I love this author! Darkly is a YA coming of age novel drenched in intrigue, danger, and mystery. I enjoyed it, but felt at times that Pessl‘s talent was wasted on this story and these characters. The language the teens used was beyond their years, and their insights didn‘t really come from their own experiences. Still, the scope and intricacies of the story is amazing and engaging.

Wow! This book took a looong time to read, for some reason, but was worth it! The real story started about 200 pages in, and never stopped. Im@not sure I‘m a fan of his writing style, but it is a great story. Recommend!

Richard Powers is amazing. This story explores the inspection of AI and climate change; tech bros and poets. Lovely , fallible characters and lots of deep thinking. A very accessible read, despite all of the weight of the premise.

So good! Another novella examining the world of rural Ireland. This follows a young girl who is “fostered out” to extended family when there is not enough resources at home to support her. Gorgeous and heartbreaking.

Clocking in at just 116 pages, this books packs a wallop. Set in Ireland in1985, Keegan tells the story of an Irish father who needs to come to terms with a “secret” the Catholic Church is hiding in their small town. It‘s an examination of morality, meaning, and Grace. Powerful and recommended.

I‘m sad to give this a mediocre review. I LOVE this author, so maybe my expectations were too high going in, but there wasn‘t much of a plot, there was a weirdly written sex scene, and it went on too long. Still, she‘s a beautiful writer and her characters are adorably human. Maybe I just like her YA books better?

Man, I‘m sad this series is over. What an amazing, thoughtful, inclusive Sci-fi take on humans and love and everything. Spectacular.

Such a sweet book! Inspired by news clipping from the 1930s, this is the fictional story of a 17 year old dust bowl refugee who ends up driving 2 giraffes from the east coast to the San Diego zoo. It‘s a little light in some aspects, with a lot of very convenient plot points, but super enjoyable and great characters.

So good! I didn‘t love it as much as her Latest, God of the Woods, but still great. A gripping and wrenching story of a troubled female cop who is searching for her downtrodden sister. When women start showing up dead, the stakes are raised. Lovely writing and strong female characters.

Best read of the summer! “The God of the Woods”, is such a great read! It‘s essentially a mystery (young teen goes missing from summer camp a decade after her brother went missing from the same camp), but with layers of language and subtle themes and multiple perspectives. Best of all: no horror!

Just barely a pick. Not sure why this series is not resonating with me, but I think it‘s the lack of complex characters. I can‘t say this is better than the first one, but I‘m probably not going to read any further into the series. Better than so-so, but still on the “meh” side.

This was a good book, but not great. Very plot driven, not a lot of character development. Loved the overall theme of rebellion, and the dystopian future world. I‘m jumping right into book 2, but only because I don‘t have anything better to read.

Another great Minnesota author. Leif Enger‘s latest novel is a dystopian tale of a near future where the rich have secluded themselves away from the slow collapse of society, and everyone else is just doing their best to survive and stay human. The book centers on Rainy, a house painter/musician, and the events that unfold after a stranger falls into their care. Surreal, touching, and deeply human. I highly recommend.

I enjoyed the second book as much as the first. I get the comments that there‘s too much going on and it‘s very fast paced, but that didn‘t bother me at all. I thought it was amazing. The third book comes soon!

I love stories by Minnesota authors, and I really enjoyed Stradal‘s first two novels, but this one was a slog. It covers 4 generations of the same family as they run a storied supper club in northern Minnesota. Somehow I could not keep the characters straight, likely because of the overlapping timelines, so it was hard to stick with it. Lovely writing, great characters, but lost the thru line.

What an incredible book! 10/10❤️❤️. I loved this in the same way I loved Anne Patchett‘s novels. This the story of an indigenous family in Nova Scotia whose youngest daughter goes missing one summer when they are picking the berry harvest in Maine. I‘m still crying, but they are good tears. Brilliant and gorgeous novel.

I can‘t. I feel sickened. Bailed at 3/4 of the way through. Lots of triggers here, and shameless manipulation of them for maximum discomfort. Somehow I thought this was going to be a gripping drama, but it‘s a semi raunchy romance with violence against women. Nope. Are all of her books like this?

This book was insane! It‘s been forever since I‘ve inhaled a book like this. Terrific fantasy, dragons, heroes, all the things. Hunger games meets the Dragon Riders of Pern. Warning: there were some truly cringy sex scenes. Otherwise- phenominal!

Rightly described as a “gothic mystery”, this is the story of family secrets and the horrible consequences of selfishness. I think this is Maggie O‘Farrell‘s first novel, and reads like a thriller. Her writing style is great for this genre. Impressive and quick read. Highly recommend.

This was quite the ride. If you enjoyed her first book, The Power, you‘ll likely enjoy this. The Future details a fictional scenario where the social media execs are accelerating the collapse of the natural world through encouraging consumption and spreading false narratives for profit. The book centers around the people fighting back. Edgy, bleak, and righteous. I enjoyed it!

Sweet (other than all the murders), clever, and funny. Middle aged man‘s uncle dies leaving him heir to his villain business. I am not entirely sure what to make of this book, but if you have a rainy afternoon free, it‘s might be just the thing to curl up with.

I have a hard time reading about neglected kids, kids with drug dealing parents, violence against animals, etc. This had all that in the first 50 pages. I‘m out.

I‘m not entirely sure how I feel about this book, but I did enjoy it. It went off on a tangent like no other very early on, which threw me off, but it came together with remarkable clarity at the end. This story of an aging man who begins to volunteer at the senior living center nearby is endearing and sweet without being saccharine. Not as grumpy as Backman, not as sweet as The Storied Life if A.J.Fikry. Enjoyable!

This was the “local author” pick for my book club this year. Good story, but totally dated female characters. Mostly defined by their breasts, hips, and thighs. It was written 20 years ago, but good grief. Yikes.

This book was interesting, but not life changing. Kind of meh.

I really have a hard time with this guy‘s writing style, but he is a master storyteller and I‘m a sucker for solid science. I loved this. A Ppesent day threat to earth propels at least one unlikely astronaut into space to look for a solution. Fun read! Coming out as a movie with Ryan Gosling as the hero!

A marvelous book, reminiscent of Colson Whitehead‘s work, but not as dark. Still, it‘s a story of a small, rural Black and Jewish community in Pennsylvania in the 1930s, with a mysterious death that keeps you wondering throughout the book. A great story!

Not nearly as good as the first book. I got lost in all the alliances and politics, and the plot did not hold up to a full book length story. I felt it could have been summarized so the author could focus on the characters, which are terrific!

Such a fun, feminist, romp through space and fairytale. When galactic princess Rory Thorne‘s naming day is attended by 13 fairies (one of them uninvited) she is gifted with all the usual feminine wiles, as well as the ability to see through misogynistic bullsh*t. When she has to prematurely ascend the throne, she also sets out to pull down the patriarchy. So much fun, and already on to book 2!

Great young adult novel. The three teens in this book set in Tennessee struggle with poverty and broken families, but they have each other. Center deals with these topics by adding humor, but does not make light of the tragic reality these kids face. I highly recommend!

What a joy! Sittenfeld in one of the wittiest writers I‘ve ever read. This story is about a comedy writer for an SNL style improve show who flounders through a developing romance with real and endearing clumsiness. I loved this book.

Stuck in bed with Covid, and grabbed this off a stack I had picked up at the library book sale for my Little Free Library. Not my usual fare, but I absolutely inhaled it and even cried a bit. 😂😂 If you like light, sentimental reads, or just need a pick-me-up, this should do the trick!

I think Ann Patchett might be my favorite author. Her newest book, Tom Lake, feels like the kind of book you could read as a teen, a middle aged person, or a crone. It‘s a timeless, yet very modern, story of love and family; spanning from New Hampshire to Hollywood to Michigan. Gorgeous storytelling and a captivating structure. Wowza. I just finished it and I feel like starting it again!

I couldn‘t stand this book, or the audio book. His editor must have bailed, too.

Such a pleasure to read! Just as good as Cutting for Stone. It slows a bit in the middle, but had me riveted otherwise. If you love sprawling family dramas with an overarching theme, this is the book!

I love Ann Patchett so much. This one was maybe not my favorite, but only because her others are outstanding. This is a quiet and ordinary book about families and tragedies and is just beautiful. A fast and satisfying read.

Book 3 of this series was also great, though not as good as book 2. Chambers weaves together several different narratives that all address, on some level, the unanswerable question : “what‘s the point?” This book is just lovely, and the whole series is a must for anyone who likes to chew on big ideas. So impressed.

I loved this second book in the Wayfairer series even more than the first. A thoughtful and compelling story about humans and AI, and so amazing and inclusive. 5 ⭐️⭐️🌟⭐️ 🌟

Thanks to a Litsy tip, I went from Becky Chambers Monk and Robot books to her earlier Sci-fi Wayfarers series. The first book was great! A bit of a slow start, but her commitment to exploring the relationships we have with each other, our planet, and technology is amazing. Fun and thoughtful. Just picked up book 2!

Amazing historical fiction set in Italy in the 1500s. Lovely writing and a surprisingly thrilling page-turner. I recommend everything Maggie O‘Farrell has written. ❤️❤️

What a sweet series. This second novella is just as charming as the first Monk and Robot book. Just put the first book of their Wayfarer series on hold. Great author!

This was a really interesting, creative, and relevant book, but I did not, in the end, love it. In the alternate history of 1800s Oxford, language (and translation) is magic. Babel explores what might happen when British white colonialism is challenged by the very cultures it is mining for power. The characters are interesting but undeveloped, the climax inexplicably uninspired. But the writing, the language, and the ideas are beautiful!

Well, that was fun! I haven‘t read a book like this for a long time: long but fast-paced; nostalgic but not sentimental; light and playful but grounded in painful truths; easy to read and a marvel of a story. The backbone of the plot centers on three teens and an 8 year old who embark on a road trip, each of them in search of something different and necessary, but the story diverges wildly with each mile. So good!

Wow! I loved The Storied Like of AJ Fikry, but this is even better. Following a small group of friends from the late 80s through MIT in the 90s through the rise of the gaming industry, this book has love and hate and creative genius and Shakespeare and weird structure and it‘s just exquisite. I highly recommend!

What an amazing story! Spanning 170 years, Horse brings together the antebellum south, slavery, the civil war, the Smithsonian, art history, and modern racism in America - all through the life of one amazing thoroughbred. Brook‘s writing is amazing, and the structure is incredible. Riveting and fascinating.

18 year old Zoey starts a new life in a small town in South Carolina, hoping to put her past behind her. There she meets a similar cast of characters (and their ghosts) and finds an unexpected new family. This book had good plot, though I found the characters to not have a lot of emotional depth. I enjoyed reading it anyway.

Wow! What a great read! Loved this funny, smart, surprisingly deep story about a female scientist in the 1950‘s who breaks all the “rules” in a bid to further female independence. Elizabeth Zott is a terrific character, and Lessons in Chemistry gets an A+ from me!

Lovely and strange alternative history where thousands of women in the 1950s change into dragons in a rebellion against the patriarchy. It‘s an awfully long extended metaphor for the feminist movement, but a fascinating look at what the world might look like if women took their power away from the men.

So good! Glad to see a book of Kelly‘s nominated for the National Book Award. This story was a tale for our times about what happens when greedy, selfish people take away the livelihood of a community and how that can turn into fervent distrust of your neighbor. A pointed allegory about our current political situation. Of course, books are a big part of the solution! Just lovely, and thought provoking.

Back to the Wheel of Time series. Book 7 was a little rough. Not much for character arcs across these first 7 books. And some of the gender roles are not holding up well in today‘s world. Still, I keep coming back to it. Taking a break before book #8!