Well, it's been awhile! Let's call it "a dramatic pause," as Joy and Tracy put it. Since we last spoke, the temperature's dropped, I've cut off about a foot of my hair (and never looking back!), and the holidays are upon us.
If you're looking for some last-minute gift ideas, here are 10 of my favorite books, out of the 51I've read this year:
Women In Clothes (My favorite. I want to live in this book. Changed my life!)
Before I Go To Sleep (Read it with the lights on!)
Nest (This YA novel has the 10-year old narrator's voice down.)
Redeployment (Important, timely, funny, horrific.)
Skippy Dies (I feel like I, too, went to an Irish boarding school!)
Americanah (Beautiful writing... one of the best novels I've read in a long time.)
What I Had Before I Had You (The author writes about mental illness in a really humane and thoughtful way.)
Shotgun Lovesongs (Recommended by my favorite librarian- a friend! Tore through this in two days.)
My Brilliant Friend (All I can say about this is that it reads like an Italian film. Looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy!)
Happy All The Time (I'd only ever read Laurie Colwin's food writing, but her fiction is wonderful as well. She led a short- but prolific!- life.)
Bonus: If you're in the car a lot, I recommend listening to Rob Lowe's memoir Stories I Only Tell My Friends, read by the author. I admit I was pleasantly surprised by how insightful the writing is, and how honestly Lowe is about his career and personal life. A real treat!
What books have you loved this year?We still haven't gotten our professional wedding photos back, but here are a few we do have, from the rehearsal dinner and reception. It's hard to believe we've been married almost three months!
Happy holidays!