Jennifer

Love is a Mix Tape
by Rob Sheffield
I was purely addicted to this book for two days. I finished it, no, devoured it in two sittings. It is lovely.
It's an ode to the 90s, to pop culture, love, unfathomable (unless you've lived through it) loss, the immense power of music, and to the joy of existing. This book is about life. I haven't made a mix tape in years but I'm already thinking of the songs I'm going to put on my next one!

The Boat
by Nam Le
In Nam Le's first collection, each story has a scope and depth one might expect from a veteran writer. They include a struggling Vietnamese American writer in Iowa, an assassin in Colombia, small-town life in Australia, an American woman visiting Tehran, and more. These stories traverse more than the complexities of geography; they stare straight at imperfection, disconnection, age, cultural clash, and the limitless possibilities for life in an infinitely varied by strangely congruent human world. A lesser writer would get lost in creating a book of these grand expanses, but Nam Le has the empathy and unique talent to master it.

Invitaion to a Beheading
by Vladimir Nabokov
Nabokov, the master of language and word play, has here a trippy, slippery, dreamy novel about Cincinnatus C. While Cincinnatus is indefinitely waiting for his own execution ridiculous things go on in his near empty prison. A young child he is convinced is trying to help him escape runs freely through the prison, a visit from his furniture-toting in-laws leaves you dumbstruck and laughing at the absurdity. I found myself re-reading sentences over and over amazed at Nabokov's craft!

The Member of the Wedding
by Carson McCullers
The Member of the Wedding is one of the most perfectly crafted stories I have read. Everything in this short novel belongs here, not a word more. I read it on a cold rainy day but McCullers took me to the hot lethargy of summer with Frankie, a restless twelve year old driven mad with the transitions, obsessions and philosophizing bringing her into adolescence. McCullers beautifully situates what symbolizes childhood and the limitless adulthood Frankie longs for, which brings a wonderful richness to a story so delicately mastered.

The Anthropology of Turquoise
by Ellen Meloy
Ellen Meloy was truly one of a kind! She so perfectly captures her natural (and unnatural) surroundings into words that you feel you've been there. The most spectacular part of reading her work is her tremendous talent of describing color; you can taste it, hear it , feel it...you can definitely see it. This is one of the most beautiful books i've read.