Winter Gazette - 2019

“Did Lillian know her life would be changed forever when she met her boarding school roommate Madison? Probably not. Madison isn't like the other rich girls at school, and the fact that Lillian is a scholarship kid doesn't phase her. Things take a turn when Madison gets caught with coke. Flash forward roughly 10 years: even though the friends have kept up with each other with letters, Lillian is surprised when Madison has an unexpected job offer for her involving her stepchildren. This book is funny and strange, totally absurd and entertaining.”

“I am in love with Jami Attenberg’s writing, and was gripped by All This Could Be Yours from the opening pages. Everything about the Tuchmans felt so true to me: Alex’s confusion and anger toward the family’s toxic, now-comatose patriarch, Victor; Barbra’s isolation in her later years after a long marriage to a brute; Twyla and Gary’s unwinding secret selves—all of it is so perfectly told and paced. Full of Attenberg’s trademark dry wit and precise, uncomfortable insight into the psychology of family love (and its close cousin, family hate), this novel had me laughing with genuine joy and crying in real sadness at the same time.”

“Susannah Cahalan, the bestselling author of Brain on Fire, is back with another riveting true story of madness and the mental health system. In the 1970s, Dr. David Rosenhan convinced seven sane people to join him in committing themselves to mental hospitals as patients and trying to get out on their own. What begins as an inspiring and daring story of experimentation darkens and twists as Cahalan closes in on a story shrouded in mystery—who were these seven ‘pseudopatients’ in Rosenhan’s groundbreaking study, and what really happened to them? The Great Pretender is not-to-be-missed narrative nonfiction.”

“This is a spellbinding memoir that will stand the test of time. Carmen Maria Machado has crafted a memoir that turns the form on its head, that creates a stunning, chilling and winding narrative that stays true to the nature of human beings: complex and nuanced. The LGBTQ archive of intimate-partner violence needed this and helped pave a way for others to explore the violence in their queer relationships.”

“Saeed doesn't hold back any details, and his chapters often read like biographical poetry. This book is a window into a different life, and a different soul. It also makes a great listen.”

“Whether she’s telling a very short story about a mother and daughter discussing animal cruelty while on vacation or a longer story about a trio of celebrities on a road trip to escape New York, Grand Union shows that Zadie Smith is as adept with short fiction as she is with the novel. For a form of literature that always seems to enhance the faults of lesser writers, short stories, for Smith, seem only to make her shine brighter than ever.”

“Thanks to Libro.fm I just spent six hours with Patti Smith in my car. There is no better balm for getting unstuck than to listen to someone clearly enlivened by aging, loss, death and elections. Admittedly, Patti's global walkabout In The Year of the Monkey, a memoir of her life approaching the age of 70, often blurs dream and reality - and I've not worked out the meaning of the candy wrappers yet - but still. This book has got soul, and I've listened to it twice. Aside from learning that she likes beans and eggs for breakfast, Patti writes with a raw and compelling lucidity about being, writing, gratitude and truth. Listen to it twice.”

“Harry Potter meets Greek mythology in this fantastical novel. Part adventure story, part fairytale compilation, The Starless Sea is an amazing book that takes listeners on a magical journey beyond time and fate. Zachary Ezra Rollins is a quiet man living a comfortable life of solitude. He allows himself just enough social interaction to not be considered a hermit, but he doesn't have anyone he would consider a true friend, only his stories in books and video games. Zachary soon finds himself on a quest filled with more questions than answers, with nothing but a book of fairytales to guide him--one of which sounds eerily familiar. I absolutely loved getting lost in Zachary's adventure. The portions of fairytales were phenomenal, and fully demonstrates author Erin Morgenstern's ability to tell a fantastic--and fantastical--epic story.”

“This is a book that will stay with you. It’s a story about a 15 Year old Dominican girl, who is married off to a man twice her age bc he can bring her to the United States. Ana, has no control over her situation, and comes to the US, speaking no English, knowing nothing about her new country. Isolated in their apartment, missing her siblings and pressured by her mother to send home money, Ana struggles to find her way. She’s torn between family loyalty and finding her own happiness. Ultimately, it’s Ana who has to determine her own agency. What makes this especially interesting is that it’s set in Washington Heights in the 1960s, with the civil rights movement in the background. Yet, that’s all the impact it has, momentous occasions are just background and Ana’s experience is front and center.”

“Our undoing is also our becoming. We erode and we evolve. Weaving together the erosion of our planet & the rise of for profit politics while coping with the loss of her brother, Terry Tempest Williams offers us hope, resilience and courage in the face of surrounding heartbreak.”

“Lindy West is hilarious and timely in this must-listen audio book! It is more enjoyable because Lindy reads it herself, so the jokes are perfectly timed and hearing her words in her own voice works very well for this book. Round up all your fellow witches and gather your coven, the witches are coming for the patriarchy!”