I grew up watching Roy Rogers and John Wayne, and throughout middle school, I read a ton of Louis L’Amour, because my brother was growing a healthy collection of his novels. So it’s really no surprise that this is my brother’s book and I only borrowed it. He gave it to me because it’s considered […]

I wouldn’t say Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles is a fun or even enthralling read, either due to plot or ease of reading, but I can’t help but love it. I don’t remember when I first read this—it might have been a bit after high school—but Tess always stuck with me, and after recently […]

Jamaica Inn is my fourth Daphne du Maurier novel (I’ve previously read Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, and Mary Anne). Unfortunately, while I did enjoy the premise and some of the aspects of the novel which I’ll discuss below, Jamaica Inn might be a dud for me. But it still ranks above Mary Anne. The best […]

I’m so glad I now have this in my personal library. I originally read this novel for a college course, and I really wanted to reread it because I would find myself thinking of it from time to time. For some reason, I remembered it as a novella rather than a full novel, perhaps because […]

All the Light We Cannot See was honestly really touching. It immediately drew me in, and there were many charming moments in the book that were heightened by Doerr’s descriptive power. There were two moments toward the end that either made me cry heavily or made me pause because what I had read touched me […]

I was so excited to pick up the second installation of Fawcett’s Emily Wilde series, the first of which I also read in January of last year, so maybe I’ll make this a yearly January tradition as long as Fawcett continues the series. I haven’t read a series in such a long time, and I’ve […]

In December 2023, I made a list of books to read throughout 2024, and I wanted to see if I would willingly and happily stick with that order. Previously, I would just look at my shelves and pick a book based on how I was feeling. I was very generous with myself, and I told […]

Someone Named Eva has to be my favorite children’s/middle grade novel. I’m not sure how many times I read this growing up. I wanted something quick and beloved to finish out 2024, so I quickly downed this book last night. It’s about a young Czechoslakian girl named Milada who is kidnapped and forced to enter […]

Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died is my first completed audiobook. I’ve never been drawn to that reading format, as I prefer to visually see the words on a physical copy and perhaps annotate it up the wazoo. But this memoir is perfectly suited for an audiobook. I did miss annotating it, since […]