Alone

by Nikki Giovanni

i can be
alone by myself
i was
lonely alone
now i'm lonely
with you
something is wrong
there are flies
everywhere
i go

Judging Books by Their Covers: 2015

Okay, so we're already four months into 2016; I'm a tad late. But! This is such a great collection of covers, I just had to share. It's so hard to pick favorites to feature here, so you'll just have to click through to the Bookish website to see all of the beautifully designed book covers. Prepare to be awed.

Mutually Assured Destruction

When I was nine, my father sliced his knee
With a chainsaw. But he let himself bleed
And finished cutting down one more tree
Before his boss drove him to EMERGENCY.
Late that night, stoned on morphine and beer,
My father needed my help to steer
His pickup into the woods. “Watch for deer,”
My father said. “Those things just appear
Like magic.” It was an Indian summer
And we drove through warm rain and thunder,
Until we found that chainsaw, lying under
The fallen pine. Then I watched, with wonder,
As my father, shotgun-rich and impulse-poor,
Blasted that chainsaw dead. “What was that for?”
I asked. “Son,” my father said. “Here’s the score.
Once a thing tastes blood, it will come for more.”

—Sherman Alexie

It's been so long since I've shared a haul with you all! These are the books I got on my latest thrifting session:

• The Art of Teaching, by Gilbert Highet
• Plain Truth, by Jodi Picoult
• Name the Baby, by Mark Cirino
• Prom, by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Forever, by Pete Hamill
• The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold

And all six for just one dollar!

What are your latest book purchases? Snagged any great deals lately?

For Women Who Are 'Difficult' to Love

By Warsan Shire

You are a horse running alone
and he tries to tame you
compares you to an impossible highway
to a burning house
says you are blinding him
that he could never leave you
forget you
want anything but you
you dizzy him, you are unbearable
every woman before or after you
is doused in your name
you fill his mouth
his teeth ache with memory of taste
his body just a long shadow seeking yours
but you are always too intense
frightening in the way you want him
unashamed and sacrificial
he tells you that no man can live up to the one who
lives in your head
and you tried to change didn’t you?
closed your mouth more
tried to be softer
prettier
less volatile, less awake
but even when sleeping you could feel
him travelling away from you in his dreams
so what did you want to do love
split his head open?
you can’t make homes out of human beings
someone should have already told you that
and if he wants to leave
then let him leave
you are terrifying
and strange and beautiful
something not everyone knows how to love.

From Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth. Buy it here.

New Online Store!

I've set up a new online store. Please consider using it. Great prices on great books!

Click Here!

Quick Reads: 55 Great Books Under 200 Pages!

Crunched for time and looking for some quick reads? Or just want to check out some great-but-short books? The Half Price Books blog has a great list of books under 200 pages. It included a wide variety of genres, from Siddhartha to Charlotte's Web.

Check out the full list here.