38. Read Hard: The Believer Anthology

Ed Park and Heidi Julavits eds. (389 pp) This is an anthology of non-fiction pieces from The Beliver Magazine 2003-2009. I have had it on my shelf forever and promised myself I would finish it this month. First, I will emphasize the writing is tremendous. Some of the pieces are timeless, some of the pieces are already incredibly dated, some of the pieces had me scratching my head, asking why does this exist? One piece reminded me of that moment in Licorice Pizza when Alaina is talking to William Holden and dreamily asks, "Are these lines or is this real?" I didn't do an exhaustive deconstruction of the table of contents but it is light on gender/bipoc/lgbtq+ diversity in a way that they could never get away with today. My favorite piece by Tom Bissell is about writing instruction books and includes this line about a book that was very helpful to me when I was a new and fearful writer, "...no one who ever read Writing Down the Bones became a writer by anything but sheer accident."

37. Anything is Possible

By Elizabeth Strout (254 pp) I'm almost 40 books for the year so I keep picking short ones to see if I can make it. I love Elizabeth Strout. These are stories about people from the Lucy Barton book but Lucy herself only makes a brief appearance. The writing is great but wow, these are damaged people. It's set in a rural town a couple of hours from Chicago and everyone has secrets and/or trauma. Still recommend.

36. The Nickel Boys

By Colson Whitehead (210 pp) This is a fictional story based on a real boys reform school in Florida and it is both brilliant and devastating. I read about the real reform school at some point, I guess when they discovered all the graves and the crimes that happened there became more well-known. The cruelty is hard to comprehend. But still, read the book. Whitehead is really good.

35. Conversations with Wilder

By Cameron Crowe (358 pp) This is a book of Cameron Crowe interviewing Billy Wilder and it's fantastic. Crowe asks a lot of interesting questions and perfectly captures Wilder's cranky elder side while also getting some great stories out of him. As I read I made a list of all the Wilder movies I want to see but of course many aren't available or are on some platform that I don't have. I gave this book to Bob years ago and can't remember what prompted me to ask him to get it out for me. It's been on my nightstand for awhile. I would read a chapter or two and then let it sit. As I got to the end, I put off reading it because I assumed it would end with Billy Wilder's death and I didn't want to be sad that he died, you know, in 2002. That's not how it ends even though Wilder himself suggested that. Bob decided I needed the book of Francois Truffaut interviewing Alfred Hitchcock. Who knows how long that will be on the nightstand?

34. The Galaxy and the Ground Within (Book #4 Wayfarers)

By Becky Chambers (333 pp ebook) I loved the first two Wayfarers book and didn't read the third yet. I wasn't so hot on this one but the ending was so emotionally satisfying, I forgave it. In this one, a group of different alien species are all temporary grounded at this planet pit stop. At times it feels like an exercise for school about diversity and tolerance. But the characters argue and develop friendships. Recommend this series.

33. Leviathan Falls (The Expanse Book #9 of 9)

By James S. A. Corey (529 pp ebook) This is the first time I have pre-ordered an ebook but I had to start it the minute it was out. The last in a 9 book plus a bunch of novellas series. It's was a satisfying ending to a series, but this book got a tad long in the middle. What I liked about this series was even with all the space battles and weird alien technology, we got so invested in this made family on the Rocinante.

32. Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children #5)

By Seanan McGuire (189 ebook) There's still one more Wayward Children I don't have and looks like a new one coming early next year. These are terrific books and I appreciate that they are short so I can have an easy feeling of accomplishment. This is another one where a whole group of Wayward Children need to go on a quest to save one of their classmates. This is Jack and Jill and we see more of the Moors from Book #2 in this one. They are all worth reading.

31. In An Absent Dream (Wayward Children #4)

By Seanan McGuire (187 pp) This one and #2 are my favorite. In this one, Lundy finds herself in a world with strict rules and expectations and serious consequences for messing up. In these kind of stories you can kind-of guess where this is going. Really good.

30. Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children book #3)

By Seanan McGuire (157 pp ebook) This one wasn't as good as #2 but still super fun. The newest arrival to the home for Wayward Children is having trouble fitting in and then gets sucked into an adventure when a traveler from another land arrives needing help. (Super vague to avoid spoilers.) As a kid I would have loved the descriptions of this world made of sugar but the current me wanted some vegetables with my sugar sky. Book 4 is loaded on my ereader.

29. Tiamet's Wrath

By James S.A. Corey (531 pp ebook) Finished Book #8 and ready for the series finale. This book is fabulous and really hard to put down. The rebels are doing their best against an empire that can out-power them, but not out-smart them. Meanwhile, the aliens are out there and mysterious. November 30 the last book will be here.

27. 28. Auberon, Strange Dogs

By James S.A. Corey (63/65 pp ebook) These are 2 novellas that take place in the Expanse universe and give some insight to part of the greater story. Auberon is about another leader the Empire sends to a developing world. These leaders are never prepared for what they have to deal with when they get there. Strange Dogs is set on Laconia at the very beginning of the Empire and features some unusual fauna. Both are excellent.

26. Persepolis Rising (Expanse #7)

By James S.A. Corey (549 pp)

Somehow I stopped keeping track of when I finish books but also my reading has been dismal due to writing more and taking a class and reprioritizing.

The final Expanse Book #9 comes out at the end of the month. I am re-reading 7 and 8 to get ready. This is the one that takes place about 30 years after the events of book 6 when Laconia invades and ruins everything that the characters have worked for. It's really good. I highly recommend the books and the TV show.