Questions: 1. What were you like as an early and learning reader? 2. What book or book series really got you excited about reading as a kid? 3. Has there been a person in your life, real or fictional, who inspired you to be a reader? 4. At what point did you begin to identify as a reader? 5. How has being a reader shaped your life and your worldview? 6. Tag someone who's reading history you want to learn more about.
Consider yourself tagged if you haven't done this one yet.
Books Mentioned: B is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood Eddie's Green Thumb by Carolyn Haywood
Questions: 1. What were you like as an early and learning reader? 2. What book or book series really got you excited about reading as a kid? 3. Has there been a person in your life, real or fictional, who inspired you to be a reader? 4. At what point did you begin to identify as a reader? 5. How has being a reader shaped your life and your worldview? 6. Tag someone who's reading history you want to learn more about.
Consider yourself tagged if you haven't done this one yet.
Books Mentioned: B is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood Eddie's Green Thumb by Carolyn Haywood
Other Mentions My BookTube Newbie Video youtube.com/watch?v=kNxGY1CSsVc&t=1427sBinge-Reading Abigail ThomasMelissa Firman2023-03-25 | As part of my quest to make a concerted effort this year to read those books I've been saving for a "special occasion" or "the right time," this month I've been on an Abigail Thomas binge-reading kick. She's a novelist, memoirist, and artist who just published her newest book at 80 years old. I've had her books on my shelves for years.
Books Mentioned (all by Abigail Thomas): An Actual Life (novel) Getting Over Tom (short stories) Herb's Pajamas (short stories) A Three Dog Life (memoir) Safekeeping: Some True Stories from a Life (memoir) What Comes Next and How to Like It (memoir) Still Life at Eighty: The Next Interesting ThingRecent and Potential ReadsMelissa Firman2023-03-19 | What I read this week and possibilities for what's up next.
Books mentioned: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai Demon Copperhead by Demon Copperhead A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas Your Writing Matters: 34 Quick Essays to Get Unstuck and Stay Inspired Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak Homesick by Jennifer Croft Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
Other Places You Can Find Me: Substack: www.melissafirman.substack.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/melissa.firmansome sad life news, january reads + dnfsMelissa Firman2023-01-29 | After two months, I've made my way back to Booktube with some sad life news along with the books I've read (and DNFed) in January.
Books Mentioned: Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl by Joya Goffney Spare by Prince Harry The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Good Poems for Hard Times, Selected by Garrison Keillor Back to the Prairie by Melissa Gilbert Prairie Tale by Melissa Gilbert Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes Inciting Joy by Ross Gay Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
(What's the traditional BookTube video to mark 100 subscribers?)
Books Mentioned: Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau Bewilderment by Richard Powers Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune (audiobook narrated by Kirt Graves) Final Vinyl Days by Jill McCorkle Inciting Joy: Essays by Ross Gay
Book Riot's 2022 Read Harder Challenge bookriot.com/read-harder-2022Sunday Reads!Melissa Firman2022-10-16 | A quick Sunday Reads video to catch up on what I've been reading.
Books Mentioned: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, Book #1) Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, Book #2) Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, Book #3) In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, Book #4) How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis The Best American Food Writing 2021 edited by Gabrielle Hamilton Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney BoylanShorty Septembers Halfway Finished Already, OMG.Melissa Firman2022-09-16 | We're halfway through #ShortySeptember (!!!!) and I'm just getting around to telling you what I've been reading. Here are Books 1-7
Shorty Books Mentioned: 1. Salt Slow by Julie Armfield 2. The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi 3. Write for Your Life by Anna Quindlen 4. I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell (technically not a shorty, but I'm counting it as one) 5. Passing by Nella Larsen (currently reading) 6. The Book of Delights by Ross Gay (currently reading) 7. The Best American Food Writing 2021, edited by Gabrielle Hamilton (currently reading)
Other Books Mentioned: Night and Day by Virginia Woolf Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson
Booktuber Shout Outs: Roving Reader youtube.com/c/KarenEvansReadsA Trip to Phipps!Melissa Firman2022-09-05 | One of my best childhood friends was in town recently and we visited Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens here in #Pittsburgh for their Summer Flower Show, “Monet in Bloom.” Enjoy the flowers and I’ll be back with some bookish content soon.
Music: SoulmateWhat I’ve Been ReadingMelissa Firman2022-07-31 | A little catch up on what I've been reading. There's an odd video editing glitch early on -- sorry about that. Editing is the bane of my existence. I hate it.
Books Mentioned: Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden Marriageology: The Art and Science of Staying Together by Belinda Luscombe The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars by Dava Sobel Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O'Connor Wise Blood Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Channels Mentioned: Simon @SavidgeReads Karen @RovingReader Sue Jackson @SueJacksonDE
Big Book Summer Challenge (hosted by Sue Jackson @SueJacksonDE) youtube.com/watch?v=Ns_cql-78nERecent Reads, Vacation Vlog (and a cameo by my mom)!Melissa Firman2022-07-10 | A chat about some of my recent reads (finishing up my Pride books) -- featuring bonus content of our new cat (we got her 3 months ago), a cameo appearance by my mom (!!!), and a day in Doylestown doing some salt therapy and book shopping (haul from this trip to come in a future video), and an incredible sunset.
Books Mentioned: South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry (Ecco, 2022) Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry (Beacon Press, 2019) Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkinson Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder (Doubleday, 2021) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Simon & Schuster, 2012) Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Simon & Schuster, 2021) Heartstopper, vol.1 by Alice Oseman (Alice Oseman, 2018)
Books Mentioned: A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis Undercover by Beth Kephart Admit This to No One by Leslie Pietrzyk South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry
The Book of Delights by Ross Gay Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay (poems) Little What by Jeff Oaks (poems) What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life by Mark Doty Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith Punch Me Up to the Gods by Brian Broome Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Flesh and Blood by Michael Cunningham
Challenges Mentioned Big Book Summer Challenge, hosted by my longtime blogger (and now BookTube) friend Sue Jackson youtube.com/watch?v=Ns_cql-78nE
Other Places You Can Find Me: Blog: www.melissafirman.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/melissa.firman Facebook: www.facebook.com/thefirmangroup Goodreads: goodreads.com/user/show/6002339 Storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/profile/melissafirmanBack on BookTube! (1 year later!)Melissa Firman2022-05-30 | Hey, friends! I'm back on BookTube -- after 1 year! I had some tech issues and decided to take a little break but didn't expect it to be this long. Here's a quick video to say hi (and to see if I know what I'm doing with my new phone). For those of you that are still here, thank you and I look forward to reconnecting with you!Im Back! Catch Up, Vacation Reads & My Rant About a Super-Hot BookMelissa Firman2021-06-26 | I'm back with a new video after an unplanned BookTube break. We went on vacation. I read a dreadful book that is all over the "best of summer" lists. I rant a bit about it.
Pride Month Reading (all memoirs so far!) XOXY by Kimberly M. Zieselman In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile
Other Books Mentioned Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler Little Matches by Maryanne O'Hara People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks Dusk, Night, Dawn by Anne Lamott Weather by Jenny Offill The Story of More by Hope Jahren Women Write: A Mosaic of Women's Voices in Fiction, Poetry, Memoir and Essay, edited by Susan Cahill (BookTube Spin #2)What Ive Been Reading in May (so far)!Melissa Firman2021-05-17 | May has been a busy month so far (hence the lack of videos). Coming up on 5 months of BookTubing, I'm still trying to get into a groove with finding time to create videos as well as figuring out my place here. I suppose that's something all of us go through. In the meantime, here's what I've been reading in May.
Books Mentioned: Little Matches: A Memoir of Grief and Light by Maryanne O'Hara #maybemidrash) Flow: The Life and Times of Philadelphia's Schuylkill River by Beth Kephart (#springathon, Home prompt) Obit by Victoria Chang (#asianreadathon) Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong (#asianreadathon) On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong Beautiful Things by Hunter Biden A Promised Land by Barack ObamaSunday Salon #7: April Reads, May PlansMelissa Firman2021-05-02 | A wrap up of what I read in April and plans for May, including #springathon, #maybemidrash and #atreegrowsinmay. (I'm also planning to participate in the #asianreadathon but haven't finished my pile of possibilities yet.)
Forgive my distracted self, thanks to the noises from my neighbor's constant lawn-tending obsession.
Books Mentioned: Insecure at Last: A Political Memoir by Eve Ensler The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler Little Matches: A Memoir of Grief and Light by Maryanne O'Hara The Naomi Letters by Rachel Mennies A Promised Land by Barack Obama Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
Where Else You Can Find Me: Blog: https://www.melissafirman.com Instagram: instagram.com/melissa.fir... Facebook: facebook.com/thefirmangro... Twitter: twitter.com/thefirmangroup Medium: https://melissafirman.medium.com Storygraph: melissafirmanBookTube Spin #2 Results!Melissa Firman2021-05-01 | It's time for another BookTube Spin with our host Rick MacDonnell! The wheel has landed on #1 and in this video I discuss what book I'll be reading.
youtube.com/user/SuperMacDonnellSunday Salon #6: Current Reads, a DNF, Deweys 24 Hour Readathon, and a BookTuber Shout-OutMelissa Firman2021-04-18 | Back with another Sunday Salon where I talk about what I'm reading, what I've DNFed, an upcoming Readathon and a shout-out.
Books Mentioned: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld
BookTuber Shout Out: Do check out Madalyn @ Sleep Create Caffeinate for her thoughtful, insightful video "Being asexual and a reader International Asexuality Day" posted on 4/6/2021. Highly recommended.
Books Mentioned: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks The Chocolate Maker's Wife by Karen Brooks The Locksmith's Daughter by Karen Brooks The Bass Rock by Evie WyldThe One with All the Rachels (or, My March Reads and DNFing a Book Everyone Else Loves)Melissa Firman2021-04-08 | There are a lot of Rachel mentions and connections in my March reading wrap up, along with a DNF of a book everyone else loved.
Books Mentioned: Remember to Forget Me by Kerry Neville (read for #theirishreadathon)
Necessary Lies by Kerry Neville Wife | Daughter | Self: A Memoir in Essays by Beth Kephart Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America by Laila Lalami The Naomi Letters by Rachel Mennies My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier (read for #marchmysterymadness) The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf Ernest Hemingway on Writing, edited by Larry Phillips Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer (read for #booktubespin) Luster by Raven Leilani
Where Else You Can Find Me: Blog: www.melissafirman.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/melissa.firman Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheFirmanGroupThe Spoiler Tag! (plus a mini freakout rant)Melissa Firman2021-03-30 | Enjoy my mini freakout rant about the audacity of my neighbor mowing his lawn -- on March 27! in Pittsburgh! -- while I'm filming. To be fair, it was a LOT louder in person. Oh, and I do The Spoiler Tag, too.
Questions: 1) What do you consider a spoiler? 2) Does the genre you're reading impact what you consider to be a spoiler? 3) All the best bits are in the trailer, sometimes a synopsis can be too detailed. Do you research books prior to reading them or do you go in blind? 4) Sometimes the introduction or translator's notes can spoil the ending, especially for classics. Has this ever happened to you? 5) Name a time somebody spoiled a novel for you. 6) Have you ever spoiled a novel for somebody else? 7) If spoilers ruin novels, are their [sic] some authors or genres you can't reread? 8) When reviewing are you spoiler free? Does this limit your ability to discuss? 9) Shoutout! Tell us about 5 channels you enjoy and then tag them.
Tagged (I'm not sure who has done this tag, but I thought I'd shout out these great channels regardless):
Melissa @ Fully Booked youtube.com/channel/UC6TB0Zz9XWpeJ5jf9nPz8QQSunday Salon #5: A Weekly Reading Recap on the DeckMelissa Firman2021-03-28 | Books Mentioned: Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America by Laila Lalami The Naomi Letters by Rachel Mennies The Glad Hand of God Points Backwards by Rachel Mennies A Promised Land by Barack Obama Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Charity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell Let's Get Back to the Party by Zak Salih
Greg @ Supposedly Fun youtube.com/channel/UCOYmDxkNFwDmuTrGfqJtIaAIn Memory of Beverly Cleary or, What Beverly Clearys Legacy Means for Children Today)Melissa Firman2021-03-27 | Some of my thoughts (and those of a children's librarian friend and coworker) on the passing of Beverly Cleary, what her legacy means for those of us who loved her books and her impact on children's literature.Spring Vlog!Melissa Firman2021-03-26 | A welcome-to-spring vlog with a Harvie Farms unboxing, new haircut, scenes from the deck, West Wing binge, and daffodils.
Mentions:
Harvie Farm - support small farms with an all-customized CSA. They're in other cities besides Pittsburgh. https://www.harvie.farm/
My hair stylist and her new book: Lost in Lake Anthony by Madison Uram madisonuram.com
The Naomi Letters by Rachel Mennies goodreads.com/book/show/54505499-the-naomi-lettersThe BookTube Backstage Tag!Melissa Firman2021-03-24 | I feel like I say this about every tag I do, but I'm the last person on BookTube to do this one. Thanks to Scott and Becky of The Bookish Bryants for tagging me, and to Rainier Books for creating it!
Other BookTubers Mentioned: Courtney Ferriter and her video about preferences on BookTube video length. youtube.com/watch?v=lnDBqcREGoU
Questions:
1) What camera do you use for your videos?
2) Speaking about filming and being your own director. Do you have a favorite film director?
3) What microphone do you use and what program do you use to edit your videos?
4) Do you remember the first record that you bought or received as a gift?
5) How do you prepare your videos? Talking points, a detailed script or just talkin¨?
6) TV shows have become the thing of our time. "Game of Thrones", "Stranger Things", Netflix, HBO and Amazon. What is/are your favorite TV shows ever. Name a maximum of three.
7. What kind of booktube videos do you prefer to watch and why: reviews, wrapups, vlogs, bookhauls, tag videos or…
8) Watching TV was probably a part of all of our childhoods. These years, it has become less popular. What kind of media user are you?
Eight props, you can tag up to eight people.
If you haven't done this tag yet, consider yourself tagged!Sunday Salon #4 - Spring on the Deck, New Haircut, and Books!Melissa Firman2021-03-22 | Spring has sprung here in Pittsburgh. It was nice enough today to film on our outdoor enclosed deck. Kindly ignore the taped-up screen and background clutter.
Books Mentioned: Remember to Forget Me by Kerry Neville Wife | Daughter | Self: A Memoir in Essays by Beth Kephart A Promised Land by Barack Obama Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America by Laila Lalami Dreyer's English: The Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer
Other Mentions: Juncture Workshops (and more about my friend Beth Kephart) junctureworkshops.com
Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon (scheduled for April 24!) deweysreadathon.wordpress.comSunday Salon #3 - What Im Reading, Authors Who are Friends, St. Patricks Day BookTuber Shout-OutsMelissa Firman2021-03-14 | Weekly recap on what I've been reading (and what I hope to read in the next week or so), my approach to reviewing authors who are personal friends, St. Patrick's Day shoutouts to two small BookTube channels worth watching, and a feeling of hope.
Books Mentioned: Wife | Daughter | Self: A Memoir in Essays by Beth Kephart Remember to Forget Me by Kerry Neville A Promised Land by Barack Obama Dusk Night Dawn: On Revival and Courage by Anne Lamott Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams Luster by Raven Leilani Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America by Laila Lalami Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer
Other Mentions: Juncture Workshops (a bucket list item for me) junctureworkshops.com
Irish Readathon #theirishreadathon March of the Mammoths - #marchingmammoths2021 March Mystery Madness - #marchmysterymadness
Books Mentioned: Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson Choose Happiness by Rachel Cole Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Happens Now by Evan Osnos
Link to my conversation with Rachel Cole: youtube.com/watch?v=QEarzRCD108&t=10sBook Chat with Rachel Cole, author of Choose HappinessMelissa Firman2021-03-09 | How can we create more happiness in our lives? Why do we fall into the trap of letting other people steal our joy? In today's video, I talk with author Rachel Cole about her new book, Choose Happiness, and ways we all can live a more fulfilling life.
Facebook: facebook.com/RCChooseHappinessSunday Salon #2 - Feb 28, 2021Melissa Firman2021-03-01 | Welcome to The Sunday Salon where I talk about what I've been reading this week, a small library haul (the library reopened for browsing!), and plans for #MarchingMammoths, #TheIrishReadathon, and #MarchMysteryMadness.
BOOKS MENTIONED Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson Choose Happiness by Rachel Cole Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now by Evan Osnos Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr. Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer A Promised Land by Barack Obama The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier Remember to Forget Me by Kerry Neville
ABibliophilesJourney youtube.com/user/ABibliophilesJourneyA Very Special Book Haul!Melissa Firman2021-02-25 | To celebrate reaching 800 subscribers, Keeley from A Bibliophiles Journey held a giveaway for $50 to Book Depository. I was lucky enough to be one of the winners and got four books! Here's my haul. Thanks so much, Keeley!
Books Mentioned: Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles DickensSunday Salon #1: Kidney Stone, What Ive Been Reading, and a RantMelissa Firman2021-02-22 | Because most of my reading and book-related stuff happens on the weekends, I wanted to bring a blogging feature, The Sunday Salon, to BookTube. (Basically, it's Friday Reads...only on Sunday.) If you would like to try this out on your channel, feel free.
Books Mentioned: Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout Choose Happiness by Rachel Cole Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson A Promised Land by Barack Obama
Where else you can find me: Blog: https://www.melissafirman.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... Instagram: instagram.com/melissa.fir... Facebook: facebook.com/thefirmangroup Twitter: twitter.com/thefirmangroup Medium: https://melissafirman.medium.com Storygraph: melissafirmanIntroducing...The Sunday Salon!Melissa Firman2021-02-22 | Thought I would bring The Sunday Salon, a blogging feature, to BookTube because most of my reading happens during the weekend -- making a Friday Reads video rushed and difficult. If The Sunday Salon sounds like something you might like to do on your channel, feel free to join in.
Where else you can find me: Blog: https://www.melissafirman.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... Instagram: instagram.com/melissa.fir... Facebook: facebook.com/thefirmangroup Twitter: twitter.com/thefirmangroup Medium: https://melissafirman.medium.com Storygraph: melissafirmanThe Presidential Book Tag!Melissa Firman2021-02-16 | It's President's Day here in the USA (maybe the day after by the time this finally uploads) and I'm celebrating with The Presidential Book Tag created by Steve Donoghue!
Prompts: 1. George Washington: what’s the first book you remember reading all by yourself, with no help from anybody? 2. John Adams: what book comes to mind that’s short but disproportionately powerful? 3. Thomas Jefferson: tell us about a book you like that’s written by a very bad person! 4. Theodore Roosevelt: name a book that has more energy than you do. 5. Franklin Roosevelt: is there a book that fundamentally changed your conception of reading? 6. John Kennedy: what’s the most glamorous ‘it’ book you’ve ever read? 7. Gerald Ford: have you ever read a placeholder book? Something that only served to get you from one book to another? 8 Bill Clinton: a reading experience you loved despite how utterly sinful it was? 9. George W Bush: what’s the most harmful book you’ve ever read? 10. Barack Obama: what’s the last great book you read, flaws & all?
Books Mentioned: Carolyn Haywood's Betsy series (B is For Betsy) (my BookTube Newbie Tag video where I talk about my nostalgic love for these booksyoutube.com/watch?v=kNxGY1CSsVc&t=1402s)
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor Becoming by Michelle Obama Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky On Fire: The Case for the Green New Deal by Naomi Klein
Books Mentioned: Duende: Poems by Tracy K. Smith Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change by Maggie Smith
Podcasts Mentioned: The Slowdown (even though Tracy K. Smith is no longer hosting, there are more than 500 episodes of Tracy reading and analyzing poetry that are wonderful). slowdownshow.org/about
Where else you can find me: Blog: https://www.melissafirman.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... Instagram: instagram.com/melissa.fir... Facebook: facebook.com/thefirmangroup Twitter: twitter.com/thefirmangroup Medium: https://melissafirman.medium.com Storygraph: melissafirmanFriday Reads Feb 5...and a Library Book Haul!Melissa Firman2021-02-06 | Thanks for helping me reach 50 subscribers in 5 weeks on BookTube!
Books Mentioned: Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change by Maggie Smith Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America by Laila Lalami Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud Luster by Raven Leilani Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld The Best American Essays 2020 The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijineveld The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf
Bookstores Mentioned: White Whale Bookstore (Pittsburgh, PA) whitewhalebookstore.comBookTube Newbie Tag!Melissa Firman2021-02-02 | Celebrating one month on BookTube by doing the #BookTubeNewbie Tag!
Questions: 1.Why did you start this channel? 2.What are some fun and unique things you can bring to BookTube? 3.What are you most excited for about this new channel? 4.Why do you love reading? 5.What book or series got you into reading? 6.What questions would you ask your favourite BookTubers? 7.What challenges do you think starting a BookTube channel will be the hardest to overcome? 8.When did you start reading? 9.Where do you read? 10.What kind of books do you like to read?
A Book That Has Been on My Shelf for More than 10 Years 1. Women Write: A Mosaic of Women Voices in Fiction, Poetry, Memoir and Essay edited by Susan Cahill 2. Anne Frank: The Biography by Melissa Muller 3. The O. Henry Awards Prize Stories 1997 4. Final Vinyl Days by Jill McCorkle 5. The Liar's Club by Mary Karr
A Book That Fulfills a 2021 Reading Challenge 6. Trials of a Scold: The Incredible True Story of Writer Anne Royall by Jeff Biggers 7. The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasure of Obituaries by Marilyn Johnson 8. Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison 9. The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar 10. The Answer to Your Question by Paulette Alden
A Book That Will Motivate Me to Write My Damn Book 11. Strike the Empty: Notes for Readers, Writers, and Teachers of Memoir by Beth Kephart 12. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott 13. The Art of Time in Memoir by Sven Birkerts 14. Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process edited by Joe Fassler 15. Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer
A Book By an Author I've Met: 16. The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett 17. The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian 18. Aperiogon by Colum McCann 19. The Angel on My Chest by Leslie Piet
Other Books Mentioned: Crossing the Moon: A Memoir by Paulette Bates Alden Borrowed Time by Paul Monette
BookTubers Mentioned: A Bibliophile's JourneyFirst Vlog! Snow! End of an error! A rant! One Hundred Years of Solitude!Melissa Firman2021-01-30 | I tried making a vlog. It turned out...okaaaay. Enjoy my backyard snowscape, candles in honor of three family members who died of Covid-19, my rant at the DMV, and the beginning (and quick end) of my reading One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Where Else You Can Find Me: Blog: https://www.melissafirman.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... Instagram: instagram.com/melissa.firman Facebook: facebook.com/thefirmangroup Twitter: twitter.com/thefirmangroup Medium: melissafirman.medium.com Storygraph: melissafirmanFriday Reads - January 22, 2021Melissa Firman2021-01-23 | What a great week! A new President! No malarkey at the Inauguration thanks to you-know-who not attending! Indulge me some of my usual Joe Biden fangirling and Inauguration thoughts along with what I've been reading.
Where else you can find me: Blog: https://www.melissafirman.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... Instagram: instagram.com/melissa.firman Facebook: facebook.com/thefirmangroup Twitter: twitter.com/thefirmangroup Medium: melissafirman.medium.com Storygraph: melissafirmanBest Nonfiction of 2020 and Honorable MentionsMelissa Firman2021-01-18 | I'm the last person on BookTube to get around to posting a Best of 2020 video (although, to be fair, my Best Fiction of 2020 was posted on 1/8/2020). These titles represent my selections for the best nonfiction I read last year (not necessary books published in 2020, although a decent number of them were), as well as some Honorable Mentions.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle (Dial Press, 2020) goodreads.com/book/show/52129515-untamed (I misspoke in the video when I mentioned her first book that I didn't like. It is Carry On, Warrior. Momastery was her blog.)
BOOKTUBERS MENTIONED Books I'm Not Reading youtube.com/channel/UCVKWtZJ7Rl6WitFb2jcnlnQFriday Reads - January 15, 2021Melissa Firman2021-01-15 | A busier than usual week here meant less time for reading. Finished one book, started another, gave away a bunch more.
Duende by Tracy K. Smith goodreads.com/book/show/764801.Duende Duende, that dark and elusive force described by Federico García Lorca, is the creative and ecstatic power an artist seeks to channel from within. It can lead the artist toward revelation, but it must also, Lorca says, accept and even serenade the possibility of death.
Podcast: The Slowdown (even though Tracy K. Smith is no longer hosting, there are more than 500 episodes of Tracy reading and analyzing poetry that are wonderful). slowdownshow.org/about
Where else you can find me: Blog: melissafirman.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... Instagram: instagram.com/melissa.firman Facebook: facebook.com/thefirmangroup Twitter: twitter.com/thefirmangroupBest Fiction I Read in 2020 & Thoughts on Jan 6Melissa Firman2021-01-08 | What unfolded on Wednesday, January 6 at the United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC was both deeply disturbing, entirely predictable, and an attempted coup. Before sharing my Best Fiction of 2020 selections, I felt compelled to offer some brief reflections on this dark day in American history.
Thanks again to all who continue to support my new BookTube channel. It is much appreciated!
Kelly Corrigan: kellycorrigan.com Matt Nathanson: mattnathanson.comFriday Reads - January 1, 2021 - Happy New Year!Melissa Firman2021-01-02 | Hope you all are having a great start to the New Year! For this first Friday Reads of 2021, I give you my first Friday Reads for BookTube. Thanks for being patient with me as I fumble my way around here.
Where else you can find me: Blog: melissafirman.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... Instagram: instagram.com/melissa.firman Facebook: facebook.com/thefirmangroup Twitter: twitter.com/thefirmangroupFirst BookTube Video! (Plus a Small Christmas Book Haul!)Melissa Firman2020-12-28 | So excited to join BookTube with my first video -- and a small Christmas book haul! Thanks for welcoming me and being patient as I learn. (Clearly, I need to work on filming angles -- those black bars, ugh. Sorry!)
Books mentioned: Pretty Things by Janelle Brown Keep Moving by Maggie Smith Beneficence by Meredith Hall A Promised Land by Barack Obama