AmiMaxine

First Friday Rec: Project Hail Mary

Title: Project Hail MaryAuthor: Andy WeirGenre: Science Fiction, Mystery, ThrillerPages: 496Publication Date: Oct 4, 2022StoryGraph* Moods: <–Adventurous, Funny, HopefulHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: I had read another book by this author, and when this came up as a read for a local SciFi/Fantasy book club read, I decided to join the club.Other Books byContinue reading “First Friday Rec: Project Hail Mary”

AFT: Meet Stanley

As I talked a bit about in my last All Falling Things post, when I first thought up this story, I intended/assumed it would be told entirely from Alice’s perspective. It was her story. But then almost right away, another character demanded a chance to use his voice too – and suddenly, my book hadContinue reading “AFT: Meet Stanley”

Third? Friday Recommendation

Title: The Library BookAuthor: Susan OrleanGenre: nonfiction, history, true crimePages: 336Publication Date: 16 Oct 2018StoryGraph* Moods: informative, reflective, inspiringHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: Susan Orlean was a keynote at the book and author festival Other Books by this author: Joyride, On Animals, Rin Tin Tin, My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a WomanContinue reading “Third? Friday Recommendation”

Off Menu

I’ve been consuming a lot of British content lately. (I have to say – they do game shows much better than we do…) Through this, I have stumbled across some fun podcast formats (as though I need more podcasts in my life…I can barely keep up with the ones I already regularly listen to). ButContinue reading “Off Menu”

First Friday Rec: Tailspin

Title: TailspinAuthor: John ArmbrusterGenre: Nonfiction, Biography, HistoryPages: 422Publication Date: 30 Apr 2022StoryGraph* Moods: Emotional, Challenging, TenseHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: book clubOther Books by this author: *StoryGraph also offers content warnings. Description: Gene Moran, a World War II tail gunner (someone who sits at the rear of military aircraft responsible for defending against rearContinue reading “First Friday Rec: Tailspin”

AFT: Meet Alice

It’s sort of strange to still call this my first book given that two others have since found their way out into the world, but this manuscript, titled All Falling Things, was indeed my first completed novel-length manuscript – my delayed debut if you will. Publishing, it turns out, can be quite the lengthy processContinue reading “AFT: Meet Alice”

“Ask This Book”

I entered the world of publishing at a difficult time. More and more books were flooding the market, both traditionally published and self-published. It was difficult to get noticed – by agents (who get hundreds of submissions a month), by publishers, by readers. And then it got so much worse: Generative AI was unleased. InContinue reading ““Ask This Book””

Libraries: Saving Me Money Since the 1980s

The week of April 6 – 12, 2025, was Library Week here in the states (though, really, every week should be library week in my eyes). One of the librarians at my college library had reached out to me – they were working on a display and wanted to know if I would be interestedContinue reading “Libraries: Saving Me Money Since the 1980s”

Books of 2025

I mentioned a couple years that I never do the ’52 books in a year’ challenge. I love reading, so I don’t set a number – I just read. It’s difficult sometimes to make reading books a priority when my job is to read stack after stack of student writing. Most of my books tendContinue reading “Books of 2025”

First Friday Rec: The Small and the Mighty

Title: The Small and the MightyAuthor: Sharon McMahonGenre: nonfiction, history, informativePages: 320Publication Date: Sep 24, 2024StoryGraph* Moods: informative, inspiring, hopefulHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: Armchair Expert interviewOther Books by this author: no others at the time of writing this*StoryGraph also offers content warnings. Description: According to BookShop.Org, “You’ll meet a woman astride a whiteContinue reading “First Friday Rec: The Small and the Mighty”