I’m happy to report that Pat Barker continues to be excellent. Many authors have written Greek retellings about the women in recent years, but in my opinion, hers stand apart.

The Bright Sword is an Arthurian retelling that feels like a love letter to our generation. It’s filled with the misfits — gay, trans, abused, depressed, objectified, imposter syndrome, you name it. And yet it doesn’t feel forced. It’s episodic and magical and adventurous as any good Arthurian story should be, but it’s also FUNNY and fun and never takes itself too seriously.

If you’re a chronically busy, list-making, type-A, overachiever like me, please do yourself a favor and pick up Four Thousand Weeks. If you already did that three years ago, pick up Meditations for Mortals.

I’ve been meaning to read Robin Hobb for years — at this point, as a fantasy reader who champions women authors, it’s become a bit embarrassing, lol. I was craving a big, long adventure, and so I decided it was finally time! So glad I finally dove in.

I’m glad that Stone Yard Devotional made its way onto the Booker Prize longlist (and shortlist!), or else I may not have ended up reading it. I don’t know if it will stick with me long-term, but I definitely enjoyed my time with it.

What If We Get It Right? is one of the best books I’ve read this year, and almost certainly the best audiobook specifically. I am going to be pushing this into people’s hands (or headphones) for years.

I downloaded this audiobook (thank you Penguin Audio!) because everyone I knew who’d read it was recommending it. And then when I was halfway through, it won the Kirkus Prize! So you don’t have to take my word for it when I say this book is totally worth reading.

I’d owned a copy of The Safekeep since before it was published (thanks, Avid Reader Press!), but for whatever reason it just never bubbled up to the top of my TBR — until it was nominated (and then shortlisted) for the Booker Prize. And WOW, am I glad for it. I loved this one.

Louise Erdrich’s novels have an approachability that can feel elusive among novels with such a high caliber of writing. It’s just good storytelling, and the characters step off the page and into your heart. The Mighty Red was no different.

I always itch for a good book of nature nonfiction in October. This year, as it had been on my TBR forever, I downloaded the audiobook of Entangled Life. Unfortunately, I didn’t love it, but don’t let that stop you from picking it up!

All in all, a lovely little book that will scratch the itch anytime I want to reread Braiding Sweetgrass but don’t have the time. This would make a great holiday gift for the RWK fan in your life!

If you want something quick and fun and sapphic, this might be a good next book for you! But I think that’s where it ended for me.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of the greatest writers of our generation, full stop. This is not his strongest book, but it is still very good and very worth your time (it’s also short!).

This hadn’t been on my radar before the National Book Award longlist, but I’m so glad to have been introduced. It took me by surprise and became one of my favorites on the list.

Everyone was talking about this book even before it was nominated for the National Book Award, and it’s easy to see why. I liked it even more than I expected to.

Creation Lake was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and longlisted for the National Book Award, so of course I had to read it. But this is a tricky review to write — it didn’t really grab me, but I’m having a hard time articulating why.

My Friends had been on my TBR for months, so I was especially excited when it was nominated for both the Booker Prize and the National Book Award. I had a ton of friends who had loved it, so it was no surprise that I loved it too.

Overall I liked this book but didn’t love it, although it’s mostly just bad matchmaking between me and this book.

Another gorgeous, moving book that probably wouldn’t have made it to the top of my TBR without the help of the National Book Award! (Nor onto my shelves — and that would have been such a shame, because I can’t even begin to tell you how stunning the hardcover is.)

I asked the National Book Award judges to give us weird and original short stories on the longlist, and let me tell you — they really said YOU GOT IT, GIRL with this collection.