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Janet Snakehole

@reading_theend

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That loud girl in the bar bathroom hyping you up. USES ALL CAPS. A LOT.

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✨If you’ve been around for any length of time, you’ll know how much I love the @bookriot_pod so when they took inspiration from Barak Obama’s upcoming book podcast (where he’ll be discussing six books that shaped him) to create their own lists of six books that shaped them as readers, I naturally wanted to do the same! I won’t be listening to the podcast since it’s an Audible exclusive, but I couldn’t resist examining my own reading life in this way.

These are my six texts that shaped me as a reader (and generally as a person) and I’d love to know yours! I’ve tagged some friends to share their lists, but if you’re feeling inspired please consider yourself tagged too! These books are listed in chronological order of when I first read them. Swipe for more details on each pick!

1. Henry IV, Part I by William Shakespeare
2. In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce
3. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, translated by Magda Bogin
4. Middlemarch by George Eliot
5. Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
6. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki✨

✨Henry IV was the first Shakespeare play I ever encountered in Shakespeare Camp as a kid. I played Mistress Quickly and the Earl of Worcester and immediately fell in love. This sparked a love for classic literature and remains one of my biggest passions in life. And I’ll absolutely always go to bat for the history plays in particular!✨

✨The Song of the Lioness Quartet was one of the first books that felt like it was MINE. My parents read a ton to me as a kid, but these books were ones I found on my own in my middle school library that no one in my family had read before. And I LOVED them. These were stories where girls and women were heroes in a multitude of ways. They were brave, they were clever, they were empathetic, they had agency. They were also sex positive and emphasized consent, the importance of access to birth control, and a woman’s right to bodily autonomy to create the life she wants. To have these topics reinforced in middle school was hugely empowering.✨

✨This was not the first Isabel Allende that I read, but it was the first one that made me really sit back and work as a reader. As a Bay Area author, I ha

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Books Forward hit New York City last week, and we had an absolute blast!

Such a big thank you to the publishers, influencers, booksellers, and industry professionals that we got to meet in person! We truly value every single partnership that we get to make with bookish folks across the industry, and it was so fun to put faces to names.

We also loved getting to spend in-person time with our team! Our hearts (and book totes) are so full, and we cannot wait to hit the Big Apple again in the future!

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We hooted and hollered all across NYC this week! 🗽🍎🏙️✨

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELLEN!

We are wishing a very, very special birthday to our VP as she takes another spin around the sun! Ellen is truly the glue of Books Forward, and we would be lost without her! Whether she's putting out a fire, selling a client on the front end with her signature flair, or helping support us through campaigns, Ellen wears many hats on our staff!

Manifesting a perfect day filled with lots of time with your beautiful family, some quiet moments for reading, and some good snuggles from your perfect pup, Leslie!

We love you, Ellen! HBD!

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[ID: A selfie of Ellen, a white woman with brown hair, grinning. Text says "Happy birthday Ellen."]

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Best. Week. Ever.

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Today’s #StaffSunday is coming at you live from our Vice President, Ellen! Here’s what she has to say about “So Let Them Burn” by Kamilah Cole, @wordsiren.

“Sources say I'm not the only one who can't get enough of dragon books, so if you're looking for another one to add to your lineup, check out So Let Them Burn. It explores sisterly relationships, first loves, colonization, post-combat PTSD, and many more themes, while still managing to be entertaining and super readable.”

Have you read this one? Or have you been reading other dragon books recently? Let us know in the comments! 🐉📚✨

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[ID Image: A photo of Vice President Ellen Whitfield, a white woman with brown hair, holding up a copy of "So Let Them Burn" by Kamilah Cole in front of the lower half of her face, with the caption "Staff Pick Sunday" to the right of Ellen vertically.]

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48ish hours in Baton Rogue in 48ish seconds.⁣
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I was over the moon to have the opportunity to spend a couple days with one of my favorite people- @jamie.of.all.trades
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What made it even better was seeing @tbrbookshop go from a dream, to plan, to reality. I can see bits of Jamie in both big things and small details and it just makes my heart burst. I am ridiculously proud of you! ⁣
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𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀:⁣
Meeting ⁣Marissa from @inkdrinkerspod @dgeheber and Ellen @reading_theend
So.much.queso. ⁣
Sitting in a window seat listening to an audiobook and stitching. ⁣
Having my lap occupied by Teddy. ⁣
Buying books, tshirts and a gift or two. ⁣
Meeting Jamie’s Mom, nephew and niece after hearing about them for years.⁣
Drive through LSU campus ⁣
Visiting the tallest state Capital building.⁣
Learning that East Baton Rogue Parish does not have 850,00 people. ⁣
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How lucky am I tohave 48 hrs to spend with a friend from the internet who has become so much more!⁣
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Highly recommend meeting a bookstagram bestie for brunch and a bookstore 😍😍

If you didn’t already know, I can confirm that @reading_theend is the absolute best. My son was already asking when we could see her again 🥺

Thanks again for the loveliest morning, Ellen! 😘

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Happy, happy birthday to our incredible vice president, Ellen!

Ellen truly is an essential part of the Books Forward family, you might even call her the ~glue~ or the ~secret sauce~ that keeps us all in business. She’s smart, she’s savvy, and she is an incredibly supportive and empathetic boss–we’d simply be lost without her!

Ellen, we hope you have a fabulous day and get to be celebrated by all the people who love you, especially your adorable family! Cheers to another year around the sun!

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[ID: Slide 1: A photo of Ellen smiling with the title ""Happy Birthday""
Slide 2: Photos of Ellen's birthday book stack with A PSALM FOR THE WILD BUILT, THE ROOK, HOMEGOING]

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Ellen & Jenna’s 1st Annual (we hope) Reading Retreat

Highly recommend booking a weekend away with your bestie to sit and rot and read and snack.

Weekend Stats:

8 - hours of audio book listened to (Dark Water Daughter - an A+ pick for a roadtrip to the seaside)
5 - books read (The Au Pair Affair, A Bit Much, Sandwich, Tadek and the Princess, A Month of Sundays)
1 - movie watched (The Lost City is criminally under-hyped)
3 - pots of coffee brewed (HEB San Antonio Blend - there is nothing better)
2 - nights of cooking in (Frito Pie - me & Red Beans & Rice - Ellen)
1 - night out on the town
1 - spa night
0 - puzzles completed
0 - days at the beach (thanks unseasonably hot weather)
2 - sunsets watched from the beach
1 - buddy read completed (Sandwich)
1 - nap taken on the couch (but not really, she was just “resting her eyes”)
XX - pieces of fudge purchased (this data has been masked for our privacy)

We burned candles and played ocean sounds while we read from the comfort of our very air conditioned house and it was delightful.

We blasted Hozier, Noah, Powerline, Descendants 3, Sabrina, Post Malone.

Other than the one movie we watched, the tv was never turned on. I stayed off of my phone almost the entire time unless I was chatting with my family.

I loved everything I read but Sandwich was PERFECT for both this trip and this time in my life.

I cannot wait to do this again.

#bookfriendsarethebestfriends #bookstagram #bookish

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How many books is too many books to bring for a reading weekend?

No, seriously. I think I packed too many.

Y’all. In TWO days I’ll be sitting on a beach with Ellen, reading books, eating snacks, and listening to Noah and Hozier.

I’m equal parts nervous and ecstatic. Nervous because I haven’t left my kiddos for longer than a few hours since 2019 before work travel mostly shut down. Beyond work trips I have NEVER left my children overnight except to go to the hospital to have more children. I am going to miss them terribly.

I’m ecstatic because I am going on a solo vacation for the first time ever since becoming a mom and I get to do it with my very best friend.

I have packed so many books I’d need a time machine to read them all. Matching pajamas, face masks, wood wick candles (that crackle is just so good), and dark chocolate have been purchased. I’m going to force Ellen to do a puzzle with me and watch my favorite comfort movie. We’re gonna have dance parties and go exploring and buy far too many t shirts. We’re gonna put our feet in the ocean and walk the beach and brew buckets of our favorite coffee. And, we’re gonna try to get some reading in, too.

I’m counting down the seconds until Friday.

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August is historically one of my least favorite months. Living in Texas, August typically means we’re four months into heat indexes that should only be allowed to exist on the surface of the sun and everything is so dry that just looking too intensely at some dead grass can spark a fire. We got lucky this year with a pretty mild summer all things considered, and we’ve even had quite a bit of rain! I’m on an SSRI that causes my body to live in a state of hot flash, but I can still appreciate these facts from the safety of my air conditioned house or car.

I didn’t read nearly as much this month as I did in July, but only because I was busy doing so many other things! Some highlights of this month:

- My dear friend Mandy moved back to Texas!!
- I booked a trip with Ellen!! (so many more details to come)
- New Noah Kahan - Live from Fenway Albumn!!
- I finally found a new book series my teenager is excited about and we’re buddy reading it!
- I got to share one of my favorite childhood movies with my own children - Twister!
- Lots of trips to the movie theaters (thanks, Zoloft!)
- My kids and I had an impromptu cake tasting with surprise guest, Mandy and I tricked my youngest into eating carrots because I told him the orange bits in the carrot cake were sprinkles. No RAGRATS.
- A book sale with my sweet SIL
- Countless visits from friends
- New Fall menu out at First Watch (my favorite breakfast spot)
- New books!!
- New perspectives

My August was filled with the highest highs and some truly low lows but I’m starting to wear this grief more comfortably and I know I’m going to make it to the other side of it.

#august #wrapup

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