Hunter | Shelf By Shelf

|| OPRAH & ELIZABETH GILBERT || . When I was invited to an event for Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER, I did the opposite of what I normally do and said yes. I love Gilbert’s fiction—CITY OF GIRLS is actually one of my favorite books I’ve read in the last few years—but I remembered reading EAT PRAY LOVE on my honeymoon, and almost being sad over the fact that whatever this experience Gilbert was having, I didn’t have access to. This new memoir sounds harrowing, heartbreaking, and polarizing. It also spoke to a reality I was much more familiar with. Listening to Gilbert talk about this book was so moving and eye opening about what it means to be a love addict, what that truly means—not just some silly thing people say when they like fantasizing about random crushes, but this desire to idolize someone in a truly unhealthy way. Listening to her discuss this journey of self discovery felt like it had cracked something open in myself. It was a wonderful experience. • AND THEN Oprah came out, and I jumped up and down and screamed, and told her something funny and embarrassing and I could see something in Oprah that I haven’t seen in anyone else I’ve met—something I assume most people of her level of fame would have to possess—this ability to make you feel like you’re sharing an intimate moment with her, only to realize that she’s only allowed you to reveal yourself, while she’s still kept up her guard. It was fascinating and hearing her talk about her own reading experience of this book was very cool. • Overall, I’d say this was a pretty stellar event, and I’m still so buzzed from being there, the excessive level of caffeine coursing through my veins, and the conversations I had with others afterwards. Sometimes I think things can’t get any bigger or more exciting than what I’ve already experienced—then life tops itself. I can’t wait to go home and collapse and think about how amazing all of this has been. - - #oprah #oprahsbookclub #elizabethgilbert #allthewaytotheriver #bookstagram

My Granny always says I have a way of willing things into being. It’s something she’s often attributed to her lord and savior, sometimes to my own determination, but either way, I’ve been known to find a way to get the things that I want, and to (eventually) make it where I want to be. I’ve been obsessed with the @nationalbookfoundation for more than a decade—for the last two years I’ve dedicated a large majority of my reading life to the previous fiction books, both finalists and winners, and it’s always a fun game to try and guess which books will make the longlists each year. Some of my biggest dreams have involved this award; attending the ceremony, judging the fiction award, winning it (maybe one day!). I never thought I’d have the opportunity to go to an event like this, but I’ve always wanted to. These types of things only seemed to happen in movies—where there is a gorgeous venue and men in the bathroom giving you towels to dry off your hands, the attendance of important people you recognize and aren’t supposed to fangirl over, but you do it anyway. Last night felt like walking into a mid-2000’s J.Lo romcom. I got to meet so many people I admired, so many of the bookish friends I’ve made on here over the years. I drank too much and danced with a group of people I am genuinely fond of, an experience which somehow felt just as momentous as attending this event. I got to do it all with my best friend. Things like this don’t feel like they should happen. They often don’t. I’ve never ever felt so fortunate. And I’ve never felt so hopeful for what else the future could bring. • Anyway, I just figured that instead of processing the magic of last night only in my head, I’d make a post to mark the occasion, and to remember what’s going through my head right now. My joy is impossible go contain.

Best. Day. Ever.

Hi, y’all! For anyone who doesn’t know, I have a very…complicated relationship with THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA—which, thank you to @randomhousebooks for the new copy! I first tried reading it when I was 10, and I guess it just wasn’t in my reading level. Then I tried reading it at 18, 19, 22, 25, 27, 29, and 30. Honestly, I’ve always found book Andy to be insufferable. Anne Hathaway, she is not. However, I have grown a lot as a reader over the last two years and I wanted to see what my experience would be if I gave it another chance. So! If you’d like, follow along with me while I try AGAIN to see if I can enjoy this book that has never quite worked for me! • As an aside, I thought the sequel was a fun watch, despite the fact that I got distracted by people in my theater spending half the time on their phones.

Currently suffering from a reading slump…which usually means I spend all day trying to figure out what to read, before finally landing on a book that wasn’t even on my radar. That ever happen to you?

Finished THE STORY OF A NEW NAME and am halfway through the new Elizabeth Strout—both great—but I’m also rereading things for various reasons. My brain feels like scrambled eggs lately, so forgive me for not having more scintillating content at the moment. I started shifting into my new role today, and I’m already pretty busy—which is exciting, but also means I have less time to listen to my audiobook while at work haha. Anyway, how’s y’all’s reading month going so far?! Inquiring minds want to know!

|| MAY READING HOPEFULS || . Okay, so my reading has slowed down A TON over the last few weeks, and I have a feeling it’s going to slow down even more now that I’m training for this new position at work—that being said, I have a solid stack of May hopefuls, which I just realized is mostly backlist, but who doesn’t love a good backlist read?! DO NOT BECOME ALARMED is my little friend group’s book club pick, so I’m excited for that. And I really want to finally read the rest of Lydia Millet’s books, as well as Chang-Rae Lee. Those are probably the two authors whose work I’ll try to finish this year. Feels like a good goal, yeah? Anyway, let me know what books y’all are hoping to get to this month! Any books in common?!

|| APRIL READING WRAP-UP || . April was a light reading month for me—I spent a lot of time writing, which I’m happy about, but also spent a lot of time working on my Flannery O’Connot impression, which feels like a less useful way of spending my time. Either way, read some good books (thank you to the tagged publishers for some of these!) and I’m here to tell you about them now! • TRANSCRIPTION felt really different from Lerner’s THE TOPEKA SCHOOL, and I always appreciate when a writer can switch it up. I read this in one sitting and feel like there was still so much to glean, so will likely go back and reread. • After RAJA THE GULLIBLE took home the NBA for Fiction last year, I decided to go back through and read the other Alameddine books I hadn’t read, and KOOLAIDS was near the top of my list. All of his books have been so formally different from each other and I find his work really exciting and it’s all very queer, so obviously I recommend. • TAILBONE is one of my favorite debuts so far this year, it’s captivating and well written, and I was surprised by all the places it went. Also the author is super sweet, and it always makes me happy went talented people are nice. • I liked THE WHITE HOT, but it also reminded me of a few other books I’ve read before, and that kept me from loving it as much as I might have otherwise. Still think it’s worth a read. • I liked THE HOUNDING, but I had a lot of people in my DMs telling me how much they hated it as I was reading, so will likely revisit and just not tell y’all. People sharing how much they hate a book someone is currently reading feels to me like when someone laughs at a joke before I get to the punch line. • SO OLD, SO YOUNG was the book club pick this month and we all really enjoyed it. We loved the reflections on friendship and aging and just how messy these characters were. Makes me wanna read his last book, now, too. • EITHER/OR was a book I’d been meaning to get to for a while—I originally read THE IDIOT in 2017 and didn’t like it, but revisited a few years ago and loved, and it was so nice to settle back into Celine’s life. • Overall, a good reading month! How was yours?!

✨SHELF BY SHELF CULLS HIS SHELVES✨ . Hi, y’all! Since I have decided to get rid of some books over the next few weeks, I thought it would be fun to bring y’all along for the journey in helping me decide which books to keep, which to get rid of, and which to send off to Granny’s. If it goes to Granny’s, it just means it’ll be stored away until I have a place big enough to justify them sitting unread for a while haha. For now, here’s where each book lands in each category, but let me know if I should change my mind! • KEEP: . THESE LETTERS END IN TEARS BRING THE HOUSE DOWN LITTLE RABBIT . GET RID OF: . WE ARE FREE TO CHANGE THE WORLD AN OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE MODEL HOME . OFF TO GRANNY’S: . THE GUEST LECTURE SHOW THEM A GOOD TIME BETWEEN TWO MOONS

Trying to squeeze in a few more reads before the end of April—big thanks to @aaknopf for this arc!—and I’m wondering which books y’all have loved this month so far! Any you think are getting overlooked? Any hyped books you’ve been wanting to discuss? Let me know!

Hi, y’all! Randomly started thinking about historical fiction and how it operates as a genre and within the greater framework of our culture…I would love y’all’s thoughts on this! Feel free to chime in!

Hi, y’all! I’ve been trying to get better about doing audiobook updates throughout the year, and thought it would be fun to share which audiobooks I listened to while at the gym over the last two months. A big thanks to @prhaudio for several of these! All of these were enjoyable on the treadmill—not every audiobook is easy to listen to while lifting, but I love listening to most books on the treadmill. Actually, I think short stories are great for treadmill walks because they usually last the duration of most people’s time on it. Anyway, let me know what type of books y’all like listening to at the gym or on your walks! Would love to know!