September Reading Wrap-up

This month I really felt like I was coming out of my reading slump, hooray! I ended up reading a big stack of great titles that reminded me why I love reading, and today I’m sharing 8 of my favorites. Maybe one of these will be just what you need to break out of your reading slump…

1. Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Cliff Chiang (art), and Matt Wilson (colors)

   This comic series about a group of badass time traveling paper girls from the 1980’s is perfect for fans of Stranger Things. I devoured every volume in two days.

2. The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

   Two teens get on a bus in Oakland. One goes to a big public school, the other attends a fancy private school up in the hills. Their routes only overlap for a few blocks, but one strike of a lighter changes both of their lives. Journalist Dashka Slater covers this (true) story with incredible nuance.

3. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

   My son and I are both obsessed with the Morrigan Crow books. Obsessed! This middle grade fantasy has characters you will fall in love with, loads of adventure, and is fantastic on audio. Book two is called Wundersmith, and book three, Hollowpox, releases October 27.

4. Know My Name by Chanel Miller

   Chanel Miller’s memoir swept me into her experiences so completely I literally could not put it down. A must-read for all adult humans in 2020.

5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

   After languishing on my unread shelf for years, learning that Ready Player Two comes out on November 24 is what pushed me to finally read this — and I am so glad I did! If you’re in the mood for a propulsive story set in an all-too-believable dystopian future, this could be your next read.

6. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

   The American Civil War, now with zombies and a zombie-slaying Black teen heroine! Super satisfying, and a sequel is already on the shelves.

7. Kindred by Octavia Butler

   A modern Black woman spontaneously time travels back to the pre-Civil War South in Octavia Butler’s speculative fiction classic. Clear your schedule because you’ll want to read this in one sitting.

8. All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

   In book 16 of the Three Pines series, we travel to Paris with the Gamaches, which sets the stage for deeper character development as Armand struggles to become closer to his son Daniel. The scientific premise of one plot strand had me raising my eyebrow a bit, but that was my only quibble and it did not detract from my reading pleasure one bit.

A Year in My Reading Life + Favorite Books of 2019

Reading is one of the greatest pleasures in my life, and this year I made a concerted effort to make room for more of it. As Gretchen Rubin advises in her book Better Than Before, the simple act of tracking something can make you more likely to do it — so I started tracking (and counting) the books I read each month. I didn’t have a particular number goal in mind (I feel like that would be counterproductive, since I simply want to add more reading pleasure to my life, not hit a certain target), I simply recorded the books I read, as I read them.

As I sit down to write this in mid-December, I have a good stack of books still in my future over the next several weeks (the holidays are one of my favorite times to read) but already I can see that tracking my reading has boosted the sheer amount I’ve read by quite a lot. In 2018, when I was writing down what I read but not numbering the list, I read 52 books, or roughly one a week. This year, I’ve read 81 so far, and had a great time doing it!

Winnowing down the list was a fun (but challenging) process — the titles that made the top 10 were all five-star reading experiences. So without further ado (and in no particular order) here are the 10 best books I read in 2019:

1. The Huntress by Kate Quinn

I read this on audio and the narration by Saskia Maarleveld made for an immersive and unputdownable listening experience. If you appreciate a good WWII story told from a less-often heard perspective, multiple timelines that weave together seamlessly, and female characters as tough as nails, this is the book for you.

2. Women Talking by Miriam Toews

This was my first Toews novel, and I now count myself a huge fan. Based on a real event that rocked a Mennonite community, this is a story that takes place over just a few days in the quiet of a barn loft — but the emotional terrain and layers of community history and cultural expectations covered in that sliver of time and space is vast.

3. Circe by Madeline Miller

I’ve been on a major classics kick ever since reading the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey (gorgeous!) and I loved Miller’s first novel, The Song of Achilles, so I’m not sure why it took me a year to get to Circe. Everything about this book is gorgeous, from the black and gold cover, to the deckle-edged paper, to the prose.

4. Normal People by Sally Rooney

I resisted reading this book because on the surface it didn’t seem like my cup of tea — I tend to steer away from contemporary fiction, literary or otherwise, unless it has a bit of a twist, like a nature adventure (see #5) or it’s a genre-bender (see #10). But surprisingly to me, as soon as I picked up this slender novel I absolutely could not put it down. I think I finished it in a single day, and I have Conversations With Friends all lined up to read next.

5. The River by Peter Heller

I love excellent nature writing, skillfully written thrillers and books that nudge you to dig a bit deeper or put a different lens to your life. The River accomplished all of these things for me, and as soon as I finished it I handed it to my husband…who loved it, too.

6. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

With so much hype stemming from The Handmaid’s Tale adaptation on Hulu, there was a lot of pressure riding on this read. And while I did find myself often getting distracted while reading thinking about how the characters in the TV version would act, and wishing there was a bit more nuance and explanation at the end, this was, overall, still a top favorite of the year and well worth your reading time.

7. A Better Man by Louise Penny

Can Louise Penny do no wrong? That’s certainly what it seems like to me, since as far as I’m concerned her Inspector Gamache series simply keeps getting better and better. I think next year I’ll take a cue from Meredith of the Currently Reading podcast and set aside a whole day off to coincide with the book release…so I can curl up and read the next installment right away, with a big cup of tea by my side.

8. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This book is a doorstopper by any definition, but well worth the commitment. Following the life and presidency of Abraham Lincoln, Goodwin focuses on Lincoln’s particular genius for welcoming competing opinions in order to move our country forward. I read this with a library copy, and found the motivation of a due date was exactly what I needed to get to the finish line!

9. Good Bones by Maggie Smith

Although the title poem from this collection by Maggie Smith is well known, I first heard of it from a piece on The Art of Simple by contributing writer Katherine Willis Pershey. I’ve never felt poetry that felt so true — her work is heartbreaking, beautiful, hopeful, and easily accessible, even for those of us who only dip our toes into the world of poetry. Next I’d love to get my hands on some of Smith’s earlier work, as well as this poetry collection also recommended by Pershey, by Irish poet Padraig O. Tuama.

10. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This book helped me realize that something I really love is beautifully written literary fiction with just one surprising, genre-bending twist. As soon as I put down this Ishiguro novel, I wanted to 1) talk about it with someone, and 2) read everything else in his back catalog. The less you know about the plot, the better, so I recommend just diving in. You won’t regret it.

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Well that’s it! It was hard to wrap up this list because as I type I’m staring at a stack of delicious books on my desk that I’m planning to read over Christmas, and I have a feeling one or more of them might have ended up contenders….but that’s what’s fun about the reading life — there is always more on the horizon.

I’m curious: Do you track your reading?

And if so, do you keep a paper book journal, a spreadsheet, use Goodreads or something else? I would like to start tracking a little more data about the books I read in 2020, but without going so far overboard that I get overwhelmed and ditch the whole system!

hugs, Laura

What I've Been Reading This Winter

It’s time for Quick Lit, where, joining with Modern Mrs. Darcy, I share short and sweet book reviews of what I’ve been reading lately. This is a juicy list, y’all — it’s not a stretch to say that there is at least one title on this list for nearly every kind of reader.

We have a twisty tale set on the river Thames, a strange epidemic, a mormon murder mystery, two immersive historical novels, a gorgeous coffee table book and a pair of must-read political picks for non-political people.

Fiction:

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

This is a delicious novel. “Old fashioned storytelling” is what immediately came to mind when I thought about how to describe it. Set on the river Thames in an indeterminate period in history, there is a mystery involving an old pub, three missing girls, and one child who appears to be dead and then lives again. A wee bit spooky and utterly transporting — perfect for cozying up with on a cold night.

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

I fully admit that the cover blurb by Emily St. John Mandel (author of Station Eleven) sold me on this book. In it, a mysterious sleeping sickness starts in a Southern California college dorm, and spreads to epidemic proportions. The storyline kept me frantically turning the pages, and I found myself thinking about it well after I put the book down, which is always a good sign.

Not of This Fold by Mette Ivie Harrison

This book was recommended on the Indie Next list, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have picked it up — but I’m glad I did! A Linda Wallheim mystery set in mormon Utah, this felt like a comfort read (if cozy mysteries are a comfort read for you) but also illuminated Mormon culture in a way that, as an outsider, I would never have access to otherwise. If you’re at all curious about what it’s like to be a Mormon woman in the modern world, read this book. The protagonist is married to a bishop and is a feminist, which leads to some really thoughtful examinations of the intersection of beliefs, family life, gender roles and power structures.

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Unread Shelf Project:

This year I am embarking on an intentional quest to winnow down my unread shelf a bit. If you’d like some guidance to do the same, I recommend checking out Whitney Conrad on Instagram and her interview with Anne Bogel on the What Should I Read Next podcast.

To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey

The January Unread Shelf Challenge was to read any unread book on your shelf. I chose a title by Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child. Like The Snow Child, this story is set in the wilds of Alaska, with a few strange and magical twists. Ivey follows a Colonel Allen Forrester, a Civil War hero, on an exploratory mission to map the interior of the Alaska Territory by way of the Wolverine River. Told in alternating perspectives, we see the Colonel’s adventures as well as his wife back at camp, who is learning about the photographic art. The rich descriptions of nature swept me away, and I loved learning about this slice of history I knew very little about.

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

For February, the Unread Shelf Challenge was to read a book that was gifted to you. I chose Manhattan Beach…which was gifted to me by my mother in-law and has been on my TBR pile ever since! This is historical fiction with a twisty little mystery, family drama, beautiful writing, and diving. It was fascinating to learn about the (scary!) early days of diving through our protagonist Anna, who works at the Brooklyn Naval Yard as a diver during World War II. I’ll definitely be adding Egan’s other works to my TBR!

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Nonfiction:

Restoration House: Creating a Home that Gives Life and Connection to All Who Enter by Kennesha Buycks

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this coffee table-worthy book from the publisher. It is gorgeous and just one of those books that makes you feel all warm and cozy and cared for. Buycks is a Christian, and you should know that this book is centered around a Christian perspective. That said, I see a lot to appreciate here, whatever your faith tradition. The core purpose of the book is to help the reader create a home that nourishes on all levels, from your senses to your soul, a message I believe anyone can get behind.

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Five million stars. Can I just leave it at that? Hah. This was my first Goodwin, and I can see now why people love this author so much. I wouldn’t have guessed that reading a presidential biography could be so compelling! Deep-diving into the life of Abraham Lincoln was a hopeful, inspiring experience worth savoring — and certainly worth the page count (which is not small).

I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening) A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversations by Sarah Stewart Holland & Beth Silvers

Necessary reading for every human being in 2019. I’m a huge fan of Sarah and Beth’s podcast, Pantsuit Politics, where they gather each week to talk politics from different sides of the aisle with “No shouting. No insults. Plenty of nuance.” But you don’t have to be a fan of the show to appreciate the book. It’s filled with the duo’s trademark insight, depth of understanding and empathy, while at the same time challenging each of us to do better — to make the effort to have tough conversations about politics with people who don’t agree with us, without falling back on the comfort of our own well-defined party lines.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my reading life as much as I enjoyed sharing it. Let's do it again next month! And please feel free to share a link to your own reading list in the Comments.

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October Quick Lit & Harry Potter Party Planning

Hello friends! It’s time for Quick Lit, where, joining with Modern Mrs. Darcy, I share a few of the books I've been reading lately. I have a nice stack of spooky October reads to share today — it’s been a good reading month! Up ahead we have a dark fairy tale, peculiar children, cozy minimalism, mysteries and one very unusual bookstore.

And in other bookish news, my household has been very busy planning a Harry Potter halloween party — hence the Gryffindor banner and in-progress DIY chopstick wands pictured here (we used extra-long chopsticks, in case you’re wondering!). You can find some of the DIYs and ideas I’ve been pinning right here. Now, on with the list!

First, a pair of spooky YA titles perfect for getting in an October mood:

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

I’ll just say it: I didn’t want this book to end. The Hazel Wood is a dark and creepy fairy tale that begins in modern day New York, but soon detours into very strange country. This is officially YA, but it leans towards an older audience. The protagonist, seventeen-year-old Alice, and her mother have been on the run her whole life for unclear reasons — but having something to do with her grandmother, who authored a cult-classic book of very dark fairy tales. When Alice’s mother is kidnapped, she and a friend must travel to her grandmother’s fabled house, The Hazel Wood, to find out what has happened.

Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

The third book in the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series, this picks up with sixteen-year-old Jacob discovering a new ability, and culminates with an epic battle to save his fellow peculiars. I’d had this title on my bookshelf for ages, and it felt just right picking it up in October. After diving in I found out that Riggs has just released book 4 in the series, A Map of Days.

If you’d like to catch up on the plot quickly, may I suggest screening the Miss Peregrine’s film on a stormy October evening with popcorn and apple cider? I really enjoyed the film — even though it takes some major liberties (main character and love interest Emma has a fire ability in the books, but she was swapped with a peculiar who floats in the film).

Next up, three mysteries for every taste…

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

This title has been out since 2013, but somehow I missed reading it when it was first released — so I was thrilled to be reminded to pick it up when it appeared on my library’s recommended books shelf. Set in San Francisco just after the Great Recession, an out-of-work graphic designer takes a job as a night clerk in a 24-hour bookstore in a seedy neighborhood.

Soon, Clay realizes that more is going on in those stacks than first meets the eye, and he follows a trail of clues that lead him into a secret bookish society that has spanned the ages. I was whisked right into the story, and especially loved reading about this particular setting because I lived in San Francisco during those years, and it was a treat to revisit places I know and love. Anyway, he had me at magical bookstore! :-)

The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel

I’ve been making my way through the Station Eleven author’s back catalog, and I loved this earlier work. Disgraced and out of work journalist Gavin Sasaki goes to stay with his sister in Florida, and ends up investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding a child who turns up with Gavin’s ex-girlfriend’s last name and bearing a striking resemblance to Gavin.

The girl soon disappears again, and Anna, the child’s mother, is nowhere to be found. This novel was atmospheric and transporting in a way that reminded me of Station Eleven — next I’ll be reading Mandel’s The Singer’s Gun.

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

I scooped up this Book of the Month Club pick at my local used bookstore and gulped it down in two nights. It’s a tense, slightly creepy domestic mystery that unfolds the night after a bunch of mom friends drink wine around a backyard fire pit — and in the morning, one of them is missing, along with her young twins. This wasn’t my favorite of the bunch this month, but it captured my attention while I was reading it.

Cozy Minimalist Home by Myquillyn Smith

I was lucky enough to be sent an advance copy to review of this lovely title — and since my full review is still coming, I’ll be brief here. Suffice to say, this is a beautiful, relatable decorating book that offers real, practical solutions for those of us who feel trapped between wanting to simplify our homes and also embrace beauty and objects we love. A must-have for home lovers.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my reading life as much as I enjoyed sharing it. Let's do it again next month! And please feel free to share a link to your own reading list in the Comments.

Quick Lit: What I've Been Reading (And Loving) So Far This September

It's time for another edition of Quick Lit, where, joining with Modern Mrs. Darcy, I share bite-size reviews of what I’ve been reading lately. I am so excited about the books I'm sharing this month. We have inspiring handcrafts, an ancient Greek love story, balm for a divided America, and one very resourceful Marsh Girl.

First, a pair of fiction picks I adored (for very different reasons):

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This lush story follows Kya, a sensitive, intelligent girl who has been abandoned by one after another family member until she is left alone to fend for herself in the wild marshes of coastal North Carolina. Called the “Marsh Girl” and shunned by folks in town as “swamp trash”, Kya must learn to make her own way. I wanted to stay out there, “way out yonder where the crawdads sing,” with Kya a little longer — even after turning the last page.

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The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

I finished this book and felt completely heartbroken (in the best way). The central focus of Achilles is a love story between Achilles and Patroclus. As I’ve heard the author, a classics scholar, tell it, this story is not meant to be a retelling of The Iliad, but an imagined backstory and complement to the Trojan epic. Since finishing this book, I read a review that complained the plot felt more YA than classical.

I agree that the story, told from Patroclus’s point of view, is a romantic one, but I can't help but wonder whether the same critique would have come up if the protagonists were not a same-sex couple. For me, the love story felt authentic, and the perspective breathed fresh life into an age old tale. I can’t wait to get my hands on Miller’s new book, Circe…maybe next month!

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Next up, two nonfiction titles I loved:

Print Pattern Sew by Jen Hewett

I am relentlessly drawn to craft books, blogs, and enticing workshops — even though I don’t often carve out time to actually make the projects. Hah! Jen Hewett is one of my absolute favorite people to follow, and since she is a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, there’s actually a chance I could take a workshop from her not too far from home. Her new book, Print Pattern Sew, is beautiful, and filled to the brim with clear instructions for projects featuring her trademark block prints. I’d love to come back to this one over my next holiday and dig into a few of the projects.

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Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown

This was my first Brené Brown book, and I have to admit it was sitting on my shelf for a year before finally making the time to read it — and I’m so glad I finally did. With chapter titles like “People Are Hard to Hate Close Up. Move In.” and “Speak Truth to BS. Be Civil.” the messages in this slim book feel like exactly what our country needs to hear right now. If I could, I would totally beam this contents of this book into the heads of everyone on the planet!

Pro tip: the audiobook is read by Brené Brown, so that could be a great way to get it into your life — if you’ve ever heard one of Brené’s TED talks, you know her delivery is fantastic.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my reading life as much as I enjoyed sharing it. Let's do it again next month! And please feel free to share a link to your own reading list in the Comments, or just share the title of one of your recent favorites — I would love to hear about it!

hugs, Laura

Quick Lit: August Picks

Welcome to another edition of Quick Lit, where, joining with Modern Mrs. Darcy, I share a few of the books I've been reading lately. This month I have six titles to share that I love (and hope you will, too).

August has been a good reading month, in more ways than one — I got in extra reading time on our beach vacation to the Outer Banks, North Carolina, and I happened onto a string of fantastic books that I plan on keeping on my shelves for a long while. Unless, of course, I'm shoving them into the hands of a friend and insisting they read this now. Hah!

First, three titles I would recommend to anyone:

Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce

What I most love to read about in World War II novels are the ordinary domestic details of life on the home front in Britain during the war — and Dear Mrs. Bird has got that in spades. Despite taking place in London during the Blitz, the focus of this novel is squarely on the everyday life of its delightful heroine and her small circle of friends and family. Emmy desperately wants to be a Lady War Correspondent, but instead ends up typing up the advice column for a women's magazine, and volunteers in the call center of the local fire brigade at night. The tone reminded me of I Capture the Castle and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in all the best ways. Utterly charming, this is a novel I zipped through and wished I could keep reading forever.

I'll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos

This is the August pick for the Modern Mrs Darcy book club, so I was already planning to read it — but it moved to the top of my reading pile when I spotted a copy with not one but two "staff pick" stickers on the cover while browsing The Island Bookstore in Corolla, North Carolina. This is an uplifting, beautifully written novel that feels like a beach read with soul. Set in the 1950s and the present day, it follows the intertwined stories of two women navigating love, life choices, and loss. Blue Sky House is a character in itself, a lakeside cottage that became a stop in a secret relocation system for women fleeing domestic violence in the 1950s.

Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan

Don't say I didn't warn you: this memoir by the author of Glitter and Glue and The Middle Place will break your heart. This was the first Corrigan I've read, and I immediately felt like scooping up all of her previous work because she is so obviously a kindred spirit. Tell Me More is about family, motherhood, marriage, and the deep bond between friends, told in a series of stories about the 12 hardest things she is learning to say. 

Next up, three titles that I thoroughly enjoyed, but might not be for everyone:

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Teenage girls suddenly discover they have the power to shoot lightning from their hands. What happens next is nothing less than a complete restructuring of the powers that be. This is a strange, intense story, masterfully told. Be advised: there are several very graphic, violent scenes that sensitive folks will want to skim over. That said, this is sci-fi that I think even readers who don't usually dip into this genre could enjoy. And with so much to talk about, this would make an excellent book club pick.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I read the first half of this book and set it aside for about a month before coming back to it — to be fair, it clocks in at over 500 pages! But when I did come back to it, I flew through the rest of the book, and I'm so glad I did. Adichie is a keen observer of cultural differences, racism, class, national identity, and hair (to name a few). The protagonist of Americanah is Ifemelu, a smart, independent Nigerian woman who comes to America to do postgraduate work, and ends up starting a popular anonymous blog called “Raceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black." Equal parts wise, funny, and painfully true, as soon as I put this book down, I knew I would be an Adichie fan for life. 

My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

This is historical fiction set in Albany, New York, and Washington, D.C., at the outset of the Civil War, featuring a smart, determined midwife who dreams of becoming a surgeon. There are a few gruesomely detailed scenes of battlefield surgeries (*cough* amputations *cough*), so if you are squeamish about blood, this may not be the book for you! I read this as we traveled through Washington, D.C., and loved reading about the early days of the city (in the novel, the National Monument was only partially built) with the real thing right in front of me. It was also fascinating to learn about how the war influenced the advent of modern medicine — what seems like common sense today (like washing hands between patients) simply wasn't done, and the effects of unsanitary conditions were horrifying.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my reading life as much as I enjoyed sharing it. Let's do it again next month! And please feel free to share a link to your own reading list in the Comments.

Quick Lit: What I've Been Reading (And Loving) So Far This Summer

I'm on a mission to get more good books into my life this year, and to that end, I've been sneaking in reading time wherever I can find it. Part of what has been working well for me is being a part of this bookish community, and listening to Anne Bogel's delightful podcast, What Should I Read Next. If you're at a loss for what to read, or simply want to spend more time around fellow book lovers, I'm telling you, check these resources out. You won't regret it. Now for the books...

Today I'm joining Modern Mrs. Darcy in sharing a few of the books I've been reading — and loving — so far this summer. In early June, my little family took a trip back to the east coast, which meant I've had an extra-helping of reading time this month. So I have six titles to recommend! Hooray!

First, three titles I would recommend to anyone:

This Is Where You Belong by Melody Warnick

This nonfiction book had been on my radar for a while, so when I recently stumbled upon a signed edition at my local used bookshop, I snapped it up. As I read the introduction, I found myself nodding along with everything Warnick had to say about always being on the lookout for the next "perfect" place to live. So much of our identity and happiness is tied up in our sense of place, so what happens when you're not thrilled with where you're living? This Is Where You Belong gives us practical tips — like walking instead of driving, and getting to know your neighbors — that can help root us more deeply in our communities, and boost our happiness in the process. 

Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown

I read this for the first time a few summers ago and loved it so much that I'm reading it again — and I rarely reread. This perfect summer book is about a cook who is kidnapped by a female pirate, and it's filled with good (if bizarre) food, swashbuckling, high seas adventure, and romance. And I love that it's written by an author who lives in my town, a fact I didn't even realize until after I got the book home!

I Am I Am I Am by Maggie O'Farrell

After reading my first O'Farrell novel (This Must Be the Place) in book club, I was hooked. I Am I Am I Am is a memoir told through seventeen brushes with death, and it had me so spellbound that I neglected making dinner, and in fact hardly looked up from the book until it was over. And can I just say how gorgeous that cover is? Read it. 

Next up, three titles that I thoroughly enjoyed, but might not be for everyone:

Sleeping Giants and Waking Gods (The Themis Files trilogy) by Sylvain Neuvel

I'm not a science fiction junky, but every once in a while I find a sci-fi book that grabs me and won't let go — the last one I read that fits this category (smart writing, mind-bending plot) was Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. In this trilogy by debut author Sylvain Neuvel (the third installment was recently published), giant robot body parts from outer space are discovered buried on earth. At first, no one knows what they are or how they got there — the first person to find one was a young girl named Rose, who rode her bike into a hole and landed in a giant metal hand. Rose grows up to be a physicist, and works on putting these parts together to make something... Whether this something is good or very, very bad quickly unfolds in this unputdownable series.

Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan

I adored this family saga from the author of Maine and Commencement about two sisters who journey from their small village in Ireland to America in 1957. One sister ends up the matriarch of a large family; the other, a cloistered nun in rural Vermont. Family secrets, lush writing, and revelations about the human spirit abound.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

This book has been talked up everywhere, but for some reason I didn't feel confident that I would enjoy it. So I'm grateful I spotted it on my mother in-law's bookshelf just at the moment I needed a new book in my hands — because I loved it. This is compulsively readable literary fiction, with characters you can root for and a twisty little mystery. Ng offers an insightful perspective on belonging, adoption, culture, the lure of perfection, and what makes a family.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my reading life as much as I enjoyed sharing it. Let's do it again next month!