Read & Reviewed in 2025!Like this list

44 items

• 2026 Paper Trail: Read & Reviewed

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  Enjoy following my reading? Here is my list for 2026!

• The Crane Husband

  Barnhill, Kelly Regan

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  ☆☆☆☆ - This novella is a modern retelling of "The Crane Wife," a story from Japanese folklore about a crane disguised as a woman, who falls in love with a man and continually provides him feathers to weave silk for the man to sell - and destroys…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Every Day I Read

  53 Ways to Get Closer to Books

  Bo-reum, Hwang

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  Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Hwang Bo-Reum ☆☆☆ - (3.5) This was a really lovely reflection on the value of reading and all of the different facets that can intersect to make reading meaningful and often joyful. I think that I…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Sing Sing Files

  One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-year Fight for Justice

  Slepian, Dan,

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  ☆☆☆☆ - This gripping, painful nonfiction title felt like the perfect follow-up to "Chain-Gang All-Stars" by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, which I read last year and still think about on a weekly basis. Investigative journalist Dan Slepian creates…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Murder by Memory

  Waite, Olivia,

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  ☆☆☆☆ - This was a really fun little murder mystery set in space where brains are backed up in library books and, well, you'll just have to read it. Detective Dorothy Gentleman wakes up with her consciousness in someone else's body. A body that may…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Small Things Like These

  Keegan, Claire,

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  ☆☆☆☆☆ - Bill Furlong is a coal merchant and father of five girls, who finds himself leaning into "small things like these" during the holiday season: giving the change he can to those in need or accepting gifts and gratitude instead of payment for…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Beartown

  a Novel

  Backman, Fredrik, 1981-

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  ☆☆☆☆ (4.5) - This emotional story set in a forest town on the brink of revival will hit you straight through the heart. As the members of the Beartown hockey team carry the pressure of success and what it would mean to their hockey club and the town…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

  Bobiverse: Book 1

  Taylor, Dennis E.,

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  ☆☆☆☆ - Conveniently, a day before he is killed, Bob signs a contract to have his head cryogenically frozen. When he wakes up a hundred years later, he finds he has been turned into a computer brain without rights and will become a spaceship with a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Be Ready When the Luck Happens

  a Memoir

  Garten, Ina,

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  ☆☆☆☆☆ - This memoir reads like you are sitting at the kitchen table with your old friend Ina, drinking your cozy beverage of choice, just taking it all in. I never previously followed Barefoot Contessa or Ina Garten, but I had heard this was an…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Hello Beautiful

  Napolitano, Ann

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  ☆☆☆☆☆ - This story follows the seemingly inseparable Padavano sisters as they grow through the ups and downs of life. I originally picked this one up because I heard it described as a "Little Women Retelling," and while I can see that argument, I…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Raven Scholar

  Hodgson, Antonia

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  ☆☆☆☆☆ - Neema Kraa, high scholar to the emperor, finds herself in some deep doo-doo in this brilliant start to a new trilogy. After her colleague is murdered, the emperor sends Neema to investigate. To get close to the suspects, she must compete for…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books

  Miller, Kirsten, 1973-

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  ☆☆☆☆ - After successfully censoring books in a small town school and library, Lula Dean starts up her own little library of the titles that "made [her] who [she] is today." When the books are swapped out for the banned books (hidden inside the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Possession of Alba Díaz

  Cañas, Isabel

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  ☆☆☆☆ - (4.5) (4.5) When Alba Díaz relocates with her fiancé to an area near a remote mine, a demonic possession awakens - and perhaps the only one who can save her is her fiancé's cousin, whom Alba is 100% attracted to. This drew me in immediately.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Graveyard Shift

  a Novella

  Rio, M. L.,

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  ☆☆ - (2.5) Set over the course of one night shift, a group discovers an unexplained hole in the graveyard. Before they can dismiss the strangeness and leave, the gravedigger returns, launching a series of events and discoveries through the night…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Compound

  Rawle, Aisling, 1998-

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  ☆☆☆ - (3.5) A group of 20 individuals find themselves on a reality show (think a mixture of Big Brother, Survivor, and Love Island). The 10 men are dropped in the desert to find their way to The Compound. Meanwhile, the 10 women wake up inside The…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Red City

  Lu, Marie, 1984-

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  ☆☆☆☆ - About a year and a half ago, I finished the Greenbone Saga by Fonda Lee, and I've been chasing that feeling ever since. Conveniently titled, "Red City" is the closest I've gotten. Billed as "The Godfather" meets "The Magicians," Marie Lu's…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Practical Magic

  Hoffman, Alice

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  ☆☆☆ - (3.75 rounded down, because it just didn't quite feel like a 4). The Owens sisters through generations tackle love, wrestle against fate, find themselves, and of course - work through some practical magic in the original inspiration for the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Billion Years

  My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology

  Rinder, Mike,

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  ☆☆☆☆ - I've been following news of the cult of Scientology for years and bought Rinder's book when it was first published, but finally picked it up this year after his passing in January. This book is a heartfelt, reflective, and honest telling of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Two Twisted Crowns

  Gillig, Rachel,

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  ☆☆☆☆ - A solid conclusion to the Shepherd King Duology! If you enjoyed book one, this will be a satisfying conclusion for you. Ravyn and crew continue their efforts to unite the deck, meanwhile, a new romance emerges back at Stone...

• We Solve Murders

  Osman, Richard, 1970-

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  ☆☆☆ - (3.5) Security officer to the rich, Amy Wheeler, finds herself being set up to take the fall in a string of murders. She ends up calling her father-in-law, Steve, for help unraveling the situation. This ended up feeling much more thriller-y…Read moreRead more of this annotation