Hello, star bits! I hope you have all had wonderful holidays, or wonderful days, however you spent the last few weeks. Christmas for me is a day off—I spent it in my reading nest with my cats, re-reading all 16 Phoebe and Her Unicorn books and eating ice cream. I love being an adult! I also spent time setting up my 2023 reading spreadsheets and journals. You know how I love to nerd out!
And I love to talk about books! You can hear about some of the fabulous books coming out in 2023 on this week’s episode of All the Books! Patricia and I talked about the ones we are most excited about and more, including Chain-Gang All-Stars, The Terraformers, and House of Cotton.
If you’re thinking of doing a reading challenge in 2023, may I recommend Book Riot’s new Read Harder Challenge? The 24 tasks invite readers to expand their worldview through books! You can read one book per task, or do some multi-tasking by counting one book for multiple tasks. It’s all good! The point of the challenge is to push yourself to expand your horizons. To find the tasks and subscribe to our newsletter for tips and recommendations, visit Read Harder 2023. And thank you to Thriftbooks for sponsoring Read Harder 2023!
And now, it’s time for everyone’s favorite game show: AHHH MY TBR! Here are today’s contestants.
Nine Liars (Truly Devious) by Maureen Johnson
If you are like me, you were very sad when the Truly Devious trilogy came to an end a few years ago. But then we got a new book, The Box in the Woods, starring our favorite contemporary genius teenage sleuth, Stevie Bell! And oh my stars and Nick Carters, there’s a fifth book now. This time, Stevie goes to London to visit her boyfriend and college, and winds up investigating a double-murder from over two decades before. In 1995, nine friends gathered for a party and a game of hide-and-seek. At the end of the game, two were dead. Was one of the remaining seven friends the killer? Stevie is determined to find out. Which means we also get to find out. WHAT FUN.
Backlist bump: Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra
And if you want to slip one more amazing historical novel into your brain before the year is out, I recommend this debut. I really don’t understand why it was tucked away on the last Tuesday of the year, but at least now it’s available! It’s the beautiful story of a perfumer’s apprentice and calligrapher’s apprentice who fall in love in Lahore in Pakistan. But when Partition divides their city, their relationship becomes forbidden and the lovers must decide how much they want to risk for one another, and figure out how they are going to move forward with their lives. I will say that it is a slow-paced novel, and it is sad (and very sad) in parts, but it’s worth it.
Backlist bump: Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition by Nisid Hajari
Vinyl Resting Place: The Record Shop Mysteries by Olivia Blacke
And if you want to end the year with a lighthearted cozy mystery instead, this one would work great! It’s about the Jessup sisters in Cedar River, Texas—Juni, Tansy, and Maggie— who open a record store with a café called Sip & Spin Records. But their plans for a grand business skip a groove when a body is discovered in the closet of the store and their uncle is arrested for the murder. Now the Jessup sisters must do a little detective work to find the real killer and save their uncle from prison. It’s light and fun and will help you unwind for a few hours.
Backlist bump: A Deadly Inside Scoop (An Ice Cream Parlor Mystery) by Abby Collette
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This week, I am reading Yellowface by R. F. Kuang and Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare by Megan Kakimoto. Outside of books, I am still rewatching Psych and looking forward to seeing Glass Onion now that it is streaming! And the song stuck in my head is “Wasted Time” by the Eagles. (In 2023, I have decided to stop fighting it and embrace the fact that I *do* love the Eagles.) Recently, I started a new playlist of songs that are new to me, and you can listen too! And here is your weekly cat picture: Zevon loves his mixing bowl. Does this look like a comfortable way to sleep to you? Well, he thinks so. He looks like that straw in a glass of water example we were shown in science class.
That’s it for me this year, friends. I am sending you so many good wishes for a wonderful 2023. (Seriously, we deserve it.) Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! See you next week. – XO, Liberty