Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

It's time for another seasonal check-in! I finished all the books on my Summer TBR and am continuing full speed with this year's reading project. I'm finishing up September (purple) and planning what I'll be reading in October (brown), November (black), and December (multi-colored). Here are some of the books I've picked out for this season!

1. Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

2. From Scratch by Tembi Locke

3. H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

4. Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

5. Love's Not Color Blind by Kevin A. Patterson

6. A Place for Us by Fatima Fahreen Mirza

7. Secure Relating by Sue Marriott and Ann Kelley

8. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

9. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

10. What I Mean When I Say I'm Autistic by Annie Kotowicz

What do you plan to read this fall (or spring if you're in the southern hemisphere)?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, Who Deserves Your Love, Dracula, Meditations for Mortals, and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Five years ago I was reading: Pregnant Girl, The House of Broken Angels, Information Dashboard Design, and The Space Mission Adventure
Ten years ago I was reading: The Guns of August, The Peril at End House, and The Master and Margarita

What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

The past month has included blue (August) and purple (September) books. It's been a great reading month of mostly solidly 4-star reads, which I'll take any day.

Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam: Vanderkam provides a wide variety of tips about time use specifically focused on how time feels, using real people's time diaries and surveys about their perception of time to discover what makes the difference between people who feel crunched and people who feel like they have a full life in a satisfying and easeful way. I'd recommend this book to anybody who wants to feel like their days have the expansiveness to make room for the unexpected and their lives are ultimately prioritizing the things that matter most to them.

How to Live a Meaningful Life: Using Design Thinking to Unlock Purpose, Joy, and Flow Every Day by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans: I first learned about these guys from an episode of The Happiness Lab, the first podcast episode I ever saved to listen to again in the future. Their framework of meaning-making struck me as incredibly powerful, and it has been helpful in continuing to remind me how to find meaning in the moments that already make up my life. If you want to get a taste, I recommend checking out the podcast episode. If you want to really dig into thoughtful exercises, the book is worth picking up.

UnWholly by Neal Shusterman: I felt similarly about this as I did about the first book. The unpredictability of the plot kept me reading, but I had trouble connecting with the characters. I think I'll eventually continue with the series, but I'm not breathless to pick up the next book.

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson: I adore this universe and these characters, and I'm glad I have one more book in the series to look forward to. While I agree with the folks who say these books aren't as good as the original trilogy, I'm still greatly enjoying the journey.

The Disasters by M.K. England: This was a fun ride! It's your typical "teenagers save the universe" plot that requires suspension of disbelief, but if you're in the mood for an action-packed sci-fi plot with a diverse cast of misfits and a side of mental health representation, this is a pretty good one.

The Dance of Intimacy: A Woman's Guide to Courageous Acts of Change in Key Relationships by Harriet Lerner: Through a variety of anonymized stories, Lerner shows how staying in connection with others (especially difficult ones) without either trying to change them or fully cutting them off requires a deep knowledge of one's own self and the ability to communicate this without coming from a place of activation. She has a more practical and compassionate approach than many self-help books. I struggled with some of Lerner's underlying philosophies and subsequent conclusions, even if I thought much of her advice was sound.

Full of Myself: Black Womanhood and the Journey to Self-Possession by Austin Channing Brown: This was a beautiful book, even more vulnerable and personal than Brown's first book. I could see myself in so many parts of her story, while also clearly seeing how many parts of her story could not be mine, and that juxtaposition of mirror and window was lovely. I definitely recommend this.

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum: This was an interesting dive into an earlier era, focused primarily on two men who made it not just their careers but their life missions to offer the world a better understanding of how different substances lead to death. I appreciated the history lesson on Prohibition and was even more fascinated by the developing forensic sciences detailed in these pages. If you like a good history or find the topics of medicine or murder interesting, you'd probably enjoying picking this one up.

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi: I really, really appreciate everything that Emezi is doing with this book, and yet when an author is so focused on getting their message across in a crystal-clear way, sometimes they drop the ball on the flow and coherency of the actual plot. There's a lot to love in this story, and so I was disappointed by how often I got pulled out of the story flow by pieces that didn't make sense. The book has generally very high ratings, so if you're less nitpicky of a reader than me, you may find it incredibly impactful.

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, Who Deserves Your Love, Dracula, Master Your Attachment Style, and Mirrored Heavens
Five years ago I was reading: Strange the Dreamer, Somebody's Daughter, Information Dashboard Design, and The Space Mission Adventure
Ten years ago I was reading: The Guns of August, The Lovely Bones, and The Master and Margarita

Best of the Bunch (August 2026)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in August.

Of the 8 books I read this month, I didn't have any 5-star reads, but I had three 4.5-star reads:

The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center by Rhaina Cohen

Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

This was a hard decision! As often happens when I feel similarly about multiple books, I'm choosing for my Best of the Bunch the one I'd like to recommend most widely.

The Other Significant Others was such a needed book, and I'm so grateful it exists. It was validating to see multiple examples of people who have dared to imagine how non-romantic relationships could become central fixtures in their daily lives (sometimes instead of, and sometimes in addition to, a romantic relationship). I thought Cohen did a fantastic job of organizing the book, highlighting a specific friendship pair within each chapter and using that to illustrate a specific theme, like co-parenting with friends, friends being each other's caregivers in old age, or grief from the loss of a friend. I especially appreciated the chapter about legal structures, giving readers a clear idea of what public policy changes could make a difference for a multitude of family structures, including close friends who want to be each other's caregivers, beneficiaries, etc. I hope that the popularity of this book will push more people to rethink what the relationships in their life "must" look or feel like, leading to more visibility and acceptance of non-traditional relationship structures. For all the reasons Cohen lays out in this book, society would be much better off in so many ways with this expanded perspective.

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, Dracula, Master Your Attachment Style, How to Keep House While Drowning, and Out of My Heart
Five years ago I was reading: Strange the Dreamer, Womanist Midrash, and The Sun Is Also a Star
Ten years ago I was reading: The Martian and A Prayer for Owen Meany

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What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

The past month has included green (July) and blue (August) books. Even if not all of them were winners, I'm really enjoying how this project is encouraging me to read a wide range of different kinds of books!

Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy by Jamie C. Martin: If you can get past the narrowly gendered, cisnormative, heteronormative, mononormative language of this book, this is such a beautifully affirming book for parents of any gender who feel overwhelmed by the sensory overload of parenting combined with the external pressures to parent in a very social way.

Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip Heath and Dan Heath: I like the Heath brothers' books for how they break down complex topics into practical steps with simple phrases and acronyms. In this case, they use a framework of four steps the reader can use to make better decisions, each of which has multiple variations of how that step might be accomplished. I appreciated the takeaways from this book, even if I took issue with some of the authors' assumptions.

A Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton: It turns out that I don't like a hard-boiled private eye any better when they're a woman. I found the ending fairly predictable, and I was confused about some of the main character's decisions. I don't think I'll pick up another book in this series.

Hum If You Don't Know the Words by Bianca Marais: I hoped this would get better, but alas. I hoped this wouldn't turn out to be mostly about a white girl coming of age through the help of Black people teaching her not be prejudiced, but again... alas.

The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara: This was fabulous! O'Meara intersperses a chronological retelling of Milicent Patrick's life with her own investigative attempts to learn more about this artist who worked on animations at Disney and designed movie monsters in an era with even fewer female names than the industry sees today. Even if you're not a classic film buff or monster enthusiast, I'd recommend this book if you're willing to go along for the ride.

Open: An Uncensored Memoir of Love, Liberation, and Non-Monogamy by Rachel Krantz: This was both fascinating and extremely stressful to read. I think I'd recommend this to a very specific audience, those who are involved in non-monogamy but finding it emotionally challenging, but not those who have experienced gaslighting or other abusive relationship dynamics unless they are extremely well-equipped to handle the triggers of this book.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson: I devoured this one in a few days. I enjoyed the dual timelines, enjoyed the mysteries, enjoyed the characters. I should have known going in, given that it was a series, that not everything would be resolved, but it ended with less resolved than I expected. I will likely continue with the series.

The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center by Rhaina Cohen: This was such a needed book, and I'm so grateful it exists. I hope that the popularity of this book will push more people to rethink what the relationships in their life "must" look or feel like, leading to more visibility and acceptance of non-traditional relationship structures.

How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay by Jenny Lawson: I think this book is probably extremely helpful for writers and other creatives who have ADHD, anxiety, and depression, like Lawson. The further you get away from sharing all those identities, the less relevance this book is going to have. I struggled with the combination of her signature self-deprecating humor with the very earnest suggestions about dealing with severe mental health challenges, but I think this could be very helpful for a lot of people.

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, Dracula, The Name of the Wind, The Knife of Never Letting Go, and Fevered Star
Five years ago I was reading: Weapons of Math Destruction, Womanist Midrash, The Buried Bones Mystery, and Nothing to See Here
Ten years ago I was reading: Bread and Wine, Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control, and A Prayer for Owen Meany

Best of the Bunch (July 2026)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in July.

I finally had 5-star reads this month after quite a drought! Of the 12 books I read this month, I had three 5-star reads:

Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong

Heartstopper: Volume Six by Alice Oseman

I already had to give some thought to which one I'm going to share about at my book gathering this weekend, and so the one that I picked is my Best of the Bunch for this month!

An Immense World was fascinating from start to finish. I adore Ed Yong's writing as well as his audiobook narration. It would never have even occurred to me to compile in one place a survey of the ways that animals perceive the world, and I haven't seen anything like this before. Yong does a fabulous job breaking down complex scientific topics using examples and analogies; he doesn't shy away from digging into the nuances, while keeping his tone conversational and his language clear. I also appreciated how thoughtfully and fluidly he linked together the chapters on different senses in an order that followed logical connections, often ones I wouldn't have put together without his expert guidance. I was enthralled. I highly recommend this one, especially on audio!

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, Dracula, The Name of the Wind, A Monster Calls, and Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
Five years ago I was reading: The Thursday Murder Club, Womanist Midrash, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and The Homecoming of Samuel Lake
Ten years ago I was reading: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare and Girl at the End of the World

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What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

The past month has included yellow (June) and green (July) books. This included finally having multiple 5-star reads after several months without!

Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas: This was surprising, informational, and heartfelt. Vargas was sent to the United States when he was 12; he didn't know until he was 16 that his green card and passport were fake. Following this have been decades of trying to survive in the United States. I thought this was excellent and a great book for any American to read.

Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore by Patric Richardson with Karin B. Miller: This was, indeed, a joyful book about laundry! This was my Best of the Bunch for June. While it may be challenging for me to adopt Richardson's methods wholesale, I found the practical tidbits throughout to be invaluable. This is definitely a book I wouldn't mind having a hard copy of for reference in the future!

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby: As with most "humor" books, this was fine, but it wasn't really for me. There were lines here and there that made me laugh, but mostly I just wanted her to have some self-compassion, set boundaries, embrace her uniqueness, and stop doing things that made her miserable while trying to fit some mold of what she thinks a likeable person is supposed to be like.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang: I think I'm a bit too literal-minded for a book like this. To be clear, I think it's a great depiction of how discrimination and stereotyping can affect someone, as well as just being a spot-on representation of the angst of adolescence. I wish the way it all tied up worked better in my brain.

Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl: This was a lovely little book of poetic essays. Renkl alternates between stories of the natural world in her backyard and stories from her family. I'm not sure there's anything in particular that will stick with me from this volume, but perhaps if I'd read it over months, reading a chapter (which is only a page or two) each night, I would have absorbed it more deeply.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley: This was a memoir told through illustrations of Knisley's experiences growing up in a family that valued good food and having memorable food experiences on various international trips. On the whole, while there wasn't anything that really jumped out at me to make this a memorable read, it was a cute journey through Knisley's food experiences and worth the couple of hours it took to read.

Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly: Perhaps it is being a woman of a certain age, but I loved this collection of micro-memoirs. Fennelly's life may not have a single, unusual, captivating narrative to it, but it has certainly contained unusual and captivating moments, and they are no less worth sharing. And, she seems to imply, neither are ours.

Well Met by Jen DeLuca: This was cute! I flew through it in less than two days. I still don't entirely understand declaring your love for someone solely because you've flirted / made out with them, but if I accept the usual rhythms of this genre, this was a pretty good one. I wouldn't mind reading another one in this series.

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong: This was fascinating from start to finish. I adore Ed Yong's writing as well as his audiobook narration. It would never have even occurred to me to compile in one place a survey of the ways that animals perceive the world, and I haven't seen anything like this before. I was enthralled. I highly recommend this one, especially on audio!

Heartstopper: Volume Six by Alice Oseman: Every installment of Nick and Charlie's story has been pitch perfect, and this final volume is no exception. I highly recommend the entire series.

The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths: The character exposition here was so clunky I almost put the book down, but I'm glad I persevered because I ended up really enjoying the mystery! This was one that kept me up late several nights in a row, which is something that hasn't happened for a while. I wouldn't have thought it when I started, but I'd definitely be down for reading another mystery by Griffiths!

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward: I keep trying and failing to enjoy literary fiction. It's not that I don't get it, or that I don't have empathy for the characters, but the characters make questionable choices, the sentences are packed full to bursting with similes, and the ending offers only small scraps of consolation for the bleakness you've just endured. I think this would be great for a book club and great for an English class, but it wasn't great for me personally.

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, Dracula, The Name of the Wind, More Than Two, Catfish and Mandala, and Marble Hall Murders
Five years ago I was reading: Lovecraft Country, Womanist Midrash, and A Promised Land
Ten years ago I was reading: Never Let Me Go and Philippine Duchesne: A Woman with the Poor

Best of the Bunch (June 2026)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in June.

Of the 9 books I read this month, I once again didn't have any 5-star reads, but I had two 4.5-star reads:

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay

Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore by Patric Richardson with Karin B. Miller

The one that has most directly affected my life, and which I have already recommended to others, is my Best of the Bunch for this month!

Laundry Love was, indeed, a joyful book about laundry! Richardson (and his co-author) managed to hook me right off the bat when describing situations where well-laundered sheets, towels, and clothing can bring joy and pleasure to your day. While it may be challenging for me to adopt Richardson's methods wholesale, I found the practical tidbits throughout to be invaluable. Do you know why regular bleach often makes your things less white? Do you know why clothes that say they need cold water get cleaner in warm water? Do you know why fabric softener makes your clothes less breathable? Richardson has an entire section dedicated to difficult stains and the best approaches to getting them out. And throughout, you can feel Richardson's passion for how laundry done well is a way of caring for loved ones and the environment. His tone is empowering and kind; I don't feel like I'm being shamed, I feel like I'm being invited to think about how laundry can contribute to a more peaceful, comfortable life, and I appreciate that.

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, Dracula, The Name of the Wind, More Than Two, The Psychopath Test, and The Resilience Myth
Five years ago I was reading: Maurice, One Last Stop, Womanist Midrash, and Jada Sly, Artist & Spy
Ten years ago I was reading: Furiously Happy, The Return of the King, The Whole Life Adoption Book, and East of Eden

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Top Ten Books on My Summer TBR

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

It's time for another seasonal check-in! I almost finished all the books on my Spring TBR; I ended up running out of time in the month before my hold on This Is Where You Belong came in, and I'm in the middle of Laundry Love now. I continue to enjoy my colorful reading project for this year! I'm finishing up June (yellow) and planning what I'll be reading in July (green), August (blue), and September (purple). Here are some of the books I've picked out for this season!

1. A Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton

2. The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

3. The Disasters by M.K. England

4. Full of Myself by Austin Channing Brown

5. An Immense World by Ed Yong

6. Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam

7. The Other Significant Others by Rhaina Cohen

8. Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

9. Relish by Lucy Knisley

10. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

What do you plan to read this summer (or winter if you're in the southern hemisphere)?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, Dracula, The Name of the Wind, More Than Two, The Psychopath Test, and The Resilience Myth
Five years ago I was reading: The Road Trip, Boy Erased, Womanist Midrash, and The Case of the Counterfeit Painting
Ten years ago I was reading: Furiously Happy, The Return of the King, and East of Eden

What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

The past month has included orange (May) and yellow (June) books. Most of the books were worth the read, even if they weren't a favorite!

Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better by Brant Hansen: This was a true mixed bag; I thought Hansen was funny and engaging, and he has an important message for Christians who spend their energy being outraged about things that don't affect them or even hurt anybody. However, there's a huge gap in this book when it comes to systemic injustice and personal trauma, and that means its applicability is limited.

Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman: This was a great overview of the lifecycle of a friendship, as seen through the unique friendship of the two authors. In telling their own story, they bring in research about how friendships form, how they grow, and how they weather – or don't — conflicts and ruptures.

Radical Relating: A Queer and Polyamory-Informed Guide to Love Beyond the Myth of Monogamy by Mel Cassidy: This wasn't bad, per se, but I don't think I'd recommend it to many people. For someone with experience in relationship anarchy, there's too much 101 content combined with philosophizing that's not grounded in enough practical examples. And for someone completely foreign to this approach to relationships, it's too unapologetically radical to make a good starting point.

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg: This is a bit more pure literary fiction than I typically read, but it was good. It's definitely the kind of novel you could mine for symbolism and motifs. Reading it simply for pleasure, though, it kept my interest enough to keep reading, but I don't anticipate it will stay with me.

Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon: This book was quite the undertaking, and while I don't know that it needed to be as long as it was to make the author's point, it was a fascinating listen, read (well!) by the author. Solomon looks at "horizontal identities," those identities that children may have that are often different from their own parents. I would recommend it with the grain of salt that you need a strong stomach to get through some of the passages and you may take serious issue with the way Solomon portrays certain identities and experiences; I think it's worth reading nonetheless.

Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer: This is a fairly good overview of information on the indigenous peoples of the United States (and, to a lesser extent, Canada), if a bit dated. Treuer covers a wide range of topics, from tribal governments to casinos, from spirituality to the history of residential schools. At times he gets a bit lecture-y to his own community, which seems out of place in a primer for non-native people, but on the whole it's an impressively comprehensive yet concise read.

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert: This is a well-researched look at the era we're currently living through, in which species are going extinct at a rapid pace, akin to five other periods in planetary history. Kolbert does a nice job of highlighting the philosophic tensions and complexities of the moment and walking the line between despair and hope, though I think she could have spent more time on concrete actions that the reader can take.

Butts: A Backstory by Heather Radke: The book is relatively comprehensive for the fact that its primary aim is to answer Radke's central question: "Why do I have feelings about the way my butt looks to other people?" While I'm not sure I took anything hugely meaningful away from this read, I found it to be a well-researched and well-constructed work of nonfiction.

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay: This story of four generations of Filipino American men, each told from when they were 16, is a great novel for both young adults and adults. There are important themes and motifs that students could dig into, but they aren't heavy-handed in a way that overwhelms the reading experience, and ditto for the history lessons. I don't think I've seen a storytelling format quite like this before, and I thought it was incredibly well done.

The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully by Joan Chittister: While I'm not the target audience for this book, I found a lot of valuable content in the reflections on how to think of one's life as a whole, how to integrate past experiences into one's present, and so on. I got frustrated with Chittister's seemingly limited view of her reader (their abilities, their prior experiences in middle age), but I'm grateful for the pieces here and there that I did take from it.

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, Dracula, The Name of the Wind, More Than Two, Amelia, If Only, and Black Sun
Five years ago I was reading: The Road Trip, Boy Erased, Womanist Midrash, and The Case of the Counterfeit Painting
Ten years ago I was reading: Furiously Happy, Lies We Tell Ourselves, and All the Bright Places

Best of the Bunch (May 2026)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in May.

Of the 9 books I read this month, I again didn't have any 5-star reads, but I had two 4.5-star reads:

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon

These are very different books! I think the complicated tensions in Far from the Tree will stay with me for a while, but if I had to say which one I personally liked best of these, it's the other one.

They Never Learn was quite the twisty feminist revenge fantasy thriller! While I saw a couple of the twists coming, the one halfway through — which possibly should have been the most obvious, in retrospect — made my jaw literally drop. It almost ranked up there with The No-Show for deceitful misdirection taking advantage of a reader's assumptions, but in this case I applauded the author's skill rather than feeling cheated. And the ending, while highly implausible, made me grin from ear to ear.

What I can say without spoilers is that the book opens on Scarlett in the process of her latest kill. She's a serial killer in the vein of Dexter, one who solely targets men who abuse, sexual assault, or otherwise terrorize women. This made the book simultaneously satisfying and also a bit brutal to get through, as we're exposed to not just the wide range of ways that men can hurt women, but also the many ways the system fails those women. And then of course there are the multiple methods of murder we witness throughout the book. So while it's not a story I wanted to linger in, I am duly impressed by Fargo's writing skills and would recommend this to anyone who can stomach the too-real pieces.

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, Dracula, The Name of the Wind, More Than Two, Come As You Are, and The Final Empire
Five years ago I was reading: The Echo Wife, A Madness of Sunshine, Womanist Midrash, and The Case of the Stolen Space Suit
Ten years ago I was reading: The Husband's Secret, The Two Towers, and Man's Search for Meaning

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What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

The past month has included red (April) books and orange (May) books. A lot of disappointing reads, honestly, but a few good ones. Here's what I've been reading!

You Didn't Hear This from Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip by Kelsey McKinney: There were a lot of challenges I had with this book, but the biggest one was that McKinney lacks a central thesis. While I loved her as host of Normal Gossip, I think this is unfortunately a case of someone who had enough name recognition that the publisher was content to sell copies on that and didn't insist it be tightened up into what could have been a really great book.

Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig: I hated every single adult in this book. Even by the end there weren't really any good examples of how to interact with a traumatized, autistic teenager like Ginny; if the author was trying to only show worst-case scenarios, I'm not sure what they point of this was. The depiction of the foster care system made no sense (and not in the way the real one doesn't make sense sometimes). While I liked the unpredictability of the plot, I can't think of any reason to recommend this.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: This was a wild ride! There's a lot that I enjoyed about it, particularly the way that the book's structure (a compilation of chat/call transcripts, memos, analysis of surveillance footage, and so on) was brought to life via a full audiobook cast. I did eventually feel exhausted by the relentless near-death experiences, but I know many readers would love this for that reason!

Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993 by Sarah Schulman: This was a fascinating read for so many reasons. I loved the practical takeaways and learning about the complex tensions within this activist organization. I struggled a bit with the way Schulman structured this book and think it was longer than it needed to be, but I still took a lot away from this read.

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo: This was quite the twisty feminist revenge fantasy thriller! While I saw a couple of the twists coming, the one halfway through — which possibly should have been the most obvious, in retrospect — made my jaw literally drop. While the multiple murders and the terrorizing of women meant it wasn't a story I wanted to linger in, I am duly impressed by Fargo's writing skills and would recommend this to anyone who can stomach the too-real pieces.

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See: This is one of those unfortunate books where the plot is built around the author's research rather than the other way around, so the seams show through — rather than following an engaging, coherent plot whose realism is bolstered by background research, we get a plot that zigs and zags from the cultural practices of the Akha people to the complex feelings of transracial adoptees to everything you could ever want to know about the tea industry. I think it would be great for a book club discussion, but it wasn't one I personally resonated with.

Circe by Madeline Miller: Madeline Miller is a great storyteller, and Perdita Weeks an excellent audiobook narrator, which made it easy to devour this story in less than a week. While this isn't a personal favorite of mine, I can see why so many have enjoyed it and I'm glad to have finally read it.

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, Dracula, The Name of the Wind, More Than Two, Money for Couples, and Parable of the Talents
Five years ago I was reading: Abuelita Faith, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, Womanist Midrash, and Fun Home
Ten years ago I was reading: The Husband's Secret, The Fellowship of the Ring, Will I Ever Be Good Enough?, and The Name of God Is Mercy

Best of the Bunch (April 2026)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in April.

Of the 7 books I read this month, I didn't have another 5-star reads, but I had one 4.5-star read, so that's my Best of the Bunch!

There were elements of Listen for the Lie that reminded me of The Girl on the Train, particularly the protagonist's amnesia around the night of her best friend's murder and her apparent inability to make good decisions generally, and there were definitely other tropes that made this somewhat predictable, but ultimately none of that took away from my enjoyment. I also really liked the story alternating with podcast episodes, similar to Sadie, and like that book, it was excellent on audio. Despite one egregious consistency error, on the whole, I really enjoyed this listen!

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, The Name of the Wind, More Than Two, All About Love, and The Vanderbeekers of 141 Street
Five years ago I was reading: Kate in Waiting, Womanist Midrash, and Freddie Ramos Adds It All Up
Ten years ago I was reading: The Husband's Secret, The Fellowship of the Ring, and The Church of Mercy 

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What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

The past month has included pink (March) and red (April) books. Here's what I've been reading!

A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome by Emma Southon: This was a surprisingly entertaining history lesson on ancient Rome and the way that killing of various sorts was regarded. There are plenty of wild stories throughout, not to mention details that may turn your stomach. But whether you pick this up for the Roman history lesson or the humor, it's an interesting lesson in how the concept of "murder" varies between times and places.

We Both Laughed in Pleasure: The Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan ed. by Ellis Martin and Zach Ozma: This was a remarkable collection. Sullivan's writing itself is clear and compelling, and I found it fascinating to accompany him so intimately on this life journey of being one of the first openly gay trans men. I appreciate the immense effort that the editors put into whittling down Sullivan's diaries into something so focused and readable.

When the World Was Ours by Liz Kessler: Through the story of three best friends separated by the machinations of Hitler's Europe, we see three very different experiences of that time period: the Jewish family that got away, the Jewish family that didn't, and the non-Jewish family that gained power and prestige through Hitler's regime. The characters and their stories felt real, at times painfully so, and I think Kessler does an excellent job of helping a middle grade reader understand what it might have been like to live through that period of time.

Here for It; Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas: This was fine. I appreciated the parts that were funny and some of his more sincere reflections on life (I truly enjoyed the play in the last chapter), and I have a feeling that, while this collection as a whole felt uneven and not my favorite, there will be distinct moments from his life story that stick with me past this reading.

Making Numbers Count: The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers by Chip Heath and Karla Starr: This feels kind of intentionally like an offshoot of Made to Stick, focusing narrowly on helping people really grasp any numerical information you might be trying to convey. Although I'd heard many of the analogies (or "translations") they shared in the book, such as converting the history of the universe into a single day, having them collected in one place and their principles laid out clearly was helpful.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera: I devoured this in just a few days! There were elements of this that reminded me of The Girl on the Train, and there were definitely other tropes that made this somewhat predictable, but ultimately none of that took away from my enjoyment. I highly recommend this on audio.

Shrill: Women Are Funny, It's Okay to Be Fat, and Feminists Don't Have to Be Nice by Lindy West: The core elements that West writes about — anti-abortion rhetoric, fatphobia, online trolls, sexual assault — are certainly all still present today, and she is incisive and funny in the way she tackles these issues, and also, there are elements that didn't age well. I can see why it got such positive attention when first published, but it's probably not the first thing I'm going to hand someone that deals with any of these issues.

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: You Know, Sex, The Name of the Wind, More Than Two, and The Vanderbeekers of 141 Street
Five years ago I was reading: A Pocket Full of Rye, Womanist Midrash, Freddie Ramos Rules New York and Rick
Ten years ago I was reading: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Ragtime, and A People's History of the United States

Best of the Bunch (March 2026)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in March.

Of the 7 books I read this month, I had one 5-star read, so that's my Best of the Bunch!

Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story was, dare I say, fabulous. Tobia is a delightful narrator on audio of their own story. I appreciate that they called out upfront that there is a typical, cookie-cutter "trans narrative" and that their story wasn't going to follow that at all. Instead, what followed was a real, messy, humorous recounting of their experiences from childhood through college as they grappled with societal expectations for their assigned gender and then eventually the complex journey of discovering their own gender identity and how they could best express that. Tobia's writing is alternately snarky and soulful; even at 27, they knew how to turn a phrase and then turn around and laugh at their own seriousness. They skillfully capture how their relationship with their parents doesn't fit into neat boxes of "accepting" or "rejecting." They have an absolutely must-read chapter on tokenism and their experience being accepted as a token on campus. I loved this from start to finish and would highly recommend, especially on audio.

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Esperanza Rising, The Name of the Wind, More Than Two, and Fearing the Black Body
Five years ago I was reading: Tess of the Road, Womanist Midrash, and How the Irish Became White
Ten years ago I was reading: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Under the Banner of Heaven, and A People's History of the United States

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Top Ten Books on My Spring TBR

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

It's time for another seasonal check-in! I finished all the books on my Winter TBR. I'm still really enjoying my rainbow reading year! I'm finishing up March (pink) and planning what I'll be reading in April (red), May (orange), and June (yellow). Here are some of the books I've picked out for this season!

1. Big Friendship by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman

2. Butts by Heather Radke

3. Circe by Madeline Miller

4. Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon

5. Laundry Love by Patric Richardson and Karin Miller

6. Let the Record Show by Sarah Shulman

7. Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

8. Shrill by Lindy West

9. The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert

10. This Is Where You Belong by Melody Warnick

What do you plan to read this spring (or fall if you're in the southern hemisphere)?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Esperanza Rising, The Name of the Wind, More Than Two, It's Perfectly Normal, and Everything Is Tuberculosis
Five years ago I was reading: Tess of the Road, Womanist Midrash, and How the Irish Became White
Ten years ago I was reading: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Spark Joy, Cold Sassy Tree, and A People's History of the United States