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Books I Read 1. How Long 'Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin 2. Playing with Matches by Hannah Orenstein 3. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith 4. How to Walk Away by Katherine Center 5. Black Powder War by Naomi Novik (Temeraire #3) 6. Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik (Temeraire #4) 7. Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik (Temeraire #5) 8. Daring Greatly by Bren é  Brown 9. Small Victories by Anne Lamott 10. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield Favorite Books This Month My favorite books this month were the first and last books I read! I knew this would be good because it's N.K. Jemisin, but WOW. Not only is every story worth reading, with some special standouts,which I'll get to in a minute, but this collection shows how much Jemisin has grown as a writer and showcases her incredible breadth and depth, especially in terms of voice. Jemisin can go from a pitch-perfect clapback at  Those Who Walk Away from Omelas to lesbian steampunk, from a fairytale-like Mi

Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl! The Ten Most Recent Additions to My To-Be-Read List 1. Help Me! One Woman's Quest to Find Out If Self-Help Really Can Change Her Life by Marianne Power From this article 2. The Tokaido Road by Lucia St. Clair Robson Recommended by a friend, who read it on her trip to Japan. Historical fiction set on the road between Tokyo and Kyoto. 3. The Muralist by B.A. Shapiro I've wanted to read this for a while, and it's my book club's next pick. 4. The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker Can't remember where I read about this, but I'm intrigued. 5. Sister Emily's Lightship by Jane Yolen Short stories for adults by Jane Yolen. Sold. 6. Chemistry by Weike Wang Protagonist getting a PhD, working in a lab, trying to please her Chinese parents--even though none of those describe me, I relate pretty heavily since it's a story similar to mine and those in my pe

Just Finished: It's been a while since I've gotten so into a series, and I'm loving it! Can't wait to pick up Temeraire books #6 and #7 soon! DNF: I've been pretty into books about weddings since my own , but I didn't care for the primary POV character (father of the bride), so I decided not to finish. Currently Reading: I picked up a handful of audiobooks to fill the gap once I finished Lethal White , which fortuitously lasted throughout December and into January. Seating Arrangements didn't work out, and I wasn't sure about this one, since I wasn't as huge a fan of The Thirteenth Tale as the rest of the world, but so far, I am really enjoying it! I'm trying to read more leadership/management type books, and so far, this one is extremely thoughtful about concepts of vulnerability, shame, and resilience. I'm finding it useful for personal as well as professional life. Sources a

1. Naomi Novik I started hearing about Uprooted this year or last, and then somebody recommended Spinning Silver to me this year, so I went ahead and read it. And then I found the Temeraire books,which I'm still going through! 2. Rachel Kadish I picked The Weight of Ink up by accident in the library because I thought it was a different book! Would definitely read another Rachel Kadish book! 3. Ann Patchett An author I've been meaning to read for years, and in 2018,  I read both her collection of essays This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage , and her novel Commonwealth . 4. Becky Albertalli I've been hearing about Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda for a while (I guess there's a movie?), but I was really captivated by the cover/description of Leah on the Offbeat , and so when I saw them in the library, I just read both! 5. Jenny Han To All The Boys I've Loved Before had kind of been on my radar for a while, and then the movie came out in Augus

1. Read at least 54 books.✔ I read 73. 2. Read more books on Jewish themes and/or by Jewish authors.✔ I read at least 13 books by Jewish authors: 3. Read more books on African American themes and/or by African American authors.✔ I read at least  9 books by African American authors (including Haitian-American Edwidge Danticat and African-American/half-Jewish American James McBride).  4. Read more books about other cultures, including majority cultures outside the U.S.A. and minority cultures within and without the U.S.A.✔ Yes, although, I really focused on minorities within the U.S.A. and not so much outside--and I think that was a good thing. When reflecting on my reading this year in my 2018 stats, I realized I read a lot of books set in the U.SA.--but a lot in regions and cultures that are not my own (as well as some that are), and I think that was really informative for me, and I should continue with it. Examples include America Is Not the Heart (F

It's been a year of amazing books for me, and also a trend of authors I've liked in the past absolutely KNOCKING MY SOCKS OFF this year! It's also been a great year for reading finished trilogies or series, which I am thrilled about! 1. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt I wrote "Even in a month of excellent reads, The Goldfinch stands out." The same is true for a year. I almost never have one favorite book, and while that's still true overall, The Goldfinch was definitely my favorite in a year of excellent reads. The sheer texture of this novel is so real and deep, and yet reveals that true literary beauty does not need to end in darkness. I liked The Secret History, the writing more so than the characters, which is where it fell flat for me, but The Goldfinch  has it all. 2. Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman I wrote "the familiar melancholy that pervades Tess's story somehow becomes what makes it Hartman's most fantastical yet." Again

Happy New Year! 2018 Reading Stats As usual, borrowed and modified from Boston Bibliophile. How many books read in 2018? 73, which is the most I've read since I started this blog 10 years ago! How many fiction and nonfiction? 57 fiction, 12 nonfiction, including 4 books on baking (getting back to my roots after 21 nonfiction last year!), and 4 and a half books of poetry, including a novel-in-poetry ( The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo) and a novel half written in poetry ( The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner). Male/female author ratio? 55 books by women including one man/woman team, two short story collections by people of all genders, and 16 books by men. Writers of Color/Minority Writers? At least 14 books by writers of color and an additional 13 by Jewish writers. Favorite book of 2018? The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin Longest and shortest book titles? Shortest title: This is a three- way tie: Untwin