This book’s standout is a style that’s masterfully pared back; it feels simple in a way that’s obviously anything but. Truly expert stuff here, and more than worth your time. Read it!

As of this writing, A Sorceress Comes to Call is nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, AND Locus Awards. This book was an awesome standalone; I inhaled the whole thing on audio during one very long car ride.

You can always count on John Scalzi to mix humor with heart in just the right way. Very few of today’s writers manage to both make us laugh and also speak to the state of the world like he does. When The Moon Hits Your Eye is no exception.

Do I think this is a “can’t miss” book? Probably not. Was it deeply entertaining? Absolutely. If you’re looking for something funny and unserious and also heartfelt, pick this up.

This was such a satisfying read. The pacing continues to be perfect, the twists are twisty, the lore deepens with each installment, loyalties have layers upon layers, and Page and Arcturus are perfection.

As a reader who loves both fantasy and character-driven literary fiction, Robin Hobb’s books are a special kind of reading experience. I liked Royal Assassin even more than the first book.

A bold statement: I think Playground is my favorite Richard Powers so far. I know he won the Pulitzer for The Overstory (which I definitely enjoyed!), but I said what I said.

Democracy in Retrograde is a fun, short, super accessible guide to becoming more civically engaged. It’s easy to digest in bite sizes and offers some useful tools for thinking about the ways you might derive the most satisfaction from getting involved and presents an excellent case for why you should.

Great Big Beautiful Life is Book Lovers meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in the best way imaginable, and y’all aren’t ready. Emily Henry has done it again.

THAT ENDING. Fourth book when?!?!?

I’m a sucker for literary fiction with speculative elements, so when I heard about Black Woods Blue Sky, which blends the dreaminess and darkness of fairy tales with the beauty and danger of the Alaskan wilderness, I knew it was going to be exactly my kind of book. And I was not wrong!

This Strange Eventful History was longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. Parts of it were more engaging for me than others, but overall, I enjoyed it. Audio is definitely the way to go here, IMO!

Upon a Starlit Tide bills itself as The Little Mermaid mixed with Cinderella into a dark historical fantasy — and it delivers excellently. Kell Woods clearly knows and loves her fairytales and folklore. I had so much fun reading it.

This is a meticulously researched and excellently written examination of history that everyone who has a child, works in education, or cares about education should read.

I feel genuinely better prepared to decide what kinds of things are personally worth my effort (and my guilt). The time I spent listening to this audiobook was time extremely well spent.

I’m on a mission to deepen my critical reading skills this year. Only a few months into that journey, it became clear that Playing in the Dark was a foundational piece of criticism that I needed to read ASAP if I was going to do the thing right.

I’m glad that I decided not to skip the supplementary novellas in this series. Like The Pale Dreamer (#1.5), this one was fast, short, fun, and felt like a fully worthwhile into a few key characters and relationships.

These books have a lot of promise, but the execution is just not as good as I want it to be. Still, they are fast paced and short, so I’ll probably keep going.

This book is not only hopeful and optimistic, but also instructive and motivational in terms of what kinds of policies and proposals are worth fighting for here in the US.

This book is not what I had naively expected — my brain ignored the “essays” part of the title in favor of the “how to” part — but it is, without a doubt, excellent.