Does listening to audiobooks count as reading? Here it does. Let’s discuss your favorite reads — or listens.
All in Paperback
A poetic Japanese novel about a married couple whose quiet life in Tokyo is transformed by a visiting cat, “The Guest Cat” explores love, grief, routine and impermanence with quiet beauty and cultural depth. Perfect for fans of literary fiction and animal stories with emotional resonance.
If you're newer to poetry, this is a great entry point. There's enough cultural reference and narrative grounding to make you feel like you’re “getting it,” even if some symbolism is out of reach.
As a debut, “The Continental Divide” is grim, bold and occasionally brilliant. Johnson knows how to build tension and tap into the slow, often quiet desperation of a life that feels like it’s going nowhere. He’s not reinventing the short story but proving he belongs in the conversation.
An interesting retrospective on how sitcoms helped pave the way for broader queer acceptance, with “Hi Honey, I’m Homo!” Matt Baume offers a mostly lighthearted read for fans of pop culture and LGBTQIA+ history.
Through original and sourced research, the author traced the often fraught path to introduce positive portrayals of queer people to the masses, but this isn’t the kind of behind-the-scenes tell-all that will help elevate the book beyond its niche target audiences.
You can disagree or dislike decisions Spiegelman made, but you cannot deny that this is a powerful series that needs - no, it demands - to be read, taught and discussed.
Expectation: A fast-paced ghost story with a plot akin to “The Fog.”
Reality: At times uneven and ridiculous, the historical elements helped elevate the premise and the last third delivered.
Throughout, Chesnut is likable and real. I kept thinking he would be a fun guest at a dinner party. If you’re the type of reader that enjoys memoirs exploring the lighter side of life with some heavier elements, this would be a good read for you.
"In Cold Blood" is arguably one of the most well-known American books ever. Does it live up to the hype? I think if you read the book without knowing anything intimately related to the story (i.e. seen “Capote,” etc.) then, for the most part, yes.
Krakauer kept my attention from the first page to the last, and I found myself wishing that there was more to the story. I know that many people have a love/hate relationship with this book - mainly because they either love or hate McCandless - but there is no denying that Krakauer is a gifted writer.
Expectation: A fast-paced apocalyptic survival tale.
Reality: A slow-burn family drama that packs a lot of understated horror and emotional attachment to the main characters into the rich prose.
I had thought I was picking up an American true crime story in the same vein as "In Cold Blood," and while I did get that story, I was treated to nearly 200 pages of history on the Mormon religion.
Not expected.
Baron presents the events as a tense, slowly unfolding disaster complete with disagreeing citizens, unconcerned politicians and a few people determined to raise the alarm. If you replaced great white shark in “Jaws” with a group of mountain lions, the plot of that movie and this book would be eerily similar.
Expectation: A self-pretentious memoir about moving up and moving on from where you came from.
Reality: Laugh out loud funny nostalgia served with a side of pop culture and sports history.
A four-novel collection of Stephen King’s earlier work, writing under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. Each story is focused on a single main character, and the scares are more psychological than supernatural.
What can you possibly say about Harry Potter that hasn’t already been stated? Overall, I'd give the series 4.5/5 stars. There were parts of each novel that could have been cut, but, this world and these characters are ones that have stayed with me for years.
