Of all the books on this list, this was by far my favorite. I was a little apprehensive at first as the protagonist begins with amnesia, which is a trope I hate. But as soon as the reason for the amnesia was revealed I was all on board. It’s a crazy time travel mystery that I’ve been recommending to everyone, no matter what they normally read. It’s that good.

Every night I do a half hour of reading with my kid before bedtime. We grabbed this at the library since he likes video games and Choose Your Own Adventures. For a six-year-old, it was engaging, especially the puzzles where you have actual worksheets to fill out and keep track of your progress. For adults, there’s a fair amount of nerdy humor thrown in there to keep things entertaining for you as well.

Another bedtime book, I also picked it because I’m a huge Miyazaki fan. It’s a graphic novel, so it’s a pretty quick read, and while the concepts were understandable for my son, I think the gravity of the situation won’t be appreciated until he’s a few years older. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending, but if you like Nausicaa you’ll probably like this.

My kid likes this one enough that he got the whole series for Christmas. Some of the social situations are more appropriate for a middle grader, but the humor and the stakes are fairly universally understood. There’s a good amount of humor, and I particularly enjoyed the footnotes and the idea that multiple kids came together to make this case file.

The third in the series, this one felt a little lesser than the first two, but still engaging (enough that number four is later on this list). As with most fantasy series, the stakes here get bigger and broader. Relationships get strained and people die. The charm of the story will always be Paige and how she navigates all the worlds (social, political, literal) she has been thrust into. And of course, wondering if she and Warden are ever going to hook up.

This was a bit of a let down. The premise is good, and the art is fun, but it came off more as a proof of concept than a successful application. It’s no secret I’m a huge Sanderson fan, and maybe I had some high expectations going into this having just finished a children’s book focused intensive two week class. Definitely one to check out from the library as opposed to adding to your collection.

Moira. Dang. I have a very broad, encompassing knowledge of most comics. I’ve got a few hundred in boxes in my attic and I read X-men novels as a teen. But I had no idea about Moira and what she can do and did do, over and over and over. This was a super fun read, especially if you like time manipulation stories, as I very much do. It’s incredibly satisfying to see different characters take different paths and to see them succeed or fail depending on choices. It’s like those What If scenarios playing out in front of you.

The third in King’s Dark Tower series, this follows Roland and his friends (not giving away any spoilers) as they navigate Roland’s expanding world in their search for the Dark Tower. As with his others in the series, time plays a huge role in the narrative, and how things may be different, but still somehow always stay the same. Technically, that can be said about any story since we can only write what we know, but there’s intentionality here. Also, riddles are fun. 🙂

As part of the research for my thesis (I’m writing a fantasy mystery), I grabbed a few established examples to see how writers have approached the genre. Jim Butcher is probably the most well known, with the Dresden Files being the most well read. I really enjoyed his Cinder Spires books, and while this was a fun read, it didn’t have the same draw. Granted, Storm Front came out almost twenty-five years ago and was his first book. His writing has progressed since then. To me, Harry Dresden felt kind of like Gandalf. He occasionally did some neat stuff, but he often relied on others to solve his problems or answer his questions. I’m hoping as the series goes on he becomes more of a self-reliant protagonist.

This was the Christmas themed mini book that came out after the trilogy. And I say mini comparatively. It’s normal length compared to most books. It was nice to take a break from the heaviness of the series, and while there were some cute things going on, I felt that a lot of the relationship tensions that were front and center never got resolved. They just became more build up for the next book. They only resolution came from Feyre’s art, which was nice, yes, but there’s more’s the just Feyre here. Hopefully the last book gives the satisfaction I’m looking for.

The next of my research reads, this was the one I enjoyed the most. The protagonist is a probability wizard, meaning he can sort of see into the future. I’d already given my own protagonist a somewhat similar ability, so it was interesting to see how Jacka utilized it in a narrative. The characters were smart, unique, and the world was fun to read about. Never did I feel like I was slogging or floundering, and I kept wanting to turn those pages. Of the fantasy mysteries, this series is the one I most want to continue.

This was recommended to me as I was in the middle of working with an editor on an epistolary short story (which is being published this summer!) as a great example of epistolary prose. Plus, time travel! It was a relatively quick read, but there were sections that were fairly dense and required a bit more attention as I read through it. My favorite part, not being shy about my Shakespeare fandom, was when I thought, oh, they’re totally going to do a Romeo and Juliet thing here. Then Romeo and Juliet was referenced by name, followed by other key moments I won’t spoil. Then science was fun, the relationship was fun, and the form was fun. Just fun all around.

Book four in the series, this one benefited by giving us a new setting as well as time to sit with Paige and Warden for more than a minute without someone trying to kill them. There was a reveal that I’d figured out in the first book, so that was a bit anti-climatic, but it’s still refreshing to see Scion through a different lens, and somewhat further away. As always, I’m in awe of Shannon’s breadth of knowledge of language and culture and history.

You always hear people say you need a strong opening sentence, or opening paragraph. Well, this book had one of the best opening pages I’ve read in a long time. Enough that I took a picture and sent it to my MFA peeps. Aaronovitch has a fun, witty voice that never appears to be trying too hard. My only complaint about the book what that it fell victim to one of the suckier detective tropes of misogyny. I don’t mean to imply the author is, but for once I’d like to read a straight male detective protagonist who doesn’t see all women as pieces of meat.

Dark. Depressing. And literally dark. Post-apocalyptic nuclear winter dark. It won a Pulitzer, with good reason. The whole story focuses on the relationship between father and son as they try to survive in the wasteland they now live in. Hope and love are the drivers of survival, both of which are tested in very real, relatable ways, even if they exist in a very different reality. Also, not being able to picture things in my mind, I have a very high tolerance for gore and grossness. There was one paragraph in this book that was the most disturbing thing I’ve ever read. Ever.

Book two in the Reacher series, we see Reacher caught up in something again because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. No improbable family connections this time, but still a lot of the calm, collected, violent Reacher we expect. I felt like this was almost two books in one, with two very distinct sections that each start and end abruptly. It works, and makes sense, but still very abrupt. I mentioned earlier I wanted to see a detective who sees women as more than a piece of meat, and to his credit, Reacher does that. But I also wonder if he’s going to hook up with every hot lady he ends up working with. If hook ups happen authentically, no big deal. But if this happens every book it’s going to get awfully boring.

Last on the list is this massive tome, a manga collection from the series Berserk. I happened upon it randomly at the library, where they had all fourteen of them in a row begging to be inspected. I knew a little of the premise from seeing some of the anime, but I was not prepared for the level of gore. It was stylized, almost comical at times, but it was a lot. And Guts is a bonafide A-hole. But I tore through the whole thing in one evening, so it was definitely engaging. I think I kept burning through it wondering what could possibly happen next, given the ridiculous images I was seeing. I’ve got Vol. 2 on hold at the library, so we’ll see how it progresses. If it’s stays as engaging, it seems I’ll have quite a bit to get through.