Brutality and Bravery in the American West These books explore the brutality of pioneer times, when indigenous peoples were killed and abused at the hands of white people who explored and settled in the West, while also offering characters of all stripes who show bravery and unbreakable spirit. Historical fiction set in the West also lends itself to stories of strong female characters in a time when the world around them didn't support women's abilities, independent thinking,

My Favorite Bossy Reads I've read about 70 books so far this year, and these are my six favorites. They vary in genre, in tone, in plot, and in style, but they all delighted me, made me want to keep reading, took me inside another place and time, and made me feel invested in what happened to the characters and their situations. I love to look back and take stock of my reading, and I'm always curious about whether my year-end overall favorites will include the titles on my fav

Great Rom-Com Reads I've been highlighting recently published romantic novels as well as those I've read in the past year, many of which are still highly in demand. If the library waitlists are feeling interminably long, you might want to check out these great novels published a little longer ago--so they'll be easier to check out. If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! Have you read any other rom-com or romantic novels that you loved? 01 Betting

Six Favorite Nonfiction Reads These were my six favorite nonfiction reads from last year: a behind-the-scenes peek into the life of a paramedic; a horrifying look at a cluster of serial killers; the fascinating story of a couple shipwrecked and fighting for survival; a charming glimpse into the world of dog shows; a timely and illuminating book for young people (and those with limited knowledge on the subject, like me) about the Constitution; and a shockingly compelling and p

Six Favorite Memoir Reads These were my six favorite memoir reads from last year. If you like to read memoirs, you might also like to check out some of my Bossy memoir reviews, or some of my Greedy Reading Lists of favorites: Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Musicians' Memoirs that Sing Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Me

Bossy Favorites of the Month I had a great reading month! Here are my six favorite reads of May. There's some overlap with my overall favorite reads of the spring; you can find that post of ten books here. Have you read any of these titles? What were some of your favorite reads this month? 01 Wolvers by Taylor Brown Taylor Brown offers up a suspenseful, adventure-filled story in Wolvers. Trace is an angry young man who sets out on an ill-advised, illegal revenge journey, but

Spring Bossy Book Favorites On Fridays I love to post Greedy Reading Lists of my favorite books. I recently gave a talk for the second year in a row to a wonderful group of book lovers who wanted to hear about newly published books they might want to check out, and I thought I'd share that list of ten books with you Bookworms as well. Talking about books and showcasing my Bossy favorites is one of my favorite bookish things to do, and for this talk I chose recent favorites in

Six Bossy Sci-Fi Favorites I'm still mining my reading for favorites from the past year, and this is my only science fiction roundup. If you've missed my prior lists, take a look on the blog! You can also explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from the past year. If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite science fiction reads, whether from the past yea

Six Bossy Literary Fiction Favorites I'm still mining my reading for the Bossy best of the best from the past year. If you've missed my prior lists, take a look on the blog! You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year. If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite literary fiction reads, whether from the past year or beyond? 01 What We Ca

Six Final Bossy Favorites If you follow this blog, you probably already know that historical fiction is one of my favorite reading genres, and this is the third of three historical-fiction favorite lists I'll have for you as I revisit my reading for the Bossy best of the best from the past year. For my first roundup, check out this link , and for my second, check out this one . You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overal

Six Bossy Favorite Historical Fiction Reads from Last Year Historical fiction is one of my favorite reading genres, and this is the first of three historical-fiction favorite lists I'll have for you as I revisit my reading for the Bossy best of the best from the past year. You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year, or you can click to read about past Bossy historical favorites . If you've

Six More Favorite Fantasy Reads This is the second of three fantasy-favorite lists I'll have for you as I mine my reading for the Bossy best of the best from the past year. You can find my first list of favorites from the past year here . You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year, or you can read about past Bossy fantasy favorites here . If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hea

Bossy Favorites of the Month Please enjoy this roundup of my six favorite reads of February--three medieval-set fantasy stories I loved; a messy family story of feuding and forgiveness; historical fiction about strong women and the power of books; and the first in an FBI procedural mystery series. I hope you've read some great books during this shortest month of the year. Have you read any of these titles? What were some of your favorite reads this month? 01 The Once and Futu

Six Favorite Fantasy Reads This is the first of three fantasy-favorite lists I'll have for you as I mine my reading for the best of the best from the past year. You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year, or you can read about past Bossy fantasy favorites here . If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite fantasy reads, whether from t

Six More Favorite Contemporary Fiction Reads This is the third of three contemporary fiction lists I've put together as I've mined my recent-past reading for my favorite reads of the past year--you can find my first list of contemporary fiction favorite reads from last year here and my second list here . And you can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year, or you can read about past Bossy cont

Six More Favorite Bossy Mystery Reads I love looking over my favorite reads from the past twelve months in every genre. Something about the post-holiday cold gray of January lends itself to stories that chug along and keep me guessing. I've been in a mystery-reading mood lately, and I thought you might be too, so I'm sharing more mystery reads I've enjoyed for you to check out. You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overal

Bossy Excitement about Upcoming Books I’m looking forward to so many January books, I’m not sure I’ll have time to do anything else with all the greedy reading I have planned. If you were counting on me to do something besides sit and read in my January coziness, thank you in advance for understanding my priorities here. I've recently mismanaged my library holds so I picked up a stack of books yesterday. And I have advance copies of almost all of the titles I list here, so I

My very favorite reads of 2025! It makes me so happy to survey the many books I've loved reading, thinking about, writing about, and talking about this year, and I adore highlighting my very favorite reads. Out of the 141 titles I read in 2025, these are the twelve I loved the most. Every month I post my favorite reads , and last spring I posted Ten Bossy Spring Favorites (all recently published titles at that time). In the summer I posted My Six Favorite Reads of the First

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

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