Hell Bent, by Leigh Bardugo: As someone admittedly not a frequent reader of fantasy, I suppose it makes sense that I enjoyed the first Alex Stern book – Ninth House – more than this one; this sequel goes full force into demons and devils and heaven and hell where the first dipped more of a toe in. It was generally fun, though. Dirt Creek, by Haley Scrivenor: A quality mystery/examination of a small town, reminiscent of Jane Harper’s The Dry…. Read more »
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Books of 2023, Part 10
The Sun Walks Down, by Fiona McFarlane: Slow-paced but dreamy. I know have a predisposition toward books set in Australia, but this was especially appealing. Natural Beauty, by Ling Ling Huang: The premise was great but everything did unravel after the setup was established, getting very silly in the end. Tell Us No Secrets, by Siena Sterling: Was this YA? I don’t think it was intended to be, but…a very rote, highly on the nose, somewhat didactic entry to the… Read more »
Books of 2023, Part 9
Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism, by Jeffrey Toobin: This is a unique book in that (as I learned in the introduction) it’s incredibly uncommon for a complete set of court documents and communication between lawyer and client to be made publically available. As such, it’s very complete. But it’s almost exclusively focused on McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing, and I was hoping for more about the January 6th Capitol riots. There’s a connection drawn between… Read more »
Books of 2023, Part 8
Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo: I wasn’t sure I would be able to buy into a mystery whose plot hinges on ghosts, demons, and magic, but dare I say this was a romp. Silly in places, but very atmospheric, and I’ll definitely pick up the sequel. Small Game, by Blair Braverman: I found this fun and overall satisfying, and though I’ve seen some quibbles about the ending, it worked for me. To Be Taught, if Fortunate, by Becky Chambers: More… Read more »
Books of 2023, Part 7
The Thing in the Snow, by Sean Adams: Truly fun. I’ve been on a spree of seeking out texts and shows that are set in the arctic, or the far north, or the extreme cold (Artic Circle, a Finnish series available on an obscure (to me) offshoot of Amazon Video called Topic, fit my asks perfectly – eery lapland setting, new pernicious disease (I know, I said I have pandemic fatigue – but it wasn’t a true pandemic! it stayed… Read more »
Books of 2023, Part 6
The Exiles, by Jane Harper: I was very excited to read another Aaron Falk mystery after finding Harper’s last outing (The Survivors) less interesting than The Dry (which is Falk) and The Lost Man (a standalone)…this was satisfying enough as a mystery but didn’t have the same atmosphere those two created. The Social Climber, by Amanda Pellegrino: For most of this, I found myself thinking “I could have just…not read this” but I did somewhat begrudgingly appreciate the turns it… Read more »
Books of 2023, Part 5
Medical Apartheid, by Harriet A. Washington: A highly important book whose subject matter was extremely compelling, but whose writing veered didactic and dissertation-like. The Writing Retreat, by Julia Bartz: This was…very silly. Normal Family, by Chrysta Bilton: Totally wild – a story by a prolific sperm donor’s first child, whose relationship with him was a cross between parent-child and donor-child and whose mother seems to have known half of Hollywood and politics in the 1980s. Don’t Think, Dear, by Alice… Read more »
Books of 2023, Part 4
I’m Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy: I’ve never seen iCarly, but of course I’ve been hearing about this memoir for months while having it on hold at the library. I felt so terrible for McCurdy, and the book is completely compelling. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis: What a delight – somehow this managed to be both absurdist-silly and deeply profound in its story of an academic transported back in time to the era of the Black Death. There… Read more »
Books of 2023, Part 3
Spectacle, by Pamela Newkirk: This story of Ota Benga, a Mbuti “pygmy” man who was captured by a white American man and exhibited (yes, exhibited) for some time at the Bronx Zoo in the 1900s, was extremely sad and well-researched. As important as the story is, and as skillful as the author’s writing, it felt lacking through no fault of its own – only because there was so much history missing/never recorded. The Push, by Ashley Audrain: I read this… Read more »
Books of 2023, Part 2
The Housekeeper and the Professor, by Yoko Ogawa: I was a few pages into this when I realized it wasn’t my first Ogawa novel (I read The Memory Police a few years back). It’s a quiet book, maybe a little mundane for me, but enjoyable in its way. The Fervor, by Alma Katsu: Much more satisfying than The Deep; maybe not quite the magic of The Hunger. Eerily timely with the weather balloons being shot down over the US, as… Read more »
