I liked Rumors of My Demise, by Evan Dando, but I don’t know if I’m biased because so much of it was nostalgia for the Boston music scene of my youth! Also, a lot of the book involves places and people from Boston/Cambridge/Martha’s Vineyard and I’m a born-and-raised Masshole! The first time I met Dando was at a Godstar show at Man Ray in Cambridge, MA. He walked up to me and said, “Hi! I’m Evan!” and was clearly high. In Rumors, he’s frank about all of his drug use, anxieties, and sleep disorder. The book was well-written and fast-paced. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This past year was rough for me. For the first time in my life, I had Reader’s Block. I won’t name names (or titles!), but two books in a row rubbed me the wrong way. They were just not good. Or maybe all the other books I read were just that much better? However you look at it, I just had a really hard time getting back into reading after those two no-good books. And ages ago, I adopted the practice of not finishing books that I didn’t like because life’s too short! But sometimes, one has to read a bad book (or two!) because of … obligations.
Anyhow! The good news is I’m outta that funk! The book that saved me was The Taylors by Jen Calonita. A middle grade book about a group of girls named after Taylor Swift broke the curse! It even gave me goosebumps.
Right after The Taylors, I found myself reading my book of the year, Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Who would’ve thought that this graduate of Space Camp would fall hard for a sapphic, historical fiction novel about the first female astronauts at NASA?
Space Camp! I’m on the right.
Rounding out my favorite reads of the year:
Love Stories (The Taylors Version #1) by Elizabeth Eulberg– this is the young adult companion to Jen Calonita’s book.
My cat with Elizabeth Eulberg’s book
It Rhymes With Takei by George Takei (graphic novel/non-fiction)
Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman (horror)
Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist by Liz Pelly (non-fiction)
This past year, I wrote book reviews on NetGalley, Goodreads, Amazon, StoryGraph, and this blog. I logged my book reading on both Goodreads and StoryGraph. I think it’s important to continue to write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads because those are still so vital for authors.
This book is a must for Taylor Swift fans. I compulsively read Love Stories (The Taylors Version #1) because I was so consumed with the characters, the drama, and the Taylor Swift Easter eggs. There’s even a nod to one of my favorite (non-Taylor) singers! Elizabeth Eulberg does an excellent job with the characters’ individual voices. I’ve been using Love Stories as a benchmark for other young adult novels with multiple narrators. The recommended age for ‘Love Stories’ is 12-18, and the content does skew young (they’re high school freshmen), so one should feel comfortable sharing with mature middle grade readers who have read Jen Calonita’s companion book The Taylors.
A deliciously spooky graphic novel for middle-grade readers who, like author Brian Gonsar, “want to read scary books, but not actually be scared.” Gonsar and illustrator Keenan Gaybba create a delightfully creepy world full of vampires and humans who are obsessed with … jelly donuts!
An inspiring, thought-provoking autobiography from the talented pioneer George Takei. Recommended for fans of his first graphic novel memoir, They Called Us Enemy, this new graphic novel utilizes the same creative team. Published by Top Shelf Productions, It Rhymes with Takei has a broad appeal for those interested in American civil and LGBTQ rights.
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