![]() And that is probably where the issue sort of stems from. ![]() SMITH: Well, I mean, we are a couple with two kids, and we both worked, although he worked out of the house and I worked inside the house and was the primary caregiver. Tell us a little bit about your husband and then what happened to your marriage after this poem went viral. PARKS: The memoir touches a lot on your work, but it really focuses on the end of your marriage. And so that poem widened my readership in a way I just - I couldn't have anticipated. But the poetry readership is generally sort of small and discerning. I'd been writing for years and years and had published a couple of books at that point. SMITH: As a, you know, middle-aged mom of two young kids in Central Ohio, it's hard to overstate how completely bewildering and wonderful and confusing and strange and thrilling that was. ![]() Talk me through what it was like when "Good Bones" went viral. ![]() PARKS: Thank you so much for being with us. ![]()
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![]() ![]() Harper’s overall approach to knitting and creativity in general resonated so strongly with me and I’m grateful to get to read about her particular experience as a queer black woman. I found myself remembering the joyful and revelatory experience of reading Anna Zillboorg’s Knitting for Anarchists when I was a new knitter. ![]() (The back of the book has a note saying that Harper took almost all of the images herself with a 2-second timer on her camera, which I founds super impressive, and made me immediately want to know all about her camera setup.)Įven more than all that, though, the writing about what she means by “radical self-care” and how that relates to knitting are a treasure. ![]() The images are stunning and the whole book design coalesces to create a comforting and soothing experience. The book has ten patterns and a lot of instruction on knitting techniques, which makes it, I think, a good resource for brand new and adventurous beginner knitters. ![]() ![]() ![]() Thankfully, they get a bit of help from Persephone, a feisty TikToker eager to smash the patriarchy. The witches are determined to save their home and themselves, but their aging powers are no match for increasingly malicious threats. Then things take a turn for the worse when Ruby's homecoming reveals a seemingly insurmountable obstacle instead of the solution to all their problems. In an act of desperation, Queenie makes a bargain with an evil far more powerful than anything they've ever faced. ![]() ![]() One man is hellbent on avenging his family for the theft of a legacy he claims was rightfully his. ![]() Still, there's hope, since the imminent return of Ruby-one of the sisterhood who's been gone for thirty-three years-will surely be their salvation.īut the mob is only the start of their troubles. All eyes turn to the witch in charge, Queenie, who confesses they've fallen far behind on their mortgage payments. A looming threat.įive octogenarian witches gather as an angry mob threatens to demolish Moonshyne Manor. "Bianca Marais is a genius" - Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling authorĪ coven of modern-day witches. ![]() ![]() Often raised as only children, many have joyfully reunited with siblings in the final decades of their lives. Encouraged by their contact with Wingate and award-winning journalist Judy Christie, who documented the stories of fifteen adoptees in this book, many determined Tann survivors set out to trace their roots and find their birth families.īefore and After includes moving and sometimes shocking accounts of the ways in which adoptees were separated from their first families. Adoptees who knew little about their pasts gained insight into the startling facts behind their family histories. The publication of Lisa Wingate’s novel Before We Were Yours brought new awareness of Tann’s lucrative career in child trafficking. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans tailored to the wish lists of eager parents-hiding the fact that many weren’t orphans at all, but stolen sons and daughters of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity wards that their babies had died. The incredible, poignant true stories of victims of a notorious adoption scandal-some of whom learned the truth from Lisa Wingate’s bestselling novel Before We Were Yours and were reunited with birth family members as a result of its wide reachįrom the 1920s to 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. ![]() ![]() ![]() THE REAL LIFE SEQUEL TO BEFORE WE WERE YOURS ![]() ![]() “No, I’m her sister, but her legal guardian.” “You hardly look old enough to be her parent.” The other parents already signed out their children. “Ah, yes.” She clapped her hands lightly and scurried behind the broad desk again. Is there somewhere I have to sign her out? Or do you need to check my identification or-” She pasted a smile on her face for the benefit of the older woman. Piper grasped Malia by the elbow and tugged her close beside her. “Found her,” the desk clerk trilled as though Malia had been lost somewhere in the back-clearly oblivious to the tense undercurrent between them. As she continues to push his buttons, it becomes clear to Hale that he must either arrest Piper-or claim her as his own. The infuriating troublemaker clearly has no respect for his badge. But staying out of Piper’s path is proving near impossible. ![]() ![]() Piper has nothing in common with the town golden-boy-turned-lawman-and she refuses to be a notch on his bedpost.ĭespite rumors, Hale avoids fooling around with the women of Sweet Hill, many of whom are hoping to get him to the altar. ![]() So she isn’t surprised that when she comes into contact with Sweet Hill’s wildly irresistible, arrogant sheriff, Hale Walters, they’re instant adversaries. ![]() It doesn’t seem to matter that she’s worked hard to build a good life for herself. From the wrong side of the tracks and with most of her family in jail or dead, Piper Walsh is used to everyone in town thinking the worst about her. ![]() ![]() ![]() She keeps calling him "Gimpy" as a nickname because he is currently with a limp while in recovery. She gets annoyed when he asks her to stay with him a bit while he's recovering to help him out since he can't move for a week or so, and the doctor suggests it. As an example, the first day he starts walking again, with a cane, she won't stop walking quickly to investigate a property, and only feels guilty when she looks back to see him pale and sweating from trying to keep up. I like she has flaws, but her aggravation with Dutch being injured got tiresome. Stubbornness is one thing, stupidity is another. While it was supposed to be funny, I guess, she came off too unsympathetic to Dutch's injuries (the potholes, ouch?) and was reckless with her safety. ![]() My least favorite of the first three, Abby went from awesome main character I stood behind to one that made me cringe. ![]() ![]() ![]() I've always thought that, when he's inspired, Carrey can turn in some tremendous dramatic performances as evidenced by, once again, the Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine. ![]() Hence why I need multiple adjectives in all caps to illustrate how much I fucking TREASURE that movie. ![]() I fucking LOVE The Truman Show, fucking ADORE that movie. I probably wouldn't have understood that movie at that age, but now I see it as the incredible movie it is, one of the best of the 90s. I also made her take me to see The Truman Show when it came out in 1998. Probably some of the few people that actually saw that movie in theaters. To the point that I made my mom, along with my father (the less said about that the better), take me to see Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls in movie theaters. Him, along with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan, were my guys when I was growing up. Let's talk about Jim Carrey a little bit, shall we? This was a guy that, when I was a little kid, I idolized. ![]() ![]() ![]() Harrow's spellbinding debut-step inside and discover its magic. Lush and richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories await in Alix E. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure, and danger. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut. LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER! Finalist for the 2020 Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards. "A gorgeous, aching love letter to stories, storytellers, and the doors they lead us through.absolutely enchanting."-Christina Henry, bestselling author of Alice and Lost Boys ![]() ![]() ![]() Despite having more issues with this book the second time around – I’ll get to that in a second – I had so much fun with this. ![]() Now (in case you haven’t been following my recent obsession), a group of friends and I spend every Saturday evening performing a different Shakespeare play over Zoom, and I thought that revisiting If We Were Villains in this context would make for a more exciting reading experience than it was for me in 2017.Īnd yes, it certainly was. If you do go back and read my not very good original review, you’ll see that I actually talk about my opinions on Shakespeare, which were, at the time, middling – in the sense that I had a couple of Shakespeare plays I loved, and I typically enjoyed the productions I’ve gotten the chance to see, but until this year Shakespeare had never been a very big part of my life. If We Were Villains falls into that category I first read it as an ARC in 2017 (original review here – from before I was any good at writing reviews, hah) and I really enjoyed it – I found it fun and compelling and moving, but it wasn’t a book that I actually expected to revisit at any point.Ĭue the unexpected plot twist where I would spend most of 2020 injecting Shakespeare straight into my veins. I do not reread books very frequently between having a pretty decent memory and being in a constant state of intimidation regarding my TBR I rarely feel compelled to revisit books I’ve already read, especially if they aren’t all-time favorites. ![]() ![]() All I really knew was that it was YA Fantasy and that it MIGHT have a fated-mates trope or at least a blossoming YA romance in general, so I was absolutely here for it! And then I start reading and this happens:Īnd like… I want you to have the same reaction and surprise as I did!!! □□□ But I know that sometimes doesn’t make for a great review SO. I almost don’t even want to say more than that because (like usual) I went into this story almost blind. Once she sets out on her journey, she meets up with a broody Celestial Prince, a terrifying yet familial shapeshifter, and the beginnings of a foretelling start to take shape. She’s determined to vanquish the Shadow demon at any cost, even venturing outside of the safety of her village to go on a harrowing quest that will lead her to what she needs to save her village. From there, we meet present-day Dyna, a healer from the secluded village of North Star in the kingdom of Azure. It’s spooky and dark and while clearly sets the tone and purpose of Dyna’s character, doesn’t necessarily speak to the tone or mood of the book. ![]() ![]() The story begins in an eerie dream-memory of the last night the mysterious Shadow demon attacked Dyna’s village. ![]() |