offbeat | The Bossy Bookworm

Sep 4

Review of Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

Thorpe's irresistible character of 19-year-old Margo discovers her strength, drive, creativity, and vulnerability after becoming...

Apr 11

Review of Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck

Emily Habeck's debut novel offers an unusual premise in which one member of a newlywed couple begins transforming into a great white...

Mar 28

Review of Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

The tone of Martyr! was tough for me to get a handle on for much of the book. The story is dark, nerve-racking, irreverent, tragic, and...

Jan 2

Review of Starter Villain by John Scalzi

First: this amazing cover. Second: Starter Villain is playful, darkly funny, big-hearted, and wonderfully weird. I loved it and I can't...

Jun 7, 2023

Review of Santa Ana by Addison J. Chapple with Rachael Flanery

I loved the premise and start of this zany story in which a statistics geek braves his high school reunion, only to be mistaken for a...

Mar 28, 2023

Review of American Mermaid by Julia Langbein

This story within a story is playful and satirical while providing deep issues to contemplate. It's different and captivating and silly...

Feb 21, 2023

Review of Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

Jen Beagin's literary fiction novel is consistently bizarre, at times base, and often darkly funny as her characters alternately dive...

Jul 12, 2022

Review of Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley

Sloane Crosley's appealingly oddball tale explores the specter of newly engaged Lola's past loves and lusts while playing with space and...

Nov 1, 2021

Review of The Best of Me by David Sedaris

This collection of previously published Sedaris works is a gold mine of discomforting, edgy, offbeat observations--with more heart than I...

Aug 26, 2021

Review of The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey Wilson

Wilson's bubbly personality comes through in these essays, and her show business experiences were interesting, but I often couldn't...

Aug 16, 2021

Review of Paper & Blood (Ink & Sigil #2) by Kevin Hearne

I enjoyed revisiting characters from Ink & Sigil, but I felt bogged down by recounted stories and detailed logistics, and I missed the...

Aug 11, 2021

Three Books I'm Reading Now, 8/11/21 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Paper & Blood, Kevin Hearne's second and final book in his quirky Ink & Sigil fantasy duology; The...

Jul 14, 2021

Review of Big Time: Stories by Jen Spyra

Spyra's humor is edgy, dark, and far from politically correct as she plays up absurd and disturbing scenarios in the name of satire. This...

Jul 12, 2021

Three Books I'm Reading Now, 7/12/21 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading a bizarre, dark set of short stories by a former Late Show with Stephen Colbert writer, Jen Spyra;...

Jul 5, 2021

Review of No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

The first section of Lockwood's story about an internet darling is absurd, frivolous, vulgar, irritating, and frequently disturbing; the...

Jun 29, 2021

Review of Sarahland: Stories by Sam Cohen

The various Sarahs of Cohen's stories take on frequently unorthodox searches for self and meaning--while coping with versions of the...

Jun 2, 2021

Review of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (The Carls #1) by Hank Green

ICYMI: This is a gloriously oddball book with lots of heart featuring unorthodox friendships, the frightening power of social media, the...

May 31, 2021

Three Books I'm Reading Now, 5/31/21 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now Two of these books are largely about redemption, two focus on the twisted blessing-and-curse of technology, and...

Apr 19, 2021

Review of Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

Greenlights is wonderfully entertaining and endearing, showcasing McConaughey's frequently zany encounters, lust for adventure, and...

Nov 6, 2020

Six More Great Fiction Titles I Loved This Year

01 Where the Forest Meets the Stars Joanna is feeling adrift after her mother's death, and she disappears into the constant attention her...

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