I’m in a noncommittal phase so partway through several:

Story of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang. I’m about 1/2way and may DNF because I don’t enjoy short stories or the genre, but I’ve read enough to understand why people praise him so highly. By coincidence, I read somewhere this week that he’s a technical writer in his “day job,” and I can see the influence. The stories show vivid imagination but combine that with a clarity and simplicity of language that I really appreciate.

Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar. This was passed on by my high schooler, who said several teachers saw her reading it and commented on how much they liked it. I’ve barely started and have no idea where the plot will go (I like it that way so don’t read blurbs if the book came well-recommended) but the narrative voice sucked me right in.

Astonish Me, by Maggie Shipstead. Kindle says I’ve read this before but I SWEAR that’s not true!!! Only a few chapters in, but I suspect it will be good. Her book Great Circle was one of my favorite reads last year.

Garments Against Women, by Anne Boyer. This is a small book of prose-poems. Very much NOT my usual thing, but I read an excerpt on “not writing” in Celine Nguyen’s Substack and loved it so much I had to read more. And I’m loving this one so much that today I also ordered her more recent book. (Side note: Celine Nguyen is much more highbrow than I will ever be, but I adore her posts and highly recommend her Substack to any readers who are highbrow or highbrow-curious. Come to think of it, her most recent article may be where I read about Ted Chiang’s day job.)

And because that all sounds fancier than my usual, I just finished Murderbot #3 (my favorite so far!) and Katherine Center’s The RomCommers, which was sweet and fun.

Reading- That’s Not How It Happened about a family with two children, one of whom has Down syndrome. The mother writes a memoir about the family and it is turned into a movie. I needed something fairly light after having just read I Who Have Not Known Men.

I just finished the audiobook of Strangers, by Belle Burden. I thought it was excellent

Strangers by Belle Burden
A memoir of a marriage
She’s an incredible writer - it sucked me right it. NYC Mom of 3, former lawyer turned SAHM whose finance bro husband walks out on her during COVID. Fascinating and not bitter.

Just finished Bunny by Mona Awad. It's a strange book has left me with many questions, but I'd spoil things by asking them here. Themes seem to be loneliness, mental illness, the power of imagination, and poking fun at graduate writing programs.

Moving on this evening to What Is Not Your iIs Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi.

I just finished "Tilt". It is about a woman who lives in Portland. She is 37 weeks pregnant and shopping for a crib mattress in Ikea when a massive earthquake hits the area. The book did that jumping around in time thing as she reflects on her life while trying to walk home, which I often find annoying but I think it worked for this book. I thought the book was excellent.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Enjoying it so far.

I just finished Anna Karenina, which was my first experience of the Russian classics, and absolutely loved it. I did some research on the most highly recommended readable translation of War and Peace and have that arriving this later this week. I can't wait to try it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I Who Have Never Known Men - a post-apocalyptic novel by Belgian author Jacqueline Harpman, first published in French in 1995. It tells the story of a group of women imprisoned in an underground bunker by silent male guards, narrated by the youngest woman who has no memory of the world before the cage.

I like it so far. It's more philosophical than event driven.

This was my favorite book from 2025, and in my top five for best books ever. It really cracked open my brain.

+1 I felt I had to recover from reading it, which is not something I often experience.

Anonymous wrote:I Who Have Never Known Men - a post-apocalyptic novel by Belgian author Jacqueline Harpman, first published in French in 1995. It tells the story of a group of women imprisoned in an underground bunker by silent male guards, narrated by the youngest woman who has no memory of the world before the cage.

I like it so far. It's more philosophical than event driven.

This was my favorite book from 2025, and in my top five for best books ever. It really cracked open my brain.

I Who Have Never Known Men - a post-apocalyptic novel by Belgian author Jacqueline Harpman, first published in French in 1995. It tells the story of a group of women imprisoned in an underground bunker by silent male guards, narrated by the youngest woman who has no memory of the world before the cage.

I like it so far. It's more philosophical than event driven.

Anonymous wrote:I am still trying to read Hamnet - since DEcember - but I find I just can't get into it.

I started What We Can Know by Ian McEwan. I love it so far, set 100 years in the future and a historical researcher, who specializes in the 2010-2030s is researching this (our current) time period. It's fascinating to think through that perspective.

I've got The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller from the library and have to read that soon, but might need something in between What We Can Know.

I'm up to book 6 in the Inspector Gamche series, Bury Your Dead, which is set at the Winter Carnival in Quebec so might be a good read for this cold stretch we're in.

I really enjoyed The Land in Winter. It was very atmospheric and I found myself very engaged and captivated in the storyline and the characters.

I am still trying to read Hamnet - since DEcember - but I find I just can't get into it.

I started What We Can Know by Ian McEwan. I love it so far, set 100 years in the future and a historical researcher, who specializes in the 2010-2030s is researching this (our current) time period. It's fascinating to think through that perspective.

I've got The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller from the library and have to read that soon, but might need something in between What We Can Know.

I'm up to book 6 in the Inspector Gamche series, Bury Your Dead, which is set at the Winter Carnival in Quebec so might be a good read for this cold stretch we're in.

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan - Currently about 1/3 of the through. Historical/domestic fiction about two couples living in a small town in Ohio in 1940s. Lots going on, but I don't want to post spoilers and I've still got quite a bit to go, so I'll update with more synopsis when I get further.

Anonymous wrote:The Mad Wife, by Meagan Church

1950s housewife struggles to keep up with expectations and life in general after the birth of her second child. But what’s really going on?

I’m about halfway through. The main character is interesting, as is the window into suburban life at that time. It’s an easy read, yet there’s a darkness to it, too. Gothic/horror or just domestic suspense? Not sure yet, but I like it.

I really enjoyed this one. Good, but sad.

Wild Dark Shores sounds interesting. I'll look that up.

Currently reading Ghost Cities by Siang Lu and enjoying it.

Next on the list is Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee because I've had it out of the library six weeks already. I really enjoyed his trilogy, but I just read another three books about dragons and riders fighting bad governments so I haven't felt as motivated to start this one.

You guys I decided that I had an Ursula LeGuin gap and tried to read the Dispossessed for almost all of last month.

I am so freaking bored and only 30% of the way through. I’m thinking of dumping it.