Katie and I had an amazing time hosting the first ever Marinuska: An Art and Travel Book Club. We are already planning the next edition! If you missed it, we discussed Barbara Kingsolver’s historical novel The Lacuna . We discussed our recent trip to Mexico City and the rich story of The Lacuna  (set partly in Mexico City) while eating delicious brunch from La Casita and Adelitas. In addition to tamales and a breakfast taco buffet, we were lucky enough to enjoy pan dulce and mexican wedding cookies from The Flour Shop, a craft cookie courier. Anyone who read the book knows that the main character, Harrison Shepard, gets the nickname Sweet Buns from Diego Rivera after Shepard equates mixing plaster to the mixing of dough for pan dulce. Another character in The Lacuna is Frida Kahlo and what art book club is complete without a craft activity so we also made paper flowers a la Frida.

• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (one of my personal faves)
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (another one my personal faves)
• Educated by Tara Westover (on my TBR list when Roxy finishes her copy!)
• Good Dog, Happy Baby by Michael Wombacher
• Rising Out of Hatred: The Awaking of a Former White Nationalist by Eli Saslow
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (on my TBR list)
• Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (love everything Margaret Atwood writes!)
• Go Ask Fannie by Elisabeth Hyde
• Saving Simon: How a Rescue Donkey Taught Me the Meaning of Compassion by Jon Katz (full disclosure- I froze during this part and couldn’t think of a great recent book! If I could go back I would recommend Saving Simon which is a book I make everyone who will listen to me read. Simon is a  rescue donkey and the author, Katz, finds him in bad state. Katz works through finding compassion and empathy for Simon’s previous owner. The book is mainly about the fact that so many of us have so much compassion, empathy, sympathy, whathaveyou for animals and yet, don’t offer the same to humans. You will cry and it will be worth it. Plus, Simon is just awesome.)

• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• The Crown
• Game of Thrones
• The House of Flowers (or La casa de las flores)
• Bird Box
• You
• Ozark
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• The Haunting of Hill House

• Mr. Church
• Coffee and Cigarettes
• Mary Queen of Scots
• Vice
• Green Book