What's Up, Bitches?

Once upon a time, a little girl begged her mom for bookshelves in her room and DAMN did she deliver.

Gorgeous, simple, alabaster shelves lined the perimeter of the yellow bedroom, high above my head. I painted the wooden ladder that I could ascend at all hours of the day and night to get my reading fix. Other kids collected Pokémon and Neopets, but I collected books, and those shelves enveloped me like a security blanket until I moved away to college.

Thanks to my parents, books have always been a part of my life: for answers and explanations, distractions and comfort, challenges and education, pleasure and enlightenment. When I moved across the country a few years ago, reading kept my mom and I close despite the hours between us.

I think it’s safe to say that anyone who knows us would deem us perfect for the title of Book Bitch. We love giving recommendations, our to-read lists are never ending, and we’ve read more books than we can count. We’re also not afraid to say what’s on our mind, be brutally honest, and occasionally use language my dad would deem unladylike.

We started tracking, rating and reviewing our book conquests last year when we each read over 100 a piece. We haven’t slowed down, and now we’ve added more than 500 titles to our Bookshelf. Our reviews are short and to the point--you can decide what to read for yourself. We’ve also written soliloquies on genres, odes to authors we love, and plan to seduce you with words you’ve never heard before. Barb might be my mom, but this is not your mother’s book club. We can’t wait for you to be a part of it.

Barb + Julie Gilkison