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Musicians' Must-Read Memoirs I'm a biiiig memoir fan, and I love behind-the-scenes peeks. These six memoirs from musicians offer stories about the authors' lives, loves, and work, and they each Lists: Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality And feel free

Do you love reading memoirs like I do? If you love memoirs, you might also like the titles I listed on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Musicians' Memoirs that Sing Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality Six of My Favorite Memoir Reads Last Year

Six Nonfiction Reads I love mixing nonfiction into my reading lists--and oh, the memoirs! 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 Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality Six of My Favorite Memoir Reads Last Year If you've

Memoir Love! In case you haven’t noticed yet, I have a major thing for memoirs, and I especially love listening to : Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality Six Musicians' Memoirs that Sing 01 Leaving the Witness

More Memoirs I've Loved I love a good memoir, one that offers a glimpse or a deep dive into the life For me, the best memoir makes you feel some of the author's feelings and understand their perspective For more memoirs I've loved that you might want to try, check out the Greedy Reading Lists Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into and Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year . Which other books should I add to my memoir to-read list?

If you like memoirs, you might like the books I list on these Greedy Reading Lists: 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 Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality Six of My Favorite Memoir Reads Last Year Have you read books about mortality--or memoirs that aren't on

Musicians' Memoirs I'm a biiiig memoir fan, and I love behind-the-scenes peeks. These six memoirs from musicians offer stories about the authors' lives, loves, and work, and they each : Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality 01 Songteller

But I find a memoir about facing mortality fascinating. Other books on my to-read list that loosely fit within this category include: If you like memoirs, you might like the books I list on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into and Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year (last year). 01 The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yip-Williams In Yip-Williams's memoir, the subtitle of which

Do you love memoirs like I do? If you love memoirs, you might also like the titles I listed on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality A few other memoirs on my

You can find some of my many other lists of favorite nonfiction and memoir roundups here: Six of My Favorite Nonfiction Reads from the Past Year Six Compelling Nonfiction Reads Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Musicians' Memoirs that Sing Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore And you can click here What are some of your recent favorite nonfiction or memoir reads? 01 Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora Zamora's memoir of his grueling journey from El Salvador to the

Here are the six titles that made up my very first Greedy Reading List on this theme. You might also like the witchy books on these lists: Six More Wonderfully Witchy Stories to Charm You Another Six Wonderfully Witchy Stories to Charm You And if you like books about magic, here are two other Bossy Bookworm Greedy Reading Lists you might enjoy: Six Royally Magical Young Adult Series and Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups Will Love , plus you can check out magic in all kinds of Bossy reads

Just a Few of My Many Historical Fiction Favorites These were just a few of my favorite historical fiction reads during Bossy Bookworm's first year in existence. I gave five of these books four stars and rated one of them five stars. But I love historical fiction, and since 2020 I've shared many other lists of historical fiction favorites; you can check them out here . Do you have any all-time (or recent) historical fiction favorites that I should add to my outrageously unmanageable to-read list? 01 Apeirogon: A Novel by Colum McCann Apeirogon builds to show how individuals on opposite sides of the Israel-Palestine wall are at heart the same. The first part of the story felt a little slow for me, but I'm so very glad I stuck with this beautiful, powerful, illuminating, and heart-wrenching book. Apeirogon is structured into 1,001 short segments (this sounds overwhelming, but the book doesn't feel that way) in varied points of view surrounding a Palestinian and an Israeli family on two especially fateful days in their lives. Through the scenes here, we see that those on opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (and opposite sides of the wall) are at heart the same in their pain, their desires, and their love. The story is 480 pages, and ultimately that felt like an appropriate length for settling into the points of view and experiences that are built over a lifetime. The subject matter is weighty and emotional, and McCann manages to make the story both personal and political, which perfectly suits the subject matter. This is a wonderful book, and I love McCann's thoughtful writing. For my full review of this book, please see Apeirogon . McCann is also the author of Thirteen Ways of Looking, Let the Great World Spin , and other books. 02 The Light After the War by Anita Abriel Vera and Edith are such a complementary WWII partnership, and I loved spending time with these strong young friends. I’m dying to know how closely Anita Abriel’s book traces the inspiring events from her mother’s incredible experiences before, during, and after World War II. The author offers a vivid account of the fear and dread—intermixed with sparks of hope—that sustained Vera and Edith in Hungary and Germany during the war; in Naples as they adjusted to post-war floods of food, fashion, and joy; as they found themselves in more settled situations; and during the evolutions of their careers and love lives. Abriel introduces an enormous shift that shakes things up enormously for both young women before the book’s end. I was completely engrossed. For my full review, please see The Light After the War . 03 The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd This story imagines a wife for Jesus, questions gender roles, and offers adventure. This was a fascinating story from the point of view of an imagined wife for Jesus, including an exploration of gender roles, a reimagined faith, the frustrations of societal expectations for women, great adventure, strong female loyalty and friendship, love, and lots of fantastic details of life at the time. Much of the fever pitch of support and hatred for Jesus occurs when the main character of Ana is off having other experiences (and often-dangerous adventures). This is an intriguing structure for the story: Jesus as a supporting cast member. Jesus's role in Ana's story is as a faithful man who disagrees with the politics of the faith at the time. He primarily serves as a character who cares for, understands, and supports the woman he loves. For my full review of this book, please see The Book of Longings . 04 Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland The backdrop for the story of a few summer months in the life of an extended family is Atlantic City just before WWII, with its giant hotels, piers, and general hubbub. This lovely debut from Rachel Beanland starts off with some rough events, and frankly I had a little bit of a time coping with them because I’d already become attached to the characters. There’s an undercurrent of concern about Hitler and his increasingly punitive behavior toward Jewish families’ businesses and emigration in Germany in Florence Adler Swims Forever . I loved watching the book’s events unfold—even if I could predict some of them. Anything that was wrapped up a little too neatly didn’t bother me at all; I was all in and satisfied. Beanland based some of the basic events of her debut novel on her ancestors’ experiences. I found that aspect particularly fascinating. For my full review of this book, please see Florence Adler Swims Forever . 05 Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera Although the three interconnected women faced sometimes staggeringly tragic challenges, Spera injects moments of joy and wonderful details of 1924 life in South Carolina. I worried during the first chapter that Gertrude was going to feel like a caricature of a backwoods Southern woman. But she and the other characters were developed fully. Their sparks of joy are often related to their relationships to each other. You can see where one of the storylines is going before the character involved understands it, and it might make your blood boil to see the evil situation go on unchecked. But the details of cooking, strong women's determination to survive, race relations, and life in 1924 South Carolina were wonderful, and I still think about this book although I read it almost a year ago (technically, at the end of last year). For my full review, please see Call Your Daughter Home . 06 The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue Donoghue immersed me so fully in this world that everything else fell away for me. Years after I first read this book, I still think of it often and fondly. Set in Ireland in 1918, The Pull of the Stars follows a nurse, Julia; a doctor, Kathleen; and a young volunteer, Bridie, over the course of three tumultuous days as the fiery, complex, capable women work desperately to help the patients at their understaffed hospital who are about to give birth while suffering from the devastating new influenza. I was hooked by the moment-by-moment health and emotional crises; the women's determined, sometimes desperately creative attempts to preserve lives; and their occasional triumphs. The rest of the world fell away for me as I was reading, and I couldn't wait to get back to this book. The author of the disturbing, fascinating story Room knows how to craft a tale of survival and of finding hope in the most dire situations. For my full review, please see The Pull of the Stars .

The Summer Favorites These titles aren't classic, light "summer reads," but they were my favorite reads from a summer past, and they all stand the test of time. In case you missed them the first time around, I'm reposting them as this summer begins so you can add to your to-read list at will. If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! For classic light fiction and rom-com titles that are also great for summer reading, check out these titles and Bossy reviews . 01 The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Bennett explores the complicated implications of perception as reality when it comes to race and its meaning. In The Vanishing Half , Bennett follows the history of the fictional Vignes twins, Desiree and Stella, as they grow up in a town made up of those who identify as light-skinned black people. As teenagers they run from a prescribed future as maids in the small town, where tragedy in the form of evil white men took their father from them and left their mother scrambling to provide for them. Upon reaching freedom, their paths diverge. One twin secretly passes at work for white, then vanishes into a life based upon this premise. The other twin marries a dark-skinned black man and lives as a black woman. The book explores the complicated implications of perception as reality when it comes to race and its meaning; the subjectivity of and intense power within race labels; and the tension of living under false pretenses. For my full review, see The Vanishing Half . 02 Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland Atlantic City just before WWII, with its giant hotels, piers, and general hubbub, is the backdrop for the story of a few summer months in the life of an extended family. I loved watching the story's events unfold in this lovely debut from Rachel Beanland. Florence Adler Swims Forever , the story of a few summer months in the life of an extended family--including a stolid patriarch and matriarch, a free-spirited daughter, a spunky and fantastic granddaughter Gussie, a daughter with another grandchild on the way, a deadbeat son-in-law, and family friends to round out the group. There’s an undercurrent of concern about Hitler and his increasingly punitive behavior toward Jewish families’ businesses and emigration in Germany. I loved watching the book’s events unfold—even if I could predict some of them. Anything that was wrapped up a little too neatly didn’t bother me at all; I was all in and satisfied. Beanland based some of the basic events of her debut novel on her ancestors’ experiences, which I thought was fascinating but didn't realize until the end. Click here for my full review of Florence Adler Swims Forever . 03 Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby This is a fantastic blend of realistic complications, mistakes, adjustments, and spunk. It's action-packed yet character driven. Bug is a respectable business owner nowadays with a family. But some old acquaintances show up with an idea that might offer some financial breathing room--if the others on the job can keep their heads on straight, and that's looking like a big if . Blacktop Wasteland took a little while to get going for me, but just shy of halfway through, the setup is complete and the action starts singing along. I'm not inherently interested in the preparation and modification of vehicles or in skillful evasive driving, but I was all in for S.A. Cosby's writing about all of it. Bug is a wonderfully faulted character. who when not in crisis takes stock of himself and aims to be a better person. He's forced to consider what loyalty means, and to face how dark the path ahead might become when the bad guys are truly evil, very powerful, and the stakes couldn't be much higher. The ending of Blacktop Wasteland is a little abrupt and opaque, but not without hope. See my full review of Blacktop Wasteland here . 04 Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell In Utopia Avenue , Mitchell takes us through the twists and turns of a fictional psychedelic British sixties band on its rocky rise to popularity. Utopia Avenue explores the band members' crises, joys, fears, and triumphs. Mitchell made me care about a singer connecting with an audience, the cathartic heartbreak-writing of songs, and the magic spark of a performance. The book contains endless imagined cameos, fictional adventures, and gems of wisdom from real-life musicians like David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Jerry Garcia, and members of the Rolling Stones--not to mention wild parties, betrayals, leaps of faith, breakups, and tragedy. But Mitchell expertly builds the band members into rich characters you're rooting for through their individual ups and downs as well as through the triumphs and setbacks of the band Utopia Avenue. Mitchell doesn't provide too easy or neat of an ending to this weird and wonderful book, but it felt fitting and left me satisfied. This was a really captivating story that kept me intrigued throughout. For my full review of Utopia Avenue , please click here . 05 When These Mountains Burn by David Joy Joy offers an often dark work of Southern literary fiction through which bubbles of hope emerge. Ray has outlived his beloved wife in the mountains of North Carolina. He has a precious old girl of a dog, a fascination with (and healthy fear of) coyotes, a love of reading, and a no-nonsense manner that makes clear he doesn't brook fools. He has almost resigned himself to the heartbreaking idea that his addict son is too lost to be saved. There's an undercover cop nearby who's trying to help take down a robust drug ring, and then there's Ray, who uses old-fashioned methods and his knowledge of mountain terrain to address injustices in a straightforward way. When These Mountains Burn isn't always easy to read, but it isn't over the top, and Joy's characters are fascinatingly faulted and keep you humming right along. I read this in 24 hours while wishing I were making it last longer. For my full review of When These Mountains Burn , click here . 06 This Is All He Asks of You by Anne Egseth Luna has a unique and lovely voice and is an irresistibly odd bird of a twelve-year-old girl. I read this book years ago and still think of it fondly. I just loved This Is All He Asks of You. Luna stumbles into encounters that shape her life dramatically, in unorthodox and heartbreakingly meaningful ways. She is facing her mother’s decline in health and exploring her own identity and meaning in her life, and she shapes her sometimes practical but often mystical thoughts and reflections through writing letters to her father, who she has never met, in the conversational tone of a pen pal writing to someone who will love her and her words unconditionally. I simultaneously wanted to scoop up Luna and take care of her and to follow the lead of this wise-beyond-her-years, intensely spiritual young person. She has a unique and lovely voice and is an irresistibly odd bird of a twelve-year-old girl. For my full review of This Is All He Asks of You , click here .

If you like memoirs, you might want to also check out these Bossy Bookworm Greedy Reading Lists: Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality Have you read any of these books? And which other books should I add to my food memoir to-read list?

Memoir Love! In case you haven’t noticed yet, I have a major thing for memoirs, and I especially love listening to : Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality 01 Leaving the Witness by Amber Scorah In Leaving the Witness

Six Favorite Memoir Reads The Bossy memoir love continues! Lists: Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality 01 Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad Jaouad offers a powerful memoir about coping

of the year when I read it. 02 The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell This gem from Mitchell is a set of six David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks  is a set of six intriguing tracks through time that are full of surprises This book is part of my Greedy Reading List Six Riveting Time-Travel Stories to Explore . This title is part of the Greedy Reading List Six More Books about Brave Female Spies .

More Memoirs I've Loved I find a good memoir irresistible, whether it's made up of key moments from the Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into, Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year, Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In, Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite, and Six Powerful Memoirs about How many memoirs is too many memoirs, you may ask? Dear reader, the limit does not exist! Which other books should I add to my memoir to-read list?

More Memoirs I've Loved I find a good memoir irresistible, as evidenced by the bajillions of memoirs : Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality How many memoirs is too many memoirs, you may ask? Which other books should I add to my memoir to-read list?

If you like books like this, you might also want to check out the Greedy Reading List Six Great Books

: literary fiction that's part of an interconnected series; a romantic story about starting over; a memoir review, please check out Evvie Drake Starts Over . 03 When We Were the Kennedys by Monica Wood Wood's memoir When We Were the Kennedys  is a memoir about grieving deeply, leaning on family and community in a crisis I loved this fantastic memoir! Wood's memoir is heartwarming and funny and tragic and vivid.

Wamariya writes beautifully and brutally honestly about her journey of fleeing from Rwanda and through six her experiences through her childlike point of view, which allows for a painfully pure set of painful memories

Carey (which I mentioned in the Greedy Reading List Six Fantastic Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels

you're intrigued by time-travel stories, you might also like the books on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Second-Chance, Do-Over, Reliving-Life Stories Six More Riveting Time-Travel Stories to Explore , and Six More Time-Travel Stories to Dive Into . are not real, and that they’re actually mentally ill, suffering from False Memory Syndrome. David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks is a set of six intriguing tracks through time that are full of surprises

You might also want to chek out the titles on the Greedy Reading List Six More Short Story Collections

mentioned the series, which is set in Russia and has a dark fairy-tale tone, in the Greedy Reading List Six a book that frankly would stand alone beautifully, but instead, luckily for us, it begins Turner's six-book These six books were published over a period of almost twenty-five years, and the story trail traces

historical fiction, you might also like to take a look at the books I listed on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Great Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American West , Six Historical Fiction F avorites , Six Historical Fiction Mysteries Sure to Intrigue You , and Six Great Historical Fiction Stories about the If this book sounds down your alley, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Great historical fiction set during World War II, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six

My first Greedy Reading List on this topic was Six Books about Brave Female Spies . brave women during wartime, you might also like the titles I listed on the recent Greedy Reading List Six If you do too, you might want to check out the titles on the Greedy Reading List Six Historical Fiction Macintyre also wrote the fantastic Spy and the Traitor , which was one of my Six Favorite Nonfiction Books of the Year the year I read it and which I also listed on the Greedy Reading List Six Compelling

I could have listed so many fantastic young adult titles here, but I picked these varied, wonderful six Some other Bossy Bookworm Greedy Reading Lists you might like featuring a number of young adult books: Six Royally Magical Young Adult Series , Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups Will Love , and Six Dystopian

Six Great Australian Reads Fridays are for highlighting books I've loved, and I have a thing for books second chances take shape, a little retribution, and an attempt at a changed existence—but the haunting memories I listed this book in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year .

Six Great Bossy Mystery Reads I didn't read as many mysteries last year as I typically do, but here are six of my favorites. story structure, dark humor, and deeply flawed characters as main protagonist Lucy works to resolve her memory I mentioned Rene Denfeld's great book The Child Finder  in the Greedy Reading List Six Chilly Books to

but one are fiction as well, although multiple books listed are based on real figures from history: Six about brave women during wartime, you might also like the books I listed on the Greedy Reading List Six

Do you love memoirs like I do? If you love memoirs, you might also like the books I listed on the Greedy Reading List Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year (last year). I'd love to hear: What are your favorite memoirs? 01 Here For It by R. This memoir was more than I'd hoped for.

Six Great Bossy Fantasy Reads I read some entertaining, imaginative, sometimes funny, fantastic fantasy Black's The Queen of Nothing ; I mentioned the great Folk of the Air trilogy in the Greedy Reading List Six

Wamariya writes beautifully and brutally honestly about her journey of fleeing from Rwanda and through six her experiences through her childlike point of view, which allows for a painfully pure set of painful memories

These are six of my most-loved titles from the first half of this year. of Carrie Soto Is Back , The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo , Malibu Rising , and Daisy Jones & the Six

Six More Favorite Bossy Mystery Reads I love looking over my favorite reads from the past twelve months Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year, you can read about Six Maureen Johnson is the author of the six-book Truly Devious young adult mystery series: Truly Devious She has a perfect memory: she's able to recall events, surroundings, and information down to the finest She is found face down and unconscious in Prospect Park, with no memory of what has occurred . Dr.

In Daisy Jones & the Six , Reid offers a fictionalized account (written as fictional interviews) of the Daisy Jones & the Six  explores multiple layers of love and heartbreak, all against a fantastic backdrop I mentioned Daisy Jones & the Six in the Greedy Reading List Six Rockin' Stories about Bands and Music

Six Great Bossy Literary Fiction Reads I read so many read literary fiction books last year, I'll need But for now, here are six of my favorites. For more dystopian stories, check out Six Fascinating Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels  and Six More

with some romance and often some laughs, you might also like the books on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading Six of My Favorite Light Fictions Reads of the Past Year Six More of My Favorite Light Fiction Reads of the Past Year Six Great Light Fiction Stories Perfect for Summer Reading Six More Great Light Fiction Stories Six of My Favorite Rom-Com Reads of the Year , and Six If you like books about music, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Rockin' Stories

More Memoirs I've Loved I love a good memoir, one that offers a glimpse or a deep dive into the life For me, the best memoir makes you feel some of the author's feelings and understand their perspective For more memoirs I've loved that you might want to try, check out the Greedy Reading Lists Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into and Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year. Which other books should I add to my memoir to-read list?

Six Great Bossy Historical Fiction Reads I loved so many historical fiction books last year. Here are just six of my favorite reads--some of which cross genres into mystery, science fiction (time Check out this Greedy Reading List for Six Historical Fiction Mysteries to Intrigue You .

lighter fiction with some romance and laughs, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Great Light Fiction Stories Perfect for Summer Reading and Six More Great Light Fiction Stories. the summer reading stories set in frigid temperatures (check out the books on the Greedy Reading List Six For my full review of this book, please see The Dead Romantics. 06 Happy Place by Emily Henry Six longtime Now they've been engaged for six years, they're desperately in love, and they've been dating long-distance

Six Great Bossy Contemporary Fiction Reads I loved a range of great books last year, and these were six She's built years of happy memories in their low-key beach house rental.

Memorial Days  is Geraldine Brooks's memoir of sudden loss, delayed grief, and a delving into sorrow time-sucking tasks piled onto the crush of everyday life so that Brooks felt that despite the funeral and the memorial Australian island--where she had once considered settling down--to sit with Tony's journals, dive into her memories

The Summer Favorites These titles aren't light "summer reads," but they were my favorite reads from a summer past, and they all stand the test of time. In case you missed them the first time around, I'm reposting them as this summer begins so you can add to your to-read list at will. If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! For classic light fiction that's also great for summer reading, check out these titles and Bossy reviews. 01 The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Bennett explores the complicated implications of perception as reality when it comes to race and its meaning. In The Vanishing Half, Bennett follows the history of the fictional Vignes twins, Desiree and Stella, as they grow up in a town made up of those who identify as light-skinned black people. As teenagers they run from a prescribed future as maids in the small town, where tragedy in the form of evil white men took their father from them and left their mother scrambling to provide for them. Upon reaching freedom, their paths diverge. One twin secretly passes at work for white, then vanishes into a life based upon this premise. The other twin marries a dark-skinned black man and lives as a black woman. The book explores the complicated implications of perception as reality when it comes to race and its meaning; the subjectivity of and intense power within race labels; and the tension of living under false pretenses. For my full review, see The Vanishing Half. 02 Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland Atlantic City just before WWII, with its giant hotels, piers, and general hubbub, is the backdrop for the story of a few summer months in the life of an extended family. I loved watching the story's events unfold in this lovely debut from Rachel Beanland. Florence Adler Swims Forever, the story of a few summer months in the life of an extended family--including a stolid patriarch and matriarch, a free-spirited daughter, a spunky and fantastic granddaughter Gussie, a daughter with another grandchild on the way, a deadbeat son-in-law, and family friends to round out the group. There’s an undercurrent of concern about Hitler and his increasingly punitive behavior toward Jewish families’ businesses and emigration in Germany. I loved watching the book’s events unfold—even if I could predict some of them. Anything that was wrapped up a little too neatly didn’t bother me at all; I was all in and satisfied. Beanland based some of the basic events of her debut novel on her ancestors’ experiences, which I thought was fascinating but didn't realize until the end. Click here for my full review of Florence Adler Swims Forever. 03 Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby This is a fantastic blend of realistic complications, mistakes, adjustments, and spunk. It's action-packed yet character driven. Bug is a respectable business owner nowadays with a family. But some old acquaintances show up with an idea that might offer some financial breathing room--if the others on the job can keep their heads on straight, and that's looking like a big if. Blacktop Wasteland took a little while to get going for me, but just shy of halfway through, the setup is complete and the action starts singing along. I'm not inherently interested in the preparation and modification of vehicles or in skillful evasive driving, but I was all in for S.A. Cosby's writing about all of it. Bug is a wonderfully faulted character. who when not in crisis takes stock of himself and aims to be a better person. He's forced to consider what loyalty means, and to face how dark the path ahead might become when the bad guys are truly evil, very powerful, and the stakes couldn't be much higher. The ending of Blacktop Wasteland is a little abrupt and opaque, but not without hope. See my full review of Blacktop Wasteland here. 04 Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell In Utopia Avenue, Mitchell takes us through the twists and turns of a fictional psychedelic British sixties band on its rocky rise to popularity. Utopia Avenue explores the band members' crises, joys, fears, and triumphs. Mitchell made me care about a singer connecting with an audience, the cathartic heartbreak-writing of songs, and the magic spark of a performance. The book contains endless imagined cameos, fictional adventures, and gems of wisdom from real-life musicians like David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Jerry Garcia, and members of the Rolling Stones--not to mention wild parties, betrayals, leaps of faith, breakups, and tragedy. But Mitchell expertly builds the band members into rich characters you're rooting for through their individual ups and downs as well as through the triumphs and setbacks of the band Utopia Avenue. Mitchell doesn't provide too easy or neat of an ending to this weird and wonderful book, but it felt fitting and left me satisfied. This was a really captivating story that kept me intrigued throughout. For my full review of Utopia Avenue, click here. 05 When These Mountains Burn by David Joy Joy offers an often dark work of Southern literary fiction through which bubbles of hope emerge. Ray has outlived his beloved wife in the mountains of North Carolina. He has a precious old girl of a dog, a fascination with (and healthy fear of) coyotes, a love of reading, and a no-nonsense manner that makes clear he doesn't brook fools. He has almost resigned himself to the heartbreaking idea that his addict son is too lost to be saved. There's an undercover cop nearby who's trying to help take down a robust drug ring, and then there's Ray, who uses old-fashioned methods and his knowledge of mountain terrain to address injustices in a straightforward way. When These Mountains Burn isn't always easy to read, but it isn't over the top, and Joy's characters are fascinatingly faulted and keep you humming right along. I read this in 24 hours while wishing I were making it last longer. For my full review of When These Mountains Burn, click here. 06 This Is All He Asks of You by Anne Egseth Luna has a unique and lovely voice and is an irresistibly odd bird of a twelve-year-old girl. I just loved This Is All He Asks of You. Luna stumbles into encounters that shape her life dramatically, in unorthodox and heartbreakingly meaningful ways. She is facing her mother’s decline in health and exploring her own identity and meaning in her life, and she shapes her sometimes practical but often mystical thoughts and reflections through writing letters to her father, who she has never met, in the conversational tone of a pen pal writing to someone who will love her and her words unconditionally. I simultaneously wanted to scoop up Luna and take care of her and to follow the lead of this wise-beyond-her-years, intensely spiritual young person. She has a unique and lovely voice and is an irresistibly odd bird of a twelve-year-old girl. For my full review of This Is All He Asks of You, click here.

Six More Great Bossy Literary Fiction Reads I read so many read literary fiction books last year, this I mentioned Julia Phillips's fascinating novel Disappearing Earth  in the Greedy Reading List Six Chilly If you're interested in books about mortality, you might like the books on my Greedy Reading Lists Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality  and Six More Powerful Books about Facing Mortality . 04 Grey

You might also be interested in the books on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading Six More Great Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading Six of My Favorite Light Fictions Reads of the Past Year Six More of My Favorite Light Fiction Reads of the Past Year Six Great Light Fiction Stories Perfect for Summer Reading , and Six More Great Light Fiction Stories 01 Funny Story by Emily Henry Read  was one of my favorite books the year I read it, and it made it onto the Greedy Reading List Six

Six Four-Star Bossy Mystery Reads We've reached the point in the year--the very beginning--when I obsess Because I've been in a mystery-reading mood lately, I thought you might be too, so we're starting with six If you're interested in stories set in Maine, you might like the titles on my Greedy Reading List Six

It appears on the Greedy Reading List Six Books with Cold, Wintry Settings to Read by the Fire . 03 Spinning I also listed this book in the Greedy Reading List Six Historical Fiction Mysteries to Intrigue You .