Summer Author Adventures

It's summer!! Watermelon, pool parties, and for me, more frequent visits to the indie bookstore in downtown Austin, BookPeople. BookPeople is the biggest indie bookstore in Texas and it brings a ton of authors on tour for various events every year! 

Just this summer, I have seen three authors speak already. Lizzie Velasquez, Samantha Irby, and Roxane Gay. Here's what I felt: 

We are never meeting in real life review

Title: we are never meeting in real life.
Author: Samantha Irby
Genre: Essays, Humor
Publisher: Vintage Books

Blurb: Sometimes you just have to laugh, even when life is a dumpster fire. With We Are Never Meeting in Real Life., "bitches gotta eat" blogger and comedian Samantha Irby turns the serio-comic essay into an art form. Whether talking about how her difficult childhood has led to a problem in making "adult" budgets, explaining why she should be the new Bachelorette--she's "35-ish, but could easily pass for 60-something"--detailing a disastrous pilgrimage-slash-romantic-vacation to Nashville to scatter her estranged father's ashes, sharing awkward sexual encounters, or dispensing advice on how to navigate friendships with former drinking buddies who are now suburban moms--hang in there for the Costco loot--she's as deft at poking fun at the ghosts of her past self as she is at capturing powerful emotional truths. 

Me: Look at that cover. How could you not read this book??!!

italy: my brilliant friend review

Title: My Brilliant Friend
Author: Elena Ferrante
Publisher: Europa

Blurb: Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Ferrante’s four-volume story spans almost sixty years, as its protagonists, the fiery and unforgettable Lila, and the bookish narrator, Elena, become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all the while maintaining a complex and at times conflictual friendship. Book one in the series follows Lila and Elena from their first fateful meeting as ten-year-olds through their school years and adolescence. 

Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her protagonists.

Me: This book (and the other ones in the series) has had quite a lot of hype. Elena Ferrante is incredibly famous, and this series in particular has been noted as unique and revolutionary. Going in, I had high expectations and unfortunately, My Brilliant Friend didn't blow me away like I hoped it would.

Re-read review: The Book Thief (some books never get old)

Hey! I talk about this book so much to anyone who'll listen, so I'm amazed that I haven't mentioned it on the blog yet in some shape or form. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is probably my favorite book of all time. I first read it in 8th grade, and just a week ago, finished my fifth re-read. Here's why I love it so much: 

My ideal panel

Hey! I'm super excited about this post, because I get to basically build my ideal author panel. The idea of meeting these authors even just by themselves is CRAZY but all of them together- I'd probably scream from excitement, and they'd run away haha. 

Special thanks to Eventbrite for giving me the idea for this post. Check out their conference page for planning your own events - and let me know if you decide to do something similar :) 

CHILE: The House of the Spirits Review

Title: The House of the Spirits
Author: Isabel Allende
Genre: Classics, Magical Realism

Blurb: Here is patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife, Clara, a woman touched by an otherworldly hand. Their daughter, Blanca, whose forbidden love for a man Esteban has deemed unworthy infuriates her father, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and their country into a revolutionary future.

The House of the Spirits is an enthralling saga that spans decades and lives, twining the personal and the political into an epic novel of love, magic, and fate. 

My Perfect Night In

I don't know about you, but I'm always incredibly bogged down by deadlines and commitments this time of year. With everything important happening in a matter of days, that one peaceful, ideal night-in reading is more appreciated than ever. Here's just what that looks like for me: