The year is halfway over, and I’ve been reading more than ever! My goal was 60 books, and I’ve met that already in early July.
In no particular order, here are my top ten of the books I have read so far this year:
- “What Moves the Dead” by T. Kingfisher was the first book I read this year, and the first of this author’s work I have ever read, and she has since earned a place as an “auto buy” for me! This is a queer novella retelling of “The Fall of the House of Usher”
- “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson was a book club pick this year, and this YA murder mystery was perfect for fans of true crime
- “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt is heartwarming contemporary fiction featuring found family and a curmudgeonly octopus
- “Invisible Monsters Remix” by Chuck Palahniuk is one wild ride about loneliness, boredom, beauty, and attention, conveying important messages through the maddest of methods
- “Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries” by Heather Fawcett is darkly delightful fantasy about a socially awkward academic who must learn to become part of a community, and featuring a charming romance (tbh, I enjoyed the ARC of the sequel even more, but the publish date for that one isn’t until January of 2024)
- “The Golden Spoon” by Jessa Maxwell is a cozy mystery that mixes Clue with The Great British Bake-off, with a dash of historical family saga
- “The Ferryman” by Justin Cronin is a standalone science fiction novel that deals with climate crisis, dystopia, and what makes for a meaningful life
- “Trust” by Hernan Diaz is literary fiction with a very creative structure about whose voices get heard, and what affords the power to effectively shape reality to one’s liking
- “The Mountain in the Sea” by Ray Nayler is science fiction that examines communion, consciousness, and control through the lenses of AI and a hyper intelligent octopus species
- “A House with Good Bones” by T. Kingfisher is Southern Gothic horror with wonderful characters, amusing narration, and a perfectly spooky vibe
Let’s see what the rest of year brings 📖📚
Jessica Crawford 