November 2025
Am I breaking up with Libby?
I used to think that the sign of a satisfying reading life was reading a lot. "A lot" is subjective, but if you enjoy reading as a hobby, you're excited when reading finds its way into your life more often.
The last two months, I have read about five fewer books than I usually do, and it would be easy for me to "blame" my slight dissatisfaction with my reading life on that, on the volume. But I would be wrong. The thin argument is that reading is quality over quantity, and I mostly agree with that. But I continue to be surprised at how quickly I forget what truly makes my reading life gratifying.
Experience.
Ten minutes with a physical book while under a blanket on the couch is far more fulfilling than twenty minutes reading on my phone's Kindle app while picking up kids from school. Being on my own timeline with a book I already own is more fulfilling than trying to rush through something because it's due on Libby. Choosing what to read next based on my mood and what's on my shelf is so much better than choosing based on what hold just came in.
I have said this before, and I'll probably have to say it again because we forget things, y'all, but I just don't think that I am a library reader. I am a personal shelf reader. Seasons that are populated by more library books are less enjoyable reading seasons for me, simply because I feel like I didn't get to choose. I kind of did because I picked the holds, but I didn't pick the timing. And then I'm beholden to the timing. In fact, six of the eight books on this month's list came in as holds on Libby. I was at her mercy all October, and I felt it.
I'm not going to delete Libby off my phone because that feels like sending one of my children away, but I think Libby and I need a break for the rest of 2025. I'm curious if the distance will be good for us.
I'll keep you posted.
This Month’s Books
Book Reviews
The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb 🎧
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrated by Jeremy Sisto
Casting: It's hard to not imagine Jeremy Sisto as the main character since he's speaking.
Content warnings: Death of a child, addiction, prison violence. It's not a fun hang.
Book words: Devastating, candid, human, unflinching, absolutely beautiful.
This book is devastating. There's no other way to say it. I don't even know why I put it on hold. Probably because it was everywhere, probably because I loved the idea of a Jeremy Sisto narration, and probably because I placed the hold something like 24 weeks ago so who knows what your girl was thinking. I'm so glad I did though because The River Is Waiting is one of the most visceral reading experiences I've ever had.
I remember when I started listening. I was puttering around the house, making spaghetti for dinner and slowly tidying up the detritus of the day. Jeremy Sisto's emotionally honest narration got me from the jump. First person narration is a favorite of mine, and he nailed the out-of-work stay-at-home dad who seems like a really good guy who's just trying to get through the day, often with alcohol and prescription drugs but he's got it under control, right? I picked up dirty socks and zipped up backpacks while he described the minutiae of his own domestic life, and it felt sacred.
The inciting incident of this story is when this man who you immediately care about, who under impairment, runs over one of his twins with the family car, not having noticed the little boy wasn't buckled in. The grief, the rage, the heartbreak, the eventual prison sentence, the attempt to preserve his marriage, all of these things unfold in the most sublime human way. Listening to this story felt like bearing witness. I remember standing over the stove, holding a pair of tongs, and closing my eyes as I listened to the impossibility of this story unravel. To look away was almost an unkindness. That's how visceral and real it was. I've never experienced anything like it.
I'm not sure I'm selling it well because who wants to read a story that's probably the saddest thing you'll ever read, but like any sad story, real or imagined, the light that peeks out from among the shadows is some of the most exquisite light there is. A tremendous book that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Five tear-stained stars.
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Casting: Jeff Bridges is 100% PJ. There is no other choice. His daughter took a bit, but Kaitlyn Dever ended up being absolutely perfect.
Content warnings: Loss of a child, addiction.
Book words: Funny, quirky, sharp, loveably earnest.
This was a book I chose from my own library (Kindle library, but that's okay) and loved every second of it.
PJ is many things. He's a former lottery winner. He's a clueless, lovable alcoholic in and out of recovery. He's divorced but still spends every morning with his ex-wife and best friend who are now together. He lost one daughter when she was a teenager and consequently is estranged from the other who was ignored in the grief.
PJ thinks that his key to happiness is to woo his first love, the recently widowed Michelle Cobb, who currently lives across the country in The Tender Hearts Retirement Home. As he starts getting ready for his roadtrip to rekindle with the love of his life, he finds himself the sudden guardian of his estranged brother's grandkids who recently lost their parents to a tragic murder-suicide situation. (How this is told with humor is a mystery.) So he decides to take the kids, along with his daughter who doesn't like him very much, across the country to not only get with Michelle but to also find the biological father of one of his new charges who thinks her dad is a famous soap opera star.
It's a found-family road trip fever dream and just the best time.
Hollow Spaces by Victor Suthammanont
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Casting: No real casting.
Content warnings: Infidelity, all of it very open door.
Book words: Sharp, propulsive, atmospheric, crime/court drama.
This was solid.
Told in two timelines, we follow the Lo family. John Lo, the first Asian partner in a prestigious law firm in the 90s, is acquitted of murdering a coworker and secret lover, but no matter the result of the trial, his whole world (and family) falls apart.
Brennan always believed her dad was innocent, and Hunter always believed he was guilty. Now thirty years later, one a lawyer and the other an investigative reporter, the siblings reluctantly team up to find out what really happened.
The relationship between Hunter and Brennan was my favorite part of this story, and the murder mystery itself was fun to unravel. Surprisingly heartfelt and memorable for a crime thriller. This is half a star less simply because of all the affairs. Infidelity is one of my least favorite plot lines.
The Vanishing Place by Zoë Rankin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Casting: I tried and tried, but nothing really stuck.
Content warnings: A lot of abuse.
Book words: Propulsive, atmospheric, good use of character, a wild ride.
If you like a crazy thriller, there's a lot to love with this one.
Effie lives in Scotland, a police officer and rescuer who is comfortable in the worst outdoor conditions. She's guarded, hard, and just broke up with her longtime boyfriend, mostly because she doesn't let anyone in. When she gets a call from New Zealand, her past returns to her in an unfortunate rush.
A young girl, malnourished and alone, has shown up in Effie's hometown, and the girl looks just like Effie. Called home by the closest friend (and maybe more) she's ever had, Effie returns to New Zealand and remembers her childhood in the bush with her family that kept her away from everyone and everything.
It's genuinely a great story with believable characters and a lot to gasp at and root for. I had to rush through because it was due and I couldn't renew it, but I really enjoyed it.
Buckeye by Patrick Ryan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Casting: Kind of but nothing worth mentioning. Plus I can't even remember the actor's name or what movies he's been in. Just that he's blond. The Internet was unhelpful.
Content warnings: Infidelity, war violence.
Book words: Cerebral, character-driven, slow (not in a bad way), literary. Likely a good pick for fans of Kate Morton or Ann Patchett.
I can see why this book is everywhere.
Because it was and because I enjoyed the sample pages I was able to read, I put it on hold. Seventeen years later, it was my turn, along with several others at once. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more if I had more time or if the time crunch actually propelled me to finish it. One will never know.
This is not my typical choice. Literary fiction is typically too slow, thoughtful, and character-driven for me. I absolutely appreciate the value it offers and the difficulty of the craft, but it's simply not my first (or even fifth) choice. Still, I'm glad I read this one.
The intersecting stories revolve around Cal, a young man unable to enlist in the war because of a bad leg, and Margaret, an orphan on the hunt for a better life. They meet each other at the victorious end of World War II, sharing a secret passionate kiss that takes them both by surprise, especially since both are married.
The story unfolds in alternating timelines and perspectives, illuminating the deeply consequential aftermath of that kiss and the ensuing affair.
Again, affairs aren't my favorite storyline, so an entire literary novel centered around the results of an affair is a harder sell for me. It shows how good the writing is that I kept going and even finished.
A genuinely excellent book.
All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Content warnings: Addiction (so much addiction this month), mental illness, abuse.
This is one of the most confusing, divisive books I've ever read. I will never understand how someone can write so beautifully but say so many things I desperately disagree with. All the Way to the River is the quintessential book club book because that group will have some FEELINGS I don't care who you are or where you land.
Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat Pray Love / Big Magic fame is a thought leader and self-help guru you all probably know. This book is about her relationship with Rayya, a best friend turned lover and their addictive, destructive entanglements that carried even beyond Rayya's death.
I could not put it down, and I also wanted to throw it across the room multiple times. I was reading it on my phone though, so that would have been an unfortunate choice.
The best way to describe my own experience with All the Way to the River is deep concern for the potential harm awaiting people who would internalize some of Elizabeth's thoughts on abuse. At one point, she describes what she calls Earth School, a cosmic gathering of souls wherein certain people "bravely" volunteer to be your abuser so that you can become the best version of yourself. As a victim of abuse myself, this take was devastating to read. To imply that victims should be grateful to their abusers on a personal, individual basis, believing that everyone doing harm in the world does it as a brave cosmic choice? I cannot stomach how harmful that is. And because Elizabeth Gilbert is an incredible writer and communicator, hearing these words in her comforting, safe voice could lead a lot of victims down a path that they most certainly do not need to walk down.
This book is a classic example of the need for discernment. A person can say some fantastic things, but no single person – I don't care who they are – should be taken at face value for everything they say.
The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar 🎧
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Casting: None.
Content warnings: Nothing really. It's by a children's author, so it's quite mild.
Book words: Magical, ethereal, light, earnest, a little comedic.
This was fine. I probably would have enjoyed it more on the page rather than the audio, an unusual situation to be honest. The narrator's energy just didn't match the tone of the book for me, so I never quite locked in.
To be honest, I remember very little of this one, and I finished it just a couple of weeks ago.
An irrelevant royal magician is faced with the choice to either follow the direction of his king – brew a potion to make the princess marry a prince from a rival country – or follow his heart and care for the princess by saving her from certain fate.
It has great reviews and a lot of people love it. I think that choosing the audiobook was for sure the wrong call.
Black Notice by Joy Ellis 🎧
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrated by Richard Armitage
Casting: None.
Content warnings: Murder.
Book words: Formulaic, procedural.
If you recall from a couple of years, I devoured all the books in the Jackman Evans series narrated by Richard Armitage. His narration is still top tier, but this particular story, the most recent after a long break, was (to me) in need of an editor. Too many characters, too many intersecting crimes... it literally lost the plot for me. I finished it, but it was more comforting white noise than a story I looked forward to. I love you Joy and Richard, but if you're a lowkey fan, you won't miss much if you skip this one.