Non-Vacation Vacation Books

I almost took a trip to India for work and fun, but I didn't get my visa in time, so I did not go. But I still downloaded a bunch of books for the very long flight, and spent a full day reading as much as possible to still get the binge-reading travel experience I had been looking forward to. So here are the books that I would have read on my trip if I had been on the trip except I wasn't.

 Endling (by Maria Reva) 

This is in the Tournament of Books, and was spoken of highly in the Goodreads group. A metafictional novel about a woman who is trying to save various species of snails in Ukraine, before and during the Russian invasion. It took me a while to power through this for some reason, but it should be fun to talk about. 

Sorcery & Small Magics (by Maiga Doocy)

I read this for my most dreaded Read Harder Challenge category, romantasy with a queer main character. Obviously the queer part is fine but romance and fantasy are my two least favorite genres. But this ended up being so delightful - a slow burn romance between two sorcerers with an interesting magic system - and I need the second book immediately.  This is exactly why I love the RHC - because I would never have given this book a chance without it! 

The Ten-Year Affair (by Erin Somers)

Another Tournament book, and one I personally enjoyed more than Endling. (For true verisimilitude, this book expired while I was still reading it, so I finished the book in airplane mode.) It's about a married women and her married male friend and essentially plays with the idea of them having an affair in a parallel timeline.  I liked the writing style and the exploration of the grass being greener / the road not taken. It's not judgmental about its characters and not melodramatic - feels grounded and truthful.  Oh, and as a bonus, this was on a number of "best book covers" lists, so it's a RHC check also!

16 Forever (by Lance Rubin)

This is a time-loop YA about a kid who loops back to his 16th birthday every year - except he remembers nothing about the previous loops, and everyone around him does, including the girl he fell in love with last time around. Great premise! Uneven execution. I enjoyed the main characters' family dynamics but our main character just seemed annoying. I didn't understand why the love interest even liked him or why they were drawn to each other, and the ending is super abrupt and fell flat for me. 

When You Listen To This Song (Lola Lafon)

I believe this one was recommended by Ian via the New York Times - a memoir in French about a writer (whose family is Jewish) who spends a night in the Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam.  It's contemplative, beautifully written, and beautifully translated by Lauren Elkin. The ending really packs a punch. I wrote down "a gem of a book." 

Metallic Realms (by Lincoln Michel)

One of my favorite novels of all time, as you may know, is Pale Fire. So when I realized this is essentially "if Charles Kinbote was an awkward nerd and John Shade was a sci-fi writing collective" I was so in.  

So many fun twists - I loved the sci-fi stories that are presented here as the products of the "Orb 4" writing collective, which vary wildly in style and quality but are always fun to read.  The narrator (and "lore-keeper") is named Michael Lincoln (not Lincoln Michel) and the author himself is referenced as a case of mistaken identity (and possibly makes a cameo at the end). The clueless unreliable narrator is both sympathetic and terrible.  There are so many inside jokes and references I'm sure I didn't get.  

I did my usual "check the Goodreads reviews" and as always there are people who take it all literally and don't seem to understand what Michel is doing. But if you are a Pale Fire and sci-fi fan, this one is for you.

Final Books of the Year?

I finished a handful of books during Christmas week and unless I surprise-finish something in the next couple of days, should round out my reading for the year. Stay tuned for my annual wrapup post! I know the three of you who actually read this are all staying so tuned!  

Dating and Dragons (by Kristy Boyce) 

A quick YA read to try and get me to my goal for the year. Cute, very feel-good with a love interest a bit too good (and mature) to be true. But cute and fun - and of course I enjoyed the gaming theme. 

Blob: A Love Story (by Maggie Su) 

This one had already been on my list but made it to the Tournament of Books shortlist so I'm now I think at two books read off the shortlist.  I enjoy a hot mess narrator and this one was the messiest of hot messes.  Thought the ending was terrific and enjoyed! Not as good as Skydaddy, which did not make the shortlist.  (To wit: I copied this review from what I have written in my notebook, but I already can't quite remember the ending of Blob. I remember the ending of Skydaddy perfectly, though.) 

The Golden Spoon (by Jessa Maxwell) 

Another fast read to get me to my goal, this time a cozy mystery inspired by the Great British Baking Show. The ending doesn't really hang together (not the mystery itself, but the aftermath) but fun vibes, good characters,  and worth a read if you like cozy mysteries and baking shows.

The Wild Duck Chase: Inside the Strange and Wonderful World of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest (by Martin J. Smith) 

Last but not least, a book about the Duck Stamp contest, which I followed for the first time this year.  Absolutely fascinating, with lots of interesting details about a niche subculture that would make a perfect Christopher Guest movie.  And as a birder, I will definitely be buying my annual duck stamp from now on!

Animal Instinct (by Amy Shearn)

From the ToB longlist. This book is about a character named Rachel Bloomstein (which is kinda funny if you're a Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fan) who is going through a divorce during the early days of the Covid pandemic. She has a lot of sex.

The blurb suggests a central part of the book is Rachel creating an AI chatbot but that part totally falls flat.  The chatbot seems extremely badly programmed and keeps randomly insulting her yet she "loves talking to it."  Maybe it's deliberately clunky because AI was clunkier in 2020, but "don't go on an insulting tirade about me" should kind of be in the 1.0 version?  I also viscerally dislike pandemic books.  I lived it, I don't want to relive it, thanks.

And yet I kept reading because I found her friendships, her backbone when it came to her awful ex-husband, her (bi-)sexual escapades, and her musings on identity to be interesting. I liked the character,  I rooted for her, in many ways I related to her.  I don't know how likely it is to be on the shortlist, and I didn't love it, but I did enjoy it. 

The Director (by Daniel Kehlmann)

An intriguing entry on the ToB longlist that I opened and then couldn't stop reading, The Director is the fictionalized account of a real-life director who made art films in Nazi Germany at the behest of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. 

The point of view characters change chapter by chapter (although narration is in third person) with time skips that leave the reader to fill in their own blanks.  It's about complicity - and to what extent you can maintain your own moral compass in the face of that complicity. The final few chapters made me gasp multiple times. It's a page turner that absolutely sticks the landing. 

I had never heard of Kehlmann before but really hope this tour de force ends up in the Tournament. Either way, you'll definitely see it again on my list of favorite reads of the year - maybe even in first place.  

Texas Books and ToB 2026

Time to catch up on some recent reading! I think I either started or finished all of these during my recent work trip to Texas.  

For the first time I can remember, I'm slightly nervous about my reading goal for the year - I need to finish 10 more books before the end of the year.  I still think I'll do it but normally I'm done well before December. Anyway, adding eight more books to the list today, and introducing the tag for the 2026 Tournament of Books, since the longlist is out. 

The Complex Art of Being Maisie Clark (by Sabrina Kleckner)

The only YA book on the list, actually! I liked this messy main character, and thought her coming of age story felt realistic and cute. There is some excellent trans rep that was handled subtly but realistically.  I loved that finding her artistic voice was part of her story. Her brother was kind of an asshole to her throughout, though. Overall cute and fine.

The Killer Question (by Janice Hallett) and The Last Devil to Die (by Richard Osman) 

I read these two cozy mysteries back to back and they made an interesting counterpoint to each other.  Killer Question is an epistolary novel set in the world of competitive trivia contests, which I absolutely loved. The twists here are great and genuinely surprising.   The Last Devil to Die is part of the Thursday Murder Club series and has more real emotion and deeper characters, but the mystery wasn't particularly surprising or satisfying. Really, the relationships and emotion carry this one. I enjoyed them both for different reasons. 

In a Glass Grimmly (by Adam Gidwitz) 

Part of a middle grade series that Mina enjoys so this was a read-aloud for us.  Very clever and great dark humor. Kind of what I expected and did not get from Gordon Korman, e.g. a truly funny middle grade book.  I have the third book on our shelf to start on next (and I bought her a new signed Scalzi book for Christmas, since she also enjoyed Agent to the Stars this year.) 

The Shattering Peace (by John Scalzi) 

Did someone say Scalzi?  It's been a minute since I read the Old Man's War series so I was glad of his usual formula, where there's enough context-setting to let the reader catch up.  A solid installment, cleverly written and a fun romp. As usual, my only criticism is that all of his snarky-voiced characters and their banter are interchangeable, but this is easy to look past when all the characters are so fun anyway. 

What We Knew: Terror, Mass Murder, and Everyday Life in Nazi Germany (by Eric Johnson and Karl-Heinz Reuband) and The Killer Across the Table: Unlocking the Secrets of Serial Killers and Predators with the FBI's Original Mindhunter (by John Douglas)

And now for something completely different: nonfiction about dark topics with long subtitles. I'll dispense with the second one first - Douglas is smart but also full of himself, and clearly thrilled to bits there's a TV show about him as he brings it up a lot and even put it in the title. (I still would love a third season though.) Still, he presents some fascinating case studies about interviews with killers and if that's your thing, you'll enjoy it.

What We Knew on the other hand is a scholarly book, an oral history of Germany from 1933-1945, and explores what German Jews and non-Jews knew about the mass murder that started in earnest in 1942.  First there are 40 oral histories and then the authors take a look at large-scale survey data. Absolutely worth a read if this chapter of history is interesting to you. 

Sky Daddy (by Kate Folk) 

My first ToB read, about a woman who is sexually attracted to airplanes and believes her destiny is to marry one by dying in a plane crash.  Audacious and un-put-downable, I hope it makes the shortlist because I'd love to talk about it. (Is the ending a cop out or is it genius? I truly can't decide.)  I haven't read any of the other books on the longlist (although I had a couple on hold already) so I'd better pick the next one fast.