13. The Art of Fielding

By Chad Hardbach (544 pp)(ebook)

This book was highly recommended to me and I was a little disconcerted to see it came out in 2011. Yikes. And no doubt there are books that have been in line even longer. This one is about Henry, a baseball star recruited to a small college in Michigan. Other characters include his teammate Mike, who is a complex guy, the head of the college, Affenlight who makes some very poor choices, Henry's roommate Owen and Affenlight's daughter Pella. Great writing. All the characters have a lot going on. I had to shake my head a bit at some of the developments but overall: really loved this book.

12. Bride

By Ali Hazelwood (396 pp)

I am not super into paranormal romance and I didn't think I could get wrapped up in another vampire/werewolf story. I was wrong. This is really fun, with great characters. It's about a vampyre who is the daughter of an important councilman and she has to marry this super hot and powerful werewolf for story reasons. But also: she's trying to solve a mystery and her new husband might have some answers. I enjoyed.

11. Mr. Mercedes

By Stephen King (538 pp)(ebook)

I haven't read Stephen King in a long time and I have a bunch of his books on my ereader. This was a fast, easy read with some great characters and like all of this books: there's always a moment that you did not see coming that is very disturbing. This book delivers more than one! It's about a retired detective with that one unsolved crime that he can't stop thinking about. And then a letter from someone claiming responsibility shows up and the detective is drawn back in. This story is a TV show, too. Has anyone seen it? I have it on my list. Recommend.

10. The Moving Finger

By Agatha Christie (240 pp, ebook)

I have always wanted to read Christie and I bought a trio of Miss Marple in a sale and I think the trio was not Christie's best works. This is the third one and the weakest of the three. It's about a man who suffers an accident and goes to this little village to recover accompanied by his sister. Someone is sending out secret accusatory letters that lead to someone taking her own life. Miss Marple barely shows up except at the very end to help them pull the threads together. The characters are fun but the story has some head-scratching elements.

9. March

By Geraldine Brooks (320 ebook)

I don't know how I have missed Geraldine Brooks up to now. The March of the title is the dad to the March girls in Little Women. During Little Women he is off as a chaplain in the civil war and this story imagines what he is up to. The writing is phenomenal and the story well-researched and completely engrossing. The story did get long for me. March is sometimes an idiot, and I realize, a product of the times, but his idealism hurts people. Still, very much recommend this book.

8. Boyfriend

By Sarina Bowen (256 pp, ebook) I needed another quick and easy to read book and Sarina Bowen delivered again. Abbi needs a fake boyfriend for Thanksgiving due to awkward family situation. Dreamy Weston signs up for the job. Who doesn't love a rent-a-date romance? Cute and fun.

7. Out of Sight

By Elmore Leonard (352 pp, ebook)

I love Elmore Leonard. The book is great. The movie is slightly different but also great. The story is about a US Marshal Karen Sisco who is trying to bring in escaped criminal Jack Foley who is quite the charmer.

5. Sharks in the Time of Saviors

By Kawai Strong Washburn (373 pp)

This is a book written by and about contemporary Native Hawaiian characters -- which I can't remember ever reading before. It is about a family with a lot of struggles that experiences an extraordinary moment that sets off the whole story. The writing is beautiful and the opening chapter is quite a hook. It did enjoy the book but I struggled with heavy subject matter.

6. Last Argument of Kings (Book 3)

By Joe Abercrombie (636 pp)

Book 3 in what I have learned is the first of two trilogies. Battles and confrontations and disappointed expectations. I loved the end of this trilogy. Nothing happened like I expected. I want to read the next three but I need to clear some space on my to read pile and take a break from the brutality.

4. Before they Are Hanged (First Law Trilogy Book 2)

By Joe Abercrombie (514 pp)

Between this and the last book I reread a couple of other books for a class I took and I didn't list them. Why? I don't know. I have some internal rules about what books I post or don't post but I don't know what those rules are.

I discovered this author not too long ago and I am thrilled to have to many books to look forward to. This series is fantasy set in a sort-of early Europe type world -- it's really brutal. There is war everywhere and the story is divided into different points of view, each with an impossible task to do, while the evil forces are hammering on them. Lots of death and gore. But also, funny? There is a lot of humor here. I love these characters. I plan to pass the trilogy off to my cousin and I am seeing him in a week so I'm diving right into book #3.

3. Night of the Living Rez

By Morgan Talty (278 pp)

I don't know what to tell you about this book. First of all, for me, the title hints of zombies but there are none. The book is connected short stories. I love representation and seeing contemporary Indigenous stories and the writing is good. But these characters were so dysfunctional and unlikeable -- I had a hard time with it.

2. Iron Flame (Empyrean, #2)

By Rebecca Yarros (884 ebook)

As much as I loved the first book: fun setups and payoffs, dragons! romance, is how much I was disappointed in this book. It was not fun. It dragged and dragged. If I had a friend describe a relationship like the one the main character has, I would ask them to reconsider whether it was healthy. Violet is always either enraged or blaming herself for everything. I think the book was too long and rushed. I had trouble following the plot. I had trouble distinguishing the characters. I am unlikely to continue the series.