The Books I'm Reading Now Library audiobook alert: I'm listening to the twisty mystery First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston; I'm listening to The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman; and I'm listening to author Arundhati Roy's memoir about her mother, Mother Mary Comes to Me . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston Evie Porter is embracing her current fake identity and getting closer to her mark Ryan--who she's lured into being her boyfriend. Now sh

Bossy Book Gift Ideas Each year I offer lists of Bossy book gift ideas for the holidays, including a number of books I'll personally be giving as gifts (if you're on my gift list, please avert your eyes!). This is the only time I post about books I may not have read: promising reads for particular people in my family and circle of friends. The books here were all published in 2025, so it's their first appearance on my site. I hope you find a book or two in these lists to deli

Culpability shapes questions around artificial intelligence--and societal and individual responsibility for it--around imperfect characters who have drifted apart and must now recognize each other's fallibility, whether through sacrificing or trying to protect each other. The Cassidy-Shaws are riding in their family's autonomous minivan when it crashes into another vehicle. Seventeen-year-old Charlie, the twins, their father Noah, and their mother Lorelei, an AI leader, are

Bunny begins with an outcast main protagonist in a MFA program who's infuriated by her twee fellow seminar students. It builds into an increasingly unhinged, intriguing phantasmagoria, equal parts dark nightmare and outrageously silly absurdity. I was intrigued by the sound of We Love You, Bunny , the sequel to Mona Awad's novel Bunny , so I went back to first read this book. Samantha is a scholarship MFA student at the progressive Warren University in New England. An outside

Woodworking explores interconnected transgender characters' experiences, fears, challenges, and joys as they work toward living true, fulfilling lives. Emily St. James's debut novel is poignant, funny, heartbreaking, often surprising, and heartwarming. It's called woodworking. Someday they will wake up and you will be gone. To have a future, you cannot have a past. You will have to disappear into the woodwork to finally be seen. Emily St. James crafts a tender, funny story wi

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading I, Medusa , Ayana Gray's recently published story from the perspective of the fabled villainess; I'm reading The Sideways Life of Denny Voss by Holly Kennedy; and I'm listening to the bizarre novel Bunny by Mona Awad. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 I, Medusa by Ayana Gray I love an exploration of a villain's own version of events ( Wicked , anyone?). In Ayana Gray's I, Medusa , Meddy feels like an outcast in her own family. Her pa

Bossy Favorites of the Month Here are my six favorite reads of November. I hope if you're heading into a long weekend that you find time to cozy in and read something wonderful. What were some of your favorite reads this month? 01 A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar I can't stop thinking about this fascinating near-future climate-change story of desperation, loyalty, and determination in Kolkata, India, and how a tiny bit of empathy might have unraveled the increasingly

Thankful for Five-Star Bossy Favorites I'm always thankful for books and reading, so I wanted to reshare some of my five-star reads from the past in case you need a great long-weekend read or a book gift idea for the holidays. I always hope to love a book, but a five-star Bossy read is fairly rare. A book I rate five stars often makes me feel all the feelings, it's typically intriguing and makes me think, and it's usually tough for me to put down. You might also like the book

The uneven pacing and tangents into bizarre scenarios in Trip made me feel somewhat disconnected from the story, but the moments of dark humor and the promise of an unorthodox payoff kept me reading and consistently curious. Sandra is a documentary producer at a death conference in Nepal when she dies in an unlikely, mundane accident. The majority of the speakers milling around talking at each other and preparing for their presentations are insufferable hacks, but after Sand

Zentner's wonderful young adult story of two Appalachian-born teen best friends plunged into an elite Northeastern boarding school allows for missteps and struggles as well as a satisfying boatload of self-discovery, growth, soaring success, and a path to a fulfilling future. “You’ll never regret a decision more than the one you make out of fear. Fear tells you to make your life small. Fear tells you to think small. Fear tells you to be small-hearted. Fear seeks to preserve i

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to Jeff Zentner's endearing young adult story of friendship, In the Wild Light ; I'm reading Amie Barrodale's bizarre, darkly funny novel Trip ; and I'm listening to Woodworking , a story of friendship between a spirited rural South Dakota high school transgender student and her closeted transgender teacher. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner I recently posted about some of my very favorite young adul

Powerful Books about the Experiences of Immigrants We've had violent Border Patrol activity in our city this week, with people snatched from places of work and off the street because of the color of their skin. Many are suffering and afraid in the face of this discriminatory kidnaping, and tens of thousands of children have been absent from public school, too frightened to attend. So it feels like an opportune time to highlight just a few powerful stories about or by immigran

Saunders's strange, fascinating novel involves griping, sniping characters in limbo between life and death near the start of the Civil War, often in denial about their circumstances, with Abraham Lincoln's young son Willie at the center of a struggle for control of his soul. “Only then (nearly out the door, so to speak) did I realize how unspeakably beautiful all of this was, how precisely engineered for our pleasure, and saw that I was on the brink of squandering a wondrous

Jen Hatmaker's memoir explores her shock, grief, then growth after the end of her marriage, which she tells in her signature bold, frank, lionhearted manner while always displaying her deep love for her family and friends. Jen Hatmaker, who was married before she could legally have a drink and who built her identity as a woman dedicated to her family, her religion, and her community, found her world turned upside down when she discovered in 2020 that her husband of over 25 ye

Based on my two Bossy reads so far, T. Kingfisher writes my favorite kind of fantasy novel: a wonderfully oddball main protagonist, a strange adventure, a mystery to be solved, and simmering romance with No Swooning or Annoying Drama whatsoever. I loved this story about an expert in poisons, with banter and clever deduction in an imagined world. In Hemlock & Silver , Anja is a healer who since her young cousin's preventable death has obsessively focused on learning about, com

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Iida Turpeinin's upcoming historical fiction novel Beasts of the Sea ; I'm listening to Jen Hatmaker's memoir Awake ; and I'm listening to my newly discovered favorite fantasy author T. Kingfisher's novel Hemlock & Silver . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinin Turpeinin's novel Beasts of the Sea spans three centuries, through continents and across oceans. In 1741, Georg Wilhelm Steller journeys with Ca

Six Great Australian Reads Fridays are for highlighting books I've loved, and I have a thing for books set in Australia (this is illustrated by my demonstrated Jane Harper obsession alone; two of her books are listed here and I stand by this wholeheartedly). Side note: Am I using "fair dinkum" correctly? I have a feeling someone will correct me if I'm wildly off base here. If you've read any of the books mentioned here, I'd love to hear what you think! Do you have any favorit

Desai's first novel in decades is a 688-page tale that meanders through India, New York, family and romantic relationships, and career false starts, with missteps, mysterious, powerful magical realism elements, and an undercurrent of darkness and despair. The messy resolutions felt appropriately hard-fought after the characters' extended struggles. Sonia is living away from her Indian family while she studies writing in Vermont, and after growing up used to having multiple fa

I can't stop thinking about this fascinating near-future climate-change story of desperation, loyalty, and determination in Kolkata, India, and how a tiny bit of empathy might have unraveled the increasingly devastating whirlwind of conflict between the two main protagonists, who are each both hero and villain. It was her duty, as a guardian, to put into action the beautiful ideal of hope. Ma thought harshly: This was what it looked like. Hope for the future was no shy bloom

Kauffman's story about childhood friends brought together by a tragedy in their circle inspires each of them to consider the past, their secrets, and their bonds to each other. Kauffman deftly shapes what could have been a treacly story about old friends reliving the past and coming back together after many years, inspired to be together by a tragedy in their group. As we witness memories from childhood and adulthood, each character considers how they might have remained more