Having stalled on The Pickwick Papers, I wasn‘t sure how I‘d like OT. I loved the combination of social justice and melodrama. The characterization of Fagin is definitely heavy handed and problematic; that aside I found this a surprisingly engrossing read.

Beautiful book (with lovely thick pages)! My heart breaks for Tarek, Ali, and Rafik.

I found this one hard to get into - and normally I like a dual timeline thriller. It picked up midway through, though I think I‘ll have forgotten all about it in a week or so.

This one was a miss for me. Liked the child characters and not much else - the pacing seemed really off.

This one had a very Amelia Bedelia vibe that I found harder to get behind. Maybe because there was no murder mystery 🤷‍♀️

Devoured in one ridiculous gulp

Most excellent concept. Pretty solid execution.

I was sneakily trying to finish this door stopper at the Roisin Murphy show last night. The book is as good as everyone is saying. I have one teeny quibble about the ending but otherwise it was phenomenal. Up there with Tomorrow x3, Natchez Burning, Birnam Woods and a few select others who live up to the hype.

I‘m forever looking for books featuring lifelong female friendships that speak to me the way Elena Ferrante‘s books do. This comes close.

Devoured during a lazy weekend. Loved how everyone had such an intricate backstory and the twists and turns were bonkers.

Thanks to #netgalley for access to this audiobook. I liked the initial concept more than the execution. The chapters - each audibly named - are very short and the naming makes for a disruptive experience

There were literally too many things going on in this one for me.

IKEA is my nightmare so this was right up my alley until it wasn‘t. The ending dragged a bit for me. Concept was pure genius though.

I felt like I kept searching for meaning while reading this book - where was the narrator and what time was it? Once I gave into the fact that the uncertainty was a deliberate part of the experience, I absolutely loved it.

Is Penny a victim of an evil care home or simply getting older and doddery?

First of all, I think we should get Julie Flett to do the art for more book covers - love this cover so much. Second, I almost didn‘t read this book because of how traumatized I was by Vermette‘s (amazingly written) other books. This one is much gentler in many respects- the story of two sisters who deal with their famous mother being outed as a pretendian in different ways.

Henry is an agoraphobic robot engineer who is working on an AI robot, William, in his home lab. What could go wrong?

I came of age in the same time and place as the book and so much of it rang true to me - the way girls were sexualized and blamed for it in particular. While I don‘t love Hernandez‘s writing, I‘ll always search of her books as she tells an excellent multifaceted story.

I liked the way the pieces of this anthropomorphic cozy mystery came together. It was also my first ever #powellsbooks purchase

More of a very sad love story than a thriller. I enjoyed it most of the time - but it was a bit boring in parks and the name of Liam‘s love felt like a bit of a tortured trick.

Loved it from the very first line.

A delightful manga that I read over several days. Akino is the newest concierge at a department store that caters to anthropomorphic animals.

Audaciously dark and twisted! It caught me by surprise that I felt so much for the MC at the end. Allllllll the trigger warnings.

I do find eels utterly fascinating and Shell does a good job of explaining the history of man‘s enduring interest in this mysterious creature

September was a slooooooow reading month for physical books. This highly anticipated fantasy started off so strong and then fizzled and fumbled for hundreds of pages.

Annie is a cuddle bunny (sex robot) set to auto didactic mode. This deeply uncomfortable novel explores her relationship with her owner - a liberal misogynist- and her growing sense of self. Highly recommended.

I listened to this over a few sick days (during which I missed a concert I‘d been really excited about). I have no clue what motivated the MC to get involved with solving the murders, art thefts, secret celebrities. Honesty this book simply had too much going on and none of it seemed to make much sense. Could by the NyQuil, could be the book.

Jane is a writer on sabbatical who makes relentlessly terrible choices in this entertaining look at race, identity, parenthood, career.

An utterly fantastic road trip listen. I love Kelly‘s voice, her stories, her attitude. No notes.

Absolutely tore through this audiobook and loved it: the characters‘ stories, the politics, the insights into Deaf culture. Though the end felt a teeny bit rushed, this was still a strong pick for me.

A soft pick. I particularly enjoyed Judy Greer‘s narration as Kate, a new arrival in a closed community who finds herself in danger and pursued by Sasquatches. The story wasn‘t quite as scary / intense as I‘d hoped, but was good fun for a stressful September.

An utterly delightful way to wile away a fall evening. I loved this insider‘s insight into one of my fav places.

A single sitting read for sure. Lottie has been through a lot for her age and I really enjoyed reading about her attitude towards life.

A bighearted story about an American woman cast in a Swedish reality show written by an American woman who was cast in a Swedish reality show.

A soft pick - it finished strong but suffered in parts by being to repetitive. #booker

I think this was my third or fourth reading of this one. I must remember not to give it away again because the time will come when I‘ll want to read it again. With the exception of the relentless sexualization of grieving Vittoria, I find this book so much fun.

Osman writes with such love for his characters that you can‘t help but love them too. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would (because I was determined not to enjoy it as much as Thursday Murder Club out of loyalty to Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim). Thanks #netgalley - I couldn‘t put it down.

That book was hella dark! Glad Toby got a good ending too!

This was charming in an almost Wes Anderson way. I liked it but was never really into it - and I definitely feel like the blurb and cover promised me more hippo.

Charlotte Wood has a knack for creating novels from really unique situations. In this case, I don‘t think we were ever given enough information about the narrator to understand the dissolution of her marriage and move to the abbey. I felt slightly perplexed the whole time.

Action-packed and insightful. I especially liked the duality of the language James and the other slaves used.

The best of the #Booker longlist so far. I loved the nuanced characters, the historical setting, the central romance. It was heartbreaking and at times a little predictable, but I really recommend it.

Eight girl boxers fight to be the champ. The concept - each chapter is one fight and the inner and physical lives of the two girl boxers - took me a few chapters to get into. But then I did and really enjoyed the rest #booker

A soft pick. I loved: the setting, the friendships, how nuanced the main characters felt, the portrayal of anxiety. There was so much that was truly excellent but the romance was just lukewarm for me.

Thanks #netgalley for this thoroughly entertaining historical fantasy loosely based on Macbeth. I really enjoyed the story, the characters, and the changes to the original.

Not enough graphic horror deals with growing old and gray.

A day in the life of six astronauts aboard an international space station - From the minute details of their routine to contemplations of humans place in the universe. I think I‘d have preferred reading this, but I got the audiobook. The narrator was great, but the subject matter might be better suited to a slow read.

I really enjoyed my time in Sprocket with these characters. I guessed the murderer and didn‘t enjoy the ride any less for it. A fun summertime read.

I am very hold and cold on Emily Henry. I liked this one - Miles was a really good character and I can understand why he and Daphne fell for each other. My one complaint is I - as a librarian - can‘t imagine a children‘s librarian letting adults with no kids sit in on storytime - just me?

Came for the artwork, stayed for the meh stories.