Bossy Book Gift Ideas Each year I offer lists of Bossy book gift ideas for the holidays, including a indies that keep us swimming in thoughtful book recommendations and excellent customer service all year They have a fantastic selection of titles, staff members offer spot-on recommendations (and sparkling children, past secrets, friendship, romantic relationships, and previously unknown blood relatives near From "The Final 196 seconds of Kobe Bryant's Career" to "Shaq's Three-Year Path of Destruction"; and

multimillion-copy bestselling book (or the Tony award-winning Broadway musical based upon it, or the fantastic soundtrack to that musical, or the twenty-five-year anniversary of the book's publication)--well, maybe interesting possibilities. 04 Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin The first book in Mahurin's young adult fantasy When Zeus, fearful of what she might be capable of, banishes her to a deserted island, Circe perfects

In Dear Girls, she writes affectionately about her family, and those parts resonate. And I do love hearing the stories of women in comedy.

If so, I'd love to hear what you thought. Do you have any favorite books that involve time travel? After being involved in multiple disasters in only her first day of classes, she fears college may become But she is incapable of BS and full of rage, fear, unquenched revenge fantasies, vulnerability, and the Except...Andra soon realizes she wasn't sleeping for 100 years. She was asleep for 1,000.

Thankful for Five-Star Bossy Favorites I've been thinking through my favorite books of the year for an upcoming year-end Greedy Reading List I'll be posting--and I'm always thankful for books and reading Which standout books have you read this year? What made them your favorites? This is fantastic contemporary young adult fiction. For my full review, please see When We Were the Kennedys. 04 Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano Twelve-year-old

For more fantasy novels I've loved, please check out the titles at this link . I haven't read Oliver Twist  in many years, yet Fagin has remained ingrained in my head as a selfish, this timeline, Tom Metcalfe, one of our main protagonists, is an academic fascinated by the past (the years

If you're familiar with actor Seth Rogen (Freaks and Geeks, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Steve won't be surprised by the breadth and depth of drug-related and porn-related stories he includes in Yearbook This is a collection of essays and recollections that comes from Rogen's heart, and Yearbook feels like Greedy Reading Lists Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into, Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year

But they've been on the outs for a year or so. But Frankie is starting to fall for George, even as she fears making a move that would ruin their friendship We hear from Odessa Cross, the Princess of Quentis, who is on a quest to find her missing warrior husband Oh, and she's got six-year-old Evie and a fierce baby monster, Faze, tagging along with her with her We hear at times from Ransom's point of view, and we hear frequently from Caspia, a new-to-us character

It's a revenge fantasy, but the issues at the heart of the story are real and weighty and important. about her fury at what many of her fellow female students have to put up with from young men who won't hear I imagined that the alligator angle might make for a campy revenge fantasy. And it is revenge fantasy. The author builds a framework in Deadly Waters of brutalized women's fear and anger, establishes the

Fifty-year-old Elle is in her happy place--the house where she's spent a whole life of summers. , comfortable current life, the husband she loves, and her kids--or upset everything to explore the fantasy Characters are often lying, feeling betrayed, or actively in fear. (I loved my husband; I idolized my sister) seemed like shortcuts that avoided providing what I was yearning One tiny detail with no bearing on anything significant that nevertheless kept jumping out at me: almost

The author of the fantastic Wrong Place, Wrong Time is back with a smart, twisty mystery that's wonderfully But in the ensuing years, Camilla can't stop obsessing over the unusual aspects of the siege: the violence Are the strange coordinates she's receiving on her phone after seven years a message from Luke? Reading List Six More Time-Travel Stories to Explore , but included as one of my favorite books of the year

Eddie Winston is a 90-year-old gentleman who has loved but somehow has never been kissed. Eddie and 24-year-old Bella become friends after she comes in to donate items from a loved one who has Marianne Cronin is also the author of One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot, a book I loved and gave Elsie is an 81-year-old living in a Melbourne suburb, grumbling and mainly keeping to herself, aside from her best friend since childhood, a persistent 7-year-old girl who's determined to befriend her,

01 The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller Fifty-year-old Elle is in her happy place--the house where make: stick with her contentment and comfortable current life and husband--or fulfill the dreams and fantasy : the evangelical church she grew up in and the inspiration and judgment she experienced there; her yearning

Annis is a young Southern woman enslaved, sold, and abused in the years before the Civil War. Annis lives with her mother on a Carolina rice plantation in the years before the Civil War, and when enslaver--the man who raped her mother and sired Annis--turns his lascivious attention to her, she fears In order to see the story through, I kept reminding myself that I was bearing witness to a fictional I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! Feel free to comment and let me know!

In Lynn Painter's rom-com Betting on You, rule-following seventeen-year-old Bailey and sarcastic, joking Please click here for my full review of Betting on You. 05 The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl's beautiful, striking observations range from a New Year's Day sighting of a crow and her exploration of crows' senses of community and cleverness, which she hopes set a tone for the year to come; to a captivating story involves time travel, but it's primarily about deep human connections, complete with fantastic

fourstarbookreview 02 My Lady Jane: The Lady Janies Series ​ I'd had My Lady Jane on my to-read list for a couple of years fiction retelling of the story of King Edward, Lady Jane Grey, and Mary Queen of Scots--with an oddball fantasy This is funny, and smart, with clever asides, wonderful character development, and fantastic banter.

White's And I Darken, the first book in her Conquerer's Saga series, has a cover that to me evokes fantasy This blend of historical fiction, fantasy, and paranormal continues with LaFevers's Dark Triumph, Mortal relationship growth. 04 The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black The Folk of the Air is a young adult fantasy These six books were published over a period of almost twenty-five years, and the story trail traces But each of these series are complete, so if you haven't read them yet, you don't have to wait years

The banter is fantastic, and I laughed many times while reading this one. I listened to Funny Story as an audiobook (narrated by the fantastic Julia Whelan) courtesy of Libro.fm Henry's Beach Read was one of my favorite books the year I read it, and it made it onto the Greedy Reading

If you've read any of the books mentioned here, I'd love to hear what you think! Meanwhile Harper explores loyalty, procedural details related to the past and near past, beginnings and terms with it, while Abby is an island local whose husband has hidden something significant, and she fears the adults in Eli's life (and the terrible consequences he suffers because of them), he emerges as a fantastic I listed this book in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year .

Favorites These were just a few of my favorite historical fiction reads during Bossy Bookworm's first year societal expectations for women, great adventure, strong female loyalty and friendship, love, and lots of fantastic 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). Years after I first read this book, I still think of it often and fondly.

In 2014 Turkey, ten-year-old Narin is living near the Tigris and is affected by a disorder that will Her relationship with Sonny Bono (eleven years older) began when she was a teenager, and his control I was particularly intrigued by the fits and starts of Morgan's younger years, her struggles to find Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis is engaged in top-secret work alongside other bright minds, trying to crack The Civil War is looming, and Junie is a sixteen-year-old who has spent her whole life enslaved on an

I love the variety of books I have going now: I'm reading Shea Ernshaw's mysterious, fantastical Habits This nonfiction work is perfect to read during our nation's semiquincentennial year.

temporary maintenance job at the school and soon realizes that his old friend has become one of the most feared Guerrieri In Northern California, grown sisters Mere and Frankie have been circling each other for years of Libro.fm and Harper Muse. 03 The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali I feel as though I've been hearing rave reviews of this book for so long, it must have been published five years ago.

60s band on its rocky rise to popularity, particularly through exploring its members' crises, joys, fears For one year when they're young adults, the sisters reach mindboggling heights of fame as the pop duo Twenty years later, Zoe is a housewife and Cassie is a recluse who hasn't spoken to her sister at all Daisy Jones and the Six explores multiple layers of love and heartbreak, all against a fantastic backdrop I imagine those could be tough to write in an engaging way when the reader obviously can't hear any of

“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. air you give fear to survive.” Author Jeff Zentner is also the author of Goodbye Days , a book I listed in the Greedy Reading List Six Fantastic

for great historical fiction of all types, look at: Six Historical Fiction Books I Loved in the Past Year  and Six Historical Fiction Books I Loved This Year. Seventeen-year-old girls aren't safe on their own, so Jess cuts her hair, binds her chest, and saddles Jess's voice was fantastic. and Johanna isn't a willing participant in this venture, having become more culturally Kiowa over the years

Henry's Beach Read  was one of my favorite books the year I read it, and it also made it onto the Greedy Emily Henry is also the author of Funny Story  (one of my Favorite Reads of the Year ),   Happy Place For one year when they're young adults, the sisters reach mindboggling heights of fame as the pop duo Twenty years later, Zoe is a housewife and Cassie is a recluse who hasn't spoken to her sister at all Are the strange coordinates she's receiving on her phone after seven years a message from Luke?

I first read Allegra Goodman's work 25 years ago, when I enjoyed her novel Kaaterskill Falls . favorite reads of 2025. 02 The Once and Future Queen (Lives of Guinevere #1) by Paula Lafferty Twenty-two-year-old Vera is the beloved only child of two dear parents, but the rest of her life is a shambles. link , and feel free to check out these Bossy reads about knights . 03 Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei In a near-future Their oldest sister, Nora, left home years earlier to try to help develop crops to sustain the world.

young lady staring unflinchingly at the reader from the striking cover of Adrienne Young's young adult fantasy She's had to rely on her survival skills to make it through the past four long years, and if she can

extended family--including a stolid patriarch and matriarch, a free-spirited daughter, a spunky and fantastic Cosby This is a fantastic blend of realistic complications, mistakes, adjustments, and spunk. of You by Anne Egseth Luna has a unique and lovely voice and is an irresistibly odd bird of a twelve-year-old simultaneously wanted to scoop up Luna and take care of her and to follow the lead of this wise-beyond-her-years She has a unique and lovely voice and is an irresistibly odd bird of a twelve-year-old girl.

Gaige's Heartwood  offers the story of Beverly, a dedicated Maine State Game Warden who has fought for years Valerie's poignant letters to her mother as she struggles to survive in the wild, and witness to 76-year-old Meanwhile, the novel explores imperfect parenting, compounding mistakes by clinging to fear or regret and bonding, the in-charge warden who has worked hard and earned her place, and the behind-the-scenes gears

Crosley's memoir traces a treasured friendship and the gutting loss of that dear friend. She's vulnerable enough to allow the reader in on her messy, sometimes fantastical, often poignant search She obsesses over trying to track down the robber, can't let go of the fear that he might have targeted

Just look at this gorgeously mesmerizing cover for Marie Lu's latest young adult science fiction/fantasy I've been putting Marie Lu's books into my son's hands for years, but I have never read a single one.

If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! And I'd also love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads? (inspired by Taylor Brown's great-grandfather); Big Frank, a black World War I veteran fed up with fear fiction--the cutthroat, sometimes deadly efforts of coal-company enforcers to subdue rebellion; the years She's vulnerable enough to allow the reader in on her messy, sometimes fantastical, often poignant search

during Pandemic Times, one of the genres I find myself gravitating toward listening to is young adult fantasy I think the pacing and the fantastical worlds lend themselves well to audiobook form. Klune shows that we can be held back by fear of what we don't understand, or by a fear of either recognizing what we want or a fear of pursuing a need for our general happiness. story because of the tone and setup of the city and office for Linus, but Henning's narration didn't bear

Reads I've been highlighting recently published romantic novels as well as those I've read in the past year In Lynn Painter's rom-com Betting on You, rule-following seventeen-year-old Bailey and sarcastic, joking the client, NFL tight end Derek Pender, were college sweethearts, and Nora abruptly broke things off years It's hundreds of years after King Arthur's reign, and his descendant and namesake Arthur, a future lord She fell into the job years ago while trying to find herself--after a youth in which her father died,

science fiction story Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir, the author of The Martian; and a young adult fantasy Una, Ellie, and Cullen cope with grave situations and life-and-death struggles that threaten to tear

As Marguerite enters into her early teens, she begins to fear that her cousin views her as a creepy match My Daughter ) urging constant preservation of reputation, exuding modesty, maintaining a paralyzing fear the island and her necessary rejection of even the most basic societal expectations for her status (wearing I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! I first read Allegra Goodman's work 25 years ago, when I enjoyed her novel Kaaterskill Falls .

Eason is also the author of the On the Bones of Gods fantasy series.

Light We Cannot See; The Women in the Castle, which includes a complicated sort of bravery; and the fantastic Abriel offers a vivid account of the fear and dread—intermixed with sparks of hope—that sustained Vera Set during the bleak years of 1939-1942 in London and on the strategic island of Malta, Everyone Brave Anna is haunted by her wartime experiences and compromises, and she is fearful of Trudy's potential reaction

powers uniquely in some instances, and as the group wavers between silly teasing, joking, curiosity, and fear , Eleanor wavers between overwhelming joy and bitter suspicion and revenge fantasies.

Greedy Reading Lists Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into and Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year who is half-Korean, half-Japanese, and who lived under oppressive totalitarian rule for thirty-six years I first saw Busy Philipps acting on my beloved Dawson's Creek many years ago, and since then, I've remained a Little , Philipps conversationally takes us through her youth in Scottsdale, Arizona, her awkward years Paul delves fully into her meandering post-college years--during which Bob provides more structure in

Here's the premise of Hannah Orenstein's latest book: nineteen-year-old Avery Abrams was set to be the For the next few years she dabbled in college, she partied, she drifted, she dated a professional football I mentioned this book (along with the epic science fiction/fantasy To Sleep in a Sea of Stars and a young

orienting the reader at the start of each chapter with a "Maiden," "Mother," or "Matriarch" header, the year The audiobook was fantastic. The dialogue is fantastic, and I repeatedly laughed out loud. I was charmed by this novel. Emma Cline is also the author of The Girls (a book I rated with four Bossy stars when I read it ten years

Rocky's family has been vacationing in Cape Cod for twenty years. She's built years of happy memories in their low-key beach house rental. This year, she's sandwiched between her half-grown children and her aging parents. And the carefree vacations of the past feel light years away, because Rocky's menopausal rage threatens The six New York-set stories all take place around the year 2000, and they consider the impacts of chance

I'd love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads--or books you've read recently that just Razorblade Tears is a brutally violent story shadowed with heartbreaking regret. It's a fast read, and after my love of Blacktop Wasteland last year, I'm in for any of Cosby's writing I feared I'd get turned around in time by listening to the book rather than reading it, but narrator In this second and final book in Bardugo's young adult fantasy King of Scars duology, Nikolai, Zoya,

01 Dear Emmie Blue This is a lovely light summer read so far. So far, Lia Louis's Dear Emmie Blue doesn't require the reader to do much, if any, LA-LA-LA-ing and taking (Click here for my full review of Dear Emmie Blue.) These are short books with a fantastically unique point of view, and they're perfect escapism. #robots, #fantasyscifi, #series, #uniquePOV 03 The House in the Cerulean Sea ​ I like to listen to fantasy

darkly funny, and the situations range from that of a Sarah who is being paid to act out necrophilia fantasies

My OG book club has been together in some form for almost twenty years, meeting monthly to talk about intriguing book is likely to be generally widely available from the library, vary our genres throughout the year I thought I'd pick a point in time and highlight my favorite reads from that year--in this case, 2020 , the year everything shut down and reading became even more essential for my own mental health and for Pan decided to deliberately put herself into extremely uncomfortable social situations for a year, and

Reads These six four-star mysteries are all so good and so different--they were my favorites of the year a couple of years ago, and they're so solid that I thought I'd repost again. I'd love to hear about your favorite mystery reads! Phillips ​ Julia Phillips's interconnected stories follow in chapters that take place each month for a year Lucas Page is a fantastic character (as are Whitaker, Kehoe, Erin, and Dingo).