Confession: I've never read a Stephen King novel. Yes, even though I adore horror stories. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is the first work by this insanely famous author I've read.
A good writer always needs more writing advice I picked up On Writing because so many other writers, readers, agents, and editors have recommended it to me as a must-read for aspiring authors. I received a library copy in 2019 during The Great Concussion...
"To the Women." Author Liza Rodman dedicated her memoir, The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer, "to the women." I always read dedication pages, and when I saw this phrase at the beginning of the book, I thought the sentiment was sweet. But, that's about it. Because I didn't know yet. I didn't know what I was about to read. By the time I finished reading The Babysitter, the full impact of "to the women" hit me like a brick. ...
I knew I was going to enjoy Wow, No Thank You when I saw that author Samantha Irby also runs a blog called bitchesgottaeat.com. My enchantment with Irby only increased when I saw that she dedicated this book of essays to Wellbutrin, to which I, too, owe many a debt of gratitude. Obviously, Irby and I are kindred spirits. Why I wanted to read Wow, No Thank You The reason I originally decided to read Wow, No Thank You is the...
It just so happens that I cracked open Cosy: The British Art of Comfort on a cold winter night. The temp had dropped down below freezing, and gusty winds whipped around the corners of our little cottage in the snowy mountains. I was wrapped up in the colorful afghan my grandmother knitted for me, sipping hot cocoa topped with whipped cream from a hand-crafted clay mug, with a furry little cat snuggled up on my lap. In short, at that moment, I...
Michael Arceneaux, author of I Can't Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I've Put My Faith in Beyoncé, may be my spirit animal. I can't even tell you how many times I emphatically nodded and shouted "Hell, yeah!" as I read his candid and moving memoir. It's rare that I stumble across a writer whose wry sense of humor so closely matches my own -- or, at least, my own if I had the chutzpah to speak or write about...
"Maybe you should talk to someone." How many times have we heard those words, whether uttered jokingly or spoken with complete sincerity? Personally, I've said them lots of times to friends, family, and co-workers. Yeah, I'm that person. Which is why I was immediately intrigued by the title of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed. As a strong advocate of mental health awareness, I subscribe...
Confession time: My newest celebrity crush is the author of The Jane Austen Diet. Bryan Kozlowski, you have the dubious honor of being on the list of “Men I Would Date In An Instant, Were I Not Happily Married.” (Also on this list are Enrique Iglesias, James Cordon, Andy Samberg, and Josh Gates, in case you're curious as to who your competition is.) This is all because of your brilliant, funny, fascinating, and amazingly relatable book about...
Happy 2020, Tartlets! Yes, yes, I know that we’ve all been living in the new year for over a month now. Aaaaand that I did an impromptu post in January about my NYC food tour. BUT! This is my first scheduled post of 2020, which means a new year of book and food blogging has officially begun! I can think of no better way to kick off than with my book review of Finding the Gift: Daily Meditations for Mindfulness. It’s no secret that 2019 was...
You guys, I don't know how I'm going to write a concise book review of And Then We Grew Up. I wrote pages and pages of notes as I was reading this fantastic nonfiction book. PAGES, I tell you! Author Rachel Friedman spoke to the art monster within me, and I responded viscerally to everything she said. What's And Then We Grew Up about? Friedman had dreams of being a professional violist, but she left them behind when she realized the...
It's been a long time since I've done a Quick Look Books booklist, and this one all about cookbooks is coming at you just in time for the ultimate cooking (and gift-giving!) season: the holidays! Y'know, Tarlets, sometimes I'm quite surprised that I run a blog. I'm pretty sure that some of my closest family and friends are surprised, too! If you knew me back in "the day," I eschewed most forms of technology...mostly because I failed at...
