Patti Smith's "Just Kids" shares an enthralling look at art, love and friendship

Note: I originally posted my review of Just Kids in 2015 and have updated it in honor of its selection as the 2019 "One Book, One New York" reading program winner earlier this week.

I first read this beautiful, infatuating memoir more than three years ago. Just Kids had already waited silently on my Kindle for nearly three years at that time, bought on a whim thanks to a sale price and lush reviews. But with almost no knowledge of Patti Smith or her work, I foolishly let it languish along with so many other titles destined to collect digital dust.

The book details her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe that spanned from the late ’60s until his death from AIDS in 1989. Smith made her arrival in NYC at age 20 with only one suitcase, little cash and no fixed residence. She met Mapplethorpe the first day, and they soon forged a close bond that left them emotionally entwined and dear friends long after their initial romance faded.

Big Little Lies returns in June, Nine Perfect Strangers coming to Hulu

Liane Moriarty can't stop winning. Season two of the HBO must-see series Big Little Lies (based on  her bestselling book) begins on June 9, while her latest bestseller, Nine Perfect Strangers, just got the greenlight at Hulu. Nicole Kidman will produce and star.

Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis

Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Helen Ellis first lured me in with American Housewife, a book of short stories packing enough zing to win a fan (and boasting a hilarious cover photo to boot). When her follow-up hit stores earlier this month, I immediately grabbed a copy, practically rubbing my hands in anticipation.

The good news: Ellis fills the short, breezy essays with enough wit and charm to make reading them feel like a laid-back lunch date with a funny friend. She's handy with the quotable quips, too. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day with free audiobooks

Tomorrow is Independent Bookstore Day! Celebrate by dropping in at your local independent bookstore and picking up a book or whatever strikes your fancy, because these shops usually offer a range of cool items. Browsing through pens, bags, and various doodads is half the fun. Some stores will even plan special events and offers throughout the day. Find your local indie bookstore here.

But wait, there's icing on this cake! Libro.fm is giving away five free audiobooks as well, only on Saturday, April 27. Snag your copies here.

I loved "Educated" by Tara Westover and you will, too

Educated by Tara Westover
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Everything I had worked for, all my years of study, had been to purchase for myself this one privilege: to see and experience more truths than those given to me by my father, and to use those truths to construct my own mind.”

"Educated" traces Tara Westover’s struggle to get an education despite a domineering, radical father who mainly wanted his family to work in his junkyard and obediently listen to rants about the government and religion. She and her siblings were supposedly being homeschooled, but her father thwarted that so often that by the time she was 8 her daily routine included no schooling at all. Any learning after that was self-directed, she wrote: “You could learn anything you could teach yourself, after your work was done.”

Her mother tried to teach them for a time, but eventually accepted her father’s way of looking at education. “All that really matters … is that you kids learn to read. That other twaddle is just brainwashing,” she told Tara.

It’s an amazing story, and beautifully written. The journey from the enclosed bubble she lived in with her parents to the foreign world of college was akin to being dropped on another planet and trying to make her way – so alien as to be almost incomprehensible. Learning expands your mind and your horizons, but it isn’t always painless.

Author Jane Green talks "Falling" and writing tips

Author Jane Green may be familiar to many thanks to a stack of books bearing her name and millions of copies sold, but she was new to me when I heard she was doing the rounds promoting her new book, Falling. I always enjoy events like this, even when I’m not familiar with the author. It’s inspiring to hear about their writing process, how they got a first book deal, and other little tips they know every aspiring author in the audience (aka 99 percent of the crowd) longs for.

These talks rise to a new level if you’ve read the author, however, so I made use of my library card to snag Second Chance. I saw it listed somewhere as one of her most popular titles, and it was in at the library – my selection process was no more challenging than that. It dates back to 2007, but her newest book, Falling (released July 19), wasn’t on shelves yet when I started my advance reading to prepare for the main event.

Unfortunately, I didn’t finish Second Chance before the talk, but I’d read enough to know I definitely wanted to see it through to the end. Now, after attending the event and later finishing the book, I’ve happily joined her fanbase. Nothing so lovely as finding a new author you enjoy and learning she’s got a shelf full of books for you to catch up on!