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Here are ten of the books I’m looking forward to checking out this autumn. The first two have already been released, but I’ll share release dates for the ones that aren’t out yet.

1. Holly by Stephen King

Why I’m Interested: I try to give everything Mr. King writes a shot.

2. Rez Ball by Byron Graves

Why I’m Interested: I recently reviewed Big Crow for Long and Short Reviews and am curious to make comparisons between that true-life account of a Native American teen who played basketball and this fictional take on a different Native American teen basketball player.

3. Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang

Release Date: September 26

Why I’m Interested: With all of the difficult some farmers have been having this year with growing crops, a fictional account of a world too hot to rely on agriculture is intriguing.

4. The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar

Release Date: September 26

Why I’m Interested: While there’s a lot of joy to be found in moving to another country, being an immigrant can also bring all sorts of complications to one’s life. I’m curious to see what this author has to say on the subject.

5. Out There Screaming by Jordan Peele

Release Date: October 3

Why I’m Interested: His films are fun to watch, so here’s hoping a book from him will also be amusing.

6. When Ghosts Call Us Home by Katya de Becerra

Release Date: October 3

Why I’m Interested: Honestly, the cover is what first pulled me in this direction. Isn’t it amazing? Paranormal horror is something I enjoy, too.

7. The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

Release Date: October 10

Why I’m Interested: Now that it’s much less common for people who aren’t from China to adopt children from China, I’m curious to see how this topic will be treated in fiction.

8. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

Release Date: October 24

Why I’m Interested: Is it weird to read an autobiography of someone you weren’t a fan of? Now I wonder what might have been going on behind the scenes in her life to make her behave the way she did. Maybe this will help to explain it.

9. Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldreee

Release Date: November 7

Why I’m Interested: Maybe this will finally convince me to read Legends & Lattes? It’s been on my TBR for ages.

10. Same Bed, Different Dreams by Ed Park

Release Date: November 7

Why I’m Interested: Alternate histories can be such great stories. I hope this is as good as it sounds.

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I love a good relationship in a novel, especially in a series.  It’s often what draws me back to an unfinished series.  They don’t have to be romantic relationships, either.  Sometimes, the best bonds are between friends.

1. Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller (Harry Bosch/The Lincoln Lawyer) by Michael Connelly.

Harry and Mickey are half-brothers who only found each other later in life.  The thing that I love about their relationship is that Harry is an LAPD detective and Mickey is a defense lawyer, aka mortal enemies.  However, they learn to appreciate each other and form a strong, brotherly bond, often full of sharp barbs and fun banter.

2. Geralt of Rivia and Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount de Lettenhove, aka Jaskier the Bard (The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski).

Their relationship is often a rough one, but even when they want to throw each other into the dragon’s den, they’re still there for each other.  I could include Yennefer of Vengerberg in this as well because she has a similar relationship with Jaskier.

3. Sam and Amelia Rockwell (Rockwell Return Files by Jason Anspach).

From the very beginning, they have a great relationship.  She adores him, but keeps him in his place.  He loves her, and dotes on her, while respecting her.  This is huge considering the series is set in the 1950’s.

4. Sloan McPherson and Scott Hughes (Underwater Investigation Unit by Andrew Mayne).

Sloan has a tendency to be a bit reckless and impulsive.  Scott, on the other hand, is former military and a dad, bringing a sense of balance to their partnership.  However, Scott can be a bit crazy, too, when the circumstances warrant it.  Which is probably why he and Sloan work so well together.

5. Tempe Brennan and Andrew Ryan (Temperance Brennan by Kathy Reichs).

Tempe spends half the year working in Montreal for the police department identifying remains found.  This often leads to her working with her on and off again boyfriend, Detective Andrew Ryan.  Even when they’re not in a relationship, they work well together and always look after each other.  Plus, Ryan tends to be a smart aleck which I love.

6. Lindsay Boxer and Rich Conklin (Women’s Murder Club by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro).

I could go on for pages about Lindsay’s relationship with Claire, Yuki, and Cindy.  But I think her partnership and friendship with longtime partner Rich goes unnoticed.  They are great together, often coming close to anticipating the other’s ideas and needs.  And, in the end, each would give everything for the other.

7. Crowley & Aziraphale (Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman)

These two are something else.  Anytime an angel and a demon make friends, I’m all in.  An unlikely friendship turns to partners in crime of sorts and all sorts of chaos follows in their wake.

8. Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams).

What more can you want out of a friend – who is also an alien, by the way – than to have them guide you through the universe, steal a spaceship, and take you to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?  I mean, count me in.  Just keep the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters to yourself.  I have to work in the morning.

9. Stephanie Plum and Lula (Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich).

Even after twenty-nine books, I’m still here for all the chaos that follows Steph and Lula.  Pass the TastyKakes and let the girls run wild because it’s sure to be an adventure.

10. Mickey Haller and his entire crew (The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly).

Mickey is a great character and is honestly my favorite in the Bosch Universe.  He gets along with pretty much everyone.  An excellent example of this is him hiring his second ex-wife, Lorna, to be his office manager and her new boyfriend/husband as his investigator.  He and Cisco sometimes bump heads, but they always get to the bottom of the case.

What are some of your favorite relationships?

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One of the coolest things about being part of a group of reviewers working together is the wide range of genres and perspectives we cover here.

I rarely read romance, for example, but I stay up-to-date on some of the newest titles out there thanks to my fellow reviewers who spend some to all of their reading time in that genre. Likewise, those of us who love horror give everyone else a chance to know what’s going on with the scary side of modern fiction as well.

Here are some of the books and films we’ve discussed over the past few months that have water references in their titles. If you pay close attention, you might notice a tiny bit of overlap between this list and last week’s list.

The genres they cover range from mystery to picture books to science fiction, so there’s a little something here for just about everyone. I think it’s cool to look for the similarities not only between books but between book reviewers as well!

Just like last week, I wrote this post in advance for scheduling purposes. It’s once again possible there might be another water-themed review or two on our front page by the time this is published.

1. On Duck Pond by Jane Yolen

Genre: Children’s

2. Saltwater Sorrows by Rhonda Parrish 

Genre: Science Fiction

3. Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby

Genre: Mystery

4. Fuddles and Puddles by Frans Vischer

Genre: Children’s

5. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

Genre: Mainstream Fiction

6. Dragon Springs & Other Things by Raven Oak 

Genre: Science Fiction

7. Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perri

Genre: Romance

8. Deep Tide by Laura Griffin

Genre: Mystery

9. Movie Review: Adam & the Water

Genre: Science Fiction

10. Salt Water by Eugenia Triantafyllou

Genre: Science Fiction

What books with watery themes or titles have you read lately?

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We’ve reached the hot, humid portion of the year where I live. Along with eating ice cream and other cold foods, I spend a lot of free time reading and trying to stay cool.

Here are ten books that have one-word titles that could be good reads as the temperature soars.

1. Pawcasso by Remy Lai

2. Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

3. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

4. Warcross (Warcross, #1) by Marie Lu

5. Alaska by James A. Michener

6. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

7. Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

8. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

9. Brass by Xhenet Aliu

10. Sadie by Courtney Summers

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All of these things are green lights for me when deciding whether to try a book. The more of them that pop up, the better the chances are of me loving that story!

1. Moderately descriptive writing.

I want to be able to clearly imagine what the characters and settings look like, but I don’t want read Tolkien-like works that describe everything in minute detail over many pages. Yes, some stories need to have long, flowery descriptions in them, but they are generally not my cup of tea.

2. Complex characters

They do not need to be people I’d ever want to spend time with, in real life, but they should have plenty of interesting and surprising layers to their personalities that are slowly peeled back as the storyline progresses.

Character development is one of those things that can pull book down to a low rating or catapult it to a five-star read depending on how well it’s done!

3. Diversity

Diverse reads are automatically pushed to the top of my TBR.

4. Little to no romance

Kudos to all of the romance readers out there! While I do sometimes enjoy books that have a dash of romance sometimes, I prefer characters who pursue other goals in life most of the time.

5. Lots of platonic relationships

This is something I’d be thrilled to see a lot more of in stories in general. Show me the relationships between relatives, coworkers, friends, enemies, acquaintances, neighbors, and more. I love seeing how character relate to each other in these moments. The more complicated things are between everyone, the better.

I also find it much more interesting to read romances that develop from longterm friendships because that’s how I ended up falling in love with my spouse.

6. Short stories or novellas

While I do enjoy longer works as well, my sweet spot is something that can be read in an afternoon.

7. Historical accuracy

Whether it’s historical fiction, a biography, or a nonfiction work about the past, I want it to be as historically accurate as possible.

8. Puns

The cozy mystery genre excels at coming up with all sorts of puns for their titles. I wish this trend would spread to other genres more often. I love it.

9. Scientific accuracy

Hard science fiction is difficult to write but so much fun to read. I love stopping a chapter or two into these sorts of books to research anything from cordyceps to what astronauts are actually trained to do to see where the line truly is between fiction and fact.

Sometimes there is a lot of fiction added when you’re talking about a TV show like The Last of Us, but it still taught me all sorts of interesting things about how some species of cordyceps infect certain species of ants. In other cases, stories like Andy Weir’s The Martian are surprisingly accurate in the majority of their scenes!

10.Playful use of tropes.

It’s always cool to see authors acknowledge the tropes in their genres and then play around with them in unusual ways or even gently poke fun of them.

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Here are ten things that are currently getting in the way of me reading more.

1. The Outdoors

This is the time of year when I want to spend as many hours out in the nice weather as possible.

2. A Reading Slump

Spring is a common time of year for me to have a reading slump. I generally feel more interested in books again once the weather heats up and it’s less fun to be outdoors all day.

3. Seasonal Allergies

4. Trouble Sleeping

My seasonal allergies are in full swing, and that can mean some sniffly nights if the pollen counts are really high or if I accidentally forget to take my medication for it.

5. A Little Bored with Many New Releases

This is something I’m saying with all of the kindness in the world and with the knowledge that it is a me problem just as much – and maybe even more – than it is a publishing or author problem. You see, I’ve been reading speculative fiction for so many years that it’s pretty hard to surprise me these days. Maybe taking a break from this genre will help me be more excited about it in the future?

6. Documentaries

Lately, I’ve been much more interested in nonfiction than I have been in fiction. There are so many amazing documentaries out there!

7. Mental Health

I’ve been struggling with some anxiety and sadness this year. When I do want to read, I’m more interested in cheerful stories than I ever was before.

8. Films and TV Shows

There are so many interesting things out there to watch.

9. My Own Writing

On a more positive note, I’ve been trying to spend more time writing my own stories. Sometimes it can be hard to find a balance there, but I have high hopes.

10. Long Walks

One of the things that helps lift my mood is taking a long walk. The neighborhood I live in has a lot of advantages, but it can be a little rough around the edges. Since I am a woman, I don’t feel comfortable listening to audiobooks while I walk in that area. I’d rather know exactly what’s going on around me at all times even though it’s pretty safe here most of the time.