Does listening to audiobooks count as reading? Here it does. Let’s discuss your favorite reads — or listens.
All in Audiobook
Expectation: A companion to Kristin Hannah’s “The Great Alone,” with a focus on women taming the last frontier and the men around them.
Reality: Highly nuanced character studies that are more intimate than adventurous. Alaska looms large, but these probably aren't the stories you expect them to be.
Expectation: A classic whodunit of misdirection, mystery and murder.
Reality: An expertly plotted slow burn that holds up nearly 100 years after its publication.
Expectation: A queer retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of House of Usher.”
Reality: Shortcomings of the gothic horror genre aside (for this reader anyway), there was nothing “moving” about this uninspired novella.
Expectation: A supernatural horror story focused on a lesbian couple navigating the devastating aftermath of an extended trip under the sea.
Reality: Slowly plotted and more literary than mindless, this is for people who like their horror light and their emotions heavy.
Expectation: A dark dystopian view of mass incarceration as blood sport entertainment.
Reality: While crammed a little too full of characters and plots, a highly creative concept, four stellar characters and a fantastic audiobook narration made this an engrossing read.
Expectation: A survival story about husbands navigating life before one of them turns into a zombie.
Reality: Come for the mediocre zombies but stay for the love story. The strongest aspects of this novella focus on the relationship of the main characters, not their circumstances.
Expectation: A queer #MeToo revenge thriller rooted in the worlds of BDSM, wealth and privilege.
Reality: B-movie sensibilities that feel incoherent and for shock value pivot to an engrossing exploration of repercussions from religious and sexual trauma.
Readers should know this is as much a cautionary tale about Hollywood as it is about not living an authentic life. Sure, there’s celebrity gossip — the juiciest details of which have already been reported in the press — but that’s not why people should read this. Instead, read it to celebrate Page’s courage.
Expectation: A dramedy celebrating the life of a norm-busting female scientist in the 1950s and 1960s.
Reality: What was a expected but with the addition of a talking dog (bonus), but I was let down by how conveniently Garmus tied up the plots and how most characters remained two-dimensional.
Expectation: A light-hearted English mystery.
Reality: Darker than expected with a somewhat problematic undertone.
Expectation: A queer classic focused on a middle aged man trying to find connection with one of his students.
Reality: The day-in-the-life structure is as tedious as it is engrossing, but this rightly deserves to be in the canon of exceptional queer literature.
Expectation: A dark comedy dismantling social media influencer culture.
Reality: A mix of ideas that don’t always meld together nicely but debut author Isle McElroy took some risks with plot and characterization that paid off.
Expectation: A noir crime mystery with Mandel’s signature observations about life and culture.
Reality: Dreadfully slow and utterly pretentious, thankfully the author’s storytelling has improved since her debut.
Expectation: A trauma-fest ripped from the headlines.
Reality: A surprisingly balanced and detailed microhistory of early 1990s racial tensions in Los Angeles. The story had many layers that were explored in detail without making this feel like an agony dump.
Expectation: An exploration of the trials and tribulations of a queer mountain lion navigating an increasingly difficult life in Los Angeles.
Reality: Not necessarily queer but highly engrossing with a wonderfully executed ending.
Expectation: A dramedy about two messy best friends navigating early adulthood in Ireland.
Reality: A surprisingly relatable story that succeeds, even though our main characters — Rachel and James — are difficult to love.
Descriptive writing — delivered through his one good finger — paired with well-placed curse words and Ndopu’s flair for the flamboyant, brought his journey at Oxford to life in vivid detail. While he presents scenario after scenario of him being treated as less than by “Uprights,” this isn’t about sour grapes.
Expectation: A novel that will keep you laughing through tears as you experience the “living funerals” of our five lifelong friends.
Reality: Some paper-thin characters and melodrama masquerading as legitimate emotion overshadow the few bright spots in the story.
Expectation: A depressing exploration of life for an underemployed immigrant during the Great Recession.
Reality: Buoyed by the charm of the main character and a fantastic audiobook performance by Rossmery Almonte, this was far more entertaining than anticipated.
Expectation: Honestly, I’m not sure but it wasn’t a short story collection masquerading as a novel.
Reality: Interesting concepts overshadowed by unlikable characters and absolutely zero plot. While a step forward in writing for the author, this was a dull read.
