I am distraught. This did not work. The book is, quite simply, uncooked. Needed several more revisions with a strong editor. I don't think this book falling flat damages the His Dark Materials legacy, but I do think as HDM lives on The Book of Dust is likely to go largely unread.

It‘s hard for me to dislike Malcolm but his attraction to Lyra does make me side-eye Pullman. Untoward! Not toward!

I'm gonna die! I love it so much!

I love that these short stories were published - the depth they add goes beyond plot and allows readers to dive into a writer's process creating a series and a world that has spanned his entire career.

Delicious addition to the His Dark Materials lore! Pullman winks at us as Nicole Kidman whispers. (Say what you want about the film, I didn't like it either, but the casting was impeccable!)

In my fantasy world, Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnison are just my dads and we travel the world by balloon, leaving a trail of mayhem and mischief in true chaotic good fashion.

Always ready for another adventure with Lyra Silvertongue.

One of the things I love about this series is how it hits me differently each time I read it! This time around I am conflicted about the young romance but will never not be absolutely thrilled by the reveal of the Authority. As over-the-top preachy as Pullman can be, his conclusion there is brilliant satire. (Avoiding spoilers but will add in the comments.)

For me, it cannot compete with Golden Compass but it's not supposed to. Like all trilogies, this one has its bridge book. And I love it still.

The start of a fresh binge so that I can finally read the new trilogy!! Told a friend that this is a cozy, nostalgic read for me and his response was “isn't it like, really violent?“

They can't all be sugarplums, I guess.

Karlis argues here for a culture of care, not necessarily in opposition to self-care but establishing the importance of community care within a self-care framework. Less 'treat yourself' and more 'lend a hand.' Karlis is a science journalist so this is backed by interviews and case studies and not just vibes, thankfully. A pleasant and accessible read containing helpful reminders that can be grounding in stressful times.

A folkloric rumination on surveillance and girlhood that evokes the monstrous feminine and lives within the lineage of Shirley Jackson. This slim novel about a family of young, motherless girls who may or may not be transforming into a vicious pack of dogs was easily one of my favorite reads of the year.

Brilliant, lyrical, historical, and personal. Perry crushes every mark with her homage to the color blue.

A fascinating and super short read engaging with the need to update our standard human centered ethics. I enjoyed every moment in which I heartedly agreed and likewise every one in which a vehemently disagreed. I desperately need to start a Norton Shorts bookclub so I can wrestle through these with others!

I was interested but ultimately fell off and wish this had been a substack or something rather than, like, booklength.

Tried both print and audio but could not engage either way. Early dnf.

You know what you shouldn't really do? Read the biography of a celebrated memoirist. Honestly, this just felt unnecessary. Not that it's bad, just unneeded.

Started this in print but ultimately switched to audio because I couldn't get into it. I only pushed through the audio because one of my coworkers loves this author - turns out she didn't like this book either. The only time I was actually invested was in the final pages for the cliffhanger but nah, I will not be reading further in the series.

These micro essays were so easy to read but lacked depth and thus did not stay with me at all. When I realized I wasn't absorbing anything from one to the next I decided to officially dnf.

Another book I found myself avoiding. Connected with the premise but not the vibe.

I had this one on my bedside for ages with the plan to dip in and out of it but the pieces are so uneven that I finally realized I was avoiding it and just committed to the dnf. That doesn't mean there's not great writing here; I just wasn't compelled enough to power through.

Not really my thing. These big thinky litfic novels never really land for me. This one tackles the ethical questions around allowing AI to make decisions for us - but it also undermines itself in the end. This is prime for discussion though so get into it with your bookclub!

The storyline I was most interested in (a teenage girl and her emotional involvement with a chatbot) was not explored nearly enough.

Delightful, Gothic, and just everything I needed it to be. This slim classic is weird and wonderful - I devoured it!

Gibson is not a favorite of mine lyrically or formally but there is so much feeling baked into these poems that I understand why they resonate with folks as they do. Lovely work if not always my thing.

And again, James is just not my bag.

Finally reviewing my spooky season reads and I'm sorry to say Henry James is not for me. I had a fantasy in my head that this would feel like that Nicole Kidman movie, The Others, in which the mystery of children is profoundly frightening but no, it just felt like a very blustery letdown.

The most recent season has wrapped and I am so full of feelings. Delighting in this webtoon as always.

I cannot express how much I needed this novel. I bumbled along with my poor dear Philip as he tried so hard to make sense of life and love. For all its reputation, this really isn‘t bleak. It feels deeply, almost painfully honest. A tender, searching bildungsroman that invites you to muse alongside its philosophy as you travel through the life of its frustrating, kind, and lovable hero.

Again just not for me. I'm so close to being finished with this series!

A slim bit important read! Calvin runs an org dedicated to helping folks obtain IDs in the US which you need to do almost anything official. Her detailing not only of her own activism but of the willful obfuscation throughout the bureaucratic process of obtaining identification is eye opening and fascinating. But what hit me most were the distinctions between voter rolls and eligibility, often considered interchangeable but profoundly not!

Utterly charmed by this one. Works satisfingly as a memoir but there truly is helpful and inspiring craft advice here. Plus Lamott is just a delight.

What is there to say about this classic work except expressing that must read it? Frankl writes devastatingly of his experience of the Holocaust but maintains the core of his personal and professional philosophy throughout, that of logotherapy and the human need for meaning. A touchstone reminding us of our humanity and the depth within every individual. As difficult as the subject matter can be, this is an empowering and uplifting work.

Takei details his family's internment powerfully. Seeing this history through a child's eyes, the reader feels the depth of fear and uncertainty. There were panels here depicting Takei's mother that made me weep; watching along as parents do all they can to protect their children in the face of absolute injustice only to be shown that it is never enough. But the force of love, care, and community endures, reverberating through generations.

Fantastic read! Adams chronicles the history of Black bookselling broadly through a focus on many of the key players. Deeply researched and passionately told, Black-Owned details the work of community minded, culture building businesses and the powerful individuals behind them. Essential reading as ever but especially important now.

Lockwood is perfection as always. Her humor, her phrasing, and her ability to inject humor into both the deeply mundane and the intensity of life, just all of it. I'll keep reading her forever.

I wanted a middle grade memoir akin to El Deafo which hits perfectly for it's subject matter and age range, unfortunately Say Something is more didactic fiction that tells kids how they should feel rather than a memoir of how one kid did feel.

It has been ages since I've picked up a Vonnegut novel and I did not particularly enjoy this one, which deeply saddens me. Mayhap the passage of time for me personally or the passage of time culturally, or maybe just the bitterness of the modern era stole the zest from this satire. So it goes.

So, I wrote out a review that was really just me explaining why and how this framework works for me as a manager, but you don't really need all that. Just know that if you are looking to build trust in your team, there are guidelines here.

Again, not for me. I will finish the series, but I don't enjoy it. Male main have me the ick.

Publisher marketing really wants you to know that Esther is an orphan from St. Clouds and don't we all want to see Dr. Larch again? But like, that is truly irrelevant to the novel. Irving has written another brilliantly cast family novel about a young writer. All that you expect is here (except bears, no bears in this one).

I'm in a strange loop with novels about writers, sisters, memory, and trauma - maybe I need to call my sister?

A fascinating journey here, twin sisters may or may not be encountering their deceased mother but it's not ghosts or even timey-wimey business, it's just trauma. I enjoyed the read but expected more from the prose being a novel by a poet.

A lovely memoir that is as much about being alive as it as about this one individual's life.

I too just want to revel in a carnival like Templeton the rat. Austin's novels hit very close to home for me, to the point that I don't know how to convey my review. Another link in my chain of books for weird, gay people - read it - join us.

This was a whole ride. I loved the opening, an isolated retreat with a famous, reclusive author and a group of insecure, competitive writers. The pettiness, jealousy, and fragile egos...it's catnip for me. But things ultimately go completely off the rails. Still, it was a fun, fast read. Just know going in that it will get ridiculous and your capacity for camp will dictate your level of enjoyment.

Been reading through these on ye olde webtoon at a quick clip. Funny, surprisingly dark, ridiculous.

The kind of work I would like injected into my veins. Tiana Clark is a poet I am already longing to return to. These are electric poems that are vibrating with life. I can't tell you anything else, it's just to be felt. Go forth and read.

While I'm not a contemporary or sports romance reader, I did find this to be a cute, fun romance. The author is local to me and our shop hosted her launch so I may be a lil biased but still think this one was a fun romp.

Sometimes memoirs are fascinating due solely to the life lived by their subject; sometimes the lyricism of the prose is what propels you through. But then, you get a book like this and are just slammed by the unbelievable writing, galvanized by the force of life. This memoir, grounded in Roy's relationship with her difficult mother is a fascinating look into an activist writer's life unlike any you have read. Intimate and uncompromising.

A memoir, a message, and a deeply felt paean to history. Inspired by a trip to the NMAAHC, Roberts begins a journey of diving into the sea to uncover the stories of sunken slave ships. She weaves her personal narrative into the depths of the history she shares all the while highlighting the reasons these sites go underresearched and stories untold. Moving, inspiring, and essential reading!

As lush, dense, and layered as Rice gets. This is her deep dive into the gens de couleur of New Orleans in the years before the Civil War. Melodramatic, broadly populated, and phenomenally detailed. I took my time with this one and read it in chunks, as much as I enjoy Rice's prose I do find I start to drown in it when reading too much at a stretch. The richness of character and setting is well worth the push.