Read by the Author

“Parks and Recreation star Retta delves into her life as a comedian, family member, and ultimate fangirl, starting at how she missed the opportunity of a lifetime due to lack of confidence and ending at the drive-thru of KFC. We get all the important details of her infamous live-tweeting sessions, her classy/not so classy moments at award shows, and her aggressive love of handbags. This book is hilarious and empowering, proving that if you work hard and fight for your dreams, you can see the musical Hamilton six times and sit in Obama's seats. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Retta narrate this book and provide her own mannerisms into the storytelling. Treat yo self to a fantastic listen and buy this book ASAP.”

“This is the second masterful memoir I've read in 2018 about the impact of the complicated and fascinating relationships between mothers and daughters (see also THE ELECTRIC WOMAN by Tessa Fontaine). Allie Rowbottom shares the history of her family's business (Jell-O) while also detailing the lives of generations of women oppressed by the patriarchy and dismissed as hysterical. Highly addictive, JELL-O GIRLS is the perfect book club pick, especially if you want to dive into the mother witch archetype and disrupting the patriarchy.”

“I loved listening to this. While I disagreed with many of Beck's choices and decisions, I couldn't help rooting for her and wanting her to figure it ALL out. She's an engaging narrator as well as a talented writer. I especially loved President Obama's cameos and his warmth and dedication shown through. I am curious as to who some of the people are IRL since her descriptions definitely peaked my curiosity. I can't wait to see where she goes next.”

“This collection of short stories take place in Florida, but this is no Disney World! Dog snatching alligators, hurricanes and lurking panthers-just a few of the dangers in this well crafted book. I especially enjoyed "At the Round Earth's Imagined Corners"”

“Saying I loved this book would almost feel like an understatement. The minute I started reading it I got pulled in and couldn't stop until I was done. With beautiful prose, Sarah Winman tells a warm and utterly heart-breaking story. Ellis and Michael are connected, seemingly by fate, at the moment in their lives when they both lose their mothers and need to feel connected to someone. And the connection they make is the one that lasts a lifetime, the one that gets them through, and can't be broken even with the years they spend apart not knowing what the other is doing. Told from both Elli's and Michael's perspective, Tin Man is a story of loss, pain, secrets and shattering loneliness. But above all it’s a story of love and friendship, the need we all feel, to be connected and to belong.”

“The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner gives insight into life behind prison walls as well as the kind of lives lived that might land one there. Actually, many stories are bound together in this unique novel. A former stripper in for life without parole, a prison GED teacher and a dirty cop are the primary storytellers along with a host of colorful cell mates and acquaintances. The backstories are particularly interesting as there are so many commonalities regarding current social maladies: single parenthood, drugs, poverty, neglect and poor education to name a few. Grimly realistic and fascinating.”

“I've loved everything Leslie Jamison's written, but best of all so far is The Recovering, a memoir/history/criticism-hybrid that takes addiction and recovery as its subject. Every time I sat down with this book, I felt like I was in the company of my smartest friend, someone who knew all the right words for life's greatest pleasures and pains. Her book moves fluidly from personal remembrances to perfectly synthesized research into how and why people (herself and artists and others) elect to warp their consciousness with substances. The Recovering is a thorough and thoughtful look at many of our worst and some of our best tendencies, and Jamison's continually compelling style makes it a delight to read.”

“This memoir is about trauma and privilege, self-loathing, and a silent fear kept secret for far too long. It's about our obsession with body weight and body image, what happens when we internalize our pain and become self-destructive, and how very, very large people are treated in humiliating ways. The descriptions of addictive behavior and the journey to want to heal make this book more universal than I expected. When you decide that this is the day you're going to change and you get out of bed and fail, that's pretty normal. You'll have another chance tomorrow - just remember to like yourself enough to overcome the fear of healing and try again. Highly recommend.”

“Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich didn't set out to investigate murder of six-year-old Jeremy Guillory in Louisiana; it was the case she happened upon as a young law school intern in 1992. In a fascinating twist, this becomes not only the true story of a heinous crime for which the perpetrator is in prison, but also of the investigation that unlocks the author's memories of her own youth, a childhood in which she and her sisters were repeatedly sexually abused by their maternal grandfather. As Marzano-Lesnevich moves backward and forward in time between the young man who killed Jeremy and her own life, the reader is swept along on a current of dismay and awe: dismay that human beings can do these things to each other, and awe that the author could face such demons and move on. I've never read another book like this.”

“Gabrielle Union is smart, funny, articulate and honest. She's also an excellent reader.I loved hearing her takes on growing up in a mostly white town, her experiences in Hollywood, about being in the room where it happens (or not, as the case may be). And, about owning her faults. I would love to sit down and have a glass of wine (or two) with her.”