Emily Henry’s Book Lovers is a delightful mix of banter, steam, and layers. It made for the perfect, easy read for me to get out of my reading slump. Book Lovers is told from the perspective of Nora Stephens, who works as a literary agent in New York City. She’s…
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee — international bestseller, book club favorite, proclaimed the best book of the year 2017. This book has consistently received stellar reviews and has even become an AppleTV drama. Reading this, I really wanted to enjoy it as much as others seemed to have. But it…
Paradais by Fernanda Melchor, masterfully translated by Sophie Hughes, is an absolutely entrancing, visceral read. It spans just over a hundred pages and is densely layered with complex themes written in Melchor’s pitiless prose, from ideas of classism, racism, and misogyny to the macabre acts of rape and murder. This…
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow gains its name from Macbeth’s famous soliloquy. As bleak as it is, Gabrielle Zevin creates a new spin on the meaning of “tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow”: in the world of games, it’s the possibility of “infinite rebirth, infinite redemption.” We don’t always understand life and how…
The existence of fae in A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas should have been a warning sign enough for me to avoid this book. I’ve had bad experiences with fae in the past—namely, The Cruel Prince. And people loved the series, despite my developing an aversion…
“There’s a difference between really loving someone and loving the idea of her.” Gillian Flynn Gone Girl. At first glance, it seems to be another run-of-the-mill mystery thriller: troubled marriage, cheating husband, runaway wife. It cannot be further off. Let me just say that this book has become a sensation…
“If there is a hell, we’re in it. And if there’s a heaven, we’re already there. This is it.” Mieko Kawakami Shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize and gaining rise on media platforms, Heaven by Mieko Kawakami has been on my radar for a while. I’m a sucker for…
“What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry uplike a raisin in the sun?Or fester like a sore—And then run?Does it stink like rotten meat?Or crust and sugar over—like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sagslike a heavy load.Or does it explode?” Langston Hughes in Harlem A Raisin in the Sun…
“Chess isn’t always competitive. Chess can also be beautiful.” Walter Tevis The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis follows the story of a prodigious girl as she explores the world of chess and gradually loses herself to addiction. It is an analytical and fast-paced novel that wraps itself around Elizabeth Harmon’s…
“It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.” Chuck Palaniuk The first rule about Fight Club is that you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of the fight club is that you do NOT talk about Fight Club. Only two guys to a…