Need to laugh out loud? To feel inspired? To feel seen? To feel encouraged to pursue your heart's most ambitious desires despite overwhelming odds against succeeding?   Read Zarna Garg's memoir, which offers an intimate, compelling coming of age, immigrant's journey, family saga, and keen observations about humans and life as experienced by a hilarious, intrepid individual.  [front cover of "Zarna Garg, This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir" showing the Statue of Liberty holding the author in her arms with the New York City skyline in the lower half of the background]  This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir by Zarna Garg  non-fiction memoir  Ballantine Books, April 2025  Universal themes of family love and family conflict, support and abandonment, grieving as a years' long process with lulls, parenting and being parented (or not), finding your people in friendship, romance, community presented and dissected with the author's sharp wit ...

Halloween is over but in these three compelling reads each featured character is haunted by their pasts.  [3 books arranged showing their front covers, from left to right: King of Ashes, Revolve, Good Spirits]  King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby  contemporary mystery suspense thriller with romantic elements  Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar, June 2025  Some legacies are deadly and finding answers to questions that have lingered for years makes it almost impossible for Roman and his sister Neveah to save themselves, their surviving family members and the business they've sacrificed to build. Threats abound in this turbulent, layered, genre mashup that mesmerizes with shock and awe as it entertains and illuminates.  This author offers characters and dilemmas with gorgeous language and brutal reality that deliver on all the book world hype. So good.  Revolve (Off the Ice #3) by Bal Khabra  contemporary new adult romance  Berkeley, October 2025...

An extra hour gives 60 more minutes of reading! (Not working on my 2 different WIPs. Not housekeeping. Not the last mow of the season. Not anything practical. Sometimes making the practical choice is over-rated.:-)  [front cover of trade paperback book "Nikki Payne, The Princess and the P.I." showing a curvaceous Black woman leaning against the front of a desk with a Black man standing behind the desk]  The Princess and the P.I. (Bennetts #3) by Nikki Payne  contemporary fiction w/suspense & romance  Berkeley, September 2025  Fiona and Maurice are determined to right some grievous wrongs and their plans go sideways when she's accused of murder. They make what each hopes will turn out to be a mutually beneficial deal. Grief, religious zealotry used to justify misogyny and oppression, complicated family dynamics and more make their quest to hold the guilty accountable a treacherous endeavor. Snappy dialogue, DMV-area Easter eggs, and lots of drama add humor an...