reading all books referenced on Gilmore girls

I've been a reader for most of my life... I really don't remember a time before books made up a huge part of who I am as a person. And there are a few, distinct moments in the lives of every reader that you never forget... The first time you really fell into a book. The first time you literally couldn't think of anything but getting back into the world the author created. The first time a book unexpectedly taught you about yourself. The first time you discovered that a feelin

The Art of Asking or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer I love me some Amanda Palmer. She's kick ass and honest and kick ass and talented and kick ass and fascinating. She is a LITERAL rockstar. So I was thrilled to learn that she was writing a book. But not just any book. A book about something I personally struggle with... asking for help. We are raised to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and walk it off. To suffer in silence. And

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief As we continue Bear's descent into her Scientology obsession (this book was actually the fuel for my latest fascination... this book is just much more robust than the others I've recently read so it took me longer to finish), we come to the book that inspired the HBO documentary that everyone was losing their minds over this past Spring. Lawrence Wright is a non-fiction writer and journalist who tends to focus on t

High Rise by J.G. Ballard This was a fascinating read. A commentary on society and isolation from the outside world, Ballard's novel was equal parts psychologically intriguing and flat out revolting (unless eating someone's pet is no big thang to you. Not judging). So, naturally, I was completely and totally here for this book. The most interesting part of this book was the use of the narrator. Generally the narrator of stories like this acts as the touchstone... the meas

The minute I was made aware of this book's release, I knew I needed it in my hot little hands. So I found the library closest to me that was in-processing it and managed to grab the first hold spot. And then I ran out of audiobooks and knew I was getting dangerously close to the 14 day lending timeframe my library has for new books... so I ended up listening to it on audio instead. I still ended up owing the library 15 cents for it... because, I'm me. This book hit so close

I tend to avoid all schmaltzy narratives that focus on September 11th (sorry Edward Cullen... I'm not watching Remember Me), but reading an excerpt from this book had me rethinking my previous stance. I experienced this as an audiobook borrowed from my library and was instantly sucked in the moment the narrator started speaking. The main character, Oskar Schell reminded me a lot of the boy in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. While I don't believe Oskar to

As I'm mid-Getting Things Done, was in need of a new audiobook and was listening to (as I always do) the Book Riot podcast, I decided that I would download The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande (author of Being Mortal). I had been listening to a lot of fiction on audiobook lately so it was about time for some non-fiction. And given my recent thoughts about organizing my life and the power of getting to-do items out of your brain and onto a piece of paper/app/some sort of

I had the privilege to hear Garth Stein speak on his latest book A Sudden Light a few weeks ago. The Art of Racing in the Rain is Stein's most famous work, but it had been on my TBR list for years without me having made any actual steps towards reading it. So while I heard him speak of his history as an author (and after my positive reading experience with A Sudden Light), I decided that it clearly deserved the coveted spot of "next up". And there was one story that the aut

"The gang's all here!" books are absolutely in my wheelhouse. You know which ones I'm talking about... a group of friends that we meet as adolescents and get witness the dynamic of that same group as grown ups with jobs, bills and all the bullshit that adult life brings with it. I am HERE for that type of book. And The Interestings reminded me of the group of friends in It... minus the creepy ass clown and balloons being ruined for me FOREVER (thanks a lot, Stephen King)! M

The Secret History by Donna Tartt I know, I know, I know. Donna Tartt wrote this forever ago. Well, you know what? I'm a follower. So after I read (and "meh'd") The Goldfinch because everyone was reading it due to it's Pulitizer win... I figured I'd have to now follow a decade-old trend. So, I used one of my precious Audible credits to listen to The Secret History (narrated by Tartt herself). There were many mornings listening to this where I wanted to drive right by my