On the cusp of a new year, and I hope it will be a good one.. Though I’ve neglected my monthly updates, I have not stopped reading. No matter how much I feel bogged down - and there was a lot to bog one down this year - reading is my escape. I’ve heard so many people say, “I don’t know how you find time to read”; they might as well say, “I don’t know how you find time to breathe." As long as we have eyes to see, or ears to listen, or minds to imagine, we must have stories to keep us alive.

With that, I give you this long-ass list, incomplete and in no particular order, of the books I read in the balance of 2021.

Return of the Trickster by Eden Robinson

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Murder in the Locked Library by Ellery Adams

Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

Dear Girls by Ali Wong

The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

French Exit by Patrick deWitt

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Gray Hair Don’t Care by Karen Booth

An Invitation to Murder by Leighann Dobbs and Harmony Williams

Granny’s Got a Gun by Harper Lin

Still Me: A Novel by JoJo Moyes

Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake by Sarah Graves

The Strangers by Katherina Vermette

Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan

We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz

The Father of Spin by Larry Tye

The Marriage Lie by Kimberley Belle

Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi