My favorite book of the year was Crying in H Mart. I was so drawn in, in part because it’s well-written and emotional in ways that are uncomfortable but very real. I loved the Oregon backdrop, having been raised in Oregon myself, and, surprisingly, at least to me, was how much I felt wrapped up in the Korean culture and food.

If you haven't read this, you must find yourself a copy pronto. It is everything a good book should be. And it really happened.

I know I've been overwhelming you with books posts lately, but wouldn't you know it that just after posting my top ten books (Top Ten Books that I Love), I've read a new one that just might bump something else out. And at the risk of subjecting you to a book reviewy post (isn't that what Goodreads is for?), I simply have to say that if you are a single girl--or anyone who thinks reading about significant female writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries who bucked tradition by staying (or at least preferring to be) single--you simply must read this book.

I joined Goodreads.

Here's why this memoir works. Well, it's fabulous. But more than that, it's an ideal kind of memoir to read.

I want to use Goodreads. People tell me I should use Goodreads. Everyone swears by Goodreads. And still I do not use Goodreads. Because, and I'm embarrassed to say this, I don't read very many books. Probably one of the worst things a writer can fess up to, but there you have it. I don't have time, and reading always ends up last on my priority list. Actually I take that back.

I began my Christmas shopping this weekend. So far I'm spending way too much per gift (as well as spending way too much time in each store), but that's neither here nor there.