The Great God Pan
1894's The Great God Pan, written by Arthur Machen, has a reputation as a horror masterpiece. After all, H.P. Lovecraft said it was a major inspiration of his. Stephen King says it is one of the most foundational works of horror ever written. Most critics love it,
Iron Widow
PSA: Author Xiran Jay Zhao states this is not a YA novel. Please honor their word and spread the word to prospective readers! While I had a few gripes with Iron Widow—particularly regarding its action, worldbuilding, and lead character arc—it still had a plethora of great elements. Heavenly
The Poppy War
R.F. Kuang has inspired me for a plethora of reasons and is one of my favorite authors! I love her novels, writing style, genre-bending, and high- and low-concept tendencies. However, while The Poppy War was one of my favorite books of all time, The Dragon Republic was just a
The Escape Game
This year, thanks to my wonderful girlfriend's recommendation, I read The Lunar Chronicles, which has since become one of my favorite book series. Marissa Meyer has a magical way with words, and that series was so good that, after it concluded its chronicle, it left a pit in
Taipei Story
R.F. Kuang has been one of my new favorite authors for a few months now, so I was thrilled to see her dropping a new book! After reading Yellowface and The Poppy War trilogy—which were so drastically different yet equally captivating—I was eager to see what she
The Poppy War
Thank heavens I want to be an author, or I'd never have started reading Kuang's books. I mean, the story behind finding her as one of my new favorite authors is ridiculous. I only really started reading again because my girlfriend gave me the confidence I
Carol Quinn
I am trying to get around to reading books that were released this year. I have a backlog that I'll realistically never catch up on, so I might as well stay in the know about the current state of the industry and dive into some 2026 releases—especially
Five Survive
As the follow-up to her debut series and her second foray into the thriller genre after the genre shift in As Good As Dead, Five Survive is the last book I had to read to catch up with her bibliography. That is, as of 2026, though, as I will be
Bad Asians
When I saw Bad Asians repeatedly pop up as a "Staff Pick" on my local library's website, I was beyond intrigued—I had to check out the audiobook on Libby! Following a group of post-college friends as they navigate the lead-up to and fallout of a
Table for Two
After reading his three previous novels and attempting to track down his more limited-release short stories, essays, and novellas, I finally read Table for Two. This is my first venture into a short story collection that is entirely fictional and written by a sole author. Towles is a wonderful auteur,
Rules of Civility
After reading his three previous novels and attempting to track down his more limited-release short stories, essays, and novellas, I finally read Eve in Hollywood as part of the Table for Two collection. As a big fan of Rules of Civility, I was excited to see what Amor Towles was
The Kingkiller Chronicle
It took me over half a year to read this book because it's so long and everyone in my town apparently wants to read it, so the hold time was ridiculous. I also got caught up in the drama that I'll never get to see the