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Reading adventures, redux: Molten Death in Maui
It is early in the year to be traveling – but I’m lucky enough to have a trip already under my belt this year. We took one look at the grey skies and early sunsets of the Bay and decided it was time to head for more tropical climes. And thus, we set out for…
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The rise of cozy reading: mystery, fantasy, and more
The idea of “cozy” fiction seems to have spiked in the last few years. Cozy mysteries, cozy fantasies – shelves are overflowing with authors insistent of making you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. (Google Trends seems to agree with me on this. Searches for cozy mystery, cozy reading, and cozy fantasy grew 2-10x since…
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The gift of reading: Scenes of the Crime and Once Upon a Book Club
Welcome, friends to 2025! I hope your first week of this mathematically fun year has been treating you well. I usually spend this week trying to recover from the intensity of the holiday season. This year, that means reading everything I can get my hands on and indulging in some cozy games as well. And…
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Considerations – and charts! – on the challenges of 2024
As we prepare to send 2024 out with a bang, I wanted to reflect on my reading journey this year. Personally, 2024 has been a year of immense growth and intense change. I hit a milestone birthday, and a major educational moment. I got a big promotion. And I did a big International trip (and…
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Mystery, music, and everything in between: My Top 5 Epistolary Reads of 2024
We’ve made it through mystery and fantasy to arrive at my favorite epistolary reads of 2024. I’ll be honest – this was not a great year for epistolary releases… but that doesn’t mean I didn’t get to read new material. Instead, I got to dig through some extant epistolaries to blend with the newer stuff.…
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Tales of Magic, Mystery, and Other Marvels: My Top 5 Fantasy Reads of 2024
Yesterday was mystery, and today we’re moving to my favorite fantasy reads of the year… It was an interesting year for my fantasy TBR. I started the year expecting to read a hefty list of new releases… And while I read some on that list, I found a lot of joy in books published earlier,…
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Wit, Intrigue, and Warmth: My Favorite Mysteries in 2024
It’s the time of year for reading roundups and top-n lists, and this blog is no exception. I’ve read 180(!) books this year, some better than others, and I Have Some Thoughts on those I loved best and why. We’ll start with the mysteries, which were far and away the genre I spent the most…
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Advent of Mystery, 2024: Some thoughts on the Christmas crime genre
Merry Christmas, my reading friends! I hope you have enjoyed this year’s Advent of Mystery at least as much as I have. I’ve certainly learned a ton about what it takes to manage a Christmas mystery story that still feels festive. As usual, we’ll keep it quick – starting with a roundup of all the…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 10: A Lively Midwinter Murder
Our last day of book reviews brings us to A Lively Midwinter Murder, a continuation of the cozy Dahlia Lively series. For those unfamiliar, this series follows three actresses who have played three generations of the same female detective. They’re drawn together by this commonality – and when murders occur around them, of course they…
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Advent of Mystery 2024, Day 9: Murder at the Christmas Emporium
On our penultimate day of Christmas crime reads, we’ve got the return of one my favorite authors from last year. Andreina Cordani’s The Twelve Days of Murder was somehow both creepy and Christmassy, delivering a satisfying thriller. I don’t personally enjoy thrillers very much, but loved Cordani’s writing style, her story’s structure, and her characters.…