Prior Reading Lists
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Books I’ve Read (2026)
His Magesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Currently Reading
Currently Reading…
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Rating: 3.0 Stars * * *
It took me twice to get into this book, but it never really happened to me. The beginning was good, the middle sort of tedious, and I didn’t care for the quick ending at all. Interesting concepts about time travel, but the book really didn’t do it for me.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sara J. Maas
Rating: 5.0 Stars * * * * *
I read the Throne of Glass series and really liked it, and heard this series was a bit more of romance that the other one I read, but nevertheless wanted to try this series as well. I wasn’t disappointed. I really liked this book, and have the other ones in the series ready in the reading queue.
A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst
Rating: 4.0 Stars * * * * *
I saw this book reviewed in a New York Times article and decided to give it a read. The beginning was a little slow (but full of interesting facts), but the middle 60 percent of the book was amazing. The last part of the book started to get a bit tedious for me, but I stuck with it. All-in-all a great sea-survival story!
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Rating: 4.0 Stars * * * * *
I found this book from a New York Times book article on strong female characters in the Fantasy genre, and the combination of a pirate and retired mother really intrigued me. This book was a fun adventure, although it sort of got a little predictable in that every situation Amina got herself into you just knew she would get out of. But how? That’s what kept me interested in this book. A bit of a mystery and high-seas adventure combined with a bit of fantasy made for a great summer read.
Recursion by Blake Crouch
Rating: 5.0 Stars * * * *
Imagine being able to reverse a bad decision you made in your life, and then being able to live life from that decision point on. That’s what this book was about. Lots of great twists and really interesting settings made for a great read. It also made me think about what would happen if that sort of technology were actually available, and what decisions I would have reversed. I gave this book 5 stars for exactly that—it was thought provoking, and spawned a lot of late night discussions with friends.
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Rating: 5.0 Stars * * * * *
I rarely I give a book 5 stars (so pay attention to those ones!), but this book SO deserved it. It starts out a little slow, and you're wondering “is this book going anywhere?” Then it does. In a big way. I’ll not give away the “plot twist” in the ending, but let me just say, like the book “Crib” described in the book, this book has a much better plot twist. Good job Jean! Well done!
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Rating: 4.0 Stars * * * *
Imagine a multiverse where every time you make a decision the universe splinters so that there are parallel worlds you live in. Now imagine that you can leverage quantum mechanics to superposition yourself to a different world where your decisions were different. That’s what this book is about. It’s sort of a love story and sci-fi novel at the same time. I really enjoyed both of these themes. The ending was quite a surprise for me (I won’t give it away), which was both an emotional roller coaster and also a frustrating experience in the sci-fi part. Overall an enjoyable book.
The Sea Captains Wife by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Rating: 4.0 Stars * * * *
This book started out very slow, and I had some concerns about it, but I kept pushing on. And I’m glad I did. This story is a true account of the clipper ship Neptunes Car, and tells about the days of the clipper ships of the 1850’s. It really picked up about 1/3 the way through, and then I couldn’t put it down. Be warned - the first part of the book talks about the family histories of New England and Maine, and was not overly interesting. But hold on - it gets really good.
The Spider by Leo Carew
Rating: 4.0 Stars * * * *
I usually find that most sequel books aren’t as good as the first one, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book which is the second book (The Wolf was the first one). The beginning of the book dragged on a bit, but I really enjoyed the last half of the book.
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
Rating: 4.0 Stars * * * *
This was a very interesting book about modifying the genome to make humans stronger and more intelligent. However, the main character, who’s genome was modified, isn’t sure it’s the right thing for humanity, and most stop a machine-in-motion to save the human race from this technology. A fun book with lots of cool science in it.
The Wolf by Leo Carew
Rating: 4.5 Stars * * * *
I really enjoyed this book. Tons of action and really interesting characters. The main character, young and inexperienced Roper, becomes the Dark Lord and must prove himself. He must overcome many obstacles, including those who would like to kill him and take over as Dark Lord. I’m looking forward to the second book in the series, The Spider.
The Tristan Chord by Bryan Magee
No Rating
This was a very interesting book about opera and specifically how Wagner influenced the fields of music and philosophy. It was timely reading this as I recently saw Tristen and Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, so the contexts of the book really resonated with me as I watched and listened to that famous opera. I would recommend this book to anyone fascinated by Wagner’s work and is also interested in why opera is so special.