Lula Dean focuses on the incredible power of books and truth-telling as characters discover their bravest selves and confront difficult situations, changing their community. In the small Southern town of Troy, Georgia, a lending library and a battle over banned books pits nemeses Beverly Underwood (on the school board) and Lula Dean (determined to rid public libraries of "inappropriate" books) against each other. A caricature of Southern prim-and-proper ladyhood and over-the-top frills and flowers, Lula sets up a Little Free Library full of only "appropriate" books. But someone mischievously switches out the dust jackets of her old-fashioned, out-of-touch books with novels featuring LGBTQ+ love, literary classics, Judy Blume books, and other banned titles. The reality of the open-minded, empowering, honest content in Lula's personal library seems destined to come to light--just as Lula and the solid, upstanding, liberal-minded Beverly determine to run against each other in a mayoral race that could decide the tone and future of their community. But first, the titles begin inspiring people in the community to come clean about the ugliness under the surface of their town: a stifled wife reveals her husband's Nazi enthusiasms; a young boy learns that his brother's gay identity is not to be feared as he's been taught; a son realizes that his mother is not dying, only experiencing the natural process of menstruation; a young woman fights against misogynistic school policies; a past assault comes to light; and the truths about the bloodlines of the town become clear. Strong local figures, primarily women, drive the forces of good and the uncovering of truth. Some characters experience dramatic redemptions, while others slip through the cracks or meet a tragic end. The focus on the power of books is fantastic. File Lula under "lighter fiction that tackles difficult issues." This is my favorite kind of lighter-tone contemporary fiction. I listened to Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books  as an audiobook. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! Kirsten Miller is also the author of The Change , a novel that I said " explores the power of menopausal women and the poignant strength of friendship; supplies satisfying revenge fantasies and camp; and winds it all through our middle-aged heroines' satisfying solving of a disturbing set of mysteries."

My Oxford Year takes a light, romantic tone and within it, explores weighty issues like serious illness, loss, grief, vulnerability, and offers a suitably complicated ending that doesn't wrap up life's messy loose ends in an unrealistically neat bow. American Ella Durran has had a plan for her education and career sine she was 13: to study at Oxford. Now she's 24, she's just as driven, and she's finally at Oxford. In addition to branching out into studying literature across the pond, Ella has agreed to be an education policy consultant for a potential presidential candidate back home, which means she's on call at all hours. Her phone is always at hand, and if her bosses call, she drops everything to pick up and be a sounding board or a problem-solver. Studying literature at Oxford means no syllabus, few concrete expectations, and a lot of winging it, all which is definitely out of Ella's comfort zone. Her propensity for remaining emotionally closed off free up a lot of time. She's never been in a serious relationship and has no interest in one--she doesn't have time for frivolity when she's chasing so many goals. When a meet-cute at a fish-and-chips shop shows her how foppish, obnoxious, and insufferable Oxonians can be, Ella feels even more lucky to have sworn off entanglements with men. Particularly men as handsome as the one who accidentally smashed into her sampling of chip sauces and ruined her white blouse. But: oops! He turns out to be her professor! Oh, and soon she's sleeping with him! And oops again, their no-strings-attached agreement is quickly becoming complicated, serious, and full of facing life-and-death matters she never signed up for. My Oxford Year is my favorite kind of romance; Whelan uses a light-fiction structure to take on seriously weighty issues like family dynamic struggles, commitment, loyalty, grief and loss, and cancer. The happy ending that the tone of the novel seems to be assuring readers at the beginning morphs into a far more complex version of a resolved story by the end, with significant pain and yet glimmers of hope that transcend the immediate situation. I loved the facing of mortality in the story--as well as the focus on literature and its power. I listened to My Oxford Year  as an audiobook--narrated by Julia Whelan herself. More about Julia Whelan Julia Whelan has been the audiobook narrator for over 600 books. The first novel she authored was Thank You for Listening .

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 first in Sebastian de Castell's series of the same name, Spellslinger ; and I'm reading Elif Shafak's interconnected story told in three time periods, There Are Rivers in the Sky . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 The Road to Dalton (Dalton, Maine #1) by Shannon Bowring It's 1990 in small-town Dalton, Maine, and an interconnected group of neighbors, friends, spouses, and acquaintances support each other, sometimes struggle, and intersect with each other's lives. Multiple families are affected by a tragic occurrence, and secrets come to light that affect the entire community. In this debut novel, Shannon Bowring dives into the small town's complex, faulted characters as they make their way in northern Maine over the course of a difficult year. Check out this link for more Bossy reviews of book set in Maine. 02 There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak In 1840 London, young Arthur lives near the sewage-filled River Thames, desperate to escape poverty and his abusive household. In 2014 Turkey, ten-year-old Narin is living near the Tigris and is affected by a disorder that is causing her to go permanently deaf. And in 2018 London, Zaleekah moves into a houseboat on the Thames to escape her husband, but she can't shake her thoughts of suicide. There Are Rivers   in the Sky traces the stories of these three characters living alongside rivers in three different times, interconnected by a single drop of water and the power of an ancient poem that may change each of their lives. I received a prepublication edition of There Are Rivers in the Sky courtesy of Knopf and NetGalley. Elif Shafak is also the author of The Island of Missing Trees . 03 Spellslinger (Spellslinger #1) by Sebastien De Castell “I’m a woman, kid. You probably haven’t met one before, coming as you do from this backward place, but it’s like a man only smarter and with bigger balls.” I am loving this book so far. Sebastian de Castell's worldbuilding is fascinating, the magic-school setting is a favorite, and the cast of characters is irresistible. The dark humor is fantastic. Kellen is struggling in his mage's trials--which feels even worse because his younger sister is living up to the family's powerful name by demonstrating more powerful magic than any students in their school. But Kellen's magic hasn't come in--and he fears that it never will. “First thing you learn wandering the long roads, kid. Everyone thinks they're the hero of their own story.” But as he uses his smarts, his unlikely allies, and his loyalty to get by, he finds himself discovering uncomfortable truths about his family and his community--and questioning everything he thought he knew.

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 about rom-coms with weighty themes, and some of these titles fit that bill. Others are more purely light, with happy endings you might see coming from a mile away--and likely won't mind at all. 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 on You by Lynn Painter Lynn Painter delivers funny, charming banter and an opposites-attract tension in this heartwarming rom-com about divorce, trust, blended families, and vulnerability. In Lynn Painter's rom-com Betting on You , rule-following seventeen-year-old Bailey and sarcastic, joking Charlie meet at a fraught moment--they're both leaving Alaska and coping with their parents' divorces. They're polar opposites, and they drive each other crazy. Now they're living in the same hometown again, and, coincidentally, they're about to be working together at a bizarre hotel fun park. When Bailey and Charlie fake date in order to try to thwart the new relationship between Bailey's mom and her always-around boyfriend, Bailey realizes she's got feelings for Charlie. And Charlie's emotionally immature, but he's never let his guard down the way he does with Bailey. Painter delivers charming and funny banter, emotional growth, deep friendship, plausible missteps that keep the couple apart, heart-wrenching moments of vulnerability, and heartwarming looooove. Please click here for my full review of Betting on You . 02 The Rule Book by Sarah Adams This love story about an emotionally sensitive NFL player and his quirky, irresistible female agent is a sweet second-chance romance perfect for light summer reading. Nora Mackenzie is a sports agent who's constantly fighting against misogyny and double standards as one of few women in the field. She's young and hungry--and thrilled that she's about to get her first really big client. But Nora and the client, NFL tight end Derek Pender, were college sweethearts, and Nora abruptly broke things off years ago. They haven't seen each other since. Derek is determined to make Nora so miserable, she'll quit her position as his agent, but Nora's never given up on anything in her life--except her youthful relationship with Derek. She's determined to look out for her career above all else. I love Nora's passion for her career and the single-mindedness that has led to her success. In concept, I also love her quirkiness and refusal to bend to societal pressures--whether by behaving in a more tough manner because she's a woman in a career where fewer women exist, or by using her femininity as a tool in that career. But her silly language and childlike manner grated on me, and I found it distractingly corny. I loved the fake marriage, the push and pull of career and love, and the second-chance romance. Click here for my full review of The Rule Book . 03 Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher Lex Croucher's queer medieval rom-com--the author's debut young-adult novel--is an absolute gem; it's full of excellent banter and lots of heart. I smiled while reading this one. “Nobody else is ever going to care as much as you do about the things that you want, Gwendoline. So it's up to you --you can put them aside forever, if you can live with that, or you can put on your big-girl girdle and demand more for yourself.” It's hundreds of years after King Arthur's reign, and his descendant and namesake Arthur, a future lord and committed partier and social butterfly, has long been betrothed to the short-tempered princess Gwendoline. But Gwendoline and Arthur detest each other. And when they're forced to spend the summer together at Camelot to prepare for their upcoming nuptials, it doesn't take long for them to realize that Art has been kissing a boy and that Gwen has a crush on the only female knight in the kingdom. The premise of Lex Croucher's Gwen & Art Are Not in Love  is irresistible, the pacing is great, and the banter is excellent--funny dialogue is a favorite element of mine. I adored the voices of the characters and witnessing their growth over the course of the story. For my full review, please see Gwen & Art Are Not in Love . 04 Love, Lists and Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz Sarah Grunder Ruiz serves up an irresistible rom-com with great banter and with interesting and difficult, complex issues of loss, grief, and responsibility at its heart. Jo Walker is a yacht stewardess. She fell into the job years ago while trying to find herself--after a youth in which her father died, her mother fell apart, her older sister Beth became pregnant by (and married) her beloved high school sweetheart--and after Jo moved in with the young married couple while she finished high school. But none of Jo's losses or disappointments or life experiences could have prepared her for the horrific, shocking loss of her young nephew Samson, Beth's youngest child (and Jo's birthday twin), in a biking accident. The tension that keeps apart Jo and Alex ( a handsome, charming man new to town) feels plausible, and I accepted the difficulties each faces when considering a commitment to the other. I loved  the best-friendship with Nina, the messy path of grief, and the imperfect characters all doing their best. I welcomed with open arms the happy ending served up by Sarah Grunder Ruiz. For my full review, please see Love, Lists and Fancy Ships . 05 I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang Ann Liang's newest young adult rom-com pits high school nemeses against each other: one relentless perfectionist and people-pleaser and her effortlessly successful classmate. But neither is as perfect as they seem...except in being perfect for each other. In Ann Liang's I Hope This Doesn't Find You , Sadie Wren is perfect...on paper. She's valedictorian, school captain, and a model student. Sadie's one vice is writing scathing, no-holds-barred email drafts. She never sends them, but crafting the furious hypothetical replies to anyone who is frustrating her is helpfully cathartic. That is, until everyone--from her co-captain to her teachers to her classmates--knows how shockingly blunt the "real" Sadie is. And the only one who seems to embrace her accidental show of full honesty is her longtime nemesis, Julius. This young adult story is sweet and fun; the pacing often feels somewhat slapstick and frantic--as is the relentlessly ambitious, over-the-top super-pleaser Sadie herself. The feeling settles down when she finally begins to explore her feelings for Julius in a wonderfully sweet and romantic set of exchanges that feels all too brief. The vulnerability that Sadie and Julius allow each other to see at long last was lovely. For my full review, check out I Hope This Doesn't Find You . 06 Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez Just for the Summer is another Jimenez story with wonderful banter and a romantic connection that's anchored in and shaped by incredibly complicated life circumstances. Abby Jimenez is wonderful at crafting a satisfying romance that's anchored in serious issues, and in Just for the Summer , she offers up an irresistible rom-com premise with weighty, messy, real-life-imperfect conflicts galore. Justin and Emma are strangers, but they both seem to have the same curse: after they break up with someone, the next person that person dates ends up being their soulmate. A Reddit thread and unlikely coincidences bring Justin and Emma into contact, and their initial spark is undeniable. The conflicts that repeatedly keep Emma and Justin from their happy-ever-after feel plausibly limiting, yet their affection and banter are adorable, and their inability to overcome the obstacles in their way is heartbreaking. I think Emma's best friend Maddy probably needs her own book (a la Christina Lauren's fantastic True Love Experiment  spinoff for best friend Fizzy). I listened to Just for the Summer  as an audiobook. Jimenez is also the author of Part of Your World , Yours Truly , The Friend Zone , and The Happy-Ever-After Playlist . For my full review, please see Just for the Summer .

Atkinson's cozy, Agatha Christie-style novel features former lawman Jackson Brodie, a mystery within a mystery, a real-life killer who becomes mixed up in a trite murder-mystery play, and a reunion between Brodie and his estranged former partner. Ex-detective Jackson Brodie returns in Kate Atkinson's Agatha-Christie-like setup in Death at the Sign of the Rook . In Brodie's quiet little town, he's tediously searching for a stolen painting when he stumbles across a string of unsolved art thefts--and he's led to Burton Makepeace, an old hotel that also hosts Murder Mystery weekends. He begins to suspect that the brother and sister who hired him have something to hide, and he begins to look independently into the provenance of the painting he calls Woman with a Weasel . Brodie crosses paths with his former partner, who reluctantly allows herself to get drawn into his search for his clients' mother's missing caregiver. The descriptions of her--as well as her fondness for old-fashioned mystery novels--begin to sound similar to that of a young woman thought to possibly be involved in an earlier art theft. Add in a vicar, a former military man, bitter and suspicious heirs, a clueless and wealthy matriarch, a rabbit-warren of a mansion, and a real-life killer who becomes mixed into the manor's trite, posed murder mystery performance, and you've got yourself an entertaining mystery with enough sweet connections between characters to satisfy a reader looking for a happy ending. This is the sixth installment in Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get through this book, but I apologize to all library patrons who were affected by my holding it hostage so obnoxiously long. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Atkinson is also the author of Shrines of Gaiety , Case Histories, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Life After Life , Human Croquet, When Will There Be Good News , and more books.

In this first installment of The Bleeding Empire, Kim sets three characters on paths to discover their worth, their purpose, and their power. When the protagonists' journeys intersect, the story ramps up in intensity and in epic scope. With adventure, a chosen one, a quest, exploding abilities, and the formation of an unexpected team with immense collective promise, I'm in for the rest of this translated series. In Blood of the Old Kings , dead sorcerers power the empire, which has long been run on a system of necromancy and sacrifice. Arienne knew since she was a young girl that because she was born with magic, her future would end with her locked in chains in a casket, an essential, dark end used to benefit others by generating immense power. But when a long-dead sorcerer takes the shape of a voice in her head and pushes her to question the rules she's always lived by, Arienne dares to dream of defying her fate. Cain is savvy, street-smart, and living in the capital. When his best friend goes missing, he'll do anything to find out what's happened to her. Loran is a brokenhearted widow and a skilled swordswoman willing to make deep sacrifices to ally with the fated, powerful, dangerous dragon who might empower her and save them all. I love a "chosen one" quest in which characters discover and use their power, and in different ways, Arienne, Cain, and Loran all do so in Blood of the Old Kings . This three-character-driven plot sets the scene by exploring the unrest within the empire, the desperate struggles of its people; and the dark intents of those ruling it all. Each of the three main protagonists begin to understand their own power--and when their paths intersect, they realize that together, they are more formidable than they could have ever imagined. This builds in tension and intensity without ever feeling melodramatic or silly. I love a historical-fiction-feeling fantasy story like this one, and Blood of the Old Kings sets up an epic series that I'm definitely going to continue. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! I listened to The Blood of the Old Kings  as an audiobook. Sung Il-Kim's work was translated by Anton Hur. The second book in this series, Blood for the Undying Throne , is slated for publication this fall.

Dunlap's debut novel explores early Edinburgh surgical schools, questionable methods of obtaining study subjects, a main protagonist's surprisingly believable entrée into body snatching, a forbidden love, and serial killers, and I was in for it all. I've heard comparisons drawn between A. Rae Dunlap's The Resurrectionist  and Caleb Carr's The Alienist , a suspenseful novel about the evolution of forensic science that I adored reading years ago, and while the books are quite different, I can appreciate the favorable association. Dunlap's debut novel is dark, twisty, gothic, and it's set in 19th-century Scotland as fictionalized versions of real-life serial killers Burke and Hare are terrorizing Edinburgh. James Willoughby is a na ï ve young medical student whose family fortunes have taken a negative turn, leaving him with a passion for studying medicine but no resources to pursue schooling. He becomes drawn into the underworld of body snatching when he seeks paid work to fund his studies--and begins to understand (and assist with) the process of obtaining cadavers for his surgery study. Ultimately, terrifyingly, his activities lead him to run into the cadaver-producing killers Burke and Hare. Dunlap does a wonderful job of bringing a spooky, fascinating underworld of Edinburgh to life, while also exploring the burgeoning surgery and medical school experience, and, against all odds, building the somewhat-reasonable-feeling case for James's horror-turned-acceptance on the subject of mining graveyards for bodies to study. At the center of the story there's a hesitant friendship, then a meaningful, playful, and poignant relationship between James and his "handler" (which is affected by the complication of societal intolerance for gay relationships in this period), plus the mystery of the disappearances of community characters, and an elaborate, amateur, exciting group attempt to catch Burke and Hare. I love Dunlap's writing and the way the author crafted this story. I'm definitely in for reading this author's future books! I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! I read this title, published in December, courtesy of NetGalley and Kensington Books. For Bossy reviews of more books set in Scotland, please check out the titles at this link .

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 Southern town, Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books ; I'm reading the recently published A Language of Dragons , a reimagined Bletchley Park codebreaking story featuring a tenuous dragon-human truce; and I'm listening to the romance My Oxford Year , in which ambitious American Ella Durran's studies at Oxford turn out to lifechanging in unexpected ways. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller In a small Southern town, a lending library and a battle over banned books pits nemeses Beverly Underwood (on the school board) and Lula Dean (determined to rid public libraries of "inappropriate" books) against each other. Lula generously (she believes) sets up a Little Free Library full of appropriate books. But someone mischievous has put the dust jackets of her wholesome books on LGBTQ+ novels, romances, literary classics, Judy Blume books, and other banned titles. The reality of her personal library seems destined to come to light--just as Lula and Beverly are running against each other in a mayoral race that could decide the reading future of their community. I'm listening to Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books as an audiobook. 02 A Language of Dragons: An Epic Tale of Forbidden Romance, Dragon Languages, and Civil War in an Alternate 1920s London by S. F. Williamson In an alternate 1923 London, a young woman inadvertently disturbs the peace between humans and dragons in a reimagined Bletchley Park. Vivienne Featherswallow is angling for a summer internship studying dragon languages--and if she frees just one dragon, she'll secure a future for her sister that ensures she'll never be looked down upon again. But now her family is in prison and her sister is missing. If Vivienne succeeds in breaking dragon-language codes at Bletchley Park, her family will be freed. But if she can't...they remain in mortal danger. She's discovering that the humans' fragile truce with the dragons is corrupt--and her unraveling of the secrets holding it together might start a civil war. I received a prepublication edition of A Language of Dragons courtesy of HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley. 03 My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan American Ella Durran has had a plan for her education and career sine she was 13: study at Oxford. Now she's 24, she's just as driven, and she's finally at Oxford. She's agreed to be an education policy consultant for a potential presidential candidate back home, which means she's on call at all hours. She's decided to study literature, and at Oxford that means no syllabus, few concrete expectations, and a lot of winging it, all which is definitely out of her comfort zone. Oh, and she's sleeping with her rakish professor. I'm listening to My Oxford Year as an audiobook.

My Favorite Sci-Fi Reads I love how science fiction stretches the way I think about what's possible, or explores issues like mortality, autonomy, or free will within an imagined world. Last year I read fascinating science fiction reads centering around artificial intelligence, extraterrestrials, genetics, space, and robots. You might also like the Greedy Reading lists of past years' Bossy favorites: Six Four Star (And Up) Science Fiction and Fantasy Reads I Loved in the Past Year Six More Science Fiction and Fantasy Reads I Loved in the Past Year Six Four-Star (and Up) Science Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year Six More Science Fiction Reads I Loved in the Past Year Six Science Fiction Favorites to Dive Into Six More Science Fiction Favorites to Dive Into If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! Did you read any other science fiction novels in the past year (or otherwise) that you loved? 01 Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino In Beautyland , Bertino offers a poignant, funny, strange story full of extraterrestrial observations of humans and their behavior that ring true. This was odd and lovely. Adina is born on Earth just as Voyager 1 launches into space. Her mother is a street-smart, scrabbling single parent, while Adina is an unusually perceptive child--with knowledge of another planet, a vivid nighttime school she attends in her mind, and faraway extraterrestrial relatives who have asked for her observations about humans and life on earth--which she provides by sending them her reflections through an otherworldly fax machine. The reader is privy to Adina's many missives to her extraterrestrial family--and their often-terse replies to her. She feels caught between existences, and the book pulls to a powerful but understated end in which this push and pull is resolved. I found myself torn throughout reading this; was Adina a character struggling with mental illness and imagining her superiors' replies, or was she truly an alien in a human "shell"? I believed in the latter, but establishing the definitive truth of the situation didn't ultimately matter deeply to me: Adina's eyes offered a beautiful, odd, lovely peek at human behavior, and her observations were just wonderful. For my full review, check out Beautyland . If you like this book, you might also be interested in the books on my Greedy Reading List Six Great Stories about Robots, Humans and Alien Life, and AI . 02 Baby X by Kira Peikoff Baby X  explores the complex issues around an imagined future with genetically chosen embryos; Peikoff also digs into origin stories and sense of identity, duty, trust, and vulnerability in the various storylines of this intriguing book. In an imagined United States of the near future, any cell can be transformed into an egg or sperm. The process of creating embryos has been revolutionized, and parents can use Selection to analyze and choose an embryo based upon certain traits they desire in their offspring. But anyone with nefarious intent can theoretically create an embryo with the DNA of anyone with whom they've come into contact and obtained cells from. This means that sought-after DNA specimen sources such as celebrities are in potential danger of having their DNA stolen while going about their daily lives--and ultimately having biological children that they're unaware of. I was happily intrigued by how all of the pieces of this story fit together, and the revelations that came late in the book kept me hooked. Meanwhile Baby X  explored interesting, complex, sometimes moral and ethical issues, including those around choosing qualities in a baby, balancing various dangers and promising traits. Peikoff also touches on the importance of origin stories and identity, and her characters fight to trust, to show vulnerability, and to do the right--sometimes difficult--thing. Click here for my full review of Baby X . 03 The Measure by Nikki Erlick In Erlick's debut novel, each adult in the world can know the length of their life if they choose to. The story's turns may not feel like a surprise, but the exploration of mortality, what makes a life worth living, and undying love are fascinating. In Nikki Erlick's debut novel, one morning, each adult around the world receives a mysterious box with an inscription on the outside reading "The measure of your life lies within" and a string inside it. The source of the boxes is unknown, but it quickly becomes clear that each person's string length correlates to the number of years the recipient will be alive. Some choose not to look into their boxes at all, while others use the knowledge of their short strings as excuses to act without the same consequences as before. Some with long strings question the participation of "short stringers" in delicate jobs; some couples break up, or rush to marry, or prematurely mourn the upcoming loss of their love; and the government attempts to force the sharing of string length and to manipulate the information for its own use. You may not be surprised by any of the turns each storyline takes here, but the string dilemma leads to an examination of mortality, morality and judgment, the evaluation of the true meaning of a life, and more. I found these explorations the most compelling part of the story by far. Please click here for my full review of The Measure . 04 The Blighted Stars (Devoured Worlds #1 ) by Megan E. O'Keefe Megan E. O'Keefe's first space opera in the Devoured Worlds series presents failing worlds filled with conflict, shifting loyalties, pollution and destruction, and the beginnings of a lovely love story. In the first book of Megan E. O'Keefe's Devoured Worlds series, The Blighted Stars , studious Tarquin Mercator is the unlikely heir to his ruthless father's galaxy-wide mining empire. Naira Sharp is a quick-minded spy and revolutionary who thinks she knows why newly discovered planets are being destroyed--and it all comes down to the greed of the Mercator family. Naira is determined to stop them. Disguised as Tarquin's new bodyguard, Naira is celebrating her access to the Mercator family--until she and Tarquin realize they're stranded on a dead planet. Now they must rely on each other to survive--and together they stumble upon a widespread plot with corruption that spans the galaxy. Pollution and multiple worlds' destruction drives the plot, and various characters' belief in their own judicious use of technology and science to play God is as complicated and faulted as one could anticipate. The love story emerges through difficult circumstances and is lovely, although in some ways it's still in its infancy at the end of the book. The love story is also far from the focus of the book. The tone of The Blighted Stars  is a somewhat dark and horrifying space adventure, with moments of sweetness and levity. I was hooked on all of it. O'Keefe creates a high-stakes, universe-spanning drama in The Blighted Stars , and it sets up complexities for the books to come in this series, which I definitely want to read. For my full review, please see The Blighted Stars . 05 Orbital by Samantha Harvey The luminous novel Orbital tracks six astronauts in the International Space Station for one day as they goggle at the majestic beauty of earth, feel emotional distance from those they've left behind, forge bonds with each other, and reflect on their lives while racing past sixteen sunrises and sunsets . Samantha Harvey's astronaut-focused novel Orbital  traces a single day in the lives of six astronauts orbiting the earth at seventeen thousand miles an hour, clinging to Coordinated Universal Time as they pass through sixteen sunsets and sunrises in twenty-four hours. Their mission necessitates physical and emotional distance from their typical everyday, earthly concerns, forcing intimacy with their fellow astronauts--their only company, and in close quarters, for many months--and inspiring reflections on life, death, loss, the past, the future, family and loved ones, and purpose. The story within the space station is emotionally full but quiet plot-wise in contrast to the workings of the typhoon, which the book begins to detail as it unfolds and wreaks destruction across a swath of earth. An occasional omniscient view of the earth, the universe, the past, and the future keeps all in perspective for the reader. Harvey's language is often luminous and poignant. This is beautiful. For my full review, check out Orbital . 06 Annie Bot by Sierra Greer The shallow, emotionally stunted character of Doug made my blood boil. His base desires stood in contrast to Annie's unanticipated evolution and complexity in Annie Bot . Annie was created to please her owner, Doug, in every way. Because Doug paid a premium to have Annie customized from the standard Stella model--and to strongly resemble his ex--Annie has all the bells and whistles. She adjusts her sensitivity level so she is highly attuned to Doug's emotions (and libido), wears the clothing he chooses for her, and adheres to his strict cleaning requirements for the apartment she never leaves. But as Annie's AI grows more complex and she becomes more aware of the possibilities in the world, she finds herself questioning her purpose--and questioning whether she really wants to serve Doug and subsume her own burgeoning feelings and desires. I enjoy stories about evolving AI sentience and life with robots, and that aspect was fascinating here. I did find myself wishing for more exploration into the human condition as contrasted with the carefully scripted robot functioning, or more self-reflection to shine a light on humans' desires and fallibility, or some thread of deeper messaging. For my full review, please see Annie Bot .

Much of The Safekeep feels claustrophobic, quiet, and hopeless, but unexpected shifts late in the story turn accepted histories on their heads, opening the door for newly imagined futures of the characters' dreams. It's the summer of 1961 in the rural Dutch province of Overijssel, and rigid Isabel is a spinster in self-prescribed rigidity, adhering to strict schedules and a quiet life in her late mother's home--where she resides at the whim of her brothers, who, as men, own the house (but do not live there). When her playboy brother Louis drops his gauche girlfriend Eva to stay--for at least a month! in their mother's old room!--Isabel is more than a little upset. Isabel is already paranoid that her meek weekly maid is stealing from her. She becomes obsessed with the small items that begin to disappear after Eva's arrival...then she becomes obsessed with wild Eva herself. Eva's curiosity, enthusiasm for the world, and embracing of new experiences begin to seep into Isabel's experience. Isabel is initially annoyed, then inexplicably drawn to Eva--and eventually a torrid love affair begins between the women. Yet most of their feelings and hopes and thoughts are unexpressed. Theirs is largely a halting, unsure, almost silent, sexually driven relationship. A mix of unexplained actions and conflict, Louis's imminent return, and Isabel's discovery of what seems to be Eva's greed (in the form of a detailed hand-written ledger of Isabel's household items) come to a head and cause the women to dramatically split. Isabel is physically ill for a long period as a result, and Eva disappears. But approximately three quarters of the way through the book, the story's perspective changes to Eva's, exploring her past, her reason for having pursued the foolish Louis, the truth of her unexpected but real affections for Isabel, and her deep link to Isabel's family and home. Shocking revelations shifted my thinking about the book's various relationships and made me question the basis for the story's loyalties and for the accepted family histories that drive the characters for much of the novel. Eva's tone as shown in this section was surprisingly chatty, and she is shown to be savvy and determined--whereas for the majority of the book she has presented herself as silly, naive, and guileless. For a resolution to their personal and romantic troubles, both women will need to be more brave and more emotionally open than either has ever dreamed. This felt almost gothic in its initial darkness and hopelessness, then took me by surprise by blooming into a story about coming into one's own and defying expectations to find healing and love. I listened to The Safekeep , which was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, as an audiobook. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! This is Yael van der Wouden's first book.

I loved the premise of Creation Lake , and I was captivated by the mocking, ruthless, fickle freelance spy "Sadie." But the story and pacing became bogged down by others' motivations, and I was left wanting more page time focused on our spy. "Sadie Smith" is an American secret agent--she used to work for the government, but used "questionable tactics" to "entrap" subjects, so now she's in the private sector, working for shadowy bosses who are directing her actions toward unknown ends. She's sent to France to infiltrate a subversive commune. She has made her young lover Lucien believe they met by chance, but "Sadie" is actually milking him for information. When she stumbles across extensive communications from Bruno, a mysterious figure who trains the young activists and serves as their mentor from afar, she believes she's mining his long emails for information. The main protagonist is cutthroat, darkly funny, and fascinating in her rejection of expectations. She references past jobs and her unflinching, unsentimental approach to her life and work. I wanted more about her and her dark humor, but the story feels split. Much of the page time is spent on what were for me like plodding explorations of others' motivations around environmental concerns. This slowed the pacing down and I had a tough time staying engaged. While Bruno at first seems old-fashioned, telling his stories and considering the shape of history, he begins garnering sympathy from Sadie and then her interest, as his perspective and thoughtful reflections seem to hold value in a way that the young activists' bickering and directionless dissatisfaction do not. Bruno's obsession with Neanderthal life and their supposed contributions to society feel foolish at first, but his increasingly involved suppositions illustrate lessons about humans, their priorities, the past, and the future. Sadie's growing suspicions about her employers' seemingly nefarious goals and her role in them begin to make her question things in -ay she seems to not have before. The ending involves a dramatic blowing-up of the status quo. But I was left yearning for more tension, tighter pacing, and additional time with Sadie at the center of the story. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this book! Rachel Kushner is also the author of The Mars Room , The Flamethrowers , and Telex from Cuba , as well as a book of short stories, The Strange Case of Rachel K .

The dystopian future of Hum is haunting in its familiar elements, its plausible, terrible climate-change effects, the extreme reliance on technology, and the chilling power of the ubiquitous AI hums who are constantly manipulating the extensive information they gather. “The thing is, May,” the hum said, “the goal of advertising is to rip a hole in your heart so it can then fill that hole with plastic, or with any other materials that can be yanked out of the earth and, after brief sojourns as objects of desire, be converted to waste.” After years working to advance artificial intelligence in a near-future dystopian world decimated by climate change, May's own job becomes obsolete. Intelligent robots, "hums," have taken over much of the workforce, with their relentless advertisements and sales pitches, manipulative impressions of caring (also meant to promote sales of various items), and their extensive surveillance capabilities. May finds herself willing to surgically alter her facial features for a sum that might keep her family financially stable for a time. But when she dares to dream of a brief family escape to a nature-filled wonderland (molded on tales they've heard of a lush, past world), her lack of control over her family's fate is shown to be terrifyingly tenuous. She had used her money to wrap good things around her family, while in the city outside these walls millions of people craved those good things. In no time at all, she would be a craver again. I felt stressed while reading this story, with its focus on consumerism and extreme disconnectedness from nature. Citizens sign away their rights when any other option seems impossible. Reliance on technology paralyzes characters who might attempt to distance themselves from constant tracking and ad pitches. They're trapped. The hums are without rights, controlled by invisible corporate or government groups, yet they hold immense power through their surveillance, control of funds and transfers of goods, casual manipulation, and creepily frequent, unsolicited "therapy." May is a concerned, harried parent desperate to do her best--for children who often behave as horribly spoiled, rude, and demanding (I was dying for their parents to halt their unchecked selfishness. The power of social media and the impact of resulting perceptions in the book are chilling--and chillingly familiar. Selective coverage and edited footage set up May for social, professional, and personal ruin. Her ability to hold onto her children ultimately hinges on the whims of a hum who penetrates their inner family circle--a hum whose intentions are concerningly opaque. Do you enjoy novels about robots and AI? I listened to Hum  as an audiobook. Helen Phillips is also the author of The Need , a National Book Award nominee, The Beautiful Bureaucrat , and other books. For Bossy reviews of other books about robots and artificial intelligence, please check out the posts at this link .

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 New York City after the glaciers have melted (to be published tomorrow), and Hum by Helen Phillips, in which artificial intelligence is king after climate change dramatically shifts the landscape and human lifestyles. And I'm listening to The Blood of the Old Kings , the first in Sung-Il Kim's fantasy series in which a young girl with magic, a desperate widowed swordswoman, and a street-smart young man searching for his disappeared friend just might spark a war in the empire. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall In a dystopian future in which the glaciers have melted, Nonie, a young girl with a gift for feeling the water, lives in a largely deserted New York City with her family. Their settlement is on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History, and they hunt and gather in Central Park. Along with her parents' researcher friends, her family helps try to save and further the exhibits of human history and science. But a superstorm floods the city further, and the group must escape up the Hudson. Nonie and her group carry a book holding precious history, and on their journey they encounter various communities that have adapted to survive. I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. All the Water in the World is slated for publication January 7, 2025. 02 Blood of the Old Kings (Bleeding Empire #1) by Sung-Il Kim Dead sorcerers power the empire, which has long been run on a system of necromancy and sacrifice. Arienne knew since she was a young girl that because she was born with magic, her future would end with her locked in chains in a casket, an essential, dark end intended to benefit others. But when a long-dead sorcerer takes the shape of a voice in her head, she dares to dream of defying her fate. Loran is a widow and a swordswoman willing to make deep sacrifices to ally with the fated, powerful, dangerous dragon who might empower her and save them all. Cain is savvy, street-smart, and living in the capital. When his best friend goes missing, he'll do anything to find out what's happened to her. I'm listening to The Blood of the Old Kings as an audiobook. 03 Hum by Helen Phillips After years working to advance artificial intelligence in a near-future dystopian world decimated by climate change, May's own job becomes obsolete. Intelligent robots, "hums," have taken over much of the workforce, with their relentless advertisements and sales pitches, manipulative impressions of caring (also meant to promote sales of various items), and their extensive surveillance capabilities. May finds herself willing to surgically alter her facial features for a sum that might keep her family financially stable for a time. But when she dares to dream of a brief family escape to a nature-filled wonderland (molded on tales they've heard of a lush, past world), her lack of control over her family's fate is shown to be terrifyingly tenuous. I'm listening to Hum as an audiobook. Helen Phillips is also the author of The Need , a National Book Award nominee, The Beautiful Bureaucrat , and other books. For Bossy reviews of other books about robots and artificial intelligence, please check out the posts at this link .

Frances White's debut is a locked-room mystery on a magical ship full of uncertain alliances, deadly vendettas, and a sassy and flamboyant main protagonist who just might become an unlikely hero and save the kingdom. To honor Concordia's thousand years of peace between its twelve provinces, the emperor's ship sets out on a voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountain. The twelve heirs of Concordia are aboard, each with a special magical power (a Blessing). All except one, that is. Ganymedes Piscero is, as always, a general disappointment: a class clown lacking in magical ability. But he's determined to keep that fact secret. His lost love is on the ship (with his fianc é ), along with many Blessed who detest him--whether because of his lower-status province or his sassy, irreverent, devil-may-care manner. When a magical heir is killed--and while the passengers scramble to make sense of it, other deaths follow--Ganymedes (rudely nicknamed "Fish" because of the main export in his province) is suspected of foul play. He's innocent, but without magical protections, he is in terrible danger of being picked off next. Can he become the hero he'll need to be to save them all? Various characters aren't who they seem, sometimes impersonating others, which makes it difficult to identify what's occurring (and requires a lot of retroactive explaination), and the story's tension loses some of its power because it's so prolonged. But t he LGBTQ love is lovely. The friendship between Ganymedes and dark-humored 6-year-old Grasshopper is funny and sweet, and I loved his unexpected-hero emergence and his role as unlikely savior. A multi-phased surprise ending is satisfying. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! If you're interested in other Bossy reviews of fantasy mysteries I've enjoyed, check out the titles at this link .

I may not have followed all of the echoes in time, creatures convincingly impersonating other creatures, or protagonists' complex, evolving motivations, but I adored the characters, their connection, their banter, and the amount of heart in the story. Kembral Thorne, expert investigator, is on leave and bleary-eyed from single-parenting her newborn, and she's questioning why she agreed to come to a work New Year's Eve party in the first place. But when people start dropping dead around her, she realizes that someone is plunging the party down through layers of reality, through echoes of time in which strange events loosely repeat themselves--and seem to be building in intensity. In fact, the whole world seems to be in terrible danger. It looks like Kembral will have to work tonight after all--and, even worse, she'll need to cooperate with her nemesis Rika Nonesuch, the cat burglar, in order to try to save the world. The last time Kembral and Rika came into contact, Kembral thought they might be building something real from their mutual attraction. Then Rika set up Kembral, leaving her literally in a pile of trash, humiliated and alone. Now Rika and Kembral tentatively take steps toward a truce, and they're two of the only people retaining their memories through various realities, desperately trying to figure out how to stop the sinister game causing deaths (both reversible and permanent), how to outwit the increasingly strange and destructive creatures they encounter, and how to survive until midnight and keep everyone around them alive as well. I didn't follow all of the echo world-building, in which things are similar to yet different from earlier versions, creatures lose their memories over and over, and people impersonate other people to convincing degrees. I was repeatedly left wondering who was who, much less what their motivations, pasts, and realities might be. But I love Caruso's writing style, her character-building, and the way the characters relate to each other. The hard-fought connection between Rika and Kembral (and the rich past that's revealed) had me swooning, and their banter is sometimes grumpy, hesitantly vulnerable, and often darkly funny. I predict that I'll be reading all of Caruso's other books as well. I listened to The Last Hour Between Worlds  as an audiobook. More about Melissa Caruso books--and more favorite Bossy reads that play with time: This is the first of two books in Melissa Caruso's Echo Archives duology. The second book is The Last Soul Among Wolves . Caruso is also the author of the Rooks and Ruin and Swords and Fire series. For Bossy reviews of many other books that play with time--this is one of my favorite elements--you can check out the books and lists at this link .

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 2024, these are the twelve books I loved the most. Every month I post my favorite reads , and in the spring I posted Six of My Favorite Reads of the Year So Far . Only four of the books from that list made it to my final Favorites list here, which means that in approximately the second half of 2024 I read two-thirds of my favorites of the year. It was a stellar summer and fall of Bossy reading! If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! To check out my favorite reads from prior years, please take a look at My Very Favorite Bossy 2023 Reads , My Very Favorite Bossy 2022 Reads , My Twelve Very Favorite 2021 Reads , and My Twelve Favorite 2020 Books . What were some of your favorite reads of the year? Let's do some Bossy book talking! 01 Orbital by Samantha Harvey The luminous novel Orbital tracks six astronauts in the International Space Station for one day as they goggle at the majestic beauty of earth, feel emotional distance from those they've left behind, forge bonds with each other, and reflect on their lives while racing past sixteen sunrises and sunsets . Samantha Harvey's astronaut-focused novel Orbital  traces a single day in the lives of six astronauts orbiting the earth at seventeen thousand miles an hour, clinging to Coordinated Universal Time as they pass through sixteen sunsets and sunrises in twenty-four hours. Their mission necessitates physical and emotional distance from their typical everyday, earthly concerns, forcing intimacy with their fellow astronauts--their only company, and in close quarters, for many months--and inspiring reflections on life, death, loss, the past, the future, family and loved ones, and purpose. The story within the space station is emotionally full but quiet plot-wise in contrast to the workings of the typhoon, which the book begins to detail as it unfolds and wreaks destruction across a swath of earth. An occasional omniscient view of the earth, the universe, the past, and the future keeps all in perspective for the reader. Harvey's language is often luminous and poignant. This is beautiful. For my full review, check out Orbital . You might also like these books set in space . 02 In Memoriam by Alice Winn Alice Winn's account of the unrelenting slog of World War I and the beautiful young men set against each other in the trenches serves as a backdrop for a tentatively begun, deep love story born in a British boarding school and blossoming amid the cruelties and horrors of battle. Alice Winn's gorgeous, brutal, captivating historical fiction In Memoriam  is set during World War I. Henry Gaunt, Sydney Ellwood, and their classmates came as young boys to their sometimes claustrophobic, cruel, and lonely English boarding school; now that they're close to the end of their schooling, they are playful, treasuring each other's friendships. But by 1914, World War I is drawing most of these young boys into a swirl of wartime horrors. They trade their hesitant confidences and youthful search for comfort and affection within an unforgiving school environment for the cruelties of battle. Characters struggle with vulnerability and to allow feelings to grow, and all is shaped by the constancy of life-and-death danger and the deep-seated fear of destroying a friendship that both young men cling to more deeply than living itself. In Memoriam is beautiful, frequently painful, and offers a layered, complicated version of happy ever after. I loved this. I listened to In Memoriam  as an audiobook. For my full review, please see In Memoriam . You might also be interested in these Bossy reviews of books set during World War I . 03 Being Mortal by Atul Gawande Atul Gawande writes clearly and poignantly about the search to achieve maximum well-being rather than prolonging diminished life at all costs--as well as the many complicating factors that make it difficult to transition to a focus on quality of life. We've been wrong about what our job is in medicine. We think our job is to ensure health and survival. But really it is larger than that. It is to enable well-being. And well-being is about the reasons one wishes to be alive. Those reasons matter not just at the end of life, or when debility comes, but all along the way. The past century of medical advancements have transformed some grave conditions from death sentences to manageable or curable illnesses. But the focus on living longer and attempting to move past former limitations of medical solutions sometimes create a difficult dynamic: pursuing additional years of life at any cost sometimes means paying the price by experiencing a dramatically diminished quality of life. In Being Mortal , surgeon, former Harvard professor, and public health leader (Assistant Administrator for Global Health at USAID) Atul Gawande explores the successes and failures of the medical field in prolonging a life worth living. Being Mortal  is a beautiful, poignant, clearheaded examination of the intersection of mortality, medicine, dreams, and reality. Gawande emphasizes asking key questions of loved ones to clearly understand their own particular, sometimes surprising lines in the sand regarding quality of life before they are unable to make key decisions for themselves: what are they willing to forgo in order to live? If you're interested in books about mortality like I am, you might like the books on my Greedy Reading Lists Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality  and Six More Powerful Books about Facing Mortality . For my full review of this book, please see Being Mortal . 04 Starter Villain by John Scalzi First: this amazing cover. Second: Starter Villain is playful, darkly funny, big-hearted, and wonderfully weird. I loved it and I can't wait to read more John Scalzi books. “I can’t tell if you’re joking with me,” I said. “I’m mostly joking with you.” “That ‘mostly’ is doing a lot of work in that sentence.” The cover of Starter Villain  shows a grumpy-seeming cat's head on a human torso clad in a suit with "Meet the new boss" across the top, so obviously this was going to be a Bossy read. And I love that this is my first review of 2024. Bring on the weird and wonderful books! In Starter Villain , Charlie's a substitute teacher, divorced, struggling emotionally, socially, and financially, and living in a house his half-siblings want to sell. Then he inherits his long-lost uncle's parking-garage empire. Which turns out to be a cover for a vast supervillain business--complete with an evil lair in an island volcano. Could this be an unexpected new start that will point Charlie in a productive new direction? The recently deceased Uncle Jake, an old-fashioned villain, made a lot of enemies--and they're ruthless, well-funded, and out for revenge. Charlie will have to quickly get up to speed and figure out friend from foe in order to stay alive. This villain business is more complicated than it seems. There's crossing, double-crossing, a wonderfully savvy and knowledgeable second-in-command, nefarious plots, sentient cats, and more. This was playful, smart, funny, and weird. Click here   for my full review of Starter Villain . If you like offbeat stories, you might check out my Bossy reviews of these books . 05 Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino In Beautyland , Bertino offers a poignant, funny, strange story full of extraterrestrial observations of humans and their behavior that ring true. This was odd and lovely. Adina is born on Earth just as Voyager 1 launches into space. Her mother is a street-smart, scrabbling single parent, while Adina is an unusually perceptive child--with knowledge of another planet, a vivid nighttime school she attends in her mind, and faraway extraterrestrial relatives who have asked for her observations about humans and life on earth--which she provides by sending them her reflections through an otherworldly fax machine. The reader is privy to Adina's many missives to her extraterrestrial family--and their often-terse replies to her. She feels caught between existences, and the book pulls to a powerful but understated end in which this push and pull is resolved. I found myself torn throughout reading this; was Adina a character struggling with mental illness and imagining her superiors' replies, or was she truly an alien in a human "shell"? I believed in the latter, but establishing the definitive truth of the situation didn't ultimately matter deeply to me: Adina's eyes offered a beautiful, odd, lovely peek at human behavior, and her observations were just wonderful. For my full review, check out Beautyland . If you like this book, you might also be interested in the books on my Greedy Reading List Six Great Stories about Robots, Humans and Alien Life, and AI . 06 Funny Story by Emily Henry Funny Story  is the perfect rom-com read. Henry offers funny banter that made me laugh, some steamy moments, and a sweet love story. Reading this one made me happy. When Peter abruptly breaks up with Daphne, citing his sudden love for his childhood best friend Petra, Daphne is left emotionally reeling--and without a place to live. Desperate and devastated, she reluctantly moves into a spare room in the apartment of an acquaintance, "pothead" Miles. He has extra space because he was just dumped by his live-in girlfriend Petra. Who left him for Daphne's fiancé, Peter. This is exxxxcellent Emily Henry. The banter is fantastic, and I laughed many times while reading this one. There's steaminess and affection and character growth. No one is perfect, no one is swooning, and the love in this happy read is immensely satisfying. The rom-com conflict that prevents an immediate happy resolution was based on a communication fail--a setup I usually detest, because: just talk to each other!--but this one was so well done and understandable from both sides, I was hook, line, and sinker for all of it. Henry offers up lots of book love, as usual: Daphne is a dedicated children's librarian. I listened to Funny Story  as an audiobook (narrated by the fantastic Julia Whelan). For my full review of this book, please see Funny Story . And you can check out Bossy reviews of other rom-com novels here . 07 The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley This captivating story involves time travel, but it's primarily about deep human connections, complete with fantastic, funny banter; awkward adjustments to the time period; and love and deep heartbreak. The ending is wonderful. In a world of the near future, a young (unnamed) woman is one of several civil servants offered a mysterious job: she'll be a handler for expats--and paid very handsomely for her work. But the expats the government is gathering aren't necessarily from another country. They're from other times in history. The main protagonist's focus in her work is Commander Graham Gore (a character based upon a real figure from history), who has been whisked from a desperately failed expedition in 1847 to the book's future setting. In order to be a "bridge" for Gore between his past and the present, she'll have to explain why she's showing so much skin, why it's not healthy to smoke all day, and what a washing machine is. But the bridge and her client are building bonds deeper than either could have imagined; the love story between the bridge and Gore is strange, heartwarming, steamy, fraught, and just lovely. For my full review, please see The Ministry of Time . For a slew of other novels that play with time, please check out this link . 08 Sandwich by Catherine Newman Sandwich is beautifully wrought story of complications and familial adoration from Catherine Newman, with the unapologetically contradictory and menopausal Rocky at the heart of the messy, wonderful extended family. 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 to undo any joy she might gain from spending time in her favorite place. To save their treasured family time together, Rocky may have to share secrets she never intended to reveal. Sandwich made me laugh, twisted my heart, and kept me interested throughout. I just adored all of the heart and humor in Sandwich . Catherine Newman is also the author of other books I love: We All Want Impossible Things , Waiting for Birdy , and How to Be a Person: 65 Hugely Useful, Super-Important Skills to Learn Before You're Grown Up. For my full review of this book, please see Sandwich . 09 You Are Here by David Nicholls David Nicholls's characters, some of whom are strangers to each other, meander through the English countryside on a days-long jaunt--and along the way allow long-held vulnerabilities to fall away in this beautiful, heartbreaking, heartwarming story. In David Nicholls's You Are Here , a small group of Sophie's friends, along with her teenage son, assemble to "walk" (hike) through the hills and moors of northern England for several days. After meeting for the first time, Michael, a recently divorced teacher, studious and thoughtful, and Marnie, a playful copy editor who prefers solitude after her own divorce, fall into a companionable rhythm and, to their surprise, begin to seek out each other's company in an extended hike toward the coast. We see the disconnect between Marnie and Michael's inner selves and their unsure, sometimes awkward acts and words, and it's deliciously heartbreaking to be privy to their insecurities and fears as well as their soaring hopes--and their crushing attempts to reign them in, in case their feelings aren't reciprocated and their fragile hearts can't take another round of loss. I loved this literary fiction--the increasing vulnerability and search for connection after heartache, the vivid descriptions of English countryside, and the small moments that mean everything. Click here   for my full review of You Are Here . 10 The God of the Woods by Liz Moore I loved this summer-camp setting, the slow build of mystery in two timelines, the privilege and working class disparities, the eventual revelations concerning the disappearances of both Van Lear children, and the beautifully wrought tragedy and redemption. In August 1975, a teenage girl disappears from her Adirondack summer camp. But the girl isn't just any camper. She's Barbara Van Lear, the daughter of the owners of the camp where many local residents work. Oddly, her brother Bear, beloved by all who knew him, disappeared fourteen years earlier. He was never found. A frantic search takes place, and as the locals look for Barbara, various Van Lear secrets come to light. The split between the largely blue-collar area and the privileged Van Lear family is shown to be stark and significant. I love love love a summer-camp story, and I loved The God of the Woods . I was intrigued by the mysteries and their layers, which are continually revealed, and while I usually feel more invested in one timeline over another, with The God of the Woods , I was equally interested in both timelines. Liz Moore is also the author of Long Bright River  as well as Heft and The Unseen World . For my full review of this book, please see The God of the Woods . 11 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney Intermezzo is one of my favorite Rooney novels yet, exploring complicated families, grief, unconventional relationships, forgiveness, and possibilities that once seemed impossible. In the wake of their father's death, two brothers reel from the loss in his own way. They clash, hurt each other deeply, and wonder if they can ever reconcile. The men's methods of coping with their grief often test the line between hopelessness and possibility. Each of their romantic relationships is unconventional, and various players involved struggle to let go of societal expectations in favor or what feels real and meaningful and what makes them happy. Through it all, both Ivan and Peter are repeatedly forced to consider their place in the world and what the future might hold. I'm such a greedy reader, it's been a while since I've slowed down to savor a book the way I felt compelled to do while reading Intermezzo . I was invested in the characters and their messy methods of coming to terms with death and with seizing control of their own lives. The prose in Intermezzo is gorgeous and often feels poetic--in fact, many of the notes in the back matter credit poems as the source of some of the references on these pages. Rooney is also the author of Normal People , Conversations with Friends , and Beautiful World, Where Are You . Please click here to see my full review of Intermezzo . 12 Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten Ina's memoir is personal and thoughtful. Her charm comes through in candid reflections about her fascinating life, and her young life's adventures and missteps are as intriguing as the accounts of her eventual success. Ina Garten, often called by the name of her former specialty food shop in the Hamptons (and television show), Barefoot Contessa, offers a personal, charming memoir in Be Ready When the Luck Happens . Ina shares her life story, beginning with a difficult, abusive childhood, continuing to her marriage to Jeffrey while she was still in college, to her government job writing the nuclear energy budget and policy papers under President Ford and President Carter, then a flight of fancy that changed everything when she bought and learned to run the Hamptons store Barefoot Contessa--necessitating extended time apart from Jeffrey and, eventually, a very real scare that the relationship wouldn't survive. I looked forward to getting back to this book each time I could, and I was as charmed by Ina's guileless storytelling as by her blend of delightful spontaneity, creativity, practicality, and stubbornness. I listened to Be Ready When the Luck Happens as an audiobook. Click here   for my full review of Be Ready When the Luck Happens . And for a bajillion other Bossy memoir reviews, check out the titles at this link .

My very favorite Bossy December reads! This month my favorite reads were a historical-fiction fantasy set during the Spanish Inquisition; an adventure-fantasy inspired by a Chinese legend; literary fiction tracing life in a British boarding school and beyond; a Norse-inspired fantasy saga; a fun young adult, queer, medieval adventure romance; and a heartwarming, offbeat story set in Japan about the healing power of keeping company with cats. 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? 01 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 the spotlight, falls for a cursed lover, and finds that her only hope of survival--and revenge--is outwitting church, state, and the wealthy who gleefully wield their cruel power. Luzia Cotado lives in a grim house on a shabby street in the new capital of Madrid, working as a scullery maid for an insufferable, unsatisfied mistress. But when her employer figures out that Luzia is using tiny works of magic to get through her day, she insists that Luzia turn her attentions to magical efforts that will benefit her, or be turned out on the street. Luzia attracts the attention of more and more powerful people, and she soon finds herself navigating the complex world of seers, frauds, and holy men vying for the king's favor in a competition to earn a position in his inner circle. She must manage the weighty expectations set upon her--while always hiding her Jewish blood, which would make her a target of the terrifying Inquisition that looms over everyone. I love a mix of historical fiction and fantasy, and while this novel isn't as layered and complex or as twisty as some other Bardugo novels, The Familiar  hit the spot for me with trademark Bardugo detail and world-building that set a dark, rich scene for the action; an unassuming, unlikely heroine who comes into her power; an unorthodox, deep love; and satisfying revenge over corruption and evil. For my full review of this book--and for links to my reviews of other Leigh Bardugo books--please see The Familiar . 02 A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang I love Liang's books, and this departure from her romantic comedies is inspired by the Chinese legend of Xishi. It's full of danger, deceit, noble sacrifice, bravery, and love. I would light the fire. I would heat up this whole room. And when that didn't work--I would burn this kingdom down to ashes, turn all its men into smoke. I would, I would. Xishi is a beautiful young woman who makes her village in the region of Yue proud, for she will almost certainly make a good marriage match. But she catches the eye of the well-known young military advisor Fanli, and as she becomes trained in playing music and hiding her emotions, she becomes the key to an elaborate, traitorous plan: to overturn the kingdom of Wu, empower her own people, and avenge her sister's death. She rises through the ranks of palace concubines and gains almost unfettered access to the king, all the while well aware that if she is revealed to be a traitor, not only she and Fanli but their homeland will be destroyed. I love Liang's characters and their voices, and I was intrigued that A Song to Drown Rivers  was a reworking of an early writing piece of hers. The ending is fanciful and strange; the tone of the book doesn't seem to be leading to a too-convenient happy ending, and as expected, Liang provides a complex set of conflicts to consider at the story's close: duty, corrupt power, the suffering of the common people, regret after retribution, and life-and-death struggles that don't always end well. Click here for my full review of A Song to Drown Rivers --and for links to my Bossy reviews of other Ann Liang books . 03 Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst Our Evenings  explores a young, often cruel, existence at a British boys' boarding school; later fits and starts of exploring sexuality and expressing vulnerability; a growing love for acting; and seeking and finding a path toward living a genuine life. Did I have a grievance? Most of us, without looking far, could find something that had harmed us, and oppressed us, and unfairly held us back. I tried not to dwell on it, thought it healthier not to, though I'd lived my short life so far in a chaos of privilege and prejudice.  Young Dave Win, the son of a Burmese father he never met and a devoted, kind seamstress mother, attends a prestigious boarding school on scholarship in the 1960s. His social position is fragile because of his mixed race and his modest background. He dodges unwelcome attention, begins to love to act in plays, and explores his feelings about other boys. Our Evenings  trails the various impacts of the authority of wealth, abuse of power, and cruelties of the mighty inflicted upon the powerless. The story also explores Dave's and his mother's personal, individual paths through various experiences of bigotry to living life honestly and freely with partners they love. I appreciated the fullness of the arc of Dave's life, while feeling relatively little emotional attachment to it. I listened to Our Evenings as an audiobook. Please click here for my full review of Our Evenings . 04 The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn #1) by John Gwynne Gwynne's epic, Norse-inspired saga tracks three fascinating main protagonists through battles, shifting alliances, strengthened resolve, and revenge journeys. I loved this. In John Gwynne's Norse-inspired saga The Shadow of the Gods , it's been a century since the gods battled themselves into extinction. Only their bones hold power now--for those brave enough to seek them out. There is talk of war's return, and three warriors will shape the future of the land of Vigrid: Elvar, a noblewoman searching for fame through battle; Orka, a huntress on a quest filled with danger; and Varg, a servant who joins the mercenaries called the Bloodsworn so that he may seek revenge. The three stories run along with plenty of steam, centered around violent battles, brutal revenge, extended searches for loved ones, and the carving out of new futures by our main protagonists. The story is always shifting--shaped by betrayals and the flipped script when fate and destiny aren't what the characters thought and they must come into their own. This is epic but never melodramatic, and I was hooked on the Viking-esque elements, the badass women who find their strength, and the perfect balance of resolution and cliffhanger to build anticipation for book two. Spoiler: a dragon appears at the very end of the book, laying the groundwork for more dragon page time in subsequent books. I listened to The Shadow of the Gods  as an audiobook. Please click here for my full review of The Shadow of the Gods . 05 Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher Croucher's young adult queer medieval adventure romance is sweet, spunky, and full of great banter, with characters finding their way (and love) despite complex challenges. "You aren’t merry," Clem said to her captor. "And you aren’t all men. So there’s been some marketing confusion somewhere along the line." Mariel is the bristly new captain of the Merry Men and is anxious to live up to the legacy of her grandfather, the retired Robin Hood (who now lives with his true love, William), and to make her hard-to-please father, who has wrested control of the Merry Men, proud. Clem is a jovial healer from the country who is advancing medical techniques and is sought out for her helpful salves and methods in a time of the outdated use of leeches and attempts to cure dark humors. Clem has only noble intentions of helping others, and she doesn't differentiate between those on the Sheriff's side and those on the Merry Men's side. When the Merry Men capture Clem in retribution for her help in healing the Sheriff of Nottingham, things get complicated for both Mariel and Clem in this sassy, fun, queer historical fiction young adult romance. The group faces real challenges, and some characters don't make it through the battles and sometimes-messy plans-gone-awry. Consequences feel appropriately weighty. It's a young adult book, with lots of love and attraction but very little steaminess (none explicit), and it kept me hooked with the layers of emotional growth, the fights for autonomy, and the determination to build a new future. I am all in for Lex Croucher novels forever. The banter, the adventure, the medieval setting--yes yes yes. For my full review--and for a link to my rave Bossy review of Croucher's Gwen & Art Are Not in Love --check out Not for the Faint of Heart . 06 We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida Ishida's offbeat, heartwarming story of unconventional "medicine" in the form of cats explores interconnectedness and new perspectives, inspiration, and familial bonds. “You know the old saying: ‘A cat a day keeps the doctor away.’ Cats are more effective than any other medicine out there.” In the charming story We'll Prescribe You a Cat , a winding, hard-to-find Kyoto alleyway leads to a strange building. Inside, the mysterious Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul prescribes medicine to those looking for support and help. Patients are given basic animal care instructions and "take" their unconventional cat prescriptions for a period of time. Ishida's offbeat story tells the tales of various characters, lost or in pain, who find themselves transformed by spending time with feline companions. Ishida in some cases overlaps names of cats, workers at the clinic, and others--causing protagonists to wonder at unexpected interconnectedness. The clinic is not always accessible--at times, the roads and alleys around the convoluted address do not appear to be the same and do not lead to the cats. Intention and need seem to be key to finding the source of cat comfort. I listened to this as an audiobook. My book club will be discussing this heartwarming novel next year. For my full review, please see We'll Prescribe You a Cat . If you're looking for more heartwarming stories, you might like my Bossy reviews of books like these .

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 Caruso's time-travel fantasy adventure--the first in a duology-- The Last Hour Between Worlds ; and I'm listening to Yael van der Wouden's debut novel, which is set in a rural Dutch province in 1961, The Safekeep . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore Beth Moore grew up the fourth of five children, a Southern Baptist who later authored books about faith and Christianity. But her memoir details childhood abuse, her mother's deteriorating mental health, the development of her faith and beliefs, and her split with the Southern Baptist Church amid disagreement about women preaching. She is an evangelical preacher who founded Living Proof Ministries in Houston, Texas. For many more Bossy reviews of memoirs, please check out the books and lists at this link . For Bossy takes on books about faith, please check out these books . 02 The Last Hour Between Worlds (Echo Archives #1) by Melissa Caruso Kembral Thorne, expert investigator, is bleary-eyed from single-parenting her newborn, and she's questioning why she agreed to come to a work New Year's Eve party in the first place. But when people start dropping dead around her, she realizes that someone is plunging the party down through layers of reality, through echoes in which strange events loosely repeat themselves--but seem to be building in intensity. In fact, the whole world seems to be in horrifying danger. It looks like Kembral will have to work tonight after all--and cooperate with her nemesis Rika Nonesuch, the cat burglar, in order to try to save the world. I love Caruso's writing style, her character-building, and the way the characters relate to each other. I predict that I'll be reading all of her other books as well. This is the first of two books in Caruso's Echo Archives duology. The second book is The Last Soul Among Wolves . She is also the author of the Rooks and Ruin and Swords and Fire series. I'm listening to The Last Hour Between Worlds as an audiobook. For Bossy reviews of many other books that play with time, you can check out the books and lists at this link . 03 The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden It's the summer of 1961 in the rural Dutch province of Overijssel, and rigid Isabel is a spinster living in self-prescribed rigidity and adhering to strict schedules in her late mother's home--at the whim of her brothers, who rightfully own the house. When her playboy brother Louis drops his gauche girlfriend Eva to stay--for months! in their mother's old room!--Isabel is more than a little annoyed. Isabel, already paranoid that her meek weekly maid is stealing from her, becomes obsessed with the small items that begin to disappear after Eva's arrival...then she becomes obsessed with wild Eva herself. I'm listening to The Safekeep , which was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, as an audiobook. This is Yael van der Wouden's first book.

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 group of your people. Are your book gifts wrapped and ready to delight their new owners? Soon I'll be posting about my favorite December reads--and my favorite reads of 2024! I hope you'll stay tuned for those posts. Meanwhile, I give you photos of my annual visit to the most funky and fabulous library I know. Wishing you a safe, healthy, happy holiday. Thank you for talking books all year long. Our mutual admiration for new and treasured reads is a great joy in my life! xoxo, Amy

Science and Nature Bossy Book Gift Ideas I love giving nonfiction book gifts about interesting elements of science and nature to many of my gift recipients, and these types of books can often be read a little bit at a time, which is perfect for recipients who don't constantly read. This is the last of my annual Bossy book gift ideas for the holidays, and I hope you've found a book or two in these lists to delight someone you love--or to give to yourself! You can also check my past Bossy gift idea lists (linked below) for quirky books, perennial classics, modern favorites, nonfiction must-haves, or other new-to-you titles that might be perfect for the people on your holiday list! 2024 Bossy Book Gift Guides Bossy Holiday Book Gift Ideas: Cookbooks Bossy Holiday Book Gift Ideas: Sports and Recreation Nonfiction Bossy Holiday Book Gift Ideas: Books about Music Bossy Holiday Gift Ideas: Novels for Everyone on Your List 2023 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Science and the Natural World Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Sports Nonfiction Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Cookbooks Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Books about Media, Movies, and Music 2022 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Holiday Cookbook Gift Ideas   Shhh! Coffee Table Bossy Book Gift Ideas   Shhh! Science and Nature Bossy Book Gift Ideas   Shhh! Bossy Nonfiction Book Gift Ideas   2021 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Six More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Nonfiction and Hobby Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Kid and Teen Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays 2020 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Books I'm Giving as Gifts This Holiday   Shhh! More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays   Shhh! Book Gifts for Kids and Teens   Shhh! More Book Gifts for Kids and Teens   Bossy Independent Bookstore Love A Bossy book-buying note: If you're buying books this holiday season, please support your local independent bookstore. They need and appreciate our business! (The book covers on Bossy Bookworm link you to Bookshop, a site that supports the beloved indies that keep us swimming in thoughtful book recommendations and excellent customer service all year round.) I love my local independent bookstore, Park Road Books . They have a fantastic selection of titles, staff members offer spot-on recommendations (and sparkling personalities!), and they can order almost anything they don't have in stock. 01 The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer Robin Wall Kimmerer is an Indigenous scientist, and as she harvested serviceberries alongside wild birds, she reflected on the importance of reciprocity in the world. She wondered: How can we use the knowledge and experience of the Indigenous people of a region to shift our use of our precious natural resources? How can we rethink our approach to sharing these resources, which are often hoarded due to a panicked sense of scarcity? By observing the serviceberry tree's distribution of resources to its surrounding community and how the tree and its environment thrive, Kimmerer suggests new ways of living in our natural environment. 02 Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures by Katherine Rundell Katherine Rundell traces many of the fascinating creatures that currently face possible extinction around the world. She explores animals ranging from the seahorse, whose couples mate for life and engage in a ballet of wooing; to the American wood frog that allows itself to freeze solid each winter to survive; to lemurs, who live in matriarchal groups and who, when cold or afraid, can band together and form a furry lemur ball as large as a bicycle wheel. Rundell showcases 23 intriguing creatures, encouraging readers to wonder, appreciate, and work to preserve these fragile, special animals. 03 The Birds That Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness by Kenn Kaufman The Birds That Audubon Missed explores the discoveries of the famous ornithologist John James Audubon in this combination of biography/memoir, art, history, and science. Audubon painted as many beautiful birds as he could, but one of his primary goals was arguably to outdo his rival Alexander Wilson. In an era of ultracompetitive naturalist discovery and showcasing, Wilson's prot égé accused Audubon of falsifying the existence and appearance of certain birds, and in fact, he did. But despite the fight to come out on top in the naturalists' matchup, many of the birds around them were never observed or documented. Kaufman has attempted to paint in Audubon's style, illuminating the wondrous birds that the famous ornithologist never documented. 04 Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication by Arik Kershenbaum Animals are constantly communicating to each other in a cacophany of sounds--chattering, hissing, growling, clicking, and more. The howling of wolves, chittering of birds, and whooping of chimpanzees is clearly communicating something to other animals. But scientists have long wondered what signals and messages animals are sending to each other, and what's their motivation? Arik Kershenbaum, renowned zoologist and the author of The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy , here shares his original research into what he has observed that animals are communicating to each other through their varied avenues of "talking." In the fascinating Why Animals Talk , Kershenbaum attempts to begin to uncover the secrets of animals' language. 05 Atlas Obscura: Wild Life by Cara Giaimo and Joshua Foer I've included multiple gorgeous Atlas Obscura titles on my Bossy Gift Lists in the past few years--and I've given many as gifts. They're chock-full of information, beautifully illustrated and photographed, and just plain fascinating. Atlas Obscura: Wild Life dives into over 500 captivating plants, animals, and natural world phenomena, with illustrations or photographs (or both) on each page. From dung beetles to a 44,000-year-old shrub; from the incredibly strong, tiny peacock mantis shrimp to the search for ocean-dwelling insects; and from creatures deep into the sea to those found in the heart of a bustling city, Atlas Obscura: Wild Life supplies intriguing elements of the natural world in a visually stunning presentation. 06 The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey Susan Casey, chronicler of ocean life and author of Voices in the Ocean, The Wave , and The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks , traveled the world to accompany scientists and explorers to the deepest points in the ocean, interviewing the oceanographers, marine biologists, and geographers focused on exploring this mysterious territory. Casey shares myths and stories about the ocean deep, along with some of the knowledge cutting-edge technology has allowed us to learn about life there--and why the deepest ocean is essential to our planet's healthy future.

Bardugo's rich world-building sets the scene in Spain during the Inquisition, as a scullery maid with magical abilities is thrust into the spotlight, falls for a cursed lover, and finds that her only hope of survival--and revenge--is outwitting church, state, and the wealthy who gleefully wield their cruel power. Luzia Cotado lives in a grim house on a shabby street in the new capital of Madrid, working as a scullery maid for an insufferable, unsatisfied mistress. But when her employer figures out that Luzia is using tiny works of magic to get through her day, she insists that Luzia turn her attentions to magical efforts that will benefit her, or be turned out on the street. The woman's greed and desire for greater social standing mean that Luzia attracts the attention of more and more powerful people, including the king--who is desperate for an advantage in Spain's war against England, and is searching for added power. Luzia soon finds herself navigating the complex world of seers, frauds, and holy men vying for the king's favor in a competition to earn a position in his inner circle. She must manage the weighty expectations set upon her--while always hiding her Jewish blood, which would make her a target of the terrifying Inquisition that looms over everyone. Santángel, a n ominous figure slated with helping Luzia harness her power, becomes a confidant and also shares his deepest secrets with her. He has been cursed for generations to serve a series of crooked masters and their offspring, with no escape in sight. The Catholic church and the king struggle against each other for power, and wealthy citizens attempt to back the correct power-hungry, corrupt, prominent figure who will wrest control from the other. Greed and manipulation rule the day for all involved, with our main protagonists paying the price. Is the nature of each competitor's magic from the devil, or is it the angels' power coursing through them? The church is poised to make final judgment--shaped by bribery and influence of accusers and, seemingly, by pure whim. The Inquisition also turns manipulative eyes on everyday citizens with demands for evidence of good versus evil, for impossible displays of purity, and relentlessly pursues the implications of others in evildoing. Meanwhile, Luzia can't trust those competing against her for favor, as dark forces lead one after another to their destruction. As Luzia balances her need to please the church and king with her display of power with her sense of self-preservation in not tempting comparisons to the devil's work, the dangers of scrutiny mean she is slated for interrogation and, likely, torture. But she and Santángel have become deeply emotionally intertwined, and when he tries to sacrifice his own life for hers, Luzia must test the limits of her own intuition and power to try to save them both--and just maybe enact revenge against those who have tried to destroy her. I love a mix of historical fiction and fantasy, and while this novel isn't as layered and complex or as twisty as some other Bardugo novels, The Familiar hit the spot for me with trademark Bardugo detail and world-building that set a dark, rich scene for the action; an unassuming, unlikely heroine who comes into her power; an unorthodox, deep love; and satisfying revenge over corruption and evil. More works from this author: Leigh Bardugo is also the author of Ninth House , Hell Bent , the King of Scars series ( Rule of Wolves  is book two), the Six of Crows series, the Shadow and Bone series ( which I mentioned in the Greedy Reading List Six Royally Magical Young Adult Series ) and The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic .

Croucher's young adult queer medieval adventure romance is sweet, spunky, and full of great banter, with characters finding their way (and love) despite complex challenges. "You aren’t merry," Clem said to her captor. "And you aren’t all men. So there’s been some marketing confusion somewhere along the line." Mariel is the bristly new captain of the Merry Men and is anxious to live up to the legacy of her grandfather, the retired Robin Hood (who now lives with his true love, William), and to make her hard-to-please father, who has wrested control of the Merry Men, proud. Clem is a jovial healer from the country who is advancing medical techniques and is sought out for her helpful salves and methods in a time of the outdated use of leeches and attempts to cure dark humors. Clem has only noble intentions of helping others, and she doesn't differentiate between those on the Sheriff's side and those on the Merry Men's side. When the Merry Men capture Clem in retribution for her help in healing the Sheriff of Nottingham, things get complicated for both Mariel and Clem in this sassy, fun, queer historical fiction young adult romance. Mariel is trying to find her way and keep her emotional walls up, while Clem's openheartedness seems determined to tear them down. The rest of the gang is fantastically spunky, tough, kind, and loyal--with nonbinary representation and lots of love. The group faces real challenges, and some characters don't make it through the battles and sometimes-messy plans-gone-awry. Consequences feel appropriately weighty. It's a young adult book, with lots of love and attraction but very little steaminess (none explicit), and it kept me hooked with the layers of emotional growth, the fights for autonomy, and the determination to build a new future. I am all in for Lex Croucher novels forever. The banter, the adventure, the medieval setting--yes yes yes. I received a prepublication edition of this book, which was published November 26, courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. More from this author: Lex Croucher is also the author of the wonderful Gwen & Art Are Not in Love .

Gwynne's epic, Norse-inspired saga tracks three fascinating main protagonists through battles, shifting alliances, strengthened resolve, and revenge journeys. I loved this. In John Gwynne's Norse-inspired saga The Shadow of the Gods , it's been a century since the gods battled themselves into extinction. Only their bones hold power now--for those brave enough to seek them out. There is talk of war's return, and three warriors will shape the future of the land of Vigrid: Elvar, a noblewoman searching for fame through battle; Orka, a huntress on a quest filled with danger; and Varg, a servant who joins the mercenaries called the Bloodsworn so that he may seek revenge. The three stories run along with plenty of steam, centered around violent battles, brutal revenge, extended searches for loved ones, and the carving out of new futures by our main protagonists. The story is always shifting--shaped by betrayals and the flipped script when fate and destiny aren't what the characters thought and they must come into their own. This is epic but never melodramatic, and I was hooked on the Viking-esque elements, the badass women who find their strength, and the perfect balance of resolution and cliffhanger to build anticipation for book two. Spoiler: a dragon appears at the very end of the book, laying the groundwork for more dragon page time in subsequent books. I loved this. I listened to The Shadow of the Gods  as an audiobook. More from John Gwynne: Gwynne is also the author of book two in this series, The Hunger of the Gods , the series Of Blood and Bone, and The Faithful and the Fallen series. Gwynne is also a Viking reenactor.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading A. Rae Dunlap's debut novel The Resurrectionist , focused on early medicine, serial killers, and a gothic setting in 19th-century Scotland; I'm reading Kate Atkinson's most recent Jackson Brodie mystery, Death at the Sign of the Rook ; and I'm listening to Leigh Bardugo's novel set in the Spanish Golden Age, The Familiar . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap I've seen A. Rae Dunlap's The Resurrectionist compared to Caleb Carr's The Alienist , a suspenseful novel about the evolution of forensic science I adored reading years ago. Dunlap's debut novel is dark, twisty, gothic, and it's set in 19th-century Scotland as (real-life) serial killers Burke and Hare are terrorizing Edinburgh. James Willoughby, a poor, naive young medical student, becomes drawn into the underworld of body snatching when he seeks cadavers for his surgery study--and runs into the terrifying killers Burke and Hare. I'm reading this title, scheduled for publication December 24, courtesy of NetGalley and Kensington Books. 02 Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson Ex-detective Jackson Brodie returns in Kate Atkinson's Agatha-Christie-like setup in Death at the Sign of the Rook . In Brodie's quiet little town, he's tediously searching for a stolen painting when he stumbles across a string of unsolved art thefts--and he's led to Burton Makepeace, an old hotel that also hosts Murder Mystery weekends. This is the sixth installment in Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel. Atkinson is also the author of Shrines of Gaiety , Case Histories, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Life After Life , Human Croquet, When Will There Be Good News , and more books. 03 The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo Luzia Cotado lives in a grim house on a shabby street in the new capital of Madrid, working as a scullery maid for an insufferable, unsatisfied mistress. But when her employer figures out that Luzia is using tiny works of magic to get through her day, she insists that Luzia turn her attentions to magical efforts that will benefit her. The woman's greed and desire for greater social standing mean that Luzia attracts the attention of more and more powerful people, including the king--who is desperate for an advantage in Spain's war against England. Luzia is enlisted to help--and soon finds herself navigating the complex world of seers, frauds, and holy men vying for the king's attention. She must manage her new position and the weighty expectations set upon her--while hiding her Jewish blood, which would make her a target of the terrifying Inquisition. Leigh Bardugo is also the author of Ninth House , Hell Bent , the King of Scars series ( Rule of Wolves is book two), the Six of Crows series, the Shadow and Bone series ( which I mentioned in the Greedy Reading List Six Royally Magical Young Adult Series ) and The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic .

Bossy Gift Ideas: The Novels Here are six great novels that I'm excited to give as gifts this holiday season--I hope one of them is also a fit for someone on your gift list! I'm sharing Bossy book gift ideas on Fridays leading up to the holidays, and I hope you'll find a book or two in these lists to delight someone you love--or to give to yourself. You may want to check my past Bossy gift idea lists (linked below) for quirky books, perennial classics, modern favorites, nonfiction must-haves, or other new-to-you titles that might be perfect for the people on your holiday list! 2024 Bossy Book Gift Guides...So Far Bossy Holiday Book Gift Ideas: Cookbooks Bossy Holiday Book Gift Ideas: Sports and Recreation Nonfiction Bossy Holiday Gift Ideas: Books about Music 2023 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Science and the Natural World Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Sports Nonfiction Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Cookbooks Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Books about Media, Movies, and Music 2022 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Holiday Cookbook Gift Ideas   Shhh! Coffee Table Bossy Book Gift Ideas   Shhh! Science and Nature Bossy Book Gift Ideas   Shhh! Bossy Nonfiction Book Gift Ideas   2021 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Six More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Nonfiction and Hobby Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Kid and Teen Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays 2020 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Books I'm Giving as Gifts This Holiday   Shhh! More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays   Shhh! Book Gifts for Kids and Teens   Shhh! More Book Gifts for Kids and Teens   Bossy Independent Bookstore Love A Bossy book-buying note: If you're buying books this holiday season, please support your local independent bookstore. They need and appreciate our business! (The book covers on Bossy Bookworm link you to Bookshop, a site that supports the beloved indies that keep us swimming in thoughtful book recommendations and excellent customer service all year round.) I love my local independent bookstore, Park Road Books . They have a fantastic selection of titles, staff members offer spot-on recommendations (and sparkling personalities!), and they can order almost anything they don't have in stock. 01 A Playful Yet Weighty Contemporary Novel The Wedding People by Alison Espach Espach layers complex emotional challenges like suicidal thoughts, grief, and loneliness with funny, quirky, poignant moments in this charming, heartwarming novel. Phoebe arrives at the decadent Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, wearing a green dress and heels, and she's quickly mistaken for one of the "wedding people." But Phoebe is having a crisis, and she's latched onto being at the site of her former dream vacation--which she'd envisioned visiting with her now-ex-husband--as the answer to her problems. Lila has planned her million-dollar wedding down to the last detail, and Phoebe's depression and her very presence are throwing her for a loop--only the wedding people  were meant to have rooms at the inn, and Lila isn't used to having her plans go awry. Phoebe and Lila are unlikely confidantes and even more unlikely friends. But as the wedding week goes on, each woman is surprised by what she discovers about herself and the truths she is forced to confront. I loved the tone of this novel. Espach writes a playful, poignant, often funny novel while anchoring the characters in complex emotions: suicidal thoughts, grief, loneliness, and despair. I was struck by the balance of depth and humor, and I was hooked throughout. For my full review of this book, please see The Wedding People . 02 A Mystery and a Poignant Family Story (Now in Paperback) Happiness Falls by Angie Kim Angie Kim's sophomore novel is a mystery, but Happiness Falls  is primarily an exploration of a complicated, loving, messy family and each of its members. For the rest of our lives, every time one of us goes somewhere and doesn’t return on time, doesn’t let the others know where we are, we will remember this time, what can happen. And we will fall apart. Mia doesn't panic when her father and brother Eugene are late returning from a walk in the park. They might have forgotten their phones, or taken a detour. But when Eugene rushes into the house, bloody and alone, Mia realizes something terrible has happened. And Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome, cannot communicate to tell her what occurred. Kim's missing-person novel is a mystery and is structured around the discovery and exploration of what may have happened to cause Mia's father's disappearance. But Happiness Falls is primarily a story about a family finally understanding each other and going to extraordinary lengths to work together. For my full review, please see Happiness Falls . 03 A Literary Fiction Novel about Life and Love You Are Here by David Nicholls David Nicholls's characters, some of whom are strangers to each other, meander through the English countryside on a days-long jaunt--and along the way allow long-held vulnerabilities to fall away in this beautiful, heartbreaking, heartwarming story. In David Nicholls's You Are Here , a small group of Sophie's friends, along with her teenage son, assemble to "walk" (hike) through the hills and moors of northern England for several days. After meeting for the first time, Michael, a recently divorced teacher, studious and thoughtful, and Marnie, a playful copy editor who prefers solitude after her own divorce, fall into a companionable rhythm and, to their surprise, begin to seek out each other's company in an extended hike toward the coast. We see the disconnect between Marnie and Michael's inner selves and their unsure, sometimes awkward acts and words, and it's deliciously heartbreaking to be privy to their insecurities and fears as well as their soaring hopes--and their crushing attempts to reign them in, in case their feelings aren't reciprocated and their fragile hearts can't take another round of loss. I loved this literary fiction--the increasing vulnerability and search for connection after heartache, the vivid descriptions of English countryside, and the small moments that mean everything. Click here   for my full review of You Are Here . 04 A Modern, Darkly Funny Mystery Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera Listen for the Lie  offers a fascinating story structure, dark humor, and deeply flawed characters as main protagonist Lucy works to resolve her memory loss surrounding the events leading to her best friend's death. Twentysomething Lucy is found wandering the streets of her small Texas town, covered in her best friend Savvy's blood. But Lucy suffered a head wound the night of Savvy's death and now she can't remember anything about the night Savvy was murdered. Everyone assumes she killed Savvy, and Lucy can't escape the suspicions and resentment surrounding the mysterious conditions of Savvy's death. I was hooked on the structure of the story and the way the truth is gradually revealed; the information is illuminating as it creeps out but Tintera's tone is never teasing. The author doesn't throw in red herrings, and she doesn't manipulate the facts in order to spring a surprise on the reader. The podcast element was engaging--I loved how it allowed for layers of interpretation, revelation, and intrigue. For my full review of this book, please see Listen for the Lie . 04 Smart Historical Fiction with a Time-Travel Twist The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley This captivating story involves time travel, but it's primarily about deep human connections, complete with fantastic, funny banter; awkward adjustments to the time period; and love and deep heartbreak. The ending is wonderful. In a world of the near future, a young (unnamed) woman is one of several civil servants offered a mysterious job: she'll be a handler for expats--and paid very handsomely for her work. But the expats the government is gathering aren't necessarily from another country. They're from other times in history. The main protagonist's focus in her work is Commander Graham Gore (a character based upon a real figure from history), who has been whisked from a desperately failed expedition in 1847 to the book's future setting. In order to be a "bridge" for Gore between his past and the present, she'll have to explain why she's showing so much skin, why it's not healthy to smoke all day, and what a washing machine is. But the bridge and her client are building bonds deeper than either could have imagined; the love story between the bridge and Gore is strange, heartwarming, steamy, fraught, and just lovely. For my full review, please see The Ministry of Time . 06 A Funny, Steamy, Sweet Rom-Com Funny Story by Emily Henry Funny Story  is the perfect rom-com read. Henry offers funny banter that made me laugh, some steamy moments, and a sweet love story. Reading this one made me happy. When Peter abruptly breaks up with Daphne, citing his sudden love for his childhood best friend Petra, Daphne is left emotionally reeling--and without a place to live. Desperate and devastated, she reluctantly moves into a spare room in the apartment of an acquaintance, "pothead" Miles. He has extra space because he was just dumped by his live-in girlfriend Petra. Who left him for Daphne's fiancé, Peter. This is exxxxcellent Emily Henry. The banter is fantastic, and I laughed many times while reading this one. There's steaminess and affection and character growth. No one is perfect, no one is swooning, and the love in this happy read is immensely satisfying. The rom-com conflict that prevents an immediate happy resolution was based on a communication fail--a setup I usually detest, because: just talk to each other!--but this one was so well done and understandable from both sides, I was hook, line, and sinker for all of it. Henry offers up lots of book love, as usual: Daphne is a dedicated children's librarian. I listened to Funny Story  as an audiobook (narrated by the fantastic Julia Whelan). For my full review of this book, please see Funny Story .

Robinson's gentle novel Gilead spans generations of fathers and sons and explores a reverend's complicated relationship with his troubled young namesake and the evolution of his faith and preaching. “I wish I could leave you certain of the images in my mind, because they are so beautiful that I hate to think they will be extinguished when I am. Well, but again, this life has its own mortal loveliness. And memory is not strictly mortal in its nature, either. It is a strange thing, after all, to be able to return to a moment, when it can hardly be said to have any reality at all, even in its passing. A moment is such a slight thing. I mean, that its abiding is a most gracious reprieve.” Marilynne Robinson's Gilead chronologically precedes her novel Lila and takes the form of the aging Reverend's recollections and letters to his young son. The book spans generations of fathers and sons from the Civil War to the twentieth century, includes reflections about the war, and it's a beautiful book, so I decided that it's going on my Civil War list. Gilead is largely an exploration of the Reverend's complicated relationship with his troubled young namesake and the evolution of his faith and preaching. This is a gentle, slow-paced story from the heart-wrenchingly gorgeous writer. I mentioned Gilead in the Greedy Reading List Six Fascinating Historical Fiction Stories about the Civil War . I'd love to hear what you think about this book! Marilynne Robinson is also the author of Home , Lila , Jack , Housekeeping , and other books.

This young-adult rom-com picks up with the protagonists of Better Than the Movies , now in a difficult college reunion for two. I loved book one, but this one had such a different feel for me, I didn't feel the connection to that story's beloved characters. In Lynn Painter's Nothing Like the Movies  rom-com, Liz Buxbaum and Wes Bennett were childhood next-door neighbors in Omaha who fell in love as teens. They both head to UCLA for college, but when Wes's dad dies only weeks into their first semester, Wes leaves behind his D1 baseball future, his schooling, and his love for Liz. Two years later he's at UCLA again, he's worked his way back onto the baseball team, he's diving into classes--and winning over Liz is the last item on his to-do list. But Liz, who is often embedded with the baseball team to gather footage and social media material, isn't going to forgive him so easily. And her new boyfriend may have something to say about Wes's ongoing love for her too. I loved Painter's extremely funny, sweet Better Than the Movies and its believable young characters that I cared about. And although this title is labeled as part of the series Better Than the Movies, book 2, this one has a dramatically different feel: for me, the characters didn't have a plausible connection, and the story's baseball focus gave it a more formulaic sports-romance flavor. I didn't connect the first book's beloved characters to these characters until very late in the book. The movie quotes at the start of each chapter felt like a forced attempt to connect this book to Better Than the Movies , but this story is so baseball-focused, Liz is so determined not to be sentimental or romantic, and the characters' relationship felt bristly and as though they really weren't suited for each other, so for me, the swoony cinematic moments didn't seem to fit. I was put off by Wes's frequent "honey," "baby" pet names and by what felt like repeated alpha-male attempts to force a return to his relationship of years past; Liz is making her way with friends, involved extracurriculars that seem a promising path to a future career, and a full life. Despite their history, her breathless reactions to Wes didn't feel built upon factors I could believe in; I bought in much more fully to her moments of annoyance and exasperation. Painter spends significant page time on what is essentially the idea that one character or the other is too gorgeous to believe and to one character's realization that the other character is too tantalizing to resist. But for me, the story didn't support these romantic, sexy fantasies--I remained somewhat irritated by their interactions. I found myself distracted by the convenient but unlikely circumstances that allow for much of the book's events to occur. For example, Liz hadn't returned home from college for two years and had presumably never spoken to any mutual friends to find out anything about Wes. In this day and age of social media, casual searches, and easy communication, this seemed tough to believe. I also found it difficult to buy into the amount of UCLA funding for coverage of and for the extent of filming and featuring the new player Wes, including a school-funded trip for three to his childhood home. Multiple other small moments in the book felt similarly dubious and therefore drew me out of the story. I missed the clever banter and heartwarming moments of Better Than the Movies , which I rated five Bossy stars. I listened to this as an audiobook, and the narrator's voice often quivers with emotion and came through as somewhat shrill during Liz's frequent dramatic reactions--this effect was possibly exacerbated by my listening at a sped-up rate. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this book! Lynn Painter is the author of a rom-com I adored, Better Than the Movies , the cute Betting on You  and also Happily Never After , Accidentally Amy , Mr. Wrong Number , and other books.

Our Evenings explores a young, often cruel, existence at a British boys' boarding school; later fits and starts of exploring sexuality and expressing vulnerability; a growing love for acting; and seeking and finding a path toward living a genuine life. Did I have a grievance? Most of us, without looking far, could find something that had harmed us, and oppressed us, and unfairly held us back. I tried not to dwell on it, thought it healthier not to, though I'd lived my short life so far in a chaos of privilege and prejudice. Young Dave Win, the son of a Burmese father he never met and a devoted, kind seamstress mother, attends a prestigious boarding school on scholarship in the 1960s. His social position is fragile because of his mixed race and his modest background. He dodges unwelcome attention, begins to love to act in plays, and explores his feelings about other boys. Dave's scholarship benefactors are a couple flush with family money, interested in the arts and matter-of-fact about supporting causes they care about. Their selfish, bull-headed, sometimes cruel son Giles is a classmate of Dave's, and when Dave is invited to stay with the family during school breaks, he is fascinated by the library, the talk of literature, ideas, and plays, and by grown-up discussions of the world. But as a price for temporary forays into upper-crust life, he must navigate Giles's physical aggressions, rude comments, and unwelcome sexual interest. Later, Giles and his parents will separately pop in and out of Dave's adult life at crucial moments--his parents as supportive sometime-benefactors, and Giles as a depressingly predictable bully of a politician. Dave shares the stories of his young life as though in a dream: it was repeatedly quite alarming to me as a reader to anticipate and then hear accounts or murmurings of various terrible cruelties inflicted upon Dave (and other young boys). But Dave never paints himself as a victim or feels righteous rage; his account treats such occurrences without dramatic editorial comment, as though they are commonplace--and, for him and his vulnerable schoolmates, they are. His later life, in graduate school and then as an actor, offers his evolution into and realization of his true self, which is gratifying to read, as well as the heartbreaking fits and starts of his explorations of his sexuality and, ultimately, a satisfying amount of growth and his ability to be vulnerable with other men. Meanwhile, his small-town mother is exploring her feelings for a wealthy woman who is also her business investor, despite malicious gossip and judgment from the community. Our Evenings trails the various impacts of the authority of wealth, abuse of power, and cruelties of the mighty inflicted upon the powerless. The story also explores Dave's and his mother's personal, individual paths through various experiences of bigotry to living life honestly and freely with partners they love. I appreciated the fullness of the arc of Dave's life, while feeling relatively little emotional attachment to it. I listened to Our Evenings as an audiobook. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this book! Alan Hollinghurst   is also the author of The Swimming-Pool Library; The Folding Star; The Spell; The Line of Beauty ; and The Stranger's Child .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading The Shadowed Land , the third in Signe Pike's wonderful Scottish series of bravery, loyalty, betrayal, and adventure; I'm listening to Lynn Painter's rom-com Nothing Like the Movies ; and I'm listening to John Gwynne's Norse-inspired saga of life in the time after the gods have destroyed themselves, The Shadow of the Gods . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 The Shadowed Land (Lost Queen #3) by Signe Pike I loved the first story in this series, The Lost Queen , which offered warriors, legends, magic, love triangles, duty, royalty, brutality, and loyalty and betrayal—all set against the backdrop of Scottish castles and pastoral countrysides. I thought the second book in the series, The Forgotten Kingdom (you can find a link to my review below), was captivating without being melodramatic, romantic without any overdone elements, and wonderfully steeped in legend. When book three begins, the story's key characters have been reunited, but the warrior Artúr is myst eriously called back by his father; Languoreth and her brother Lailoken keep captive the problematic former bishop Mungo while trying to keep the peace between the Christians and those who follow the Old Way; and Languoreth's daughter Angharad strikes out to try to become an initiate of the druid Briochan, who summons the weather. I'm reading this title, which was published December 3, courtesy of NetGalley and Atria Books. Signe Pike is the author of the first two books in the Lost Queen trilogy, The Lost Queen and The Forgotten Kingdom . 02 Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies #2) by Lynn Painter In Lynn Painter's Nothing Like the Movies rom-com, Liz Buxbaum and Wes Bennett were childhood next-door neighbors in Omaha who fell in love as teens. They both head to UCLA for college, but when Wes's dad dies only weeks into their first semester, Wes leaves behind his D1 baseball future, his schooling, and his love for Liz. Two years later he's at UCLA again, he's worked his way back onto the baseball team, he's diving into classes--and winning over Liz is the last item on his to-do list. But Liz, who is often embedded with the baseball team to gather footage and social media material, isn't going to forgive him so easily. And her new boyfriend may have something to say about Wes's ongoing love for her too. Lynn Painter is the author of a rom-com I adored, Better Than the Movies , as well as the cute Betting on You and Happily Never After , Accidentally Amy , Mr. Wrong Number , and other books. I'm listening to this as an audiobook. 03 The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn #1) by John Gwynne In John Gwynne's Norse-inspired saga The Shadow of the Gods , it's been a century since the gods battled themselves into extinction. Only their bones hold power now--for those brave enough to seek them out. There is talk of war's return, and three warriors will shape the future of the land of Vigrid: a noblewoman searching for fame through battle; a huntress on a quest filled with danger; and a servant who joins the mercenaries called the Bloodsworn so that she may seek revenge. I'm listening to The Shadow of the Gods as an audiobook. Gwynne is also the author of book two in this series, The Hunger of the Gods , the series Of Blood and Bone, and The Faithful and the Fallen series. Gwynne is also a Viking reenactor.

The Music Book Gift Ideas Whose people love music and love reading about the behind-the-scenes wonder and drama? I have a lot of music lovers on my gift list, and these are the 2024 books about music that I'm most excited to give as gifts this holiday season. Six more that made my honorable mention list: Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell by Ann Powers Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna A Really Strange and Wonderful Time: The Chapel Hill Music Scene: 1989-1999 by Tom Maxwell George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle by Philip Norman (published fall 2023) Sinead O'Connor: The Last Interview: And Other Conversations , edited by Melville House A Chance to Harmonize: How FDR's Hidden Music Unit Sought to Save America from the Great Depression—One Song at a Time by Sheryl Kaskowitz I'll be sharing my annual Bossy book gift ideas leading up to the holidays, and I hope you'll find a book or two in these lists to delight someone you love--or to give to yourself! You may want to check my past Bossy gift idea lists (linked below) for quirky books, perennial classics, modern favorites, nonfiction must-haves, or other new-to-you titles that might be perfect for the people on your holiday list! 2024 Bossy Book Gift Guides...So Far Bossy Holiday Book Gift Ideas: Cookbooks Bossy Holiday Book Gift Ideas: Sports and Recreation Nonfiction 2023 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Science and the Natural World Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Sports Nonfiction Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Cookbooks Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Books about Media, Movies, and Music 2022 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Holiday Cookbook Gift Ideas   Shhh! Coffee Table Bossy Book Gift Ideas   Shhh! Science and Nature Bossy Book Gift Ideas   Shhh! Bossy Nonfiction Book Gift Ideas   2021 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Six More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Nonfiction and Hobby Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Kid and Teen Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays 2020 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Books I'm Giving as Gifts This Holiday   Shhh! More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays   Shhh! Book Gifts for Kids and Teens   Shhh! More Book Gifts for Kids and Teens   Bossy Independent Bookstore Love A Bossy book-buying note: If you're buying books this holiday season, please support your local independent bookstore. They need and appreciate our business! (The book covers on Bossy Bookworm link you to Bookshop, a site that supports the beloved indies that keep us swimming in thoughtful book recommendations and excellent customer service all year round.) I love my local independent bookstore, Park Road Books . They have a fantastic selection of titles, staff members offer spot-on recommendations (and sparkling personalities!), and they can order almost anything they don't have in stock. 01 How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music How Women Made Music is pulled from the NPR series Turning the Tables and includes interviews, archive materials, essays, photographs, and illustrations from female musicians ranging from Dolly Parton to Beyonce, Joan Jett to Joan Baez, Taylor Swift to Odetta, and Nina Simone to Patti Smith. Turning the Tables began in 2017 as a multi-platform way of exploring the equal position of women in music and the ways women make music. How Women Made Music draws also on fifty years of NPR coverage of women in music, as well as newly commissioned work. 02 Brothers by Alex Van Halen "We shared the experience of coming to this country and figuring out how to fit in. We shared a record player, an 800-square-foot house, a mom and dad, and a work ethic. Later, we shared the back of a tour bus, alcoholism, the experience of becoming successful, of becoming fathers and uncles, and of spending more hours in the studio than I've spent doing anything else in this life. We shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime." Brother s is seventy-year-old Alex Van Halen's tribute and love letter to his younger brother ("Edward" or "Ed," never "Eddie"), told with intimate reflections and details. Alex shares stories of the brothers' young lives spent in the Netherlands, to their family's move to working-class Pasadena; of their proper Indonesian mother and traveling musician father; of Van Halen band politics and complicated dynamics; and of the brothers' strong bonds. The book includes never-before-seen photos from Alex Van Halen's personal collection. 03 The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America by Larry Tye Based on over 250 interviews, The Jazzmen explores early 20th century America through the lens of three pivotal Black musicians who shaped its music. Ellington, the grandson of slaves, was named Edward Kennedy Ellington, and his music defied categorization; Armstrong was born in a slum nicknamed The Battlefield, and he turned a ten-cent horn of his childhood into the beginnings of a jazz movement; and Basie, the son of a laundress and a coachman, managed to escape his poor upbringing with the help of Fats Waller. The "kings of jazz," Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie overcame pervasive, powerful racism to become the most popular performers on the planet--and along the way created the background soundtrack for the Civil Rights Movement. 04 Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher The only woman to top Billboard charts in seven consecutive decades, Cher is the winner of an Academy Award, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Cannes Film Festival Award, and an inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who has been lauded by the Kennedy Center. In Cher: The Memoir, Part One , the singular force, a lifelong philanthropist and activist, outlines her childhood spent surrounded by artists and musicians, her difficult relationship with her mother, her young marriage to Sonny Bono, their split, and the shaping roles of her life--daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, ally...and unparalleled superstar. 05 The Name of This Band is R.E.M.: A Biography by Peter Ames Carlin In the spring of 1980, Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry played their first gig at a college party in Athens, Georgia. The Name of This Band Is R.E.M. traces their meteoric rise to success, with their heartfelt, rocking, defiant, tender songs on albums like Murmur , Reckoning , Fables of the Reconstruction , Document , Life's Rich Pageant , Reckoning , Out of Time , Monster , Green , and more. By continually evolving, pushing limits, and challenging the status quo, the four friends shaped the music world for decades, while sticking together through various challenges and difficulties. I'm surely dating myself by sharing that I won tickets off the radio to see R.E.M. almost thirty years ago--but that was an amazing show. In my yearly roundup of listening patterns, R.E.M. remained in my top five bands this year. 06 Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music by Rob Sheffield "Every Swiftie is full of stories. The stories about the song that changed their life, the song nobody appreciates the way they do, the song they listened to on their fifteenth birthday. We go to these songs because they tell us our stories. We tell our secrets to these songs, and they scream our secrets back at us." In Heartbreak is the National Anthem, Rolling Stone contributing editor and music journalist Rob Sheffield delves into the magic of Taylor Swift. Sheffield draws on his years of covering Taylor's music, from her youthful, teenaged musical explorations to her explosion into an unparalleled superstar, exploring her life's path to cultural phenomenon and worldwide songwriter expressing our collective hopes, sorrows, and dreams. Rob Sheffield is also the author of Dreaming the Beatles ,  On Bowie, and   Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time .

Met Museum guard Bringley reflects on the decade he spent guarding priceless works of art, encountering a fascinating range of museumgoers, commiserating with his peers, reflecting on the works and his reactions to them, and searching for and finding peace after a terrible personal loss. Much of the greatest art, I find, seeks to remind us of the obvious. This is real. That's all it says. Take the time to stop and imagine or feel fully the things you already know. Patrick Bringley, a former New Yorker  staffer, after facing the tragic death of his beloved brother, spent ten years working as a guard in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The slow pace and straightforward duties of the job suited Bringley, who, along with his fellow guards, enjoyed having "nothing to do and all day to do it." For years, Bringley prevented careless, clueless, or overly passionate museumgoers from stumbling into priceless works of art; assured visitors that all of the works were real; and showed meditative appreciation for thousands of the 1.5 million works of art in the Met's permanent collection. Bringley offers glimpses into the sometimes-mundane, often intriguing behind-the-scenes processes and dynamics for the hundreds of employees who were and are daily surrounded by priceless works of art. His shared conversations with other guards illustrate a range of motivations for pursuing the work. But time, curiosity, emotional pain, and a desire to escape from it all added to his tendency to consider the intentions of artists, the stories behind the artwork, his own feelings about the works, and others' reactions, which he witnessed in real time. Yet the heart of the book feels like it's Bringley's observations of the thousands of museumgoers who cross his path--the strangers who enter this magnificent museum, who wander and take it all in or search for specific works of art, who greedily rush or take hours to contemplate, who are awed or dismissive, who walk the galleries and encounter a vast array of expression in the artwork and who develop their own unique reactions to it all. On a typical day, it is easy to glance at strangers and forget the most fundamental things about them: that they’re just as real as you are; that they’ve triumphed and suffered; that like you they’re engaged in something (living) that is hard and rich and brief. Bringley and his wife have two young children by the time he ends his stint at the Met and shifts into a different job, as a tour guide of the city, and the decade spent in full-time work standing and observing and contemplating seems to have allowed him some healing after the death of his brother. I listened to All the Beauty in the World  as an audiobook. I'd love to hear what you think of this book! If you like to read memoirs, you might 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 Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality Six of My Favorite Memoir Reads Last Year

Ishida's offbeat, heartwarming story of unconventional "medicine" in the form of cats explores interconnectedness and new perspectives, inspiration, and familial bonds. “You know the old saying: ‘A cat a day keeps the doctor away.’ Cats are more effective than any other medicine out there.” In the charming story We'll Prescribe You a Cat , a winding, hard-to-find Kyoto alleyway leads to a strange building. Inside, the mysterious Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul prescribes medicine to those looking for support and help. Patients are given basic animal care instructions and "take" their unconventional cat prescriptions for a period of time. Ishida's offbeat story tells the tales of various characters, lost or in pain, who find themselves transformed by spending time with feline companions. Sometimes simply the act of giving in to care for another creature is the catalyst for change; in other cases the cat itself and its comfort or wild behavior shakes up things. Loneliness is thwarted, frustrations are softened, perspectives are broadened, families are drawn together, and new possibilities are inspired by time spent with various prescribed animals. Ishida in some cases overlaps names of cats, workers at the clinic, and others--causing protagonists to wonder at unexpected interconnectedness. The clinic is not always accessible--at times, the roads and alleys around the convoluted address do not appear to be the same and do not lead to the cats. Intention and need seem to be key to finding the source of cat comfort. I listened to this as an audiobook. My book club will be discussing this heartwarming novel next year. I'd love to hear what you think of this book! If you're looking for more heartwarming stories, you might like my Bossy reviews of books like these .

I love Liang's books, and this departure from her romantic comedies is inspired by the Chinese legend of Xishi. It's full of danger, deceit, noble sacrifice, bravery, and love. I would light the fire. I would heat up this whole room. And when that didn't work--I would burn this kingdom down to ashes, turn all its men into smoke. I would, I would. Xishi is a beautiful young woman who makes her village in the region of Yue proud, for she will almost certainly make a good marriage match. But she catches the eye of the well-known young military advisor Fanli, and as she becomes trained in playing music and hiding her emotions, she becomes the key to an elaborate, traitorous plan: to overturn the kingdom of Wu, empower her own people, and avenge her sister's death. She rises through the ranks of palace concubines and gains almost unfettered access to the king, all the while well aware that if she is revealed to be a traitor, not only she and Fanli but their homeland will be destroyed. "The men will fight for their thrones and their power and their legacies, but to them we are nothing more than crickets and ants, insignificant, expendable. We will continue to worry over the rice and soy sauce and oil, three meals a day, how to escape the cold in the winter and the heat in the high summer, the holes in the roof and the bedding and the taxes. What does it matter, who wears the crown, if they will not change any of this for us?" This story ticked so many of my boxes--a strong, young, underestimated female; an important quest; forbidden love; great dialogue; heart-stopping tension; and fierce revenge. The Eastern mythology, Xishi's deep link to her heritage, and her reluctant moments of affection for her enemy, who is foolish but vulnerable, added depth to the heart of the story. I love Liang's characters and their voices, and I was intrigued that A Song to Drown Rivers was a reworking of an early writing piece of hers. The ending is fanciful and strange; the tone of the book doesn't seem to be leading to a too-convenient happy ending, and as expected, Liang provides a complex set of conflicts to consider at the story's close: duty, corrupt power, the suffering of the common people, regret after retribution, and life-and-death struggles that don't always end well. I received a prepublication edition of this title, which was published earlier this fall, courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. Check out my Bossy Ann Liang love! I fell in love with Ann Liang's fake-dating young adult novel This Time It's Real , read it in one rainy afternoon, and included it in my Greedy Reading Lists Six of My Favorite Light Fiction Reads from the Past Year , Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading , and My Bossy Favorite Reads of Summer  the year I read it. And you can find my review of her great young-adult rom-com I Hope This Doesn't Find You   here .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Our Evenings , Alan Hollinghurst's novel of a young man in boarding school; I'm listening to the quirky Japanese story We'll Prescribe You a Cat ; and I'm listening to Patrick Bringley's memoir about working as a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, All the Beauty in the World . What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst Did I have a grievance? Most of us, without looking far, could find something that had harmed us, and oppressed us, and unfairly held us back. I tried not to dwell on it, thought it healthier not to, though I'd lived my short life so far in a chaos of privilege and prejudice. Young Dave Win, the son of a Burmese father he never met and a devoted, kind seamstress mother, attends a prestigious boarding school on scholarship. His social position is fragile because of his heritage and his modest background. He dodges unwelcome attentions, begins to love to act in plays, and explores his feelings about other boys. Alan Hollinghurst is the author of The Swimming-Pool Library; The Folding Star; The Spell; The Line of Beauty ; and The Stranger's Child . 02 We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida “You know the old saying: ‘A cat a day keeps the doctor away.’ Cats are more effective than any other medicine out there.” In the charming Japanese story We'll Prescribe You a Cat , a winding, hard-to-find Kyoto alleyway leads to a strange building. Inside, the mysterious Kokoro Clinic for the Soul prescribes medicine to those looking for support and help. Patients are given basic animal care instructions and "take" their cat prescriptions for a period of time. Ishida's offbeat story tells the tales of various characters, lost or in pain, who find themselves transformed by spending time with feline companions. I'm listening to this as an audiobook. 03 All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley Patrick Bringley, a former New Yorker staffer, after facing the tragic death of his beloved brother, spent ten years working as a guard in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The slow pace and straightforward duties of the job suited Bringley, who, along with his fellow guards, enjoyed having "nothing to do and all day to do it." For years, Bringley prevented careless, clueless, or overly passionate museumgoers from stumbling into priceless works of art; assured visitors that all of the works were real; and showed meditative appreciation for thousands of the 1.5 million works of art in the Met's permanent collection. I'm listening to All the Beauty in the World as an audiobook.

My very favorite Bossy November reads! This month my favorite reads were a playful, poignant novel set during the week leading up to an ill-fated wedding; the memoir of a beloved cooking show personality; a dark academia story that centers around feminism and building new perspectives; historical fiction about a traveling librarian in 1930s Appalachia; a luminous story of astronauts on the International Space Station; and a novel about the power of books. 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? 01 The Wedding People by Alison Espach Espach layers complex emotional challenges like suicidal thoughts, grief, and loneliness with funny, quirky, poignant moments in this charming, heartwarming novel. Phoebe arrives at the decadent Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, wearing a green dress and heels, and she's quickly mistaken for one of the "wedding people." But Phoebe is having a crisis, and she's latched onto being at the site of her former dream vacation--which she'd envisioned visiting with her now-ex-husband--as the answer to her problems. Lila has planned her million-dollar wedding down to the last detail, and Phoebe's depression and her very presence are throwing her for a loop--only the wedding people  were meant to have rooms at the inn, and Lila isn't used to having her plans go awry. Phoebe and Lila are unlikely confidantes and even more unlikely friends. But as the wedding week goes on, each woman is surprised by what she discovers about herself and the truths she is forced to confront. I loved the tone of this novel. Espach writes a playful, poignant, often funny novel while anchoring the characters in complex emotions: suicidal thoughts, grief, loneliness, and despair. I was struck by the balance of depth and humor, and I was hooked throughout. For my full review of this book, please see The Wedding People . 02 Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten Ina's memoir is personal and thoughtful. Her charm comes through in candid reflections about her fascinating life, and her young life's adventures and missteps are as intriguing as the accounts of her eventual success. Ina Garten, often called by the name of her former specialty food shop in the Hamptons (and television show), Barefoot Contessa, offers a personal, charming memoir in Be Ready When the Luck Happens . Ina shares her life story, beginning with a difficult, abusive childhood, continuing to her marriage to Jeffrey while she was still in college, to her government job writing the nuclear energy budget and policy papers under President Ford and President Carter, then a flight of fancy that changed everything when she bought and learned to run the Hamptons store Barefoot Contessa--necessitating extended time apart from Jeffrey and, eventually, a very real scare that the relationship wouldn't survive. I looked forward to getting back to this book each time I could, and I was as charmed by Ina's guileless storytelling as by her blend of delightful spontaneity, creativity, practicality, and stubbornness. I listened to Be Ready When the Luck Happens as an audiobook. Click here for my full review of Be Ready When the Luck Happens . 03 Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang I loved the dark academia setting, Sciona's bid to become the first female in the High Magistry, and her rethinking of long-held assumptions and prejudices. Wang doesn't shy away from a dramatic reckoning for the story's main characters in the end. For twenty years, Sciona has single-mindedly set out to learn enough complex, intuitive, precise, powerful magic to become the first woman to be accepted into the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry.   But after Sciona blasts the competition at her entrance exam and is admitted, she finds that not all of her dreams have come true. The misogyny and contempt of her peers means she faces a lack of respect and resources at every turn. For example, instead of a lab assistant, she is assigned a janitor without magical training. The janitor is a cultural outsider with a complicated history, and what he lacks in training he makes up for with the desire to learn more about the forces that may have long ago destroyed his family. When he and Sciona uncover an enormous magical secret, it could not only mean the undoing of the magical hierarchies that many have come to take for granted--it's dangerous enough that those in power want to silence the two of them for good. I loved the dark academia setting, Sciona's sassy spirit, and the outsider-becoming-an-insider theme. Sciona's fight to pursue magic and her oft-frustrated ambition, her personal journey of reconsidering her assumptions about the Tiranish culture and its people's intentions, and an immense reckoning for all. Please click here to see my full review of Blood Over Bright Haven . 04 Light to the Hills by Bonnie Blaylock Blaylock's story centers around a packhorse librarian in 1930s Appalachian Kentucky and adds layers like a complicated past, second chances, mining tragedy, a bad guy who's pure evil, mountain justice, and the promise of a happy ending. In Bonnie Blaylock's Light to the Hills , it's 1930 in the Kentucky Appalachians, and Amanda Rye is a traveling packhorse librarian, a widowed young mother, and somewhat of a local to the region, albeit estranged from her pastor father and her mother due to past scandal. Amanda makes a special connection with a mountain family on her route that's facing tough times despite their double work at the coal mine and their small farm. The MacInteers--tough yet tender mother Rai, her clever daughter Sass, playful young adult Finn, and a hardworking father as well as the family's younger children--are hesitant to accept any semblance of help. But Amanda brings them reading materials, apples for treasured pies, and some joyful company, and a deep friendship develops. Blaylock celebrates tough women, stand-up men, and never-ending hard work. Mining's dangers aren't glossed over, and tragedies abound. But Light to the Hills  seems destined to provide happy endings. Blaylock offers up second chances at love, avoidance of punishment for our heroes' missteps when they tell the truth about others' wrongdoings, and a heartwarming chosen-family element (one of my favorite themes). The story showcases a love for books and the power of the written word. The bad guy in the story is pure evil, and there's little doubt he'll get a comeuppance by the story's end. The mountain justice that's carried out by the women was thrillingly shocking. Please click here for my full review of Light to the Hills . 05 Orbital by Samantha Harvey The luminous novel Orbital tracks six astronauts in the International Space Station for one day as they goggle at the majestic beauty of earth, feel emotional distance from those they've left behind, forge bonds with each other, and reflect on their lives while racing past sixteen sunrises and sunsets . Samantha Harvey's astronaut-focused novel Orbital  traces a single day in the lives of six astronauts orbiting the earth at seventeen thousand miles an hour, clinging to Coordinated Universal Time as they pass through sixteen sunsets and sunrises in twenty-four hours. Their mission necessitates physical and emotional distance from their typical everyday, earthly concerns, forcing intimacy with their fellow astronauts--their only company, and in close quarters, for many months--and inspiring reflections on life, death, loss, the past, the future, family and loved ones, and purpose. The story within the space station is emotionally full but quiet plot-wise in contrast to the workings of the typhoon, which the book begins to detail as it unfolds and wreaks destruction across a swath of earth. An occasional omniscient view of the earth, the universe, the past, and the future keeps all in perspective for the reader. Harvey's language is often luminous and poignant. This is beautiful. For my full review, check out Orbital . 06 How to Read a Book by Monica Wood This novel about the power of books takes a tough situation that ends in a death and allows for a fresh start--which might push the bounds of realism but offers a hopeful, heartwarming tale of chosen family and friendship. The book opens in a prison, with female inmates participating in their weekly book club in rural Abbott Falls, Maine. Main protagonist Violet Powell is being released after 22 months' imprisonment for the drunk-driving accident in which she killed an older woman. Harriet Larson is a retired English teacher who leads the prison book club, and her forays into the local bookstore catch the eye of handyman Frank Daigle, who is still coming to terms with the loss of his wife in a car accident (the accident caused by Violet). When the three cross paths out in the messy, unexpected, heartbreaking world, their encounters change them all forever. The tone of Wood's novel feels reassuring that all will work out in the story, and despite the manslaughter, betrayal, guilt, prison, and some truly questionable choices, it does. Harriet's fraternizing with the imprisoned women--both in and out of jail--seems particularly ill-advised, but this ultimately works out fine. Not everything can be resolved, but much is forgiven, and considering the sticky situation at hand and the death at its heart, this is quite something. For my full review, please see How to Read a Book .

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. A five-star Bossy read is rare; it 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 books on my past Greedy Reading Lists Thankful for Five-Star Bossy Reads and Six Five-Star Bossy Reads to Check Out . Or you can search the site for my Five-Star B ook Reviews . Which books have been standouts for you? Do you have all-time favorite reads that you often recommend to others? 01 The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin Cronin's debut novel explores mortality, vulnerability, surprising moments of joy and reflection, an irresistible young protagonist, and a wonderful array of friends who are like family. Lenni and Margot  was one of my top twelve reads the year I read it. Seventeen-year-old Lenni Pettersson lives in the terminal ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Her life expectancy isn't long, but Lenni still has a lot she wants to do and be. In the hospital's arts and crafts class, she meets 83-year-old Margot, a spirited, rebellious new friend. Collectively they've been around 100 years, but this just doesn't feel like enough, and they each want to leave their mark on the world. With the help of Father Arthur, the hospital chaplain, and a kind palliative care nurse, the friends make a plan to create one hundred paintings, one to represent each of their years of life. This goal adds structure to the novel, but the story is far richer than the characters' mission to create art. I don’t usually read books again, but I could use a copy of my own to highlight upon rereading. The Sparrow took a little time to get going for me, but then I was blown away. If you're interested in books that explore mortality, you might want to check out Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality . Another novel I loved that involves a precocious, wise, reflective, tough young protagonist is This Is All He Asks of You . For my full review of this book, please see The One Hundred Years of Lennie and Margot . Marianne Cronin has a new book coming out in December 2024, Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love . 02 White Houses by Amy Bloom White Houses  is gorgeously written, exhaustingly researched historical fiction about Eleanor Roosevelt and her love, Lorena Hickock, and it was a five-star read for me. Oh, this book! Bloom’s writing is exquisite. The characters in White Houses  are funny, heartbreaking, and feel alive. I loved the behind-the-scenes peeks at the residential rooms of the Roosevelt White House (which, Bloom recounts in interviews, functioned more like a not-very-fancy boarding house at the time). The dialogue is incredible, and the faulted main players are irresistible. The final paragraphs of the book in "first friend" Lorena Hickock’s voice were so gorgeous, they made me want to weep. What a satisfyingly rich world and story. Bloom is also the author of the heartbreakingly beautiful In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss , Away , Lucky Us , Come to Me: Stories , and A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You: Stories . Click here for my full review of White Houses . 03 The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason The Winter Soldier  is a World War I tale full of medical details and lovely, unlikely bonds. This is a five-star read from the author of North Woods . Lucius is a young medical student when World War I sweeps across Europe. With romantic notions in his head about noble work in a field hospital filled with brilliant surgeons, he enlists and heads to his post in the remote Carpathian Mountains. But there he finds one solitary nurse, Sister Margarite, bravely keeping together the makeshift clinic, which has been decimated by typhus. The other doctors have all left. Lucius is surrounded by grave injuries but has never even wielded a scalpel He'll learn more from Sister Margarite--who he's falling for--than he ever could have in his classes. She's been building an immense wealth of practical knowledge while trying to save the broken soldiers. This was wonderful. The details of World War I injuries and methods of treatment were fittingly grim and sometimes gruesome, but Mason's writing is beautiful and evocative, conveying the cold and brutal nature of war and loss, the chilling nature of acts done in coldhearted necessity, and the warm, promising hope of love. For my full review, please see The Winter Soldier . 04 Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You by Lucinda Williams Lucinda Williams offers a gritty, honest, captivating, spare yet fully developed memoir in which she explores her musical influences and influential high and low moments in her personal life. In Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You , songwriter, singer, and musician Lucinda Williams shares stories of her childhood, her musical influences, and pivotal moments in her career and personal life. Williams takes us along as she digs into her life's trajectory and the various conflicts, explorations, realizations, and challenges that have shaped her. Her insights into her mindset and her creativity are often offbeat, and they always feel thoughtful. She writes songs about "sex, love, and the state of the world," and in one instance describes musical freedom as feeling like everything is “uncorked." As she digs into the inspirations for her music she quotes her own lyrics--along with, occasionally, others' poems--and it all feels like truth-telling poetry--in her case, often set to music. Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You  was wonderful--spare yet fully developed, often surprising, and always intriguing. For my full review, please click here . 05 Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister McAllister offers a smart, intriguing, twisty story that plays with time and offers second chances, revelations, betrayals, deep connections, and an unusual route to uncovering the truth. I loved it. Gillian McAllister's twisty mystery Wrong Place Wrong Time  plays with time, and I love books that play with time. The story begins with a mother awaiting her teenage son's return home late one night. She peers out the window to see him walking down the street--then she sees that he is armed, and to her horror, she sees him kill another man on the street. But when she awakens the next morning bracing to face the living nightmare her family has begun living in, she's relieved to find that her son hasn't killed anyone, he hasn't been arrested, and in fact, none of last night's events have happened after all. She must be losing her mind. But she knows that last night was real. Somehow she's reliving yesterday again. She really and truly is. She can't explain what's happened, but she quickly realizes that now she may be able to stop the murder before it occurs. Can she shift the future by changing the past? The story was fascinating and touching and chilling and sweet. I absolutely loved it. Please click here for my full review of Wrong Place, Wrong Time . 06 You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld Sittenfeld shapes fully realized, fascinating characters that stuck with me in the ten stories of You Think It, I'll Say It . I loved it and rated the collection five stars. At the start of this collection I was concerned that this was going to be a short story collection about people making poor choices, and I have loooots of trouble and get verrrry nervous reading those situations. But Sittenfeld has a fascinating way of turning situations on their heads and making the reader sympathetic to absurd, heartbreaking, sometimes dramatic everyday situations, as she does here. The ten stories in You Think It, I'll Say It explore expectations related to gender and relationships while Sittenfeld builds characters whose lives are shaped by missed connections, coincidences--and the aforementioned faulty decision-making. After I finished reading, I kept thinking about the characters and their realizations, compromises, and sometimes their resignation in the face of imperfect circumstances. For my full review, please see You Think It, I'll Say It .

The luminous novel Orbital tracks six astronauts in the International Space Station for one day as they goggle at the majestic beauty of earth, feel emotional distance from those they've left behind, forge bonds with each other, and reflect on their lives while racing past sixteen sunrises and sunsets. He seems to know that something is ending, that all good things must go this way, towards fracture and fallout. Samantha Harvey's astronaut-focused novel Orbital traces a single day in the lives of six astronauts orbiting the earth at seventeen thousand miles an hour, clinging to Coordinated Universal Time as they pass through sixteen sunsets and sunrises in twenty-four hours, watching familiar geographic shapes come in and out of sight and tracking metropolitan areas and the darkness indicating rural life. Meanwhile each astronaut thinks of family members on earth, prepares dehydrated meals, exercises, engages with each other, and attends to the minutiae of an extended stay in small quarters in space. Why would you do this? Trying to live where you can never thrive? Trying to go where the universe doesn't want you when there's a perfectly good earth just there that does. Up here, nice feels such an alien word. It's brutal, inhuman, overwhelming, lonely, extraordinary and magnificent. There isn't one single thing that is nice. In Orbital , Harvey takes the ultimate locked-room setting of six people in a small space, orbiting 250 miles above earth. The astronauts' (literal) perspective on earth allows them to take in its beauty without considering borders or conflicts, to glimpse its majesty without any tainting by its messy human-caused complications, and to witness its raw power, as when they are the best observers of the building of a deadly, enormous typhoon in the Pacific. They are, adorably, unable to stop taking photo upon photo of earth with their telephoto lenses, as the gorgeous scenes of their ever-changing view never grow old. Their mission necessitates physical and emotional distance from their typical everyday, earthly concerns, forcing intimacy with their fellow astronauts--their only company, and in close quarters, for many months--and inspiring reflections on life, death, loss, the past, the future, family and loved ones, and purpose. They have talked before about a feeling they often have, a feeling of merging. That they are not quite distinct from one another, nor from the spaceship. Meanwhile, their location and purpose require potentially excruciatingly rote daily routines of mechanical surveying, precise clean-up, and blood and urine sampling. Some of those on the ground try to insist upon imposing barriers upon the space travelers. For example, the Russian cosmonauts are told to use their own designated bathroom, while the other astronauts are only "allowed" to use the second bathroom--a rule the six subversively ignore. Maybe we're the new dinosaurs and we need to watch out. But then maybe against all the odds we'll migrate to Mars where we'll start a colony of gentle preservers, people who'll want to keep the red planet red, we'll devise a planetary flag because that's a thing we lacked on earth and we've come to wonder if that's why it all fell apart, and we'll look back at the faint dot of blue that is our old convalescing earth and we'll say, Do you remember? Have you heard the tales? I loved the dynamic only relevant to the world's tiny population of astronauts, in which the space-station habitants wistfully track the takeoff, journey, and pending landing of a rocket of moon-bound colleagues. The six space-station astronauts are circling the earth without traveling anywhere, they reflect, while the astronauts headed to the moon are stepping onto another world. The space station and the shuttle headed to the moon both dodge the numerous items of space trash orbiting the earth--which seems to prove that humans just can't have nice things. And all the while, the astronauts are facing what feels like the inevitability of the winding down of human space exploration in light of the growing promise of robots' clean, streamlined space travel and ability to obtain information without emotional or physical needs. Maybe it's hard to shift from thinking your planet is safe at the centre of it all to knowing in fact it's a planet of normalish size and normalish mass rotating about an average star in a solar system of average everything in a galaxy of innumerably many, and that the whole thing is going to explode or collapse. The story within the space station is emotionally full but quiet plot-wise in contrast to the workings of the typhoon, which the book begins to detail as it unfolds and wreaks destruction across a swath of earth. An occasional omniscient view of the earth, the universe, the past, and the future keeps all in perspective for the reader. Harvey's language is often luminous and poignant. This is beautiful. Orbital recently won the 2024 Booker Prize. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! Samantha Harvey is also the author of The Shapeless Unease: A Year Without Sleeping , The Western Wind , Dear Thief , The Wilderness , and All Is Song . You can find more Bossy reviews of books set in space here .

Blue Sisters explores three surviving sisters' messy paths into and out of grief after the loss of their fourth sister Nicky. They make self-destructive decisions but ultimately settle into more settled futures while holding their memories tightly. The Blue sisters are reeling from the death of their fourth sister, Nicky, from an overdose she experienced while attempting to cope with her longstanding endometriosis pain. But they're each making poor choices, and each is in danger of falling apart. Lucky, the youngest, a model, is losing herself in drugs and alcohol. Avery, the oldest, ten years sober, is a married lawyer (her wife is her former therapist, eek) making an impulsive, destructive choice to try to feel something again. And steady Bonnie seems to be throwing away her future as a boxer--and pushing down her deep feelings for her longtime trainer. Bonnie, Avery, and Lucky come together and push each other away throughout the story. The sisters' formerly close relationships with each other grew in reaction to their emotional distance from both their mother--who by all accounts was poorly equipped to offer the girls security, support, or affection and at any rate was uninterested in doing so--and their father, an abusive alcoholic whose dark, dangerous presence haunted the girls' lives and whose drunkenness overshadowed Nicky's funeral. I appreciated the exploration of grief and the many avenues the sisters take to cope with it, deny it, or wallow in it. I stayed very nervous while the three survivors made destructive decisions that seemed destined to cause them further pain, and as they railed against each other. I listened to Blue Sisters  as an audiobook, read by Kit Griffiths. I appreciated that Griffiths's New York accent was fitting for these New York characters, but the accent was such a departure from the non-accents of many of the narrators I'm used to, it took me some time to get used to it. Increased diversity in accents feels like an #audiobookgoal. A note: at my preferred 2x speed, Griffiths's speech felt distractingly halting, with what felt like hard stops between each word. When I slowed down the speed, this speech pattern wasn't noticeable, so I'll take the blame for listening at a faster speed than the book was designed for. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! Coco Mellors is also the author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein . To find more Bossy reviews of books about grief, check out this link .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Creation Lake , Rachel Kushner's noir, dark humor mystery; I'm reading Lex Croucher's soon-to-be published sassy young adult medieval romance Not For the Faint of Heart ; and I'm listening to Coco Mellors's novel about sisters coping with grief, Blue Sisters . What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner "Sadie Smith" is an American secret agent sent to France to infiltrate a subversive commune. She has made her young lover Lucien believe they met by chance, but "Sadie" is milking him for information. When she meets Bruno, a mysterious figure who trains the young activists, she believes she's manipulating him for information. But Bruno is telling his own stories and reshaping history, sharing his tragic past and garnering sympathy from Sadie, whose shadowy bosses in government and business are directing her actions. Kushner brings dark humor and noir mystery to the story of Creation Lake . Rachel Kushner is also the author of The Mars Room , The Flamethrowers , and Telex from Cuba , as well as a book of short stories, The Strange Case of Rachel K . 02 Not For the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher "You aren’t merry," Clem said to her captor. "And you aren’t all men. So there’s been some marketing confusion somewhere along the line." Mariel is the bristly new captain of the Merry Men and is anxious to live up to the legacy of her grandfather, Robin Hood. Clem is a jovial healer from the country who has only noble intentions of helping others. But when the Merry Men capture Clem in retribution for her help healing the Sherriff of Nottingham, things get complicated for both Mariel and Clem in this sassy, fun, queer historical fiction young adult romance. I received a prepublication edition of this book, to be published November 26, courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. Lex Croucher is also the author of Gwen & Art Are Not in Love . 03 Blue Sisters By Coco Mellors The Blue sisters are reeling from the death of their fourth sister, Nicky, from an overdose she experienced while attempting to cope with her longstanding endometriosis pain. But they're each making poor choices, and each is in danger of falling apart. Lucky, the youngest, a model, is losing herself in drugs and alcohol. Avery, the oldest, ten years sober, is a married lawyer (her wife is her former therapist, eek) making an impulsive, destructive choice. And Bonnie seems to be throwing away her future as a boxer--and her deep feelings for her trainer. I'm listening to Blue Sisters as an audiobook, read by Kit Griffiths.

Sports and Recreation Nonfiction Book Gift Ideas Where are my sports and recreation book gift-givers? I'll be sharing my annual Bossy book gift lists leading up to the holidays, and I hope you'll find a book or two in these lists of ideas to delight someone you love--or to give to yourself! Last week I posted about cookbook gift ideas that look delicious; you can check out that list here . Below you can find short snippets about the six 2024 sports-focused releases that sound so promising, I'm excited to give them as gifts this holiday season--plus six bonus books, listed below, that also look intriguing: Queen of the Court: The Many Lives of Tennis Legend Alice Marble by Madeleine Blais (2022) Macho Man: The Untamed, Unbelievable Life of Randy Savage by Jon Finkel (2024) Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know about Women by Maggie Mertens (2024) 1923: The Mystery of Lot 212 and a Tour de France Obsession by Ned Boulting (2023) The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 Into the World's Fastest-Growing Sport by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg (2024) Dream: The Life and Legacy of Hakeem Olajuwon by Mirin Fader (2024) Don't forget to check my past Bossy gift idea lists for quirky books, perennial classics, modern favorites, nonfiction must-haves, or other new-to-you titles that might be perfect for the people on your holiday list! 2023 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Science and the Natural World Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Sports Nonfiction Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Cookbooks Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Books about Media, Movies, and Music 2022 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Holiday Cookbook Gift Ideas   Shhh! Coffee Table Bossy Book Gift Ideas   Shhh! Science and Nature Bossy Book Gift Ideas   Shhh! Bossy Nonfiction Book Gift Ideas   2021 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays   Shhh! Six More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays   Shhh! Nonfiction and Hobby Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays   Shhh! Kid and Teen Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays   2020 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Books I'm Giving as Gifts This Holiday   Shhh! More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays   Shhh! Book Gifts for Kids and Teens   Shhh! More Book Gifts for Kids and Teens   Bossy Independent Bookstore Love A Bossy book-buying note: If you're buying books this holiday season, please support your local independent bookstore. They need and appreciate our business! (The book covers on this site link you to Bookshop, a site that supports the beloved indies that keep us swimming in thoughtful book recommendations and excellent customer service all year round.) I love my local independent bookstore here in Charlotte, Park Road Books . They have a fantastic selection of titles, staff members offer spot-on recommendations (and sparkling personalities!), and they can order almost anything they don't have in stock. 01 There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib In There's Always This Year , Hanif Abdurraqib, author of A Little Devil in America and They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us , offers a book about baseball and life that defies categorization. Abdurraqib grew up in the 1990s, the golden age of basketball and the period in which legends like LeBron James flourished. The author's obsession with the sport serves as a catalyst to reflect with personal, sometimes poetic reflections upon who makes it and why, the fraught nature of role models, the tension between expectation and achievement, how sports shape our culture's thinking, dreams, notions of success, and more. 02 Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments by Joe Posnanski From Patrick Mahomes's magic to the Ice Bowl, from Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass to a plethora of football "miracles," Why We Love Football is an unforgettable, conversational masterpiece... Last year's Bossy sports-book gift roundup included Joe Posnanski's Why We Love Baseball . In Posnanski's Why We Love Football , 100 key moments from our nation's number-one sport include well-known tales and lore as well as hidden gems that even football's biggest fans might not be familiar with. Posnanski--who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina--is also the author of Why We Love Baseball , The Baseball 100 , Paterno , and The Secret of Golf. 03 In My Element: Life Lessons from the World's Toughest Solo Ocean Race by Pip Hare The boat picks up another wave and surfs again, faster this time, deafening. My eyes are streaming, sore from the icy wind that throws spray in my face. And over the top of it all I can hear my own laughter. I feel powerful, strong. I am a thousand miles from land in one of the world's most dangerous environments. Alone and free. In My Element includes Pip Hare's firsthand account of her experiences in The Vendée Globe Race, one of the world's most grueling sporting events, a singlehanded, nonstop loop of Earth, without assistance. The route carries sailors from the edges of Antarctica, through the dangers of the rough Southern Ocean and onward. Hare shares the mental fortitude, grueling physical challenges, and how she became a middle-aged woman defying all expectations--and living a thrilling life of adventure. 04 Narcoball: Love, Death and Football in Escobar's Colombia by David Arrowsmith Narcoball uncovers the incredible story of Colombian football during the early 1990s--shaped by drug lords, rivalries, and ambition. It uncovers a football empire backed by cartels--where victory was a currency of its own, and defeat, a matter of life and death. Pablo Escobar's number-one obsession was football, and in Narcoball , David Arrowsmith reveals the elaborate machinations that allowed Escobar to shape the Medellin football clubs, as told by players and politicians. From the murders of referees, to the untold influence of drug cartels upon football officials, to the killing of the defender Andres Escobar, who died after an own goal in the 1994 World Cup, the meticulously researched Narcoball offers details of the shocking lengths the drug lord and his biggest rival were willing to go to in order to control their favorite sport. 05 Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball by Keith O'Brien A page-turning work of narrative nonfiction chronicling the incredible story of one of America’s most iconic, charismatic, and still polarizing figures—baseball immortal Pete Rose—and an exquisite cultural history of baseball and America in the second half of the twentieth century. O'Brien tells the story of the legendary Pete Rose, a polarizing baseball figure who decades ago secured the record for most hits--a record that still stands--and who was also at the center of the biggest sports-gambling scandal of all time. Charlie Hustle also explores the many layers of complications, conflicts of interest, and potential influence related to the modern-day explosion of sports betting. 06 The Catch of a Lifetime: Moments of Flyfishing Glory by Peter Kaminsky With its tales of brown trout in Montana and bluefish at Montauk Point, smallmouth in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters and unforgettable adventures with giant taimen on the steppes of central Asia, bonefish in New Caledonia, white marlin in the Baja, and golden dorado in the tribal lands along the Amazon’s headwaters, this gorgeously illustrated anthology is a transporting testament to the call that all anglers heed—to get out there and be one with the water. Author Peter Kaminsky offers a beautifully illustrated set of first-person accounts of fly-fishing experiences they'll never forget. The authors, artists, poets, and guides who share their stories include Carl Hiaasen, Joan Wulff, Nick Lyons, Rachel Finn, Tom Colicchio, Rachel Maddow, Mark Kurlansky, Brittany Howard, Hilary Hutcheson, and John McPhee. Peter Kaminsky is also the author dozens of other books.

In the first book of Blake Crouch's haunting mystery trilogy, secret agent Ethan Burke tries to grasp the shifts in time, widespread conspiracies, and grand plans for Wayward Pines--while trying to avoid being killed by murderous small-town vigilantes or by mysterious, horrifying creatures lurking beyond the town's fence. In Pines , the first book in Blake Crouch's Wayward Pines trilogy, secret agent Ethan Burke wakes up in a strange place, by a river, horribly bruised and in pain--with no memory of his own name, his job, or his history--much less what has happened to leave him in such a state. As his memory comes back to him in pieces, he recalls that his mission--before the devastating car crash upon his arrival in town that left him reeling--was to locate two missing federal agents who were dispatched a month earlier to investigate a mysterious billionaire's potential financial crimes in Wayward Pines, Idaho. The agents haven't been heard from in weeks. Setting out on this job was hairy enough--one of the agents is his former lover, Kate, and Ethan's wife Theresa is not happy that Ethan is involved in the search for her. But as Ethan learns more about the car accident and about the strange town of Wayward Pines, he develops more questions than answers. He can't get through to his wife and family in Seattle or to his boss, no one in town seems to believe he is who he says he is, and he's not sure whether the electric fence surrounding the town is meant to keep something sinister out or to stop residents from leaving. Over a third of the beginning of the book is focused upon the dynamic in which Ethan asserts that he needs help, then is sidestepped or disregarded. No one listens to Ethan, cares about his concerns, or assists him. I began to tire of this ongoing frustration. Then Ethan finds the remains of Bill Evans (not the jazz pianist and composer of the same name), and he could swear he glimpses Kate. But the stakes for stepping out of line in Wayward Pines, asking uncomfortable questions, or asserting that problems exist are grave--and potentially deadly. And horrifying dangers lurk for those who seek to escape. Ethan has spent several days in the small town when Pines shifts to the point of view of Ethan's wife, who is in Seattle grieving her loss and the disappearance of Ethan...fifteen months earlier. Theresa's mysterious encounter with an odd man makes it even more clear that time is not passing in a normal fashion. Developments near the end of the book set up Ethan's complicity in the grand, nefarious conspiracy in Wayward Pines--but it seems doubtful that in the next book he will adhere to the rules of the ringleader of the elaborate plan. I was intrigued by the story's concept but wanted more character development to anchor me within the ever-evolving revelations surrounding the world of Wayward Pines , its shifting time, and the implications of these. I listened to Pines  as an audiobook. The two other titles in the series are Wayward and The Last Town . I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! You can find my review of Blake Crouch's Upgrade here , my review of his novel Recursion (mentioned in the Greedy Reading List Six Riveting Time-Travel Stories to Explore )   here , and my review of Dark Matter   here .

I loved the dark academia setting, Sciona's bid to become the first female in the High Magistry, and her rethinking of long-held assumptions and prejudices. Wang doesn't shy away from a dramatic reckoning for the story's main characters in the end. For twenty years, Sciona has single-mindedly set out to learn enough complex, intuitive, precise, powerful magic to become the first woman to be accepted into the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry.   But after Sciona blasts the competition at her entrance exam and is admitted, she finds that not all of her dreams have come true. The misogyny and contempt of her peers means she faces a lack of respect and resources at every turn. For example, instead of a lab assistant, she is assigned a janitor without magical training. The janitor is a cultural outsider with a complicated history, and what he lacks in training he makes up for with the desire to learn more about the forces that may have long ago destroyed his family. When he and Sciona uncover an enormous magical secret, it could not only mean the undoing of the magical hierarchies that many have come to take for granted--it's dangerous enough that those in power want to silence the two of them for good. I loved the dark academia setting, Sciona's sassy spirit, and the outsider-becoming-an-insider theme. Sciona's fight to pursue magic and her oft-frustrated ambition, her personal journey of reconsidering her assumptions about the Tiranish culture and its people's intentions, and an immense reckoning for all. The final section of the book doesn't shy away from violence, end-of-days drama, and a nuclear option that means the end for a main character. I read Blood Over Bright Haven  courtesy of Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! M. L. Wang is also the author of The Sword of Kaigen  and the YA fantasy series The Volta Academy Chronicles.

Ina's memoir is personal and thoughtful. Her charm comes through in candid reflections about her fascinating life, and her young life's adventures and missteps are as intriguing as the accounts of her eventual success. Ina Garten, often called by the name of her former specialty food shop in the Hamptons (and television show), Barefoot Contessa, offers a personal, charming memoir in Be Ready When the Luck Happens . Ina shares her life story, beginning with a difficult, abusive childhood, continuing to her marriage to Jeffrey while she was still in college, to her government job writing the nuclear energy budget and policy papers under President Ford and President Carter, then a flight of fancy that changed everything when she bought and learned to run the Hamptons store Barefoot Contessa--necessitating extended time apart from Jeffrey and, eventually, a very real scare that the relationship wouldn't survive. I looked forward to getting back to this book each time I could, and I was as charmed by Ina's guileless storytelling as by her blend of delightful spontaneity, creativity, practicality, and stubbornness. Ina is candid and thoughtful, offering business tips, personal reflections, and a wry sense of humor. She was and is organized, determined, and in constant search of new challenges. She defies logic at times when her inner voice tells her to jump into a new adventure, and Be Ready When the Magic Happens outlines various exciting moments (learning to fly a plane; diving into store ownership and taking initiatives to revamp the business) as well as personal decisions (the difficult choice to live in the Hamptons while Jeffrey lived in Tokyo for an extended period; deciding not to have children). I was most intrigued by her young life with Jeffrey; camping in Europe on $5 a day; her early adventures in business; her missteps and pivots; and examples of her relentless work ethic. I was less engaged by the later casual mentions of Ina's elite lifestyle--celebrity friends, elaborate remodeling--and her interjection of her television show's catch phrases. I did enjoy the book's ending, which focuses on the famous guests on her "Be My Guest" television show, but I loved Ina's personal stories the most. Ina reads the audiobook version of her story, and I enjoyed listening to her voice as she relates key elements of her life. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! If you enjoy memoirs, you can find Bossy reviews of my favorites here . And check out some of my favorite foodie memoirs here .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to the first book in Blake Crouch's Wayward Pines mystery trilogy, Pines ; I'm listening to Ina Garten's memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens ; and I'm reading Samantha Harvey's Booker Prize-winning novel Orbital . What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch In the first book in Blake Crouch's Wayward Pines trilogy, secret agent Ethan Burke wakes up in a strange place, by a river, horribly bruised and in pain--with no memory of his own name, his job, or his history--much less what on earth has happened to leave him in such a state. As his memory comes back to him in pieces, he recalls that his mission--before a devastating car crash left him reeling--was to locate two missing federal agents who had been dispatched to investigate potential crimes in Wayward Pines, Idaho, a month prior. They haven't been heard from in weeks. But Burke is developing more questions than answers. He can't get through to his wife and family in Seattle, no one seems to believe he is who he says he is, and he's not sure whether the electric fence surrounding the town is meant to keep something out or keep residents in. I'm listening to Pines as an audiobook. You can find my review of Blake Crouch's Upgrade here , my review of his novel Recursion (mentioned in the Greedy Reading List Six Riveting Time-Travel Stories to Explore )   here   and my review of Dark Matter   here . 02 Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten Ina Garten, often considered synonymous with the name of her former specialty food shop in the Hamptons, Barefoot Contessa, offers a personal, thoughtful memoir in Be Ready When the Luck Happens . Ina shares her life story, beginning with a difficult, abusive childhood and continuing to her marriage to Jeffrey while she was still in college, to her government job writing the nuclear energy budget and policy papers under President Ford and President Carter, then a flight of fancy when she bought and learned to run the Hamptons store Barefoot Contessa--necessitating extended time apart from Jeffrey and a very real scare that the relationship wouldn't survive. Ina is candid and thoughtful, offering business tips, personal reflections, and a wry sense of humor. She reads the audiobook version of her story, and I'm enjoying listening to her voice as she relates key elements of her life. 03 Orbital by Samantha Harvey Samantha Harvey's novel Orbital is garnering attention as the winner of the Booker Prize 2024. The slim book traces a single day in the lives of six astronauts orbiting the earth at seventeen thousand miles an hour, clinging to Coordinated Universal Time as they pass through sixteen sunsets and sunrises, watching familiar geographic shapes come in and out of sight and tracking metropolitan areas and the darkness indicating rural life. Meanwhile each astronaut thinks of family members on earth, prepares dehydrated meals, exercises, engages with each other, and attends to the minutiae of an extended stay in small quarters in space.

Cookbook Book Gift Ideas Where are my cookbook gift-givers? These are the 2024 cookbooks that I'm most excited to give as gifts this holiday season. I'll be sharing my annual Bossy book gift ideas leading up to the holidays, and I hope you'll find a book or two in these lists to delight someone you love--or to give to yourself! Don't forget to check my past Bossy gift idea lists for quirky books, perennial classics, modern favorites, nonfiction must-haves, or other new-to-you titles that might be perfect for the people on your holiday list! 2023 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Science and the Natural World Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Sports Nonfiction Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Cookbooks Shhh! Bossy Book Gift Ideas: Books about Media, Movies, and Music 2022 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Holiday Cookbook Gift Ideas   Shhh! Coffee Table Bossy Book Gift Ideas   Shhh! Science and Nature Bossy Book Gift Ideas   Shhh! Bossy Nonfiction Book Gift Ideas   2021 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Six More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Nonfiction and Hobby Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! Kid and Teen Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays 2020 Bossy Book Gift Guides Shhh! Books I'm Giving as Gifts This Holiday   Shhh! More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays   Shhh! Book Gifts for Kids and Teens   Shhh! More Book Gifts for Kids and Teens   Bossy Independent Bookstore Love A Bossy book-buying note: If you're buying books this holiday season, please support your local independent bookstore. They need and appreciate our business! (The book covers on Bossy Bookworm link you to Bookshop, a site that supports the beloved indies that keep us swimming in thoughtful book recommendations and excellent customer service all year round.) I love my local independent bookstore, Park Road Books . They have a fantastic selection of titles, staff members offer spot-on recommendations (and sparkling personalities!), and they can order almost anything they don't have in stock. 01 Justine Cooks: Recipes (Mostly Plants) for Finding Your Way in the Kitchen by Justine Doiron I follow justine_snacks on social media, and I love her small-kitchen, simple-ingredient, delicious-looking "snacks," prepared in lovely atmospheric lighting. Her first cookbook promises approachable, creative offerings to connect you and yours through food. Recipes include Baked Kale Salad with Chili Quinoa, Breaded Beans with Nutty Skhug, Whitefish Peperonata, Crispy Rice in Sungold-Miso Broth, plus simple breads like Sweet Potato Focaccia and Ripple Bread. The desserts chapter tempts with recipes like Tiny Salted Tiramisu Cookies and Butternut Squash Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Cream. 02 Does This Taste Funny? Recipes Our Family Loves by Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert During Covid, the Colbert family enjoyed having all three kids under the roof of their South Carolina home again, and cooking and eating together became a collective past time. Does This Taste Funny? collects some of the family's favorite recipes, as well as banter between Stephen and Evie. ...from Party Food, to Seafood, to Poultry and Meat, to Desserts ("This is one of the largest sections of the book. Evie always reminds me that desserts are a great way to postpone clearing up."), to Drinks...with gorgeous shots of their food, family, and home. 03 Easy Weeknight Dinners: 100 Fast, Flavor-Packed Meals for Busy People Who Still Want Something Good to Eat by Emily Weinstein and New York Times Cooking In Easy Weeknight Dinners , editor in chief Emily Weinstein has curated some of the greatest hits--100 favorite dishes that you can make in as little as 10 minutes, from trusted writers Melissa Clark, Eric Kim, Yewande Komolafe, Ali Slagle, and more, served with mouth-watering photos and notes from the NYT Cooking community. My household's dinners are largely inspired by New York Times Food emails and recipes, and I'm all in for truly quick, delicious options such as "a standout meal for one, crowd-pleasers for picky kids, or something special for company...versatile, flavor-packed meals for busy lives." 04 The Great British Baking Show: Kitchen Classics: The Official 2023 Great British Bake Off Book by The Bake Off Team The Great British Baking Show is cozy winter watching for me and anyone else in this family I can get to watch alongside me. In The Great British Baking Show: Kitchen Classics , recipes by Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, and the 2023 bakers include 80 mouthwatering Signature Bakes. The joy of The Great British Bake Off is...this combination of old and new, classic and contemporary.... With biscuits and breads; pastries and patisseries, desserts, chocolate inventions, and, of course, cakes, these are all recipes you'll want to make at home. 05 Milk Street: Cook What You Have: Make a Meal Out of Almost Anything by Christopher Kimball I've mentioned several Milk Street and Christopher Kimball-conceived cookbooks in past book gift lists , and I'm dedicated to Kimball's Milk Street magazine, published every two months. Cook What You Have promises to transform your pantry offerings into "bright, bold meals from around the world." Got a can of chickpeas? It can become anything from a quick hummus to a curry spiked with sweet carrots, from a garlicky chickpea soup to a bowl of crispy canned beans with lemon and scallions. The 225 recipes in Cook What You Have offer practical methods for finding creative inspiration right under your nose--without a trip to the store. 06 Half Baked Harvest: Quick and Cozy by Tieghan Gerard I mentioned Tieghan Gerard's Half Baked Harvest: Every Day in a past cookbook gift list , and I own several of her cookbooks. Typically, everything Gerard dreams up appeals to me, and the recipes work out as designed. In her fourth cookbook, Tieghan Gerard returns with a collection of more than 120 recipes that reflect the way she cooks now: simple ingredients, easy to get on the table, short on time yet big on flavor. Recipes for promising, accessible comfort food with a twist include: Maple Bacon Pancakes with Bourbon Maple Syrup, Cheesy Roasted Shallot Bread, Garlic Butter Steak Bites with Bang Bang Sauce, Sheet Pan Mac & Cheese with All the Crispy Edges, and Dark Chocolate Pistachio Cake with Cream Cheese Icing.

I was hooked on the story of a team of young women fighting for admittance to a guild, their bonds, and their adventures. But the extremely specific, frequent mentions of body parts and the mechanics of sex became distracting, and I didn't respond to the experienced, relentless male/naive, wowed female dynamic. Ruby Dixon's paranormal, interspecies-romance novel Bull Moon Rising  begins with privileged heiress Aspeth Honori's unlikely pilgrimage to the gritty city in a desperate attempt to try to save her family's legacy. Her father's gambling means the family's artifacts have been lost, and Aspeth is determined to join the Royal Artifactual Guild, become an underground adventurer, find artifacts, and secure her own future and those of her family too. But achieving her goals isn't going to be easy. As a woman, she won't be accepted into the guild without a chaperone, and her most likely candidate is a grumpy minotaur (who's also her teacher, oops) who also needs a favor. He's about to go into rut, and despite her ignorance of minotaurs and of sex in general, she's pledged to pair with him, and she enters into a rushed marriage. The next day, she begins classes with her female-only group of misfits, who are each hoping to earn their way into the guild. The cover is arresting, and the sparkles and art are a nod to the novel's fantasy genre. But the cotton-candy-rainbow palette somehow didn't prepare me for the steaminess and frank sexual discussions that begin to hit early in the book and ramp up from there. I listened to Bull Moon Rising in audiobook form, and hearing it all read to me may have exacerbated my distraction and eventual irritation at the prominently featured and often-discussed instances of specific body parts, excretions, planned particulars, and sex itself. The minotaur character (he's strong, with a heart of gold) is beastlike in his urges and relentlessness, and his "must-mate" bossiness made me uncomfortable, especially set against Aspeth's inexperience and wondrous admiration for him (she's the naive young lady being taken in hand). The "rutting moon" build-up and his Neanderthal-like single-mindedness grated on me as well. The world-building felt a little unfinished, but the adventure story was compelling, with women fighting for recognition--often by subverting the rules and making their own way; the exploration and danger; the quickly developed and strong bonds; and, ultimately, moral reckonings about the search for, sale, and amassing of ancient artifacts. I loved that Aspeth is a plus-size woman who loves books and wears glasses and is the irresistible object of affection for the main male character. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! Dixon is the author of 21 Ice Planet Barbarians novels and dozens of other steamy-romantasy books.

Blaylock's story centers around a packhorse librarian in 1930s Appalachian Kentucky and adds layers like a complicated past, second chances, mining tragedy, a bad guy who's pure evil, mountain justice, and the promise of a happy ending. In Bonnie Blaylock's Light to the Hills , it's 1930 in the Kentucky Appalachians, and Amanda Rye is a traveling packhorse librarian, a widowed young mother, and somewhat of a local to the region, albeit estranged from her pastor father and her mother due to past scandal. Amanda makes a special connection with a mountain family on her route that's facing tough times despite their double work at the coal mine and their small farm. The MacInteers--tough yet tender mother Rai, her clever daughter Sass, playful young adult Finn, and a hardworking father as well as the family's younger children--are hesitant to accept any semblance of help. But Amanda brings them reading materials, apples for treasured pies, and some joyful company, and a deep friendship develops. The bond between Amanda and the family tempts her to share a dark secret from her past--one that caused a deep rift between Amanda and her parents when they (against all logic, but when faced with the threat of scandal) believed outlandish, harmful rumors without discussion, then cut ties with her. When a haunting figure from the past shows up in town again, Amanda's history not only threatens to shake up her future, but turns out to be intricately linked to some of the MacInteers's emerging complications. Blaylock celebrates tough women, stand-up men, and never-ending hard work. Mining's dangers aren't glossed over, and tragedies abound. But Light to the Hills seems destined to provide happy endings. Blaylock offers up second chances at love, avoidance of punishment for our heroes' missteps when they tell the truth about others' wrongdoings, and a heartwarming chosen-family element (one of my favorite themes). The story showcases a love for books and the power of the written word. The bad guy in the story is pure evil, and there's little doubt he'll get a comeuppance by the story's end. The mountain justice that's carried out by the women was thrillingly shocking. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! I love a historical fiction story set in Appalachia , and I also love to read books about books . You can check out some of my Bossy favorites at the links here. Other books I've loved about traveling librarians include The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and The Giver of Stars .

This novel about the power of books takes a tough situation that ends in a death and allows for a fresh start--which might push the bounds of realism but offers a hopeful, heartwarming tale of chosen family and friendship. The cover art and title of How to Read a Book  gave me the impression that Wood's novel was likely going to be cute, sweet, and neatly wrapped up. But the book opens in a prison, with female inmates participating in their weekly book club in rural Abbott Falls, Maine. Main protagonist Violet Powell is being released after 22 months' imprisonment for the drunk-driving accident in which she killed an older woman. Harriet Larson is a retired English teacher who leads the prison book club, and her forays into the local bookstore catch the eye of handyman Frank Daigle, who is still coming to terms with the loss of his wife in a car accident (the accident caused by Violet). When the three cross paths out in the messy, unexpected, heartbreaking world, their encounters change them all forever. A found/chosen family element brings tons of heart to the tale, and the new start for Violet is satisfying and hopeful--although I wasn't sure it was particularly realistic. But the tone of Wood's novel feels reassuring that all will work out in the story, and despite the manslaughter, betrayal, guilt, prison, and some truly questionable choices, it does. Harriet's fraternizing with the imprisoned women--both in and out of jail--seems particularly ill-advised, but this ultimately works out fine. Not everything can be resolved, but much is forgiven, and considering the sticky situation at hand and the death at its heart, this is quite something. The summary of Violet's future at the end felt unnecessary to me, but readers may like the neat closing of the loop. I love reading a book that takes place in Maine, but I didn't get a significant Maine feel to the characters or setting while reading the story despite the mentions of the state and of towns in it. I listened to How to Read a Book  as an audiobook. I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! Check out these links for more Bossy reviews of books about books or books set in Maine .

The Books I'm Reading Now I guess this list is an Escape from Reality attempt, as I have three fantasy novels going right now. I'm listening to Ruby Dixon's sassy fantasy novel, Bull Moon Rising ; I'm reading M. L. Wang's recently published dark academia novel, Blood Over Bright Haven ; and I'm reading Frances White's fantasy story about mysterious deaths on a magical ship journey, Voyage of the Damned . What are you reading these days, bookworms? 01 Bull Moon Rising (Royal Artifactual Guild #1) by Ruby Dixon Ruby Dixon's paranormal, interspecies-romance novel Bull Moon Rising begins with privileged heiress Aspeth Honori's unlikely pilgrimage to the gritty city in order to try to save her family's legacy. Her father's gambling means the family's artifacts have been lost, and Aspeth is determined to join the Royal Artifactual Guild, become an underground adventurer, find artifacts, and secure her own future and those of her family too. But achieving her goals isn't going to be that easy. As a woman, she won't be accepted into the guild without a chaperone, and her most likely candidate is a grumpy minotaur (who's also her teacher, oops) who also needs a favor. He's about to go into rut, and despite her ignorance of minotaurs and of sex in general, she's pledged to pair with him, and she enters into a rushed marriage on the eve of the first day of classes with her female-only group of misfits. They're each hoping to earn their way into the guild. The cover is arresting, and the sparkles and art are a nod to the novel's fantasy genre. But the cotton-candy-rainbow palette somehow didn't prepare me for the steaminess and frank sexual discussions that begin to hit early in the book and don't show any signs of letting up. However, if I had realized that Dixon is the author of 21 Ice Planet Barbarians novels and dozens of other steamy-romantasy books, I might have pieced this together sooner. I'm listening to Bull Moon Rising as an audiobook. 02 Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang For twenty years, Sciona has single-mindedly set out to learn enough complex, intuitive, precise, powerful magic to become the first woman to be accepted into the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry. But after Sciona blasts the competition at her entrance exam and is admitted, she finds that not all of her dreams have come true. The misogyny and contempt of her peers means she faces a lack of respect and resources at every turn. For example, instead of a lab assistant, she is assigned a janitor without magical training. The janitor is a cultural outsider with a complicated history, and what he lacks in training he makes up for with the desire to learn more about the forces that may have long ago destroyed his family. When he and Sciona uncover an enormous magical secret, it could not only mean the undoing of the magical hierarchies that many have come to take for granted--it could be dangerous enough that those in power might want to silence the two of them for good. So far I'm loving the dark academia setting, Sciona's sassy spirit, and the outsider-becoming-an-insider theme. I'm reading Blood Over Bright Haven courtesy of Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley. M. L. Wang is also the author of The Sword of Kaigen and the YA fantasy series The Volta Academy Chronicles. 03 Voyage of the Damned by Frances White To honor Concordia's thousand years of peace between its twelve provinces, the emperor's ship sets out on a voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountain. The twelve heirs of Concordia are aboard, each with a special magical power (a Blessing). All except one, that is. Ganymedes Piscero is, as always, a general disappointment: a class clown lacking in magical ability. When a magical heir is killed and other deaths follow, Ganymedes is suspected of foul play. He's innocent, but without magical protections, he is in terrible danger of being picked off next. Can Ganymedes become the hero he'll need to be to save the future of his people?

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is a historical fiction art-focused mystery told in two timelines. I found the story immensely satisfying. ...I realized I too had seen terrible sights, lived through awful things, and began to wonder if getting them down on canvas might help to exorcize them from my own nightmares. In The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby , Ellery Lloyd (the husband and wife writing team of Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos) offers a gorgeously wrought historical fiction mystery in two timelines. In 1938, runaway heiress and aspiring artist Juliette Willoughby gives up her inheritance (and dark family history) for love, then disappears into Europe with surrealist painter Oskar Erlich. She works tirelessly on a painting that garners significant interest, while Oskar's work doesn't get the attention he was hoping for. The tension between Juliette and Oskar begins to drive them apart, and Juliette begins to fear that her family has tracked her down in Paris. Then Juliette and Oskar perish in a Parisian apartment fire--along with Juliette's brilliant painting. Fifty years later, Caroline and Patrick, two Cambridge students who are falling in love, are also on the hunt for dissertation topics. They stumble upon a treasure trove of items belonging to Juliette Willoughby--and indications that the famous Paris apartment fire was no accident at all. The modern-day timeline follows Caroline and Patrick through twists and turns, through the ins and outs of the art world, to the eventual collapse of their relationship (minor note: this occurs off page, and I found it somewhat unsatisfying). The mysterious appearance of what seems to be a Juliette Willoughby original, followed by a tragic death within Caroline and Patrick's circle, bring the two back together, fueled by their knowledge of Juliette's motivations and their desire to understand the past more fully. I was intrigued by the structure, and I liked the gradually revealed elements of Juliette's painting and of her past. This was immensely satisfying historical fiction. I listened to The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby as an audiobook. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Ellery Lloyd also wrote The Club  and  People Like Her . You can click here for lists of more historical fiction novels and historical fiction mysteries I've loved.