An excellent contemporary YA about two Pakistani teens growing up in a small Mojave town, both dealing with big issues around drugs, money, illness, and abuse. Very highly recommended.

A nice cozy mystery set in a snow globe shop. There was a weird vibe about adoptions? But I liked the characters enough that I would keep reading the series.

I love Fangirl the novel, and I am really enjoying the manga as well. Excited for the last one to come out later this year!

I enjoyed this graphic novel about a trio of tourists in New York, including two best friends and one hanger-on with questionable motives. It mostly made me miss New York.

I was waiting for this for so long! Glad to be back in the world of Saga and see the story pick up. I‘m just as enthralled as ever.

In this graphic novel, three siblings must fend for themselves in the US while their parents are back in Taiwan.

What a gorgeous and perfect novel. In the 17th century, a teenage girl flees into the American wilderness from a fort in Virginia and tries to survive on her own in the wild. Almost no characters have names, almost no dialogue, but a rich interiority more than makes up.

A romance that takes place in a magical apartment that sometimes comes unstuck in time by 7 years. I wasn‘t sure the gimmick would work but I ended up really liking it.

When I picked this up I did not realize it was a sequel to Harlem Shuffle, but I am so glad it was. So great to continue the story of Ray and his family - both real and criminal - into the 1970s. I would keep reading stories in this world as long as Colson Whitehead wants to keep writing them.

This felt very much written in Elliot‘s own voice and not a ghostwriter. A combination of stories about dating, coming out, and navigating Hollywood. I really enjoyed this one.

A coming-of-age graphic novel about a girl in a new town, the mall where she spends her time…and a creepy teacher. This definitely had a darker side that I did not expect, but it was a great story.

A crime thriller set in Virginia, where a small town Black sheriff must confront a serial killer and his county‘s own twisted history. I couldn‘t put it down.

A murder mystery set at an exclusive summer beach town in Fire Island. This was a fun beach read!

In this fun graphic novel set in the future, a non-binary person on a bachelor weekend must contend with a group of former friends who can‘t get their pronouns right, and also a mysterious murder cult.

A look at the systemic ways that America and American institutions have not just failed poor people, but created the conditions to sustain their poverty.

James McBride has done it again - I love the way he weaves together so many disparate storylines into one cohesive narrative arc, where even tertiary characters feel fully realized. In the poor neighborhood of a small town in Pennsylvania early in the 20th century, the Black and immigrant Jewish communities come together to protect a Deaf boy. A beautifully realized novel.

This novel is told from a different perspective each chapter, which leaves it feeling more like a set of loosely connected stories with overlapping characters. Not a bad thing! I love Brandon Taylor‘s writing and the way he writes about bodies existing and moving through life. A solid and slightly melancholic read.

Another delightfully weird collection of short stories from Kelly Link.

An opposites-attract romance where an actress in need of a break heads back to her family‘s land in Scotland, only to find the distillery being run by a grumpy local man who would rather she had stayed away.

A fun romance where the meet-cute is a case of mistaken identity. I liked that the couple was in their late 40s, and that one of them is demisexual.

Absolutely loved this most recent horror-thriller from the always-excellent Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Set in 1990s Mexico City, a film sound editor and her best friend (a former soap opera star with a tragic past) befriend an aging director of cult horror movies, who believes his last film is cursed and only they can help him. Creepy and atmospheric and cool.

Convicts are given a chance to get out of prison early if they compete in a brutal reality show where they fight to death in arenas. A striking commentary on the prison industrial complex in America, and also on race and the justice system. Very highly recommended.

Another excellent essay collection from Sam Irby, this time focused on her life married in the Michigan suburbs. A quick and fun read!

A romance in which a scientist hires herself out as a fake girlfriend until she runs into her favorite client‘s brother in a professional setting and her side gig is in jeopardy. To be honest the context feels flimsy…professional fake girlfriend with no sex does not feel like a real thing. Still fun though!

A historical fiction set during the 1930s Chicago World‘s Fair, where a performer is seeking revenge on a man who wronged her family in Italy when her estranged cousin shows up, on the run from mobsters and begging for help.

Ok so I think I liked the premise more than the book itself. An actress returns for the final season of the hit tv show that made her a star after her planned movie career does not pan out. But going back means she must also reunite with the former costar she used to date, even though they hate each other now. Or do they?

Absolutely adored this romance. A witch travels home after being gone a long time intending to avoid the man who broke her heart…only to join forces with some other wronged women. Love AND vengeance? Sign me up! Also enjoyed the witch tournament as a bonus.

The story of a deeply disturbed man told from the point of view of three women in his life: a woman who has a crush on him, his teenage daughter, and the woman he has kidnapped and living in a shed behind his house. A real thriller.

In this romance novel, a ghostwriter in Seattle hooks up with a visiting actor (without realizing he is famous), only for him to be bad in bed. Then he hires her to work on his memoir and she starts giving him sex lessons. I usually think this trope is cheesy but here it worked well. A fun romance!

Started this YA series, set in 1890s Paris, where a group of misfits work as treasure hunters. And also there is magic! I like the “found family” trope and I like heists, so this worked for me. I will definitely keep reading the series.

Another lovely romance from Christina Lauren, this one centered around a documentary filmmaker helping a romance novelist find love via…reality TV. If you liked the show Unreal, this is for you.

Whoops this is me, I am ink-stained wretch 😇

A very sweet and charming queer romance, set at a newspaper office in 1950s New York. I loved the setting and the writing. Very much recommended!

Fun satire about a mathematics professor who studies nothing, and is an expert on nothing, and gets talked into helping a supervillain break into Fort Knox to steal…nothing.

Omg what an amazing package of goodies!! Thank you so much @quietjenn for this excellent book selection (which I can‘t wait to read) and these treats (which I have already started eating)! The candle smells great and am loving all the socks, especially the adorable little grim reapers. Happy Halloween! #hhs #hhs2023 @wanderinglynn 🎃🖤🎃

Received my #HHS package a few days ago, sorry I‘m behind on posting. Can‘t wait to open next week! @quietjenn @wanderinglynn 🎃🖤👻

My #HHS package went out this weekend, and should arrive by Thursday! @wanderinglynn 🎃🖤🍂

Ok I picked thrillers but I do also love cozy mysteries!! This was a tough call. #HHS23 @wanderinglynn

A sweet and smart romance set an SNL-like show, where Sally, one of the writers, notices how the schlubby male comedians keep landing much hotter and talented girlfriends. And then…Sally herself seems to hit it off with one week‘s musical guest. But how can she trust that the formula works in reverse? Anyway I loved this whole thing.

A true crime podcaster goes back to teach a class at the elite New England boarding school where she was once a student, only to revisit the case of a murdered classmate that she had long since considered solved. A great critique on true crime as a genre (though I do love it), and on the way communities can be complicit in violence even when they are not aware they‘re doing it.

A sweet second-chance romance. A couple about to get a divorce have to pretend to still be together on an annual getaway with their college friends. I like Emily Henry‘s writing! This was not my fave of hers, though it was still a fun beach read.

Ok jumping on board for the “it book” of the summer. A young woman running out of options tries to scam her way to a better life in the Hamptons, not realizing that she will never really belong in that world even though she looks like she could. I enjoyed the voyeuristic element but it did make me very anxious about her complete inability to accept reality.

A lawyer in Brooklyn moves in with her new boyfriend and his mysterious roommates, who are definitely doomsday preppers but also maybe something more nefarious.

A tense and excellent horror-Western hybrid. Addie moves to Montana in the 1910s with few belongings except a well-locked steamer trunk that seems to result in mysterious deaths whenever it‘s opened.

A beautifully written memoir about college and music and friendship.

A nearly blind professor of Greek bonds with one of his students, a woman who has stopped talking and then lost custody of her child. I like Han Kang‘s writing and the way she explores physical manifestations of mental anguish.

An environmentalist action group and a wealthy and paranoid developer clash at a nearly inaccessible New Zealand farm. Well-written as always but I did not love it as much as The Luminaries.

Historical fiction based on a true story about the short life and marriage of Lucrezia de Medici. The novel takes place in two timelines: in the present after she‘s been married young to a handsome duke she does not trust, and her past growing up in Florence. Gorgeous writing and a story that kept me engrossed the whole time.

A cute romance, between a fisherman and a socialite forced to move from LA to a small town in the Pacific Northwest to prove that she has more substance than style while running the local bar that had belonged to her late father. Lots of fun!

I was resistant to this prequel because I did‘t care about Snow as a character, but I am glad to report I was wrong. As great as the rest of the hunger games books, but with a focus on the 10th games - so different at first but fascinating to see the later version (the Katniss version) evolve. Very excited for the movie this fall!