Instagram story viewer> @bookswithlori> Posts

Lori 📚

@bookswithlori

126

followers

205

following

Read along with me.
Or don’t. It’s your life.
personal page @lorivirelli

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

September

What a fun month! I spent half of it traveling, but that just means visiting a bunch of new-to-me bookstores.

I really chipped away at some requested titles. This is a tough time of year for me to catch up with the arcs and galleys because everything I read comes out in the fall.

Let’s talk about The Disappearers. The New York Times recently called it the book of the decade. That review is not wrong. It is possibly a masterpiece. But it reminded me of A Little Life in that it is not for every audience. It centers on a Jamaican theater troupe of young, gay actors at the height of the AIDS crisis and is full to the brim with emotion. It also brings depictions of torture, murder, homophobia, rape, racism, hate crimes and very graphic sexual content. Not for sensitive readers, this will stick to you forever. I hope it wins all of the awards it is already shortlisted for, but I don’t ever want to read it again.

Are you all so proud of the Cubs? I got to see them in their last series of the season in Boston and came to terms with the fact that they wouldn’t last long into the playoffs. I guess the post-season is over but I’ll still be chanting MVPete until the writers let us know their decision after the World Series. What do people do after the baseball season ends? Just sip tea and wait for Muppet Christmas Carol season to begin? by @bookswithlori

31

2

18 days ago

Scandi Vacation Book Haul!!
Had a half-empty suitcase on the way there, just barely made it under the weight limit on the way home. UK covers are so much more fun than US and they’re all over Europe. I love visiting bookshops overseas to see what is familiar and what is new to me.
Started in Sweden where I fell in love with this Little Women. Do I already own several other covers of this? Yes, now MYOB and let me collect.

Finished a galley of this book THAT MORNING, so it seemed like a sign that I should pick it up. Hilarious and so true about a life in bookselling.

Look how pretty! This was a So Late in the Day single-story edition, which holds such a warm place in my heart because I got to blurb it for the Indie Next when the three-story collection came out. And I don’t even own Walk the Blue Fields, so that left with me too. Claire Keegan is incredible.

When in Denmark, one must read Tove Ditlevsen, but I wasn’t interested in the Copenhagen trilogy as much as this “devastating tour-de-force that pulses with life even as it journeys towards death”… well if that ain’t me, I don’t know what is!

The Black Diamond had so many adorable boxed collections. I opted for Love Stories. Before you start thinking I’ve gone soft, these were written by Oscar Wilde, Mary Shelley, Virginia Woolf, and Leo Tolstoy, so I know it’ll be plenty tragic for me.

Ok yes, I know I own the series already. But the UK just released 1&2 of Emma M Lion. One bookshop had one lonely copy of #1 only, and another right after it had one lonely copy of #2 only, so what was I supposed to do? Leave them there? Tsk.

The Gen Z faction of Books With Lori assures me that Moomin are a thing. So when I saw the stories were written by Tove Jansson (of The Summer Book fame), I had to give it a shot. This is a little seasonal collection of nine illustrated stories.

I don’t have this cover of Matilda. It needed to be in my collection. Full of the original artwork. Just thinking about this book lowers my blood pressure.

Finally, saw these mini classics in Norway. It’s a Macmillan collection I haven’t seen before. I opted for Persuasion because I don’t own a copy of it yet. And it was super cute and purs by @bookswithlori

36

3

a month ago

August
Got into reading about AI for a moment there… whew I was better off before I learned about it. We are living in strange times.
The upcoming Barbara Kingsolver, Partita, was wonderful, though we should expect it from the Pulitzer winner. It is a glimpse in time of a woman with a complicated family history cleaning out her childhood home. She receives a call from an old friend and all the memories of her college years come rushing back, revisiting her days as a piano prodigy and two major medical traumas that changed her course.
We said goodbye to our family lakehouse this month, hence the photo. Coincidentally, I was reading our book club pick, Life, & Death, & Giants, which takes place in that county. It felt like a good way to appreciate the area and say adios.
September is a busy month for book releases. The latest from Emily St. John Mandel, Exit Party, and Min Jin Lee, American Hagwon, are at the top of my list. We’ve got new ones from RF Kuang, Chloe Benjamin, Hernan Diaz, John Green, Sebastian Barry, Gillian Anderson, John Boyne… and a hundred more noteworthy releases.
Who is ready for fall? 🍁🎃 by @bookswithlori

22

6

2 months ago

July
I finished Emma M Lion. I don’t know what to do with the rest of my life. Started over at the beginning, this time on audio. I’ve been mispronouncing everything in my brain. Through book 3, I find them even funnier with the excellent narration.
I thought Pachinko was lovely. Min Jin Lee has written American Hagwon, coming in September, and I wanted to read her master class first. It took until well into the second half before explaining what Pachinko is, a parlor game. Who knew?
Did you see The Odyssey? Are you the kind of person who needs the movie to align exactly with the text, or do you allow the movie to merely be inspired by it? I really liked it, thought it was very stressful! (So somehow I saw it again a couple of days later 🤷‍♀️)
Up next? I’m halfway through the upcoming Barbara Kingsolver, Partita, which will be out in October and follows a musician reminded of her past.
What’s on your shelf this month? by @bookswithlori

13

3

3 months ago

June!
We are halfway through the year, unbelievably! Do you make reading goals? Are you halfway there or have some catching up to do?
This month found me traveling a couple of times in the car and in the air (Nashville to see my baby!) and spending more time in the yard, so I’ve been listening to more audiobooks. Some are better that way for me, and some just hit differently when I have the pleasure of turning the pages.
Lonesome Dove was such a heartbreak and also a delight. A western, a “dad book”, a story about dust and grime, but also a lovely portrait of the people of this world. It crushed me, and once I got my bearings, it crushed me again.
What’s happening in July? New Daniel Mason and Colson Whitehead! Girls Night Out event with the release of the latest Christina Lauren book. Lots of catching up to do on the overwhelming pile of September releases. My netgalley account may explode.
📚 by @bookswithlori

20

4

4 months ago

Anti-prime day shelfie. Support your local indie and your library. Jeff is a villain. Need to order books online? Try @bookshop_org. Like audio? Try @librofm. Need to publish? Try @ingramsparkbooks. E-reader alternatives are emerging. Come take a book from my shelf. The world is your oyster! by @bookswithlori

19

0

4 months ago

May
I don’t have to remind you to start the Emma M. Lion series again, do I? I’m currently reading book 5 and finding it the perfect witty escape fiction.
It’s officially read-a-book-by-the-pool and also listen-to-a-book-during-yardwork season! How will you celebrate? I’m halfway through McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, which seemed like the appropriate next step after East of Eden. I’m also finishing the new Maggie O’Farrell, Land, coming this week, and a NYRB about a pitiable accountant who creates an entire imaginary baseball league by throwing dice.
Ann Patchett’s biofiction, Whistler, comes out in 2 days… are you as excited as I am?
It’s also event season at the bookstore, so get signed up for trivia, girls night out, bingo, author events, etc. before this summer passes you by and you have nothing bookish to show for it.
Congrats to our book world it girl, Dua Lipa, on her marriage to the guy she met because they had both just completed the first section of Pulitzer-winner, Trust (Diaz).
Happy reading! ❤️ by @bookswithlori

14

0

5 months ago

April

Wow! What a great month. Was anyone else obsessed with the Artemis II mission? Moon joy! Followed by Easter. Victory! Followed by Independent Bookstore Day. Besties!

It was a good reading month, too. I jumped into the world of dear Emma M. Lion, an almost Austen-esque world that is so charming. I finally finished East of Eden, a sweeping epic mirroring much of Genesis. “Now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good”, timshel. It didn’t take me so long because I didn’t like it, it was never meant to be rushed, but rather savored because it was so delicious. I was disappointed by Yesteryear but pleasantly surprised by This Book Made Me Think of You. And Margo’s Got Money Troubles… come on, I went in blind and there was a lot I should’ve been warned of! 🫣

Coming up in May… more Emma M. Lion? Don’t stop me now. Plus, my baby boy graduates 🎓 and baby girl moves to Nashville officially 🤠 May brings us a lot of new releases, including those from Elizabeth Strout and David Sedaris (reviewed above), and new Dungeon Crawler Carl, Murderbot, and Dream Harbor for fans of those series. Happy reading!

#readingwrapup by @bookswithlori

9

0

6 months ago

IBD ‘26
What a day 📚
#independentbookstoreday by @bookswithlori

19

4

6 months ago

March
Somewhere around a week ago, I realized that all of my March reads were written by women, very fitting for Women’s History Month! So I put down my epic East of Eden (Steinbeck) to finish the month strong with girl power.
I read three books this month from celebrity book clubs- Dua Lipa’s Service 95, Stephen Colbert’s Late Show Book Club, and the pioneer in celeb picks, Oprah. They don’t always connect with me, but I get FOMO if I don’t pick them up once in a while. Are there any celebrity picks that align with your tastes?
Began this carousel with a magic eye cover… my sister and I used to love those books as a kid. Can you see the hidden picture? ☘️ And bookending with a photo from my book club’s interactive Indian night in March, thanks to my dear @neersthegr8 ❤️
Coming in April… the best holiday of the year! Independent Bookstore Day is April 25! Find your local indie and support them. Ride a trolley, take a book crawl, a bike tour, or simply support a small business you love. There is a searchable map at indiebound.org 📚 I promise you will have a fun day!
#shoplocal by @bookswithlori

20

1

7 months ago

MARCH MADNESS but make it Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by @bookswithlori

16

2

7 months ago

Well, the Wuthering Heights movie was… different? Not closely resembling the book, which is fine by me, but a really strange take on those characters. Moving on, are we super excited for Remarkably Bright Creatures to hit the screen? Promo photos just hit this week. So happy for our hometown friend and her book getting the Sally Field treatment it deserves.
Trying to chip away at some spring releases lately… there are so many fun things coming out! Spring releases are usually happier than my dark-hearted beloved fall releases.
What are you looking forward to?
Welcome to March! 🍀 by @bookswithlori

23

8

8 months ago