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@readthecairn

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👩‍💻👩‍💻Two grown library kids (she/hers)
📚Discuss the books they love and why
📪 Posts by Courtney (unless otherwise noted)

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I’m not very good at showing my face around these parts, so I thought it might be time to say hi. Allow me to introduce myself: I’m Courtney, half of The Cairn (the half that runs the Instagram account!). Thank you for being here ❤️

#meetme #intro #introduction #behindthebookstagrammer #bookish #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #hello #intros by @readthecairn

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24

a year ago

There is nothing quite like a friend’s bout of insomnia to provide immediate literary clarity!

I’ve been struggling to articulate why Exit Party didn’t entirely land for me, especially when the opening hook and the authoritarian world of the second half were so compelling. Thankfully, Meghan struggled to sleep last night, finished the book, and we were able to dissect it together today—which helped me clarify my thoughts.

It feels like important context to share that Sea of Tranquility is not just my favorite Mandel novel, but one of my very favorite books I've read. There is truly something so breathtaking about how Mandel can take a scatter of seemingly unrelated fragments and weave a thread across an entire narrative that pulls them all together.

When I opened Exit Party—which kicks off at an actual party where things get real weird real quick—I got that familiar sensation that I was in for a similar ride. But quickly, the structural seams began to show. Which is to say: I loved the book at first, then I didn't love it, and then I liked it again.

Of all of Emily St. John Mandel's work, this one does the most to bridge her older noir/character-driven style with her newer speculative storytelling. In fact, I genuinely wondered if the Ari Waker storyline—which ultimately dragged for me—was an older manuscript, character, or idea she retrofitted to fit inside a newer project.

In some ways, I appreciated seeing glimpses of "early ESJM" alongside "current ESJM." And yet, the thread sewn throughout this plot mostly pulled together connections we already knew existed, losing the magic I usually find in Mandel's puzzles. The reveals felt predictable rather than revelatory.

By the time the second half arrived—plunging into that highly compelling authoritarian landscape—I was fully hooked again. It felt like the bold, expansive story I had been waiting for after Sea of Tranquility. But because of the disjointed detour in the middle, I was left wishing that final act had been given the full runway it deserved.

What did you think of this one if you've read it? by @readthecairn

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2

7 days ago

Here are some books from my TBR for the rest of 2026 (which is an insane sentence to write because how is the year already almost over??)

SOLACE HOUSE by Will Maclean ad MAZYWOOD by Tananarive Due are absolutely spooky reads for spooky season.

QUEENSLANDER is a book I requested the library add to their inventory and IT'S FINALLY HERE!

THE SEEKERS OF DEER CREEK because I enjoyed Thai's previous novel, Banyon Moon.

AMERICAN HAGWON because Min Jin Lee is a national treasure and Pachinko is one of my very favorite books.

CROCODILOPOLIS by John Manuel Arias because after reading East of Eden, who couldn't use another Cain and Abel parable?

END TIMES FASCISM perhaps the spookiest read of all?

Happy reading!
Courtney x by @readthecairn

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8 days ago

I gotta say: I did pretty well on my September reading goals--no small feat as a fickle mood reader!

I am glad I read The Singer's Gun prior to reading Exit Party. Definitely not a requirement, but a fun bit of context. I enjoyed Exit Party though not as much as I expected to. I feel spoiled (ruined?) by Sea of Tranquility.

I read my way through Giovanni's Room in utter awe. What an incredible, captivating heartbreaking story.

Our Cut of Salt was not quite what I expected, but I still really liked it. It's much more of a literary horror than a traditional horror novel. I feel like so many of the stories I read about Palestine post-occupation are around the time of the Nakba. This book did a fantastic job of conveying the horrors of modern-day Palestine.

I am hit or miss with BK Borison, but thought Grim Tidings was cute. I also enjoyed Saint Delilah, which is a murder mystery with ghosts. A good read for anyone looking for a moodier, darker paranormal tale during the Fall.

What was your favorite read of September? by @readthecairn

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4

10 days ago

The second the air becomes crisp with Fall you'll find me tending towards crimes and whodunnits. Here are the last three I've read, which also all happen to be the second books in their respective series.

WISDOM CORNER by David Heska Wanbli Weiden is the follow up to Winter Counts in the Virgil Wounded Horse. Set on the Rosebud reservation in South Dakota, this is the story of reluctant enforcer Virgil Wounded Horse when he's pulled back into the work of vigilante justice following the murder of a highly respected elder (and Virgil's mentor) on the Rez. With violent rival gangs, corrupt local politicians, and long-buried atrocities from a Native boarding school, Weiden’s writing style is gritty and action-packed while being firmly anchored in Indigenous identity. I recommend him most especially for fans of S.A. Cosby.

THE SECRETS WE HIDE is the second book in Karin Slaughter's North Fall Series. Much like the first book, We Are All Guilty Here, this one is a slow burn crime story that not only gives us a murder to solve, but spotlights the emotional impact said murder has on the tight-knit community. At the center of both books is a complex, prickly dynamic between the local sheriff and her former-federal agent sister. I think this series would be great for fans of Tana French and Liz Moore.

Lastly WE CHASE SHADOWS is Richard Osman's follow up to We Solve Murders. The series centers a former private security officer and bodyguard Amy, her father in law and former cop Steve, and the scene-stealing American best-selling novelist Rosie D’Antonio. After formally establishing their murder-solving services-for-hire in the first book, We Chase Shadows is the story of their first official case. Written by British comedian Richard Osman, this book is an all around fun and propulsive romp. I highly recommend the audiobooks, narrated by English actress Nicola Walker, as they really capture the caustic wit and rapport between three big personalities.

Mood readers: what do you reach for when the weather begins to cool and summer is officially over? by @readthecairn

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19 days ago

This is an Emily St. John Mandel super fan account.

I have read ALMOST all of EsJM’s books, starting with Sea of Tranquility in 2022 and working my way (mostly chronologically) backwards, having just finished The Singer’s Gun. Let me tell you: it is mind-blowing how much Mandel’s style has changed book after book. Perhaps my backwards reading has affected my perception of her work, but where some authors fear a sophomore slump, Mandel just keeps getting better and better. From the first book about a man searching for his runaway lover (Last Night in Montreal), to the story of a deadly virus and moon colonies and time travel (Sea of Tranquility), I am truly breathless trying to convey how much I love the depth and breadth of where she has taken us as an author, how eager I am to see where she takes us next in Exit Party, and how absolutely stunning I find the fact that her novels’ worlds intersect in myriad ways. Just to name a few:

• Two characters from The Glass Hotel show up in Sea of Tranquility
• Sea of Tranquility includes the story of an author promoting her book during a pandemic, a fictional stand in for Mandel’s experience promoting Station Eleven
• Where Station Eleven is a timeline where illness wipes out civilization, The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility explore the alternative branch where society survives and makes it to the 25th century.

Now, with her upcoming 2026 release Exit Party, Mandel dives into the life of a character we first meet in her 2010 book The Singer’s Gun. 🤯🤯

Have you read Emily St. John Mandel yet? Have you read Exit Party? by @readthecairn

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a month ago

Every day brings a new terrifying food threat. Turns out: this is what happens when you fire the people whose job it is to ensure food safety, and the guy who had a brain worm that ate part of his brain (enough for him to claim during his divorce proceedings that it adversely impacted his ability to make a living) is now in charge!

Book recommendations based on recent food recalls. If we can’t laugh we’ll cry.

Stay safe out there!
Courtney x by @readthecairn

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23

a month ago

New Month New Me: I never ever EVER do this—because deciding at the top of the month what books will be read that month is practically serial kiIler behavior to me, a mood reader—but I have six books I plan to for sure read this month. 🔪🔪

Permafrost was a hopeful for #WITmonth but only just came in at the library which is fine because as it turns out, translated works by women can be read all year.

Bright I Burn is a book club pick for @itsahardbacklifeclub and China’s Revolution is a pick for my neighborhood radical reading group this month.

Baldwin and Morrison are because I’ve never read the former (GASP) and have been wanting to read this particular work by the latter for some time (and just look at that gorgeous cover).

And Singer’s Gun is the only book of Mandel’s that I have yet to read and is apparently related to her new work coming out later this month so I am GETTING READY. (I’m also going to read said new book, Exit Party, this month. So that’s 7 books to hold me to. WHAT HAVE I BECOME?)

What are you planning to read this month OR what are you in the mood for these days?

Happy reading,
Courtney x by @readthecairn

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18

a month ago

Meghan and Courtney’s August reads! Meghan’s stand outs are noted with a ⭐️, but Courtney likes to keep you guessing apparently.

What was your highlight read this month?

#augustreads #readthecairn #monthlywrapup by @readthecairn

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1

a month ago

For the past few months I’ve been working on turning the entryway of our house into a useable little reading / quiet room (we have little space here in our city house to get much separation from each other) and here it is—aided in no small part by the softest fuchsia chaise on earth.

To read more about what I’ve been reading here lately, swipe right!

FRUIT FLY by Josh Silver: This is a dark, satirical thriller about a successful writer suffering from writer’s block who turns to the internet to ask how to write a bestseller. Taking Reddit’s advice to heart — go gay, go sad, go dark — our FMC signs up for a Grindr account using her husband’s [faceless] photos. Her cluelessness, fueled in part by sauvignon blanc, finds her crossing paths with a troubled young gay s3x worker and dr*g dealer whose story (at least the one he gives her) could very well become her next bestseller. This book turns the commercial exploitation of queer trauma completely on its head (lol @ the review: “A Little Life has left the chat”). It skewers not just the self-deluded straight female author, but a publishing industry that insists that trauma, grief and bloodshed make for the best story (all while making a compelling and chaotic story out of trauma and grief).

LADY X by Molly Fader: A dual timeline feminine rage revenge thriller, present day finds lifestyle influencer Margot Cooper’s A-List actor husband in a cheating scandal that includes sending unsolicited pictures to underage girls. Margot, along with her youngest daughter and her investigative journalist sister, flees to her childhood home to escape the paparazzi. In the attic, the women uncover clippings linking Margot’s now-ailing mother to the notorious Lady X, a vigilante movement from the 70s targeting predatory men.

Returning to 1970s NYC, a violent assault of one of her roommates goes ignored by police, leaving Ginger (Margot’s mother) and her roommates to take matters into their own hands. The mysterious vigilante and urban legend known as “Lady X” is born, and eventually the movement grows far beyond the original three women.

All secrets revealed, Margot begins to understand the kind of mother and woman she is called by @readthecairn

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2 months ago

I do not fear the TBR, THE TBR FEARS ME.

If you haven’t been reminded recently: a TBR shelf is a menu, not a to do list (I, for one, frequently forget).

Here are August releases I am interested to check out. Will I read all of them? Who knows! But will I randomly grab them if I spot them at the library? Request them on my library apps? Read or listen to samples on my e-reader or Libro.fm to see if it might be a fit? Absolutely.

I have included the books and their release dates as well as organized them into categories to (hopefully) facilitate preferences and ensure folks can diversify their TBRs. Any error or omission was not intentional—so let me know if I made any!

Happy reading!
Courtney x by @readthecairn

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2 months ago

COURTNEY’S JULY READS: There were a couple more! But they were either abandoned or not worth mentioning!

What was your favorite read of July?

Courtney x by @readthecairn

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2 months ago