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I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie When I was compiling this list and double-checking page counts, I kept All but one of these wonderful titles ( Demon Copperhead , at 560) comes in at over 600 pages, so they're This was strange and compelling. Mitchell is one of a kind, and I love it. Another book I loved of his was Utopia Avenue , and it was completely different in tone but also wonderfully In interconnected stories--which felt equally compelling to me--Shipstead brings to life these disparate

fiction, skillfully using dry firsthand accounts and subsequent interviews to build a fascinating, fluid, compelling Nonfiction I've Loved If you love nonfiction books, you might like the titles on my Greedy Reading Lists Six Compelling

Claire Lynch's novel shapes two timelines separated by decades into an engrossing, complicated family In 2022, Heron, Maggie's father, has just received terrible news about his health, and he works to come In the modern timeline, Heron's state of dying adds a layer Maggie's complicated emotions upon her discovery

This short novel explores an alternate-history, near-future, post-war San Francisco in which robots come In a San Francisco of the near future, a group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned

, compelling nonfiction book about a couple whose ambitious sailing trip from England to New Zealand In 2022, Heron, Maggie's father, has just received terrible news about his health, and he works to come Then a handsome, magical historian and his young sister come to stay at Jasmine and Sera's inn, and suddenly

This was sooooo good, unexpected, sweeping, and compelling. is a romance, but it’s actually a story about loyalty and devoted friendship without easy or saw-it-coming This was strange and compelling. For my full review, please check out The Bone Clocks .

heartwarming, sometimes funny moments as an unlikely pack of allies sets out on a journey of discovery, complete The class-warfare and discrimination against hungry sprites by the comfortable, wealthy, longstanding

a dedicated Maine State Game Warden who has fought for years for an amount of respect to match her commitment But search parties, flyovers, and rescue dogs come up empty day after day. she struggles to survive in the wild, and witness to 76-year-old, wheelchair-bound Lena's retirement-community Meanwhile, the novel explores imperfect parenting, compounding mistakes by clinging to fear or regret

Annalee Newitz's newest science fiction, Automatic Noodle , a novella about deactivated robots who come Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz In a San Francisco of the near future, a group of deactivated robots come a dedicated Maine State Game Warden who has fought for years for an amount of respect to match her commitment But search parties, flyovers, and rescue dogs come up empty day after day. she struggles to survive in the wild, and witness to 76-year-old, wheelchair-bound Lena's retirement-community

builds between an injured Union soldier and the Virginia woman who secretly takes him in is touching and complicated She's booking occasional commercial jobs, but she firmly believes she's destined to become famous and She's hired to mind the bratty child actors for a community theatre production of The Sound of Music It's a combination I love. This is Ava Robinson's first novel. Male guards come and go, feeding the women minimal rations and never speaking.

Characters come off as less realistic than their fictionalized versions (who are main protagonists of

their own desires in order to follow the charismatic Sara--until an outsider shakes up all they have come She spies from a distance the comings and goings of a group of seven people, some young and some older

The family located him in Bug Hollow, a Northern California community where he was living his best life very patient, frequently seems irritated and even revolted by her daughters, and often makes critical comments

decades-spanning story of a Northern California family after a tragic loss; and I'm reading a novel about a commune The family located him in Bug Hollow, a Northern California community where he was living his best life She spies from a distance the comings and goings of a group of seven people, some young and some older

The complicated interpersonal situations added wonderful depth to the complexities of astronauts' training , stresses, competition, and life-and-death goals of entering space. , here .) 06 Boy by Nicole Galland Galland offers a detailed peek into the London of Shakespeare's company fiction tale Boy , Alexander "Sander" Cooke is a famed, sought-after "boy player" in Shakespeare's company nearly over, and he has neither an assurance of steady work as a young man playing male roles with his company

At rock bottom, she allows her subconscious to develop a rich imagined world and story that are completely (augmenting her ability to be mobile with futuristic walking aids; diving into her relationship and commitment parents' home country of Nigeria remain constant, as does her desire for adventure, her unwillingness to compromise The excerpts highlighted commonalities between the imaginary world that poured out of her and Zelu's

I was invested in Gazala's young life; the concessions, cleverness, and compromises necessary during desperate times; and particularly her ability to navigate a potentially deadly and complex wartime crisis 5 Bossy stars, the heartbreakingly beautiful In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss , Away , Lucky Us , Come

unorthodox relationships, futuristic possibilities, and stories within stories that illuminate people's complicated 5 Bossy stars, the heartbreakingly beautiful In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss , Away , Lucky Us , Come At rock bottom, she allows her subconscious to develop a rich imagined world and story completely unlike parents' home country of Nigeria remain constant, as does her desire for adventure, her unwillingness to compromise

Jack Troy and his oldest daughter Ronnie are coping with complicated family dynamics in their drafty, During the annual, chaotic community fair preceding this holidays, which this year is a rainy business The complicated interpersonal situations added wonderful depth to the complexities of astronauts' training , stresses, competition, and life-and-death goals of entering space. dynamics underscore friendships, family relationships, and the community as a whole.

The complicated interpersonal situations added wonderful depth to the complexities of astronauts' training , stresses, competition, and life-and-death goals of entering space.

One complication: when Sydney worked the crime beat as a journalist years ago, she explored a young girl's

The nearby ocean is a haunting presence but also a steady, everchanging comfort to Lucy. Lucy's creation of an imaginary, supportive mother and her loving responses to and comfort for Lucy in But having a listening ear in Dean, who is completely separate from Evvie's "before" life, means she and in common suffering, and figuring out the impossible: how to move on after devastating tragedy. It's 1789, and in a  rural Maine community, a local man turns up dead--frozen face up in the Kennebec

Galland offers a detailed peek into the London of Shakespeare's company and the life of starring "boy fiction tale Boy , Alexander "Sander" Cooke is a famed, sought-after "boy player" in Shakespeare's company nearly over, and he has neither an assurance of steady work as a young man playing male roles with his company

I also didn't completely buy into the depth of her new key connection to a romantic friendship--nor the I appreciated the complicated feelings Jane felt around holding her father accountable, as he plausibly

Molly Jong-Fast's frank memoir explores her complicated, unsatisfying relationship with her famous mother This is the story of what happens when the bottom falls out, when all the tests come back bad, when the her alcoholic, very ill mother and stepfather and her guilt in settling them in a nearby retirement community Jong-Fast recognizes late in the book that her complicated relationship with her mother caused her to About the Author--and More Memoirs Molly Jong-Fast is a journalist, political commentator, and the author

Carr's newest novel is a captivating series of character studies within a tightly knit Irish seaside community As the community wonders at his mysterious, whimsical appearance, they embrace Brendan, as he is ultimately dynamics underscore friendships, family relationships, and the community as a whole. Best in Show--a movie that inspires mixed reactions from those in the competition scene. Barker's novel features Janet, a misunderstood, mocked, badly treated young woman coming of age in a

Carr's newest novel is a captivating series of character studies within a tightly knit Irish seaside community other, and avoid giving in to the least generous parts of themselves, tragedies and wonders shape their community As the community wonders at his mysterious, whimsical appearance, they embrace Brendan, as he is ultimately dynamics underscore friendships, family relationships, and the community as a whole. The surrounding community is so essential to the novel, the story is told in an omniscient point of view

to remain separate, I was taken with the double-edged quest, elite training, magical abilities, and complex reading "romantasy" or "romantasy"-adjacent books, because I love fantasy stories and I love romantic comedies secret powers, double-edged quest, unrevealed personal history, and spy/counterspy elements kept me completely held assumptions and prejudices surrounding Mods and Primes, and Wren's fierce loyalty to her kind is complicated

I'm listening to Garrett Carr's literary fiction about a baby that washes up in a small Irish seaside community As the community wonders at his mysterious appearance, they embrace Brandon, as he is ultimately named reeling from economic troubles; Brandon's older brother deeply resents his presence; and conflicts and complicated dynamics underscore friendships, family relationships, and the community as a whole.

But each of these series is complete , so if you haven't started them yet, you won't have to wait years I loved the Ottoman Empire setting, the strong female main protagonist, and the complications and sometimes She builds on complicating elements, and character development is satisfying but the interpersonal relations revelations, shifting alliances, opaque political machinations, and enmity between main characters all complicate I loved the intrigue, clever plotting, complicated loyalties and desires, creatures of all kinds, plus

often felt that they all lived such separate lives that any one of them could be a murderer or a god come Barker's novel features Janet, a misunderstood, mocked, badly treated young woman coming of age in a

She's struggling to find clothing to complement her plus-sized figure, and she's determined not to go So why can't she simply shake off the fact that nothing in the Bergdorf Goodman swimsuit section comes me here was the peek into the fashion industry as Sunny continually Handles It and makes her dreams come

This is not a dynamic I'm totally comfortable with, but I loved the promise of Emmy's reinvigorated, potentially (creepily) fatherly to me within their very verbal sexual encounters--and unfortunately, it comes

It's an unorthodox situation, and Hai is far from fallible when it comes to being tempted by medications The story ends with some satisfying resolutions, but other characters' lives remain suitably complicated

He must delve into his own past connections and dredge up painful, complex past dynamics and loyalties I was taken with the premise of this novel, but I found the revelations slow, and I because Bouba comprehended

Interspecies relations are prickly, comfortable, romantic, puzzling, or all of the above. with the team, which includes her mother and the rest of her family, plus many others involved in the complex There's a twist/double twist in Goddess in the Machine that I didn't see coming, and I found the whole story compelling. When Unit Four is taken onto the enemy alien ship as a prisoner and is unable to communicate with its

world, at least for those looking in from the outside, and draws occasional correlations to the satiric comedy Best in Show--a movie that inspires mixed reactions from those in the competition scene.

thing; time, it seemed to him now, was the only thing you couldn't change; whatever you did, it kept coming The men have no common language, and John, at first fearful of his vulnerability, then overtaken with

Davies's luminous historical fiction story set in 19th century rural Scotland, Clear ; and I'm reading comedian I'm listening to Clear as an audiobook. 03 Lucky Loser: Adventures in Tennis and Comedy by Michael Kosta began reading this book, but I love memoirs, behind-the-scenes peeks, and tennis, so I was here for the combination His shift into comedy also offers a look behind the curtains at the good, bad, and ugly, but mainly focuses on his own drive to make it as a stand-up comedian.

novels--a cold, unforgiving setting; magical realism; attempts to overcome seemingly insurmountable complications Arthur, a recluse who only comes into town at the change of seasons--and who others avoid as actively cold-setting story--one of my favorites--in which the unforgiving weather, rough terrain, and remote location combine

offers an unreliable main protagonist, her dedicated new psychiatrist, increasingly inexplicable and complicated made me feel uncomfortable because of their doctor-client relationship and even more so because of the complications

Male guards come and go, feeding the women minimal rations and never speaking. The pacing is appropriately slow as characters wander, wonder, and come across little new information

She's booking occasional commercial jobs, but she firmly believes she's destined to become famous and She's hired to mind the bratty child actors for a community theatre production of The Sound of Music

her own way of honoring Tony, their life together, and their hopes for the future that would never come

She's booking occasional commercial jobs, but she firmly believes she's destined to become famous and She's hired to mind the bratty child actors for a community theatre production of The Sound of Music her own way of honoring Tony, their life together, and their hopes for the future that would never come

For her intended husband Worth, his tragic family past and complicated present seem to be stumbling blocks He's busy ushering them to commemorative World War II events, attempting to monitor their uninhibited life--and the control of her conservative parents--in order to serve as a nurse serving soldiers in combat Her brother is killed in combat before she even ships out, and her parents reject her potential to be In The Warm Hands of Ghosts , Arden presents the story of Laura, a combat nurse who is searching for

Gretel had been doing just fine skating through her days pushing down her guilt and her complicated past

character making missteps and forging a path forward while adjusting to romantic, family, and work complications When she's assigned to assist on the committee for the office's extravagant upcoming holiday party, she's It's a combination I love. Abby Jimenez and Carley Fortune are two more authors who offer deep, heartfelt situations, messy complications

Gretel had been doing just fine skating through her days pushing down her guilt and her complicated past When she's assigned to assist on the committee for the office's extravagant holiday party, she's thrown Male guards come and go, feeding the women minimal rations and never speaking. The pacing is appropriately slow as characters wander, wonder, and come across little new information

I think I'll read anyone's story, as long as it's compelling and honest. For my full review, please see All the Beauty in the World . 03 The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year In The Comfort of Crows , Margaret Renkl offers a literary, nature-focused devotional of 52 chapters, and cleverness, which she hopes set a tone for the year to come; to a grief-stricken examination of Those reasons matter not just at the end of life, or when debility comes, but all along the way.