All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis
All We Can Save is a moving, hopeful, and digestible collection of essays on climate activism. It made for an excellent book club discussion and inspired me to join/stay in the fight.
The Bronzed Beasts (The Gilded Wolves, #3)
The Bronzed Beasts was a great conclusion and delivered everything fans have come to love about the Gilded Wolves trilogy. These books aren’t complex, but they’re fun and dramatic and fast-paced.
The Lady Astronaut Novels
The first three Lady Astronaut novels are fun to read with an imaginative premise, and they’re impressively packed with research. I had a good time reading them!
The City We Became (Great Cities, #1)
The City We Became is a fast-paced, imaginative, super fun urban fantasy set in New York City. As a person who lives here, I ate it up. I can’t wait to see where the series goes.
The Sentence
The Sentence is a moving novel about the pandemic and the protests of June 2020, told through a formerly incarcerated bookseller’s eyes. Reading it felt like poking a fresh wound, but this book is excellent.
Our Country Friends
Our Country Friends is a wild romp of a novel; a cultural-examination-through-dramedy with a ton of voice and character. It was a little too soon for me to relive 2020, but I respect what this book did.
Even Greater Mistakes
Even Greater Mistakes is a wide-reaching collection of stories that will have something for everyone. Anders is just so good at cutting to the heart of our humanity with bravery and compassion.
These Precious Days
These Precious Days is another beautifully heartfelt essay collection from Ann Patchett. It was a delight to read, especially the title essay.
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a delightful, super-creative little book. I especially loved the etymology and linguistics included with each definition!
His Dark Materials Trilogy
His Dark Materials is such a fun, imaginative story that still feels super modern and relevant, even with (because of?) its timeless message and classic feel. I can’t believe I had never read it!
The Bone Shard Emperor (The Drowning Empire, #2)
The Bone Shard Emperor was a great sequel to The Bone Shard Daughter. There was quite a bit of worldbuilding in the beginning, but the ending was really good. I can’t wait to read the last one!
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Braiding Sweetgrass was everything people told me it would be: warm, moving, eye-opening. I read a chapter a day and never wanted it to end.
Alien Stories
Alien Stories is a resonant, haunting little collection. Every story made an impression on me, and I was so impressed with Osondu’s imaginative, precise craft.
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
For me, personally, the arrival of Four Thousand Weeks in my lap felt life-changing. I’m going to be recommending it to my fellow burned-out, anxious millennials for a long time.
The Ghost Variations: One Hundred Stories
The Ghost Variations is a fun and smart set of 100 flash fiction ghost stories. I read a few each day in October and loved it. Brockmeier has created something really creative here.
Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2)
I was lukewarm on Gideon the Ninth, and unfortunately I wasn’t a huge fan of Harrow either. The ending was good — but you spend the whole book not just curious, but deeply lost and confused. I didn’t find it much fun.
Between the Lines: Stories from the Underground
I loved reading Between the Lines so much. It’s a beautiful, well-paced collection of interviews that blends a love of New York City, books, and our shared humanity.
Hell of a Book
Hell of a Book is a really creative, really affecting novel that’s as funny as it is devastating. One heck of a ride, it will surprise you and move you.