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"Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light." -- Madeleine L'Engle

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✨Recommended: Start your month off right with the delicious, devious, wicked wit of Muriel Spark—times three!✨ . When I read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie back in May, I knew I'd found a new love, and the reading experience of these three in a row only deepened my affection. I'm down now to just one book I own from her that I haven't read, which means I'll have to buy some more soon. Sighhhhh. 😅 . . . . . #murielspark #booksijustread #igreads #instabooks #instareads #bookstagram #booksofig #booksofinstagram #booklover #booksandcoffee

Playing catch-up, so here's what I finished in August, September, and October. So many good ones! . My faves from these stacks: You can't go wrong with Faulkner, or Strout, or Erdrich, or Nunez—all books from authors not new to me, and no disappointments here in returning to them. I adored my first Dickens, and I hope we see more from the brilliant Sarah Broom in the future. Lastly, Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts was my choice for my book club meeting in October, which made for a spooky, fun discussion, especially given its ambiguity and homage to Shirley Jackson. Thanks to recent birthday boy @thorbalanon for pointing me its way a few years back! . Hello, November! . . . . . #readingwrapup #igreads #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #instareads #instabooks #bookstack #bookstacks #readersofinstagram #booklover #bibliophile

Please gaze upon my sheer and absolute joy! Seeing and meeting Elizabeth Strout yesterday was a dream and I love her even more now. I actually managed to speak fairly coherently to her, gushing about my adoration for Olive. We laughed and both admitted that while we often express shock at the things Olive says and does, we also sometimes secretly wish we had the guts to say and do those same things. I love that even to her creator, Olive Kitteridge feels like a real person. . What a gift to be able to say thank you to one of your favorite writers for her work, and to be able to express in person how much it means to you. Ah, I'm still beaming over here, the whole day just made me so happy. . And part of that happiness, too, was hanging out with Emily (@litinquiry), who is so bright and lovely and charming. We talked books and life for hours and I couldn't have imagined better company for the Boston Book Festival. And thanks to Emily for taking my photo with Elizabeth Strout! Pretty sure I pissed off the whole line of people behind us for taking so long but whatever. Worth it! . This entire time in Boston has been one of exceeded expectations. All full up with love and happiness over here. ❤️ . . . . . #elizabethstrout #bostonbookfestival #olivekitteridge #oliveagain #booklove #authorlove #bibliophile #booklover #bookstagram #igreads

Hello from Boston, where it feels a wee bit colder to me than it does the locals! (Even saw a guy in shorts right after taking this photo.) . What a joy to see Brattle Book Shop in person, both inside and out. It's been around since 1825 (!) and has been in the same family since 1949. Loaded with used, old, and rare books spread across three floors and that alleyway, it's a beautiful testament to the written word. . Tomorrow I'm seeing Elizabeth Strout and Susan Choi at the Boston Book Festival with my boo, @litinquiry. Can't wait for that! For now, I'm headed to the Harvard Book Store and hope to explore the campus a bit, too—if I can stay warm enough! Hope all of you have lovely weekends! . . . . . #brattlebookshop #boston #booklover #bibliophile #bookstoresofinstagram #bookstorelove #bookstorelife #bookstagram

"Absences allow us one power over them: They do not speak a word. We say of them what we want. Still, they hover, pointing fingers at our backs. No place to go now but into deep ground." -- Sarah Broom, The Yellow House . I started The Yellow House the day it was released in August and finished it two days ago, my delay due not to the quality of the book but rather my own heightened anxiety during hurricane season. I just had to take a little break from it. Meanwhile, the book became a National Book Award long-lister and then finalist. I can see why. . Sarah Broom probes her family's history with the skills of an investigative reporter, covering their world before she was in it (as the youngest of 12) through Hurricane Katrina to current day. New Orleans East, where she grew up, is removed from the beads and beignets that commonly occupy imaginations. The way she explores what "home" means, both literally and figuratively, captivated me. The love she feels for her family, the love they all feel for each other, echoes off every page. The book feels, somehow, both large and intimate—it's about politics and history and the role place plays in shaping us, but it's also an homage to mothers and aunts, brothers and sisters, and the role family plays in shaping us. It's beautiful and powerful. I hope she wins! . . . #theyellowhouse #sarahmbroom #memoir #igreads #whereiread #bookofinstagram #bookstagram #instareads #booklover #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile

Eleventy-million unread books on my shelves and here I've just reread this fever-dream of a Faulkner for the third or fourth time. (I'm honestly not even sure which.) Happiest of birthdays to the writer who keeps me coming back for more. . Absalom, Absalom! is just a bonkers book, confounding and challenging in every way, even with repeated rereads, which is why it's my favorite Faulkner. It's like he thought, "Oh, The Sound and the Fury isn't hard enough to follow, let's turn things up a notch." . At its core, it's the epic tale of Thomas Sutpen and his grand design in Jefferson, Mississippi—his quest to establish himself, to lay down roots and build wealth that would endure for generations. But of course Faulkner can't tell it straight. There are multiple unreliable narrators, time slips back and forth, and it's up to the reader to piece the story together while trying to discern what's outright speculation and what's not. Couple all that with his signature lengthy digressions and florid sentences (one of which is 1000+ words) and you can see why you need a couple reads to get a handle on things. I love this about Faulkner but can understand why many don't have the patience. . Harder than reading Faulkner may be writing about Faulkner in a coherent way, so I'll stop while I'm (perhaps?) ahead. I'm throwing in a few photos too of this cute, super-Instagrammable place we stayed last night. If you ever find yourself in Salida, Colorado, this is the spot! . . . #williamfaulkner #absalomabsalom #faulkner #southerngothic #booksandcoffee #igreads #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #southernliterature