Here I am again, admitting that I don’t review every book I read even if sometimes I really do mean to, ya know?
So here’s a round-up of the books I’ve read, but not reviewed, since we last touched base in July (see that here)
Making this list was…daunting. Also, oops because I SHOULD have reviewed some of these books that I really enjoyed (Chloe/Dani Brown, Hopeful Heart) but also should have reviewed the BOTM ones as well…my bad.
Here We Go:
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
This duology is a weird mix of contemporary fiction and sci-fi/spec fic and this definitely leaned into the spec fic heavily but it was interesting…especially since I was reading it just as the Bitcoin Twitter hack happened.
Normal People
I really, really enjoyed this book (and the show) and I don’t know what it says about me as a person. I mean, I was on morphine for part of the reading process….
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
We read this for my DAR book club and I enjoyed it! The movie was also cute. Nothing too fancy, but I love epistolary novels and how uncommon they are these days.
The Madwoman and the Roomba
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway and it was fine, an unmemorable memoir about a middle-aged lady who thinks she is lower middle class but it probably not really comparatively, ya know?
The Answer Is…
The Alex Trebek memoir. I listened to it on audio, and it was good, but it kept throwing me off because Ken Jennings was narrating it but I had to remind myself it was stuff about Trebek..
Good Neighborhood
Another fine BOTM pick. Very timely, poignant topics, but false rape accusations always make me pissy, tbh. Especially overbearing step-fathers. Creepy.
Holes
In my quest to read all the Newbery winners since 1995, I remembered how freaking GOOD this book is.
Love Without Borders
Listened to this on audio because I went through a brief obsession with Angela Braniff’s vlog. A good, quick read–very heart-wrenching at times.
Midnight Sun
How did I not review this? It wasn’t bad. Kind of exactly what I needed at that moment, TBH. Felt like revisiting an old friend.
Art Life
The publisher sent me this very, very strange graphic novel but it was surprisingly pretty good? Very interesting illustrations.
Stranger on a Train
I finally read this classic–it was pretty good. Not as good as Ripley for me, but good.
Shrill
Loved this essay collection–very laugh out loud funny!
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Eh…this book didn’t do it for me.
Head Over Heels
I should have reviewed this because I loved it! Olympic gymnastics meets modern romance and it was so good! A 5 star read for me.
A Good Marriage
An “eh” BOTM–maybe I’d have liked this if I hadn’t read so many similar books. A legal thriller outside the courtroom with like zero likeable characters tbh.
Bud, Not Buddy
Another Newbery winner. My first time reading this, but I really enjoyed it.
The Mindful Day
This was a fine little Audible Plus catalog book, but I wasn’t super impressed with it–mostly because I’ve listened to a TON of other mindfulness books.
Crispin: Cross of Lead
Another Newbery winner. It was…fine. Interesting. But it did feel outdated…but it was the 1990s LOL.
Big Friendship
I really enjoyed this non-fiction book of the month selection. Definitely got me thinking about adult friendships in new ways.
Moment of Lift
Finally read this! Compelling read of her life in philanthropy, a very interesting look at the rights of women around the world.
Logan Likes Mary Anne!
Love these graphic novels. Would read a bajillion more. Adorable illustrations, made me want to binge the show again, etc.
Hex Vet: Flying Surgery
A cute, very short graphic comic. Cute, funny, unique–wish they were longer.
Nat Enough & Forget Me Nat
Loved these new graphic novels! Great for fans of Raina and Terri Libenson.
Troubled Blood
I didn’t review this because you know why–but overall I did enjoy reading it, even if the “crossdressing murderer” subplot was forced in there like a shoehorn of he ignorance and didn’t actually matter to the plot at all.
The Night Swim
A pretty good BOTM pick. Brock Turner x Serial…kind of infuriating at times, as all books about sexual assault and the terrible things people say about victims are.
When Stars Are Scattered
A very, very well done graphic novel–autobiographical, worldly, deep, and moving. Also beautifully illustrated.
Founding Brothers
Sooo dense. Despite being relatively short. Interesting, at times, but dense.
The Vanishing Half
Another BOTM I should have really reviewed–I liked it a lot! Would be a great book club pick.
Becoming Brianna
Adorable! Loved the new Terri Libenson–all about a girl preparing for her Bat Mitzvah.
Cub
Another good, autobiographical historical-ish (70s) novel–funny illustrations, insightful plot.
Displacement
Very powerful graphic novel! About a girl taken back in time (and stuck!) in the same Japanese internment camp as her grandmother.
Cracked Up to Be
LOVED THIS! The first Courtney Summers book, my first Barnes and Noble book purchase of the pandemic (in person!) and a short, compelling read featuring school uniforms, a secret in the past, and a perfectionist gone off her rocker.
