The Fragile Threads of Power is everything I hoped it would be. V.E. Schwab is a master plotter, a master of the details, a master of sentences — just a master of everything

Part memoir, part manifesto, Good for a Girl is perspective-shifting and deeply important, all while deftly carrying the narrative of Fleshman’s memoir. I loved it.

Like, Literally, Dude is a joyfully fun, delightfully nerdy book that I absolutely loved. In the running for a top nonfiction of the year for sure!

Good Strategy/Bad Strategy is the first business book I’ve read in years that didn’t feel like it should have been a TED Talk instead. It really lit my brain up and energized me — highly recommend!

Case Study is a quick, (I found) engrossing read. The way it explores the idea of the self and performance was also very smart. I don’t think it’ll be for everyone, but I liked it!

Fire Rush is an impressive debut, with an undeniably electric voice and propulsive energy that really makes it stand out. I thought the pacing was a bit uneven, but I still liked it and I’m glad I read it.

Written by the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years, Choosing to Run is exactly what I love in a memoir. It was engaging, taught me something new, and made my world a little bigger.

Black Butterflies is a well-researched, captivating, deeply moving novel about war and art set during the siege of Sarajevo. I couldn’t put it down and ultimately loved it.

Demon Copperhead is a smart, hard-hitting modern retelling of David Copperfield that hits all the right notes. I’m not surprised it’s winning so many awards.

Trespasses is a well-written, intentionally tense novel about choice, conflict, and community. I wasn’t quite in the right headspace for it, but there’s no denying its merits.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a fast-paced, well-written, bookish standalone fantasy that I absolutely adored. It’s been a long time since a book made me want to text live updates to someone who’d already read it!

Up to Speed is a really interesting, important book. It started a little slow for me because I happened to already know some of the info presented, but that definitely wasn’t the case the whole way through.

Chain-Gang All-Stars is a searing, extremely smart, and compulsively readable novel about incarceration, the use of Black lives as entertainment, and so much more. You gotta read it.

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea is a lush, poignant dramatization of the life of legendary pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao. It’s very interior, more about her than her adventures. I liked it a lot.

After Sappho is a unique, experimental reimagining of the lives of (mostly) lesbians from history. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I’d known more about the women, but there’s no denying that it’s a feat of a book.

Quarterlife is an insightful and pretty helpful book about the phase of life between the late teens and mid-thirties. I recommend it!

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath s a beautifully rendered, fiercely imagined Indigenous Own Voices fantasy novel set in an academic setting about anticolonialism and dragons. I did think the shape of the plot was a little flat, but overall I liked it a lot.

Spring is my favorite of Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet so far. It’s a deeply felt novel with smart, resonant social commentary.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a lush, delicious, completely enchanting (and short!) gothic fairytale with an ending I can’t believe I didn’t see coming. What more could you ask for?

Victory City is a delightful historical literary fantasy by the master storyteller himself. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a delight to read, and Rushdie always leaves us with much to ponder.