Recent reads

8/18/26. I watched the show first but I liked the book better. Murderbot is the sweetest sentient robot I've ever read about.

8/18/26. I watched the show first but I liked the book better. Murderbot is the sweetest sentient robot I've ever read about.

8/10/26. A little too much woven into past books, though I ultimately enjoyed the complex mystery and history.

8/10/26. A little too much woven into past books, though I ultimately enjoyed the complex mystery and history.

8/9/26. Super sci-fi, intense, upsetting, and also hopeful. Can't wait to read the culmination of the trilogy.

8/9/26. Super sci-fi, intense, upsetting, and also hopeful. Can't wait to read the culmination of the trilogy.

7/28/26. Wow. This book is absolutely absurd and just incredibly ridiculous and funny and bizarre and so fun. Broke my brain a little bit! Highly recommend reading unless you're very scared of flying.

7/28/26. Wow. This book is absolutely absurd and just incredibly ridiculous and funny and bizarre and so fun. Broke my brain a little bit! Highly recommend reading unless you're very scared of flying.

7/20/26. These books have really grown on me! I liked this one a lot, and feel so invested in Duncan and Gemma.

7/20/26. These books have really grown on me! I liked this one a lot, and feel so invested in Duncan and Gemma.

7/8/26. Similar but not as good as Sandwich, but still a sweet book about dysfunctional families who ultimately just love each other.

7/8/26. Similar but not as good as Sandwich, but still a sweet book about dysfunctional families who ultimately just love each other.

7/7/26. Finally got to this which has been on my list a long time. I enjoyed the mystery but am not sure how I feel about the narrator - might give her another try.

7/7/26. Finally got to this which has been on my list a long time. I enjoyed the mystery but am not sure how I feel about the narrator - might give her another try.

6/25/26. I first read this about 20 years ago and remembered absolutely nothing. It's inventive historical fiction and also a realistic picture of the secrets families keep from each other.

6/25/26. I first read this about 20 years ago and remembered absolutely nothing. It's inventive historical fiction and also a realistic picture of the secrets families keep from each other.

6/16/26. A really lovely middle grade book about a group of friends and what it means to care for one another.

6/16/26. A really lovely middle grade book about a group of friends and what it means to care for one another.

6/9/26. First one beyond the TV show and it was fun to not know what was going to happen. This was dark, but compelling.

6/9/26. First one beyond the TV show and it was fun to not know what was going to happen. This was dark, but compelling.

5/30/26. Not as good as the first, but still such an enjoyable narrator and storyteller.

5/30/26. Not as good as the first, but still such an enjoyable narrator and storyteller.

5/26/26. I see why this was my mom's favorite of the series. There are some sad parts but mostly it all comes together in a way that's not too out there or surprising, but still a good read (listen).

5/26/26. I see why this was my mom's favorite of the series. There are some sad parts but mostly it all comes together in a way that's not too out there or surprising, but still a good read (listen).

5/17/26. Maybe not the best of the trilogy, but a worthwhile ending. I liked it best when everyone was working together rather than fighting, but it seemed pretty realistic through and through. Can't wait to see what she does next.

5/17/26. Maybe not the best of the trilogy, but a worthwhile ending. I liked it best when everyone was working together rather than fighting, but it seemed pretty realistic through and through. Can't wait to see what she does next.

5/14/26. Fun, and darker than the show. River and Coe really take the cake here, though Ho is a close second.

5/14/26. Fun, and darker than the show. River and Coe really take the cake here, though Ho is a close second.

5/2/26. Fun but so absolutely absurd, really takes you out of it. Also my mom pointed out it's more than a bit of copaganda.

5/2/26. Fun but so absolutely absurd, really takes you out of it. Also my mom pointed out it's more than a bit of copaganda.

4/26/26. Started strong but ended up being disappointing.

4/26/26. Started strong but ended up being disappointing.

4/24/26. Gut wrenching and beautiful. Not easy to read but if you love anyone who has ever died you should probably read this book.

4/24/26. Gut wrenching and beautiful. Not easy to read but if you love anyone who has ever died you should probably read this book.

4/20/26. Sweet and sad and starring a fabulous cat of a main character.

4/20/26. Sweet and sad and starring a fabulous cat of a main character.

4/14/26. I love me an untrustworthy narrator. Good feints and slips and philosophizing about politics and sex work.

4/14/26. I love me an untrustworthy narrator. Good feints and slips and philosophizing about politics and sex work.

4/10/26. This was a good one, it was fun to learn more about Erica and Jemma and Duncan's deepening family.

4/10/26. This was a good one, it was fun to learn more about Erica and Jemma and Duncan's deepening family.

4/2/26. Just a delight! I so enjoyed reading about this totally kooky and loving mom and her husband and parents and adult children, feeling all the feels. Laugh out loud funny.

4/2/26. Just a delight! I so enjoyed reading about this totally kooky and loving mom and her husband and parents and adult children, feeling all the feels. Laugh out loud funny.

3/30/26. Short, scary, beautiful treatise on pregnancy and hope and fear. Didn't love this but appreciated it nonetheless.

3/30/26. Short, scary, beautiful treatise on pregnancy and hope and fear. Didn't love this but appreciated it nonetheless.

3/26/29. Fast-moving, quippy series. Still loving these books! Excited to get passed the TV show to see how they differ from the other side.

3/26/29. Fast-moving, quippy series. Still loving these books! Excited to get passed the TV show to see how they differ from the other side.

3/25/26. A group of women on the cusp of 40 who have been friends for 20+ years, living in Chicago, NY, Austin (and SF) - sounds a lot like my real life. A beautifully written, if sad, novel about the power of friendship over time, how the fierce lov

3/25/26. A group of women on the cusp of 40 who have been friends for 20+ years, living in Chicago, NY, Austin (and SF) - sounds a lot like my real life. A beautifully written, if sad, novel about the power of friendship over time, how the fierce love women have for each other can trump so many awful things in life (these women were married to some terrible men!), and buoy the best of times. This really spoke to me.

3/19/26. These poor detectives cannot catch a break - murder is everywhere in their lives! I sort of knew where this was going the whole time but it was a fun read nonetheless.

3/19/26. These poor detectives cannot catch a break - murder is everywhere in their lives! I sort of knew where this was going the whole time but it was a fun read nonetheless.

3/17/26. This is my second read and I adored it as much as the first listen (on audiobook). And after my second child, I have not read such an apt description of how difficult newborns can be yet how fiercely we can love them anyway. So highly recomm

3/17/26. This is my second read and I adored it as much as the first listen (on audiobook). And after my second child, I have not read such an apt description of how difficult newborns can be yet how fiercely we can love them anyway. So highly recommend this whether or not you know/care about Greek mythology because it all just boils down to what it means to be human.

3/12/26. Jackson Lamb is just as amazing in these pages as he is on TV. Fabulous adaptation, fun listen.

3/12/26. Jackson Lamb is just as amazing in these pages as he is on TV. Fabulous adaptation, fun listen.

3/6/26. A little too much going on plot-wise but a still a good mystery. Not too obvious but not too obtuse. Kincaid drove me a little nuts here though.

3/6/26. A little too much going on plot-wise but a still a good mystery. Not too obvious but not too obtuse. Kincaid drove me a little nuts here though.

3/4/26. Still very true to the show but different enough to be enjoyable.

3/4/26. Still very true to the show but different enough to be enjoyable.

2/28/26. A little too heavy-handed, so I'm not sure I'll finish the series. But at least it doesn't take itself too seriously.

2/28/26. A little too heavy-handed, so I'm not sure I'll finish the series. But at least it doesn't take itself too seriously.

2/25/26. Fascinating and well-written description of The Troubles in the 80s, but hard to get past the sheer law-shirking and promiscuous detective. Kind of an asshole, too. We'll see if I can get through another one of these.

2/25/26. Fascinating and well-written description of The Troubles in the 80s, but hard to get past the sheer law-shirking and promiscuous detective. Kind of an asshole, too. We'll see if I can get through another one of these.

2/19/26. This was a lot of fun - really inventive, mysterious, and great main characters. Not sure I fully bought the cult or the reasons behind it but I loved the back-and-forth between today and the Vietnam War, and not even knowing who the cult le

2/19/26. This was a lot of fun - really inventive, mysterious, and great main characters. Not sure I fully bought the cult or the reasons behind it but I loved the back-and-forth between today and the Vietnam War, and not even knowing who the cult leader was until the end!

2/14/26. I loved his first novel so I gave this one a whirl - not quite as compelling, and harder to keep going back because it was so many vignettes. Interesting format for sure! And he's a great writer so I will keep reading his books.

2/14/26. I loved his first novel so I gave this one a whirl - not quite as compelling, and harder to keep going back because it was so many vignettes. Interesting format for sure! And he's a great writer so I will keep reading his books.

2/4/26. Pretty ridiculous premise and I felt so bad for the detective's friend, because no one seemed to want her to be happy. But I think she will end up there eventually.

2/4/26. Pretty ridiculous premise and I felt so bad for the detective's friend, because no one seemed to want her to be happy. But I think she will end up there eventually.

2/2/26. Lots of fun and the show is very true to the book. Jackson Lamb is a legend.

2/2/26. Lots of fun and the show is very true to the book. Jackson Lamb is a legend.

1/29/26. "If you want to have sweet dreams, you gotta live a sweet life." I thought I had read this ages ago but I actually think this was my first time. It was SO wonderful. Sad and beautiful and funny, like all Kingsolvers.

1/29/26. "If you want to have sweet dreams, you gotta live a sweet life." I thought I had read this ages ago but I actually think this was my first time. It was SO wonderful. Sad and beautiful and funny, like all Kingsolvers.

1/23/26. This one was pretty compelling - serial killer, drugs, romance. She does not cut corners when handling the detectives, poor souls.

1/23/26. This one was pretty compelling - serial killer, drugs, romance. She does not cut corners when handling the detectives, poor souls.

1/20/26. A murder mystery that didn't take itself too seriously, which made it much more fun. I really liked the main magician character, so I will likely keep reading this series.

1/20/26. A murder mystery that didn't take itself too seriously, which made it much more fun. I really liked the main magician character, so I will likely keep reading this series.

1/16/26. This one drove me a little nuts for the first half - it's kind of hard to do a paranormal book after 6 other perfectly grounded books with the same characters. But once the murders actually started it got a lot better.

1/16/26. This one drove me a little nuts for the first half - it's kind of hard to do a paranormal book after 6 other perfectly grounded books with the same characters. But once the murders actually started it got a lot better.

1/11/26. Continuing on my Kingsolver reread kick. For every good thing that happens to Taylor in The Bean Trees, she gets kicked around in this sequel. Still a wonderful read for this incredibly difficult time of my life in motherhood.

1/11/26. Continuing on my Kingsolver reread kick. For every good thing that happens to Taylor in The Bean Trees, she gets kicked around in this sequel. Still a wonderful read for this incredibly difficult time of my life in motherhood.

1/9/26. This book infuriated me - I just could not stand the main character, which I guess is the point. But I almost wish I stopped reading because she was so incredibly over--the-top ridiculous. I think this book was meant for an audience that coul

1/9/26. This book infuriated me - I just could not stand the main character, which I guess is the point. But I almost wish I stopped reading because she was so incredibly over--the-top ridiculous. I think this book was meant for an audience that could relate to her more?

1/5/26. I loved this, through and through. Mostly a great picture of a sweet, incredibly smart, and lonely young girl, with a side of (very realistic) dystopia.

1/5/26. I loved this, through and through. Mostly a great picture of a sweet, incredibly smart, and lonely young girl, with a side of (very realistic) dystopia.

1/3/26. This was a fun, quick, mystery even if the resolution was somewhat silly. The characters were a bit too manufactured but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

1/3/26. This was a fun, quick, mystery even if the resolution was somewhat silly. The characters were a bit too manufactured but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

1/2/26. I loved the voice actor but the narrator herself kind of killed me. If this was a lot shorter I would have enjoyed it more - good social commentary - but the various conclusion jumps and asides frustrated me.

1/2/26. I loved the voice actor but the narrator herself kind of killed me. If this was a lot shorter I would have enjoyed it more - good social commentary - but the various conclusion jumps and asides frustrated me.