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Solid Mystery and Suspense Reads These six four-star mysteries are all so good and so different--they In case her books aren't already on your radar, French is the author of six Dublin Murder Squad books

The Robot Books I love a good artificial intelligence- or robot-focused story, and these six (plus, in

Meanwhile, here are the six books I've loved and have given 4.5 Bossy stars this year. author of Things in Jars, a mystery I gave four Bossy stars--and listed in two Greedy Reading Lists, Six Spooky, Gothic Tales and Six Historical Fiction Mysteries Sure to Intrigue You. For my full review, check out The Night Ship. 04 Solito by Javier Zamora Zamora's memoir of his grueling perspective, which also serves to keep us focused on moment-by-moment sensations and concerns and makes the memoir

After the World Falls Apart I have a fascination with postapocalyptic (set in a time after a disaster) and dystopian (set in a time of darkness and desperation) books, and I think it's for the same reason I'm captivated by wartime stories: the books are about characters being pushed to their limits by an incredibly challenging situation, and they show their true selves and abilities. This category also includes the Hunger Games series, the Insurgent series, Station Eleven, The 5th Wave, The Chosen Ones, The Road, and The Handmaid's Tale. I think I have enough other favorite reads in these categories to make two more Greedy Reading Lists. Which other postapocalyptic or dystopian books do you love? 01 A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher And there may be no law left except what you make of it, but if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you. If we’re not loyal to the things we love, what’s the point?... That’s a kind of death, even if you keep breathing. The thief came and shattered what was left of young Griz's life. Now Griz and his dog are making their way through the world. Griz is capable of fury and revenge, but also great love and loyalty, bravery, and creativity. He's a fantastic character I loved. This great book by C.A. Fletcher was tough to read at times because of the frequent reckless, life-and-death, sometimes ill-advised decision-making in a postapocalyptic world. Fletcher somewhat frequently hints at later events in the book in the middle of early scenes, which added to my anxiety. The main protagonist Griz is tough as nails and determined and wonderful, and things do ultimately improve in satisfying ways. I thought this was wonderful. 02 The Grace Year by Kim Liggett It feels like freedom, but we know it's a lie. This is how they break us. They take everything away, our very dignity, and anything we get in return feels like a gift. The Grace Year is the type of book I could’ve stayed up all night reading. I was totally hooked by this Lord of the Flies-esque situation of trapped girls devolving into paranoia, mayhem, fury, and destruction, with a wonderfully strong and imperfect heroine trying to upend the situation. I felt as though the later sections glossed over some major issues (consorting with the gruesomely brutal enemy; the prospect of folding back into the world that created the horrific system of oppression, control, torture, and death—even with a promise of potential change; fast emotional movement past the loss of a beloved character), but there’s hope for the slow but significant evolution into a new era. I thought the teen girls’ “magic” and their perception of it (and especially the perceptions of the men and women in the society) was particularly haunting. This was a fast and engaging read. 03 The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad. I didn't have a clue what this book was about going in, which worked wonderfully for me. This is listed as an adult title but felt to me like a dark young adult postapocalyptic novel, and it offered several twists. I found this engrossing, really interesting, and also character driven, which feels unusual given one of the aforementioned twists. Some of this is odd, other parts are disturbing, and there are some wonderful implausibly amusing standoffs. And M.R. Carey's story is also hopeful, but not in the way I might have expected. If you like this one, you're going to also want to read Carey's The Boy on the Bridge, which is a standalone book in the same series, is fantastic, and is also on this list. 04 The Dog Stars by Peter Heller Hig somehow survived the flu pandemic that killed everyone he knows. Now his wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, Jasper, and a mercurial, gun-toting misanthrope named Bangley. Then Hig gets an indication that he is not alone and that there is life out there after all. He must decide if he'll risk a one-way journey to seek out the good, bad, and ugly that may be awaiting him. It's a true life-or-death dilemma for a man with two stark options: safety and loneliness or potential danger and finally making contact with others. And he just might find himself questioning his decisions either way. My initial review of this book was "I loved this book. Nerve-wracking and beautiful, unconventional, real. I love this author. Love." This is one of my all-time favorite books. I'm in for reading anything Peter Heller writes (e.g., The River and The Painter, both of which I loved, and The Guide, none of which are postapocalyptic). 05 The Power by Naomi Alderman It follows that there are two ways for the nature and use of human power to change. One is that an order might issue from the palace, a command unto the people saying “It is thus.” But the other, the more certain, the more inevitable, is that those thousand thousand points of light should each send a new message. When the people change, the palace cannot hold. In The Power, Naomi Alderman offers a dark and fascinating look at a world where the traditional male-female and old-young power structures are turned on their heads. The Power explores the destructive nature of the greed for control and influence--especially damaging when coupled with the certainty that your opinion is infallible and correct. I found this book fascinating. 06 The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey Months into their save-the-world mission, the soldiers and scientists on the Rosalind Franklin (a tanklike RV with flamethrowers that's nicknamed Rosie) are close to retrieving all of the samples their predecessors left throughout Scotland during an earlier expedition to try to find a cure for the plague. But it begins to become clear that idealistic Dr. Samrina Khan, the head epidemiologist; single-minded young Stephen the wunderkind; gruff, bighearted Colonel Carlisle; and the others on board may not have been meant to succeed in their grand mission after all. Political machinations meant that some of their party needed to be out of the way for corrupt power plays back home. Against enormous odds, the team may just be finding some of the lifesaving answers they were sent to discover. But bringing back their surprising findings might very well mean the wholesale rounding up and destruction of those affected by the plague. The Boy on the Bridge offers adventure, twists, turns, love, scientific exploration, betrayal, and an odd twist of hope. This is the second M.R. Carey book on this list, but I couldn't help myself. There's a character in common between the two books; this person appears at the end of The Boy on the Bridge but is a main character in The Girl With All the Gifts.

you're intrigued by time-travel stories, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Riveting Time-Travel Stories to Explore and Six Second-Chance, Do-Over, Reliving-Life Stories. This book appeared on the Greedy Reading List Six More Science Fiction Reads I Loved in the Past Year

interested in books like those listed here, you might also like the titles on my Greedy Reading List Six And for great historical fiction of all types, look at: Six Historical Fiction Books I Loved in the Past Year and Six Historical Fiction Books I Loved This Year. second chances take shape, a little retribution, and an attempt at a changed existence—but the haunting memories

Six Favorite Fiction Reads I recently posted about Six Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year, Six More Four-Star Mysteries I Loved Last Year, Six Four-Star Historical Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year , and Six Four-Star (And Up) Science Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year. Here are six of my favorite fiction reads from last year--with more lists to come. If you're interested in books that explore mortality, you might want to check out Six Powerful Memoirs

Six Great Australian Reads Fridays are for highlighting books I've loved, and I have a thing for books second chances take shape, a little retribution, and an attempt at a changed existence—but the haunting memories I listed this book in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year.

Helena Smith is a neuroscientist creating technology to preserve memories and allow people to relive are not real, and that they’re actually mentally ill, suffering from False Memory Syndrome. Recursion also appears in the Greedy Reading List Six Riveting Time-Travel Escapes. 02 The Long Way to This book was mentioned in the Greedy Reading List Six Great Stories about Robots, Humans and Alien Life This book was mentioned in the Greedy Reading List Six Great Stories about Robots, Humans and Alien Life

These six did the trick for me in the past year. (Stay tuned for another list to come of six more favorites!) More Great Light Fiction Stories Six Lighter Fiction Stories for Great Escapism Six Great Light Fiction Stories Perfect for Summer Reading Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading Six More Great Rom-Coms Perfect Time-Travel Stories to Explore, Six More Riveting Time-Travel Stories to Explore, and Six Second-Chance

I hope you'll also check out the books on my first Greedy Reading List of Six Fantastic Dystopian and referred to in the book's title, there is a captivating, dark, in-between world of floating, nebulous memories

for more great fiction you may have missed, you might also want to check out the Greedy Reading List Six books that play with timelines and realities, check out the other books on the Greedy Reading List Six

Six Bossy Favorite Nonfiction Reads Fridays are for highlighting books I've loved! Six More of My Favorite Fiction Reads from Last Year Six Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year Six Six Four-Star (And Up) Science Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year, and Six of My Favorite Memoir Reads Last His book Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland was one of my Six of the It asks us to consider who sets and shapes our shared national memory and what and who gets left out.

lighter fiction with some romance and laughs, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading, Six Great Light Fiction Stories Perfect for Summer Reading, and Six More Great Light Fiction Stories.

Six Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Mystery Reads This is the time in the year when you may be asking yourself about reading lists like I am, you can also check out the lists I posted last year around this time, Six Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year and Six More Four-Star Mysteries I Loved Last Year.

Six Favorite Fantasy Reads I love spending Fridays raving about books I've loved! of My Favorite Fiction Reads Last Year Six More of My Favorite Fiction Reads from the Past Year Six Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year Six More Four-Star Mysteries I Loved Last Year Six Four-Star Year, and Six of My Favorite Memoir Reads Last Year And check out My Very Favorite Bossy 2022 Reads Click here for my full review of Herrick's End. 04 Six Crimson Cranes (Six Crimson Cranes #1) by Elizabeth

For my favorite book club reads from the past, check out the Greedy Reading Lists Six Book Club Books I Loved Last Year and Six Book Club Books I Loved in 2021. 01 The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven by Nathanial The pacing of The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven is measured, as befits a story that is largely about daily you like books set in the unforgiving cold, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six For my full review of this book, see The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven. 02 The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Six Bossy Favorite Light Fiction Reads from Last Year I love spending Fridays highlighting books I've These six did the trick for me in the past year. (You can check out my roundup list Six of My Favorite Light Fiction Reads from the Past Year, which I More Great Light Fiction Stories Six Lighter Fiction Stories for Great Escapism Six Great Light Fiction Stories Perfect for Summer Reading Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading Six More Great Rom-Coms Perfect

You might also like the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Great Books about Brave Female Spies and Six More Books about Brave Female Spies. 01 The Skylark's Secret by Fiona Valpy The Skylark's Secret

You might also like the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Science Fiction Favorites to Dive Into and Six Great Stories about Robots, Humans and Alien Life, and SI. The memories are beginning to slowly shift back into focus, but he needs them now.

Here are six of my favorite fiction works that have to do with rock and roll, writing songs, performing (The fictional band focus reminded me, in a good way, of Daisy Jones & the Six, mentioned below.) somehow I still haven't read it--as well as A Long Way Down, Slam, How to Be Good, About a Boy, and the memoir Fever Pitch. 04 Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid “You have these lines you won’t cross. In Daisy Jones & the Six, Reid offers a fictionalized account (written as fictional interviews) of the

Six More Great Bossy Science Fiction and Fantasy Reads The Obsessive Wrap-Up of Favorite Reads continues I mentioned Naomi Alderman's novel The Power in the Greedy Reading List Six Fascinating Dystopian and You might also want to check out the books on the Greedy Reading List Six More Fascinating Dystopian You might also like the books on my Greedy Reading Lists Six Fascinating Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels and Six More Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels.

More Light Fiction Favorites When I posted a few weeks ago about favorite light fiction reads and asked for other's favorites, bookish friends recommended: more of Katherine Center's books (I posted about Things You Save in a Fire) Lia Louis's Eight Perfect Hours (I posted about her book Dear Emmie Blue) the Hedgehog books by Jessica Redland books by Rachel Hauck Trish Doller's Float Plan and other books, and Jenn McKinlay's Wait for It. Thanks for all of these recommendations! I love Christina Lauren's and Emily Henry's books (I list another of Emily Henry's here), and I haven't yet read either of their newest books, Something Wilder or Book Lovers, but I can't wait to. What other lighter fiction authors or books do you love? You might also like some of the titles on my first Greedy Reading List of light fiction favorites. And you can find other Bossy light fiction reviews here. 01 Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey I delighted in the way Teddy and Everett shared pieces of their true oddball, vulnerable, silly, thoughtful selves. This was a satisfying, often funny, romantic book that hit all the right notes for me. Teddy Phillips isn't sure how she got to this point in her life. She's coasting in her not-dream job at a vintage toy store, all of her opinions and desires seem to have have been subsumed by her boyfriend Richard's plans and preferences, and she's not close with her best friends or even with her sister anymore. Teddy is forced to consider her life and the person she's become--and determine whether she's capable of change. She finds comfort in watching episodes of her local children's show, and she impulsively writes a letter to the calm, kind, handsome host, starting a correspondence that will shift the course of her life. Winfrey's Very Sincerely Yours is light fiction that delivers delightful, charming banter, the promise of a new romance for Teddy, and wonderfully loyal friendships. For my full review, please see Very Sincerely Yours. 02 The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon Rachel Lynn Solomon's debut light fiction, The Ex Talk, incorporates a love of public radio, will-they/won't-they tensions, humor, heart, and some steamy scenes. In Solomon's The Ex Talk, Seattle public radio producer Shay Goldstein is in her late twenties, she's put in her time, and she thinks that her ideas deserve respect. So when young hotshot Dominic Yun shows up and, as a male, automatically has the ear of their misogynistic boss, Shay is beyond annoyed. The two soon find themselves driving everyone around them crazy with their constant bickering about anything and everything. When Dominic and Shay get talked into posing as exes in order to host a promising radio show about relationships, they're forced to get to know each other better in order to fake their past--but they actually open the door for a potential future for themselves instead. The Ex Talk is a fast read with lots of sexual tension along with some sexy romantic interludes, and everything about this book wonderfully suited my summer reading mood. For my full review, please see The Ex Talk. 03 The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren The story is heartwarming, funny, with strong friendships, plus it's steamy and romantic at times without being dramatic. I loved this one for a summer read! Single mom Jess is a data analyst. She's good at crunching the numbers for work, taking care of her daughter, and leaning on her grandparents (who raised her) for help, but she's not comfortable with the idea of dating again. But then her daring best friend (who writes sexy romance novels) pushes her to consider a DNA-based, data-driven dating program--and she receives an unheard-of 98 percent compatible romantic match with an unlikely partner. The Soulmate Equation is often funny, and the best-friendship between Jess and Fizzy (Felicity) is one of the funniest aspects and was one of my favorite elements. The heartwarming familial support isn't stereotypical in its structure, and wonderfully imperfect family members add to various conflicts. I appreciated that the will they/won't they romantic tension satisfyingly hinges on factors somewhat outside of the main protagonists' control. The story is steamy and romantic at times without being dramatic. I love the tone the writing team of Christina Lauren struck with this one! For my full review of this book, please see The Soulmate Equation. Click here for my reviews of Lauren's books The Unhoneymooners, In a Holidaze, Love and Other Words, The Soulmate Equation (a favorite), and Autoboyography (another favorite and a young adult LGBTQ+ gem). Lauren's newest is Something Wilder; stay tuned for that review. 04 The Guncle by Steven Rowley The Guncle is full of heart and humor, quirky family love, and fun references to musicals and movies--yet Rowley also offers poignancy, an exploration of grief, and the impossible-seeming prospect of going on after deep loss. In Steven Rowley's fun, funny, and heartwarming light fiction story The Guncle, aging former sitcom star Patrick is temporarily caring for his niece and nephew. Patrick's best friend from college (who later married Patrick's brother) has died, and Patrick's brother is going through a health crisis of his own. Which means setting Patrick and his beloved (but sometimes foreign-to-him) Maisie and Grant loose in his home in Palm Springs, making things up as they go along. They're each coping with grief and confusion, but they adore each other and have their love to fall back on as they flounder. Rowley explores grief and how it is a shared--yet completely individual--experience. This is especially interesting as related to the two lost loved ones for which Patrick is not officially able to “claim” a grieving role--he was not a husband to his beloved partner Joe when he died and so was not considered family. He was Sara's best friend (and, secondarily, her brother in law), but he doesn't feel he can grieve as deeply as a family member who has cultural permission to do so. For my full review of this book, please see The Guncle. 05 People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry Henry strikes the perfect tone for this wonderfully sweet, funny, friendship-based, romantic story that has lovely depth. People We Meet on Vacation made me laugh a lot--and got me a little teary in the end. Best friends and polar opposites Alex and Poppy are on their annual vacation. Poppy is impulsive and fun-loving, and Alex would generally rather stay home and read than seek out adventure. The pair has long been emotionally inseparable despite living in different cities--Poppy in New York and Alex in their small hometown. But two years ago on their vacation, something BIG happened. It threatened their friendship and continues to loom over everything between them. This was a will they/won't they story I loved. Some of the structure of having one character hold such emotional power over the other was frustrating because of the unlikely obliviousness required on the part of that character. But Henry strikes the perfect tone for this wonderfully sweet, funny, friendship-based, romantic story that has lovely depth. People We Meet on Vacation made me laugh a lot--and got me a little teary in the end. For my full review of this book, please see People We Meet on Vacation. And click here for my review of Emily Henry's Beach Read. Stay tuned for my upcoming review of her newest, Book Lovers. 06 Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez Jimenez offers humor, spicy moments, and romance while incorporating weighty issues into her light fiction opposites-attract story Part of Your World. Alexis and Daniel are opposites. She's coming off a bad breakup. He's ten years younger than she is. She's a city doctor, he's a small-town furniture maker. Nothing about them should fit--but they can't stay away from each other. Everything is complicated. Alexis is part of the Montgomery legacy that built the regional hospital, and a Montgomery has been pivotal to its operation (see what I did there?) for 125 years. She can't abandon her job or her duties. And she can't bring Daniel into her world, because her parents would literally disown her and never speak to her again--which is what they've vowed to do to her brother, formerly the golden child, because of his recent marriage to someone they hadn't vetted. Meanwhile every visit to Daniel and his town builds up Alexis, fills her heart, teaches her about unconditional love, and makes her yearn for more. Told in alternating points of view from Daniel and Alexis, Part of Your World is romantic, often funny, sometimes sexy, poignant, and it includes touches of magical realism. I felt confident that I knew where this was going, but I was in for all of it. For my full review of this book, please see Part of Your World.

Six Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Mystery Reads If you want more favorite-mystery lists, check out round 1 about reading lists like I am, you can also check out the lists I posted last year around this time, Six Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year and Six More Four-Star Mysteries I Loved Last Year. Isabelle can't stop searching for her son, but she begins to wonder if she's an unreliable source of memories

If you haven't already, I hope you'll check out the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Wonderfully I also listed The Bear and the Nightingale in the Greedy Reading List Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups

Witchy Book Love Last year I published a Greedy Reading List of Six Wonderfully Witchy Stories to Charm I also listed The Bear and the Nightingale in the Greedy Reading List Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups

If you're intrigued by time-travel stories, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Helena Smith is a neuroscientist creating technology to preserve memories and allow people to relive are not real, and that they’re actually mentally ill, suffering from False Memory Syndrome. When they encounter loved ones from their memories who are now living alternate lives, in many cases David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks is a set of six intriguing tracks through time that are full of surprises

Wamariya writes beautifully and brutally honestly about her journey of fleeing from Rwanda and through six her experiences through her childlike point of view, which allows for a painfully pure set of painful memories

Six Favorite Lighter Fiction Reads I'm having so much fun spending Fridays highlighting books I've loved And these six did the trick for me. of My Favorite Fiction Reads from Last Year Six More of My Favorite Fiction Reads from Last Year Six Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year Six More Four-Star Mysteries I Loved Last Year Six Four-Star Year, and Six of My Favorite Memoir Reads Last Year You can check out My Very Favorite Bossy 2022 Reads

Carey (which I mentioned in the Greedy Reading List Six Fantastic Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels

Six More Favorite Fiction Reads I listed Six of My Favorite Fiction Reads from Last Year in this Greedy I also recently posted about: Six Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year Six More Four-Star Mysteries I Loved Last Year Six Four-Star Historical Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year Six Four-Star (And Up) Science Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year, and Six of My Favorite Memoir Reads Last Year And check out My Very scene in Kabul with the vivid sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the past that reemerge in Sitara's memories

Six Four-Star Bossy Mystery Reads Doesn't the cold winter feel like the perfect time to cozy up with Here are six of my favorite mystery and suspense reads of last year--with another list to come!

about brave women during wartime, you might also like the books I listed on the Greedy Reading List Six

mentioned the series, which is set in Russia and has a dark fairy-tale tone, in the Greedy Reading List Six a book that frankly would stand alone beautifully, but instead, luckily for us, it begins Turner's six-book These six books were published over a period of almost twenty-five years, and the story trail traces

My first Greedy Reading List on this topic was Six Books about Brave Female Spies. brave women during wartime, you might also like the titles I listed on the recent Greedy Reading List Six If you do too, you might want to check out the titles on the Greedy Reading List Six Historical Fiction Macintyre also wrote the fantastic Spy and the Traitor, which was one of my Six Favorite Nonfiction Books of the Year last year and which I also listed on the Greedy Reading List Six Compelling Nonfiction Books

Six More Great Bossy Science Fiction Reads The Obsessive Wrap-Up of Favorite Reads continues! A while back I posted about Six Four-Star (and Up) Science Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year, and here are six more of my favorite science fiction reads from the past year. You might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Books with Cold, Wintry Settings to Read Stories or Six Riveting Time-Travel Escapes or these Bossy reviews of books that play with time.

Six More Four-Star Bossy Historical Fiction Reads Historical fiction is one of my very favorite genres to read, and I recently posted about Six Four-Star (And Up) Historical Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year ; here are six more Bossy loves I read last year. I posted last year about Six Four-Star Historical Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year, and Six More Four-Star If you're interested in this book, you might also like the titles on my Greedy Reading List Six Great

Bossy Short Story Love Some of my fellow readers have told me in the past that they don't gravitate toward short stories, whether because they want to dig in more deeply over the course of a longer story and book, because they feel like situations in short stories sometimes feel unresolved, or for another reason. Sometimes short stories tend toward exploring tragedy, as in many of the luminous collections here and their gorgeous heartbreaks. But sometimes nothing does the reading trick like shorter works--especially when time is tight or when I might have trouble concentrating (for example, during a worldwide pandemic)--and I especially love an interconnected set of stories that when taken collectively offer the richness of a longer, in-depth story. Have you read any of these collections? Do you have any favorite short story collections I should read? My own to-read list of short stories includes Maggie Shipstead's upcoming short story collection You Have a Friend in 10A, BJ Novak's One More Thing, Leah Hampton's F*ckface, Kevin Wilson's Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, and Ron Rash's Something Rich and Strange. 01 Thunderstruck & Other Stories by Elizabeth McCracken “Whatever you have lost there are more of, just not yours.” McCracken is a fantastic writer who highlights odd, strangely beautiful elements in small moments. Each of the nine stories in this collection builds from a loss of some kind. In what feels like careful, deliberate shaping by McCracken and her editor, the early stories felt more bleak to me and the later ones offered a little more hope, or at least acceptance. “This was her flaw as a parent, she thought later: she had never truly gotten rid of a single maternal worry. They were all in the closet, with the minuscule footed pajamas and hand-knit baby hats, and every day Laura took them out, unfolded them, tried to put them to use.” McCracken is also the author of The Giant's House, Here's Your Hat What's Your Hurry, The Souvenir Museum, Bowlaway, and the beautiful, heart-wrenching An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination. 02 The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans She thought the insistence on victims without wrongdoers was at the base of the whole American problem, the lie that supported all the others. In The Office of Historical Corrections, Evans offers short stories centering around themes of race, relationships, identity, the fallibility of those who shape historical "fact," as well as grief and loss. She beautifully and powerfully illustrates essential, deep truths by tracing moments in her characters' everyday lives. The themes here are often haunting, always powerful, and wonderfully nuanced, even when the scenes (the artist's exhibition, the actual on-the-spot printed and posted corrections of "fact," and others) take metaphors to their limits. Click here for my full review of The Office of Historical Corrections. 03 Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Meloy “His heart felt dangerously full, for the first time in years. That dried-up battered organ, suddenly flush with love. It could kill him.” In Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It, Maile Meloy keeps you on your toes as you consider what may lay in wait within the relationships she lays out, and you may not be able to anticipate who's going to have a life-changing revelation (or not), who is just who they say they are, and who isn't at all what they seem. A couple of these stories left me wishing for more, but Meloy doesn't leave you hanging, instead drawing you in with the depths of each work. Meloy is also the author of Liars and Saints and A Family Daughter as well as the story collection Half in Love. She also wrote the Apothecary trilogy for young readers. 04 Nothing Gold Can Stay by Ron Rash In Nothing Gold Can Stay, a collection by Ron Rash, the stories take place in different eras, but all are set in North Carolina. The state is as prominent as a character as Rash explores trapped despair, haunting choices, and the beauty of even bleak moments. Rash's writing here is, as always, exquisite, and within these 14 stories, he turns his attention to characters who yearn, regret, and desperately attempt to hide their fragility behind steely exteriors. North Carolina's Rash (he teaches at Western Carolina University) is also the author of other Appalachia-set books: Serena, The World Made Straight, Burning Bright, Above the Waterfall, The Risen, The Cove, and One Foot in Eden, among others. 05 Redeployment by Phil Klay “There are two ways to tell the story. Funny or sad. Guys like it funny, with lots of gore and a grin on your face when you get to the end. Girls like it sad, with a thousand-yard stare out to the distance as you gaze upon the horrors of war they can’t quite see. Either way, it’s the same story.” In Iraq Marine veteran and Dartmouth grad Phil Klay's National Book Award winner Redeployment, the author shares short stories about war and life afterward that read like autobiographical vignettes. This is, as you might expect, difficult subject matter--exploring powerful emotions, troops haunted by decisions and unforeseen dangers, painful adjustments to life after war, and injury and loss. But Klay draws you into his characters' situations too fully for you to want to turn away. 06 Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout As soon as I finished reading this short story collection from Elizabeth Strout (author of, among others, Olive Kitteridge, the wonderful Olive, Again, My Name Is Lucy Barton, and Oh William!), I wished I’d slowed down and taken notes or could start all over and read it again immediately. I love how Strout interlinks characters, backgrounds, and stories so gracefully, yet also allows them to stand on their own. The stories feel immediate and real. Strout shines a light on turning points: small but powerful shifts of power or emotion, masterfully illustrating how a moment sends ripples through the day or the broader life of those involved in it—it’s fascinating. For my full review, please see Anything Is Possible.

Six Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Historical Fiction Reads Historical fiction is one of my very favorite genres I posted last year about Six Four-Star Historical Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year, and Six More Four-Star If you're interested in this book, you might also like the titles on my Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American West and Six More Great Historical Fiction Stories Set included the wonderful Ron Rash short story collection Nothing Gold Can Stay in my Greedy Reading List Six

Solid Mystery and Suspense Reads These six four-star mysteries are all so good and so different--they In case her books aren't already on your radar, French is the author of six Dublin Murder Squad books

Six More Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Mystery Reads "Is she going to just keep rehashing all the big hits I recently posted about Six Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year. This list highlights six more of my very favorite mystery reads of last year (Check out My Very Favorite And here's a list of Six Historical Fiction Mysteries I Loved, if you like the melding of those two

young adult supernatural mystery series of the same name, and in it, author William Ritter provides memorable

Six More Favorite Fiction Reads I love spending Fridays raving about books I've loved! I listed Six of My Favorite Fiction Reads from Last Year in this Greedy Reading List, then I highlighted six more of my favorite fiction reads from last year in a second Greedy Reading List. Four-Star Mystery Reads I Loved Last Year Six More Four-Star Mysteries I Loved Last Year Six Four-Star Year, and Six of My Favorite Memoir Reads Last Year And check out My Very Favorite Bossy 2022 Reads

The Bossy Wish List Sometimes it's tough to buy books for a greedy reader like the one writing this post. What have they already read, anyway? How reliable is their Goodreads status and list of "to-read" titles? And what are they likely already out buying for themselves? These are my current Bossy book wishes, whether because my library doesn't have a copy (Strange Gods; Charlatan; Until the End of the World), because I simply have high hopes for loving them (Babel, 454 pages; Inciting Joy, 256 pages), or just because I'm greedy about having more more more books in my possession (Under Fortunate Stars). There's a major leaning toward science fiction and speculative fiction in this list, so I am apparently in a mood. And I just came up with this wish list with Christmas just a few days away, so it looks as though I'll be buying my own perfect mix of books for myself after the holidays--which I am not at all above doing. Which books are on your book wish list this holiday season? A Bossy book-buying note: If you're buying books this holiday season, please support your local independent bookstore. They need and appreciate our business! (The book covers on this site link you to Bookshop, a site that supports the beloved indies that keep us swimming in thoughtful book recommendations and excellent customer service all year round.) 01 Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang R.F. Kuang's Babel: An Arcane History introduces the character of young Robin Swift. Orphaned in Canton by cholera and brought to London by Professor Lovell, a mysterious figure, Robin trains for years in various languages in preparation for attending Oxford University's Royal Institute of Translation, nicknamed Babel. But Babel is also the center of enchanted silver-working, and the more deeply Robin becomes entrenched in the studies and workings of Babel, the more he feels he is betraying his motherland. Kuang explores colonialism, resistance, knowledge, and power in this hefty (454-page) fantasy, published this year and on many "top fantasy" lists. 02 Inciting Joy by Ross Gay Who's in for some inciting of joy? Ross Gay's Book of Delights was a sunshiny set of thoughts and examinations, yet it wasn't overly earnest, and it was never corny. I just loved it. Gay's newest book, Inciting Joy, explores caring for each other and the human connections that make up a full, rich life. Gay turns his thoughtful eye and sensitive mind to inspiration and fulfillment in essays with topics ranging from skateboarding to masculinity to mortality. Click here to check out my full review of The Book of Delights. 03 Strange Gods by Alison Kimble In Alison Kimble's Strange Gods (published in 2021), Spooky arrives at a wilderness camp for troubled teens bracing herself for bullies, counselors ready to crush her spirit, and other kids determined to disrupt and destroy. If she can keep her head down and survive senior year, she knows she can start fresh somewhere new, and that's her only concern. But a disturbing encounter with another camper sends Spooky to hide in the woods. There she encounters an inexplicable, powerful force that can only be magic, in a form Spooky would never have imagined--and it's determined to keep Spooky in its clutches forever. 04 Charlatan by Kate Braithwaite In Kate Braithwaite's Charlatan, it's 1676. In a shack in the middle of Paris, a fortune-teller calls on dark forces to help a client retain the affections of Louis XIV. Three years later, Athenais, Madame de Montespan, the King's glamorous mistress, who has borne him seven children, is enraged when Louis takes up with a fresh-faced eighteen-year-old, Angelique de Fontanges. Paris police chief La Reynie and his young assistant Bezons have uncovered a network of fortune-tellers operating in the city, and when their extensive client lists are revealed, embarrassment and destruction seem sure to follow. 05 Until the End of the World (Until the End of the World #1) by Sarah Lyons Fleming A bookish Instagram friend is in love with this series of four books by Sarah Lyons Fleming, and it sounds like one I'm going to love as well. Cassie Forest is finally going to get her life together. Since her survivalist parents died, she's broken off her engagement to Adrian, she doesn't paint anymore, and she's been dating a major jerk. But right when Cassie is ready for redemption, it looks like the world is about to end. She and her friends may have just enough time to escape to her parents' cabin in Brooklyn before Bornavirus LX turns them into zombies. If Cassie can stand being locked up with her friend's bratty little sister and her own ex-boyfriend, she just might survive to do the one thing she really needs to before she dies: tell Adrian she still loves him. 06 Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings Just look at this gorgeous cover and listen to this excellent space-opera, time-travel premise: Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven’s freighter the Jonah breaks down in a strange rift in deep space, with little chance of rescue—until they encounter the research vessel Gallion, which claims to be from 152 years in the future. But nothing about the Gallion's crew or account seems to add up, and as the two ships begin losing power, everyone on board is in danger--and the stakes may be higher than Jereth could have imagined. Other books I've loved with ragtag space crews include Activation Degradation, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe.

You might also be interested in the titles on the Greedy Reading Lists Six More Great Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American West, Six Historical Fiction Mysteries to Intrigue You, Six Historical Fiction Books I Loved in the Past Year, and Six Historical Fiction Books I Loved This Year. 01 Vengeance Road Turner's story is inspired by her family's memoirs, and her Sarah Prine is a strong woman living on the

For my favorite book club reads of 2020, check out the Greedy Reading List Six Book Club Books I Loved you like nonfiction books that read like fiction, you might try the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Compelling Nonfiction Books that Read Like Fiction and Six of the Best Nonfiction Books I've Read This

call this lovely reader and friend a big fat liar, so instead I'll offer this Greedy Reading List of SIX included a book each from these genres: faith-focused science fiction, young adult LGBTQ+ fiction, memoir When We Were the Kennedys is a memoir about grieving deeply, leaning on family and community in a crisis I loved this fantastic memoir! Wood's memoir is heartwarming and funny and tragic and vivid.

I also listed Disappearing Earth in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year. With the passing of the years, however, those memories become distant and malleable, and we shape them Ivey also wrote The Snow Child, a book listed on the Greedy Reading List Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups above, and Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy, both of which were listed on the Greedy Reading List Six The books on the Greedy Reading List Six Captivating Nordic Stories would also fit nicely here.

Six Great Bossy Science Fiction and Fantasy Reads The Obsessive Wrap-Up of Favorite Reads continues! When she flees to remote California, her ability to travel through memory to revisit the past secures book sounds down your alley, you might want also to check out the books on my Greedy Reading Lists Six Fascinating Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels, Six More Fascinating Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels, and Six Great Stories about Robots, Humans and Alien Life, and AI. 06 Some Desperate Glory Emily

My friend Deyna recently mentioned revisiting Daisy Jones and the Six. Here are six of my favorite fiction works that have to do with rock and roll, writing songs, performing (The fictional band focus reminded me, in a good way, of Daisy Jones & the Six, mentioned below.) somehow I still haven't read it--as well as A Long Way Down, Slam, How to Be Good, About a Boy, and the memoir Fever Pitch. 04 Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid “You have these lines you won’t cross.