Review of My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
My Oxford Year takes a light, romantic tone and within it, explores weighty issues like serious illness, loss, grief, vulnerability, and...
Jan 21
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 1/20/25 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading a Maine-set small-town story, Shannon Bowring's debut novel The Road to Dalton ; I'm reading the...
Jan 20
Six of My Favorite Rom-Com Reads of the Year
My Favorite Rom-Com Reads This is my first of two favorites lists of rom-coms and romantic reads. I was just talking to my friend Martha...
Jan 17
Review of Death at the Sign of the Rook (Jackson Brodie #6) by Kate Atkinson
Atkinson's cozy, Agatha Christie-style novel features former lawman Jackson Brodie, a mystery within a mystery, a real-life killer who...
Jan 16
Review of The Blood of the Old Kings (Bleeding Empire #1) by Sung-Il Kim
In this first installment of The Bleeding Empire, Kim sets three characters on paths to discover their worth, their purpose, and their...
Jan 15
Review of The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap
Dunlap's debut novel explores early Edinburgh surgical schools, questionable methods of obtaining study subjects, a main protagonist's...
Jan 14
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 1/13/25 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to Kirsten Miller's entertaining novel about a lending library and banned books in a small...
Jan 13
My Favorite Science Fiction Reads of the Year
My Favorite Sci-Fi Reads I love how science fiction stretches the way I think about what's possible, or explores issues like mortality,...
Jan 10
Review of The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
Much of The Safekeep feels claustrophobic, quiet, and hopeless, but unexpected shifts late in the story turn accepted histories on their...
Jan 9
Review of Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
I loved the premise of Creation Lake , and I was captivated by the mocking, ruthless, fickle freelance spy "Sadie." But the story and...
Jan 8
Review of Hum by Helen Phillips
The dystopian future of Hum is haunting in its familiar elements, its plausible, terrible climate-change effects, the extreme reliance on...
Jan 7
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 1/6/25 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading two climate-change dystopian novels, All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall, set in a flooded...
Jan 6
Review of Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
Frances White's debut is a locked-room mystery on a magical ship full of uncertain alliances, deadly vendettas, and a sassy and...
Jan 3
Review of The Last Hour Between Worlds (Echo Archives #1) by Melissa Caruso
I may not have followed all of the echoes in time, creatures convincingly impersonating other creatures, or protagonists' complex,...
Jan 2
My Very Favorite Bossy 2024 Reads
My very favorite reads of 2024! I love looking back over my year to highlight my very favorite reads. Out of the 127 titles I read in...
Jan 1
December Wrap-Up: My Favorite Reads of the Month
My very favorite Bossy December reads! This month my favorite reads were a historical-fiction fantasy set during the Spanish Inquisition;...
Dec 31, 2024
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 12/30/24 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading evangelical preacher Beth Moore's memoir, All My Knotted-Up Life ; I'm listening to Melissa...
Dec 30, 2024
A Bossy Holiday Break
Bookworms! I hope you're settling in for a wonderful holiday, whether you're home or traveling and whether you're with a crowd or a small...
Dec 23, 2024
Bossy Holiday Gift Ideas: Science and Nature Books
Science and Nature Bossy Book Gift Ideas I love giving nonfiction book gifts about interesting elements of science and nature to many of...
Dec 20, 2024
Review of The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Bardugo's rich world-building sets the scene in Spain during the Inquisition, as a scullery maid with magical abilities is thrust into...
Dec 19, 2024