It was such a treat to see Backman in person last month. He was funny, self-deprecating, vulnerable, and wise. I loved the Q&A and his meandering answers. I was reminded of all the ways his characters have touched my heart. Can‘t wait to read his latest.

The loveliest story of a young boy rescued from a shipwreck by a lighthouse keeper. Over the following years, he goes to boarding school and moves to other parts of England, but the pull of the lighthouse island always calls him back. When he is able to return, he finds the island just how he remembered it. It‘s geared to 9-12 year olds and is written 1st person, but it‘s a sweet read for adults as well. The illustrations were my favorite part.

I loved this one when I was growing up. Rereading with my kids as an adult and it was slower than I remembered. Still thrilling once it got going and I just love the transformation of the main character from a prissy spoiled child to a brave adventurer.

One week ago, my sweet nephew passed away. He was diabetic and had a DKA emergency and we are all in shock. He loved books and was a voracious reader, just like me. I read so many that he recommended and vice versa. We were both happiest, exploring a used bookstore and making recommendations to each other. My heart feels broken.

I was scared to read this because I loved Beartown so much. I should have trusted Backman's skill. His depiction of the building tension between Beartown & the neighboring Hed, paired with the complicated internal struggle Benji feels, frustration of Maya's younger brother Leo, & so much more is just breathtaking. It brought me to tears in the final pages as the climax led us to a forest road and limitless grief. It is just beautiful.

This is a wild ride that starts with snakes on the loose and ends with a night of chaos. The middle is packed with a lot of heart. Johnson is a broken man driven only by his passion for journalism. As the oppressive heat ratchets higher in the sweltering city, so does the tension. The looming threat of snakes and developer‘s bulldozers are equally terrifying for the Sweetberry Park residents.

Hanif‘s poetry and essays have a way of cutting straight to your heart without you realizing it. On the surface he‘s talking about music and critiquing concerts he‘s attended. But when you dig deeper, he‘s processing his life events: deaths, exclusion, crushes, and so much more. He‘s walking us through the ways music can make us feel connected to both ourselves, who we‘ve been in the past, and the people who have helped shape us. It‘s beautiful.

Though I‘ve read this many times, it always strikes me a new how heartbreaking the after effects of war are. The PTSD, the grief, the destruction, it doesn‘t end when the war is over. Obviously, Haymitch stood out to me more in this one as he fought to protect Katniss from being pushed too far, even though he was struggling with his own demons. Also, Gale‘s selfishness and Snow‘s cruelty are clearer the older I get.

A nonfiction essays collection from a bookstore owner. I recognized myself in many of her reflections, like being a big sister to a brother, never feeling the expected desperation to become a mom & wife, her desire to become a journalist, & often being the one who stays for friends to depend on. The book reminded me of the Lewis quote, "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one."

I loved the 1st in the series, but this one was a stretch for me. Setting something in Austen‘s world comes with certain rules in my mind. Bringing modern day issues into it took me right out of the story. Also, no one would never kiss in a group when they were technically colleagues. There are elements I enjoyed but it felt like an exhausting read & it should be a fun one. I would like to read more of the Dashwood sisters & will read that book.

I was expecting some sweet recipes and stories from this one, but instead found heartfelt grief mixed with the restorative nature of comfort food and conversation. Hood shares her very honest reflections of struggling through divorce, the death of a sibling and a child, and so much more as she feeds the people she loves and delights in new culinary discoveries. I can‘t wait to read more from the author.

Big feelings about this one. I loved the scenes in Vietnam, and the descriptions felt so real to me. But once the main character, Frankie, returned home, I found her love stories to be melodramatic and exhausting. I felt like she was constantly taking from her friends Barb & Ethel. I do think the picture of PSTD & addiction were heartbreaking & realistic, but it was all just so exhausting. I couldn‘t stand the character and her innate selfishness.

The story follows a fictional abstract expressionist painter, Rabo Karabekian, who was also a WWII vet. The whole book dances around the mystery of what is he hiding in his huge potato barn. The payoff at the end was absolutely worth it. Rabo is a cynical man, but somehow also incredibly hopeful. It also explores the impact art can have on processing trauma. I love Vonnegut's work and this one falls in my top five for sure.

I was not a fan the first time I read this. I reread it to see all the connections with the new Sunrise prequel, and though I enjoyed the Covey ties, I‘m still not a fan. I feel like the book is way too long, and yet somehow she rushed the ending. My least favorite of the series, though it does give an interesting perspective from the Capitol. Snow is such a deeply selfish person, but I do think Dr. Gaul is an incredible villain.

A deep dive into studies of how social media & phone use are affecting our kids. I appreciate the tangible changes suggested. Waiting until high school to give your kids a phone/ social media, banding together with other parents to create a like-minded community, & lobbying your school to keep phones completely out of schools, are all great ideas. But unstructured play, age-appropriate risks & responsibilities, & less parental hovering is key!

This was a new read for me, but a perfect one to walk through this season into Easter. The author explores the 7 deadly sins and the things we should strive for as Christians. I love her writing & so it clicked for me. I loved having quick bites each day to remember the season.

“He (Tolkien) never could find a word, so he coined his own: eucatastrophe. It‘s a combination of the Greek word eu, meaning “good,” & catastrophe, meaning “destruction.”

The author traveled to every country in the world & this memoir is about creating your own quest & completing it. While I think he comes from a place of privilege to be able to encourage people to drop everything and follow their dreams, some of his tips were helpful. I love tangible goals, like visit all 50 states & read all Shakespeare‘s plays.

“The more prepared you are, more spontaneous you can be.”

“A measurable goal is a good companion.”

I just loved this one! All the same characters, but Mr. Bennett is a runs a law firm, and Lizzie wants to be trained there. She must solve the murder in order to earn her father‘s respect. Her path crosses with a different law firm, Pemberley, And a stuffy lawyer who works there named Darcy. A wonderful blend of murder mystery and Austen. Right up my alley and perfect to read during my #yearofAusten2025 Can‘t wait to read more from this author!

This remains my favorite of the series. Life after the first games, the increased political subterfuge, and the return of so many wonderful characters, all make for a great read. It absolutely holds up on rereading and now hits even harder after reading Sunrise on the Reaping.

I was carried away by this one. It‘s a Little Mermaid/Cinderella mashup, but reads more like an original story. I loved the layers of character depth. Avoid spoilers if you can, because the surprises are delightful. It‘s excellent on audio & I couldn‘t put it down. Luce and her disfigured feet, love of the sea, & disregard for regular customs made her an excellent heroine. The added fae elements felt almost real. Just a fantastic read!

Focusing on Henry, who is fighting TB in Sierra Leone, Green weaves his real experience with the history of tuberculosis & its far-reaching impact. He manages to bring humanity to a topic that could feel sterile in less gifted hands. He explores the stigmatization of the disease, both as an exclusion from society and as a glorified for the artistic. Like all his work, its beauty lies in his understanding of both humanity's flaws and strengths.

This slim French novel is about a hairdresser who picks up the 1st book in the Search of Lost Time series & falls in love with it. I‘m glad I read Swann‘s Way 1st, but this one gave me a deeper appreciation for the themes and writing of Proust. It was beautiful how Proust‘s words resonated to someone in a different stage of life, her perspective felt fresh. I loved how the immersive experience of reading led her to evaluate things in her own life.

I never read this when I was young, but my kids are definitely in a horse phase, and so it was a perfect classic to read together. Based on the true story of the ponies who survived a shipwreck and lived on an island off the coast of Virginia, the main plot is about a brother and sister who work hard to try to earn enough money to buy one of the ponies. We loved it, and were completely caught up in the adventure of Misty and her wild mom, Phantom.

The 1st book in this series was hard for me to get into, but by the end I liked it. This 2nd book felt like the author hit his stride & I loved returning to these characters. I‘m firmly invested now and can‘t wait to keep reading. This one included an ex-husband, Some stolen diamonds, and more from my favorite character, Bogdan. I loved that the mystery was intriguing, but it‘s truly the characters & their relationships that keep me turning pages.

As soon as I finished the Sunrise prequel I had to reread this. I hadn‘t realized it had been 10 years since the last reread. There‘s so much more weight to the story with the Haymitch backstory. It broke my heart to see the parallels to see between the two characters. I can‘t get over what an incredible addition Sunrise was to the series.

This was such a fun series to read with my kids. It‘s a lot like Toy Story, where a group of toys goes on adventures when their owner isn‘t there. My youngest couldn‘t stop giggling at parts, particularly with Lumphey the Buffalo.

I‘ve always been intimidated by Proust and was thrilled to read this one with a few others. Proust has a meandering way of exploring the world around him. He‘s not rushed and his sentences are long and indulgent. That can feel exhausting at times, but then you come across a line so beautiful and achingly relatable that it stops you in your tracks. I‘m not ready to tackle the rest of the series, but maybe one book a year would be the right speed.

Classic noir novel about a drifter who falls in love with the wife of a restaurant owner, and they plot to murder him. Fast-paced, choppy sentences, quick read. There is definitely some sexism & racism mixed in here that speaks to its 1930s publication. Glad to read the well-known story though, and it definitely kept me turning the pages. I wish I could have seen a bit of depth in the character of Cora. We see her only through the drifter‘s eyes.

What begins as lyrical reflection on basketball quickly turns into a deep look at life for a black man in America. I was captivated by the author's poetic language and simple musings that resonated so deeply. I immediately bought another of his books.As someone who doesn't care a fig about basketball, that should say a lot.

"The history of an underdog can be distilled down to their brightest moment and then held onto forever."

A man takes a job as a guard at the MET in NYC. His brother is dying & in the midst of the pain & turmoil, he finds comfort in the predictability & beauty of his new position. It's a quiet nonfiction book that wrestles with grief, finding purpose & the lasting impact of art. Moving if a bit privledged.

“A work of art tends to speak of things that are at once too large & too intimate to be summed up. And they speak of them by not speaking at all.”

Oh my heart. After not loving Ballad I wasn't too excited about this one. Then I read it and I could put it down. It's Haymitch's story and it will break your heart in one hundred ways. I wasn't expecting to recognize so many of the characters, but this was the perfect way to do a prequel. So many gaps were filled in and there's so much understanding to the wider scope of the revolution and the depth of the characters in the original trilogy.

Last week, my city hosted its 2nd annual bookstore crawl. It was an absolute blast! Over four days I visited 21 bookstores. I did some on my own, others with friends, and a bunch with my daughter. We had the best time visiting some of our favorites and discovering new ones. I love supporting these local shops that are such cultural hubs in our community.

I was able to attend a lecture and book signing with authors Timothy Egan last week. It was excellent! It focused on the painful topic of the KKK and racism in Indiana, he handled the topic beautifully. Later that weekend I visited a new mural in our city dedicated to Madge, the brave woman who brought DC Stephenson down with her testimony before she died.

I‘m pacing myself because I love these so much. This one deals with a local performance of Julius Caesar and the most delightful dinner party with some rowdy young men. Every new volume is wonderful and I can‘t wait to read more.

Licorice pipes are a candy frequently mentioned in the Inspector Gamache series. I‘d never heard of them before reading these books. I recently recommended the series to my dad and he‘s been loving them. The other day he surprised me with these strange candies. He‘d been curious to find out what they were like. So if you‘re wondering, this is what licorice pipes look like!

Lauren Spierer was a college student who went missing from Indiana University in 2011. It was haunting and disturbing to read how easily a young woman disappeared without a trace. The journalist who wrote this couldn't keep himself out of the narrative as this investigation has defined his career in many ways. There are no real answers in the end, just grieving parents and a campus that doesn't seem to have changed much in the years since.

This was surprisingly slow going for a book geared towards young adults. The fantastical world starts off strong, but when the main character sets off to search for her missing friends it felt like everything dragged w/no action for chapters. The main premise revolves around a creeping darkness that's invading local towns. It's a heavy subject with a satisfying ending, but it's not one I'd recommend. The pace was too slow to justify the payoff.

Bleak & heartbreaking, this novel is based on the author's life. He writes to his mother, an immigrant from Vietnam with her own horrifying history. The poetic, haunting writing was my favorite part. It was painful & uncomfortable to read because it puts someone else's raw anguish on full display. As he struggles with abuse from his mom, drug addiction, bullying, & his sexuality he is honest & vulnerable. TWs abound. Cont…

The second volume was even better than the first! We are getting to know the mysterious tenant, Niall, next door along with a slew of other entertaining characters. The Duke of Islington and Jack were both surprising and delightful. There's a whole section dedicated to rescuing a three-volume set of Jane Eyre. I‘m loving Emma's witty world. If you liked but didn‘t love the 1st volume, make sure you read this one. This is where it really gets good.

Daisy Jones meets Tanya Harding in this Wuthering Heights retelling. We're hearing the story of ice dancers who become famous in interview snippets after the fact. Heath and Katarina have a toxic relationship and anyone who has read Wuthering Heights won't be surprised to hear that. It's incredibly entertaining on audio, but also exhausting as the characters are just horrible to each other.

When I was in high school I read and loved this series. Returning to them now when it feels like the world is in such chaos, felt like a warm hug. Some plot points are obviously dated, but I loved rereading these books that I adored when I was so young.

In February and March, I‘m reading Swann‘s Way with a few bookish friends. I love hearing everyone‘s comments each week. We are reading the Lydia Davis translation and just made it to the halfway point. Proust‘s meandering thoughts are beautiful, but exhausting at times. I love having a chance to savor his words and reflect on them each week instead of rushing through it.

Set in 1883, this new series feels like it could‘ve been written a century ago. Emma‘s private journals are snarky and hilarious as she tries to make her way in London under the guardianship of her awful cousin Archibald. This is just volume one and I can‘t wait to read the rest. They are delightful.

I really enjoyed aspects of this & I think increasing the conversation about perimenopause, women aging, etc. is so important. But I think Shields is still coming from an extreme place of privilege. She acknowledges this & I absolutely don‘t fault her for it, but I think many women won‘t quite be able to relate. Yes, we are watching our bodies change, but most of us do not have her resources or have to face the public gaze like she does. Continued

This is not a book by a politician hoping to woo the public. I think that's why I couldn't put it down. Written long before his presidential candidacy began Obama explores his identity & childhood here. White grandparents from Kansas, a father from Nigeria, an upbringing in Hawaii & Indonesia, & his 1st trip to Africa is all included. It's less polished & more powerful because of that. There's a palpable struggle to find his footing in this world.

Men hurting women. That‘s the theme in this historical fiction with a rotating POV. Altha in 1619, Violet in 1942 & Kate in 2019 all face abuse in their lives of the life of someone they love. The women have a deep connection with insects & birds. It‘s compulsively readable, but also made me roll my eyes many times with the bad choices & one-dimensional characters. I wished for more depth in relationships and less focus on the gruesome situations.

Cute epistolary novel about two people who connect through an online dating site. Izzy lives in North Carolina and Brodie lives on a tiny island. I loved their mutual Lord of the Rings obsession and passion for books. I did feel like it should‘ve been edited down and quite a bit of family back-and-forth could‘ve been cut. A fun read with a subplot of great family supporting each other, just went on a bit too long.

This classic follows the love life of Linda Radlett through the eyes of her cousin Fanny. She falls for one man after another, each so different. It reminded me of I Capture the Castle, without the coming-of-age elements. It also had a bit of The Painted Veil thrown in, w/Linda maturing through the novel. There is so much wit & it's delightful. I watched the miniseries & was impressed by how closely it stayed to the playfulness & text of the book.

I‘ve never been a country fan and could probably only name a handful of Dolly Parton songs, but I‘ve always loved her sense of humor, spunky attitude, and I‘ve always believed she was incredibly intelligent. The ways she‘s poured into her community and the children she‘s impacted through her Imagination Library are inspiring. This is a quick book and it‘s delightful on audio.

This Persuasion retelling is set in space with some Bachelor vibes. It‘s very entertaining, but definitely YA with lots of miscommunication & predictable twists. There‘s a class system based on former countries on earth having their own ships. My goal is to read all six original Austen novels plus a mix of retellings throughout the year and so this one was a good pick for that.