The Hungry Bookworm

Everything Here Is Beautiful + Chinese Almond Cookies

Mira T. Lee’s debut novel, Everything Here Is Beautiful, is a tough book to discuss—though we attempted to do just that for my last book club meeting. It was suggested by one of our members last year, shortly after it was released, and when it finally got chosen as our monthly pick, I was looking forward to reading it. It’s a story about sisters, about immigrants, about mental illness. It’s a raw and powerful debut that I can’t recommend enough.

Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee

The novel follows two Chinese-American sisters, Miranda the oldest and Lucia the youngest, in the years after their mother dies from cancer. Lucia is adventurous and full of life, and when it’s determined that she has schizoaffective disorder, Miranda does everything in her power to keep Lucia grounded and get her the help she needs.

April 23, 2019 by Megan

book review, post series, recipe

What She Ate #4: Eva Braun + Champagne Cake

Welcome to the fourth feature focusing on the women within What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories by Laura Shapiro. This time I’m talking about Eva Braun, one of the more notorious women Shapiro covers in the book.

For those of you who don’t know, Eva Braun was Hitler’s mistress (and, at the very end, wife). While Hitler took precautions to appear unattached in public, in private, it was well-known that he was with Eva. She hosted many of the meals at Berghof, a Nazi party retreat in the Bavarian Alps. If you saw my review of The Taster, Berghof will be quite familiar to you.

April 13, 2019 by Megan

book review, of interest

Show Us Your Books – April 2019 Reading Recap

I’m excited to report that I had another pretty wonderful reading month. I finally checked off a few ARCs that were releasing soon; I participated in a blog tour; I read a couple of my most-anticipated books of the year; and I read not one, but two 5-star books! Considering I usually read only a few 5-star books a year (and I’m already at three), that’s amazing. I was blown away by some of the amazing writing this month.

April 9, 2019 by Megan

book review, recipe

A Woman Is No Man + Stuffed Grape Leaves

When Etaf Rum’s A Woman Is No Man was shown as an option for the February Book of the Month, I didn’t hesitate to select it. The description of her debut novel ticked a lot of boxes for me. Rum takes us inside the lives of conservative Arab women living in America and leaves us gasping for air.

The novel is the story of three generations of Palestinian women — Deya, who is 18 and begrudgingly beginning to look for suitors; her mother, Isra, who desperately wants to find love, ultimately leaving her family in Palestine to marry a man living in Brooklyn; and Fareeda, Isra’s mother-in-law, who pressures Isra to bear sons and Deya to find a husband, even though both women want more for their lives than what is traditionally expected of them.

April 7, 2019 by Megan

book review, recipe

The Library of Lost and Found + Toffee Apples

When I was invited to join the blog tour for Phaedra Patrick’s The Library of Lost and Found, I couldn’t turn it down. It was a book about books! I’m a huge fan of bookish novels — as I’m sure you are too. I haven’t read Phaedra’s bestselling The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper (yet), but based on its popularity, I knew I was in for a wonderful story.

The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick

Martha Storm is a librarian with a huge heart, who bends over backwards for others, even though they don’t often recognize her efforts. Caught in a bit of a rut, without many friends or close family, Martha craves meaningful relationships. When a mysterious man leaves her a tattered novel on the library’s doorstep, it’s a sign her life may be ready for a change.

April 4, 2019 by Megan

of interest

TBR Mix ‘n’ Mingle – What I’m Reading in April

Wow, I am ready for spring! We’ve had a few warm days here and there but the forecast says we’re getting snow on Thursday, and I’m OVER it. I don’t know about you, but I’m more than ready to lay in the warm sun (or under a shady tree) and read, read, read. Winter, go away!

Here’s what I’m reading this month:

April 3, 2019 by Megan

of interest

Top Ten Tuesday – Things That Make Me Pick Up a Book

It’s been a little while since I participated in Top Ten Tuesday, but I’m excited to be back and I’m super excited about this topic! This week I’m sharing the Ten Things That Make Me Pick Up a Book. I had to give it a little more thought than I expected, probably because my TBR at this point is so full of books, I rarely have to think about what to read next (and why).

But, I examined how my TBR got to be as long as it is, and this is what I came up with! I’m also looking forward to seeing what influences others’ reading decisions, so I definitely plan to make lots of time for blog hopping on this one. Without further ado, here are the Things That Make Me Pick Up a Book:

April 2, 2019 by Megan

book review, recipe

Chronicles of a Radical Hag + Butterscotch Bars

When I read the description of Lorna Landvik’s Chronicles of a Radical Hag (with Recipes), I couldn’t resist picking it up. Not only did it sound chock-full of the small town charm I loved in Virgil Wander, it focused on a small-town newspaper columnist, Haze Evans. For those of you who don’t know me personally, my first job out of college was working at a newspaper — not as a writer, but as an advertising salesperson, and unofficially, a community events organizer. My time at the newspaper was a wonderful learning experience, and I was sort of hoping to get lost in a similar world again.

Haze’s column has been running for 50 years when she suffers a stroke and falls into a coma. In an attempt to fill the now vacant column space, the newspaper’s publisher, Susan, decides to run some of her past columns and reader responses, good and bad. Soon, the whole town finds itself swept up in Haze’s wise, witty and controversial words.

March 27, 2019 by Megan

book review, post series, recipe

What She Ate #3: Eleanor Roosevelt + Baked Deviled Eggs with Tomato Sauce

Welcome to the third feature focusing on the women within What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories by Laura Shapiro. This time I’m talking about Eleanor Roosevelt, who was one of the reasons I was so excited to pick this book up in the first place.

Eleanor Roosevelt was longest serving First Lady of the United States, living in the White House with her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, during the Great Depression and World War II. She is remembered as an activist, a champion of women’s and African-American rights. Eleanor was a feminist who embraced domesticity, and in fact, a huge part of her legacy was the incorporation of home economics into education (though she herself didn’t do chores or cook meals).

March 24, 2019 by Megan

book review, recipe

The Farm + Pancit

Joanne Ramos’ novel The Farm comes out on May 7, and I’m so excited that I was able to get an advance readers’ copy from NetGalley. Golden Oaks Farm, or the titular “Farm,” is a blissful paradise where women live during pregnancy to ensure they they deliver the healthiest baby in the safest environment. For nine months, the women are pampered with spa treatments, custom menus, and the best medical care. But these women are not allowed to leave the grounds, and they not even allows to keep the babies they carry.

These women are “hosts,” chosen and paid for by super-wealthy patrons who can’t or won’t have their babies themselves. For the hosts — mostly immigrants, becoming a surrogate opens up a world of possibility, but it’s not always an easy choice. Jane, a Filipina host, makes the decision to be able to better support her family, a daughter of her own and an elderly cousin, Ate. But it also means she will be leaving her newborn behind so she can bring someone else’s into the world.

March 19, 2019 by Megan

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