Bookshelves Got Stacks by Cardyn Brooks   as inspired by “Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot   I like big books and I can not lie   You other readers can't deny   That when a good book takes up so much prime shelf space, wow   And a wide spine in your face, you get crazed   Wanna check it out ‘cause you notice that title is bait   Deep thought meanings, it's blaring   I'm intrigued and can’t stop staring   Oh, big books, I wanna start reading   And take your measure   Reviewers tried to warn me   That big books ARCs sent (they so binge-y!)   Oh, door-stopper reads   You say you wanna expand my mind?   Well, do it, do it   ‘Cause you ain't that average-length read    

  It's Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake by Claire Christian   Contemporary romantic women's fiction   Mira Books, February 2021   Noni Blake is smart, funny, and dedicated to her family, friends, and students. She's also a charming, neurotic mess who uses a list of past lovers to set off on a journey to become her most authentic self. It's a risky and intentional endeavor to navigate adulthood. Near the beginning during a chat between Noni and her bestie, they speculate that “… aging is actually just about getting used to yourself… or fighting against it.”   In a slapstick, absurdist manner that also incorporates emotional nuance and sensitivity, It's Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake taps into prominent themes from Alice Walker’s non-fiction work The Same River Twice as applied to one's romantic past with Cher's “If I Could Turn Back Time" and Willie Nelson's and Julio Iglesias’s “To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (where Girls = People) dominating