The Reading Room

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This book terrified me…

An eighteen-year-old daughter kidnapped from under the same roof as a mother? Number one fear right there.

Summary - A high-stakes thriller where Simone, on a Texas vacation with her daughter Lucy, wakes to find her kidnapped and a burner phone left behind. The kidnapper demands she follow strict, illegal instructions rather than pay money, forcing her into a desperate, morally grey, and fast-paced, action-packed race across the desert to save her child.

The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish

For fans of Betty…

Summary - A dark, coming-of-age story told from the perspectives of two young sisters, Edie and Mae, who navigate a ctional home life with their unstable mother, Marianne. The book explores themes of family trauma, mental illness, and the intense bond between the sisters as they cope with their mother’s severe depression and their father’s absence.

I made it to around the 30% point thinking “dark” wasn’t very dark but then, it got DARK. If you enjoyed Betty by Tiffany McDaniel’s and/or darker books, I highly recommend this one HOWEVER 1. check trigger warnings and 2. go with the physical format. I did audio and there are a lot of different voices, which was a good way to gain objective perspective, but not great when you missed the viewpoint at the start of a chapter.

2026 Read to Learn Book List

The entire list of 2026 Read to Learn books!

Books transport us, books open our eyes, and books teach us new things. I equally love fiction and nonfiction. Should books be an escape, absolutely, but I also feel very strongly that if we aren’t also learning new concepts, new perspectives, new information then how can we grow as people.

Each year I compile books that I think hit on relevant, important issues that the world is dealing with, but also some books that teach us about pieces of history that we may have been misinformed about. I have previously shared the titles in quarterly posts but I wanted to be able to pin one post to the top so that others who don’t know about the group can easily find out the info!

Leonard Pitts Jr. Winter Reading Project

Who’s looking for a winter project??

Leonard Pitts Jr. is one of the most underrated authors of our time.

I first read Freeman way back in 2015, pre-bookstagram. Freeman was a masterpiece, I knew I had stumbled upon someone special. Fast forward to 2020 when I read a second book by him, The Last Thing You Surrender which may have impacted me even more?!

AND I RARELY (if ever) SEE ANY OF HIS BOOKS HERE.

Care work

“A Disability Justice framework understands that all bodies are unique and essential, that all bodies have strengths and needs that must be met.”

Summary - A collection of essays about disability justice, a movement that centers the experiences of sick, disabled, queer, and trans people of color. The book is a “toolkit” for building resilient and sustainable communities by promoting concepts like “care webs,” where communities collectively provide support and resources to one another, and “collective access,” where access is seen as a shared responsibility rather than a chore. It addresses difficult topics like suicide, trauma, and emotional labor while ultimately offering a hopeful vision for a future where no one is left behind.

The Emotional Craft of Fiction

“Fiction can do things that no other art form can. If engages imagination on a deeper level, stirs minds and hearts, and brings about change in a way that few other art forms can manage.”

Summary - The emotional craft of fiction is about intentionally using story elements like character, plot, and setting to create a powerful emotional experience for the reader. It goes beyond simply showing or telling emotions by exploring how to connect the character’s inner journey with the outer events, build compelling characters with hidden depths, and use specific writing modes to evoke specific feelings.

The Fort Bragg Cartel

HOLE LEE SH*T.

This book may have been the most surprising, grossest (and I don’t just mean the gore but there was plenty of that), and scariest books I’ve ever read.

Summary - Fort Bragg Cartel investigates allegations of a network involving U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers in drug trafficking, violence, and cover-ups at Fort Bragg. The investigation was reportedly sparked by the 2020 murders of two special operations soldiers allegedly involved in drug dealing and trafficking, highlighting broader issues of unexplained deaths and misconduct at the base.

Loved one

“Loving someone means accepting that different versions of them existsome we know intimately, others we may never fully understand.”

Summary - The story follows Julia, a jewelry designer, as she grieves the sudden death of her first love and best friend, Gabe, a musician. Her journey to understand their complicated relationship and recover his belongings leads her to his ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth, and explores themes of ambiguous loss, memory, and the complexities of love.

Save the Cat

My Developmental editing journey continues…

Yes, this book is about writing but what is a developmental editors job? To help authors with their manuscripts. So it is helpful to understand the craft in ways I haven’t previously learned.

Summary - Jessica Bro Save the Cat! Writes a Novel is a story-structuring guide that adapts the popular 15-beat “Blake Snyder Beat Sheet” for novelists. The book provides a practical, step-by-step blueprint for plotting a compelling story with a strong character arc, addressing common novel-writing challenges like pacing and structuring multi-book series.

Not quite dead yet

This thriller was a page turner!

In the mood for a page turner, this should be bumped up your list!

Summary - 27-year-old Jet Mason is attacked on Halloween night, resulting in a brain injury that will cause a fatal aneurysm within a week. Rather than undergo risky surgery with a slim chance of survival, Jet decides to live out her final days by solving her own murder. With her childhood friend Billy’s help, she uncovers a web of family and town secrets, revealing an abundance of motives and suspects as she races against time to unmask her killer.