Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov
Bingo Row 3 – O If I planned this bingo here, I would have not used up books that start with O on other boxes. But I didn’t and did and I read myself into a corner. So I read Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov. Ilya Ilich Oblomov is a fat, lazy, spoiled rich kid. And by kid, I mean 30-something adult man. He is so lazy, he’s the origin of the word ‘oblomovism’ (which is a synonym for lazy and not a word I hear […]
Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
CBR17Bingo – “Favorite” because Ali Hazelwood is a favorite author of mine, and I read all of her books. I have read all of Ali Hazelwood’s women-in-STEM romance novels. I tend to read them very quickly because they’re well written, interesting, and fun to read. Occasionally the characters or plot have me shaking my head a little bit, but the books are so enjoyable I don’t mind. Problematic Summer Romance (2025) is Hazelwood’s latest novel, and it has all the trademarks of her brand. The book […]
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
CBR17Bingo: “Purple” – for the purple on the cover I’ve read all the Hunger Games books, so when I heard there was a new one out, I knew I didn’t have a choice. I put a hold on Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (2025) and read it as soon as it became available. Sunrise is a prequel to the trilogy that made Collins famous. It focuses on Haymitch Abernathy, who in later books is the drunk and disillusioned “mentor” to Katniss and Peeta. The book takes place […]
Queen Demon by Martha Wells
Bingo Square: Culture (it’s a fictional culture but so much of what drives and explains Kai is his cultural background and his status as one of the last remainders of his culture after they were victims of genocide/mass murder – he is the one who remembers the traditions and beliefs that have been lost) – also, 2nd Bingo (5th column). I absolutely adored Witch King when I read it two years ago and was excited to read this sequel. While I remembered the broad strokes […]
Death to Anyone Who Reads This by Hugh Howey and Elinor Taylor
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
cbr17bingo – free (replacing Arts) Death to Anyone Who Reads This So almost immediately after I said I wasn’t likely to read this short (100-page) sequel to The Balloon Hunter, I went ahead and read it. I’m not sure what had made me think it would be more of a horror novel than the first one. It isn’t really, although there is some more violence in this once. Similar to The Balloon Hunter, this one is a “found novel,” but this time through journal entries instead of postcards. […]
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Bingo 19: Black Leigh Bardugo’s The Familiar has a cover almost entirely in the proper color. Mostly, this is a story about people who want things they think they either cannot or should not have. Luiza is part Jewish (dangerous during the Inquisition) and has some minor household magic; her milagritos are things like she can make the bread unburnt. She wants to be something more than the scullery maid; she wants better, more money, more comfort, just more. There’s also her boss Valentina who […]
