Best Books of 2023 and a reading challenge for 2024

Happy New Year! Although only three of my four short stories that were picked up for publication are out so far, I’m looking forward to sharing more of my work with the world in 2024. But enough about me. The main point of this post is that, in 2023, I read some wonderful books I’d like to share.

In 2023, I read a total of 113 novels. As in most years, I read the most in July (19) thanks to being off work. (Taking an e-reader on a solo trip also helped.) But I read at least a few books every month and here are some of my top titles, as well as a reading challenge to keep you motivated!

January

Challenge: Read a fun update of a classic

My pick: A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting, by Sophie Irwin

This was the book I recommended to the most people this year. Using Jane Austen’s Persuasion as a springboard, Irwin’s book was a joy from start to finish. Hilarious and heartfelt, this story featured a lovable heroine figuring out how to follow her dreams and the swoon-worthy male lead who encourages her at every turn. Historically accurate? Maybe not, but I had a ball.

Bonus rec: A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting, by Sophie Irwin

Although I read this one second, it was written before A Lady’s Guide to Scandal. I’ve read and seen numerous takes on Pride & Prejudice; this one felt completely fresh and fun. Starring a young woman desperate to land a wealthy husband in order to save her family and the Lord she blackmails to help her, I adored this one.

February

Challenge: Read an award-winning book

My pick: A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers

A Hugo Award Winner in 2022, this novella (and its sequel, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy) are small and gorgeous. The setting is a utopian take of the future, a world where the robots gained sentience only to wander into the wild and the more sustainable society that developed in their wake. I tried this one after a librarian recommended it to me and, although I found the first 50 pages pretty slow, I understood why it won the award as soon as the monk met the wild-built robot. It was a beautiful meditation on culture, religion, purpose, our relationship to the world, and what it means to be alive. Especially if you don’t have much time, this short book is one that will stay with you long after you’ve read the final page.

March

Challenge: Give a nonfiction book a try

My Pick: The Professor and the Madman, by Simon Winchester

Although every nonfiction story I’ve read has seen me sharing strange facts with everyone I know for weeks afterward (looking at you Gulp by Mary Roach and Gory Details by Erika Englehaupt), this one takes the cake for being the most off-the-wall insane. Which is…unexpected given that it’s about the creation of a dictionary. But it turns out one of the most prolific contributors to the fledgling dictionary was a man institutionalized after he murdered someone during a schizophrenic episode. The story only got stranger from there.

April

Challenge: Read a book that combines two genres

My Pick: Station Eternity, by Mar Lafferty

One of the more inventive science fiction books I’ve read recently and a murder mystery to boot, this book was intriguing. Mallory leaves Earth behind in a desperate attempt to get away from the murders that seem to happen everywhere she goes and winds up on a space station full of aliens with symbiotic relationships. Then more humans show up and it’s only a matter of time before people start to die….

May

Challenge: Read a short-story collection

My pick: The Tangleroot Palace, by Marjorie Liu

Considering I’ve been writing mostly short fiction in the last few years, I don’t read much of it. So, I decided to change that by picking up this collection. Although the short story I found the most thought-provoking this year was actually the take on Rumplestiltskin in Jane Yolen’s How to Fracture a Fairytale collection, I found this collection the most consistently strong throughout. “Sympathy for the Bones” was a particular standout.

June

Challenge: Read a classic with a fantasy twist

My pick: Claws and Contrivances, by Stephanie Burgis

I really enjoyed this one. Like Jane Austen with dragons, it had shades of Sense & Sensibility and Northanger Abbey in particular. Featuring a lead who tries to manage everyone around her, her lovable cast of eccentric relatives, and a bemused dragon scholar roped into an engagement against his will, this one was heaps of fun.

July

Challenge: Read a historical fiction novel

My pick: Sinners of Starlight City, by Anika Scott

Set during the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, this story about the mafia and magic follows several characters with family on both sides of the color line. Our main heroine (Rosa) is a young performer hell-bent on revenge against the man who murdered her family back in Italy. We also get to know her cousin who is desperately trying to get her baby back and begs for Rosa’s help as well as the mafia enforcer tasked with returning the cousin to her family. The setting was beautifully rendered and Scott did a great job maintaining tension while illuminating various historical events in the U.S. and Italy I didn’t know very well.

August

Challenge: Pick a book based on its cover

My pick: Charming, by Jane Linwood

What if the “Prince Charming” in all the fairytales was actually the same guy? That’s the fun premise behind this story. Whenever Charming waltzes in to save the fair maiden, he ends up stealing half their treasury and splitting before the wedding. But the women he’s conned have joined forces and they’re more formidable than he ever imagined. This one was funny and I loved Linwood’s take on the various princesses.

September

Challenge: Read a book about getting the band back together

My pick: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Chakraborty’s latest, about a formidable pirate who has to reassemble her old crew in order to find a kidnapped young woman and a legendary magical item, was a fun romp. I loved Amina and her crew–especially the wily poisoner–and enjoyed the blending of myth and adventure. While I didn’t totally enjoy the framing device of an interview, the characters and action more than made up for it.

October

Challenge: Read the first of a series

My pick: Book of Night by Holly Black

In a version of our world with magical shadows, Book of Night featured a self-destructive lead getting entangled in a deadly hunt for a missing book. I didn’t realize this one was the first in a series, so the cliffhanger came as a bit of a surprise. I’m looking forward to the next one.

November

Challenge: Read a book about friendship

My pick: Silenced, Ann Claycomb

I read this in one sitting. A story about women left living with fairytale curses after being abused by the same powerful man, this was as disturbing as it was absorbing. As the women come together to figure out how to break their curses and keep him from hurting anyone else, this story felt both timely and timeless. The fairytale pieces were worked into this in an interesting way. Violence against women is a key feature of this one, though, so be forewarned.

December

Challenge: Read a holiday-themed story

My Pick: The Wake-Up Call, Beth O’Leary

The central premise is two front desk managers working at a struggling hotel compete to try to find the owners of missing rings. Ever since last year’s Christmas party, they’ve been doing their level best to make one another miserable, but as “the ring thing” heats up, they have several surprises in store. This one was absolutely adorable and had several lines I read out loud to my family because I thought they were so funny I had to share them.

Well, there you have it! Those are some of my favorite books that I read this year. I’m looking forward to all of the wonderful stories 2024 has in store.

I wish you a year filled with wonderful books 🙂

Festive Fare: books and movies to fuel your holiday spirit

I usually enjoy the lead up to Christmas more than the day itself–I love texting with my friends about silly Hallmark movies and reading holiday books. If you’re here, hopefully you enjoy those festive reading and watching choices too!

I also have a special affection for this time of year because, after nearly two years of rejection, I had a Christmas-themed story published last December (my story is on page 71, if you feel so inclined). It’s about the “12 Days of Christmas” carol being a spell that a family of winter witches use to save the world. Successfully getting a second paid publication helped me get four more stories accepted for publication in the last 12 months.

But, enough about me! Let’s get on with the fun holiday fare!

3 Holiday Books

For those who like their holiday stories a little wacky: Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle

Why it’s fun: The bonkers premise of this story is that Bettie–a spoiled former socialite fallen on hard times–accidentally summons Hall, the personification of the Holiday Spirit. As she spends time with Hall (and makes the most of his magic) she slowly starts to question some of her assumptions about what she thought was important. This story was hilarious and sweet and surprisingly poignant in parts.

If you’d rather read holiday themed fantasy/ satire: Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

Why it’s fun: The personification of death has to take over for the Hogfather in order to save Hogswatch (Discworld’s version of Christmas)–and make sure the sun actually rises again. With a sleigh pulled by enormous hogs, Death is enjoying being someone people are happy to see for once. Pratchett’s stories are consistently funny and thought-provoking; I enjoy re-reading this one.

If you want a holiday romance about self discovery: One Last Gift by Emily Stone

Why it’s fun: After her brother dies, Cassie receives one final Christmas scavenger hunt from him that sets her off on a journey of self-discovery, and helps her reconnect with a childhood friend/first love. This one was very sweet and affirming.

5 of the Best Hallmark Holiday Movies this year

I watch (or fast-forward through) a lot of Hallmark movies this time of year. Here are my 5 favorites that didn’t have me reaching for the remote.

If you like animals and movies where people reconnect: Mystic Christmas

Why it’s fun: This one had strong writing and laugh-out-loud lines in places. I adored the male lead’s sister/female lead’s best friend and found it believable that these two very compatible people would still have had some growing to do before they could make it work. I also liked that the focus was on them making each other better rather than either one of them sacrificing their dreams for the other. As a science geek myself, I liked that the female lead was a vet who focused on seal rehabilitation. This one also featured a really sweet spin on an Icelandic tradition.

If you like time loop movies: Round and Round

Why it’s fun: A Jewish friend of mine says this is the first Hallmark Hanukkah movie she’s loved. (It only took Hallmark half a dozen tries to get it right!) The banter in this one was very funny and I really enjoyed the leads. I also loved the people in the comic book shop they consult to try to end the time loop and the fact that the geeky male lead was still considered desirable without being pressured to become less geeky. The grandma in this was also great. (As an aspiring author, I do find it frustrating how easily movie leads seem to stumble into people wanting to champion their work, although the fact it was her editor cousin definitely made it more palatable and she didn’t immediately have a publishing deal at the end.)

If you like movies about following your dreams: Sealed with a List

Why it’s fun: The leads are charming. The premise of the movie is that Carley sets out to accomplish all of her new years resolutions in the final 31 days of the year with the help of her former boss, Wyatt. I liked how they played off of each other and the secondary characters were nicely fleshed out compared to most of these movies. Their relationships with their mother (for Carley) and father (for Wyatt) were also interesting.

If you like time travel movies: A Biltmore Christmas

Why it’s fun: While I’m not recommending any without charming leads, these two did a really nice job selling a silly premise. The location is also beautiful and I liked the take on a writer accidentally traveling through time with the help of a magic hourglass to the set of a Christmas classic movie filmed in the 1940s. Her interest in learning about the original alternate ending of the movie was a fun twist, even if she does fall for the charming actor whose only starring role was that holiday classic.

If you like your holiday movies to include crime and Santa: Catch Me if You Claus

Why it’s fun: Honestly, this one surprised me. I turned it on expecting to fast-forward through it and then was consistently entertained throughout the whole movie. And, while many Hallmark movies don’t stick the landing, this one did. I never thought I’d have so much fun with a movie about an aspiring news anchor about to have her big break catching a man who insists he’s the son of Santa Claus in her home and thinking he’s the so-called “Santa Crook” who’s been burglarizing homes in her city. The writing was funny and I found myself enjoying the leads as they tried to solve the mystery and accomplish both of their goals.

With whatever you read, watch, or celebrate this holiday season, I wish you a happy, festive time!

Pride Month: Sweet stories about love on the LGBTQ+ spectrum

It’s Pride Month and, in honor of that, I wanted to spotlight some of the sweetest LGBTQ+ stories I’ve read recently.

The stories I find at the library are thankfully getting more diverse. It’s easier to find books and shows celebrating all kinds of love lately. Whether you are part of the LGBTQ+ community or not, I hope you can agree that it’s good to read (and watch) stories beyond the heteronormative bubble.

For fans of time travel shenanigans: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

What I loved: This book was adorable! The characters were brilliant. The writing is sharp and funny, nailing what it’s like to have a crush. In addition to a likable lead who is scared to let anyone close, this features a found family anyone would be lucky to have, including a welcoming artist/engineer and her sweet, psychic boyfriend. There’s also a fabulous drag queen.

This is character art commissioned by the author from H.L. Gibby @Gibb_Arts on Twitter

What’s it about: After moving to New York City, August meets a girl stuck on the Q Train and displaced in time. While developing a deep crush, August works desperately to help Jane figure out her connection to the Q Train so she can get free before the line gets shut down at the end of the summer. Along the way, August is also realizing how much she loves her newfound community.

A quote from the book found on https://www.bookaapi.com/quotes/best-one-last-stop-quotes-casey-mcquiston/

For Fans of Sci-Fi: Victories Greater than Death by Charlie Jane Anders

What I loved: I first heard about this author during a British writing group of all places. The story was ambitious, including a host of alien characters, a genocidal group, complicated legacies, not living up to ideals, a mysterious ancient race, friendship, and first love. At times it was hard to keep the amount of aliens/ alien jargon straight or keep track of how much time was passing–they’d suddenly be on a mission that would be over in a few short paragraphs–but there was a lot to love here. There’s action and terrible danger, interesting characters, relatable struggles, and plenty of fun sci-fi.

A cute copy of an enamel pin from a giveaway

What it’s about: Tina is a clone of a famous captain in the Royal Fleet, an organization tasked with righting old wrongs and defending the galaxy from the genocidal Compassion. Together with new friends, human and alien alike, Tina is trying to live up to her former heroic self as well as stay one step ahead of the Compassion in the hunt for a special stone that’s a clue to a mysterious ancient race.

For fans of stories about starting over: It’s Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake by Claire Christian

What I loved: Okay, so this is a bit of a cheat. I wrote about this one 6 months ago, but it was so good I wanted to spotlight it again. This is a genre I love, about someone deciding to remake their life. The lead’s friends and family are delightful. I really appreciated how so many different sexual orientations and types of family got a spotlight here. It was a beautiful and uplifting story featuring a bisexual lead.

What it’s about: Noni Blake decides she needs a radical change and sets off on a whirlwind trip around Europe. She has adventures and figures out what she wants for the next step of her life.

Happy reading! I hope these stories bring you all the joy they brought to me. Remember to choose love in this and every month 🙂

Feeling festive? 2020 Christmas Movie Rundown

I have a confession to make: I un-ironically love those Christmas TV movies that Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix, etc. churn out every year. They’re comforting in their predictability, festive (excessively so), and end happily.

But they are definitely not all equally good, so here is the rundown of some of the best/strangest/silliest of the 20+ I’ve watched so far this year. (I’ll even throw in an idea for a drinking game to be played with the alcoholic or nonalcoholic festive beverage of your choice.)

Snowman marshmallows optional

Drinking game: Drink whenever someone says a holiday-themed name (like Holly, Noelle, or some variant on Nick Claus…), says the phrase “the magic of Christmas,” realizes the love of their life was someone they’ve known for years/ already dated, says they’re in love with someone they barely know, is from a country that doesn’t exist, has an absurd number of holiday decorations, has a strangely holiday specific job, pretends to be engaged, falls off a ladder into the male lead’s arms, or is in a red/green dress during a climactic scene. I’d have added more options that show up in most movies, but I don’t want you to die of alcohol toxicity (or sugar shock depending on what you’re drinking).

Movies featuring Time Travel

A Timeless Christmas (Hallmark, 2020)

What it’s about: a man travels from 1903 to present day thanks to a magical clock…only to find his home is now a museum. He’s helped by the curator. Verdict: They have nice chemistry; this one was sweet. Just don’t think too hard about the logistics of staying in another time.

Christmas Comes Twice (Hallmark, 2020)

What it’s about: an unhappy executive in charge of grant funding with a science foundation takes a ride on a magical carousel and winds up five years in the past. Verdict: I’ve like Tamara Mowry ever since “Sister, Sister” and “Twitches,” so I wanted to see this one. The leads are cute together and this celebrates the power of science education; I loved her interactions with her old teacher.

A Nashville Christmas Carol (Hallmark, 2020)

What it’s about: a woman is visited by three spirits, encouraging her to take a look at her priorities and the falling out she had with her best friend years ago. Verdict: The leads were charming enough even if she wasn’t much of a Scrooge. This wasn’t one I’d go out of my way to watch again. The spirits were pretty funny, although it wasn’t very nice to do this to her while she was wandering around the city instead of asleep.

Silly ones I enjoyed

A Sugar & Spice Holiday (Lifetime, 2020)

What it’s about: a successful young architect visits her family for the holidays and joins a baking competition with the guy she’d liked in high school to honor her grandmother’s memory. Verdict: The lead, Jacky Lai, should get a lot more work because she was delightful. The mother in this had my whole family laughing, the conflict was somewhat realistic, and it was a very sweet movie overall. Definitely one I’d watch again.

The Christmas Contract (available on Amazon Prime)

What it’s about: A woman doesn’t want to go home alone after learning her ex is bringing a new girlfriend; she takes her friend’s brother home for the holidays as a buffer after promising to make him a website. Verdict: most of this was really cute, except for a sappy speech at the end.

Five Star Christmas (Hallmark, 2020)

What it’s about: three siblings return home for the holidays to learn their dad has turned the home into an inn that’s not doing so well. They try to get him a five star review from a travel writer they think is staying there. Verdict: I enjoyed this one and how most of the characters had motivation and at least a little depth. It was a little over the top at first as some of the family pretends to be guests, but got better from there.

Christmas Waltz (Hallmark, 2020)

What it’s about: a woman books dance lessons and gets a lot more than she expected. Verdict: I love the dancing, thought the leads were great, and the precocious kid is actually pretty funny. The worst element here was the use of the “black best friend” trope where the best friend (one of the few black women in the movie) exists solely as a prop to the main character. It would have been so easy to fix the problem with quick exchanges where they talk about her friends’ career or social life! It’s a frustratingly common issue with Hallmark movies.

Lonestar Christmas (Lifetime, 2020)

What it’s about: a widowed young physical therapist takes her daughters to spend Christmas with her semi-estranged father and stepmother in Texas. She starts falling in love with the “Tamale King,” a good guy who owns a busy restaurant. Verdict: This one was cute. I liked the leads together and the dialogue sounded real. The worst part was that the conflict between the daughter and her dad was somewhat poorly explained.

Holiday Date (Hallmark, 2020)

What it’s about: a tailor gets broken up with right before she’s due to go home for Christmas. She can’t face going home alone again, so she agrees to have an actor pretend to be her boyfriend while he’s researching a role in a small town like hers. Verdict: aside from some clunky lines at the end, this one was funny and sweet. It worked in some Hanukkah info in a way that was a little uneven, but not overly bad.

One Royal Holiday (Hallmark, 2020)

What it’s about: a prince and Queen from a fake country end up stuck at an inn in an idyllic small town in New England due to a snowstorm. Verdict: I’m not a huge fan of the fake country royalty movies, especially when they clearly mean it to be England. (Like when he insisted that he wasn’t used to driving on this side of the road, despite the fact Europe–outside of the U.K–drives the same direction we do in the U.S.) I burst out laughing at the absurdly fairytale castle and was more interested in the love story between the head of security and the mayor. Maybe it was because of all the silliness that I enjoyed this one overall.

LGBTQ+ Holiday fare

This is a newer category for Hallmark and Lifetime. Hulu got in on the action with their much-hyped “Happiest Season.”

Aubrey Plaza’s character was obviously a better choice.

What it’s about: A woman goes home with her girlfriend intending to propose only to learn that the girlfriend hasn’t come out to her family. Verdict: Happiest Season was actually kind of a bummer. The family at the center of it was AWFUL. There was physical fighting between grown siblings–one literally tried to garrote another with a garland–and I just kept telling KStew’s character to run, not walk, away. Sure, everyone was happy in the montage at the end, but problems like those don’t magically vanish.

Not happy with “Happiest Season”? Instead, try: A New York Christmas Wedding (Netflix)

What it’s about: a woman meets her guardian angel and visits an alternate reality where she’s engaged to her first love and her dad is still alive. Verdict: this one was very sweet and made me tear up a few times.

The Christmas House (Hallmark, 2020)

What it’s about: two brothers return to decorate the family home for one final Christmas. Verdict: This one was pretty cute. Hallmark is barely tiptoeing into gay storylines, but one of the subplots here is about the brother and his husband going through the adoption process to start a family. I enjoyed the sibling dynamic here and tend to like Robert Buckley in general.

Movies I wanted to like a lot more than I did

Christmas Ever After (Lifetime, 2020).

What it’s about: a romance novelist with writer’s block goes to her favorite Christmas inn, only to find a man who looks just like the lead in her books. Verdict: While it was cool to see a romantic lead in a wheelchair, the writing and acting in this just weren’t great.

Love, Lights, Hanukkah (Hallmark, 2020)

What it’s about: a woman who was adopted gets her DNA results only to learn that she’s half-Jewish and that she has family in the same city where she grew up. Verdict: I’m glad Hallmark acknowledges other holidays exist, but this one didn’t do it for me. The acting was better than the writing.

Christmas in Vienna (Hallmark, 2020)

What it’s about: a violinist who has lost her passion for music is going to give one final performance in Vienna. Verdict: I really like Sarah Drew, the setting was beautiful, the b-plot love story was sweet, and the youngest daughter was adorable rather than annoyingly precocious, but the main love story left me cold.

Well, there you have it. I’m excited to see a few more of the Lifetime and Hallmark movies as well as rewatch a couple of my favorites (12 Dates of Christmas on Amazon and My Christmas Love on Hallmark). If you have any TV/ streaming service movie recommendations, please feel free to share 🙂

Wishing you a very happy and healthy holiday season!

Refresh Your Bookshelf: 7 Books by Black Authors to Try

There are many ways to fight for racial equality. Protest, write to representatives, support organizations fighting the good fight, challenge racist comments/ideas…the list goes on and on. Reading books is low on the list for behaviors that make an impact.

With that said, if you’re going to read anyway, why not pick up a book by a Black author?Reading builds empathy. It’s a good way to see the world from a different perspective and tear down prejudice and unconscious bias. No culture is a monolith; books by Black authors are as diverse as the lived experiences of the people who created them.

There are, quite obviously, many great authors/books that I’ve left off of this list. This post simply includes seven interesting books by Black authors I’ve read recently. There are genres and books in here for everyone.

If you are looking for something set outside the United States: 

I was inspired to read this book after watching a TED talk by the author. Purple Hibiscus is set in Nigeria and told entirely through the eyes of Kambili, a teen girl who has grown up in the physically (and mentally) abusive household of her incredibly religious and powerful father. While a coup helps frame the narrative, there’s no question that this is Kambili’s story.

My take: I had a hard time putting this one down and a harder time getting it out of my head. I kept wanting to give Kambili a hug–she loves her father and wants to make him proud, but his standards are impossible to hit and dangerous to miss. All of the characters are complex and fully realized, the setting is evoked beautifully, and it makes for an emotional reading experience.

If you’re in the mood for Romance:

The Wedding Date starts with the rom-com setup of two people getting trapped in an elevator. Driven (Bay Area based) Alexa agrees to be (LA based) Dr. Drew’s date to his ex’s wedding. Shenanigans ensue. Frequent Flyer Miles are used. Love triumphs.

My take: I was a bit lukewarm on the B plots here, wasn’t wild about Drew, and felt there was more sex than story. The secondary characters were more likable than the leads in some ways. Since the next two books focus on the friends of the leads here, I’m game to give those a try. A lot of people love this novel, so maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood for it.

If you want to read non-fiction/ autobiography: 

I read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself  in high school and re-read it once I had the idea for this post. Published in 1845 when he was in his mid-twenties, Frederick Douglass tells us about his own experience of slavery in unflinching detail. (His father was rumored to be his first master. Frederick Douglass, in the words of this beautifully written Op-Ed from the New York Times, had “rape-colored skin.”) His story starts with some of his earliest memories in Maryland. One heart-breaking detail was about how his mother was hired out to a farm 12 miles away; he only saw her a handful of times when she walked back after a day in the fields to stay with him at night before having to leave again to get to the fields at dawn. Douglass takes us through his various moves as he was traded from place to place, how he learned to read, and up to his eventual escape.

My take: Despite the time it was written, the language is as readable as the subject matter is horrible. He wrote about several murders of black men and women that resulted in no criminal charges filed; it’s disheartening to see how little progress we’ve made towards equitable justice in the ~175 years since he wrote. He didn’t give details about his flight to freedom via the Underground Railroad, explaining he didn’t want to make it so slaveowners and slave-catchers could stop anyone else using the same route. This personal account is an affecting look at a time in history that still impacts the present.

If you enjoy Fantasy/ Dystopian fiction: 

The Fifth Season is set in a world with frequent “seasons”–cataclysmic events that can make regions uninhabitable for years. In this place, people called orogenes who can control parts of the earth are both feared and exploited for their talents. Taking place in three separate times, the story weaves the past and present together, introducing us to this world and the start of a new season.

My take: This is more hard-core fantasy/sci-fi than I usually read. (I tend to get a little frustrated when everything has to have a different name than what we’d call it and I don’t usually like reading dystopian fiction.) Still, this was absorbing and disturbing in equal measure. It felt a bit like The Witcher without the comedy relief. This is the first of a trilogy.

If you like Sci-Fi: 

Octavia E. Butler helped shake up the overly male-dominated Sci-Fi genre. Her book Kindred is reportedly amazing–I’ve requested it from the library–and she has a large body of work. I picked up this book since it was available at the time and it wasn’t extremely long. (The Fifth Season by Jemisin was huge and I got them at the same time.)

Dawn is about a woman named Lilith who wakes up on an alien ship orbiting Earth to find out that a) humans are virtually extinct and b) the aliens who saved her plan to create a race of human-Oankali hybrids with the humans who are left.

My take: This is fairly hard-core Science Fiction. After reading up on Butler more, it sounds like this novel wasn’t the best introduction to her work. The Oankali pseudo-sex made me uncomfortable. The setting definitely felt alien and Lilith was interesting, although she wasn’t an easy heroine to feel like you knew by the end.

If you want to read a mystery/thriller:

In The Cutting Season, a woman who manages the plantation where she spent a lot of her childhood (her mother worked as the cook) investigates a murder and uncovers long-buried secrets.

My take: This was well-written and interesting. It has elements of cozy mysteries, has suspenseful moments, and the setting was unfamiliar to me. (My sole experience in The South has been switching planes in Atlanta, Nashville, and Raleigh.)

If you are interested in something you could read and then watch:

I’ve written about Queen Sugar before. It’s about a woman who inherits a sugar cane farm in Louisiana and all of the trials and tribulations she faces while trying to build on her father’s legacy, connect with her family there, and find her own way.

My take: This is beautifully written, tragic, and ultimately hopeful. It’s also a show with an amazing cast!