M. Suzanne Terry

I adore Modern Mrs. Darcy. Anne Bogel and her whole team have created a bookish community that is fun and organized and about eleventy-four other kinds of wonderful. About midway through each month, she posts Quick Lit, a list of the books that she has been reading and enjoying lately, and she invites others to post their favorite recent reads or links to reviews in the comments. 

So I’m going to join in! These are the books I’ve read this year so far (or since the last time I posted about one in a Friday Five), and I’ll include a “recommended for” note with each one.

The Cook’s Book: Recipes for Keeps & Essential Techniques To Master Everyday Cooking by Bri McKoy

Recommended for very beginning cooks. This would be a great gift for a young adult getting their first apartment. 

My favorite thing about the book is that it talks about things that recipes don’t typically cover (e.g., does your oven run hot, or cold, or true to temp? How can you tell?) but that really make a difference in whether a dish comes together or not. It also gives recipes with each new skill that help the reader learn and practice that particular technique. 

The only thing I would change is for the author to lean even further into boldness and experimentation in the kitchen than it does. Some of my favorite dishes I still make today were born of happy accidents that never would have happened had I resisted the temptation to stray or been afraid to mess up and just bypassed a recipe that seemed too intimidating on the surface, and I want others to have the same delightful learning experiences.

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) by Becky Chambers

Recommended for science fiction fans with a strong sense of justice (or would like to develop/sharpen one) who love character-driven fiction.

I read the first book in this series a while ago and fell in love with the characters. The second one was even better. I appreciated the backstory of one of the main characters alternating with the current storyline (one of my favorite storytelling techniques). One of my favorite things about the way Chambers writes is how well she layers the strengths and struggles of the characters to show each one’s unique way of solving problems and understanding the world around them. It makes the characters memorable and engaging.

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

Recommended for will-they-won’t-they romance fans who are not turned off by a lot of really obvious signals being missed (I enjoy these stories – I find it comforting to think others are as clueless as I am).

I enjoyed this story overall. It dragged a little in certain spots, and there wasn’t a lot of high-stakes conflict for me. It was a light romance, whereas I like a little more character depth/struggle. But the writing is decent, and if you need something just fun for long waits in lines or doctor’s offices, you may enjoy this. 

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

Recommended for people who like linear time travel (i.e., time travel light – not quantum or, in the words of Dr. Who, wibbly-wobbly time travel) stories that are really more about the relationships between the characters than the time travel aspect.

There were parts of this book that were really hard for me, but it was very good. Content warning: parent/loved one illness. I read it quickly because I was immediately invested in the main character. It’s definitely one of my favorite reads of the year so far.

The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar

Recommended for people who like a little romance sprinkled in their historical fiction.

The book I wanted to read was the story of the women who piloted planes during WWII, despite the misogyny and other barriers they were up against. The story I got was mostly that, but there was also a strong undercurrent of the romantic entanglement of the main character. If the story were to focus on interpersonal aspects, the more interesting relationships in the book (the friendships she forged with the other female pilots) would have been my preference. They were part of the story, but they seemed like a backdrop. The book was decent overall; just not what I was expecting. 

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

Recommended for Jane Austen fans. 

This was adorable. It was a dinner party that included main characters from a variety of Austen novels and, as indicated by the title, involved the death of everyone’s least favorite villain, Mr. Wickham, who crashed the party. So the story was which of the upstanding guests committed the crime. Witty writing that made me want to re-read all the novels it referenced – a fun, well-executed idea.

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

Recommended for everyone. Favorite book I’ve read so far this year. 

This collection of related short stories is beautifully told. Each character has a distinct voice, and the stories draw you in almost immediately as they buck up against systems that were designed to keep them in boxes. I listened to it on audio, and the reader was great. It’s a short book, and I wasn’t ready for it to end.

The Menopause Manifesto by Dr. Jen Gunter

Recommended for everyone who is or will go through menopause. Actually, recommend for everyone. Everyone can benefit from knowing these things.

This is the most readable, informative, and comprehensive book I have read about menopause. I follow Dr. Gunter on Instagram so I was familiar with her teaching style from there. She not only gives evidence-based information but also debunks a lot of the fear-mongering that often circulates around this topic, which I appreciated. I need my own copy because it is a great reference for understanding symptoms, especially when to be super concerned vs. when to put it on the list to talk to your doctor the next time you see them. I thought I already knew a lot about menopause, but this book blew me away. Very good resource. 

What’s the best book you’ve read in the last few months?