Three Books I'm Reading Now, 2/17/25 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now

I'm reading Lorne, the biography of Lorne Michaels, released as Saturday Night Live turns 50; I'm reading Niall Williams's literary fiction set in a small Irish village in the 1960s, Time of the Child; and I'm listening to the third in Rebecca Yarros's romantasy series featuring dragons, their riders, adventure, angst, and drama, Onyx Storm.

What are you reading, bookworms?

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01 Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live by Susan Morrison

Lorne Michaels has been at the head of Saturday Night Live for the vast majority of its 50 years on air (he stepped away for a few years at one point).

He may come across to observers as dry, but he is exceptional at identifying funny talent and shaping casts for the entertaining, silly, sometimes outrageous, and often subversive live weekly performances that have captured the attention of audiences since 1975.

Susan Morrison was given unfettered access to Lorne as well as SNL and its past and present players, and in Lorne, she shares the deeply researched story of how Lorne Michaels developed SNL, his ups and downs, his vision, and how he created the institution that would change comedy forever.

I received a prepublication edition of Lorne, which is scheduled for publication February 18, courtesy of Random House and NetGalley.

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02 Time of the Child by Niall Williams

In 1962 in the small Irish town of Faha, it's Christmastime, and Dr. Jack Troy and his oldest daughter Ronnie are coping with complicated family dynamics when an unexpected event turns everything upside down.

Ronnie has grown up in the shadow of her father, who has long been set apart from the community where he was born and grew up because of his role as the area physician. Ronnie regrets having missed out on love--and having missed out on leaving Faha.

But then an infant is left in the care of father and daughter, and as the winter progresses, Jack and Ronnie's roles shift and their lives change significantly because of the baby's presence.

Time of the Child is set in the same village as Williams's novel This Is Happiness.

You can find Bossy reviews of other novels set in Ireland here.

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03 Onyx Storm (The Empyrean #3) by Rebecca Yarros

Violet Sorrengail has been training as a dragon rider for 18 months at Basgiath War College, but a real-life, high-stakes battle is soon to be upon them all, and she'll need to find out what she's made of in the life-and-death conflict that is certain to affect everything and everyone she knows.

She and her fellow riders set out on an unsanctioned quest to faraway lands to try to secure allies, armies, and knowledge. But the mysteries surrounding the power of their enemies, her own dragon, and the future of her beloved Xaden threaten to upend everything.

So far there's lots of action, some humor, healthy amounts of dragon page time, and far less angst and gasping drama than in the prior two books, all of which suits my taste perfectly.

I'm listening to Onyx Storm as an audiobook.

You can click here for my review of Fourth Wing and here for my Bossy take on Iron Flame. And for more Bossy takes on books about dragons, you can click here.