YA

Books Read in May 2026, part 2

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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

by C. S. Lewis, published 1952

Lucy, Edmund, and their unpleasant cousin Eustace visit Narnia via a painting of a ship and go on a voyage of adventure and growth. Features the best mouse and a great opening line. I enjoy the vignettes of the different islands they visit and my husband speculates that I picked up my horror of sitting with my back to an open door from this book: 

“[Lucy] would have to stand with her back to the door while she read [the magician’s book]. So at once she turned to shut the door. 

“It wouldn’t shut.

“Some people may disagree with Lucy about this, but I think she was quite right. She said she wouldn’t have minded if she could have shut the door, but that it was unpleasant to have to stand in a place like that with an open doorway right behind your back. I should have felt just the same.”

Exactly. The thought of being watched or surprised from behind unsettles me. 

Unlike Prince Caspian, this is in my top tier Narnia books. I enjoy meeting many new characters as the Dawn Treader visits many islands, and Eustace’s transformation is excellent.

Platform Decay

by Martha Wells, published 2026

Murderbot is back! This time, it’s on a mission to extract (rescue) some family members of its favorite human, Dr. Mensah, from a bad situation. 

As usual, Murderbot pairs is grumpy desire to just watch tv with its desire to be useful as an independent security consultant and a grudging member of a community of humans and bots. Murderbot may be grossed out by the inefficiencies and smells of humans, who require sustenance, lots of sleep, restroom “comfort” breaks, and who have emotional breakdowns at inconvenient moments, but Murderbot is also emotional about holding small humans, being respected, and being accepted as part of a team, much to its surprise.

Murderbot is also still dealing with the fact that it endured trauma (emotionally; Murderbot is nearly constantly enduring physical trauma in its security capacity) a couple books ago. So processing its emotions is…tricky. 

This was another fun installment of the series, no complaints. Perfect in novella form.

The Mystery of the Blue Train

By Agatha Christie, published 1928

A wealthy American purchases an enormous ruby necklace for his spoiled daughter, and she takes it with her on a train trip. What could possibly go wrong?

Meanwhile, Hercule Poirot, coincidentally traveling on the same train, meets a young woman who has come into some money and who is going to meet some relatives who hope she will share some of her newfound wealth with them.

When the American woman is discovered murdered and the necklace missing, Poirot must sort through the suspects to discover who killed her and why (the husband she was divorcing? his new mistress/girlfriend? a notorious jewel thief? someone else on the train who held a grudge against her/her father?).

This mystery felt a little more melancholy in tone than some other Christie mysteries, maybe partially because of the brutal murder but also because I felt sorry for the girl who inherited money but feels lonely and out of place. Money does not solve that predicament. I was not quite sure of her place in the story–maybe just to lighten it up a bit? But this was still a solid Poirot mystery.

What Grows in Weary Lands

by Tish Harrison Warren, published 2026

“This is a middle-of-life book, for “what our culture–and what the church–tends to lack are stories of a long, steady continuation of faith…we don’t have categories for the prolonged middle, for the slog.”

So this is a book about the middle. It is for people who are in the midst of life, busy with responsibilities and find themselves weary or restless, unsure about continuing on the same road they have been traveling. Maybe they are not sure they can continue in their spiritual life and it feels easier or better to give up.

Warren looks to the Christian desert fathers and mothers (basically proto-monks) who had much to say about faith in difficult circumstances.

Some of the advice is hard, some of it is necessary for surviving a world with an onslaught of distractions, notifications, inhuman technology and extractive economics, and some of it is encouraging (maybe try softer; be honest; don’t try to “gut it out” alone).

A wise and helpful book. Put one foot in front of the other, but be gentle with yourself and resist the urge to numb or flame out. “To go deep means looking with unflinching honesty at the truth of things–the pain in our lives, the sins and weaknesses in ourselves and those around us.” I found it comforting and encouraging, as I am in the middle of life and finding that I cannot rely on a shallow faith to sustain me. I read this book quickly, but I think it would benefit from slow reading to really take it in. I will probably read it again and much more slowly next time.

Books Read in May 2026, part 1

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Prince Caspian

by C. S. Lewis, published 1951

Lucy and her siblings return to Narnia just in time to help the titular prince claim his throne. It’s been a year since their adventure through the wardrobe, but hundreds of years in Narnian time, so no one expects them. “It was as if King Arthur came back to Britain, as some people say he will. And I say the sooner the better.” 

Not quite as magical as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but there’s still plenty of magic, a fun adventure, and Caspian is easy to root for. I enjoyed it but it’s not in my top three Narnia books (a ranking I made up just now and worry this will create more work for me later. No matter).

Murder in Mesopotamia

by Agatha Christie, published 1936 

Hercule Poirot detects again! 

This book is told from the point of view of a witness, Amy Leatheran, who is “encouraged to tell the story” of a murder at an archaeological dig. 

Nurse Leatheran was called in to attend Louise Leidner, the wife of the main archaeologist at a dig in Iraq, who has been suffering from “nerves.” 

Leatheran sees right away that the vibes are off, and Louise’s somewhat magnetic and strong personality have upset the team’s equilibrium. When Louise is murdered, it seems impossible: everyone has an alibi…or do they? 

Poirot must unravel the mystery of who killed her and why. Honestly, I cannot see that anyone would have figured out the labyrinthine conclusion, so I just enjoyed the ride (and if you did figure out the ending before you got there, please let me know; your mind sounds like a fascinating place). Not completely top tier Christie, but a solid entry in the top half maybe. Nurse Leatheran is a stand in for a Dr. Watson or Capt. Hastings character who is telling the story and admiring the detective as he reconstructs the crime, and I thought that worked pretty well.

Unreasonable Hospitality

by Will Guidara, published 2022

Most restaurants that aspire to greatness are led by a chef and the restaurant “back of house,” while the “front of house” staff just tries to keep up. Guidara was a “front” guy who paired with a “back” chef to try to marry a hospitality focus with a culinary focus. Their ambition: to be the best restaurant in the world (no big deal). Their ambition drove them hard, which opens its own set of questions, but it led them to innovate in extraordinary ways. 

While you don’t need to aim to be the best _____ (fill in the blank with your own field), there is so much in this book that is applicable to anyone in a service industry, not just the restaurant industry. And many people are in some kind of service industry, even if they don’t view it that way. Many jobs have some sort of customer / client, and many jobs have more than one employee with some sort of hierarchy/ management structure in place. 

I’m not always big on “business books” and I have limited tolerance for the “self help” section, but I thought this book was good. 

Guidara’s idea is this: treat employees well and treat customers / clients really well, and your business will thrive. If your staff feels supported and encouraged to go above and beyond for their customers, they will find ways to surprise and delight the people who come through your doors. It is sort of an argument for treating humans humanely, which I appreciate. So many businesses are focused on the next quarterly earnings statement, and anyone pushing back against extractive business is something I am interested in. Speaking of extraction….

The Age of Extraction

by Tim Wu, published 2025

There’s a lot of overlap here with Enshittification by Cory Doctorow here, but with a slightly different focus. 

“‘The conviction was universal that the country was in real danger from another kind of slavery sought to be fastened on the American people, namely, the slavery that would result from aggregations of capital in the hands of a few individuals and corporations controlling, for their own profit and advantage exclusively, the entire business of the country.’” This was Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan in 1911, but it feels extremely modern. 

Wu argues that tech platforms have dominated modern life in ways that drive our economy and their unfettered access to data, attention, and money have meant that they are extremely extractive and harming us all. They are largely unregulated, and they control vast amounts of capital that allow them to put their finger on the scale to their benefit. 

While it is depressing to read about all the ways that tech platforms and the AI race are plundering humanity and the planet, Wu does remind us that we emerged from the early-20th century Gilded Age and there are things that can be done to restrain the current tech overlords. 

He posits that the economy is not inherently self-balancing, and government needs to intervene sometimes to help balance it, especially by being anti-monopoly, creating neutrality rules, and treating some platforms like utilities. He also notes that union/ worker power is also at a low, and that can help to restrain companies and create a balance if re-established. 

All of this would take political will to push through, and while it would be a tough road, it is not impossible. The question is just whether there are people in power who are willing to use that power for restraint instead of self-dealing. 

Books Read in April 2026

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The Magician’s Nephew 

by C. S. Lewis, published 1955

Two children are sent to another world by magic. They witness the creation of the land of Narnia, where animals can talk and the great lion Aslan watches over its fate. A lovely creation myth. While this is the first in the Chronicles of Narnia chronologically, it is really a prequel and not the best introduction to the series. 

Because I was listening to the audio book, I listened in chronological order but I will die (maybe not literally?) on the hill that for first-time readers you really should start with the first published book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall 

by Anne Brontë, published 1848

The final installment in my Brontë book club! Don’t sleep on this one: it is such an interesting exploration of marriage and female interior life (for the upper middle class anyway) in 19th century England. 

The structure of this is interesting: it starts as a letter from a young man, Gilbert Markham, to his brother-in-law, looking back on when he met the titular tenant. We then transition to Helen (said tenant) and hear about her life from her diaries, which she shares with Gilbert. 

Helen is an early “I can fix him!” girl. She married a young man who was young, exciting, and attractive (as opposed to the old, boring, but wealthy men with whom her aunt tries to set her up). However, she discovers that when it comes to character and virtue, these attributes are important and non-transferable. 

She perseveres, but for the sake of her young son, whom she does not want to see corrupted, she decides she needs to leave. Women in the 19th century did not have rights to their own property or children, so she needs to flee in secret and go into hiding.

This is an exploration of relationships, moral character (and lack thereof), and is (as someone pointed out in our book club) more of a story of manners a la Jane Austen (though tonally quite different) than either Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre. We get a glimpse of a section of society and the ways that humans fail or help each other. 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

by C. S. Lewis, published 1950

The proper introduction to Narnia, a magical world that certainly captured my imagination as a child. Lewis is a good storyteller, and I enjoyed wandering back into that world. 

Lucy walks through a wardrobe into the land of Narnia, where she and her siblings are immediately drawn into a power struggle for the fate of this magical world. Features poor choices in desserts, the most charming beaver couple, and descriptions that make you long to walk through a wardrobe yourself to visit a magical place.

This might be my favorite of the Narnia books? I’ll check back in on that once I finish them all. 

The Horse and His Boy

by C. S. Lewis, published 1954

Two children and two talking horses set off on an escape to Narnia. Chases, disguises, mistaken identities, and fighting ensues. While there are Eastern stereotypes at play that don’t all age well, this is still a great adventure tale. 

Might start addressing my Mom like the Calormen do: “Oh my mother and oh the delight of my eyes….” Should have made that my Mother’s Day greeting. Maybe next year.

Books Read in July 2025, Part 2

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Return of the Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner

Published 2020

My book logs tell me that I discovered this series in 2022 and I enjoyed them, but somehow I had missed reading the last installment. Wanting a tale of adventure with a clever plot twist, I returned to the series finale, and was not disappointed. 

The Queen’s Thief Series (6 books) is about the political machinations of several small fantasy-Greece-esque countries on a peninsula who are trying to maintain their own sovereignty in the face of larger mainland forces who want to conquer them for their emperor’s own enrichment. 

Each book follows a specific point of view character, and in this case it is Pheris, the disabled grandson of an influential baron. Pheris is sent to represent his family at court by his grandfather, under the assumption that the king will send him back to be disposed of. However, the king (used to being underestimated himself) decides to keep Pheris as an attendant, realizing that his physical disabilities have nothing to do with his mental capabilities. Pheris is clever and observant, and it is interesting to see the story unfold from his perspective. 

With the final book in a series, you’re always hoping that the author sticks the landing, because it could either bring the story to a satisfying conclusion or be a stumble that taints the entire project. In this case, I am happy to say that I liked the ending, and I enjoyed this visit with familiar and new characters. 

The Nine Tailors, by Dorothy Sayers

Published 1934

A couple books after Lord Peter’s railway timetable adventures comes Lord Peter’s church-bell-ringing adventure. 

After really enjoying “Have His Carcase” and “Murder Must Advertise,” I have to say that this is not a favorite installment of Sayers’ mysteries. This one has a lot of information about English bell-ringing, which is a bit abstruse. Thankfully even if I didn’t follow everything that was happening with the bells, the rest of the mystery to discover the identity of an extra body found in a grave and who the killer might be was easier to follow. 

Lord Peter and his faithful valet Bunter are smart as ever, and there were still things to enjoy, even if I found the bell ringing descriptions confusing and sometimes a little tedious. I didn’t race through this one like I did the previous book, but it was still fine enough that I wanted to see what happened at the end. 

The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner

Published 1996

After reading the conclusion of the series, I went back and re-read the first installment. The point of view character in this story is Gen, a thief who has stolen a ring from the king of Sounis, boasted of his skill, and been locked in the king’s prison as a result. One day he is freed by the king’s magus and brought on an adventure because the king requires his skills to steal something else. 

This is an adventure story that starts slowly as Gen and his companions start their journey toward whatever it is that Gen is supposed to steal for the king. About halfway through the book though, things start really happening, and the pace and the stakes keep ratcheting up to a twist and a satisfying conclusion. 

I don’t want to say too much, as part of what I enjoyed about this book was the journey and the surprises. This is an engaging story with likable characters, and I enjoy Greek-myth-adjacent stories (technically this is a fantasy world, not ancient Greece, but… these people are pretty clearly Greek). 

It was interesting to re-read after knowing what happens and where the series goes after this book. Each subsequent book deepens the characters and the political machinations that are only barely touched in this first story. A fine beginning to a YA series I enjoyed (it is a Newberry Honor book, so clearly others have enjoyed it as well). 

Books Read in July 2025, Part 1

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Murder Must Advertise, by Dorothy Sayers

Published 1933

In this installment, Lord Peter goes undercover as an employee at a London Advertising Agency. One of the agency’s employees has fallen down a stairwell to his death, and the man in charge is not sure if it was accidental or not. Lord Peter quickly discovers that there is a link between the firm and a drug dealing operation and must use his wits and his working-class man disguise to get to the bottom of the murder and the drug ring. 

The agency had strong Mad Men vibes; just change the time period to the early 1930’s with slightly less alcohol (slightly). The office culture feels creative and chaotic, with different departments getting in each other’s way and with the petty rivalries that accompany most office dramas. 

It’s a different setting for Lord Peter, which was a nice change of pace, and I enjoyed this installment more than the previous Scottish artist installment. 

Wormwood Abbey and Drake Hall, by Christina Baehr

Published 2023, 2024

My Mom recommended this YA series “The Secrets of Ormdale” as a“wind down before bed when you’re stressed out from studying” read, and they definitely worked for that purpose! 

Edith Worms and her family relocate to her father’s ancestral home in northern England when his brother and nephew are killed and he inherits the estate (it’s 1899 and therefore preposterous to think that her female cousin might inherit). 

The house and her cousin are somewhat dark and dour, clearly hiding secrets from Edith and her family. The attractive young man from the neighboring estate seems to be in on the secrets as well, and Edith has to unravel what is going on and also why they are so keen to keep these secrets from the outside world. There may be dragons involved…. 

I would describe these (and the author similarly describes them) as “cozy, light gothic vibes” books (do not fear: tea is served at regular intervals). They are fast-paced, appropriate for middle grade readers, and each book is pretty short (there are 5 in the series). Each subsequent book picks up right where the previous book leaves off. These are not earth-shattering, but are entertaining;  Victorian England + dragons is a fun combination, and the author clearly set her book in this time period to give nods to classic 19th century British authors. I am not sure if I will continue the series, but twelve-year-old me probably would have enjoyed them, and while there are some darker topics hinted at, they are handled with a light age-appropriate touch. 

Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner

Published 2021

There are times in our lives that are important milestones for looking back, for contemplating our lives and relationships, and reinterpreting them in light of what we have learned. There are things that are part of me at age 39 that I couldn’t have adequately explained or known at age 29. 

Memoirs are a way of recontextualizing our lives, of telling a story about who we are and how we got there. Here Michelle Zauner explores her complicated relationship with her mother after her mother’s death from cancer. 

It is a way of honoring her mother and her own journey, and a way of trying to tell the truth about who her mother was and work through her emotions and judgments now that her mother is gone. Food was a central way her mother showed her love for her daughter and for the people around her, which is something I love: food is such a central part of being human and the food of one’s childhood is especially powerful. Zauner’s descriptions of Korean food made me immediately want to head to my nearest Korean restaurant and order one of everything, and it also made me think about some of the food of my childhood and the meals my family ate that are such a part of me—food can be a time travel device to memories and cooking can be therapy. 

I enjoy learning about people and about food, so this was in a great intersection for me. It is also about reflecting on the death of a parent, so just know going in that it will be both mouth-watering and also tear-inducing. Kind of like life. 

My husband pointed out that while I have read multiple memoirs over the past few years, they are all memoirs written by women. Maybe I need to expand my memoir range–if you have any suggestions written by men, I am open to those! Especially if they have descriptions of food.