A strange and disturbing book - despite the cover, this is dark and dystopian. The kind of unexpected book for which I love the TOB. At first I thought I was reading a sort of fairy tale, but the story slowly unfolds and becomes increasingly unsettling. A strong pick. #TOB2026

I always enjoy spending some time in the world of Murakami. I didn‘t love this one quite as much as a few of his other books, but the idea of living in a library or in the woods sounds pretty great right now. One more from my #10BeforeTheEnd pile.

One more down from my #10BeforeTheEnd list. I definitely did not love all of these stories, but several of them were fantastic, which made reading the collection worthwhile. I have immense respect for her uncompromising creativity.

Another win for me from Levy. These essays are concise and sharp, on topics ranging from writers and visual artists, to shoes and driving. Listening sent me on a few searches for other books she mentioned. I loved all of these essays, and loved getting a glimpse into this brilliant mind. The audio is also spectacular.

As @squirrelbrain noted, this book is violent, but I also wasn‘t put off by it - it was necessary to the story and didn‘t feel gratuitous. It was powerful to read this short book in one go. I was tense in my plane seat until the very end. A propulsive pick by a Brazilian writer from #TOB2026.

I‘m a definite Lacey fan and I loved this one. A brilliant structure - memoir and fiction that mirror each other in slightly off-kilter ways - gives insight into the ways writers‘ experiences make their way into their fiction. Thoughts on love, friendship, and heartbreak. Thoughts on writing and fiction and faith. I love Lacey‘s writing style and creativity with form. #TOB2026

Another book I loved from the Booker list. A winding puzzle of a story that revealed itself slowly, and although it‘s long, I remained gripped throughout. So many aspects of this book broke my heart. I love the title - it‘s a nod to a piece of the story and also I think a good metaphor for the way the characters could only see part of the puzzle at any one moment - so much was left in darkness.

I‘ve wanted to read another book by Kirshenbaum since loving Rabbits for Food. This one was lovely in a meandering, melancholy way, true to the title. Reflections on life‘s choices, through stories Sylvia tells Henry on their roadtrip, which is itself a story that you know from the start won‘t have a happy ending. Definitely my kind of book.

#10BeforeTheEnd

I‘ll be honest - I‘m disappointed that the one book I have no desire to read won this year‘s prize. How it goes I guess. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I‘m excited to read Flashlight soon. And I loved Audition and Sonia and Sunny from the shortlist.

I can‘t believe I had never read this book, and I‘m so glad I listened to the audio because it was phenomenal. Hurston‘s story is of of a strong, funny, independent Black woman, and one that looks racism and sexism in the face without flinching, and without diminishing the power of Janie to live her life on her own terms.

I wasn‘t impressed by the other book I read by Reid, but this one was so good. I‘m sure it was partly because the time period and subject resonated deeply with me, but I couldn‘t put it down. A fantastic read.

I‘ve wanted to read this for a long time so it was a great one for my #10BeforeTheEnd list this year. I really enjoyed it - three somewhat connected novellas set in NYC, revolving around investigative detectives and bizarre situations. I‘m not sure I could choose a favorite - they worked really well together and I never had any idea what was going to happen on the next page.

I was so impressed by the originality of this book. Brilliant layers of a novel in a novel, a writer that is also a main character, and a very real invasion of Ukraine. Like the spirals of a snail shell perhaps? After reading this, I wish it had made the Booker shortlist.

#10BeforetheEnd

Found this gem at a LFL on the way to dinner tonight and I‘m not mad about it.

Alright, here are my #10BeforetheEnd picks for this year. 📚

@ChaoticMissAdventures

I was so happy to have spent some time in the world of this book; I was a little sad to come to the end. I‘ll be thinking about these characters for awhile, and this book will definitely be on my list of favorites this year. Such an expertly woven story from start to finish. 🩵

A new Elizabeth Strout is EXACTLY what I need in my life these days. ♥️♥️ Can‘t wait for this to come out in May!

I was excited to see that Krasznahorkai won this year‘s Nobel Prize in literature. I really like his writing. These are the books of his I‘ve appreciated reading, and this is the motivation I need to finish the one on top of the pile this year. Very good, and very long.

So fun to read another book by JR Lennon - this is his first novel, and you can already see his talent for absurd plot details and creating expertly drawn characters. He uses a tragic plane crash to explore personal tragedies and grief in the lives of people affected by the event. I hope he writes another book soon because I‘ll be really sad when I‘ve read all of his backlist!

I haven‘t gotten ahold of many books from the Booker list yet, but I really liked this one. I loved the way it presented the tensions of culture and marriage, and the sense of unending responsibility the MC feels as an immigrant in America to other Albanian immigrants she encounters. Her American husband struggles to understand this part of her identity and experience.

A million thanks to @merelybookish for tipping me off to the existence of this book. Such a cozy read that made me feel nostalgic for college and provided a temporary escape from reality. If only ghosts and lit courses were my biggest concerns these days. 😁 I‘m likely going to read this again at some point.

Thank you so much Sue for this wonderful surprise in the mail! ♥️♥️ This sounds right up my alley and I‘m looking forward to reading it.

I‘m glad our library picked this book for One Book One Denver this year so that I finally got around to it. I loved Hsu‘s approach to this memoir about his college experience, his relationship with his friend Ken, and his identity as Taiwanese American. Trying to find his place and who he wants to be in the context of who he is and who others are around him. It felt so relatable despite our different experiences. A sign of a great memoir.

I‘d had this book on my TBR forever and wanted to read it prior to the film coming out this fall. It‘s a mesmerizing account of a new mother spiraling and at the same time wanting to take back control of her life and body. I don‘t know if “liked” is the right word to use but I was drawn into her narrative and will definitely see the film.

I read 10 pretty great books this summer thanks to the #14books14weeks challenge. Thanks @Liz_M ! My favorite was the tagged book, but I really liked them all.

I‘ve read some good books in the past few weeks, although not the ones I‘m supposed to be reading. 😂 I‘m behind on reviews but enjoyed all of these, many of which felt very timely. Parable of the Sower isn‘t actually dystopian at all anymore, really.

A beautifully written account of a terrible, unresolved tragedy. The disappearance of the MC‘s daughters at the hands of her estranged husband is heartbreaking, and even more so is the way events were handled afterwards. I think the structure of the book works well for the story being told - the MC carries fragments of her memories as she tries to piece together a way to move forward. Thank you so much @Suet624 for sending this to me. 💕

Excited to have finally made it here - what an amazing place. I felt I was quite measured. 😁

I ♥️ summer mornings. 😁

Once I started this I couldn‘t put it down and read it feverishly in a day. I want to read more Hughes immediately - one of the best mysteries I‘ve read and the arc of the story expertly crafted. I was on the edge of my seat until the end. A great #14Books14Weeks read.

@Liz_M

I learned a lot from reading this book and am glad it was on the #camplitsy itinerary this summer. ♥️ Looking forward to the discussion!

From my #14Books14Weeks stack - an entertaining mystery and somehow my first Christie. There is a fair amount of problematic language in here (and apparently some of it had been taken out of this edition 😳) so I don‘t know if I‘d read another book of hers, but the storyline was very clever and I can see where she gets her reputation for mystery writing!

@Liz_M

This book was wild in the best way. The premise - a “spring party” in 1960s Miami - provides the setting for an absurd relationship between sisters and their sort of housekeeper to play out. This happens alongside random conversations at the party. Levine‘s ability to have come up with some of the dialogue in these conversations - I was laughing out loud at the sheer absurdity of it.

Fun used book finds on my recent trip to Oregon and Northern California. I was lucky to be at the tagged bookstore for a $1 book sale! 😁

A fun mystery to finish on a flight today - I liked this very Japanese book of puzzles. It‘s not horror as far as I‘m concerned - maybe a bit spooky at times. Thanks @julesG for hosting a buddy read of this! I‘d be interested in reading the enigmatic writer‘s other book, Strange Houses.

An unfortunately familiar story about the search for a better version of life that always seems just out of reach - mostly because it doesn‘t actually exist. I know I‘ve been there (I‘m still there sometimes now), wanting to pick up and go find a more desirable version of life elsewhere. I thought the end was pitch perfect

Much darker than the Cal Hooper books of hers I read. I liked this better - it was more gritty and I appreciated that things weren‘t neatly resolved. I‘m definitely going to read the next one, which I think focuses on Cassie and I want more of her. This audio wasn‘t great on this one but it was an entertaining listen in the car.

So happy to have finally read one of Fitzgerald‘s books - I love her writing style and this story felt oddly comforting to me (a testament to how terrible things are these days perhaps). Her writing feels like something from another era. I‘ll be reading more of her for sure.

What a fun summer read! A page-turner of a story about a topic I knew nothing about - the wild bird collectible egg trade. It wove together past and present into a very entertaining book. Perfect to finish on a camping trip!

Liked this, didn‘t love it. I was drawn in by the premise and love a psychological thriller. It was very good in parts and other times it fell short for me. I was let down by the ending. A low pick.

This book. 💔 I love memoirs written in unique ways, and I love Sarah Moss‘ fiction; learning about her life experiences gave insights into some of the components of her novels. She so accurately captured for me the relationship between body, food and control, and how the line past which you‘ve taken it too far can be easy to cross. I loved all the discussions of works by female writers. The audio was fantastic.

I didn‘t like this as much as I hoped to. At times I was really immersed in the story, but at other times it felt disjointed to me and I struggled to buy in to the motives driving the characters. Somewhere between a low pick and a so-so.

A great read from my #14Books14Weeks stack. I‘ve wanted to read this for awhile and really enjoyed Atwood‘s take on The Odyssey. Thank you so much @BarbaraBB for sending me this copy! ♥️

Very excited for these books that came in at the library in time for the weekend. 😁

After reading Vol I, I immediately got ahold of Vol II. I couldn‘t put these down and can‘t wait to read the next one. I‘m mesmerized by the way the books use the premise of being stuck in time to examine the things that matter to us, our relationships to other people, places, and points in time. At the same time they are heartbreaking and have a sense of adventure.

From my #14Books14Weeks stack, I picked this up after loving Ducks, Newburyport. The same writing characteristics are here, too, and I can see the path from this book to that one. Lots of thinking about sex here 😆 but the writing is fabulous. I‘m not sure how I feel about the ending, but I definitely enjoyed it (Ducks still being my favorite 🦆).

@Liz_M

Thank you for the tag @kspenmoll !

1. Favorite book in May is a tie between Tom Lake (on audio with Meryl Streep narrating) and Audition - for very different reasons. I loved the melancholy sweetness of Tom Lake and the unsettled feeling I had when reading Audition.

2. Very excited to read the tagged book in June for Camp Litsy! 😀

Tagging @Suet624 and @Cathythoughts if you haven‘t played yet!

An enthralling, if at times infuriating, book and entertaining on audio (even though the narrator paused for too long at times 😆). I truly hated some of these characters throughout the story, but the ending was satisfying. Thanks for the recommendation @Librarybelle !

This was such a sweet, funny book and just what I needed in the midst of my usual heavier reads. The writing is laugh out loud funny much of the time and the story is quite endearing. The end felt a tad rushed with all the various storylines, but overall definitely a pick. 💕💕

So glad I finally got around to reading the first book in this series - I loved it! Can‘t wait to read the others. 😁