In case you're wondering: Not counting this post, I've read 2977 books since July 2002. (YMMV: I include cookbooks, books of poetry, graphic novels, plays, novellas, and novelettes. I also count re-reads, which I know some people do not.)
Anyway. On to the stuff!
Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble, Alexis Hall
Although he'd never had the trick of standing up for himself, Paris felt a strong need to defend the honour of a wealthy cartoon monster.
Vanquished, Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie
Some argued that the code had been transcribed improperly, and that the true words were these: "An it harm none, do what thou must."
What's for Dessert, Claire Saffitz
I used to think I didn't like tiramisu, but when I really pondered it, I couldn't make sense of not liking a coffee-flavored dessert--it seemed physically impossible.
The Essential Oyster, Rowan Jacobsen
Something happens to Atlantic oysters when they touch the Pacific. They lose their salty edge and turn a little bit fruity. A tenderness softens their Calvinist core. They become Romantics.
The bane of my writing life is that there are no real synonyms for "briny."
Snackable Bakes, Jessie Sheehan
Although I won't mention these techniques in every recipe, just know that I support you in all of your stovetop melting endeavors.
Reputation, Lex Croucher
Georgiana couldn't understand why Frances was so intent on assassinating Mr. Hawksley's character; perhaps she had never been close enough to him to be entranced by his eyelashes.
Silver Queendom, Dan Koboldt
Kat didn't think she could stand another ridiculous display. "Gods, Evie. Either hand him the coin or take him upstairs."
The Magician's Apprentice, Trudi Canavan
"What would you do, in a real war, if your magic ever ran out?"
Dakon paused to consider it, then decided he'd rather not. "Cheat?"
Nothing Fancy, Alison Roman
I LOVE CELERY. Aside from its extremely crunchy texture, gorgeous neon-green color, and crisp, green flavor, it is cheap as hell.
Do I have to serve dessert? And the answer is no, you absolutely do not. I mean, you probably vacuumed before inviting all these people over, which is already a lot.
Simple Pasta, Odette Williams
No one wants to be taken down by a massive serving of pasta, unless you're heartbroken or life has had its way with you.
Girl Giant and the Monkey King, Van Hoang
Strength was the sort of thing that seemed cool, and maybe it would have been if she just didn't have so much of it.
Nightcrawling, Leila Mottley
"Her name, Mama. Say her name. Your name mean more than anything." I've got tears to match, voice gone from thunder to blade.
Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds, and Legumes, Abra Berens
After all these years, I've embraced the daily practicality of cracking open a can of chickpeas and having dinner ready 25 minutes later. I once thought our passion was only proved with hours and hours of fawning. Now I trust the deep love between us--practical convenience of making it, well-fed, through the day.
Mercury Pictures Presents, Anthony Marra
Ferrando confiscates the conversation before his sergeant hurts himself with it.
Working in a business dependent on cliche made her wary of its power to flatten and distort, but sitting in the restaurant's low-key lighting, Maria was content to accept that what most shaped her as a person was what made her like most people.
Captain America: Truth: Red, White, and Black, Robert Morales & Kyle Baker
Unbelievably Vegan, Charity Morgan
Add ingredients to a hot pan unless otherwise stated. When you do, you will hear your ingredients erupt into applause.
Blackwater Falls, Ausma Zehanat Khan
A quiet dignity that lit up her face, reminding him of noor--the light upon light that could illuminate the universe because it was the light of God. No, he wasn't being reminded, he was being taught, a thought that made him angry and restless. He hid both emotions from her.
Manhunt, Gretchen Felker-Martin
The familiar worn grip felt good in her hand. Her mistake had been trading it for the Screw’s poisoned gift of safety and security, routine and convenience. Better to shit outside than be declawed.
Karen Memory, Elizabeth Bear
I could see in her eyes what I saw in some of my daddy's Spanish mustang ponies. You'd never break this one. You'd never even bend her. She'd die like Joan of Arc first, and spit blood on you through a smile.
I took one look at that thing and put my elbow through the glass. It shattered really satisfactorily, and I don't know if it was sugar glass or I was just that tired of everything's fucking shit.
An Island, Karen Jennings
It was the prison blisters he remembered now, and it was like stepping back into the dream he'd been having, stepping back into it but finding it changed, and needing to locate himself in it.
Paladin's Grace, T Kingfisher
As he did every morning, he prodded the space in his soul where there had once been glory. There was only silence.
Cursed, Marissa Meyer
"But you mortals give such power to fairy tales. You believe fate is determined by old gods and superstitions. That every misfortune can be blamed on the moonlight, the stars, whatever ludicrous thing suits you in the moment. But there is no fate, no fortune. There are only the secrets we share and those we conceal. Our own choices, or the fear of making a choice."
The Passenger, Cormac McCarthy
You think that you can create a history of what has been. Present artifacts. A clutch of letters. A sachet in a dressingtable drawer. But that's not what's at the heart of the tale. The problem is that what drives the tale will not survive the tale.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Road Home, Joss Whedon & Georges Jeanty, x3
BUFFY: No, no, I can't go outside, I'm afraid of the dark.
DREAM XANDER: Buffy, you are the dark.
BUFFY: That's what I meant.
DREAM XANDER: This lint is so Scottish.
Far Away, Caryl Churchill
HARPER They'll go off in the lorry very early in the morning.
JOAN Where to?
HARPER Where they're escaping to? You don't want to have to keep any more secrets.
JOAN He only hit the traitors.
HARPER Of course. I'm not surprised you can't sleep, what an upsetting thing to see.
Shortcomings, Adrian Tomine
MIKO: Do you remember our last conversation at the airport, or has your selective memory blocked that out? You were in one of your moods, and I asked you to send me off on a good note...so that I'd have a reason to come home. And do you remember what you did? You said, "That's up to you" and walked away.
BEN: Oh, so this is my fault! That's great.
MIKO: That's not the point, Ben.
The Rabbit Hutch, Tess Gunty
Blandine stays very still and upright, tracking the man's figure as he vanishes from the clearing. When he's out of sight, she offers her pinkie to a bee, goading it to sting her. It does not.
My Volcano, John Elizabeth Stinzi
--Perhaps who you are is everything, Angel said.
--Maybe. All I know for sure is that whoever I am, I am always angry. Just like you.
2 A.M. in Little America, Ken Kalfus
Even as we were being expelled, the city was transforming itself into a reminiscence about another distant place.
Mouth to Mouth, Antoine Wilson
Blackmail was one thing, secrets were another. He knew I was a writer. I was starting to think that that was the point, or had become the point. The self-portrait.
The Book of Goose, Yiyun Li
A story has to be written out. How else do we get our revenge?
(Revenge against what, or whom, precisely?)
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