My love affair with Carolyn Slaughter began in the 80s when I happened upon her novel The Banquet in a second-hand bookstore in Hamilton, Ontario. That book, which opens with the lines “I am waiting for them to come. I am not frightened at all”, was a sucker punch of a read and sent me on a treasure hunt for more of Ms. Slaughter’s books.
Slaughter was born in India in 1946, but the family moved soon after to the Kalahari Desert in what is now Botswana. She lived there until her family moved to London in 1961.
Every single book of Slaughter’s I have managed to find has felt like a stroke of luck because like Thomas H. Cook, you’re not picking up one of her books at the local big box book store. Sadly, everything I have read by Slaughter predates this blog with the exception of her memoir Before the Knife, which was published in 2002 and chronicles her childhood in Africa. It is the book she says she wrote to make sense of why she’d been driven to write about violence and murder up until that point. There’s a 12-year gap between The Widow and this memoir. Slaughter hasn’t published anything since 2007’s Dresden, Tennessee which, sadly I DNF. Although I suspect she may be retired, Slaughter became a psychotherapist in lives in (according to Wiki) New Jersey.
I have read and enjoyed several of her novels.
The Story of the Weasel (in North America it was called Relations), 1976
”This my third attempt to put my thoughts down on paper; in my mind they chafe mercilessly.”
This is the story of Christopher and Cathy, siblings in the late 1800s, whose relationship is, let’s just say, complicated. If you recall another set of siblings named Christopher and Cathy, you’ll have a clue as to why. This book floored me when I read it.
This was Slaughter’s debut and the second book I read. This is also the book that prompted me to write my first and only fan letter to an author and, miraculously, she responded!
Magdalene, 1978
”Today is my birthday, today I am thirty-seven. And look, here is my face floating in the polished silver mirror.”
This is the story of Mary Magdalene and her relationship with Christ. I remember this book as being as angsty as heck.
Dreams of the Kalahari, 1981
“The small girl sat on the sand under the thorn tree.”
An autobiographical novel of a young girl’s coming of age in the Kalahari.
The Banquet, 1983
This is the story of an architect called Harold who meets a young shopgirl called Blossom at a Marks & Spencer. She is the most beautiful woman Harold has ever seen and the two eventually fall in love. One of the most beautiful and horrifying books I have ever read.
A Perfect Woman, 1984
“A woman stood by her window looking out at the garden with the gaze of someone surveying the sea or a long sweep of hills and fields.”
The story of a love triangle.
The Innocents, 1986
“I’m being buried alive.”
A tale of South Africa during the Apartheid
My collection will be complete when I get my hands on Columba, 1977; Heart of the River, 1982; The Widow, 1989. I own, but have not yet read, A Black Englishman, 2004.
I celebrated a milestone birthday in May and so I decided to share 31 influential reads with my friends on Litsy. I thought it might be nice to add those titles here as I think it offers a sense of who I am as a reader and what sorts of books shaped my reading life. In the order in which they appeared on Litsy:
Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery
It would be unCanadian not to love this character and this book and spending time with her on PEI is one of my earliest reading memories.
The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport – Laura Lee Hope
When I was a kid, my mom’s younger brother used to give me a couple Bobbsey Twins books for my birthday every year. Sadly, I don’t have all of them anymore, but I do have a couple really old copies that once belonged to my mom’s sister. I loved spending times with these mystery-solving siblings.
I was in grade 7 when I read this book and it was one of those books that I thought a lot about over the years. I found a copy on Bookoutlet a few years ago and re-read it. Not as amazing as my 12-year-old self remembers it, but still an important part of my reading history.
A Little Princess – Frances Hodgson Burnett
This book might have been the first book to ever make me cry and I have read it a few times since I was a kid and I can confirm: still makes me cry. Sara Crew is one of my favourite protagonists ever: kind, resilient, and she understands the power of a good story.
The Bridges of Madison County – Robert James Waller
I mean, great literature this is not, but I distinctly remember reading it when I lived in the UK and sobbing my eyes out and then immediately mailing the book to my BFF so she could also sob her eyes out. I will never re-read this book because I know it’s schlock and I want the memories of that first experience to live in my heart forever.
I selected this book for my book club many years ago and everyone but me hated it. I get it, though. This is a dark, dark book but it is also so well-written and so unflinching. It remains one of the most visceral reading experiences of my life and I will definitely read it again at some point.
Francie Nolan is a friend of mine. She was when I first read this book when I was 12 or 13 and she was again when I reread this book a few years ago.
Flowers in the Attic – V.C.Andrews
I read this book in 1979, which is the year it came out and the year I graduated from high school. I mean, is there a person alive who came of age in the late 70s who didn’t read this book? It was shocking, scandalous even, at the time. Literature it is not, but it’s definitely a seminal book in my reading life.
I don’t think I will ever get over the experience of reading this book and spending time with Liesel, Max, Rudy and the Hubermans and, yes, our narrator, Death. It’s reading nirvana.
Not sure why this book has two different titles, but mine was called Hamnet & Judith. You could call it just about anything and it would still be an absolutely devasting novel about Shakespeare (unnamed) and his wife (called Agnes) and the loss of their son Hamnet which inspired the play Hamlet. The movie is also fantastic, if you haven’t yet seen it.
The Banquet – Carolyn Slaughter
Later this month, I will be talking about Carolyn Slaughter as part of my auto buy author series. I discovered this novel back in the 80s and it absolutely floored me. It’s about an intense love affair that culminates in a shocking and devastating event and, I gotta say, I had and have never read anything like it.
This story about people in crisis and the sacrifices they make to save those they care about is absolutely phenomenal. I chose it for book club and we actually had a Twitter (back when Twitter was a thing) chat with the author, which was so awesome.
I read this book when it first came out, never stopped thinking about it, and then read it again a couple years ago. It absolutely stands the test of time and it’s hard to overstate how influential it is.
Atonement – Ian McEwan
Atonement, like most of McEwan’s novels, take a little bit of perseverance, but they are always, always worth it. This is, by far, my favourite (and I have read a few), and both of my adult children (who read the book in AP Lit in high school) would say that it is a perfect novel. Can’t say I disagree.
The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
I read this book 25 years ago and I remember bawling so hard I couldn’t see the pages. I know some people get all icked out by the fact that sometimes these characters were at vastly different points in their lives (and also ages) but I just saw a love story that could not be restrained by the restrictions of time and I was there for it!
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
This was one of the first ‘adult’ books I ever read and I fell I love with Jane and the moors and Rochester. This is definitely on my radar for a re-read.
The World of Winnie-the-Pooh – A.A. Milne
My mom read Pooh to my brothers and me when we were kids and the 100 Acre Wood has a special place in my heart. There are lessons in this book which we could all stand to relearn, I think.
Possession – A.S.Byatt
I read this years ago and I recall it being a tough book, but I also remember feeling really smart when I finished so there’s that. A book about desire, and poetry, and dedication and academia.
My most read book for reasons that are deeply personal. Man, I hate this cover, but also, man, do I ever love this book. I think my review does a pretty good job of explaining my feelings.
I have read this book three times, and I have loved it every single time.
The Famous Five – Enid Blyton
Honestly, I don’t remember a single thing about these books other than the fact that they made me want to talk with a British accent and go to boarding school.
That Was Then, This Is Now – S.E. Hinton
Perhaps not as well known as her debut, The Outsiders, I liked this one more (and I loved The Outsiders).Kids still read and appreciate Hinton’s novels today, for reasons that are totally legit.
Sweet Savage Love – Rosemary Rogers
My mom loved historical boddice rippers back in the day and I think I read them because she read them. Authors like Rogers and Kathleen Woodiwiss definitely left their mark, though.
Forever – Judy Blume
I read this book as a teenager (it was published in 1975, so I was definitely the target audience) and I remember loving it for its realistic portrayal of young love. It’s probably pretty tame by today’s standards (YA has definitely gotten racier) but for the time it was quite graphic and also quite amazing.
IT – Stephen King
I have read a lot of Stephen King, but IT is my favourite. I was in NYC the summer this book came out and I carried it with me everywhere. The kids in this book are anything but losers and I loved them all. Say what you want, King can spin a yarn.
Not all YA is created equal, and Jeff Zentner is top of the heap for me. The characters in this book, three high school seniors – Dill, Travis, and Lydia – are some of the most vibrant, heartbreaking characters I have ever met.
The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank
Whatever I knew about empathy at a young age, I learned from reading this book when I was 12.
Maybe this seems like an odd choice for a “most influential” books list, but I’ll tell you this: Michael, the main character of this extremely graphic and extremely heartbreaking horror novel, is someone I still think about.
If Robby Benson hadn’t starred in the1977 television adaptation of Wilder’s Pulitzer winning play, I might never have encountered it, but 1977 was my Benson era so…This play has meant so much to me over my life, including being the subject of my undergrad honours thesis.
So, there you have it, 31 book that have meant a lot to me over the course of my 65 years. There are so many books that might have made the list on a different day, but I think this one does a pretty good job of showing you where I have been and what I am reading now.
Feel free to tell me about some of your most influential reads. I would love to hear about them!
This is the third installment in my Auto Buy Author series.
What makes someone an auto buy author?
Writing. I love it when a book is well written. Sometimes the writing doesn’t have to be stellar for me to enjoy a book’s plot or characters, but when the writing is excellent, that is definitely a bonus. Auto buy authors always have, at the very least, prose that isn’t clunky.
Plot. There are certain types of plots that I really enjoy. I love books that keep me guessing. I love angst. I love dark academia. I love it when the writer alludes to things that have yet to be revealed to the reader. I love to be surprised.
Characters. I love it when I love the characters, when they feel as though they could be a friend of mine. When I root for their success (or sometimes their demise). I love characters that feel like real people.
The feels. I love a book that punches me in the gut, makes my eyes burn with unshed tears, or a book that makes me sob. I love a book that grabs me by the throat and shakes me until my teeth rattle, a book that makes me read way past my bedtime, until my eyes are burning.
The unexpected. I love a twist, especially when it’s not contrived. I love it when a book breaks my heart.
This month: Amy Engel.
Before writing her first novel for adults, Amy Engel was a YA writer…although I have never read any of her YA. (Or even encountered any, for that matter, although I do read a lot of YA.)
I think I discovered her quite by accident. Her novel The Roanoke Girlswas plucked from my TBR shelf where it had been languishing for – well, I have no idea, really. According to my review, I bought it in one of those 3 for $10 sales at Indigo. Who knows why books end up in the bargain bin, but if it hadn’t, I might never have discovered this author. Engel talks about the novel here.
This book had all the things I loved: great writing, a compelling main character who is damaged, but fierce and smart, a never-ending air of menace and unease, a hot, broken guy and a lot of twists.
So, based on how much I loved this book, I was definitely on the hunt for anything else by this author. Next up, The Familiar Dark.
The Familiar Dark is almost un-put-down-able. Eve’s past has hardened her; Junie, her daughter, was the person who had smoothed out her rough edges. But now Junie is dead. Engel leads the reader and Eve down a dark path, where Eve is forced to ask questions she may not want the answers to. There are some true surprises along the way and the ending is devastating.
I waited forever for a new book by Engel after I finished with The Familiar Dark and did what I do only when I can’t wait any longer: I bought it in hard back. That book was I Did It For You. Maybe if I hadn’t read The Roanoke Girls or The Familiar Dark first, I would have liked I Did It For You more than I did. I read a lot of thrillers, and this one stacks up just fine against many of them. But I was really hoping for the sucker punch The Familiar Dark offered or the dark family secret hidden in the depths of The Roanoke Girls. For me, this just didn’t have the same emotional depth as those two books.
BUT. It was still an enjoyable read and definitely makes Amy Engel an auto buy author for me.
I decided last month to take a look at my auto buy authors. You know the ones, your ride or die authors whose books you know will deliver. If you want to look at my criteria and read about my first auto buy author, Thomas H. Cook, you can visit that post here.
This month’s auto buy author is another Thomas: Thomas Christopher Greene.
Thomas Christopher Greene is an American writer and co-founder and past president of the Vermont College of Fine Arts. He’s the author of seven books, of which I have read four. There’s a great interview with him here.
My first experience with Greene was back in 2011 when I read his novel Envious Moon. About that book I said: “Love is the one emotion that drives people, especially young people, to reckless behaviour. Greene’s novel captures that love-fueled momentum and propels Anthony, Hannah and the reader on a journey that is both heart-felt and heart-breaking.”
Like I said in my review, I am a sucker for star-crossed lovers or any book that taps into angsty longing and Envious Moon had that in spades, so of course I was going to seek out more books by this author.
Here’s what I’ve read:
The Headmaster’s Wife: One of the delights of this books (if you can actually call a novel about grief ‘delightful’) is letting the pieces of this puzzle click together in their own time. This is a book that sort of reads like a mystery, but isn’t that what life is at the end of the day? An unfathomable mystery. I read it in one sitting.
The Perfect Liar: Max W. and Susannah meet at a fancy art party in New York City. They are drawn to each other almost immediately and soon after, they are married. Now they live in Vermont where Max has taken a job as a lecturer at a small liberal arts college. One morning, while Max is away giving a lecture at an art institute in Chicago, Susannah discovers a note pinned to their front door: I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Couldn’t put it down.
If I Forget You: The novel opens in 2012. Henry, a poet and lecturer at NYU, sees Margot – for the first time in 20 years – on the street in Manhattan. When their eyes meet, “the face Henry sees travels to him from a lifetime ago.” Instead of speaking to him, though, she runs away. It is from this point that their story unspools – toggling between their college days and this point in the present. Lives lived and all that.
Greene seems to walk that line that I love so much between page turner and literature, often with a heaping helping of angst thrown in.
I still have some Greene books to look forward to: Mirror Lake, After the Rain, I’ll Never be Long Gone, and Notes from the Porch: Tiny True Stories to Make You Feel Better About the World. I can’t wait to track these books down.
At last count, I have 500 unread books on my bookshelves. I wish I could say that I am mortified by that number, but I am not. I am a mood reader and I like to be prepared for all contingencies. I also love buying books because books as objects just make me happy. Who knows what I am going to feel like reading on any given day, and it gives me a lot of pleasure to shop my shelves.
But then there are those tried and true authors whose books somehow make it to the tip top of that pesky TBR pile. Somehow, these authors always seem to move to the front of the line and even though I have many (many) books that have been languishing on my shelves waiting to be read, when these authors have a new book out–or in the case of today’s featured author, I stumble across a new-to-me book by them–I somehow forget my shelf and read the book straight away. (Alternatively, as is also true in the case of today’s featured author, I squirrel the book away for a rainy day when nothing else is floating my boat, and I need a guaranteed winner.)
What makes someone an auto buy author? That’s what I would like to write about today because I have several writers who meet my own very subjective criteria, my drop-everything-and-read-their-latest-book-asap crew.
Writing. I love it when a book is well written. Sometimes the writing doesn’t have to be stellar for me to enjoy a book’s plot or characters, but when the writing is excellent, that is definitely a bonus. Auto buy authors always have, at the very least, prose that isn’t clunky.
Plot. There are certain types of plots that I really enjoy. I love books that keep me guessing. I love angst. I love dark academia. I love it when the writer alludes to things that have yet to be revealed to the reader. I love to be surprised.
Characters. I love it when I love the characters, when they feel as though they could be a friend of mine. When I root for their success (or sometimes their demise). I love characters that feel like real people.
The feels. I love a book that punches me in the gut, makes my eyes burn with unshed tears, or a book that makes me sob. I love a book that grabs me by the throat and shakes me until my teeth rattle, a book that makes me read way past my bedtime, until my eyes are burning.
The unexpected. I love a twist, especially when it’s not contrived. I love it when a book breaks my heart.
Somehow, auto buy authors always have the perfect combination of these things and there’s something about that first encounter that makes me want to dive into another book. When that book also turns out to be great, then they make my auto buy list. I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the authors whose work I have enjoyed and whose books I will always buy.
I thought it might be fun to share these authors with you and, of course, I would love to hear which writers would make your list!
First up: Thomas H. Cook
Thomas H. Cook is an American writer of mysteries with over 30 titles to his name. It doesn’t look like he’s had anything published since 2018. He has won many awards over the years, including an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.
I discovered Cook in 2007 when I happened upon his 1995 novel Breakheart Hill in a second hand bookstore. I knew nothing about Cook, but I was totally intrigued by the novel’s opening lines: “This is the darkest story that I have ever heard, and all my life I have labored not to tell it.”
Thus began my love affair with Cook.
Turns out, though, his books are not that easy to find. I can’t just head to Indigo and grab one of his books off the shelf. Tracking Cook books (haha) down is a bit like going on a treasure hunt. I was delighted when I went to a huge second hand book sale in Moncton (about 90 minutes from me) last summer and happened upon a title I didn’t own. If I am in a second hand book store, he’s the first author I look for. Over the years, I have managed to get my hands on 16 of his novels (two of which I am saving for that rainy book day).
Here’s why I love him.
First of all, he’s a brilliant writer. His writing is astute, and often lyrical (but not overly fussy.) He (mostly) writes what I would classify as literary mysteries. They are never just straight-up whodunnits. His characters are complicated and many of his novels deal with father/son dynamics. In virtually every book I have ever read by Cook, there has been some sort of mind-blowing/wait, what? twist that has made me want to go back and start again to see what I missed. While I have not loved every single book I have read, every single book I have read has been well worth the time and effort and has been heads and tails better than much of the dreck out there.
So, here’s what I have read:
Breakheart Hill – a leisurely southern gothic novel, filled with a real sense of place and time. The characters are interesting and flawed and I was 100% surprised by the ending, which wasn’t a cheat even though it felt like it should have been.
The Chatham School Affair – a richly realized mystery which unfolds as the book’s narrator, an elderly lawyer named Henry Griswald, recalls the events which transpired the year he was 15.
Places in the Dark – The story concerns brothers William and Cal who grow up in an idyllic seaside town in Maine in the 1930s. They are as different as night and day: William an energetic dreamer who rushes through life filled with hope and enthusiasm and Cal, the older more pragmatic brother. Still, despite their differences, they are close. Then Dora March comes to town.
Red Leaves – the story of the Moore family: Eric (owner of a camera shop), Meredith (teacher at a small community college) and Keith (their teenage son). They live in a small New England town and live, what Eric believes, is a perfect life. That is until eight-year-old Amy Giordano goes missing and the last person to have seen her is Keith, who’d been babysitting her that evening.
Instruments of the Night – the story of writer Paul Graves, a man who has spent his career writing about the horrible dance between serial killer and sadist Kessler (and his accomplice, Sykes) and the man who has spent his career chasing him, Detective Slovak. This might be my favourite novel by Cook.
The Cloud of Unknowing – David and Diana Sears were raised by their brilliant but schizophrenic father. Now they are adults and they carry all the baggage from that often difficult childhood. I have lukewarm feelings about this one.
Evidence of Blood – Jackson Kinley is a true-crime writer. His career has brought him close to unimaginable horrors: rapists and murderers and people who torture others for pleasure. Kinley (as he is most often called) seems somehow immune to these horrors. His armor is breached, however, when he gets the call that his childhood friend, Ray Tindall, has been found dead.
Master of the Delta – a book about fathers and sons, about the part luck plays in how our lives turn out, about kindness and cruelty.
The Fate of Katherine Carr – George Gates is a former travel writer who now writes features for the local paper and spends his evenings drinking scotch at his neighbourhood bar. He’s a broken man, but no wonder: his eight year old son, Teddy, had been taken off the street on his way home from school, murdered and the murderer had never been caught.
The Interrogation – the story of two cops, Norman Cohen and Jack Pierce. Each man has a heart full of demons (Cohen is haunted by his experiences in war; Pierce’s young daughter was a murder victim), but they are tenacious and accomplished interrogators. Since the story is set in 1952 they have to rely on the evidence they gather the old-fashioned way: visiting crime scenes, talking to people, chasing leads.
Mortal Memory – a story that begins when narrator Stevie Farris discovers, at age 9, that his father has shot and killed his mother, Marie, older brother, Jamie and sister, Laura. The knowledge of this horrific act tortures Stevie, mostly because he doesn’t understand why his father committed such a horrible crime. Wasn’t his family happy?
Peril – like a noir film, peopled with shadowy gangsters in crumpled hats, a beautiful, fragile heroine who earns the good will of the men she meets, and a bunch of guys who ultimately, turn out to be loyal and decent.
Blood Innocents – the story of NYC police detective John Reardon who, returning to work after the death of his wife, is given a strange case involving the slaughter of two deer in the Children’s Zoo in Central Park.
Into the Web – Roy Slater’s acrimonious relationship with his father isn’t the only difficult thing about returning to his childhood home. Just a few weeks before he was about to leave for college, Roy’s brother Archie was arrested for the murders of Lavenia and Horace Kellogg. Now he’s back in a town filled with ghosts – and then another dead body turns up.
And the two books I am saving for a rainy day: Flesh and Blood & Night Secrets.
I am on a mission to find all the remaining Thomas H. Cook titles that exist.
One of my favourite things to do at this time of year is to reflect on the reading year that was, and Jamie aka The Perpetual Page-Turner makes this very easy to do by providing this list of questions.
Number Of Books I Read: 60 Number of Re-Reads: 1 (The Paper Palace, which was a book club selection. This was my third time reading it and I still love it.) Genre I Read The Most From: literary fiction/YA (not really genres, I know – but in those categories I read a lot of thrillers, mysteries, realistic fic)
According to the list I sent out (see that list at the end of this post), Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner was my favourite book of the year. In 2024, Zentner’s novel The Serpent King was my second favourite novel of the year. Another of Zentner’s books, In the Wild Light, also made my Top Twenty list this year. So, I guess you could say I am a fan. I doubt anything is going to knock Goodbye Days from the number one spot.
Runner Up:
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
We Used to Live Here was certainly easy to read – but I found it sort of disjointed, especially as things went along. It wasn’t scary, although there were certainly some creepy moments. I didn’t finish it feeling satisfied, mostly because I wasn’t 100% sure I understood exactly what had happened. That may be my own fault rather than the book’s – so your mileage might vary. I was sure I was going to love this book, but in the end, I just didn’t.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
I actually had a couple of surprises this year – books that I shouldn’t have loved, but did and vice versa.
In the LOVED category:
In the not-so-great category:
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
I don’t think I championed any one book this year, although I do my fair share of book talks at school. I also got two of my favourite readers to read my favourite book Velocity. You can read Luke’s review of the book here.
5. Favorite new author you discovered in 2025?
I will definitely be reading more from Nat Cassidy (Nestlings) and Ronald Malfi (Come With Me)
6. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
I don’t think I read anything out of my comfort zone this year,
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Both of these young protagonists go through it and are memorable because they survive.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2025?
I read quite a few well-written books this year. Beautifully written (to my taste) would have to be The Paper Palace and I guess it counts even though it is a re-read. But if I can’t use that, perhaps Moon Road by Sarah Leipciger
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2025?
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2025 to finally read?
It’s not really a question of not being able to believe I waited so long to get to such-and-such a book because I have more books on my physical tbr shelf than I can reasonably expect to get to in my lifetime. So, I will just name a couple of books which have been languishing on my tbr shelf and that I finally read:
The Stopped Heart – Julie Myerson
The Servants – Michael Marshall Smith
Broken – Daniel Clay
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2024?
“For the most part, you don’t hold the people you love in your heart because they rescued you from drowning or pulled you from a burning house. Mostly you hold them in your heart because they save you, in a million quiet and perfect ways, from being alone.” – Goodbye Days
And I was sorely disappointed by Save Me, the first book from the Maxton Hall series. I’d been waiting forever for it to be translated from German into English because I LOVE the series. None of what I love in the show exists in the book; the series makes the book a zillion times better.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) (OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)
What I’ve said about Save Me remains true, but I am still putting James and Ruby on the list as my OTP as technically they are characters from a book that I have read, but when I think about them I think about the actors and the show.
Honourable mention to: Shannon and Johnny from Binding 13. I really did love these characters (enough that I actually went out and bought Keeping 13 and read it immediately).
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
21. Best Book You Read In 2025 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.:
I think that honour has to go to Stoner by John Williams. Here’s what I said at the start of my review:
John Williams’ 1965 novel Stoner probably would not have been on my reading radar without booktube. It seemed as though many young readers (people in their 20s and 30s – and yes, those are young people to me now) were reading it and talking about it and so I added it to my physical tbr pile, figuring that I would get to it eventually.
I read it and loved it and it was definitely worthy of the hype.
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2025?
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Gone to See the River Man had a pretty vivid (and often horrific) setting. The Canadian setting of Moon Road was also beautifully captured (and not at all horrific!)
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Yikes – looking back at the titles I read this year, they’re all pretty dark. I think the one book that actually made me smile/laugh (but also feel the feels) was Alison Espach’s The Wedding People.
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2025?
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Hidden from whom? I suspect that most of the books on my list are known to others, but if I were going to offer up a couple less-well-known titles I would suggest people check out Broken by Daniel Clay, a sort of To Kill a Mockingbird retelling set on a council estate in England or The Servants by Michael Marshall Smith, the story of a young boy who moves to the seaside with his stepfather and ailing mother.
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
No books crushed my soul this year; American politics did that.
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2024?
Andrew Joseph White (The Spirit Bares Its Teeth) continues to impress with his horror-tinged takes on gender identity.
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
I don’t think I read a book this year that made me mad.
1. New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2023?
Here are some Instagram accounts I enjoy: booksbythebay, fictionmatters, booksaresick, dylanjosephreads, jordys.book.club, vestcody
3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2025?
I mean, favourite? But here’s a picture of me with a pile of books I got at the Boys and Girls Club book sale in August. Clearly I didn’t take the picture. 🙂
4. Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, etc.)?
In December, two of my favourite people on the planet visited me when they came home and we convened the first meeting of our Book Club of 3. Since we always talk about books when we get together, in November we decided to make it slightly more formal and read the same book before the visit. We chose Stoner and had a lovely discussion.
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2025?
Any interaction with other readers is lovely.
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
Meeting my reading goal was hard this year; I am not sure why. I think the crazy state of the world has made it difficult to concentrate and I turned to shitty television instead of hunkering down with a book. I am looking forward to a reset.
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
Unsurprising, Corrupt had the most views with 243.
Some other interesting stats from my blogging year:
I wrote 60 posts, over 28k words. I had over 52,000 views this year, but my overall engagement is still low. I would like to think that’s because it takes a little more effort to leave a comment on a blog than it does on an Instagram post.
Jan 17, 2025 was my busiest day with 813 views. I didn’t post anything on the 17th, but I did post my review of My Brilliant Friend on Jan 13.
8. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Two independent bookstores opened…neither of them in my hometown, but both places I can get to every once and awhile.
9.. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
Nope.
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2025 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2025?
I am a mood reader. I can’t tell you want I will feel like reading from one moment to the next.
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2025 (non-debut)?
See above.
3. 2025 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I dunno.
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2026?
I do hope to finish the Empire of the Vampire series. I read the first book in 2022! I have book two sitting on my shelf.
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2025
Every year I send out a Top 20 list to my friends from Litsy. I compile it late November, so it doesn’t include everything I’ve read up to the end of the year (and there are always a few bangers that are left off.)
I am certainly not the audience for this sort of book, but I purchased the sequel Keeping 13 and reading it straight away and that is something I never do. There. That’s my endorsement.
A lovely, quiet tale about eleven-year-old Mark who has moved to Brighton with his brand-new step-dad, David, and his mom, who appears to be quite ill. There were tears.
It’s a compelling, well-written mystery with lots to say about our fascination with true crime, the fetishization of victims and how, sometimes, justice just isn’t served.
White has a remarkable imagination, but this book feels especially timely given the way the rights of marginalized people are being eroded in today’s society.
A coming-of-age story about a kid who has had to grow up way too fast, who feels out of his depth, but who learns to trust himself. Made me cry on more than one occasion.
It was wonderful to read a book featuring mature characters who have lived a life, suffered a terrible loss, and then made an effort to keep moving forward.
“For the most part, you don’t hold the people you love in your heart because they rescued you from drowning or pulled you from a burning house. Mostly you hold them in your heart because they save you, in a million quiet and perfect ways, from being alone.”
Had I read it before I finished my list, Stoner would have totally made my top 20.
During the summer, CBC’s Information Morning, which is hosted separately in Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John, collapses into one provincial show. One of the segments, Books and Backroads, heads out to smaller New Brunswick communities to talk to readers about books that have either been written by NB authors, or take place in New Brunswick.
This summer I was invited to write stories to accompany the segments that aired throughout the summer. Now that the show is returning to business as usually, I thought I’d give these New Brunswick books/authors and the segment itself one more look.
I’ve linked to the stories I wrote, plus the segment as it aired on the radio. I have also provided other pertinent info about the books, in case you want to check them out yourself.
Enjoy!
The first story, which is an overview of the segment, was not written by me. Here it is.
One of my favourite things to do at this time of year is to reflect on the reading year that was, and Jamie aka The Perpetual Page-Turner makes this very easy to do by providing this list of questions.
Number Of Books I Read: 80 (My Goodreads challenge goal was 75) Number of Re-Reads: 2 The Great Gatsby and The Secret History Genre I Read The Most From: literary fiction/YA (not really genres, I know – but in those categories I read a lot of thrillers, mysteries, realistic fic)
1. Best Book You Read In 2023?
Hands down my favourite book of the year was Emma Straub’s novel This Time Tomorrow. On her 40th birthday, a woman wakes up in her bed on the morning of her 16th birthday. I chose this for book club last year and I loved every single thing about it. I never tab things when I read, but I had so many tabs in this book…so many lines that just hit me and then when I read her acknowledgments (where she specifically speaks about her father, the acclaimed literary horror novelist Peter Straub – who just happens to be one of my favourite writers) it just added a whole new layer to this book. Loved it.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
There were definitely a few duds this year, but if I had to pick one book that really disappointed me, it’s probably The Song of Achilles. Lots of people raved about this book. One student in my class openly sobbed as they read it. It read like fanfiction to me. I couldn’t muster up any feelings for these characters or their fates.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
I was surprised that You Have Made A Fool of Death With Your Beauty was so…trope-y. I think maybe I had different expectations for the book, but this really just ended up being a romance that was often cringey.
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
I always recommend The Secret History to students, even though I haven’t read that book since it came out in 1992. I decided to re-read it in the summer of 2023, just to see if it stood up to my memories. I did not have the same reading experience as I did the first time, but it is objectively a great book and we wouldn’t have dark academia as we know it today without it.
5. Favorite new author you discovered in 2023?
There are a few authors I discovered this year that I will definitely be reading more from including Shelley Read (Go as a River) and Ania Ahlborn (Brother).
6. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
I don’t really have books that are “out of my comfort zone.” I would probably avoid straight up sci fi, but this year I don’t read anything that fits this category.
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
I read Lisa Jewell’s latest book None of This Is True in one sitting when I had Covid (for the first time) back in November. I generally find Jewell pretty dependable, although I did not enjoy The Family Remains, the sequel to the vastly superior The Family Upstairs, at all. None of This Is True had a lot of elements I really like packed into one book: unreliable narrators, true crime, and a plot that kept me guessing.
Another book that I could not put down was S.A. Cosby’s thriller All the Sinners Bleed. Although I have at least one other book by Cosby on my tbr shelf, I bought this one and read it almost immediately. It was fast-paced and twisty and well-written.
9. Book You Read In 2023 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Hmmm. As my TBR pile grows, the likelihood that I will do much re-reading diminishes.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2023?
I was drawn to the cover of Quiet Time when I saw it at the book store and I bought the book without knowing anything about it based on the blurb and the fact that it was written by a young Atlantic Canadian author. Sadly, I didn’t enjoy the book all that much, although I might have if I’d read it when I was 40 years younger.
11. Most memorable character of 2023?
I encountered a few memorable characters this year including Chrissie from Nancy Tucker’s fabulous novel The First Day of Spring, Torie from Go As A River and Ted from The Last House on Needless Street. However, my favourite character is definitely Michael from Ania Ahlborn’s novel Brother. Despite the horrific things that he does, I can’t recall ever meeting a character more sympathetic than he is. I just wanted to pull him out of his life and hug him.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2023?
Beautiful writing is so subjective, isn’t it? The books that earn five stars from me have some perfect combination of plot, characters and writing. This year, those books include: The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead, This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, Brother by Ania Ahlborn, When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert, Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, Go as a River by Shelley Read and Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. If I was going to choose a book just based on writing alone I would probably choose Patchett’s because, well, she’s amazing and this book is brilliant. But Straub’s book just hit me hard with all. the. feels.
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2023?
I mean Tender is the Flesh was pretty thought-provoking and also all kinds of icky. It wasn’t really my cup of literary tea, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t give me lots of food (ahem) for thought.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2023 to finally read?
Of the books I read this year, the one that had probably been on my tbr shelf the longest was Lisa Reardon’s novel Blameless. I was likely holding on to it because having read it, there is no more Reardon to read.
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2023?
Here’s where all those tabbed pages from This Time Tomorrow would have come in handy. Oh well.
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2023?
Longest: Crank by Ellen Hopkins, 576 pages – but does it really count as this is a book written in verse.
The Secret History, 559 pages (and it’s Tartt so those are some densely written pages!)
Shortest: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 180 pages – but it was a re-read.
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
Brother because it 100% goes there. I don’t know if this book counts as extreme horror, but this book is pretty extreme…so it’s horrific, but also heartbreaking and I was shocked not only by the graphic story elements, but also by how much I loved the main character.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) (OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2023?
I kinda loved Noah from Romantic Comedy.
23. Best 2023 debut you read?
The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker is a pretty remarkable debut.
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
I think Tom Lake, Go as a River and Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds all do a wonderful job of capturing the natural world. In particular, The Four Winds absolutely puts you right in the middle of the dust bowl.
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Lump in the throat awards go to: Zennor in Darkness by one of my all-time favourite writers Helen Dunmore and Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
I am going to shout out Heartbreak Homes by Nova Scotia-based writer Jo Teggiari. Here is what I said in my review: “While Heartbreak Homes is definitely a mystery, complete with the requisite red herrings and plot twists, it is also an interesting commentary on homelessness, family, responsibility and loyalty. I loved spending time with these characters and if the mystery itself unraveled just a little too neatly, it hardly matters. This is a great book.”
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
I have to say Brother yet again. This book is dark and bleak and freaking awesome. But also bleak. And dark.
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2023?
I am not sure, formatting wise, I read any “unique” books this year, but I did read a lot of books with very unique narrators. Sally, from Liz Nugent’s novel Strange Sally Diamond springs immediately to mind. (I only wish I had ended up loving the book as much I thought I would when I started reading it.
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Books that I finished but which made me cross include Just Like Mother (started off with so much promise, but then just got cartoonishly ridiculous); The Rose Petal Beach which was such a huge disappointment because I loved Koomson’s novel The Ice Cream Girls, and both Hello Beautiful and Lessons in Chemistry (beloved by many!) for reasons too numerous to mention.
1. New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2023?
I added Ashley’s Little Library to my YouTube rotation this year. We have similar reading tastes and I enjoy her reviews.
2. Favorite post you wrote in 2023?
I enjoyed writing my review of Evan Katz’s book Into Every Generation: How Buffy Slayed Our Hearts because it allowed me to think about a very important and meaningful and creative time in my life. I also really enjoyed writing my review of The Secret History because my first reading of the book predates this blog by a couple of decades.
3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2023?
One of my favourite places on earth and one of me with my favourite reading companion, Lily.
4. Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, etc.)?
I love it when WordPress tells me my stats are booming – although what does that really mean when you don’t have a lot of followers? LOL
Here are my blog stats for 2023.
I had 57, 155 views and 46, 367 visitors to The Ludic Reader. I think that’s pretty impressive. However, I only had 27 likes and 20 comments all year. Not sure what to do about that, but I am sure there is something I can do to up engagement. Thoughts?
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
When I get into a groove, there’s not really too much I find challenging about blogging. I like to stay on top of my reviews and schedule them so I post about once every four days. Sometimes that schedule works, sometimes not so much. I wish I could do a better job of leveraging my Instagram account. Maybe that’s a task for this year. (I am The Ludic Reader there as well.)
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
The most popular review (with a whopping 24, 940 views) is for Corrupt, which I hate-wrote in 2021. The next closest number of views goes to my home page with 4,857 views. Crazy.
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
Based on the stats above, it appears that a lot more people are reading my reviews than the likes and comments would indicate. If you are someone who visits regularly, I would love it if you subscribed and or commented or even hit the like button. Thanks!
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Eleven NB, a local company, makes all sorts of fun bookish merch.
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2023 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2024?
Yeah…um…meet my tbr shelves
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2024 (non-debut)?
See above.
3. 2024 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
Don’t really keep track.
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2021?
Same as it ever was: Not a series reader, really.
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2021?
Here’s a carry over from previous years: I would like to hit 100 books – so less time on social media and more time with a book in my hand. Perhaps make better use of my Instagram.
6. A 2024 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):
Back when we were first looked down for Covid, I came across Shelf Absorption, a site that was looking for people to share their bookshelves and bookish thoughts. There was a questionnaire and an opportunity to send some pictures and it was the perfect distraction from all the craziness of those first few weeks of Covid anxiety. My contribution went live back on October 5th, and I’ve been meaning to post the link here since then.
If you are like me and you gravitate to other people’s bookshelves when you are in their homes, this site is like candy. Sadly, I think the owners are taking a little break, but there’s lots to keep you busy for a little while.
Here’s a little preview of what you’ll find from my featured spot.
One of my favourite things to do at this time of year is to reflect on the reading year that was, and Jamie aka The Perpetual Page-Turner makes this very easy to do by providing this list of questions.
Number Of Books You Read: 86 Number of Re-Reads: 2 (but I didn’t count them in my 86 as they were for school & I only skim read them.) Genre You Read The Most From: literary fiction/YA (not really genres, I know – but in those categories I read a lot of thrillers, mysteries, realistic fic)
1. Best Book You Read In 2020?
(If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2020 release vs. backlist)
I think I am going to have a hard time picking the best book I read this year because, honestly, I read a lot of them. How about a Top Five list.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
I was excited about Verity by Colleen Hoover because everyone was talking about it. It sounded deliciously dark but it was just over-the-top stupid.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
I was probably most surprised by Olive Kitteridge. That book has been languishing on my TBR shelf pretty much since it came out and I finally got around to it. I was sure I wasn’t going to like it when I started and I was so wrong.
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
I spend a lot of time encouraging people to read books – both in my classroom and just in general. A couple books I recommended a lot were One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus and Where All Light Tends to Go by David Joy
5. Best series you started in 2020? Best Sequel? Best Series Ender of 2020?
Well, I am not really a series reader. Probably One of Us is Lying could slide into this slot as I finished the year with its sequel One of Us Is Next.
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2020?
There are a few authors I discovered this year that I will definitely be reading more from including Amy Engel, Roz Nay, Lucie Whitehouse, Gillian French, Tom Ryan, and Emily Chenoweth
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Yeah – I don’t generally read outside of my genre (so no fantasy or sci fi for me) and nothing is really outside of my comfort zone. I have a pretty high tolerance for ick.
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
I read a LOT of page turners this year, books that had me turning the pages way past my bedtime. I think I might have read Daisy Jones & the Six in one sitting. I was just enchanted by that whole book and really couldn’t put it down.
9. Book You Read In 2020 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I am a re-reader, but I am not sure there’s anything on this year’s list that I might re-read with the exception of The Fountains of Silence as it may end up as something students read.
I dunno. Ahhhh. I read some beautifully written books this year. It’s a toss up between Olive Kitteridge (I am starting to see a pattern here) and Hello Goodbye.
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2020?
Where All Light Tends To Go was a really visceral experience for me in the same way Our Daily Bread was when I read it in 2013.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2020 to finally read?
Olive Kitteridge. I am sorry I waited so long to make her acquaintance; however, what a delight it was to spend time with her. Truthfully, I have so many books on my TBR shelf, there’s always something I’m taking too long to get to.
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2020?
I never think to do this and then I never have anything for this category. I am definitely going to keep it in mind for next year, though!
(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)
The Headmaster’s Wife by Thomas Christopher Green had a pretty amazing twist for literary fiction
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) (OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)
Bronwyn & Nate 4eva: One of Us Is Lying
Honourable Mentions to: Daisy & Billy: Daisy Jones & The Six; Charlie & Fran: Sweet Sorrow
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
James and Bob in A Street Cat Named Bob. Of course, as a cat lover, I was 100% rooting for these two crazy kids. The movie is a delight if you have not yet seen it.
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2020 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
I can always count on Lisa Jewell to deliver a well-written page-turner, and I thoroughly enjoyed both books of hers that I read in 2020, but I am going to have to go with The Family Upstairs. I always have an unread book by Jewell on my shelf, in case of emergencies.
21. Best Book You Read In 2020 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.:
Thanks to Litsy I have added so many books to my TBR shelf, which is I think how My Dark Vanessa ended up in my hands. It was grim, but I enjoyed it. I also read Homegoing because a former student now colleague literally put it in my hands and said it was the best book she’d ever read.
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2020?
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Both My Best Friend’s Exorcism and We Are Still Tornadoes shot me straight back to the 1980s, a decade I am supremely fond of.
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Daisy Jones & The Six was a blast to read even though it was angsty (but as I love angst even that made me smile.) You Were Never Here was also a delight to read because it’s set in my home province. (There are other delightful reasons to read this book, but this was especially awesome.)
For me, The Roanoke Girls. I bought it in the 3 for $10 section at Indigo and I tore through it in pretty much one sitting. I would read anything this author wrote. There’s nothing better than falling in love with a book and author you’ve never heard of before.
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Gotta be Where All Light Tends To Go. I rooted so hard for the main character, Jacob, to find his way out of the hell of his life.
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2020?
Daisy Jones & The Six, a story told as an oral history, which was way more fun to read than you might think.
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
I am mad that I wasted money on Verity. I am mad that Delia Owens ruined Where the Crawdads Sing with that crap ending. I am mad that translations don’t figure out how to get dialogue right. (The Hypnotist, I Remember You). I am mad at the tripe that is Blind Kiss for wasting my time.
1. New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2020?
I don’t know whether I discovered her this year or not, but I love watching Jen Campbell on YouTube. A little closer to home, I enjoy @kittslit on Instagram.
2. Favorite post you wrote in 2020?
I find my scathing review of Verity quite comical. I am not often scathing, but that book was infuriating.
3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2020?
I don’t really have a photo game, but here are a couple I like. You’ll notice a theme.
4. Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, etc.)?
I was very happy to talk about dystopian fiction on CBC radio during the lockdown. I also attended a virtual YA panel hosted by The Lorenzo Society which was a lot of fun.
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2020?
It always makes me super happy to interact with authors whose books I have enjoyed.
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
I had a great reading year, actually. Yeah, Covid sucks, but when schools closed on March 13 I suddenly had a lot more free time on my hands because it took the government some time to figure out what the rest of the academic year was going to look like. We couldn’t go anywhere, but I didn’t need to because I have books enough to last me the rest of my life.
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
I keep saying this and it’s mostly true: I keep this blog mainly for myself. If I do a radio spot, I get a spike in views. If I tweet about a book I’ve loved and the author retweets, that often pays dividends. Mostly though, I am content in my little spot on the WWW. That said, sometimes I write something that I wish somebody besides myself had read. For example, I wrote a post about abandoning books which I quite liked (I Just Can’t Seem To Quit You) and did another on Shopping my Own Shelves.
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Oh Reader , a new-to-me (and the world) magazine devoted to all things bookish. ::heart::
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2020 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2021?
I am very much looking forward to reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara and The Heart’s Invisible Furies two books that have been on my reading radar for a while.
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2021 (non-debut)?
Either of those books, plus Red, White and Royal Blue, which I am hoping is as sweet as everyone claims.
3. 2021 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
Don’t really keep track.
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2021?
Not a series reader, really.
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2021?
I would like to hit 100 books – so less time on social media and more time with a book in my hand. Perhaps make better use of my Instagram.
6. A 2021 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):
The Ludic Reader 