October wrap!

I‘ve been reading through whatever books of this series are available on Libby and enjoying them. Amish world meets Englisher world in modern Ohio. Dog pic unrelated but fyi, Aldi currently has dog sweaters!

I‘ve been reading through whatever books of this series are available on Libby and enjoying them. Amish world meets Englisher world in modern Ohio. Dog pic unrelated but fyi, Aldi currently has dog sweaters!

I got a rescue dog! Her name is Luna and she‘s lovely (but she‘s confused about what I‘m asking her to do). So might take a while to settle into modeling for book reviews 😂
Loved this book about 1700s Venice, dark ambition, and two girls and their passion for music and more

7 years!!! #litsyversary

Great April! Fav reads were the tagged book (husband wife body swap), The Faniky Chao, The Glow, Lone Women, and Everyone in my family has killed someone‘s

This is a faaaaantastic audiobook! Loving it so far. Very funny mystery with lots of meta elements. I love audiobooks when the narrator refers to you as listening to it. Small touch but well done

An absolutely stunning third book in this series. I love it so 💕 the Paris and Agra settings, the science of perfume, the family stories… so great

If you loved We Ride on Sticks (weirdness of high school sports with magic??) or Our Wives Under the Sea (body transformations and relationships and queerness), or want a mermaid story that‘s not quite a mermaid story, snag this one. A high school competitive swimmer and the challenges she faces (cw homophobia, racism, body horror, sexual assault). Out March 28!

Got a new hat from my local indie and I love it!

Feb was a great reading month and I got through eleven arcs!

Besides reading a lot of thrillers, I read some weird classics: The Sea, The Sea and The Hearing Trumpet. I loved both! For more wonderful weirdness, might pick up Red-Headed Pilgrim, out last week from Two-Dollar Radio. It‘s hilarious on audio (think Diary of a Wimpy Kid but if it were for grown-ups). Vera Wong‘s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers is perfection. It‘s a great cozy, where Vera wants to fix all the suspects‘ lives in the process.

A stunner of a novel about five queer women in 1970/1980s Uruguay and the resistance, joy, and horrors they lived through.

Ten books I already own that I want to read this year. What should I start with?

I‘m loving this. I love nonfic that is deeply researched but also very narrative. This is about how South Dakota became a haven of divorce in late 19th century and early 20th century

My current conundrum

I‘m a big Sittenfeld fan, but I have to admit that I didn‘t know how her romance novel would read— and was so pleasantly surprised! Set partially in an SNL-like TV show and partially during lockdown 2020, this book is a tender and funny and authentic romance between two imperfect but lovable characters. Hope this isn‘t her last! If you like Emily Henry, stack this one. Out next year.

Book wrap up and recommendations via meme! Check out my year in review here: https://rachelmansmckenny.substack.com/p/2022-in-books-recommendations-in

5 ⭐️ Reads this month:
BABEL
NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO PANIC
BLACKWATER FALLS
THE VERIFIERS
THE OBSESSION
THE GUEST
OUR MISSING HEARTS

Year-end reading wrap to come soon. Subscribe to my newsletter (link in bio) if you want to make sure to get it.

Happy early holidays to meeee. One of my favorite humor writers has this book just out and I‘m probably going to pass it around to all my girlfriends when I‘m done

I got to record some book recommendations for Iowa Public radio! You can check out the full list of what I and some other readers recommended here: https://www.iowapublicradio.org/arts-life/2022-11-21/talk-of-iowa-2022-holiday-b...

Just joined Hive as a Twitter replacement and I‘m @ rmmckenny on there. Anyone else over there?

😇book review😈
This is a compact (under four hour audiobook, under 200 page physical book) newly out from Tor.com and I devoured it in two sittings. A magical detective who had made a deal with the devil a decade ago is coming up on the end of her contract— her time on earth is about to end, but there‘s one more job on the horizon.

(More 👇🏼)

This was better than I expected. I‘d call it “dystopia light”. If you liked Midnight Library, you‘d enjoy it.

Listening to an audio ARC of this detective novel, out Tuesday. Really enjoying the balance of themes and introduction of this new kind of detective, one sent from a community response unit sent to investigate a town with a police department under scrutiny. Really awesome plot interweaving a lot of current political and social pressures.

Did I read a lot of French in October? Yeah yeah I did. Lots of good reads this month honestly.

🥳🥳🥳surpassed my biggest goal ever and am on a French reread kick

This was for sale at my library‘s book sale. Copyright 1999. Did I buy it to put in a white elephant gift for the holidays? Of course I did.

Am I a sucker for Jen DeLuca‘s Willow Creek series? I am. Was I thrilled to get an ARC of the newest one? I was. This book follows Lulu, a lawyer who goes off the grid and quits her job, tagging along with kilt wearing musicians (if you‘ve read the series, they‘re from book 2). Enter Dex: a guitarist with a reputation. Sparks fly. I liked this one and felt like Lulu‘s journey was really relatable. Pick it up if you love RennFaires!

🍁September Reading Wrap🍁
A good reading month.
Top recommendations:
- Hysterical (memoir)
-The Women Could Fly (fiction)
- The Change (fiction)
-Do You Take this Man (romance)
Books not out yet that should be on your radar:
- Mistakes We‘re Made (romance)
-Phaedra (historical fic)
And the only book I‘ve read in months that I actively cannot recommend: Lessons
I‘m rereading Mantel and into the third novel. So sad to lose such a literary giant.

A Bildungsroman set partially at an Eton-like boarding school and partially after the main character‘s wife leaves him with their seven month old son. Per McEwan‘s style, close perspective and beautiful prose, with big themes that shake you.

The current hot book of the moment and I‘m enjoying it on LibroFM. If you wanted to read but wondered if not having ever watched iCarly would make it weird then don‘t worry. I‘ve never seen an episode and I‘m deep into this. Intense and startling and funny at points, but definitely prepare for descriptions of abuse

First one from this author and really enjoying! What should I read of theirs next?

My annual re-listen 🍂🍁🍄

New release and I‘ve been listening to it all day. Seriously. If you liked Godshot or like books with religious extremism (Christian cult kind), you will love this.

Listened to this while making pickles. I usually love his books but the mixed up timelines and so many characters were convoluted rather than thrilling. Oh well. Hopefully the pickles are good!

YOU GUYS. I‘m obsessed with this book. It‘s Julia Whelan (audiobook narrator extraordinaire)‘s romance novel about audiobook narrators. It‘s so funny and smart and original and Julia‘s reading of her own work is maybe the best audio I‘ve heard all year? (I think I‘m on audiobook 75 or so, so that‘s not nothing!!) Stack this one now. Out in August. It (should be, better be, if there is justice) will be huge.

June Wrap!
5⭐️s: Counterfeit, The Cherry Robbers, Fight Night, An Olive Grove in Ends
4⭐️s: The Woman in the Library, The Unsinkable Greta James, Lessons in Chemistry, Acceptance, Flying Solo

#junewrap #junewrapup

This was fine but felt very (overly) slow, especially in the first half? The octopus was great. Loved the unique very PNW setting

Currently reading this ARC about art and money and self set at the beginning of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Love all the art descriptions and personal dramas

I admit having been mislead by this cover, which reads as much lighter fare than it really is. What is actually here is a really moving, well wrought story about science, the search for love and family, and the patriarchy. Honestly one of my favorite listens of the summer so far— not over hyped!

Come join #groupR on #LMPBC if you want to rea books in translation! https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/5080444aead2ca0ff2-l...

I‘m really loving this. At first, I was worried because I had adored Dietland so much and was hoping I wouldn‘t mentally compare the two books too much, but not a problem! This is such a completely different vibe (very Shirley Jackson) and I tearing through it. Can‘t wait to see how it ends.

This was a 3.5⭐️ audiobook for me but if I read it on paper it might have been lower 😕. The voice actor is fabulous and the LGBTQ rep is wonderful, but there are overly sentimental passages and lots of direct statement of feelings/hitting you over the head with how you‘re supposed to feel in a moment. Plus, I get bothered by the use of a sick person as a “lesson” or prop (midway thru book). Just not my favorite if you only see a character once.

I caved and bought a Fanny pack and totally love it 😂

Things I adored about this book: the early 70s setting in a bustling gay community, the truly winding mystery through the California countryside, and of course, Vera‘s clear-eyed skepticism about everything, even about her own chances. This might be my favorite of Knecht‘s books yet. If a beautifully written noir sounds up your alley, pick it up today! 5s! (More ⬇️)

This is a really interesting urban fantasy. Parts of it are homage to The Phantom Tollbooth (an all time favorite), and it‘s set in New Orleans with a really interesting magic system based around music and spirits. Dual narrator: one kid (Perry Graves) and one adult (Casey, whose graffiti is magical). Enjoying it so far! Out tomorrow.

Peaceful morning coffee and book time before the kids get up. I‘m enjoying this one, not quite as much as Ariadne, but enough. The betrayals are so awful in Greek lit and Saint has a way of putting them so clearly

This went viral on Twitter lol one of my favorite books!
You can find me over there: Twitter.com/rmmckenny

🌼 May Reads🌼
I read so much romance this month. Too much romance? Absolutely not—but yes I think I needed to be swept away. (I especially loved BOOK LOVERS like every other person on the planet and A LADY FOR A DUKE, which would be a great Pride read if you‘re on the look out!)
Other favorites of the month were the compulsively readable GIRL, 11, TRUE BIZ, and VERA KELLY: LOST AND FOUND (out in June!)
Hope you had a great May! Onto June!