Reading, it's a funny word. It can mean a lot of things depending on context and circumstance. It might be an awkward encounter with a storefront psychic and a deck of tarot. It might mean an event on stage, you in the audience or behind the microphone, words being shared with the crowd. For me, it most often means great stories flowing into the nooks and crannies of my head via ear buds, or blue lit pixels shining at me from a phone screen, or when I'm having a really great day, holding a book in my hands and flipping pages and falling for a character or place or story. 

What follows is a list - in all likelihood, somewhat incomplete - of the novels and collections (if I posted individual stories or journals or nonfiction or things like that, this list would be infinite and ever-expanding like the universe we live in) I've had the good fortune to spend some time with (either of my own volition or in concert with our daughters' bed time stories), no ratings, no comments, ordered simply by year, all of which worth checking out.

2021

  • The 39 Clues: Maze of Bones, Rick Riordan
  • The 39 Clues: One False Note, Gordon Korman
  • An Unkindness of Ghosts, Rivers Solomon
  • A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle
  • Aru Shah and the City of Gold, Roshani Chokshi
  • Aru Shah and the End of Time, Roshani Chokshi
  • Aru Shah and the Song of Death, Roshani Chokshi
  • Aru Shah and the Tree of Wisdom, Roshani Chokshi
  • Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry, Neil deGrasse Tyson
  • Beware the Poltergeist, Tommy Krappweis
  • The Book of Speculation, Erika Swyler
  • The Box in the Woods, Maureen Johnson
  • Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls, Kaela Rivera
  • Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, Darren Shan
  • Dead Solid Perfect, Dan Jenkins
  • The Dispatcher, John Scalzi
  • FantasticLand, Mike Bockoven
  • The Final Girl Support Group, Grady Hendrix
  • The Flying Flamingo Sisters, Carrie Seim
  • The Hawthorne Legacy, Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • The Last Equation of Isaac Severy, Nova Jacobs
  • The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, Garth Nix
  • The Liar's Daughter, Megan Cooley Peterson 
  • Lost Children, Francesca Lia Block
  • The Lovely and the Lost, Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • The Mary Shelley Club, Goldy Moldavsky
  • The Memory Thief, Jodi Lynn Anderson
  • The Midnight Library, Matt Haig
  • Miraculum, Steph Post
  • The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart
  • Paperbacks from Hell, Grady Hendrix
  • Path of Destruction, Drew Karpyshyn
  • Patience and Not-Forsaken, Alix E. Harrow
  • Prelude for Lost Souls, Helene Dunbar
  • The Prestige, Christopher Priest
  • The Project, Courtney Summers
  • The Red Pyramid, Rick Riordan
  • The Reincarnationist Papers, D. Eric Maikranz
  • Remember Me Always, Renee Collins
  • Riley Mack and the Other Known Troublemakers, Chris Grabenstein
  • The Serpent's Shadow, Rick Riordan
  • Silverswift, Natalie Lloyd
  • The Sun Down Motel, Simone St. James
  • Survive the Night, Riley Sager
  • Tales from the Hinterland, Melissa Albert
  • V Wars: Blood and Fire, Jonathan Maberry
  • The Weirdies, Michael Buckley
  • Welcome to the Universe: An Astrophysical Tour, Neil deGrasse Tyson, M. Strauss, and J.R. Gott
  • We Sold Our Souls, Grady Hendrix
  • Whisper Down the Lane, Clay McLeod Chapman
  • Winterhouse, Ben Guterson
  • Wonder Girl, Don Van Natta Jr. 
  • Wylding Hall, Elizabeth Hand
  • Zombie Party, Tommy Krappweis

2020

  • A Taste for Monster, Matthew J. Kirby
  • April Fool's Day, Carolyn Keene
  • The Book of Hidden Wonders, Polly Crosby
  • Burn Our Bodies Down, Rory Power
  • Cape Mermaid Mystery, Carolyn Keene
  • The Case of the Missing Marquess, Nancy Springer
  • Double Take, Carolyn Keene
  • Earth Day Escapade, Carolyn Keene
  • Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire
  • The Hand on the Wall, Maureen Johnson
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
  • Hogan, Curt Sampson
  • Home Before Dark, Riley Sager
  • Horrorstör, Grady Hendrix
  • House of Teeth, Dan Jolley
  • Imaginary Friend, Stephen Chbosky
  • The Inheritance Games, Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • Judy Moody Gets Famous, Megan McDonald
  • Judy Moody Predicts the Future, Megan McDonald
  • Judy Moody Saves the World, Megan McDonald
  • Last Girl Gone, J.G. Hetherton
  • Lock Every Door, Riley Sager
  • A Lush and Seething Hell, John Hornor Jacobs
  • The Make-a-Pet Mystery, Carolyn Keene
  • The Match, Mark Frost
  • Middlegame, Seanan McGuire
  • Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race, Chris Grabenstein
  • Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics, Chris Grabenstein 
  • My Best Friend's Exorcism, Grady Hendrix
  • Nightbooks, J.A. White
  • The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
  • The Night Country, Melissa Albert
  • The Only Good Indians, Stephen Graham Jones
  • The Once and Future Witches, Alix E. Harrow
  • One of Us Is Next, Karen M. McManus 
  • The Pumpkin Patch Puzzle, Carolyn Keene
  • Ready Player Two, Ernest Cline 
  • Rules for Vanishing, Kate Alice Marshall
  • The Secret Zoo, Bryan Chick
  • Soon, Lois Murphy
  • The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern 
  • The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Alix E. Harrow 
  • This Is Not the End, Chandler Baker
  • Treasure Trouble, Carolyn Keene
  • Until We Have Faces, Michael Nye
  • Wedding Day Disaster, Carolyn Keene
  • The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
  • What Big Teeth, Rose Szabo

2019

  • A Course Called Scotland, Tom Coyne 
  • A Lush and Seething Hell, John Hornor Jacobs
  • A Room Away from the Wolves, Nova Ren Suma
  • A Question of Holmes, Brittany Cavallaro 
  • A Study in Charlotte, Brittany Cavallaro
  • Beezus and Ramona, Beverly Cleary 
  • The Book of Lost Things, John Connolly
  • Broken Things, Lauren Oliver
  • The Call, Peadar O'Guilin
  • The Case of Jamie, Brittany Cavallaro
  • The Chain, Adrian McKinty
  • The Cheerleaders, Kara Thomas
  • Clementine and the Family Meeting, Sara Pennypacker
  • Clementine, Friend of the Week, Sara Pennypacker
  • Clementine's Letter, Sara Pennypacker
  • Clementine and the Spring Trip, Sara Pennypacker
  • The Clockmaker's Daughter, Kate Morton 
  • Completely Clementine, Sara Pennypacker
  • The Conspiracy of Us, Maggie Hall 
  • Double Fudge, Judy Blume 
  • Dread Nation, Justina Ireland
  • Dumplin', Julie Murphy
  • The Ends of the World, Maggie Hall 
  • Friend or Fiend?, Judy Blume
  • Fudge-a-Mania, Judy Blume
  • Going, Going, Gone!, Judy Blume
  • The Good Demon, Jimmy Cajoleas
  • The Greatest Course That Never Was, J. Michael Veron
  • The Greatest Player Who Never Lived, J. Michael Veron
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling 
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
  • Here and Now and Then, Mike Chen
  • Jackaby, William Ritter 
  • Just Add Magic, Cindy Callaghan
  • The Last of August, Brittany Cavallaro
  • The Last Time I Lied, Riley Sager
  • The Mage & the Magpie, Austin J. Bailey
  • The Man from the Train, Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James
  • Mall Madness, Carolyn Keene
  • Map of Fates, Maggie Hall
  • The Mystery of Alice, Lee Bacon
  • One of Us is Lying, Karen M. McManus
  • Opposite of Always, Justin A. Reynolds
  • Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Judy Blume
  • Potion Problems, Cindy Callaghan
  • Ramona the Pest, Beverly Cleary
  • Ramona the Brave, Beverly Cleary 
  • Sadie, Courtney Summers 
  • Sawkill Girls, Claire Legrand
  • Soupy Saturdays, Judy Blume
  • Superfudge, Judy Blume 
  • Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume
  • Thanksgiving Thief, Carolyn Keene
  • Truly Devious, Maureen Johnson 
  • Turtles All the Way Down, John Green
  • Two Can Keep a Secret, Karen M. McManus 
  • The Vanishing Stair, Maureen Johnson
  • The Vexed Generation, Scott Meyer
  • Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic, Nick Carr
  • We Set the Dark on Fire, Tehlor Kay Mejia
  • Wilder Girls, Rory Power
  • The Whispers, Greg Howard
  • The Zoo Crew, Carolyn Keene

2018

  • A Map of Days, Ransom Riggs
  • A Study in Brimstone, G.S. Denning
  • Asylum, Madeleine Roux 
  • The Authorities, Scott Meyer
  • A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeleine L'Engle 
  • A Wind in the Door, Madeleine L'Engle 
  • A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle
  • Black Wings Beating, Alex London 
  • The Bone Artists, Madeleine Roux
  • The Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay
  • Catacomb, Madeleine Roux 
  • The Conformity, John Hornor Jacobs
  • The Crime Writer, Gregg Hurwitz 
  • Dark Matter, Blake Crouch
  • Disappearance at Devil's Rock, Paul Tremblay 
  • Fellside, M.R. Carey
  • Final Girls, Riley Sager 
  • Fight and Flight, Scott Meyer
  • The Fireman, Joe Hill
  • Foreign Devils, John Hornor Jacobs
  • The Good Demon, Jimmy Cajoleas 
  • The Hazel Wood, Melissa Albert 
  • The Hike, Drew Magary
  • I Am Pilgrim, Terry Hayes 
  • I Am Providence, Nick Mamatas
  • If You Find This, Matthew Baker 
  • Infernal Machines, John Hornor Jacobs
  • It, Stephen King
  • The Last Days of Night, Graham Moore
  • The Last Mile, David Baldacci
  • Lovecraft Country, Matt Ruff
  • Magpie Murder, Anthony Horowitz
  • Master of Formalities, Scott Meyer
  • Meddling Kids, Edgar Cantero
  • Morning Star, Pierce Brown
  • Neverworld Wake, Marisha Pessl
  • Out of Spite, Out of Mind, Scott Meyer
  • Paradox Bound, Peter Clines
  • Pretty Girls, Karin Slaughter
  • Red Rising, Pierce Brown
  • The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., Neal Stephenson & Nicole Galland
  • Sadie, Courtney Summers 
  • Sanctum, Madeleine Roux 
  • The Scarlets, Madeleine Roux 
  • The Shibboleth, John Hornor Jacobs
  • The Shooter Act, Turner Tomlinson
  • Sleeping Beauties, Stephen & Owen King
  • Sleeping Giants, Sylvain Neuvel
  • Strange Weather, Joe Hill
  • The Walls Around Us, Nova Ren Suma
  • The Warden, Madeleine Roux
  • Watch Me Disappear, Janelle Brown
  • Welcome to Night Vale, Joseph Fink