You won’t believe how many people tell me to read Crying in H Mart after learning that I run a book-inspired recipe blog. It's probably the first book recommendation out of people's mouths. After reading just a few pages of Michelle Zauner's memoir, though, it's easy to understand why: her story is a love letter to Asian-American food culture.
Interestingly, though, I didn't love Crying in H Mart as much as I'd hoped to.
What is Crying...
“What’s up, bitches???” (If you know, you know!) I’m here with a book review for Grateful as F*ck: 22 Days to Transform Your Life with Gratitude by Francesca Amber, one of my favorite podcasters and motivational gurus.
What’s Grateful as F*ck about?
Grateful as F*ck provides daily prompts -- for 22 days -- on how to live a more grateful, meaningful life. Author Amber injects her personal experiences, valuable insight, and...
If you’re looking for a chilly winter read with a chilling premise, you need to pick up Echo: A Detective Harriet Foster Thriller.
What’s Echo about? Echo is the third and final book in the Detective Harriet Foster series by Tracy Clark. The primary plot of this novel focuses on Chicago police detective Harriet “Harri” Foster, who's working with her partner Vera Li to solve the murder of a billionaire’s college-age son and the...
So many people have recommended that I read Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times.
Maybe it’s because I love hygge and cozy winter vibes so much. Maybe it’s because I speak frankly about dealing with seasonal depression. Or, maybe it’s because I essentially work three jobs and need to rest, goddammit.
Whatever the reason, I was very excited to get my hands on a copy of Wintering and glean what pearls of wisdom I...
Is it even Christmas if we’re not reading holiday rom-coms? And I don’t think you can get any more in the holiday spirit than by going to Alaska for Christmas.
What’s Alaska for Christmas about?
Alaska for Christmas is a Christmas rom-com about Isla, who gets amnesia during a glacier hike (umm, what???) and ends up falling for her rescuer, Coast Guard office Aaron, who also happens to be her childhood nemesis. Isla (love that name!)...
I tried, Tartlets. I really, really tried to get into Real Life and Other Fictions.
This women's fiction book by Susan Coll totally seemed like one I would enjoy. I mean, The Mothman’s in it! We all know supernatural stuff is right up my alley. And, there’s a dog in the book. Animals are the best. The main character's a struggling writer and novelist, and I can completely relate to that.
Despite all this and so much else recommending this...
Beth Kempton's Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy is a delightful holiday read.
I’m always searching for Christmas books that are a little outside the box. Yes, I want something with more substance than a rom-com. However, I don't want someone dying or discovering they have cancer around the holidays, either. (Elin Hilderbrand's Winter Street Series, I'm looking at you.)
Even though I usually read fiction at...
Welcome, Tartlets, to my living, breathing, ever-updating list of Christmas Books You Need to Read.
This book list is compiled by yours truly. Unlike a lot of book lists on the internet, the holiday books I’ve recommended below are all books I’ve actually read.
Table of Contents for Christmas Books You Need to Read Book List
I read lots of heavy ish all year long. Come December 1st, I just want to savor the upcoming holiday...
I love me some good women’s fiction, and Dear Eliza by Andrea J. Stein hits all the right notes.
What’s Dear Eliza about?
Dear Eliza follows Eliza Levinger, who, on the day of her father’s funeral, is given a letter that was written by her late mother. Inside the letter is the bombshell news that Eliza’s biological father isn’t the dad she just laid to rest.
Still unhealed from her mother’s passing ten years before, Eliza finds...
Reading Going to Maine: All the Ways to Fall on the Appalachian Trail was the most fun I’ve had in awhile from the easy, even-more-appreciated comfort of my couch.
What’s Going to Maine about?
Going to Maine: All the Ways to Fall on the Appalachian Trail is a memoir by Sally Chaffin Brooks that recounts when, at twenty-five years old, she decided to thru-hike (read: hike all the way through) the Appalachian trail from Georgia to Maine...
