susanna.fraser hits the books in 2022

I'm Susanna (aka Susan--Susanna is my authorial pen name, but I go by both). I'm a writer with a day job in university research administration. I live in Seattle with my husband and 17-year-old son, and I turn 51 on January 1. (I seriously considered some kind of Area 51 theme for the thread but couldn't stretch it to cover all my challenges.)

I read pretty widely, though my fiction choices skew heavily to science fiction, fantasy, and romance (not coincidentally, the same genres I like to write). In nonfiction, I read a lot of history and science with occasional forays into theology and current events. Besides reading from the CATs and KITs, along with TIOLI over on the 75 Books group, my focuses this year will be reading more books by BIPOC and LGBTQIA authors and trying to reduce my TBR pile as of 12/31/21 by half. (TBR pile=books owned but unread in either paper or electronic form.)

Since last year's theme was lifelong exploration, I decided that this year I'll go with a loose theme of lifelong learning. Drop a star if you'd like to see what's on my syllabus.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 101: BIPOC and LGBTQIA Authors

January:
1. Radio Silence by Alyssa Cole
2. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
3. Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
4. The Unbroken by C.L. Clark
5. Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

February:
1. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
2. You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo
3. (Trust) Falling For You by Charish Reid

March:
1. Fantasy & Science Fiction July/August 2021 (includes several BIPOC and LGBTQIA Authors)
2. Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
3. Go Back to Where You Came From by Wajahat Ali
4. Not For Use in Navigation by Iona Datt Sharma

April:
1. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
2. Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall
3. A Bride's Story Vol. 13 by Kaoru Mori
4. The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas

May:
1. The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow
2. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
3. Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

June:
1. Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse
2. Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous by Suzanne Park
3. Born Both by Hida Viloria
4. Her Favorite Rebound by Jackie Lau
5. Chef's Kiss by TJ Alexander

July:
1. The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper
2. Fruits Basket Vol. 1 by Natsuki Takaya
3. A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
4. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
5. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
6. Yotsuba&! Vol. 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma

August:
1. The Kissing Bug by Daisy Hernandez
2. Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
3. I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Library Time: Making Good Use of What's Already on Hand (i.e. reducing the TBR)

(The building is the Furness Library at my alma mater, U Penn, where I always went to study for midterms and finals because you had to take yourself and your work seriously in a room like that.)

Incidentally, for this challenge books completed before 1/1/22 count, as do books I don't finish. The goal is to reduce the TBR pile, and inevitably that will sometimes mean realizing that some of these books just aren't for me and moving them to my donation pile or removing them from my Kindle TBR collection.

Without further ado, here's the list (which will be updated with anything I acquire through 12/31), since I need to know what I'm dealing with to know when I've cut it in half! Feel free to chime in with recommendations for what I should read first.

On my Kindle
Alaric the Goth - DNF 4-21-22
Alternate Peace
The Atlas Six
Bad Witch Burning
Brat Farrar - completed 5-6-22
Briarley - completed 11-11-21
Brown Girl in the Ring
The City of Brass
Clarkesworld January 2021 - completed 11-20-21
Clarkesworld February 2021 - completed 6-20-22
Clarkesworld March 2021
Clarkesworld May 2021 - DNF 4-23-22
Clarkesworld June 2021
Clarkesworld July 2021
Clarkesworld August 2021
Clarkesworld September 2021
Clarkesworld: October 2021
Clarkesworld: November 2021 - completed 5-8-22
Clarkesworld: December 2021
The Collapsing Empire
Consolation Songs - completed 11-10-21
Dark Rise
If Darkness Takes Us
Deal with the Devil
The Duke I Tempted
The Element of Fire
Exercised - completed 2-21-22
Fantasy & Science Fiction March 2021
Fantasy & Science Fiction May 2021
Fantasy & Science Fiction July 2021 - completed 3-8-22
Fantasy & Science Fiction September 2021
Fantasy & Science Fiction November 2021
Firekeeper's Daughter - completed 1-27-22
Flash! Writing the Very Short Story
Forget the Sleepless Shores
Galactic Stew - completed 12-12-21
The Gaucho's Lady
The Goblin Emperor - completed 6-7-22
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone - completed 2-1-22
The Heroine's Journey - completed 6-25-22
How the Dukes Stole Christmas - completed 12-21-21
How to Write Short Stories and Use Them to Further Your Writing Career
Iron & Velvet - DNF 11-27-21
I Should Be Writing - completed 12-24-21
Jade Fire Gold - DNF 4-6-22
Leaving Church completed 5-19-22
Legendborn
Letters of a Woman Homesteader - completed 3-4-22
The Library of the Dead - DNF 5-6-22
Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream
The Magnolia Sword - completed 4-24-22
Making Up - completed 4-22-22
A Marvellous Light - completed 3-19-22
More Time For You
No Gods, No Monsters - DNF 1-15-22
Not for Use in Navigation - completed 3-26-22
Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
One Last Stop - completed 5-5-22
The Optimist's Telescope
The Oracle Glass - completed 3-6-22
Radio Silence - completed 1-1-22
Season for Scandal
Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream - DNF 6-20-22
Shaking the Gates of Hell - completed 1-1-22
Sisters in Law
Sorcerer to the Crown - completed 3-13-22
Stormsong
Storyteller - DNF 6-18-22
Summer Sons
Teach Me - completed 2-18-22
This Year You Write Your Novel - DNF 6-18-22
Trust Falling For You - completed 2-12-22
The Twisted Ones
The Unbroken - completed 1-16-21
Victories Greater Than Death - completed 12-26-21
Wholehearted Faith - completed 11-24-21
Winter's Orbit - completed 4-14-22

On my shelves
Akata Witch
Analog Science Fiction and Fact March 2015
Analog Science Fiction and Fact April 2015
Analog Science Fiction and Fact May 2015
Analog Science Fiction and Fact March 2016
Asimov's Science Fiction June 2015 - DNF 3/20/22
Asimov's Science Fiction July 2015
Asimov's Science Fiction September 2015
Behind Closed Doors
The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 1 - completed 1/25/22
Careless Whispers
Charlemagne's Tablecloth - completed 5/28/22
Citizens
City of Laughter
A Curious Beginning - DNF 12/24/21
Edge of Empire
Empire of Liberty
Family Fortunes
The First Salute
The Glorious Cause
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Learned Optimism - DNF 3/31/22
Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed
The Man Born to Be King
The March of Folly
The Mind of the Maker
Napoleon's Wars - DNF 3/9/22
The New Jim Crow - completed 7/28/22
The Origins of Sex
Overcoming Writer's Block
A People's History of the United States - DNF 5/8/22
The Prince of Pleasure
The Pursuit of Glory
Redcoats and Rebels
Rebecca's War
The Same River Twice - completed 1-6-22
The Secret Country - DNF 3-18-22
Solutions and Other Problems
Spill Zone
Team of Rivals
A Vindication of the Rights of Women
Vows Made in Wine
The War of Wars
When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through - completed 11-13-21
Writing Her In

TBR Total: 122
Goal to clear: 61
Completed: 37
DNF: 15
Total cleared: 52

Summer School: The Seattle Public Library's Annual Adult Book Bingo

1. Leaving Church (category: blue cover)
2. Nettle & Bone (category: recommended by local bookseller)
3. Mighty Thor Vol. 1: Thunder in her Veins (category: book to screen)
4. Charlemagne's Tablecloth (category: been meaning to read)
5. The Horse and His Boy (re-read a childhood favorite)
6. Julius Caesar (set somewhere I'd like to visit)
7. The Lady With the Gun Asks the Questions (set south of the equator)
8. Fevered Star (SFF by a BIPOC author)
9. The Goblin Emperor (recommended by a friend)
10. Born Both (Nonbinary/genderqueer author or character)
11. Imprinted (book about books)
12. One of Us Is Lying (unreliable narrator)
13. Chef's Kiss (LGBTQ+ love story)
14. The Beauty in Breaking (health or healthcare workers)
15. Fruits Basket Vol. 1 (outside your comfort zone)
16. How To Be Perfect (SAL speaker)
17. Act Like It (first book by an author)
18. This Will Not Pass (read outside)
19. The New Jim Crow (banned or challenged)
20. The Kissing Bug (Latinx author)
21. Battle Royal (most recent book by same author as the first book by an author challenge)
22. Making Numbers Count (Peak Picks)

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Science Fiction)
1. Radio Silence
2. The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 1
3. You Sexy Thing
4. Catfishing on CatNet
5. Chaos on CatNet
6. Fantasy & Science Fiction July/August 2021
7. Not For Use in Navigation
8. The Kaiju Preservation Society
9. The Sound of Stars
10. Clarkesworld: Issue 182
11. Winter's Orbit
12. Mighty Thor Vol. 1: Thunder in her Veins
13. We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
14. Clarkesworld: Issue 173
15. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Advanced Readings in Folklore and the Fantastic (Fantasy)
1. The Unbroken
2. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone
3. The Oracle Glass
4. Fantasy & Science Fiction July/August 2021
5. Sorcerer to the Crown
6. A Marvellous Light
7. Not For Use in Navigation
8. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin
9. Amongst Our Weapons
10. Spelunking Through Hell
11. The Magnolia Sword
12. The Privilege of the Sword
13. Legends & Lattes
14. Nettle & Bone
15. The Horse and His Boy
16. Fevered Star
17. The Goblin Emperor
18. Imprinted
19. Sweep With Me
20. Fruits Basket Vol. 1
21. The Untold Story
22. Never Have I Ever

The Homecoming Dance (Romance)
1. Radio Silence
2. Honey Girl
3. Much Ado About Nothing
4. (Trust) Falling For You
5. Teach Me
6. All the Feels
7. Nothing Happened
8. A Marvellous Light
9. Making Up
10. One Last Stop
11. Winter's Orbit
12. Her Favorite Rebound
13. Chef's Kiss
14. A Lady for a Duke
15. Act Like It
16. Battle Royal

Primary and Secondary Education (Children's and YA)

That's my high school alma mater, though it's been remodeled and expanded since my day.

1. Major Impossible
2. Firekeeper's Daughter
3. Catfishing on CatNet
4. Chaos on CatNet
5. The Pros of Cons
6. Nothing Happened
7. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin
8. The Magnolia Sword
9. The Sound of Stars
10. Further Adventures of Lad
11. The Horse and His Boy
12. Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous
13. One of Us Is Lying
14. Fruits Basket Vol. 1
15. Yotsuba&! Vol. 1
16. I Kissed Shara Wheeler

The History Department (Nonfiction History)

1. Shaking the Gates of Hell
2. The Secret History of Home Economics
3. The Year of Lear
4. Robert E. Lee and Me
5. The Bright Ages
6. When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers
7. Letters of a Woman Homesteader
8. Powers and Thrones
9. The Nineties
10. People Love Dead Jews
11. A Million Years in a Day
12. Plagues Upon the Earth
13. Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts
14. The Good Rain
15. The Guns of August
16. Charlemagne's Tablecloth

Department of Biology (Sciences, mostly biological)

(OK, that's not a very scientific crow image, but it's one of my favorites.)

1. The Lion in the Living Room
2. Fuzz
3. Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding
4. Plagues Upon the Earth
5. Unseen City
6. Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas
7. Northwest Know-How: Trees
8. The Kissing Bug
9. Making Numbers Count
10. The Rise and Reign of the Mammals

Divinity School (Theology and Religion)

1. Shaking the Gates of Hell
2. Vestry Resource Guide
3. The Vestry Handbook
4. Cultish
5. People Love Dead Jews
6. Leaving Church

Electives (Everything Else!)

1. King Lear
2. Little Fadette
3. Landslide
4. A Bride's Story Vol. 13
5. Richard II
6. Brat Farrar
7. The Power of Regret
8. Julius Caesar
9. The Lady With the Gun Asks the Questions
10. Born Both
11. The Heroine's Journey
12. Measure for Measure
13. The Beauty in Breaking
14. Battling the Big Lie
15. How to Be Perfect
16. This Will Not Pass
17. Love's Labour's Lost

CATs

January:
1. King Lear (ShakespeareCAT)
2. The Same River Twice: A Memoir of Dirtbag Backpackers, Bomb Shelters, and Bad Travel (CATWoman)
3. The Sentence (AuthorCAT)
4. The Year of Lear (ShakespeareCAT)
5. Firekeeper's Daughter (Author CAT)

February:
1. Much Ado About Nothing (ShakespeareCAT)
2. Little Fadette (AuthorCAT, CATWoman)
3. (Trust) Falling For You (ShakespeareCAT)
4. Teach Me (ShakespeareCAT)
6. All the Feels (ShakespeareCAT)

March:
1. Nothing Happened (ShakespeareCAT)
2. Letters of a Woman Homesteader (CATWoman)
3. The Oracle Glass (AuthorCAT)

April:
1. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (ShakespeareCAT, CATWoman, AuthorCAT)
2. Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts (CATWoman, AuthorCAT)
3. The Good Rain (AuthorCAT)
4. A Bride's Story Vol. 13 (CATWoman)
5. The Magnolia Sword (CATWoman)

May:
1. The Guns of August (CATWoman)
2. Unseen City (AuthorCAT)
3. Richard II (ShakespeareCAT)
4. Brat Farrar (CATWoman)

June:
1. Julius Caesar (ShakespeareCAT)
2. The Lady With the Gun Asks the Questions (CATWoman)
3. Born Both (AuthorCAT)
4. Her Favorite Rebound (CATWoman)

July:
1. Measure for Measure (ShakespeareCAT)
2. The Beauty in Breaking (CATWoman)
3. Fruits Basket Vol. 1 (AuthorCAT)
4. Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas (CATWoman)
5. The New Jim Crow (ShakespeareCAT)
6. Yotsuba&! Vol. 1 (AuthorCAT)

August:
1. Love's Labour's Lost (ShakespeareCAT)

KITs

January
1. Shaking the Gates of Hell (RandomKIT - Home Sweet Home)
2. Radio Silence (AlphaKIT - R&H)
3. Major Impossible by Nathan Hale (AlphaKIT - R&H)
4. The Secret History of Home Economics (RandomKIT and AlphaKIT)
5. Honey Girl (AlphaKIT - R&H)
6. The Unbroken (SFFKit - Morally gray)
7. Robert E. Lee and Me (AlphaKIT - R&H)

February
1. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (SFFKit - Time Travel)
2. The Lion in the Living Room (RandomKIT - cats, AlphaKIT)
3. The Bright Ages (AlphaKIT)
4. Catfishing on CatNet (RandomKIT - cats)
5. Chaos on CatNet (RandomKIT - cats)
6. All the Feels (AlphaKIT)
7. Cultish (AlphaKIT)

March
1. The Pros of Cons (AlphaKIT, RandomKIT)
2. Letters of a Woman Homesteader (AlphaKIT)
3. The Oracle Glass (SFFKit - historical fantasy)
4. Sorcerer to the Crown (AlphaKIT, SFFKit)
5. A Marvellous Light (SFFKit)
6. Not For Use in Navigation (AlphaKIT)

April
1. The Kaiju Preservation Society (AlphaKIT)
2. People Love Dead Jews (AlphaKIT)
3. Amongst Our Weapons (SFFKit)
4. Landslide (AlphaKIT)
5. The Good Rain (RandomKIT)

May
1. Unseen City (RandomKIT)
2. The Sound of Stars (SFFKit, AlphaKIT)
3. One Last Stop (AlphaKIT)
4. The Power of Regret (AlphaKIT)
5. Winter's Orbit (AlphaKIT)
6. Mighty Thor Vol. 1: Thunder in her Veins (SFFKit)
7. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (AlphaKIT)

June
1. Julius Caesar (AlphaKIT)
2. The Lady With the Gun Asks the Questions (AlphaKIT)
3. Fevered Star (SFFKit)
4. Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous (RandomKIT)
5. Imprinted (SFFKit)
6. The Heroine's Journey (AlphaKIT)
7. Chef's Kiss (AlphaKIT, RandomKIT)

July
1. Sweep With Me (SFFKit, RandomKIT)
2. Fruits Basket Vol. 1 (AlphaKIT)
3. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (SFFKit)
4. Northwest Know-How: Trees (AlphaKIT)
5. This Will Not Pass (AlphaKIT)

August
1. Never Have I Ever (SFFKit)
2. Making Numbers Count (AlphaKIT)
3. The Rise and Reign of the Mammals (AlphaKIT)
4. I Kissed Shara Wheeler (AlphaKIT)

BingoDOG



1. Catfishing on CatNet
2. Go Back to Where You Came From
3. Nothing Happened
4. Sorcerer to the Crown
5. Further Adventures of Lad
6. Fuzz
7. The Privilege of the Sword
8. Amongst Our Weapons
9. Powers and Thrones
10. Radio Silence
11. The Guns of August
12. The Good Rain
13. Richard II
14. Major Impossible
15. Little Fadette
16. The Sentence
17. Honey Girl
18. A Bride's Story Vol. 13
19. Shaking the Gates of Hell
20. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone
21. The Year of Lear
22. Firekeeper's Daughter
23. The Oracle Glass
24. The Unbroken
25. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin

Starting a second card:



4. Nettle & Bone
5. Brat Farrar
7. The Horse and His Boy
8. Fevered Star
9. Leaving Church
11. The Power of Regret
12. Winter's Orbit
16. Julius Caesar
17. One Last Stop
20. The Goblin Emperor
23. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Q1 Log

January:
1. Shaking the Gates of Hell
2. Radio Silence
3. King Lear
4. Major Impossible
5. The Secret History of Home Economics
6. The Same River Twice: A Memoir of Dirtbag Backpackers, Bomb Shelters, and Bad Travel
7. The Sentence
8. The Year of Lear
9. Honey Girl
10. The Unbroken
11. Robert E. Lee and Me
12. The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 1
13. Firekeeper's Daughter

February:
1. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone
2. The Lion in the Living Room
3. Much Ado About Nothing
4. Fuzz
5. You Sexy Thing
6. Little Fadette
7. The Bright Ages
8. (Trust) Falling For You
9. Catfishing on CatNet
10. Chaos on CatNet
11. Vestry Resource Guide
12. When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers
13. Teach Me
14. Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding
15. All the Feels
16. The Vestry Handbook
17. Cultish

March:
1. The Pros of Cons
2. Nothing Happened
3. Letters of a Woman Homesteader
4. The Oracle Glass
5. Fantasy & Science Fiction July/August 2021
6. Sorcerer to the Crown
7. Go Back to Where You Came From
8. A Marvellous Light
9. Powers and Thrones
10. Not For Use in Navigation
11. The Nineties

Q2 Log

April:
1. The Kaiju Preservation Society
2. People Love Dead Jews
3. A Million Years in a Day
4. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin
5. Amongst Our Weapons
6. Plagues Upon the Earth
7. Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts
8. Spelunking Through Hell
9. Landslide
10. The Good Rain
11. Making Up
12. A Bride's Story Vol. 13
13. The Magnolia Sword

May:
1. The Guns of August
2. Unseen City
3. The Sound of Stars
4. The Privilege of the Sword
5. Further Adventures of Lad
6. Richard II
7. One Last Stop
8. Brat Farrar
9. Clarkesworld: Issue 182
10. The Power of Regret
11. Winter's Orbit
12. Leaving Church
13. Legends & Lattes
14. Nettle & Bone
15. Mighty Thor Vol. 1: Thunder in her Veins
16. Charlemagne's Tablecloth
17. The Horse and His Boy
18. We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

June:
1. Julius Caesar
2. The Lady With the Gun Asks the Questions
3. Fevered Star
4. Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous
5. The Goblin Emperor
6. Born Both
7. Imprinted
8. Her Favorite Rebound
9. One of Us Is Lying
10. Clarkesworld: Issue 173
11. The Heroine's Journey
12. Chef's Kiss

Q3 Log

July:
1. Measure for Measure
2. The Beauty in Breaking
3. Sweep With Me
4. Fruits Basket Vol. 1
5. A Lady for a Duke
6. Battling the Big Lie
7. Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas
8. How to Be Perfect
9. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
10. Act Like It
11. Northwest Know-How: Trees
12. The Untold Story
13. This Will Not Pass
14. The New Jim Crow
15. Yotsuba&! Vol. 1

August:
1. Love's Labour's Lost
2. The Kissing Bug
3. Never Have I Ever
4. Battle Royal
5. Making Numbers Count
6. The Rise and Reign of the Mammals
7. I Kissed Shara Wheeler

Hi Susanna, I'm dropping my star and looking forward to following along with you in 2022.

Excellent, I look forward to learning a lot with you to guide us.

Some great topics in here! Happy reading and learning!

Dropping my star, I've picked up several BBs from you in the last couple of years! Good luck with winnowing Mt TBR - I'm doing the same, but halving it is a bigger task than I can manage in a year.

I'll be lurking :) Good luck with your challenge!

Excellent theme! This should help reduce the tbr pile.

I love all your cats! I hope to reduce my TBR also!

I love the kitten in the card catalog drawer! Looking forward to following along.

(PS. A couple of your pictures are missing: >3 susanna.fraser:, >13 susanna.fraser:.)

Enjoy your 2022 reads!

Good luck with your reading plans for 2022.

Happy Reading!

>27 NinieB: Thanks! I found replacements.

Looking forward to following your reading in 2022. From your Kindle list of books to read, I highly recommend The Goblin Emperor - I loved that one.

>32 Crazymamie: I've heard a ton of good things about that one!

1. Shaking the Gates of Hell by John Archibald

Starting my year with a memoir by a fellow white child of Alabama, roughly of my generation (he was born in 1963, I in 1971), who wrestles as I do with whether his own well-meaning, basically kind white Christian family did enough to be part of the solution rather than the problem in the Civil Rights era, only since he is a journalist still living in Alabama and his father was a prominent Methodist pastor, the questions are a bit sharper for him.

2. Radio Silence by Alyssa Cole

I wouldn't call this a light read--there's a lot of angst and a good bit of blood--but it was definitely fun, escapist, and quick. I'm sure I'll read the rest of this post-apocalyptic romance trilogy pretty soon.

3. King Lear by William Shakespeare

This wasn't my favorite of Shakespeare's works when I took a Shakespeare class as an elective in college...and it's still not my favorite now.

4. Major Impossible by Nathan Hale

I'd lost track of this kids' graphic novel series about stories from American history after my own child aged out of reading them, but I recently was reminded of them and decided to catch up. Fun books, though emphatically keyed for their younger audience and their sense of humor.

5. The Secret History of Home Economics by Danielle Dreilinger

History of home economics as a field, largely through the lens of the women who lead the field throughout the 20th century. I would've been more interested in something that focused on the student experience, how the curriculum changed over time, and so on.

6. The Same River Twice: A Memoir of Dirtbag Backpackers, Bomb Shelters, and Bad Travel by Pam Mandel

A rather harrowing memoir of the author's travels, just after high school at age 17-18, through Israel, England, Greece, Egypt, Pakistan, and India, mostly in the company of an abusive boyfriend.

Dropping a star as well. Looking forward to following you this year!

>40 beebeereads: Welcome!



7. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

I feel like this book shouldn't have worked--magical realism? the author is a minor character story largely set at the bookstore she owns IRL? the actual events of 2020 play a huge role in the story?--but it does, completely.

>41 susanna.fraser: I am hoping this makes it on the list for my IRL book club this year. If not, it will definitely be on my priority list. Really appreciate your comments. You can find me at https://www.librarything.com/topic/338552#7715629

8. The Year of Lear by James Shapiro

A look at the Gunpowder Plot ("Remember, remember, the fifth of November...") and the year that followed through Shakespeare and his contemporaneous works, Lear, Macbeth, and Antony & Cleopatra. It felt surprisingly relevant, given that we just lived through a year that started with political violence and upheaval and ended with a bad wave of an ongoing pandemic (plague in Shakespeare's case).

>43 susanna.fraser: I've got to make time for that one, for sure!

>44 Tess_W: It's interesting. I learned a lot more detail about the Gunpowder Plot and its impact on England and London in particular than I'd ever heard before.



9. Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

A romance/coming-of-age story wherein the heroine, a hard-driven overachiever with a Plan for every step of her life, marries a girl she meets while drunk in Vegas after completing her PhD.

10. The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

Epic fantasy in a world clearly based on French colonialism in North Africa, with magic and betrayal upon betrayal and lesbian enemies to lovers back to enemies, which I basically read in a single gulp.

11. Robert E. Lee and Me by Ty Seidule

The author is a Southern, historian, and career army officer who grew up steeped in Lost Cause mythology, which he learned to question and ultimately disavow. The final line of the book packs quite a punch, given that I think it was written just slightly before critical race theory became a right-wing pet cause: "The only way to prevent a racist future is to first understand our racist past."

12. The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 1 ed. by Neil Clarke

I've had this anthology of 2015 short stories on my shelf since at least 2017, and it's such a brick of a book it took me forever to want to pick it up and start reading. I'm glad I did, though, since it contains mostly excellent stories by a notable collection of SFF authors.

13. Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

An intense thriller of a YA novel.

14. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon

I've been on this ride since Outlander, and I'm not about to get off now.

>50 susanna.fraser: I agree! I thought this was to be the last one, but not so...at least 1 more! If you are in for more of the "same", meaning a writer very much like Gabaldon and the setting in the US, I can highly recommend the series (6 books) Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati.

>51 Tess_W: I think I read the first one in that series a long time ago, but I don't remember much about it. One of the things I like best about Gabaldon's work--and this will probably sound strange--is that she gets to ramble much more than modern authors can usually get away with, so I feel like I'm just hanging out with her people for a thousand pages or so. It's weirdly like when I re-read Louisa May Alcott or LM Montgomery, except with more sex scenes, battles, bears, and abductions.



15. The Lion in the Living Room by Abigail Tucker

Quick, readable nonfiction about domestic cats and our relationship with them.

>52 susanna.fraser: I love that kind of pictured lion, and it would be welcome in my living room (if my three boys agree to allow it to visit).

>53 thornton37814: Sadly my husband is very allergic to that kind of lion, so I just enjoy visiting other people's whenever I can.



16. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Every time I revisit this play it makes me happy.

>54 susanna.fraser: My absolute favorite Shakespeare!

>52 susanna.fraser: "One of the things I like best about Gabaldon's work--and this will probably sound strange--is that she gets to ramble much more than modern authors can usually get away with, so I feel like I'm just hanging out with her people for a thousand pages or so."
I totally know what you mean! It's why these novels are such feel good novels for me, although they have so many sad scenes and topics.

17. Fuzz by Mary Roach

A rather quick review of all the ways wild animals and plants threaten and/or annoy humans, plus how we try to deal with them, told with Roach's trademark humor.

18. You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo

While the ending felt a bit rushed, I thoroughly enjoyed this space opera--it reminded me, a bit, of both Murderbot (sentient AI) and Wayfarers (found family), though it's tonally different from either one.

19. Little Fadette by George Sand

I picked this book, frankly, because it allowed me to pick off this month's AuthorCAT and CATWoman challenges with a single book. I didn't have any expectations going in, but I found it to be a quick sweet, heartwarming read with a certain gentle, pastoral melodrama to it.

20. The Bright Ages by Matthew Gabriele & David M. Perry

A panorama rather than a deep dive, focusing on the how vibrant and connected the medieval era was in both its beauty and brutality.

21. (Trust) Falling For You by Charish Reid

A fun, light romance novella about a pair of faculty rivals forced to bond at a departmental team building retreat.



22. Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer

A page turner of a YA novel (near-future SF, also a mystery) with a sentient AI and a girl who's been on the run with her mother for as long as she can remember, but doesn't really know why.

23. Chaos on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer

I should read sequels directly after the prior book more often--it's nice remembering exactly who everyone is and what's going on.

The books by Naomi Kritzer sound interesting.

>63 hailelib: I was impressed--Kritzer's short stories were my favorites in a multi-author anthology I recently read, so I sought out her longer work.



24. Vestry Resource Guide ed. by Nancy Davidge

Now, this is one I'm confident no one else will want to read! I was recently appointed to a three-year term on my church's vestry, so I'm trying, possibly a bit belatedly, to learn just what I've let myself in for.

25. When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers

An utterly heartbreaking book, bringing to light six autobiographical essays written by Jewish teens living in Eastern Europe in the 1930s for a writing contest.

26. Teach Me by Olivia Dade

A really lovely contemporary romance novel about two high school history teachers who, unusually for the genre, are in their 40s.

27. Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding by Daniel Lieberman

This book managed to make me feel motivated to exercise more without making me feel like it's a personal moral failing to be out of shape, which is a rare feat. (Also I love that cover image.)

>67 susanna.fraser: *snort* The cover image is excellent! I'm at the getting back into shape stage again (Lockdown 3 was particularly unkind to my behind). It's at the really hard "I-think-I-could-die" stage rather than the "this feels gooood" stage. >:-/

>67 susanna.fraser: That cover is fantastic! I might add this to my wishlist, you've nailed why most books about exercise (and diet, for that matter) just make me cross. (although disappointingly, the copy on amazon.co.uk has a really boring cover)

>68 Helenliz: >69 Jackie_K: It's heavily focused on the anthropology and evolution of it all, but without being too dry and academic.



28. All the Feels by Olivia Dade

This was a warm hug of a rom-com to read for a break from everything going on in the world.

29. The Vestry Handbook by Christopher L. Webber

More dry reading as I try to figure out my new church responsibilities.

30. Cultish by Amanda Montell

On the role of linguistics in cults, broadly defined as anything from fringe religious groups to MLMs to fitness crazes to conspiracy theories.

31. The Pros of Cons by Alison Cherry, Lindsay Ribar, and Michelle Schusterman

A very fun YA novel about three girls who meet while attending three different conferences at the same hotel (geek/fandom, drumming, and taxidermy).

32. Nothing Happened by Molly Booth

A YA retelling of Much Ado About Nothing.

33. Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart

By a woman who homesteaded (and married a rancher) in Wyoming in the early 20th century. Very interesting, and Elinore is generally a charming storyteller, with the caveat that the language and attitudes are Of Their Time in spots. (To put it bluntly, there are multiple uses of the n-word.)

34. The Oracle Glass by Judith Merkle Riley

Wherein a naive young woman with prophetic powers gets drawn into the Affaire des poisons in 17th century Paris. I didn't enjoy this as much as Riley's Margaret of Ashbury trilogy, but it was a pleasantly intricate weekend escape.

35. Fantasy & Science Fiction July/August 2021 ed. by Sheree Renee Thomas

One of the many SFF magazines on my TBR pile. "How to Train Your Demon," "Bridge For Sale," and "Cat Ladies" were my favorite stories.

36. Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

A really lovely Regency meets Fairyland fantasy that I somehow thought I'd already tried to read and bounced off of--I think I was confusing it with something with a similar title, cover, or theme. I'm glad I gave it a first look that I thought was a second look!

>78 susanna.fraser: I love that book! Glad you enjoyed it as well. I think it's one of the best examples of the "magical Regency" genre.

>79 christina_reads: Have you read the sequel yet?



37. Go Back to Where You Came From by Wajahat Ali

Often hilarious and occasionally heartrending memoir of a first-generation American son of Pakistani immigrants.

>80 susanna.fraser: Yes, I've read The True Queen and enjoyed that one as well, although I liked it a tiny bit less than Sorcerer to the Crown.

38. A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

Edwardian-era fantasy with a strong and explicit romantic subplot between its two male leads. I enjoyed it and will definitely read the sequel when it comes out.

39. Powers and Thrones by Dan Jones

Sweeping, readable history of the Middle Ages, from the fall of Rome through the Protestant Reformation. From now on I will always think of kings and lords endowing monasteries as buying carbon offsets for their souls.

40. Not For Use in Navigation by Iona Datt Sharma

An anthology of SFF short stories, a gift from a LibraryThing Secret Santa 2 or 3 years ago.

41. The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman

A series of essays about the first decade of my adult life, by an author just a little bit younger than me. (I was born in 1971, he in 1972.) Too pragmatic to be nostalgic, but left me feeling a bit melancholy for what really WAS a more stable, less polarized world (even if it was planting the seeds for where we are now).

>85 susanna.fraser: I'm torn on that one. I'm the same age as the author, but part of me wonders if the 1990s would be better in memory than revisiting them.

>85 susanna.fraser: I recently listened to an interesting interview with Klosterman: https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/chuck-klosterman/. I wonder how his book would strike me, as someone who was a child and young teen in the '90s.

>86 Helenliz: >87 christina_reads: I liked it, but I don't think I'd give it a strong recommend. A moderate recommend, maybe?



42. The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Now this was just a cracking good fun escapist read.

43. People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn

And this was the opposite of fun and escapist, but so good and so thought-provoking. Just because of my particular life experiences and interests, I'm more familiar with Jewish history, culture, and religious practice than average for a Gentile and a Christian, and I get so angry every time one of my fellow Christians repeats stereotypes about Jewish wealth or greed or displays a cartoonishly simplistic understanding of Jewish religious practice. Now I know what to try to make them read!

44. A Million Years in a Day by Greg Jenner

A rather light history of the routine activities of day-to-day life.

45. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

YA fantasy based in West African mythology.

46. Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch

Yes, I finished this book on its release day, but long-running series with found families full of likable characters tend to hook me like that.

47. Plagues Upon the Earth by Kyle Harper

A big-picture overview of infectious disease from our hominid ancestors through covid-19.

48. Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall

Graphic novel about the process of finding and bringing to light hidden history.

49. Spelunking Through Hell by Seanan McGuire

Latest in the InCryptid series.

50. Landslide by Michael Wolff

I thought I was in a good headspace to read a book about The Former Guy between Election Day and January 6, but I wish I hadn't. It makes it even more depressing that he might be back.

" he might be back."

A very scary thought!

>97 DeltaQueen50: Terrifying!



51. The Good Rain by Timothy Egan

A book about my adopted home region, published nearly a decade before I moved here, which for me cast it into an odd limbo of neither contemporary nor historical, exactly.

52. Making Up by Lucy Parker

Really charming contemporary romance set in the London theater community. I may have to read the whole series.

53. A Bride's Story Vol. 13 by Kaoru Mori

Latest volume in this gorgeously illustrated historical manga series.

54. The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas

A thoroughly enjoyable Mulan retelling.

>99 susanna.fraser: Yes, definitely read the whole series! Act Like It is possibly my favorite contemporary romance.

I'm currently nursing an infected finger, so I'm just going to list what I've been reading as I recuperate:

55. The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman
56. Unseen City by Nathanael Johndon
57. The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow
58. The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner
59. Further Adventures of Lad by Albert Payson Terhune

>103 susanna.fraser: Hope you feel better soon!

>104 Jackie_K: I'm getting there, I think, though I wish it would heal faster!



60. Richard II by William Shakespeare

My choice for this month's ShakespeareCAT theme.

61. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

I didn't love this book as much as Red, White, and Royal Blue, but that still left plenty of room to like it a whole lot.

62. Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey

Golden Age mystery, so very British.

>107 susanna.fraser: I just bought a copy of Brat Farrar that I read and enjoyed years ago. One of Tey's best.

I hope your finger will be better soon and typing up a storm.

63. Clarkesworld: Issue 182

I'm starting to really enjoy reading SFF short stories, though I'm not sure I'll ever figure out how to WRITE any fiction shorter than novel-length.

64. The Power of Regret by Daniel H. Pink

An unusually thought-provoking self-help book. I don't at all regret reading it.

65. Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

A lovely science fiction romance for my weekend reading pleasure.

66. Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor

An Episcopal priest’s memoir of walking away from church to rediscover faith.

67. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

The story of an orc in a D&D-type world who retires from adventuring to open a coffee shop. Heartwarming in the best possible way.

68. Nettle & Bone by T Kingfisher

T Kingfisher's books are SO GOOD. This one is a bit darker than most of her fantasy that I've read, but it still has a fairytale feel and (mostly) turns out all right in the end.

69. Mighty Thor Vol. 1: Thunder in her Veins by Jason Aaron

My first Thor comic, which left me pretty confused tbh.

70. Charlemagne's Tablecloth by Nichola Fletcher

A series of essays rather than a linear or thematic history, touching on a variety of topics about history around the world and across time.

71. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

This was my favorite of the series as a child because a) horses and b) Aravis, but hoo boy does the fantastical racism leap out at me now. (Still enjoyed the re-read, though.)

72. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor

This book has a huge fanbase, and it WAS a lot of fun...but let's just say I would've had an easier time with our multi-duplicated avatar of humanity among the stars being a white American tech bro if it hadn't been for the fact that the main human villains are Brazilian, that the surviving leaders of post-apocalyptic Earth that the Bobs interact with are ALL also white men from Europe, North America, and Australia/New Zealand, AND the smart kid from the primitive sentient society on another planet one of the Bobs finds is also a boy from a culture where all of the leaders were male. I mean, seriously, for all the dated aspects of The Horse and His Boy at least CS Lewis was able to imagine a brown girl being intelligent, resourceful, and brave!

73. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

My favorite of the Shakespeare we read in high school, though now that I've read most of the Bard's canon I'd place it somewhere in the middle. I still remember the opening lines of Mark Antony’s funeral oration.

74. The Lady With the Gun Asks the Questions by Kerry Greenwood

Short stories featuring the always delightful Phryne Fisher.

>117 susanna.fraser: mm. I have a complete set of these on the shelf. Part of me is tempted to re-read, as I read them a lot as a child. Part of me is tempted to leave them on the shelf and not spoil a pleasant memory.

>121 Helenliz: I still enjoy them, but it probably depends on individual tolerance level--I'm generally OK with dead authors having outdated attitudes as long as there doesn't seem to be active malice there, but even that is a matter of gut feeling.



75. Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse

Second in a rather bleak and morally gray but thoroughly fascinating fantasy trilogy.

76. Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous by Suzanne Park

This cotton-candy light YA romcom was the perfect palate cleanser.

77. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

This fantasy novel was a treat to read because it was so leisurely, something I usually have to go to 19th or early 20th century fiction to experience.

>124 susanna.fraser: I really liked that one too! It takes some work to get immersed in the world, but once you do, it's a delight.

78. Born Both by Hida Viloria

Memoir by an intersex activist.

79. Imprinted by Jim C. Hines

A novella coda to Hines's Magic ex Libris series.

80. Her Favorite Rebound by Jackie Lau

Contemporary romance novella by one of my go-to authors.

81. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

A twisty, page-turning YA thriller/mystery.

82. Clarkesworld: Issue 173 ed. by Neil Clarke

Another one of my backlog of short story magazines. My favorites in this edition were "The Failed Dianas" and "Terra Rasa."

83. The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger

A writer's guide that's making me rethink my current manuscript, in a good way.

84. Chef's Kiss by TJ Alexander

A fun foodie romance.

85. Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

Starting off my reading for the second half of the year with the Bard...

86. The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper

A lovely, moving memoir by an ER doctor.

>134 susanna.fraser: I've added that to my wishlist.

>135 Jackie_K: I think you'll enjoy it.



87. Sweep With Me by Ilona Andrews

Another entry in the Innkeeper Chronicles series, this one a novella.

88. Fruits Basket Vol. 1 by Natsuki Takaya

I picked this from a list of good "starter" manga, so I was surprised by how baffling I found the whole thing, given my experience with comics in general and some manga (the Bride's Story series, mostly). I wasn't expecting all the emotions and situations to be so extremely over-the-top, either.

89. A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

Historical romance with a transgender heroine, and a plot with a fine balance of angst and wit, though IMHO it veered a bit too far toward melodrama in the final act.

90. Battling the Big Lie by Dan Pfeiffer

I don't read as many political books as I used to, but this one was worth it.

91. Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas by Jennifer Raff

A well-written snapshot of the current state of research into how and when the Americas were first peopled.

92. How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur

Better living through moral philosophy, with more humor and clarity than you'd likely get in a philosophy class.



93. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

Just a delightfully gentle and optimistic science fiction novella.

>141 susanna.fraser: Man, I really need to finish The Good Place! Such a fun and clever show.

>142 christina_reads: It's so delightful!

94. Act Like It

Delightful contemporary romance, a fresh-feeling take on the ever-popular Fake Dating trope.

>144 susanna.fraser: I love this one, glad you did too!

95. Northwest Know-How: Trees by Karen Gaudette Brewer

Wherein I now know a lot more facts about local trees. F'rex, did you know northwestern cedars are actually cypresses? I do now!

96. The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman

Eighth and (for now) final in this saga of magical librarians, dragons, and fae.

97. This Will Not Pass by Jonathan Martin & Alexander Burns

A gossipy but extremely depressing look at politics across 2020 and 2021.

98. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Speaking of extremely depressing books...I wasn't expecting to be quite so shocked and enraged by this book because I thought I knew the issues already going in--black and brown people disproportionately incarcerated, school-to-prison pipeline, etc. But seeing it laid out so unrelentingly is intense.

99. Yotsuba&! Vol. 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma

A quite heartwarming manga about a quirky, adventurous 5-year-old girl.

100. Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare

My 100th book of the year continues my pattern of starting the month with Shakespeare--but I've got to say this may be my least favorite of his books that I've read. I found it fairly baffling, frankly, and I gather it's full of in-jokes and references that I would've enjoyed more in the 1590s.

101. The Kissing Bug by Daisy Hernandez

Both a memoir and the story of a neglected tropical disease (Chagas) and its increasing presence in the US.

102. Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap

Fantasy/horror short stories and novellas, many set in Manila.

103. Battle Royal by Lucy Parker

Wherein rival bakers fall in love while competing for a contract baking the cake for a royal wedding.

104. Making Numbers Count by Chip Heath and Karla Starr

A guide to communicating complex numbers in vivid, understandable ways. Interesting, though I think I'd rather read a guide on better understanding complex numbers when encountered in the wild.

105. The Rise and Reign of the Mammals by Steve Brusatte

A readable popular science account, sequel to The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs.

106. I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

YA mystery (albeit without a dead body) romcom. A very good read, if not so fun as Red, White, and Royal Blue.