Choosing my top read for November was actually way harder than I thought it was going to be since I had so many 5 stars this month, one of them being the new Murderbot novel, and those books have been dominating this year. In the end, The Future won it out with its complexity and sheer scope of topics. Very curious to see what will win in December, and for the whole year! #2023readingbracket

This one was just as cozy and fun as the first one, and I enjoyed getting some more insight into Viv‘s character. I loved that this one was centered around books, and as always I loved the aspects of found family and finding your purpose. I‘ll read anything this author puts out at this point. 5/5⭐️

I‘ve been disappointed by some YA mystery spin offs this year, so I‘m really pleased that I liked this one and it was on par with the rest of the series. Parts of the mystery follows the plot of the main trilogy, and we‘re split between Grayson and Jameson‘s POVs. Because were following both of them and the chapter are short, it felt disjointed at times, like I was reading 2 books that got smashed together, but overall it was a fun time! 4/5⭐️

Once more, with feeling: I Love Murderbot ❤️

It took me a month but I finally finished Doctor Sleep! I‘d seen the movie when it first came out so I knew all the major plot beats already, but I did still enjoy focusing on Danny and his journey with alcoholism and recovery. I don‘t think this one is as scary as The Shining (I couldn‘t sleep with that book in my room it scared me so bad), and I could‘ve done without the very unnecessary slurs, but overall it was a good background read. 4/5⭐️

This book is so stunning and beautifully written. It‘s also definitely a hard story to read, as it follows a young enslaved girl as she is sold in the American South in the years before the Civil War. There‘s elements of magical realism which lend themselves to the lyrical quality of the writing. This isn‘t my usual genre so maybe that‘s why I didn‘t connect with it as much as I could have, but I think on a reread I would savor it more. 4/5⭐️

The Future explores the world of tech, billionaires, environmental activism, and luxury bunkers, and boy does the read deliver. It‘s clever, fast-paced, and intriguing, and even plays with the form by introducing a Reddit-esque thread about survival prepping. It‘s more speculative than sci-fi, but the world is still very fleshed out. I‘m so happy I enjoyed this one since my expectations were so high! 5/5⭐️

I didn‘t love The Power when I read it a few years ago, but this one has been at the top of my highly anticipated list for a while so I‘m excited to dive in!

Fell a bit behind on this so here‘s my update for August, September, and October! August was kind of slim pickings since my only 5 star was a reread and I don‘t count those for this, but September and October were fairly easy to pick. It‘s looking like The Wager might pull out the win for this year! #2023readingbracket

Happy Halloween from me and my current spooky read 🎃👻

This was a very straightforward memoir and I really enjoyed it. The writing style felt conversational and authentic to Britney‘s voice. The first half kind of bounced all over the place a bit with the timeline and felt kind of vague with some details, but that‘s my only critique. It‘s extremely readable. It‘s a really heart wrenching look at her life and I was really moved when she started talking about the conservatorship. ⬇️

Shockingly I ended feeling pretty middle of the road for this one. I think I would‘ve liked it more if the primary focus was the fantasy, because that was the most interesting part to me. I just couldn‘t buy into the romance at all and had a hard time constantly going from “I might die today” to “omg he‘s so hot!!” There was some decent character development and intrigue, and I‘ll probably read book 2, but I wanted more than the book gave. 3/5⭐️

She‘s here! So excited!

Half of my friends absolutely love it, the other half absolutely hate it 🤣 Time to see which side I‘ll be on!

This exceeded all my expectations. Based on the real life murders of two sorority women by Ted Bundy, Bright Young Women focuses its fictionalized account on the women who lost their lives and those who fought to bring him to justice. This book is so expertly crafted, aiming to correct the misguided notion that The Defendant was brilliant and cunning, a narrative that was spun to cover up the police‘s mistake in letting him escape. 5/5⭐️

I got to meet the author a couple weeks ago and she was so sweet! I‘m about halfway through this one and I was expecting it to be good, but it‘s exceeding all my expectations and I‘m blown away at how amazingly written it is.

Finished this in about 24 hours so I think it‘s safe to say my slump has been beaten! This series is so charming and I‘m sad we won‘t get another one for a little while. Now that we‘re at book 4, I‘m reading these for the characters a bit more than for the mystery, and this one was a little more emotional than I was expecting, but a good read nonetheless. 4/5⭐️

Been in a reading slump the past couple of weeks, time to try and get out of it!

This was so fun and action packed and scratched my swashbuckling itch! I liked Amina and her character motivations a lot, as well as her relationship dynamic with her crew. This was very plot focused so I think the characters suffered a bit because of that, and the story got a little off the rails in the second half, but overall I had a great time and this was just the escapist read I needed. Very excited for the next one! 4.5/5⭐️

I‘ve been in a real seafaring and swashbuckling mood lately so let‘s keep it going!

British naval history isn‘t something I thought would be so fascinating, but Grann has proved he‘s an incredible storyteller. This could‘ve strayed into textbook territory very easily, but it was quick and efficient and I was engaged the entire time. It certainly helps that this is an event where multiple people wrote everything down, but Grann still painted a picture of interesting characters and their hardships in an intriguing way. 5/5⭐️

Driving down to North Carolina today, time to read about mutiny!

What do you do when you‘re having a tough week? Read a childhood favorite and watch the US Open, of course 😊

Today‘s reading plans!

I feel like the outlier since everyone else seems to love this, but this ended up being disappointing for me. I liked the gothic atmosphere of the house and the overall premise, and the beginning was compelling. But everything else fell flat. The pacing/timeline was bonkers, no likable characters, and too many outlandish twists. There also seemed to be some reused elements from previous books. I‘m sad since I‘ve liked his other works. 2.5/5⭐️

In this sci-fi thriller debut, a mission to a new planet goes awry when an explosion knocks them off course. Asuka, the only surviving witness, has to prove her innocence and keep the crew from turning on each other. For a debut, this was pretty solid! The first half had a lot of pacing issues and the characters weren‘t as fleshed out, but overall it was entertaining and also surprisingly heartfelt. 3.5/5⭐️

As a publishing girlie, books about the industry are like catnip for me. Was it a little on the nose at times? Yes. But have I also either witnessed or heard from coworkers about a lot of similar instances that happen in this book? Also yes. Overall I was thoroughly entertained and am eager to read more R. F. Kuang since this was my first from her. 4/5⭐️

It‘s time

#2023readingbracket

Kicking off the second half of the reading bracket with the most recent installment of the Murderbot Diaries (is anyone shocked lol)! I sped through the whole series and this one is my favorite so far. I

Even though I hit a slump right around the middle of the month, July still ended up being pretty good! All but 2 of these were 4 stars and above, so even though I had a 1 star in there, I‘d still say that‘s successful. I‘m all caught up on Murderbot and am supremely upset that I have to wait until November to read the next one (but at least it‘s another full novel!) #wrapup

This will lead to some great discussions in my book club, but the read personally felt a bit dull. This climate apocalypse book feels very mystical and surreal, and the narrative voice was distinct, but all the biblical references and countless thematic elements made this feel a bit too clever. It‘s layered in a way that made me go “oh god there‘s more?” Millet clearly has a lot of talent in her craft, it‘s just not my personal taste. 3/5⭐️

I think this is another soft pick. This just wasn‘t as much of a favorite as his other 2 cozy books, and I can‘t really figure out why. I do think the pacing was all over the place, and I wasn‘t really into the romance in this one. Maybe I‘m just not into sentimentality right now, which this book was full of. Or maybe I‘m reading too much about robots and AI and humanity right now and need a break. I‘d still recommend this one, though. 3.5/5⭐️

#2023readingbracket

The fourth Murderbot book took the crown for June, but it wasn‘t enough to beat Hell Bent, which has dominated the first half of my reading year. I‘m eager to see if anything can knock it from the top spot!

My June wrap up! I got through 9 books this month, and it helped that 1 was a reread, 2 were novellas, and most of the others were speedy to get through.

I love Murderbot. That is all.

I have way too many thoughts about this than can be expressed in the Litsy character limit, but I really enjoyed this one. Snow is an utterly fascinating character and being in his head was so interesting. Seeing the origin of the Hunger Games was fun, and the themes of authoritarianism and control were good to dig in to. My only complaints are that it was a bit too long, and the ending felt rushed. Can‘t wait for the movie! 4/5⭐️

I‘m finally heading back to NYC so here‘s my obligatory “here‘s what I‘m reading on the train” post! Am I reading this solely because the trailer for the new movie looked incredible? Yes. Am I having a great time with it so far? Also yes.

Of the 3 Taylor Adams books I‘ve read, I think this one is his weakest, and I‘m disappointed that I didn‘t like this one as much as the others. The multiple POVs were disjointed and the action scenes were unrealistic and repetitive. It was definitely very intense and thrilling and had some entertainment value, but ultimately it wasn‘t my cup of tea. 2/5⭐️

A bookseller finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because someone is using his list of 8 perfect murders as their calling card. I liked the premise and that it‘s an homage to classic whodunnits, but in the end I was underwhelmed. It‘s slow and purposeful, but doesn‘t have a lot of tension. I didn‘t really connect with the writing style, and the characters were too underdeveloped for me to actually care. 3/5⭐️

The follow up to one of my all time faves, Magpie Murders, is just as twisty and fun as the first one! The clever book-within-a-book framing device is back, and while the premise of this one is so ridiculously far-fetched, I still had a great time trying to solve the mystery. I don‘t see how there could be a book 3, but if there is I‘ll certainly pick it up. Only critique is it was a little long and had some unpleasant character choices. 4.5/5⭐️

#weeklyforecast

I‘m on a mystery kick this week! Going to start with Moonflower Murders since I just reread the previous book and it‘s fresh in my mind.

This book is expertly written and has a lot to say. The characters, especially protagonist Bodie, felt so alive and really came off the page. Everyone is flawed, messy, and complicated. The central mystery focuses on the murder of Thalia Keith, and whether or not the person convicted actually did it, along with plenty of themes on social justice. This was sometime overshadowed by various subplots, but overall I enjoyed this one. 4/5⭐️

Also a bit late in updating this but to no one‘s surprise, Hell Bent pulls out the win. #2023readingbracket

A bit late to the party on my #wrapup since I was traveling, but here‘s everything I read in May! Multiple books on here were a long time coming, and I‘m so happy I finally started the Murderbot Diaries and can‘t wait to devour the rest of them.

This was entertaining and thrilling and perfect for my plane ride home! It‘s an isolation thriller and a bit over the top and sometimes absurd, but it‘s wild in a good way. The narration was interesting and took an unreliable narrator to a new place. I knew there were some twists thrown in and figured out the major one pretty quickly (like before I even started the book quickly) but it didn‘t affect my enjoyment. 4/5⭐️

I‘m in London for my cousin‘s wedding so of course I had to stop by a Waterstones!

When I was a guest on the What Should I Read Next podcast a few years ago (ep. 221 if you want to listen!), Anne recommended this book to me. I put it on hold at the library, but right as my hold came in…March 2020 happened😬 It‘s been 3 years since the first time I tried to read this book and I‘m happy to say my attempt this time was successful! I‘m a little over halfway through already, and maybe I‘ll watch the Hulu show after!

Wow. This book packs so much into it and I feel like I‘m going to be thinking about it for a long time. The topics discussed in here range from communication and consciousness in humans, animals (primarily hyper intelligent octopuses), and AI, to environmentalism and conservation. It‘s both scientific and philosophical, and it‘s clear how much research and work Nayler put into his craft. There‘s a lot to chew on here. Overall, I liked it, ⬇️

Got some more office #bookmail today! Loved all of these, especially obsessed with the tagged book. I recently got my own office and have been desperately trying to fill the empty shelves so it doesn‘t look so sad in here 😂

I had so much fun with this one! Primarily focusing on Alex and co‘s quest to get Darlington out of hell, this is action packed and fast paced. There‘s less focus on societies and the dark academia vibe of the first book, and more about Alex being the reckless cannonball she truly is while trying to save her friend. Eagerly awaiting the next book! 5/5⭐️