Thoughts 
by Margaret Atwood, Doubleday 2022, 496 pages
Challenge: n/a
Genre/Theme: Essays
Type/Source: Hardcover / Gift from a friend
What It’s About: Wonderful essays on the climate, politics, book reviews and author tributes, bits about poems; reminisces on her childhood, her marriage, and husband, lectures she has given, etc and more.
“However, this does not make The Handmaid’s Tale a “feminist dystopia” except insofar as giving a woman a voice and an inner life will always be considered “feminist” by those who think women ought not to have these things.”
Thoughts: She’s Margaret Atwood!
“She came by her perky Mom voice and her “Howdy Stranger“ tropes honestly. She was a refugee, not to America but from within America: a mom and Apple Pie America, and America of the past that was being rapidly transformed by material inventions, …”
Rating: Five slices of pie.
“My own mother was of the non-interference school unless it was a matter of life and death. ___ She later said that she had to leave the kitchen when I was making my first pie crust, the sight was so painful to her.”
-Polonia (2005)
Thoughts 
by Jennifer Egan, Scribner 2022, 334 pages
Challenge: TOB Summer Camp
Genre/Theme: Linked Short Stories, 2nd in the Goon Series
Type/Source: Hardcover / Library
What It’s About: These stories continue the looks into the lives of characters touched on in The Visit From the Goon Squad. I can’t even pick a favorite. Actually, some seem abrupt or bring up people I would have hoped to explore more or really taxed my brain power! That said, I loved it. It felt SO GOOD to just read and relax and get lost in a story.
“The fact that so many thoughts could have gone through my head in 3.36 seconds is testament to the infinitude of an individual consciousness. There is no end to it, no way to measure it. Consciousness is like the cosmos multiplied by the number of people alive in the world (assuming that consciousness dies when we do, and it may not) because each of our minds is a cosmos of its own: unknowable, even to ourselves.”
Thoughts: I must link in my review of Goon Squad – because I don’t remember it nor was I able to capture its charms exactly – only entertained myself in the attempt. Others have noted that it is a wise plan to keep notes of characters at the start of BOTH these books, something I did not do but recognize it might be valuable advice. Me, I only hope to reread both of these, back to back. Put it on my ‘Retire-to-a-Deserted-{Desserted?!)-Island-Reading-List’.
My kind of story-telling. Five slices of pecan pie.
“… tweezing forkfuls of turkey or pecan pie through a rectangular mouth slot.”
ARthur p.26
Care's Books and Pie 
Dang I have to get through the library book pile so I can read Atwood’s essays! Must set some priorities!
She just has a way. I love to read her thoughts.
I remember loving the audio version of Goon Squad, but that seems so long ago. Not sure I have the stamina to reread… do I need to? Hope to get to The Candy House later this year. Atwood’s essays sound really good, too.
Yeah… I didn’t remember ANYTHING about Goon (which is one reason my “review” of that amused me so much.) I think it probably would be even better if you did remember some of the characters but, the stories are strong and like with Goon, she mixes up the style.
Take me to the Desserted Island! Pie, cake, pastries! 😁
These are both books I’d like to read for sure.
When a “typo” evokes fun images, right?
Wow, wow, wow. Two fantastic reads!
Arthur was one of my favorite characters. I didn’t keep track of who was who from Goon Squad but enjoyed this one, although I think Goon Squad was better and captured the zeitgeist of its moment in history more adroitly–I said this in my review, which is here: https://necromancyneverpays.wordpress.com/2022/05/05/the-candy-house/
Yes! Your review is terrific.