High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

I don't know why it's taken me so long to read more Nick Hornby since I really enjoyed About a Boy (one of our first reviews, linked here). When the pandemic started I binged the TV adaptation of this starring Zoë Kravitz and it inspired me to add the book to my list. I really hate that I read it right after Heartburn because it was also SO good and I hate reading two amazing books back to back, even though I know that sounds dumb (as I write this I am now on my third amazing book in a row and it is stressing me out).

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The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath by Leslie Jamison

I've had this book sitting on my shelf for about a year and recently decided to read it after listening to Dax Shepard talk about his relapse. Shepard was very publicly sober for 16 years and recently relapsed after an ATV accident. The podcast is titled "Day 7" and I had been saving it for a few days so I could listen while out on a walk. He tells his addiction story very plainly and I found the episode very moving. Even if you find Shepard obnoxious (which is common), I'd still recommend you check it out if you're interested in addiction/sobriety.

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Heartburn by Nora Ephron

Holy moly was this ever good. It's been sitting on my list to read since Meg told me about an interview she listened to years ago where Ephron talked about this book and time in her life, and I just recently watched the movie adaptation (again based on Meg's recommendation). I have always enjoyed Ephron's writing, both her nonfiction and her screenplays, but I wasn't expecting to love this so much.

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The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

This was a book I ordered on a whim after seeing it on a best of list, and it completely surprised me. Some of my favourite reads won the National Book Award, and Sigrid Nunez's The Friend has this accolade. For those of you that are triggered by anything befalling a dog, don't worry... the giant Great Dane LIVES!

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The Forest City Killer by Vanessa Brown

Scott got me this for my birthday last year on a whim (it wasn't on my list) which usually goes poorly but in this case was a great find. Vanessa Brown, the author, runs a bookstore in London I love and used to visit frequently when I lived downtown (Brown & Dickson). Her and her partner also wrote a fall reading list for us a few years back! Brown wrote this book based on her own fascination with London and the murder 'scene' here that took place in the 60s and onwards. 

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Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Joan Didion

I would kill my own boyfriend for a Joan Didion essay written post 2018, but beggars can't be choosers. I was still thrilled to see that there would be a new Didion publication in 2021, even if it consisted of old writing. 

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Blowing My Way to the Top by Jen Atkin

I asked for this book for Christmas because I'm familiar with Jen Atkin as the personal hairstylist to many celebrities I enjoy (Chrissy Tiegan, the Kardashians, etc.) and I thought it would be a memoir filled with juicy gossip. What I got was the complete opposite of that but I was not disappointed. This book falls more into the career/self-help/inspirational genre but Atkin is funny and relatable as she delivers you advice you know but have been ignoring your whole life.

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