Tag: historical fiction

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June 2026 Book Blog

Rather a light reading month for me. I was busy.

Books Reread

The cover of Rapture of the Deep shows a girl in a swimming costume diving for treasure at the bottom of the ocean.
Harcourt Children’s Books

Rapture of the Deep by L.A. Meyer
Bloody Jack book 7 of 12
Continuing my re-listen of this series. In this installment, Jacky is tasked by British Intelligence to use the brand-new scientific intstrument, the diving bell to recover Spanish gold lost off the Florida Keys. As usual, full of memorable characters and fun hijinks. There isn’t a bad book in this series, but I think this one is not my favorite. The pirates of the Caribbean stuff is good though. I do love Jacky and Jaimy’s starcrossed love, but I also think Jaimy is not my favorite of Jacky’s league of devoted men.
4.5/5 moray eels

New Books Read

The cover of Light of the Jedi shows four Jedi, two human, one Wookie, one Twi’lek, brandishing lightsabers and looking noble while star cruisers fly overhead
Del Rey

The Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule
The High Republic book 1 of 8 (the novels, not the graphic novels)
CW: death
This book scratched the itch I had to live in the world of Star Wars when the Jedi were in their golden age. This is the first book of the High Republic series. There are lots of helpful reading order guides if you were also overwhelmed when looking at the list of Star Wars novels. When a transport ship carrying immigrants to the Outer Rim collides in the hyperlane, remnants of the ship are thrown out of hyperspace at light speed. Before the emergencies can decimate several Outer Rim systems, the Jedi must do what they can to help and figure out how this catastrophe happened. I enjoyed this. It has the feel of the movies, where you’re following several groups of characters and hopping around. You can almost imagine the screen wipe transitions between chapters. I enjoyed getting to meet new Jedi, especially the non human ones. The ensemble cast did make it a little hard to really fall in love with any one character, though I did like them all. I did think more Jedi died than needed to. We’ve already seen that in Episode III. I don’t need more of that. I did really like whenever they said “We are all the Republic;” just makes me feel nice in this era of political division.
3.75/5 lightsabers

The cover of The Fifth Season shows a stonework carving of leaves and spirals

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin***
**Book Hangover Alert
Broken Earth Trilogy book 1 of 3
CW: abuse, manipulation, murder of children, prejudice
Incredible. I don’t know how to blurb this book, so I’m going to let you read the back cover copy when you go buy it. Or don’t even bother, because the back cover copy doesn’t really do it justice either–just read it. Fascinating world and innovative magic system. Super interesting use of 2nd person POV. Pacing and unfolding of the narrative was very well done. Super ready for the next one. Luckily, they’re all out.
5/5 stones

The cover of Godkiller shows a stag lifting his antlers before the moon, as a twisted tree trunk grows to pierce the animal in the breast
HarperCollins

Godkiller by Hanna Kaner***
Fallen Gods book 1 of 3
CW: death of parents
I wanted to like this more. I’ve been meaning to read it for a long time because I absolutely love the cover. And it’s possible that reading it during and after I finished The Fifth Season made me like it less by comparisson. In a world filled with as many gods as their are worshippers, but in a country where god’s are outlawed, a Godkiller attempts to help a child who is bound to a god. I felt the POVs weren’t very strongly differentiated. It felt like the author had written it in omnicient third person and then was told they had to change it to limited third and label all the chapters. I think the omnicient third could have worked, but because each chapter was labeled with a character’s name, I was annoyed when we head hopped or when I forgot whose head I was supposed to be in. I also thought Elo had way more chemistry with the king than with Kissen. Loved the disability rep. Thought the world was interesting, but I don’t know, it just fell a little flat for me.
3.5/5 shrines

The cover of I’m Glad My Mom is Dead shows a young white woman (Jennette McCurdy) in a pink suit holding a pink urn. Her expression is like “sorry, not sorry"
Simon & Schuster

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy***
CW: eating disorders, abuse, grooming
Very difficult to put down. I feel like I need to create a little Venn diagram of the themes of memoirs I’ve read. This one hits on childhood fame and Hollywood, eating disorders, abusive parents, and grief of losing one’s mother. Former child actress and star of iCarly, Jennette McCurdy explores her feelings after the death of her mother, untangling complicated feelings of love and grief and realizing the abuse she suffered. The vignette style had punch and kept me reading, but felt slightly disjointed at times. I would be interested to know if Jennette ever spoke more with her father or her brothers about her mom’s behavior and impact on their homelife growing up. I was shocked (as I always am in memoirs like these) that no one stepped in or stepped up or seemed to recognize the abuse happening. Why did they let Jennette’s mom behave like this for so long? So many people failed her.
4.5/5 therapists

The cover of The Subtle Art of folding Space shows layers of universes as a box of dim sum as it appears in our universe, shifting through different permutations through space
Tor Books

The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu***
This was a really fun little sci-fi. Maintainer of the physics of the multiverse, Ellie discovers a secret cabal of Maintainers trying to alter physics and thereby rule it. I won’t pretend I followed the stuff about physics. But I really enjoyed Ellie and Daniel and his creating food out thin air. And really the story was about Ellie’s relationship with her sister, not physics.
3.75 skunkworks

**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be lying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read The Fifth Season for a classic of the fantasy genre written by one of the greats, who happens to be a Black woman. Read Godkiller for excellent disability rep including ambulatory wheelchair users, amputees, and Deaf indivudals. Read I’m Glad My Mom Died because I think it will make you more empathetic. Read The Subtle Art of Folding Space for queer and Asian rep in sci-fi.

Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.

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May 2026 Books Read

Books Reread

On the Cover of My Bonny Light Horseman, a soldier dressed in a French uniform falls off the back of their horse. More soldiers follow behind brandishing weapons
Harcourt Children’s Books

My Bonny Light Horseman by L.A. Meyer
**Book Hangover Alert
Bloody Jack book 6 of 12
Continuing my reread of this series. This is one of my favorites out of the series. In this book, Jacky is recruited as a spy by British Intelligence. She’s back in disguise, this time as a messenger in Napoleon’s army. Just as charming and full of hijinks as the other books in the series. I’m particularly fond of her French Clodhoppers and Captain Bardot.
5/5 legions of honor

The cover of Dungeon Crawler Carl shows a man in a leather jacket and boxer shorts and a Persian cat running away from a goblin driving a bulldozer at them

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
Dungeon Crawler Carl book 1 of 8
I made my dad start listening to this on a road trip we did to Missouri. He liked it, but thought there were too many rules and things to remember. I won’t review it again. But you can refer to my original review here.
4.5/5 achievements

The cover of A Wrinkle in Time shows three children in what looks like a blue egg. Breaking out of the top of the egg is a strange winged creature
Yearling Newbery

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle*
If you had asked me if I remembered this book, I would have said not really. But then I relistened to it and I actually remembered basically all of it. It’s a weird one, but a good one. It’s a classic for a reason. Meg Murray and her prodigy brother Charles Wallace must travel across space and time to rescue their father. The novel deals with authoritarianism, assimilation, coming of age, and more.
5/5 beasts

New Books Read

The cover of We Fell Apart shows the hazy silhouette of a girl on a colorful background

We Fell Apart by E. Lockhart*
We Were Liars book 3 of 3
CW: Institutionalization
Though these books technically all stand alone, I would still read them in publication order. When Matilda receives an email from her famous and estranged father, whom she has never met, she travels to his crumbling castle on Martha’s Vineyard to uncover the secret of the family she has never known. I really enjoy these books. They have a really nice modern gothic feel to them. I will say, however, that the voice for all three books kinda sounds the same even though there is a different protagonist for each one.
4/5 paintings

The cover of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries shows the text surrounded by drawings of flowers, bones, and mushrooms

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett*
**Book Hangover Alert
You know me, I love a Victorian inspired voice, an epistolary novel, and footnotes. This book was everything I wanted. Cambridge professor of dryadology Emily Wilde heads to the far north to study the faeries of that region for her encyclopedia. But when she discovers the town is plagued by Fae who steal girls, Emily must put her theories into practice. Very cozy and fun. Loved the academic take on faeries and folklore.
5/5 small ones

A black cat with its tongue just poking out peers over the corner of an open copy of Winter's Orbit
Forgot to take a picture of the cover of this book so please enjoy this picture of my cat instead.

Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell***
CW: domestic violence
Everything I wanted as more. I binged this in two days. Pitched as Red, White & Royal Blue meets Ancillary Justice, which was spot on. Big fan of the world, the characters, the romance, the yearning. The only thing I didn’t love were the names of all the characters. Just didn’t really roll off the tongue. I’ve already forgotten all of them.
5/5 arranged marriages

On the Cover of No Body No Crime, a plane crashes in the lower right and in the smoke rising up behind it, we can see two women running, being pursued by dark figures

No Body No Crime by Tess Sharpe
Very enjoyable. Like reading an action movie. PI Mel is sent to find the girl she’s been in love with since she was 16, who disappeared without a trace at 18. She’ll uncover the secret that’s kept Chloe in hiding for all these years. This was a fun, easy, fast-paced read. There were moments where I thought some of the action and the bad guys were a little unbelievable, but if it had been an action movie, I totally would have accepted it, so not sure where that resistance came from.
3.75/5 peacocks

The cover of On Earth as it is on Television, a UFO hovers at the top, it's tractor beam shining down on the author's name.
Hyperion Avenue

On Earth as It Is on Television by Emily Jane*
We listened to this one on a road trip. I was trying to find something everyone would like and I think I succeeded. After aliens arrive in ships that hover over 12 (? maybe more, I can’t remember) major cities, then mysteriously depart, humanity must grapple with the implications. The novel follows 3 families in the wake of the visitation. This book has: rowdy children, humor, talking cats. It was a good time.
3.75/5 cats

The cover of She shows a sensual woman removing what looks like a cloak or veil in a cave.
Longmans

She by H. Rider Haggard*
CW: racism, misogyny
I read this for research. It’s a good example of the male quest romance genre. Holly and his adopted son Leo travel to Africa searching for the truth of Leo’s history which was hinted at by an ancient pot sherd left to him by his father. I liked the voice (though if you’re not into Victorian lit you probably won’t). I liked the adventure. It did drag through the middle. I did not like the racism or misogyny, obviously. Something interesting about the male quest romance is that it was a reaction to the successful novels by women that dominated the first half of the 19th century and were mostly about women and domestic affairs and romance (Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, George Eliot). These novels center men’s relationships with each other and often have few to no women in them (think Treasure Island, Journey to the Center of the Earth). I was fascinated by the love triangle between the two men and She, especially because their bond to each other was just as strong if not stronger than their bond with She (and proved to be the bond that won out in the end). She is also evil and demonstrates why a matriarchal society will never work (allegedly). I also appreciated the frame narrative, the footnotes and the ‘editor.’
2.5/5 lions

The cover of Not for the Faint of Heart shows two girls dressed in Robin Hood type clothes riding a white horse.

Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher***
**Book Hangover Alert
A very fun Robin Hood inspired sapphic romcom. Robin Hood’s granddaughter who was raised in the Merry Men must confront whether the organization still lives up to it’s mission when they kidnap a healer with more romantic views of the famous Merry Men. Very funny. Good characters, good banter, nice queer representation. I didn’t need the one sad thing that happened to have happened, but I guess it’s fine.
4/5 arrows

The cover of Psychopomp and Circumstance shows the profile of a young Black woman dressed in early 20th century fashion. Her earrings have a skull on them and her broach is the shape of a skeleton hand.

Psychopomp & Circumstance by Eden Royce***
A nice little novella I picked up at the library as a treat. After her estranged aunt’s unexpected death, Phee must take on the arrangement of her funeral. It’s a lovely little meditation on grief and family, and it’s set in a very intriguing fantasy alternate Reconstruction era. Would love to read more set in this world.
3.5/5 caskets

The cover of Funeral Girl shows a wallpaper style pattern of skulls, coffins, and flowers and leaves.

Funeral Girl by Emma K. Ohland
What do you do if you’re terrified of dying but you live in a funeral home and your parents are funeral directors? Oh, and also, you can raise ghosts. That’s Georgia’s life. And when a boy from her school dies in a tragic accident, she raises his ghost looking for answers about the afterlife, but gets a little more than she bargained for. This is a nice YA book. Really nice themes of friendship and grief and death.
3.5/5 scrapbook pages

The cover of The Murder at the Vicarage shows a headstone with the title inscribed on it.
Collins Crime Club

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie*
Miss Marple book 1 of 12
I have to be honest, I’m not sure my full attention was on the audiobook while I was listening to it, but I did still enjoy this. After a murder occurs at the vicarage (who’d have guessed, right?) a dear old lady who never misses anything solves the murder. Now as premises go, that’s excellent, right? And the mystery was very fun and the ending was quite satisfying. I think the thing that didn’t quite work for me was the POV. The story is told from the first person perspective of the Vicar. And he’s like fine. It would be more interesting to be in Miss Marples’s head, but if we were in her head, then we’d know from the start that she’s the smartest person in the town and we’d lose that subversion of expectations. Curious about the POV for the rest of the books in the series. Are they all told by the Vicar? Other people in town? Does Miss Marple get to narrate one? More research is necessary.
3.5/5 exploding crystals

*This book only includes straight white cis people. 

**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be laying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read Winter’s Orbit for queer rep in sci-fi. Read Not for the Faint of Heart for a queer Robin Hood retelling. Read Psychopomp and Circumstance for Black characters in fantasy and an alternate Reconstruction era.

Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.

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April 2026 Book Blog

New Books Read

The cover of John Irving's Setting Free the Bears shows a ring of keys on a blue background textured like wood

Setting Free the Bears by John Irving*
CW: war, death, animal death and abuse
Have been wanting to read this one for a while because I love bears and it’s been a while since I read a John Irving book. In 1960s Vienna, two young men hatch a plan to set free the animals of the Vienna zoo. The book is a coming of age story about grief and generational trauma and war and friendship. Struck me as a bit gay. I did enjoy this. It has the absurdity of other Irving works, including a wild and ridiculous death. I didn’t think it was as funny as some of his other books, and the middle section about Siggy’s family history did drag. But I loved the final image of the bears.
3.5/5 bears

The cover of Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss shows a family standing on the ground before a tree house
Orell Füssli

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss*
CW: death of animals
When a family is shipwrecked on a deserted coastline on their way to colonize Australia, they set up their home in the jungle instead. It is rather fun, although apart from the shipwreck they experience absolutely no hardship whatsoever. They are cheery and industrious about the whole thing and are never upset that they will never see another human again. This does get a bit tiresome after a while, so the middle drags until the 10 years later epilogue which has more action than the whole rest of the novel. I also didn’t love that they had to shoot absolutely every animal they encountered, even when it wasn’t threatening them and they didn’t need more food. Would have been nice if at least one of the children was a girl. Also, I know this was published in 1812, but Wyss clearly had no idea what flora and fauna actually might be found on a South Pacific island and so included whatever he wanted. I’ve heard there’s another edition that includes conflicts with natives, which sounds probably racist, so I’d recommend this edition.
3/5 kangaroos (for some reason)

The cover of Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik shows a dragon flying over a Chinese palace
Del Rey

Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
Temeraire book 2 of 9
I’m currently obsessed with these. In book 2, Laurence and Temeraire travel to China to try to resolve diplomatic tensions which have arisen since Temeraire was a Chinese dragon taken by the English navy. I love to see Laurence and Temeraire’s relationship develop, and it was fun to see more of the world and the way dragons are incorporated into Chinese society. I think I liked it just a smidge less than the first one, just because there’s a little more conflict between Laurence and Temeraire, and I just love them so much.
4.5/5 jewels

The cover of The Malady of Death by Marguerite Duras shows a black and white image of a woman in profile, hunched forward, her hair swept over one shoulder

The Malady of Death by Marguerite Duras*
I was going to get rid of this book without reading it because I didn’t think it looked that interesting, but then I saw it was only 60 pages and had large type. I thought I could read it in less than an hour, and I was right. I was also right that it wasn’t that interesting. It tells the story of a man who hires a woman to try to teach him how to love. The prose is at times lyrical and lovely, but the man was predictably terrible and the woman had no personality. Which was perhaps Duras’s point, that you can never learn to truly love something you don’t see as more than an object. But I’m not interested enough to think that hard about it.
2/5 unnamed characters

The cover of Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hockhauser shows gold words on a background of flowers. A falcon perches on the L

Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser*
CW: rape (off page), incest, death
I loved this. I love a Cinderella (or any fairytale) retelling. Through the eyes of Lady Tremaine, we see the familiar story anew, exploring what a mother will do to better the lives of her daughters. This version is historical rather than fantastical, and explores feminist themes of motherhood.
5/5 falcons

The cover of The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow shows a sword in which we can see the reflection of half of a woman's face. Vines and flowers twist around the sword and words
Tor Publishing Group

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow***
CW: death
Another banger. I love Harrow’s work. This is probably my second favorite of her books after The Once and Future Witches. The myth of Sir Una Everlasting, Knight of Dominion is the founding myth of Dominion society and the research subject of veteran and scholar Owen Mallory, but when a rare and mysterious manuscript appears in Owen’s office, he’ll discover just how important this story is, and how history may be rewritten. Spanning centuries, this is a fated love story that explores how important propaganda is to an authoritarian regime. I love Harrow’s prose.
5/5 yew trees

The cover of Jackal by Erin E. Adams shows a silhouette of a woman's head with a star-filled night's sky filling it
Bantam Books

Jackal by Erin E. Adams***
CW: racism, serial murder
I keep reading thrillers because I want to like them, and then I don’t like them that much. I almost put this book down after the prologue because I hated the writing style of the prologue. The majority of the rest of the book was better though. Young Black girls have been going missing every summer in this Pennsylvania town on the edge of the woods. When her best friend’s daughter disappears, Liz must unravel the mystery and why everyone has been looking the other way for years. I liked the idea a lot, especially the themes of systemic racism. I didn’t love the execution. I don’t mind fantastical elements in thrillers, but I like to know whether that is likely in the world of the novel. I hated the sex scene, I had to skip it.
2.75/5 hellhounds

The cover of I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane shows a shadowy figure like the reflection of a shadow in water on a gray-blue background
Catapult

I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane***
This book was a bit of a downer, which is absolutely not a fair assessment for a dystopian book about grief. In a world where those who have “hurt others” are assigned an extra shadow, and subsequently shunned and discriminated against, a woman must learn to raise her child in the wake of the death of her wife. Because childbirth was the cause of her wife’s death, the child is assigned a second shadow at birth. This was a really lovely meditation on surveillance, grief, right and wrong, and what it means to hurt someone. It was a bit depressing though. And I’m not a parent, so maybe this criticism is irrelevant, but the child read older to me than the age she was described throughout the book.
3.75/5 scorpions

The cover of The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno Garcia shows a ghostly green hand with black nails reaching toward a bird stuck with pins

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia***
I loved this. In three parallel timelines, women from three generations investigate a vanishing by a malevolent witch. I loved all the witchcraft elements and the way the three stories were braided together. I did guess who the witch was, but I’m not mad about it.
5/5 bird talismans

Books I did not finish

The cover of The Improvisers by Nicole Glover shows a Black woman dressed as a pilot looking into the sky. Her biplane is in the lower foreground
Harper Voyager

The Improvisers by Nicole Glover***
CW: murder
It always makes me so sad to DNF books. I really really wanted to like this. It’s a companion to a series, so maybe I should have tried the series first, but this is supposed to be a stand alone. I loved the idea of a prohibition era smuggler and trick pilot solving magical murders with the help of her family’s funerary business. That is SO up my alley. But I just wasn’t that into it. I didn’t feel like I was connecting with the characters and I didn’t feel the need to find out the solution to the mystery.

*This book only includes straight white cis people. There was gay subtext in Setting Free the Bears.

**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be lying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read Jackal for an examination of systemic racism. Read The Everlasting to learn about how propaganda weaponizes nationalism in service to authoritarianism. Read I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself for a queer dystopian exploration of grief and surveillance. Read The Bewitching to see Mexican folklore and queer characters in fantasy/horror. Read The Improvisers to see Black characters in historical fantasy–maybe it will hit for you.

Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.

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March 2026 Books

New Books Read

The cover of The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark shows a fire made of pages of text on a black background

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
CW: murder, sexual abuse of children
A thriller/mystery about a woman hired to ghostwrite her estranged father’s memoir about the unsolved murders of both of his siblings in their teens. I enjoyed this. It was a propulsive and easy read. The prose was nothing special, but it kept us moving.
3.5/5 film reels

The cover of The Vegetarian by Han Kang shows a woman's silhouette gazing into the sky on a red background

The Vegetarian by Han Kang***
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: institutionalization, eating disorder, domestic violence
I don’t know how to blurb this book. It was really good. Weird, but good. Here’s the blurb from Wikipedia: “The Vegetarian is a three-part novel set in modern-day Seoul and tells the story of Yeong-hye, a part-time graphic artist and home-maker, whose decision to stop eating meat after a bloody nightmare about human cruelty leads to devastating consequences in her personal and familial life.” I don’t really feel like that does it justice, but I guess it’s not wrong? I don’t know, it fails to capture the weird atmosphere and mood throughout. I also thought the POV choice was interesting as in each part of the novel we switch POVs but none of the main POVs are Yeong-hye herself. You could talk about a lot of different themes in this book, but I think the patriarchy and expectations of womanhood and wifehood, as well as disability in Korea are the ones that stood out most to me.
4.5/5 bloody dreams

The book Pests by Bethany Brookshire held up in front of a disgruntled gray tabby
Pip offended at the implication that she might be a pest

Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire***
Nonfiction. It’s what it sounds like. Brookshire examines the vertebrates that humans across the globe consider pests (including but not limited to rats, mice, pigeons, pythons, cats, horses, elephants, wolves, bears, and deer) and how and why these animals receive that designation. I thought this book was fascinating in the way Brookshire interrogated the way humans conceptualize animals and nature and where they belong and don’t belong (deer in the forest far from my house = good, deer in my hard eating my garden = bad). She brings up a lot of interesting things to think about when it comes to how we can manage invasive species, what we consider nature (where animals should be) and human spaces (where animals should not be), and how we can share this planet we all live on.
4/5 rats

The cover of Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood shows a ship sailing on a sea of barbed wire waves

Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood*
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: death of a child
A retelling of the Tempest in which a retired theater director uses a production of the Tempest put on in a prison as a way to get revenge on those that forced him into retirement. Atwood is just so clever. I loved the layering of the play within the novel which is itself the play and the themes of prisons, literal, societal, and mental. It was also funny! ( I mean so is the Tempest)
4.5/5 swimming caps

The cover of The Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson shows a child sitting facing away from the viewer in the window of a ruin, looking at a burning building in the background
37 Ink

Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson***
CW: racism, racial slurs, assault, child abuse
Look, I’ve read a lot of WWII historical fiction, okay? There’s a lot out there. But this book was unique in its subject and perspective, so we’ll allow it. In 1950s Germany, Ethel, the wife of an American officer, discovers an orphanage of half-Black children fathered by African American service members during the war with German women. Many German women felt they couldn’t keep the children, whether because of prejudice or economic concerns, so Ethel works to get the children adopted by American families. Woven into Ethel’s narrative is that of Ozzie, an African American service member stationed in Germany in the late 1940s and Sophia, an African American teenager in the 1960s who is one of the first to integrate her boarding school but who longs to learn the truth of her history. You can see how all of these threads will intertwine. I enjoyed this. I thought Johnson’s writing was well researched and evocative. It seemed to me that there were maybe more non-racist white characters than was believable (but I’m not the one who did the research and I wasn’t alive then). And one more thought is a spoiler:
Read More: SPOILERS AHEAD

I loved the happy ending, but it did feel a little unbelievable that Sophia just ‘always felt she didn’t fit in’ and then conveniently just happens to meet another kid who was one of these adopted babies from Germany and then manages to actually find her family and it turns out they really did want her after all. It’s the fantasy of all children who grow up in unhappy homes that they’re actually adopted and parents who want them are somewhere out there and they were just separated by an accident of faith. But how likely is that story really? I did also think it was a little weird that they never once mention Katia’s unique hair color in his storyline. I know she was trying to keep it a mystery that Sophia is that child, but it was pretty obvious…

4/5 nuns

The cover of Voices by David Elliot shows a young girl in armor before a gold halo made up of words

Voices by David Elliott*
CW: death
A novel-in-verse about the last hours of Joan of Arc’s life. Elliott weaves in real quotes from the Trial of Condemnation and the later Trial of Nullification. We also get poems from Joan as she waits on pyre and poems in a variety of voices from the people and objects around Joan including her parents, the saints and angels guiding her, her sword, her armor, her clothing, the candle that lights the pyre, the fire itself, and more. I really enjoyed this. I thought the structure was fascinating. Elliott uses specific poetic forms for different voices and I was a big fan of the concrete poems in the collection. My only quibble was that I hated the font chosen for Joan’s poems.
4/5 voices

On the cover of Semi-Well-Adjusted-Despite-Literally-Everything, the author Alyson Stoner smashes their face against glass as though peering at the viewer as an animal in a zoo
St. Martin’s Press

Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything by Alyson Stoner***
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: body dysphoria, religious trauma, domestic violence, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, drug and alcohol abuse , sexual assault
If you think you don’t know who Alyson Stoner is, yes you do. Child actor known for Isabella on Phineas and Ferb, ‘the little white girl’ in the Missy Elliott video, Caitlyn in Camp Rock, and many more, Stoner opens up about the addictiveness of fame and the damaging way the industry works, especially in relation to minors. This memoir was not as painful to read as Elliot Page’s but I still think there are a lot of people who owe Stoner apologies. I thought the memoir was well written and the chapters were well structured. I was happy that in the end
Read More: SPOILERS AHEAD

Stoner is on their way to healing and a much more healthy relationship with work and their body and using their platform to advocate for minors in the industry.

4.5/5 call backs

The cover of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath shows a bird's eye view of a bear walking through a forest holding a shovel and dragging a bag that is trailing blood
IDW Publishing

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath
CW: murder, gore
Adorable serial killer? This book is pitched as Dexter meets Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy Town and that is correct. Adorable bear Samantha is an upstanding citizen in her small town, but when she visits the city, anyone might find themself her victim. But when someone starts terrorizing Sam’s town, she must stop the serial killer before they ruin the town or unmask her. The art in this book is really incredible. It’s dark but it was fun.
3.5/5 newspaper articles

Books I did not finish

The cover of The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart shows too snakes snarling at each other

The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart
This pains me so much because I LOVED Stewart’s Drowned Empire series, but I’m still trying to achieve my goal of not finishing anything I’m not enjoying. Life is too short. I’m not super good at it but I’m trying. I read 200 page of this book and was STILL not into it, so I finally gave up. I think the problem was that with so many POVs, by page 200, it still felt like we were on page 50 in the development of the narrative. I think Stewart should have focused on just Hakara and Rasha (and this from someone obsessed with writing huge casts and multi-pov stories *sobs*). It just wasn’t working for me. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters and I didn’t feel like I totally understood the world and I wasn’t interested enough to want to. Very sad about it.
1/5 altered

*This book only includes straight white cis people. 

**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be lying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read The Vegetarian for great Korean literature. Read Pests to learn more about humans’ relationship to nature and how we can all thrive. Read The Keeper of Lost Children for an untold story of African Americans during WWII. Read Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything to learn about how capitalism destroys everything.

Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.

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January 2026 Books

Books Reread

The cover of Mississippi Jack by L.A. Meyer shows a girl in a red dress playing a fiddle and dancing on the cabin of a keelboat on a river

Mississippi Jack by L.A. Meyer***
Bloody Jack book 5 of 12
CW: slavery, n-word, racism, racial slurs
Continuing on with my re-listen of this series, one of my all time favorite series. In this book, Jacky is hiding from the British government who still wants to arrest her for piracy by traveling down the Mississippi River in a keelboat that’s also a floating tavern and musical and theatrical revue. As always it’s very fun, though on a reread, I might like this one a little less than I remember. I just think Jamie is very annoying in this one. He’s always complaining and while, yes, bad things happen to him, bad things happen to Jacky too and she always has a good attitude about it. Also I don’t love the way he treats Clementine. It feels different than the way Jack treats her various beaus throughout the books.
4/5 tall tales

New Books Read

The cover of To The Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage shows an erupting volcano, stars, and the moon
Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster

To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage***
CW: domestic violence, trauma, racism
I liked this but I think not as much as my sister did. Steph is determined to be the first Cherokee astronaut, a journey that will span decades and continents and whose consequences will ripple out in her family and relationships. This is an important book that examines themes of culture, identity, appropriation, and the effects of colonization.
3.5/5 sharks

The cover of Who's Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler shows the title and author on a blank white background rimmed in yellow and purple

Who’s Afraid of Gender by Judith Butler***
Fascinating examination by one of the world’s foremost gender scholars of what everyone’s so afraid of when it comes to ‘the gay agenda.’ Unfortunately, this is one of those books where the people who most need to read it are also the people least likely to. But even if you’re not afraid of gender, this book can still help you understand the fear of the Right and give you the tools to combat it.
4/5 phantasms

The cover of Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman shows Carl running through a circus about to throw a stick of dynamite in his trademark boxers, Princess Donut the cat on his shoulder and Mongo the velociraptor at his heels
Ace Publishing

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman
Dungeon Crawler Carl book 2 of 8
CW: gore, body horror, death
The second installment of the Dungeon Crawler Carl books follows Carl and Donut down to the third floor of the Dungeon–created when an alien corporation zoned the Earth for mining and killed nearly everyone and everything on the surface, leaving all the survivors to fight for survival in a real life video gameshow being streamed to every corner of the universe. I’m still enjoying these, particularly the audiobooks. I think I liked this one just a little less than the first one, but I am enjoying the development of the geopolitical aspects. I’m interested to see how the governments and corporations outside the Dungeon develop.
4/5 bombs

The cover of Don't Let the Forest in by CG Drews shows a black and white drawing of a boy in a school uniform with what looks like claw marks ripping the image across his face. From the tears, flowers and throrns and bugs creep through
Feiwel & Friends

Don’t Let the Forest in by CG Drews
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: child abuse, neglect, trauma, PTSD, gore, body horror
Impossible to put down. I loved this dark, obsessive horror. I don’t know how to blurb this one (I’m going to try anyway), but I think you should read it. When Andrew arrives back at boarding school for senior year, he’s haunted by something he can’t quite remember, an accident from last year. With his twin keeping an odd distance from him and his best friend Thomas’s abusive parents missing, Andrew is desperate to figure out what’s going on. But there’s something dark awaking in the forest. Can the boys keep it from consuming them and the rest of the school? Obsessed. I’m not saying Thomas and Andrew had a healthy relationship, but I’m also not saying I’m against it.
5/5 monsters

The cover of The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie shows a mustachioed Peter Dinklage as Poirot standing before a shadowy train
Audible

The A.B.C Murders by Agatha Christie*
CW: murder
Always fun to read a Poirot novel. In a challenge to Poirot, a serial killer is working their way through the alphabet. Can Poirot catch them before too much blood has been spilled? This one was kind of fun. I liked the way the reader was led through the mystery because I felt like I was figuring things out a little ahead of Poirot, but then there would be a twist. The Audible full cast performance was very good, and Peter Dinklage was perfect as Poirot.
3.5/5 railway guides

The cover of The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch shows a split image, one side Christmasy with a drawing of the Christmas Prince in a red coat and the other side Halloweeny with the Halloween Prince in black. They eye each other playfully
Bramble

The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch***
A delight. Red, White and Royal Blue meets The Nightmare before Christmas. The Prince of Christmas falls for the Prince of Halloween, but the running of one of the world’s biggest holidays is more fraught than he could have imagined. Is revolution coming to the Christmas monarchy? I loved the banter and the characters and the magic of the holidays. And I loved that it wasn’t just a romance but also a political revolution.
4.5/5 swear word jack-o-lanterns

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
CW: death, suicide, trauma
I really enjoyed this. It was dark, atmospheric, and moody, but also surprisingly hopeful and heartwarming. When a mysterious woman washes ashore nearly dead on Shearwater Island at the edge of Antarctica, the family of caretakers on the island, must decide whether they can trust her with the island’s dark history. I loved the themes of climate change as well as trauma and healing. I really liked the prose. I have one more thought but it’s about the ending. Read More: SPOILERS AHEAD

I was hoping for a happy ending though.


4.5/5 seals

The cover of The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden shows a lit cabin in a winter night. The silhouette of a girl stands before the cabin in the snow.
Del Rey

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden*
**Book Hangover Alert
I didn’t like this book quite as much as Arden’s The Warm Hands of Ghosts, but it was still good. Inspired by Russian folklore, the story follows Vasya, a wild young girl whose grandmother may have been a witch, and the struggle between two brothers Fear and Death. The book examines themes of tradition, religion, and feminism. I loved the magical world and all of the different folktale creatures we get to see. I really loved the examination of Christianity as a way to exercise control and enforce conformity through fear. I don’t really feel like that gets talked about enough. A little sad the bear was the bad guy.
4.5/5 hearth spirits

*This book only includes straight white cis people. Aside from Poirot, who obviously is queer coded, The ABC Murders only includes straight white cis people.

**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be lying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read Mississippi Jack for themes of slavery and indigenous conflict with colonizers. Read To the Moon and Back for queer indigenous perspectives. Read Who’s Afraid of Gender because it will make you smarter and more thoughtful. Read The Nightmare before Kissmass for queer joy and also revolution and reparation in fantasy. I’m not tagging Dungeon Crawler Carl yet but I have a feeling that as the books go on, they’re going to get more and more political.

Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.

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End of Year Round Up 2025

Total books read: 124

Number of pages read: 43,227

New books read: 109

Books reread: 15

Number of books by women, trans, and nonbinary people read this year (only counting new books read): 73

Number of books by BIPOC this year (only including new books read): 30

Number of books by disabled authors this year (only including new books read)*: 3
*This can only include authors I know are disabled. More on the list could be and I might not know. 

Breakdown by genre (only counting new books read):
-Fiction: 88 (children’s literature: 2; classics: 1; contemporary fiction: 6; fantasy: 20; graphic novel: 3; historical fiction: 12; horror: 5; literary fiction: 9; mystery: 3; romance: 1; science fiction: 9; thriller: 1; YA: 16
-Nonfiction: 20 (biography: 1; children’s literature: 1; history: 2; memoir: 3; philosophy: 1; science: 9; social science: 1; travel: 1; true crime: 1
-Poetry: 1

First book of the year: Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adyemi

Last book of the year: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

Most read author of the year: Rick Riordan, for the second year in a row (I guess if it’s going to a straight white man). I read 4 books by him.

Best books of the year (in no particular order; not including rereads):
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
My Friends by Frederick Backman
The Keeper of Lonely Spirits by E.M. Anderson
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Icarus by K. Ancrum
The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
Ocean’s Godori and Teo’s Durumi by Elaine U. Cho
The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
Chlorine by Jade Song
The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J.R. Dawson
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
Eight Bears by Gloria Dickie

Lowest-rated books of the year:
Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adyemi
The Home for Wayward Girls by Marcia Bradley
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Books I didn’t finish:
My reading goal this year was to not finish any books I wasn’t enjoying. I didn’t quite meet my goal. I did still finish a few things I thought weren’t great, but it’s an ongoing process
Time Travelers: Victorian Encounters with Time and History edited by Adeline Buckland and Sadiah Qureshi
Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith
The Basic Kafka by Franz Kafka
Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr

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October 2025 Books

Books Reread

The cover of Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams shows the famous ruins in a drawing as they may have appeared with Incas living there

Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams*
I’m planning another trip to the Inca Trail so I reread this book. Adams does a good job balancing his personal travelogue of his trek in the Sacred Valley, history of Hiram Bingham’s expeditions, and history of the Incas and the conflict with Pizarro. He also covers current controversies over the Incan artifacts in Yale’s care. Very readable.
3.5/5 llamas

The cover of Bloody Jack by LA Meyer shows the front of a ship with a figure of indeterminate gender on the bowsprit
I know this cover isn’t the same style as the rest of the series. It hurts me too, but this one is signed.

Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer *
**Book Hangover Alert
Bloody Jack book 1 of 12
CW: attempted rape, war, death, plague
This is one of my all time favorite books from one of my all time favorite series. Orphaned in London in 1799, little Mary Faber joins a street gang but when the leader of their gang is killed, Mary rechristens herself Jack and joins the crew of HMS Dolphin as a ship’s boy. The series follows Jacky’s historical hijinks and escapades including but not limited to naval engagements, piracy, finishing school, horse racing, spying in the Napoleonic wars, and so, so much more. Even though we’ve all heard it before, my family and I listened to it on a road trip. I cannot recommend the audiobook highly enough. Katherine Kellgren does a superb job with these books including all the voices, dialects, and songs therein.
5/5 kites

The cover of The Curse of the Blue Tattoo shows a girl dancing on a dock surrounded by sailors

Curse of the Blue Tattoo by L.A. Meyer*
**Book Hangover Alert
Bloody Jack book 2 of 12
CW: attempted rape
Book 2 follows Jacky at finishing school in Boston after she’s discovered to be a girl. And if it doesn’t sound like she could get in much trouble at school (compared to in disguise as a boy in the Royal Navy) well, you’d be wrong. This is maybe one of my least favorite books in the series but there aren’t any bad books in the series.
4/5 sheepdogs

New Books Read

The cover of Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi shows a light skinned Indian woman in a green sari

Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi***
This was one of my Book of the Month books. I enjoyed it. When an influential Indian artist dies mysteriously in a hospital in Bombay in 1937 where nurse Sona works, Sona must undertake a quest to clear her name from suspicion and return several paintings to the artist’s friends. It was interesting to read a historical fiction set in India shortly before partition with an Anglo-American protagonist.
3.5/5 paintings

The cover of Teo's Durumi by Elaine U Cho shows two figures holding hands before a Japanese style pogoda with a space ship flying overhead

Teo’s Durumi by Elaine U. Cho***
**Book Hangover Alert
The Alliance book 2 of 2
CW: gore, serial murder
I’m obsessed with this duology! I’m dying for someone to make it into an action series. It would be so good. Framed for the murder of his family, Teo must clear his name and bring the perpetrators to justice with the help of his ragtag crew of misfits. It has a very cinematic, space opera feel and I just adored it.
5/5 skin suits

The cover of Falmer by Mike Curato shows a drawing of a boy giving the Boy Scout salute surrounded by flames
Henry Holt and Company

Flamer by Mike Curato***
CW: homophobia, religious trauma, suicide attempt
I like to celebrate Banned Books Week all month long. This graphic novel follows Aiden, a closeted teen, at Boy Scout camp as he comes to terms with his sexuality and his own internalized homophobia. I really liked the art in this graphic novel. Several really gorgeous panels, and I really loved the color palette choices.
3.5/5 canoes

The cover of the Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson shows a closeup of colorful bird feathers
Viking Press

The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson***
**Book Hangover Alert
A nonfiction book about the craziest museum heist I’ve ever heard of. Johnson traces the crime: the theft of hundred’s of rare, historical, and endangered bird skins from an outpost of the Natural History Museum in London. Why would you steal bird skins from a museum, you ask? For the bizarre and niche hobby of salmon fly tying. Johnson excavates the community’s problematic obsession with using endangered bird feathers in the art form. This book was so wild. I can’t recommend it enough.
4.5/5 birds of paradise

The cover of Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo shows a neon-lit Chinatown street at light with a couple under a streetlight

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo***
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: homophobia, racism
The second book I read for Banned Books Month, and it was excellent. Set in the 1950s in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Last Night at the Telegraph Club follows Lily, a teenager trying to navigate her sexuality and culture as well as racism and the Red Scare. It’s such a loving book with interesting and nuanced characters. I really loved getting to read a historical fiction book in this time and place, as it’s not one I’ve read about before.
4.5/5 male impersonators

The cover of We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson shows an etching of two girls surrounded by ominous looking villagers
Viking Press

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson*
**Book Hangover Alert
Just a lil something spooky for Halloween. The Blackwood sisters live with their ailing uncle in their estate on the outskirts of town, shunned by the villagers for a tragedy that killed the rest of their family six years ago. But are the girls as innocent as they seem. Jackson is such a master of atmosphere; I really have no idea how she does it. I’m also a big fan of Mary Katherine, the unreliable narrator of the story.
3.5/5 black cats

The cover of A Thousand Times Before by Asha Thanki shows a tapestry of women's profile's

A Thousand Times Before by Asha Thanki***
CW: domestic violence, religious conflict, colonialism
I said above I’d never read a historical fiction set in the partition of India, but I read two this month. This book is a family saga that follows three generations of women in India during and after partition. A magical tapestry allows the women to pass down their stories and histories and gives the woman from the current generation the power to create change through art. I loved the concept of this book, but I felt the pacing was off. I wanted to be into it, but it dragged.
3/5 tapestries

The cover of Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy shows a waning sliver of moon

Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy*
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: suicide attempt
This one is an early release. I heard Levy speak at the Aspen Literary Festival and her humor convinced me to buy the book. I enjoyed this. It was weird, but good. I’m struggling to write a blurb for it that makes sense. I felt like this book captured what it feels like to be alive right now. To have lived through Covid, to be surviving under capitalism, to be watching America’s descent into fascism and still be trying to live your life. Set in New York City in the near future, “Flat Earth is a story of coming of age in America, a novel about commodification, conspiracy theories, mimetic desire, and the difficulties of female friendship that’s as sharp and sardonic as it is heartbreaking” (I took that from the Penguin Random House blurb). I’m not sure I would say I liked it, but I can’t stop thinking about it?
3.5/5 documentary films

The cover of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison shows a young black girl hunched at a window

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison***
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: rape, misogyny, racism, death of animals, incest, child sexual abuse, n-word
The last book I read for Banned Books Month. You know, I had resisted reading this one a bit because I always feel like Morrison’s books are kind of a bummer. (Very important, obviously! But not happy books.) But I actually really liked this one–although, that’s not to say it wasn’t a bummer. The book orbits Pecola, an ‘ugly’ black child who longs to have blue eyes. I thought the choice of POV was super interesting as well as the engagement with the themes of whiteness and internalized racism and beauty standards and the way these systems self perpetuate. Morrison also writes some beautiful prose.
4/5 blue eyes

*This book only includes straight white cis people. Perhaps unfair to give this designation to Turn Right at Machu Picchu and The Feather Thief. The later Bloody Jack books are more diverse, but these first couple are pretty white and straight.

**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be lying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read Six Days in Bombay to learn about India before partition and the experience of being Anglo-Indian at that time. Read Teo’s Durumi for an Asian-inspired sci-fi with queer characters. Read Flamer for a queer coming of age. Read The Feather Thief to consider the impact humans have on the earth. Read Last Night at the Telegraph Club for untold queer, Asian history. Read A Thousand Times Before for more about Indian partition and queer history. Read The Bluest Eye to learn about internalized racism and the insidious value placed on whiteness.

Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.

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September 2025 Books

New Books Read

The cover of Ecstasy by Ivy Pochoda shows a Greek mask and a snake in psychedelic pinks and purples
G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Ecstasy by Ivy Pochoda*
I attended an author event with Ivy Pochoda in conversation with the incredible Emily Wilson, so I was really excited to read this book. After the death of her controlling husband, Lena finds herself under the thumb of her controlling son. At the luxury resort he now owns in Greece, Lena meets a group of eccentric partying women on the beach and learns the power of female rage and the freedom of ecstasy. This was dreamlike and propulsive and a little gritty. The prose was spare but evocative, and you know I love a story inspired by Greek mythology.
3.5/5 DJs who might be gods

The book the Bad Ones by Melissa Albert held over some pink flowers. The cover shows a pink statue of a crying angel

The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert
**Book Hangover Alert
Melissa Albert writes books you inhale in one night and then wonder if it was a fever dream. Was this Albert’s best book yet? I’m not sure. Honestly I don’t remember the previous ones all that well except that I loved them and read them far too fast. Nora receives a mysterious text from her estranged best friend Becca the night that four people in their town, including Becca, go missing. When Nora begins finding clues Becca left her that evoke the Goddess Game, a childhood game from the community, Nora suspects something more supernatural than a kidnapping is going on. I loved the focus on friendship, the eeriness, the propulsive tension, and the fact that a teenage protagonist in a YA novel had two good parents. Very refreshing.
4.5/5 goddesses

The book The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong held over some dying flowers. The cover shows a young man's silhouette against a setting sun

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong***
CW: suicide attempt, war, trauma, racism, addiction
I was a little disappointed by this to be honest. Ready to take his own life by jumping off the bridge in East Gladness, Hai is stopped by Grazina, an old Lithuanian woman living near the bridge. She invites Hai to live with her and take care of her, but they really take care of each other. Vuong’s writing is gorgeous as always, but this one didn’t hold me like On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous or his poetry. I thought it was a little slow and there was too much description. It was beautiful description, but it wasn’t needed. It was also kind of a bummer, which is an unfair assessment for a book about addiction. I don’t know. There were some lovely moments, but I did struggle to get through it.
3/5 pieces of cornbread

The book Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao held outside. The cover shows a dreamy cloudscape and the reflection of a city with paper boats floating in the water

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao***
I wanted to like this more than I did. I mean look at that stunning cover. On the morning Hana is set to take over her father’s pawnshop, she wakes to a ransacked shop and her father and a precious artifact missing. But this is no regular pawnshop; it accepts only the choices people regret, giving customers a chance to forget. Hana must journey through the dreamlike realm in which the pawn shop exists to find her father and the stolen choice. I liked the world, which was beautiful and inventive, but I felt like the tension was a little lacking. There were stakes for Hana, but for some reason they didn’t seem all that important.
3/5 puddle jumps

Held over a green bush, the book The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden shows two ghostly hands emerging from darkness holding a poppy flower

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden***
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: war, trauma, abuse
I loved this so much. When Laura’s brother is reported missing, presumed dead during WWI, Laura, a combat nurse discharged honorably with an injury, returns to Europe to find him. After an explosion that leaves him trapped in a pillbox with a German, Laura’s brother Freddie and the German decide to keep each other alive, but in protecting Hans Winter, Freddie makes a deal with the mysterious and charismatic Fiddler, who haunts battlefields and the stories of half mad soldiers. Will Laura be able to save him before he loses himself? I’m now obsessed with Katherine Arden. I have to find everything she’s ever written and read it immediately. I had to clear off a spot on my favorites shelf to squeeze this in. Gorgeous prose, fascinating characters, haunting and beautiful story. I can’t say enough good things about it.
500/5 motorcycles

The cover of Hemlock & Silver by T Kingfisher shows a snake made of plants and flowers curled around a red apple
Tor Books

Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher*
**Book Hangover Alert
This was such a fun, refreshing Snow White retelling! When the king appears in Anya’s workroom asking her, an expert on poison, to save his daughter, whom he is sure is being poisoned, Anya has no choice but to go with him. But Anya gets more than she bargained for because Princess Snow isn’t ingesting small amounts of arsenic or hemlock, but something far more strange and dangerous. I don’t want to say too much more about it because it was very cool and I want to let you be surprised. I love when a retelling is fresh and surprising.
4/5 roosters

The cover of Flux by Jinwoo Chong is yellow with a splash that looks like old TV static across the cover
Melville Books

Flux by Jinwoo Chong***
**Book Hanover Alert
CW: racism
This was weird. I’m not sure I know how to blurb this book. When the protagonist is laid off from his job at a magazine at Christmas, he immediately gets a new offer that sounds too good to be true from a hot new start up that’s promised to change the world of energy as we know it. But something strange happens in his office every day at 9am and maybe the company isn’t making batteries after all. I’m stealing this sentence from the Amazon blurb: “Chong’s dazzling, time-bending debut…blends elements of neo-noir and speculative fiction.” Unpredictable and fascinating, I’m going to be thinking about this one for a while. It reminded me of Zeroville by Steve Erickson but I’m not sure why, since they weren’t really alike at all.
3.5/5 clicks

Held over some dead flowers, the cover of Vera Wong shows an older lady peeking through Venetian blinds

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto***
**Book Hangover Alert
Incredible. I loved every moment of it. When Vera Wong finds a dead man on the floor of her teahouse, she knows the useless police aren’t going to solve this one without her help, so she posts an ad in the paper that brings the suspects to her. Now she just has to figure out who did it. She just doesn’t count on building a found family in the process. I’m obsessed with this book. A cozy murder mystery with a nosy little old Asian lady protagonist? Sign me up.
5/5 clues

The Book of Elsewhere held up in front of pink flowers. The cover is black with a sketch of a babirusa skull in pink

The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville*
CW: death, war, trauma, torture, suicide, attempted suicide, gore
I feel like I’m still processing this one, so this is going to be probably a not very articulate review. This book takes place in an alternate universe to the BRZRKR universe, which I’m not familiar with at all. The story follows immortal warrior Unute’s journey through the millennia to understand his own immortality. The way the story orbited Unute was interesting. I think a lot of people might complain that the writing style was too academic for a book about a comic book supersoldier, and I will say I looked up a lot more words in the dictionary than I have recently. But I hope that people will still try books that are a little more challenging and don’t lend themselves to easy conclusions.
3.5/5 babirusas

*This book only includes straight white cis people. I guess Javier in Hemlock & Silver might not have been white, but it was subtle enough to be easy to ignore. The Book of Elsewhere was not only straight white cis people, but somehow it felt like it was?

**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be lying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! I just think you’ll be a better person if you read The Warm Hands of Ghosts. Read Flux for Asian rep in sci-fi and an examination of Asian representation in media. Read The Emperor of Gladness (or one of Vuong’s other books) for LGBTQIA+ and Asian rep. Read Water Moon for a Japanese inspired fantasy. Read Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers for heartwarming community building across the Asian diaspora.

Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.

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July 2025 Books

Books Reread

George Allen & Unwin

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien*
The Lord of the Rings book 2 of 3
**Book Hangover Alert
I forgot that this book is in two parts, one about the rest of the fellowship and one about Frodo and Sam, and does not go back and forth between them like the movie does. This movie also starts and ends in a slightly different place than the book. Otherwise it’s very faithful. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are on the trail of Merry and Pippin who were kidnapped by orcs but then rally the ents into resistance in Fangorn Forest. Frodo and Sam continue on toward Mordor, enlisting the unwilling and devious help of Gollum. I haven’t yet reread the third book, but I still think this one might be my favorite. I also love to see the developing friendship between Legolas and Gimli.
4.5/5 ents

Macmillan

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne*
I’ve read this book before, but it was kinda fun to reread it with the backdrop of all the Victorian scientific history I’ve been reading lately (who knew context helps you enjoy something more fully??). Verne was really just excited about geology, like everyone else was at the time so he wrote this adventure novel that talks about rocks probably way more than today’s average reader would be interested in. After finding an account of a man who (you guessed it) claimed to have journeyed to the center of the earth, Dr. Lidenbrock and his reluctant nephew Axel follow in his footsteps down a volcano in Iceland to uncover the secrets hidden under the rocks. This was also fun to read right before I went to Iceland. Overall, I enjoyed it much more than when I read it originally for school in the summer before 8th grade. Of course I have to critique the lack of female characters. And after Axel’s sweetheart Gräuben says she wants to come on the adventure! Axel didn’t want to go! Take her instead!
3.5/5 prehistoric monsters

New Books Read

Doubleday Anchor Books

Darwin’s Century by Loren Eiseley*
Yet another book about Victorian scientific history. This one was cited a bunch in Taylor’s and Dolnick’s books so I went ahead and read it too. It was pretty good. Mostly focused on what paved the way for Darwin’s theory of evolution (he argues Darwin wasn’t a one of a kind genius who came out of nowhere with this crazy idea).
3/5 barnacles

Delacorte Press

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
We Were Liars book 1 of 2
**Book Hangover Alert
A good fast paced read. I really enjoyed this one. Cadence Sinclair comes from a privileged family and spends every summer on a private island near Martha’s Vineyard. But after an accident the summer she was 15, Cady is struggling to remember what happened and no one in her family will tell her. My one critique is about how the prose sometimes devolved into poetry. I just think prose doesn’t become poetry just because you put some line breaks in it. I think the author would have been better off writing lyrical prose than half-baked, partial poems. Do a novel-in-verse or a novel of lyrical prose, but don’t try to do both.
4/5 dogs

The Sunshine Court by Nora Sakavic
All for the Game book 4 of ?
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: abuse, trauma, brainwashing, sexual assault, assault, suicide
The way Sakavic has her fandom by the throat. Taking place after the original trilogy, this book is from the perspectives of Jean Moreau and Jeremy Knox as Jean unlearns how to be a Raven and learns how to be a Trojan instead. We love to see that healing journey. And I’m also loving meeting all the new characters. Sakavic has always had a knack for writing extremely lovable, flawed, complicated characters.
4.5/5 ravens

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Hild by Nicola Griffith*
The Hild Sequence book 1 of 2
CW: slavery, incest
I wanted to like this more than I did. I just really like the cover tbh. Historical fiction set in the seventh century in Britain, young Hild must navigate the complicated politics of kings and lords vying for power to gain what power she can as a young woman. Griffith’s prose is really nice, but I struggled to get through this one. I liked Hild and Begu and Cian. I’m not sure what it was that made it hard for me to get into. There were a lot of characters and difficult names–it was almost like reading a high fantasy–and they were hard to keep straight.
3/5 prophesies

Delacorte Press

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart
We Were Liars book 2 of 2
This one was good too. I think not quite as good as the first one, but still a quick, easy, enthralling read. It’s a prequel, set before the events of the first novel, but has spoilers for the first one, so read it second. This novel follows Carrie, Cadence’s aunt in her seventeenth summer on the island, exploring the secrets her family keeps and the relationships of the three sisters. It helps to explain how Cady’s mom and aunts ended up the way they are. I liked the voice in the first book, but this book had the exact same voice, even though our narrator is a different character. Would have loved to see some variation in the voice.
3.5/5 ghosts

The Golden Raven by Nora Sakavic
All for the Game book 5 of ?
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: abuse, trauma, brainwashing, sexual assault, assault
I didn’t realize there was going to be more than one book about Jean Moreau. I should have waited to start any of them until all 3 were out. But alas. When I finished the first one, I immediately read this one. And now I wait. Still enjoying these. Sakavic’s prose is so readable, if a little unpolished and repetitive.
4/5 Trojans

Atria Books

My Friends by Frederik Backman***
CW: child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault (mentioned), drug use, drug abuse
Nobody does funny-sad like Backman. I adored this. By like 5 minutes in I was crying and laughing and then that continued for the whole novel. When homeless teen Louisa breaks into an art auction in order to see her favorite painting in person, she could never imagine that she’d meet the artist (in an alley behind the auction, while running from authorities who think she was there to vandalize the painting). And when the artist passes away the next day, Louisa could never have foreseen he’d leave the painting to her. Now Louisa’s got a priceless painting and no idea what to do with it except follow the man who gave it to her, the artist’s best friend to learn the story of the artist and the painting. As unpredictable as real life, the story is fantastically human, full of love and heartbreak and friendship. Rarely do I ever see a book that celebrates or captures true friendship the way this book does. Possibly my new favorite Frederik Backman book.
5/5 farts

Thames and Hudson

When Life Nearly Died by Michael J. Benton*
Another one I read for research. This is about the Permian mass extinction event, the largest mass extinction in history. It gives a good amount of background on some of the other extinctions as well, especially the KP event and the history of our understanding of mass extinctions. It was very interesting. I won’t pretend to understand all the geology and paleontology at work here, but overall I thought Benton did a good job of laying out his argument and evidence in an understandable way. Though, I don’t plan to set my novel near the end-Permian event, so not sure how relevant this actually was to my research.
3/5 Lystrosauruses

The Mayor of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham***
CW: racism, n-word
I enjoyed this. Hungry for a change at being a serious reporter, Nelly, a young Black woman from a well-to-do family, takes an assignment to find the Mayor of Maxwell Street, a shady figure who seems to run all of Chicago’s underworld. But is Nelly in way over her head? With her charmed life on the line, Nelly must decide what she’s willing to do for her freedom. I thought this one was fun, but I’m not sure I was completely satisfied by the ending.
3.5/5 glittering parties

*This book only includes straight white cis people. We know those classics are just going to be straight white cis people. It’s probably not fair to label the history books with this label, since the gender and sexual identity of the researchers isn’t relevant, however, women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ individuals have long been excluded from scientific research. I’m not labeling the We Were Liars books with this designation, not because they’re not almost entirely straight white cis people, but because there is some critique of race, class, and heteronormativity. I don’t have any idea if there were people of color in Britain in the seventh century, so maybe this isn’t fair for Hild either, and there is a whiff of homoeroticism in this book, but there could have been more.

**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be laying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read My Friends because it will make you a better person. Read The Mayor of Maxwell Street for a 1920s historical fiction focused on the Black community of Chicago.

Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.

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June 2025 Books

Books Reread

George Allen & Unwin

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien*
What a nice comfort book to read in these trying times. When Frodo’s uncle leaves him an enchanted ring, Frodo is pulled into a struggle to save middle earth. Peter Jackson’s movie is excellent and that is in part because he had great source material. A classic. It was nice to visit Tom Bombadil again too.
4/5 barrow-wights

New Books Read

The Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao***
Iron Widow book 2
CW: see content warning from the author at the beginning of the book
I won’t do a little summary of this book, because I don’t want to spoil the first book. This book was good, but I wouldn’t say I really enjoyed it. The first book was fun. I loved how Zetian, Shimin, and Yizhi interacted with one another and how they took on the establishment. In this book they almost don’t interact at all, which I found disappointing. I liked the examination of Laborism and the continued themes of feminism, especially how Zetian is learning her own shortcomings as a feminist. But the first half of the book dragged a bit. Still fascinated by the world. I’ll probably still read the next book.
3.5/5 suits of spirit armor

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang***
Gods Beyond the Skies book 1
I love when authors thank each other in their acknowledgements. It was a coincidence that I happened to pick this book and Heavenly Tyrant up at the library at the same time, but I loved seeing both authors thank each other in the acknowledgements. Ruying has the power to pull the life force from someone’s body, but she is one of a conquered people. When a conquering prince discovers her power, Ruying is forced to become his personal assassin to save her family. But the prince is charismatic. He seems to want peace and unity between their people as much as she does. As Ruying is drawn in by his promise of peace, she must learn to trust herself to do the right thing for her people. I enjoyed this. I liked seeing Ruying’s character develop throughout the book.
3.5/5 blessings from Death

Tor Nightfire

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle***
**Book Hangover Alert
This one was fun. Screenwriter Misha made it in Hollywood by writing queer horror movies, but then the studio tells him he has to kill off his gay leads right at the culmination of their relationship. Despite being closeted in his hometown in Montana, Misha is ready to stand for his principles until he starts being menaced by monsters from his own movies. Are these crazy stalker fans or something more sinister? I really enjoyed this. Great tension building. Important themes about technology and art and capitalism (spoiler: this book is anti-AI) that I was left thinking about long after the story ended. My one critique is that I hated the dialogue tags. This is probably just a personal quibble.
4/5 horror monsters

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater***
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: ableism, Nazis, racism
Stiefvater’s adult debut is a sparkling historical fiction with elements of magical realism. After Pearl Harbor, the US government requisitions several luxury hotels to house Axis diplomats and foreign nationals in the hopes that if the diplomats are well treated, the American diplomats in Germany will be as well until a prisoner swap can be arranged. Hotel general manager June must figure out how to host the enemy, keep her staff under control, and balance the mineral water springs that flow beneath the hotel which return the same energy they are given. I can’t say enough good things about this book. I don’t feel like I explained it very well, but just trust me, you should read it. Gorgeous prose as always. Interesting and compelling characters. Magical and ethereal setting that fills you with longing. I adored it. I also loved seeing the themes of disability in this book, especially a consideration of the way Nazis were persecuting disabled people, which I think often isn’t talked about enough. My only caveat about this book is that you should not read about a luxury hotel while staying at a budget hotel. Lends itself to too much comparison.
5/5 dachshunds

Indiana University Press

Earth Before the Dinosaurs by Sébastien Steyer
A book I read for research. This book has gorgeous illustrations. It went a little more in depth on evolutionary history than I needed it to. I really just wanted to know what kind of animals were alive in the Carboniferous and Permian periods.
3/5 dimetrodons

Camp by L.C. Rosen
This was a very fun, easy read. Randy has been coming to queer camp as a theater kid for several years now, but this year he has a plan to catch the eye of butch gay boy Hudson who has never so much as looked at him. All he has to do is give up theater, his friends, his style, and everything he loves about camp. But when Hudson looks at him in his new masculine clothes, it’s all worth it. Or is it? I enjoyed this. I read it very fast. I did think maybe there was some trauma that didn’t really get fully addressed and it did seem like there was kind of a lot of sex for a YA book. I try not to be a prude (and I am and 100% against banning books), but I do think sexual content in YA books should be approached differently than in an adult book.
3.5/5 painted nails

Books I didn’t finish

University of Chicago Press

Time Travelers: Victorian Encounters with Time and History edited by Adelene Buckland and Sadiah Qureshi
This book was just a little more niche than I needed it to be. I read it as research for a novel I’m thinking about, but a few of the essays were more academic and focused than I wanted. I read the essays that interested me and skimmed the rest.

*This book only includes straight white cis people. 

**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be laying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read Heavenly Tyrant to learn about Laborism, overthrowing fascist regimes, and the subjugation of women in many different government systems. Read To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods for a fantasy inspired by the true events in Manchuria during WWII under Russian and Japanese subjugation. Read Bury Your Gays for queer rep in horror (with a happy ending!) and a critique of AI and the commodification of art. Read The Listeners to learn more about the Nazis and disability. I’m not marking Camp as a Book for a Social Conscience, not because it doesn’t have good representation, or because you shouldn’t read it, but just simply because I don’t think it will make you a better person if you read it. Which again doesn’t mean it isn’t good.

Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.

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