp, asian-american, food, nonfiction
review:
Delightful, quirky, and full of heart. I LOVE that her mom did the beautiful illustrations (the drawings, not the photos, though those are also great)! I haven’t tried any of the recipes yet.
]]> 209563856
Riley is so confident and kind, and she and Valerie bond quickly over existing as multiracial teens in a very white Christian community. As Valerie explores her feelings for Riley, she begins to see that the world she knows is a carefully crafted narrative.

Publicly, the girls are close friends--holding hands in prayer, rooming together at a conference. Privately, they grasp at any chance to continue their forbidden romance--until they are found out. Now Valerie must choose between staying with a family she fears will never accept her, or running away with the girl she loves.]]> 245 Natalie Naudus Lisa 4 4.34 2024
author: Natalie Naudus
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/07/26
shelves: to-read, fiction, queer, romantic
review:

]]> 55278279
For anyone who dreams of a home filled with well-organized closets, eye-catching flower arrangements, perfectly draped blankets, and thoughtfully curated shelves, here is a guide to cultivating an elegant home.

Yumiko Sekine, founder of the internationally celebrated lifestyle brand Fog Linen Work, shares lovely rituals and simple techniques based on Japanese traditions, including practices for decorating, organizing, preparing food, and more. From the kitchen to the bedroom and every space in between, here are tips for refreshing a home each season—arranging and displaying fresh flowers in spring, choosing the right sheets and linens for summer, taking warm herbal baths in autumn, and draping blankets and layering rugs to cozy up a space for winter. Brimming with easy-to-follow tips for elevating any space and packed with hundreds of photographs showcasing gorgeous interiors, this book is an invitation to create a home that nourishes, rejuvenates, and inspires—all year long.

�� CELEBRATED Yumiko Sekine is the founder of Fog Linen Work, a Japanese home goods brand sold throughout the world and beloved by home cooks, interior decorators, and design enthusiasts. Her products are known for their simplicity, beauty, and ability to elevate any space. In this book, Sekine distills all her secrets to creating a home that exudes simple elegance.
�� ORGANIZATION MADE This book gives readers easy, elegant ways to declutter their homes and organize their belongings, whether they live in an apartment or house, and includes simple tips for tidying and curating objects to bring order and simplicity to every room.
�� JAPANESE Yumiko presents Japanese traditions for preparing food, arranging flowers, entertaining, organizing, and more. The combination of ancient practices and modern techniques makes this the perfect companion for anyone curious about Japanese culture and aesthetics.
�� GIFT Presented in a linen-wrapped case and brimming with hundreds of gorgeous photographs and inspired advice for every home, this book is a perfect addition to any bookshelf and a lovely gift for new homeowners, newlyweds, and fans of organization and interior design.

Perfect

�� Interior designers, minimalists, and fans of sustainability
�� People who are into organizing their space
�� Fans of Fog Linen Work]]> 224 Yumiko Sekine 1797202952 Lisa 4 adviceandhelp, home, visual So soothing and beautiful 3.82
author: Yumiko Sekine
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.82
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/07/21
shelves: adviceandhelp, home, visual
review:
So soothing and beautiful
]]> 12055961 216 Xorin Balbes 1608680371 Lisa 0 3.84 2011
author: Xorin Balbes
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/21
shelves: to-read, couldnt-finish-but-would-try-again, adviceandhelp, home
review:

]]> 61221308 160 Agata Toromanoff 1858947065 Lisa 3 adviceandhelp, home, visual 3.72
author: Agata Toromanoff
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.72
book published:
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/07/21
shelves: adviceandhelp, home, visual
review:
Pretty (verging on bland at times) rooms, sometimes odd writing.
]]> 62052529 256 Laila Rietbergen 940148371X Lisa 4 adviceandhelp, home Very soothing to look at! 4.43
author: Laila Rietbergen
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.43
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/07/21
shelves: adviceandhelp, home
review:
Very soothing to look at!
]]> 42355717 72 Joyce E Young 1732334056 Lisa 4 poetry 4.50
author: Joyce E Young
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/21
date added: 2024/07/21
shelves: poetry
review:

]]> 57640262
A happy home is everything. No one knows this better than stylist and blogger Paula Sutton, who is behind the beloved Instagram account Hill House Vintage. Like many people, Paula gave years of her life to the busyness of the city until she traded catwalks for dog walks and couture for manure after leaving office life a decade ago.

Beautifully illustrated with hundreds of photographs and drawings, this book gives you a full glimpse into life at Hill House. Inspired by Paula's love of all things vintage, and filled with simple, stylish, and thrifty tips and tricks for every area of the house, this book will bring the best of country life into your home, wherever you are.

In a world that often moves too fast, Hill House Living is an invitation to take a moment to style, make or cook something nice for its own sake—and yours. Slow down, cozy up, and join the quest to making each day more intentionally joyful.]]> 256 Paula Sutton 0593234464 Lisa 4 adviceandhelp, home, visual 3.99 2021
author: Paula Sutton
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/07/21
shelves: adviceandhelp, home, visual
review:

]]> 55644068
One day, her sketchbook's calming effect is broken when her mythological characters begin springing to life right out of its pages. Kiki ends up falling into the mystical world she drew, which includes a lot of wonderful discoveries like the band of rebel kids who protect the kingdom, as well as not-so-great ones like the ancient deity bent on total destruction. As the one responsible for creating the evil god, Kiki must overcome her fear and anxiety to save both worlds--the real and the imagined--from his wrath. But how can a girl armed with only a pencil defeat something so powerful?]]> 352 Sangu Mandanna 0593206975 Lisa 5 4.04 2021
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/16
date added: 2024/07/16
shelves: childrensandyoungadultfiction, fantasy
review:
We listened to the audiobook version as a family during long car rides, so it took us many months to get through it, but it’s so good! The whole concept is just beautiful �� artistic child draws a world in her sketchbook, gets transported there �� but there are so many layers on top of that: Kiki’s anxiety, this magical fantasy version of Mysore, really realizing what it would be like to live in the fictions we imagine, confronting inner demons, breaking assumptions, taking action against suffering. We will definitely be getting the sequel!
]]> 201345 376 Brian Jacques 0441001866 Lisa 3 4.16 1993
author: Brian Jacques
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/07/13
shelves: childrensandyoungadultfiction, fantasy
review:

]]> 44149995 288 Donald M. Rattner 1510736719 Lisa 2 3.96 2015
author: Donald M. Rattner
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2024/07/04
date added: 2024/07/04
shelves: adviceandhelp, creativity, home, nonfiction
review:
Easy enough to leaf through, and pretty enough, but it felt like a listicle in (almost) coffee-table book form. I don’t know that it adds value to my life to read tips like “make your space beautiful�� and “be by a window with a view��?!
]]> 58542854
On June 19, 1865, a group of enslaved men, women, and children in Texas gathered around a Union solder and listened as he read the most remarkable words they would ever hear. They were no longer they were free. The inhumane practice of forced labor with no pay was now illegal in all of the United States. This news was cause for celebration, so the group of people jumped in excitement, danced, and wept tears of joy. They did not know it at the time, but their joyous celebration of freedom would become a holiday--Juneteenth--that is observed each year by more and more Americans.

Author Kirsti Jewel shares stories from Juneteenth celebrations, both past and present, and chronicles the history that led to the creation of this joyous day.

With 80 black-and-white illustrations and an engaging 16-page photo insert, readers will be excited to read this latest addition to Who HQ!]]> 112 Kirsti Jewel 0593384709 Lisa 4 4.28
author: Kirsti Jewel
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.28
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/19
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves: childrens-nonfiction, nonfiction, race
review:
I listened to the audiobook with my 8yo. It’s only an hour, so it was perfect for our drives to summer camp. I may not be the best judge because I didn’t know much about Juneteenth before listening to this, but I thought it was really well done. Very accessible and a great overview of Black history in the US, right up to the current continuing movements. (Warning, listening to descriptions of slavery on the drive to summer camp was a bit emotional for me!)
]]> 37702755
Beautifully combining art and science, The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth is an illustrated tour of the planet that reveals ecosystems large and small, from reefs, deserts, and rainforests to ponds, backyard gardens, and even a drop of water. Through exquisite drawings, maps, and infographics, New York Times best-selling author Rachel Ignotofsky makes earth science accessible and entertaining, explaining how our planet works, from its diverse ecosystems and their inhabitants, to the levels of ecology, the importance of biodiversity, the carbon cycle, weather cycles, and more. Perfect for nature-loving readers ages 10 and up, this is an utterly charming and educational guide to the world we live in.]]> 128 Rachel Ignotofsky 0399580417 Lisa 3 4.39 2018
author: Rachel Ignotofsky
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/06/17
shelves: childrens-nonfiction, nonfiction
review:
It’s a visual book, which I didn’t realize when I downloaded it as an audiobook to liven up car rides with my nature facts-loving 8yo. They should definitely have made that more clear for the audio version, and also given some kind of explanation for how info was laid out �� the book is full of what I assume are sidebars or legends that would make a lot of sense in graphic format, but sounded like disjointed lists when read aloud. Still, we enjoyed it a lot and learned many things (but I am discomfited to learn from one ŷ������ reviewer that there are many inaccuracies! Yikes!).
]]> 62919367 Inspired by a historical figure, an exhilarating debut novel about the first native of the Indian subcontinent to arrive in Colonial America—for readers of Esi Edugyan and Yaa Gyasi.

Meet Tony: insatiably curious, deeply compassionate, with a unique perspective on every scene he encounters. Kidnapped and transported to the New World after traveling from the British East India Company’s outpost on the Coromandel Coast to the teeming streets of London, young Tony finds himself in Jamestown, Virginia, where he and his fellow indentured servants—boys like himself, men from Africa, a mad woman from London—must work the tobacco plantations. Orphaned and afraid, Tony initially longs for home. But as he adjusts to his new environment, finding companionship and even love, he can envision a life for himself after servitude. His dream: to become a medicine man, or a physician’s assistant, an expert on roots and herbs, a dispenser of healing compounds.

Like the play that captivates him—Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream—Tony’s life is rich with oddities and hijinks, humor and tragedy. Set during the early days of English colonization in Jamestown, before servitude calcified into racialized slavery, The East Indian gives authentic voice to an otherwise unknown historic figure and brings the world he would have encountered to vivid life. In this coming-of-age tale, narrated by a most memorable literary rascal, Charry conjures a young character sure to be beloved by readers for years to come.]]> 272 Brinda Charry 1668004526 Lisa 4 fiction, history, race 3.76 2023
author: Brinda Charry
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/17
date added: 2024/06/17
shelves: fiction, history, race
review:
I really enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Vikas Adam.
]]> 198120270 40 Kai Naima Williams 1960571001 Lisa 5 Beautifully done. 4.24
author: Kai Naima Williams
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.24
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/12
date added: 2024/06/12
shelves: asian-american, childrens-nonfiction, history, picture-books, race, women
review:
Beautifully done.
]]> 60833241 256 Mihoko Iida 1838663991 Lisa 4 home, nonfiction 3.92
author: Mihoko Iida
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.92
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/12
date added: 2024/06/12
shelves: home, nonfiction
review:
I really enjoyed this book, and especially the Japanese author’s reflections on how Japanese and Western approaches to home differ in essential values. The homes were interesting and the photos gorgeous �� I only wanted more photos for each home!
]]> 75821667 ��A single dad pro hockey player falls for his biggest fan—who just happens to be his five-year-old daughter’s teacher—in this fun, flirty romantic comedy from��Cait Nary

Ezekiel Boehm is no stranger to teaching kids with famous parents.��But when the pro hockey player he’s been thirsting after walks into the Rittenhouse Friends School gym hand in hand with a tiny kindergartener, he figures he must be hallucinating. Spencer McLeod is a lot of things—Zeke’s favorite winger on the Philadelphia Liberty; a menace on the ice; a mumbling, reluctant but somehow captivating-as-hell postgame interview—but he’s not a dad. Except he is. Apparently.

Zeke can be chill about this. He can.

Surprisingly, the more time he spends with Spencer, the easier this becomes. School volunteer events turn into reserved seats at games, turn into…more. And even though Zeke is 100 percent committed to ignoring Spencer’s blush, to ignoring the way he looks in that one pair of gray sweatpants, he can’t take his eyes off him.

This can never work. Can it?]]> 251 Cait Nary 0369747380 Lisa 3 fiction, queer, romantic 3.69 2024
author: Cait Nary
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/06/09
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:

]]> 40614255 Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry describes the fundamental rules and unknowns of our universe clearly—and with Tyson’s characteristic wit, there’s a lot of fun thrown in, too.

This adaptation by Gregory Mone includes full-color photos, infographics, and extra explanations to make even the trickiest concepts accessible. Building on the wonder inspired by outer space, Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry introduces an exciting field and the principles of scientific inquiry to young readers.]]> 176 Neil deGrasse Tyson 0393356507 Lisa 4 childrens-nonfiction 4.29 2019
author: Neil deGrasse Tyson
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/07
date added: 2024/06/07
shelves: childrens-nonfiction
review:
It isn’t my usual subject at all, but I listened to the audiobook (LeVar Burton!) with my 8yo and they loved it and I learned some things.
]]> 53916142 See the world. Then make it better.

I am 94. I've had an extraordinary life. It's only now that I appreciate how extraordinary.

As a young man, I felt I was out there in the wild, experiencing the untouched natural world - but it was an illusion. The tragedy of our time has been happening all around us, barely noticeable from day to day - the loss of our planet's wild places, its biodiversity.

I have been witness to this decline. A Life on Our Planet is my witness statement, and my vision for the future. It is the story of how we came to make this, our greatest mistake - and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right.

We have one final chance to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore the wonderful world we inherited.

All we need is the will to do so.]]> 272 David Attenborough 1538719983 Lisa 5 nonfiction 4.51 2020
author: David Attenborough
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/06
date added: 2024/06/06
shelves: nonfiction
review:
I somehow ended up with the audiobook and found it so compelling I’ve been telling everybody about it.
]]> 23943137 Magic and mayhem collide with the British elite in this whimsical and sparkling debut.

At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers—one of the most respected organizations throughout all of Britain—ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up.

But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…]]> 371 Zen Cho 0425283372 Lisa 3 fantasy, fiction
I read this as an audiobook, and I enjoyed that, but the pace and narration exacerbated the book's tendency to be slow in parts, especially at the beginning. I would also have appreciated a narrator who could do non-European accents, but Jenny Sterlin's Prunella voice is very endearing.]]> 3.70 2015
author: Zen Cho
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/31
date added: 2024/05/31
shelves: fantasy, fiction
review:
I really enjoy Zen Cho's work. I think I enjoy it more as a demonstration of a particularly interesting creative mind, and not specifically for the writing, if that makes any sense -- I don't dislike the writing, but I don't read it FOR the writing; I read it because I love this person's imagination and want to know what she'll come up with next! I adored both Prunella and Zacharias, both individually and as foils for each other, and I think Cho writes some of the most delightful older women characters I've encountered in recent reading. A scene near the end, about one of the shapes grief can take, made me cry.

I read this as an audiobook, and I enjoyed that, but the pace and narration exacerbated the book's tendency to be slow in parts, especially at the beginning. I would also have appreciated a narrator who could do non-European accents, but Jenny Sterlin's Prunella voice is very endearing.
]]> 38507250 32 Jillian Roberts 1459817842 Lisa 0 to-read 4.10
author: Jillian Roberts
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.10
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 41423251 32 Jillian Roberts 1459820940 Lisa 0 to-read 4.33
author: Jillian Roberts
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 35797220 On Our Street explores the realities of people living with inadequate resources. Using age-appropriate language, this book addresses mental illness, homelessness and refugee status as they are connected to this issue. Quotes from individuals and organizations such as UNICEF are included throughout to add further perspective on the issue.]]> 32 Jillian Roberts 145981617X Lisa 4 3.97
author: Jillian Roberts
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.97
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/31
date added: 2024/05/31
shelves: childrens-nonfiction, picture-books
review:
I definitely wanted to read this book WITH my 8yo because, while it is a useful overview, there were parts I disagreed with, or phrasings I didn’t like, or places where I wanted to add lots and lots of additional info besides what was in the text. That said, it was an excellent conversation starter and my kid said they learned some new things and found it interesting.
]]> 27818782
If Muna is to save her sister, she must learn to navigate high society, and trick the English magicians into believing she is a magical prodigy. As she's drawn into their intrigues, she must uncover the secrets of her past, and journey into a world with more magic than she had ever dreamed.]]> 384 Zen Cho Lisa 4 fantasy, fiction, queer 3.80 2019
author: Zen Cho
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/05/29
shelves: fantasy, fiction, queer
review:
I listened to the audiobook version and enjoyed it, even more so than the previous volume!
]]> 112077 543 Dorothy Dunnett 0679777431 Lisa 0 fiction, could-not-finish 4.15 1961
author: Dorothy Dunnett
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1961
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/24
date added: 2024/05/24
shelves: fiction, could-not-finish
review:
I really wanted to read this, because the internet thinks Peter Wimsey fans will love Lymond, and I had just spent weeks revisiting all of Lord Peter in audiobook, and was wishing for more. I found one review that said Lymond will win your heart if you can just slog through the first three hundred pages... I think I slogged through four hundred before just giving up. It wasn't uninteresting, but it wasn't captivating either, and there just kept being more characters and more thickening but without clarity on what the plot was that was doing the thickening, and I didn't get enough time with the characters I found most intriguing (ok, character, singular: Christian).
]]> 46158670

This essential companion will equip you with new ways to see your interiors, giving you the confidence to create a home that helps you live better. In eight chapters, Cluroe and Whitehead show you how to handle original features; use color, pattern, and texture; choose materials; and curate your objects. Focusing on people and how we use our spaces, Making Living Lovely also covers finding your style, cohabiting and design compromises, exploring your creativity, and rediscovering the fun in your interiors.


Interior design is about much more than restyling rooms; it has the power to change your life. This richly illustrated guide will unleash your creativity and build the confidence to style your home in a way that is perfect for you.]]> 208 Jordan Cluroe 0500022690 Lisa 0 3.80 2020
author: Jordan Cluroe
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/21
shelves: adviceandhelp, could-not-finish, home, nonfiction
review:
There may be fabulous ideas in this book but I couldn’t finish it because: WHY IS THE PRINT SO SMALL???? The pages are large and the text rarely takes up the full page or even most of a page, so, it is clearly a choice.
]]> 65214426 In The Spanish Diplomat's Secret, award-winning author Nev March explores the vivid nineteenth-century world of the transatlantic voyage, one passenger’s secret at a time.

Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife Lady Diana Framji are embarking to England in the summer of 1894. Jim is hopeful the cruise will help Diana open up to him. Something is troubling her, and Jim is concerned.

On their first evening, Jim meets an intriguing Spaniard, a fellow soldier with whom he finds an instant kinship. But within twenty-four hours, Don Juan Nepomuceno is murdered, his body discovered shortly after he asks rather urgently to see Jim.

When the captain discovers that Jim is an investigator, he pleads with Jim to find the killer before they dock in Liverpool in six days, or there could be international consequences. Aboard the beleaguered luxury liner are a thousand suspects, but no witnesses to the locked-cabin crime. Jim would prefer to keep Diana safely out of his investigation, but he’s doubled over, seasick. Plus, Jim knows Diana can navigate the high society world of the ship's first-class passengers in ways he cannot.

Together, using the tricks gleaned from their favorite fictional sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, Jim and Diana must learn why one man’s life came to a murderous end.]]> 320 Nev March 1250855063 Lisa 3 fiction, mysteries 3.55 2023
author: Nev March
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/15
date added: 2024/05/15
shelves: fiction, mysteries
review:
I’ll keep reading these as long as Vikas Adam narrates the audiobooks!
]]> 58724829 Peril at the Exposition, the followup to March's award-winning, Edgar finalist debut, Murder in Old Bombay.

1893 : Newlyweds Captain Jim Agnihotri and Diana Framji are settling into their new home in Boston, Massachusetts, having fled the strict social rules of British Bombay. It's a different life than what they left behind, but theirs is no ordinary marriage: Jim, now a detective at the Dupree Agency, is teaching Diana the art of deduction he’s learned from his idol, Sherlock Holmes.

Everyone is talking about the preparations for the World's Fair in Chicago: the grandeur, the speculation, the trickery. Captain Jim will experience it first-hand: he's being sent to Chicago to investigate the murder of a man named Thomas Grewe. As Jim probes the underbelly of Chicago’s docks, warehouses, and taverns, he discovers deep social unrest and some deadly ambitions.

When Jim goes missing, young Diana must venture to Chicago's treacherous streets to learn what happened. But who can she trust, when a single misstep could mean disaster?

Award-winning author Nev March mesmerized readers with her Edgar finalist debut, Murder in Old Bombay. Now, in Peril at the Exposition, she wields her craft against the glittering landscape of the Gilded Age with spectacular results.]]> 352 Nev March 1250855039 Lisa 3 fiction, nonfiction Listened to the audiobook! 3.48 2022
author: Nev March
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/07
date added: 2024/05/07
shelves: fiction, nonfiction
review:
Listened to the audiobook!
]]> 489311 274 Dorothy Draper 0977787516 Lisa 3 4.12 1939
author: Dorothy Draper
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1939
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/04
date added: 2024/05/04
shelves: adviceandhelp, classics, home, nonfiction, history
review:
Sometimes delightfully outdated, sometimes hilariously outdated, sometimes painfully outdated -- but Draper's confidential, breezily encouraging tone is so enjoyable and energizing. She’s like an elderly relative who has no clue about anything in my life or my world but is just SO CONFIDENT I can do ANYTHING I set my mind to, I can’t help but love her (but would prefer not to talk to her about politics etc, probably).
]]> 198020245
Aiden
I'm so not into Jay. He's afraid of nature, he's a failure as a camp counselor and, well, he's a guy. And I'm straight. So why can't I stop fixating on his stunning face and delectable lips? Lips that make me think about things I shouldn't be thinking about my co-counselor. But when a bear shows up, it's Jay's anxiety that saves us, and I can't fight the urge to thank him - intimately. When I realize he's gay, my fixation becomes more intense. Can I admit I'm drawn to him before it's too late?

Jay
I’m so not into Aiden. He’s cocky, and full of himself, and keeps lecturing me about how great camp is. Plus, he’s straight. Or�� I think he’s straight? The spooning makes it a bit confusing. Also, there’s the kissing, and the other things.]]> 239 Ezra Dao Lisa 0 3.64
author: Ezra Dao
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.64
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/30
shelves: could-not-finish, fiction, queer, romantic
review:

]]> 204680718
Zoral and his crew only have eleven days to rescue their captain from the witches holding her hostage. He doesn’t trust Aron, but he has no choice but to bring him along on the mission.

As the unlikely pair face haunted ships, kraken battles, and the mysteries of ancient cities lost to the rising seas of their world, they discover a connection that runs deeper than magic.

“The queer fantasy romance you’ve been waiting for.”]]> 356 Rachel Ember 1954950187 Lisa 4 4.25
author: Rachel Ember
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/04/27
shelves: fantasy, fiction, queer, romantic, sci-fi
review:

]]> 58825245
The Claim is a romantic adventure about childhood friends, turned lovers, turned enemies, rediscovering their feelings for one another while hunting for sunken treasure in a dystopian fantasy world.]]> Rachel Ember Lisa 4 3.93
author: Rachel Ember
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.93
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/04/27
shelves: fantasy, fiction, queer, romantic, sci-fi
review:

]]> 209136105 310 Monna McDiarmid 1738740951 Lisa 5 4.80
author: Monna McDiarmid
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.80
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/27
date added: 2024/04/27
shelves: childrensandyoungadultfiction, fiction
review:
Beautiful, tender, thought-provoking. Rich with the small, deep comforts and big painful questions of life.
]]> 62918913
Everyone likes the idea of “best friends forever,�� but friendships can be complicated, and they often involve dealing with difficult feelings. Almost all children have experienced feeling shy at a party where they don’t know anyone, furious during an argument with a friend, or sad when a friend moves away. Because kids care a lot about friends, they often have big emotional responses about them.

This entertaining and empowering book addresses a wide range of feelings children have about friends and other kids, including worry , guilt , jealousy , compassion , and gratitude. Through relatable cartoon stories, practical, research-based coping strategies, plus silly commentary from a cat and dog who have their own (questionable) ideas about what might help, kids get a hands-on approach that they can put into practice.

Child psychologist Eileen Kennedy-Moore and parenting and health writer Christine McLaughlin show kids how to recognize the Feelings Story behind common friendship rough spots, demonstrating the links between events, thoughts, emotions, actions, and social reactions through the situational cartoons, so children can clearly see how their reactions fuel or resolve relationship problems. And going far beyond a simplistic and unrealistic “don’t worry, be happy, think positive only�� approach, Growing Feelings offers a nuanced perspective on feelings about friends. It emphasizes that all emotions are useful and guides children in how to empathize with others�� reactions, as well as how to understand, manage, and communicate in healthy ways about their own feelings.

Caring friendships are a protective factor for children’s mental health. Giving kids the tools they need to deal with the feelings about friends is a powerful step toward protecting and improving their well-being.]]> 208 Eileen Kennedy-Moore 1582708789 Lisa 5 4.62
author: Eileen Kennedy-Moore
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.62
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/26
date added: 2024/04/26
shelves: adviceandhelp, childrens-nonfiction
review:

]]> 30139695 Death is not waiting for us at the end of a long road. Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight, helping us to discover what matters most in life.

Life and death are a package deal. They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death. The Five Invitations is an exhilarating meditation on the meaning of life and how maintaining and ever-present consciousness of death can bring us closer to our truest selves. As a renowned teacher of compassionate care-giving and the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, Frank Ostaseski has sat on the precipice of death with more than a thousand people. In The Five Invitations, he distills the lessons gleaned over the course of his career, offering an evocative and stirring guide that points a radical path to transformation.

The Five Invitations:
-Don’t Wait
-Welcome Everything, Push Away Nothing
-Bring Your Whole Self to the Experience
-Find a Place of Rest in the Middle of Things
-Cultivate Don’t Know Mind

These invitations show us how to wake up fully to our lives. They can be understood as best practices for anyone coping with death or navigating any sort of transition or crisis; they guide us toward appreciating life’s preciousness. Death can be a valuable companion on the road to living well, forging a rich and meaningful life, and letting go of regret. The Five Invitations is a powerful and inspiring exploration of the essential wisdom dying has to impart to all of us.]]> 304 Frank Ostaseski 1250074657 Lisa 5 nonfiction 4.45 2017
author: Frank Ostaseski
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/24
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Deeply comforting/inspiring at a time when a dear friend has been diagnosed with metastatic cancer.
]]> 116971
Dramatised by Alistair Beaton for BBC Radio 4 with Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey, Sarah Badel as Harriet Vane and Peter Jones as Bunter. It was first broadcast from 2 January to 7 February 1983.

2 CDs. 2 hrs 25 mins.]]> 409 Dorothy L. Sayers 0061043516 Lisa 4 4.23 1937
author: Dorothy L. Sayers
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1937
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/04/16
shelves: classics, fiction, mysteries, romantic
review:

]]> 93575 501 Dorothy L. Sayers 0061043494 Lisa 4 4.20 1935
author: Dorothy L. Sayers
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1935
rating: 4
read at: 2009/03/24
date added: 2024/04/08
shelves: mysteries, romantic, i-reread-this-regularly
review:
This is my favorite of the Peter Wimsy books I've read lately, and not just because of the romance! I enjoyed getting Harriet's POV because she's a writer, and as a former academic it was very enjoyable to read her observations about returning to Oxford after years away. Sayers captured the essence of the ambivalence of such moments!
]]> 40878364
Style icon Ines de la Fressange and globe-trotting artist Marin Montagut share a uniquely Parisian sensibility for interiors that combine a variety of design traditions into a harmonious living space.

With extensive photographs, watercolor illustrations, mood boards, color palettes, and practical advice on the indispensable objects that personalize each maison, this exquisite volume is rich in inspiration for creating Parisian chic at home.

Natural materials—wood, wicker, bamboo, cotton, and linen—create warmth and personality. Vintage suitcases,vegetable crates, and jewel-toned pharmaceutical jars transform into charming storage containers. Embroidered cushions, terrariums, and fresh flowers enliven a room with pops of color. Collages, original art, or humble objects displayed in a series add a signature style to each residence.

The authors take readers inside fifteen Parisian apartments—including their own—that demonstrate how to imbue a home with a sense of well-being through a mix of vintage and contemporary styles. Each owner is passionate about home decor—whether in a studio, loft, or duplex—and they continually evolve their interior with new treasures uncovered in flea markets, on their travels, at design fairs, or in artisanal workshops.]]> 256 Inès de la Fressange 2080203673 Lisa 4
I wish they wouldn’t simply refer to things as “ethnic��. ]]> 3.77
author: Inès de la Fressange
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.77
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/08
date added: 2024/04/08
shelves: adviceandhelp, home, nonfiction, visual
review:
A fun book to leaf through. The homes are all charming, heavily cluttered yet in that very unfussy Parisian way. (You can see everyone frequents the brocantes!) There's a beautiful patina on everything, and all the chairs look uncomfortable. As with Paris itself, I enjoyed visiting but everything is SO Parisian that it doesn't feel transferable to my space/life!

I wish they wouldn’t simply refer to things as “ethnic��.
]]> 60139504 How to Keep House While Drowning will introduce you to six life-changing principles that will revolutionize the way you approach home care—without endless to-do lists. Presented in 31 daily thoughts, this compassionate guide will help you begin to get free of the shame and anxiety you feel over home care.

Inside you will learn:
· How to shift your perspective of care tasks from moral to functional;
· How to stop negative self-talk and shame around care tasks;
· How to give yourself permission to rest, even when things aren’t finished;
· How to motivate yourself to care for your space.]]> 151 K.C. Davis 166800285X Lisa 5 4.22 2022
author: K.C. Davis
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/03
date added: 2024/04/03
shelves: adviceandhelp, home, nonfiction
review:
Game-changing, probably life-changing. Deeply inclusive, compassionate, realistic, and practical. I cried more than once when some sentence turned out to be something I never knew I needed to hear. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever struggled with housework�� or their feelings of inadequacy around housework.
]]> 351559 356 Dorothy L. Sayers 0061043559 Lisa 4 classics, fiction, mysteries 4.17 1933
author: Dorothy L. Sayers
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1933
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/01
date added: 2024/04/01
shelves: classics, fiction, mysteries
review:
I must have read this one years ago on my first reading of the series, but I don’t remember it. This time I listened to the audiobook narrated by Ian Carmichael (I like his narration very much). A thoroughly fun mystery and Wimsey’s undercover life inside an ad agency is fascinating.
]]> 59808269 Something To Talk About comes a sharp and sexy rom-com about a college senior who accidentally hooks up with her best friend’s mom.

When Cassie Klein goes to an off-campus bar to escape her school’s Family Weekend, she isn’t looking for a hookup—it just happens. Buying a drink for a stranger turns into what should be an uncomplicated, amazing one-night stand. But then the next morning rolls around and her friend drags her along to meet her mom—the hot, older woman Cassie slept with.

Erin Bennett came to Family Weekend to get closer to her daughter, not have a one-night stand with a college senior. In her defense, she hadn’t known Cassie was a student when they'd met. To make things worse, Erin’s daughter brings Cassie to breakfast the next morning. And despite Erin's better judgement—how could sleeping with your daughter’s friend be anything but bad?—she and Cassie get along in the day just as well as they did last night.

What should have been a one-time fling quickly proves impossible to ignore, and soon Cassie and Erin are sneaking around. Worst of all, they start to realize they have something real. But is being honest about the love between them worth the cost?]]> 352 Meryl Wilsner 1250841003 Lisa 4 fiction, queer, romantic 3.91 2022
author: Meryl Wilsner
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/03/29
shelves: fiction, queer, romantic
review:

]]> 37906597 Have His Carcase. Harriet’s discovery of a murdered body on the beach before it is swept out to sea unites her once more with the indomitable Lord Peter Wimsey, as together they attempt to solve a most lethal mystery, and find themselves become much closer than mere sleuthing partners in the process.]]> 499 Dorothy L. Sayers Lisa 4 classics, fiction, mysteries
I’ve been listening to Ian Carmichael’s audio narration for most of my current reread of the Wimseys, and am greatly enjoying it.]]> 4.06 1932
author: Dorothy L. Sayers
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1932
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/03/29
shelves: classics, fiction, mysteries
review:
A very satisfying mystery (if super convoluted) and I just love Harriet always. The evolution of her feelings for Lord Peter, as detailed here, fit in well with previous and subsequent installments of the series �� a romance that unfolds gradually over time is for me, the most relatable and delicious!

I’ve been listening to Ian Carmichael’s audio narration for most of my current reread of the Wimseys, and am greatly enjoying it.
]]> 103521455 304 Sylvan Mishima Brackett 1958417009 Lisa 0 4.25
author: Sylvan Mishima Brackett
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/28
shelves: asian-american, food, nonfiction, visual
review:
Haven’t tried any of the recipes yet, but I do love a beautiful cookbook that mixes elaborate preparations I will never make, with homey dishes I will definitely be attempting!
]]> 246225 240 Dorothy L. Sayers 0060809086 Lisa 4 classics, fiction, mysteries 4.13 1930
author: Dorothy L. Sayers
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1930
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/03/26
shelves: classics, fiction, mysteries
review:
One of my favorites in the series, though it’s hard to read Lord Peter importuning Harriet to marry him (when they don’t even know each other!).
]]> 108392 New York Times put it, “It’s the exceedingly rare place where unabashedly hearty preparations and ingredients meet seasonal produce and whimsical flourishes, where comfort and classicism welcome innovation without letting it run roughshod.� Now you can enjoy the charm and the food of The Red Cat in your own kitchen, with Bradley’s straightforward, thoroughly satisfying, and fun-to-read first cookbook.

In Bradley’s cuisine, the Italian-American classics of his childhood meet sensible New England accents and the creative energy of Manhattan in dishes like a pristine sauté of zucchini and toasted almonds topped with salty Pecorino Romano cheese; a surprising—and surprisingly delicious—peach and pancetta risotto; or a lusty prime New York shell steak with Yukon Gold potatoes, fennel, aïoli, and Cabernet. The techniques are basic, not fussy; the ingredients easy-to-find, not esoteric; the flavors bold, not flighty.

The Red Cat Cookbook is more than just a collection of fabulous recipes—it’s Bradley’s unique take on feeding loved ones and making guests feel at home, and it’s for everyone who wants home to be as warm and welcoming as The Red Cat.]]> 256 Jimmy Bradley 1400082811 Lisa 0 3.89 2006
author: Jimmy Bradley
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2024/03/25
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: adviceandhelp, food, nonfiction
review:
I haven't tried any of the recipes from this book, but it made me want to cook (or go out to a restaurant so someone else can cook me something!). There are a lot of things in here that I'm never going to make in my current phase of parenting life, but I'm going to try some of the others.
]]> 22716562 ��
Genius recipes surprise us and make us rethink the way we cook. They might involve an unexpectedly simple technique, debunk a kitchen myth, or apply a familiar ingredient in a new way. They’re handed down by luminaries of the food world and become their legacies. And, once we’ve folded them into our repertoires, they make us feel pretty genius too. In this collection are 100 of the smartest and most remarkable ones.
��
There isn’t yet a single cookbook where you can find Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter, Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread, and Nigella Lawson’s Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake—plus dozens more of the most talked about, just-crazy-enough-to-work recipes of our time. Until now.
��
These are what Food52 Executive Editor Kristen Miglore calls genius recipes. Passed down from the cookbook authors, chefs, and bloggers who made them legendary, these foolproof recipes rethink cooking tropes, solve problems, get us talking, and make cooking more fun. Every week, Kristen features one such recipe and explains just what’s so brilliant about it in the James Beard Award-nominated Genius Recipes column on Food52. Here, in this book, she compiles 100 of the most essential ones—nearly half of which have never been featured in the column—with tips, riffs, mini-recipes, and stunning photographs from James Ransom, to create a cooking canon that will stand the test of time.
��
Once you try Michael Ruhlman’s fried chicken or Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s hummus, you’ll never want to go back to other versions. But there’s also a surprising ginger juice you didn’t realize you were missing and will want to put on everything—and a way to cook white chocolate that (finally) exposes its hidden glory. Some of these recipes you’ll follow to a T, but others will be jumping-off points for you to experiment with and make your own. Either way, with Kristen at the helm, revealing and explaining the genius of each recipe, Genius Recipes is destined to become every home cook’s go-to resource for smart, memorable cooking—because no one cook could have taught us so much.]]> 272 Kristen Miglore 1607747979 Lisa 0 4.05 2015
author: Kristen Miglore
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: adviceandhelp, food, nonfiction
review:

]]> 6080751 After working in a brothel for three years, Nora Macauley has lost all illusions about love. She no longer hopes for a man who will sweep her off her feet and take her away to begin a new, respectable life.
But now they find themselves married and on the way to Oregon in a covered wagon, with two thousand miles ahead of them.]]> 465 Jae Lisa 0 4.46 2007
author: Jae
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/23
shelves: to-read, could-not-finish, fiction, history, queer
review:

]]> 192887 243 Dorothy L. Sayers 0061043540 Lisa 4 classics, fiction, mysteries 4.05 1928
author: Dorothy L. Sayers
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1928
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/03/22
shelves: classics, fiction, mysteries
review:

]]> 35604730 In this colorful and touching story that celebrates what makes each of us unique, a little creature that's not quite a bird and not quite a bunny--it's "neither"--searches for a place to fit in.

In the Land of This and That, there are only two kinds: blue bunnies and yellow birds. But one day a funny green egg hatches, and a little creature that's not quite a bird and not quite a bunny pops out. It's neither!

Neither tries hard to fit in, but its bird legs aren't good for jumping like the other bunnies, and its fluffy tail isn't good for flapping like the other birds. It sets out to find a new home and discovers a very different place, one with endless colors and shapes and creatures of all kinds. But when a blue bunny and a yellow bird with some hidden differences of their own arrive, it's up to Neither to decide if they are welcome in the Land of All.

This colorful, simple, and touching story promotes diversity and offers a valuable lesson to the youngest of audiences: it is our differences that unite us.
]]> 34 Airlie Anderson 0316547697 Lisa 4
**Editing my review, 5 years later, to note that this book has been one of my kid’s favorites ever since we first got it. I think it’s safe to say that it’s been pivotal for them. ]]> 4.16 2018
author: Airlie Anderson
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/12/03
date added: 2024/03/21
shelves: childrensandyoungadultfiction, picture-books
review:
A charming, friendly book about not excluding others because they are different (or because they don't fit into established binaries). I loved the fantastical creatures in the Land of All. I appreciate that this story works for various identities -- I could use it as a jumping-off point for talking about gender, but it also resonated deeply with me as a Chinese American.

**Editing my review, 5 years later, to note that this book has been one of my kid’s favorites ever since we first got it. I think it’s safe to say that it’s been pivotal for them.
]]> 54896643
Swedish-born, London-based interior designer Beata Heuman founded her eponymous studio in 2013 after working for Nicky Haslam for nine years. In a short amount of time her lively interiors and custom furnishings have made her one of today's most in-demand creatives. Heuman's rooms, colorful spaces enlivened by exuberant elements and poetic inspirations, capture her signature quirkiness and Scandinavian attention to detail while staying rooted in practicality. Lauded for international residential and commercial projects, Heuman has also garnered praise for her growing collection of bespoke fabrics, wallpaper, lighting, homewares, and furniture.
This beautifully crafted volume presents Heuman's innovative approach in book form for the very first time. Organized according to design principle, each chapter offers fresh ways to think about decorating a home, finding your voice, making ordinary details extraordinary, and forging a truly unique space. Vibrant photographs showcase standout properties--including several London town houses and a Nantucket vacation residence--that are brought to life by cheerful color palettes, unexpected contrasts, and a dégagé use of bold patterns and texture. With original drawings and whimsical graphic details, this new tome is a dynamic look into the ethos and work of one of the most exciting names in interior design today.]]> 240 Beata Heuman 0847869849 Lisa 4 4.43
author: Beata Heuman
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.43
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/16
date added: 2024/03/21
shelves: adviceandhelp, home, nonfiction
review:
The rare design book that I feel like I can actually get something from. Yes, it’s still teeming with bespoke everything, but Heumann’s joy and feeling in what “home�� should be is inspiring �� and I love that she says things like, (I paraphrase) what’s the point of a pristine room if you ruin the aesthetic as soon as you sit in a chair?
]]> 128165572 202 Dorothy L. Sayers Lisa 3 classics, fiction, mysteries 3.00 1923
author: Dorothy L. Sayers
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1923
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/03/21
shelves: classics, fiction, mysteries
review:
I love these books but in revisiting this one (via audiobook) I’m reminded of how casually and easily Sayers puts Jews very definitely in the Other category. Even when a Jewish character is described as a good person, he’ll also be referred to as “a very Semitic-looking gentleman�� or some such.
]]> 192892 264 Dorothy L. Sayers 0061043583 Lisa 3 mysteries, fiction
Representation pro: thinly veiled lesbian couple, even less thinly-veiled young lesbian with a crush and possible older lesbian who’s not a nice person

Representation con: Hideous outdated Black stereotypes, especially concerning white women. The main characters don’t subscribe to these stereotypes but they don’t entirely repudiate them either, and even their attitudes are paternal.]]> 4.08 1927
author: Dorothy L. Sayers
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1927
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/03/21
shelves: mysteries, fiction
review:
I remember how much this story chilled me when I first read it as a teenager. It's a clever mystery and a good showcase for Lord Peter's sensitive nature!

Representation pro: thinly veiled lesbian couple, even less thinly-veiled young lesbian with a crush and possible older lesbian who’s not a nice person

Representation con: Hideous outdated Black stereotypes, especially concerning white women. The main characters don’t subscribe to these stereotypes but they don’t entirely repudiate them either, and even their attitudes are paternal.
]]> 35099718 In this breakout book, Ijeoma Oluo explores the complex reality of today's racial landscape--from white privilege and police brutality to systemic discrimination and the Black Lives Matter movement--offering straightforward clarity that readers need to contribute to the dismantling of the racial divide

In So You Want to Talk About Race, Editor at Large of The Establishment Ijeoma Oluo offers a contemporary, accessible take on the racial landscape in America, addressing head-on such issues as privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the "N" word. Perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between people of color and white Americans struggling with race complexities, Oluo answers the questions readers don't dare ask, and explains the concepts that continue to elude everyday Americans.

Oluo is an exceptional writer with a rare ability to be straightforward, funny, and effective in her coverage of sensitive, hyper-charged issues in America. Her messages are passionate but finely tuned, and crystalize ideas that would otherwise be vague by empowering them with aha-moment clarity. Her writing brings to mind voices like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay, and Jessica Valenti in Full Frontal Feminism, and a young Gloria Naylor, particularly in Naylor's seminal essay "The Meaning of a Word."]]> 248 Ijeoma Oluo 1580056776 Lisa 0 4.48 2018
author: Ijeoma Oluo
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/16
shelves: currently-reading, adviceandhelp, nonfiction, race
review:

]]> 63017292 Acclaimed historical novelist Vanessa Riley is back with another novel based on the life of an extraordinary Black woman from history: Haiti's Queen Marie-Louise Coidavid, who escaped a coup in Haiti to set up her own royal court in Italy during the Regency era, where she became a popular member of royal European society.

The Queen of Exiles is Marie-Louise Christophe, wife and then widow of Henry I, who ruled over the newly liberated Kingdom of Hayti in the wake of the brutal Haitian Revolution.

In 1810 Louise is crowned queen as her husband begins his reign over the first and only free Black nation in the Western Hemisphere. But despite their newfound freedom, Haitians still struggle under mountains of debt to France and indifference from former allies in Britain and the new United States. Louise desperately tries to steer the country's political course as King Henry descends into a mire of mental illness.

In 1820, King Henry is overthrown and dies by his own hand. Louise and her daughters manage to flee to Europe with their smuggled jewels. In exile, the resilient Louise redefines her role, recovering the fortune that Henry had lost and establishing herself as an equal to the kings of European nations. With newspapers and gossip tracking their every movement, Louise and her daughters tour Europe like other royals, complete with glittering balls and princes with marriage proposals. As they find their footing--and acceptance--they discover more about themselves, their Blackness, and the opportunities they can grasp in a European and male-dominated world.

Queen of Exiles is the tale of a remarkable Black woman of history--a canny and bold survivor who chooses the fire and ideals of political struggle, and then is forced to rebuild her life on her own terms, forever a queen.]]> 448 Vanessa Riley 0063270994 Lisa 4 fiction, history
Before reading, I knew nothing about the history of Haiti. It was fascinating to see the politics of the time (and the centrality of race and the desire for Black self-sovereignty) through the eyes of a strong woman who combined loyalty to her husband and family (as expected from her culture and era) with personal dreams and desires that make her very relatable today. Of course, this is historical fiction, but whatever the actual Marie-Louise Christophe's personality, the facts of her life are dramatic!

I'm so glad I decided to listen to this book. ]]> 3.71 2023
author: Vanessa Riley
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/16
date added: 2024/03/16
shelves: fiction, history
review:
I listened to the audiobook, narrated beautifully by Robin Miles. As an audiobook, this was an immersive and deeply moving story with excellent characterization, and I loved it. The narration was so good, I wasn't bothered by the pacing, non-linear timelines, and repetitiveness other readers have criticized, though I can see that if I'd read the text version, I might have found the story slow going.

Before reading, I knew nothing about the history of Haiti. It was fascinating to see the politics of the time (and the centrality of race and the desire for Black self-sovereignty) through the eyes of a strong woman who combined loyalty to her husband and family (as expected from her culture and era) with personal dreams and desires that make her very relatable today. Of course, this is historical fiction, but whatever the actual Marie-Louise Christophe's personality, the facts of her life are dramatic!

I'm so glad I decided to listen to this book.
]]> 177186090
Sometimes you can only do a small, small thing. And that can make all the difference.

In this exquisitely illustrated parable grounded in the three pillars of Chinese philosophy, a young boy, his family ox, and a rabbit living in his garden help each other navigate the daily work of love, compassion, and community. Examining the world through the lenses of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, their conversations convey tender, uplifting messages for life's various crossroads.

As they adopt a sparrow, bathe in rivers, comfort their neighbors, and tend to their chores, the characters' different perspectives are reflected in their the boy's Taoist love of nature and all it entails, the ox's Buddhist compassion for others, and the rabbit's Confucian practice of mutual respect and care. While they don't always agree, the friends settle on the basic truth that purpose comes from simply engaging with life--and with each other.

Painted in a contemporary gongbi style, one of the oldest continuous art forms in the world, the atmospheric illustrations from Taiwanese American artist Regina Linke conjure a timeless, mystical land where the friends have made their home. The potent combination of magnificent art and gentle revelations will capture the hearts of readers, whatever their age.]]> 160 Regina Linke 0593580540 Lisa 4 visual 4.52
author: Regina Linke
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.52
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/15
date added: 2024/03/15
shelves: visual
review:
Beautiful art, meditative narrative.
]]> 31328903 ��
Gloria Vanderbilt cleverly noted, “Decorating is autobiography.�� Reflecting that truism, the interiors in this book capture the individual approaches of these icons of Bunny Mellon’s spare all-American elegance; Hélène Rochas’s refined sophistication; Vanessa Bell’s colorful bohemianism; Mona von Bismarck’s breezy opulence; and Georgia O’Keeffe’s earthy chic. Author P. Gaye Tapp analyzes each of her subjects�� refined way of living, how she embellished her residences (or left them elegantly stark), and the long-lasting effects on today’s generation of designers and connoisseurs of beauty.
��
The book is presented in four sections that describe the aesthetic approaches that the ladies took in decorating their “The Fashionably Chic��, “The Unconventional Eye��, “In the Grand Manner��, and “Legacy Style��. Each interior illustrates the crucial aspect of the lady’s definitive taste. Some worked closely with decorating legends such as John Fowler, Albert Hadley, Billy Baldwin, Syrie Maugham, and Jean-Michel Frank. Others took to the task of decorating single-handedly—like Pauline Trigère, Sybil Connolly, Vita Sackville-West, and Fleur Cowles. The interiors of these trendsetting ladies defied their time and inspire and delight to this day. In How They Decorated , one can learn from the most notable style muses of the last century.]]> 224 P. Gaye Tapp 0847847411 Lisa 3 home, nonfiction, visual 3.87
author: P. Gaye Tapp
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.87
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/14
date added: 2024/03/14
shelves: home, nonfiction, visual
review:
I expected to hate this book; it’s full of rich white women who decorated with gigantic budgets (one of them had water brought in daily for her garden via boat) and the help of famous decorators, described with admiring (one could say fawning) commentary. Plenty of chinoiserie, orientalist motifs, abundant use of the word "exotic", and a particularly hideous chandelier decorated with “blackamoors�� (gross?!!), and of course very little said about the scores of people it would have taken to set up and maintain these lavish homes. I only checked the book out because I was curious about Georgia O’Keeffe’s decorating style. But I didn’t hate the book. Yes, it was exactly what I expected, but the pictures were nice and large and served as interesting time capsules of what previous generations found chic. As a reader of historical fiction, I enjoyed the picture they presented of what some of the homes and interiors of favorite characters might have looked like... I guess I also enjoyed it as hate-reading/viewing when I was offended by the design choices! Unsurprisingly, I most liked the rooms in the “unconventional�� chapter (which includes O’Keeffe).
]]> 147408560
When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.
��
In the first edition of the mind-bending, “gorgeous�� (Margaret Atwood), ”brilliant [and] entrancing�� ( The Guardian ) Entangled Life, Sheldrake introduced us to this mysterious but massively diverse kingdom of life. This new edition, abridged from the original, features over 100 full-color images that bring the spectacular variety, strangeness and beauty of fungi to life as never before.
��
Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life’s processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. In vivid, surprising images, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms—and our relationships with them—are changing our understanding of how life works.]]> 240 Merlin Sheldrake Lisa 4 nonfiction, visual 4.54 2020
author: Merlin Sheldrake
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/13
date added: 2024/03/13
shelves: nonfiction, visual
review:
Visually gorgeous, with lyrical writing.
]]>