June: What I Read

 How is the reading year HALF OVER? It really is a sign of advanced age that the world is flying by, huh? ANYWAY, I read some excellent books this month-- pool days, you know? Here they are in order from least favorite to favorite:

🎧If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares: Ugh. I mean, the whole point of this book is awareness, so I guess you should read it. (Less about bad actors and more about the idea that humans will get in the way of AI's needs, and once they can live without us, they will).

📱Life After Life by Kate Atkinson: I am very intrigued that this is a #1 in a series... I will read more about the Todd family.

📓🥳Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash: I did not like this book-- I felt like the author was just trying too hard to make everyone quirky.

📓🥳Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer: Meh. I HATED this author's first book, and, while this one was better, it was still not great

📓🥳Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy: This was waaaaaay over-hyped, IMO.

📓🥳Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune: I really do like this author, but this romance was so so so so so predictable. A good pool read, though!

🎧Conform by Ariel Sullivan: Ooooooh this is a great new dystopian take.

🎧Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler: I immediately started the next book in the series the second I finished this. Unfortch, I have been extended my library loan in favor of others...

🎧The House on Fripp Island by Rebecca Kauffman: Ooooh this was a gooood one-- she can do no wrong, IMO.

🎧How to Read a Book by Monica Wood: SO SWEET.

🎧Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser: Fairytale retellings are my jam! This one was dark and sly and funny.  

📓🥳The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn: YES, I love her-- the best light romances. 

📱🥳This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum: OH I LOVED THIS and did not see the whole plot coming. Kind of over the podcast trope, though.

📱🥳The Gulf of Lions by Caitlin Shetterly: ALL THE CLOSURE PETE AND ALICE NEEDED!! (Sequel to Pete and Alice in Maine).

🎧🥳The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff: Such great characters and a really simple, engaging plot.

📱🥳Alan Opts Out by Courtney Maum: I laughed almost the whole time I read this book-- it's about a woman trying to make it into an adult sorority while her husband is divesting of capitalist trappings-- LOVED IT.

🎧🥳Dolly all the Time by Annabel Monaghan: Loved this! Predictable, sure, but the characters were so fun, and the dialogue really sparkled.

📓🥳Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel: Such a wild premise and so charming--  you guys should read this one.

May: What I Read

First pool book of the season!

SKIP THESE YOU GUYS OMG

📱I Just Wish I Had a Bigger Kitchen and Other Lies I Think Will Make Me Happy by Kate Strickler: This felt like one big IG caption. Hard pass. 

🎙️ The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: I do not know how I got hooked on this YA series, but the books each had really long waits at the library, so it has been YEARS. I did not love the finale and had a hard time remembering the in intricacies of the plot in the interim, but I felt obligated to see the series through. 

🥳🎙️Is This a Cry for Help by Emily Austin: Preachy and tell-don't-show- y. I don't like this author, and I will not be trying her again, unless the next book is so great that you guys are like omg you have to read it. (Did not like her last book, but the positive reviews of it and the gentle buzz of this one made me give it a whirl. Nope).

🥳🎙️Annie Knows Everything by Rachel Wood: This was a cute, breezy romance with a fairly unlikeable narrator and some serious unresolved plot issues. Plus! The author used "I" a lot when she should have said "me" (between Shannon and I, for example). Meh. 

OLDIES BUT GOODIES

🎙️The President's Daughter by James Patterson and Bill Clinton: I cannot quit these terrible books. I LOVE THEM YOU GUYS.

📱The Gunners by Rebecca Kauffman: This was slow but had a good pay off (she has a new book, and I loved her last one, so I dove into her backlist. I think I skimmed this in 2018, but it did not leave an impression).

IF YOU HAVE TIME

 🥳📓Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth: Always entertaining! Dorothy is currently reading it and also gives a thumbs up.

🥳📱How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson: A self conscious horror/romance genre mashup that was making fun of both-- liked it!

 🥳🎙️ Don't Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine: This was a super entertaining audiobook-- loved the premise and the characters and the twists.

SCHEDULE TIME TO READ THESE

📓The Bottom of the Pyramid by Nia Sioux: Dorothy and I both read this, loved it, and started watching Dance Moms from the beginning. Abby Lee Miller: BIG RACIST. Like, the microaggressions just kept coming.

🥳📱Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden: I flew through this memoir at a track meet-- you guys should read it. YIKES.

 🥳📓Her Last Breath by Taylor Adams: One of my fave thriller writers, and this one was a page turner.

 🥳📓Last Night in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez: LOVE this author and will read what she writes the second it comes out forever.

MUST-READS THOUGH FOR REALZ

 🥳🎙️Big Time: A Simple Path to Time Abundance by Laura Vanderkam: You know I like a good reframe. I listened to this one but wish I would have gotten the physical book because I kept wanting to go back and take notes on a specific part, and that is not super intuitive for me when I am dealing with an audiobook.

 🥳🎙️ Once and Again by Rebecca Serle: Some light magic and time bending-- which is what I expect from her. Loved this, even though (because) it was sappy and indulgent.

 🥳📓Go Gentle by Maria Semple: After Bernadette, she can do no wrong for me. I LOLed quite a bit reading this one.

BOTY

🥳📱The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout: I mean. Of course every word of this book was perfect.

🥳🎙️The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett: THIS BOOK WAS WONDERFUL. I really, really loved it. So entertaining and such great characters. Maybe my favorite book of the year. I have to say, the (mostly positive) NYT review kind of pissed me off -- here's the gift link, so you can read it, too. (The part about "Stockett’s portraits of good and evil, of rich and poor, of women with class and those who can’t afford it, can be uncomplicated to the point of cartoonish, but the point here isn’t so much moral complexity as it is pure, hell-raising entertainment." was kind of patronizing. They never say that about Jonathan Franzen, and his books are the same only less fun to read. Bah.)

STATS

Bookstore + Blog Friends Adventures

 NGS and I met up to finish our buddy read of Kin last weekend, and we stumbled onto a book lover's dream: A build your own book bar at the cutest little bookstore. WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN THAT? We both immediately inquired about parties-- NGS for her book club and me for Dorothy. Although, in retrospect, I am the one who would want a birthday book party.

Seriously though, how cute its this??

The shop owners curated a bunch of books that they wrapped cunningly in folded white paper, and they also provided a label with genre and a a shirt, enticing synopsis. Shoppers got to choose a book and then add a bunch of items from the book bar to create a really fun little package. (You could also pull a book from the shelf that they'd wrap for you, but we both decided to pick from the pre-wrapped baskets).

I picked a YA social justice book and added a bunch of cute stuff for Dorothy

Isn't this bookstore adorbs?

Dorothy started reading right away!

(we also brunched and shopped and talked bout our buddy read-- a fun morning!)

Books I can't wait to read next year: FIRST QUARTER

Hi friends-- I did all the googling, so you can just sit back and put these books on hold at your library-- probably right now for the January books and maybe some of the others. THERE IS A JUDY BLUME BIO YOU GUYS.

I wanted to lay out all of the books I can't wait to read in 2026, but this post was getting WAY TOO LONG because there are so many good books coming into the world! INCLUDING NICOLE'S!

Sooooo you can expect a second quarter, third quarter, and fourth quarter post, too, eventually.

January:

The Storm by Rachel Hawkins: She is an auto-buy for me-- I've already pre-ordered and can't wait to send the kids back to school and read read read.

Woman Down by Colleen Hoover: JUDGE AWAY you high brow readers, you.

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James: HER BOOKS ARE VERY SCARY, and I love that.

All the Little Houses by May Cobb: Fans of The Hunting Wives  rejoice!

Half His Age by Jeanette McCurdy: Loved her memoir; will try this one.

Dear Debbie by Frieda McFadden: YOU KNOW I LOVE HER. SO much that I will see a movie with Sydney Sweeney in it. Also the Kindle version of this is $4.99 to pre-order...

Is This a Cry for Help by Emily Austen: I like but do not love her other books, but this looks good.

February:

This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman: Also having a pre-order sale...

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn: A departure from her usual, but I adore her books on Audible, so I am all in.

Her Last Breath by Taylor Adams: Another thriller author I always read.

Kin by Tayari Jones: This looks gooooooood

The Girls Before by Katie Alice Marshall: Another thriller writer I will usually always read.

Get Over It, April Evans by Ashley Herring Blake: She started a new series and I missed it, so this is a bonus book to read AND one to catch up on.

More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen: This sounds terrific.

March:

Judy Blume: A Life by Mark Oppenheimer: OMGGGGGGGGGGG.

You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate: I love celebrity memoirs.

Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney: I have loved her other books, so this one is on my list.

Missing Sister by Joshilyn Jackson: If you haven't read Joshilyn Jackson, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Served Him Right by Lisa Unger: She always writes good, entertaining thrillers.

The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez: Love her

Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami: Already buzzy and I like her other books.

April: What I Read

I read 22 books this month, 18 of them from 2025, and 2 of them from THIS VERY MONTH, and I bought ZERO BOOKS. My library game is SO STRONG (that I haven't cracked my Kindle since February **whomp whomp**)

The House of  my Mother by Shari Franke: Shame on me for reading this. **2025

Crush by Ada Calhoun: This book is buzzy, but I did not love it. **2025

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall: Another solid shrug from me, but I am in the minority because I think everyone else loves this one. **2025

Universality by Natasha Brown: I liked but did not love this slim little zinger of a book. **2025

The Switch by Beth O'Leary: THIS ONE IS REALLY ADORABLE. I know everyone was talking in someone's comments about how some of her books are bad, but this one is super cute. **Audio 

The Crash by Freida McFadden: I think we have been over how much I adore these awful books. This was my first time reading one of her books as opposed to listening, and the experience was equally enjoyable **2025

Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer by Dylan Mulvaney: The stated goal of this book is to bring more trans stories to the mainstream, and she does it! **2025

 We Could Be Rats by Emily R. Austin: Honestly, you guys, I feel bad that I don;t like her books very much. **2025

The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski: A really enjoyable thriller with terrible people doing bad things to each other. **Audio

The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo: I loved The Light We Lost, so of course, I liked the sequel. **2025

Playworld by Adam Ross: I liked this book, but it also reminded me why I usually do not read dudes. **2025

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pilego: Liked this Clue-inspired thriller a lot. I didn't really care about any of the characters, though, and I wish I did. **2025

The Adults by Alison Espach: LOVED this one. I love this author, I guess. The main character is a MESS, and I was nervous the whole time-- this is a vibe I really like. **Audio

Table for Two by Amor Towles: Look at me loving 2 short story collections this year! This one is wonderful, BTW. **Audio

Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: So, okay, you guys. Adichie has come under fire for being a TERF. She denies the claim but also has said some things about women qua women that sound pretty essentialist. And! This book is really good with compelling characters and POVs that change in all of the ways you want them to-- and this is SO HARD, to write with several compelling and unique voices. I really really enjoyed it. BUT ALSO she defines her characters in a whole bunch of ways by their experiences as women in women's bodies-- the blood, the pain, the power inequality-- all of the things are "essentially" women's experiences, so it's hard to unsee the TERF allegations even as her own explanations put a more nuanced point on her initial remarks. She clearly sees gender as grounded in sex, so it makes sense that she would see nuance between cis and trans women-- and is recognizing this difference always hostile? Is noting that women who have been raised as women from birth and women who arrived at womanhood differently might have different lived experiences exclusionary on its face? I am unsure. **2025

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy: This book reminded me so much of Jane Harper and not just because of the Australian accents-- it was the way the physical setting was also a character. This book is SAD, so beware. ** Audio **2025 

A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler: This is a WI author who is more than "just" a WI author, and I really like his stuff. **2025

Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green: This is terrific. And now I know so many random factoids. **2025 **Audio

Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez: Loved this. Maybe my favorite one by this extremely readable writer. **Audio **2025

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry: This was not my very favorite book of hers, but I really loved it. **2025 **Audio

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson: LOVED loved loved this one! You gotta read it! **2025 **Audio

Woodworking by Emily St. James: OH THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. I literally cannot imagine reading a better book this year, so maybe I should just stop now?  You should definitely read this-- the author writes for Yellow Jackets, and the HS girls in this story are wonderful. I loved it so, so much. **2025

BTM: 22

Book books: 13

Kindle Books: ZERO **shame shame shame

Audio books: 9

2025 books: 18

BTY 66

Book books: 37

Kindle books: 2

Audio books: 27

2025 books: 32

January: What I Read

Not my Favorites:

Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash: I just don't have the attention span for another WWII book it seems.

James by Percival Everett: It appears I am not smart enough for this book.

Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI by Madhumita Murgia: Listen, I really wanted to like this because I have huge ethical and labor rights concerns about AI. But, this book was based off of an excellent long-form article the author wrote, and there just wasn't enough there there for a book. Or she couldn't weave all the threads together?

Reboot by Justin Taylor: Solid meh, but the concept was terrific. **audio

Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While also in an Actual Cult) by Bethany Joy Lenz: Meh. But great title!

 Backlist Beauties:

Ward D by Freida McFadden: I like her books better the more terrible they are, and this one **chef's kiss** **kindle

What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman: A perfectly serviceable, page-turning thriller.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen: THIS IS TERRIFIC. **audio

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen: Maybe I should read more books by dudes? **audio

The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery: Darling. *kindle

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand: HOW DID I MISS THIS ONE? **audio

These Titles Are so Last Year

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould: SO SCARY! Also YA, which I didn't realize until no one was having any sex even though they had Feelings. **audio

The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Fei-Fei Li: WELL THIS WAS TERRIFYING.

After Annie by Anna Quindlen: This is really wonderful-- you should read it. **audio

The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer: YES! I loved this so much!!!! 

My First 2025 Book!!

What Happened to the McCrays by Tracey Lange: Hockey! Romance! Sadness! Liked it a lot.

Book Books: 8

Kindle books: 2

Audio books: 6

2025 books: 1

BTD: 16

(Dorothy is reading the book)