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The Book Maven

@the_book_maven

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I’m Jana and I read. A lot. 300+ books a year. Hang out here if you read everything- romance, thrillers, dystopian, memoir and romantasy.

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My Book Club chooses new books for the year every summer. These are what’s coming for us for next twelve months. by @the_book_maven

In 2025, I did a book shelf clean-up where I chose a physical book each month to read that had been lingering on my shelves. I loved the direction it gave my reading and that I finally picked up some books I wanted to read but wasn’t prioritizing.

I am going to do it again in 2026, also adding audiobooks to the mix. I literally scrolled to the bottom and my Audible library and picked the twelve I’ve owned the longest. by @the_book_maven

My IRL book club still reads books together each month, but we rarely ever talk about them. So three of us formed a sub-set (that I call my Buddy Reads group in my head) and we read a book together each month and have lunch to talk about it. We aren’t exclusive; any of our book club is welcome to join, but they have to want to read and talk about the book. So far it’s only me, @carymwood and @joydickinson Here are our picks for 2026. by @the_book_maven

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “The Midnight Show” by Lee Kelly & Jennifer Thorne, historical fiction

One: if you’re an audiobook listener, this is a must read. Two: if you liked “Daisy Jones & The Six” get on this one ASAP!

It’s the 1980s and everyone knows that women comics just aren’t as funny as men. Then comes Lillian Martin, girl next door cute with the strangest sense of humor. But when Lillian goes missing and her body is found in the Hudson, her short career comes to a tragic ending.

Told in present day reflections, The Midnight Show is written in interviews for a Rolling Stone article investigating Lillian’s unsolved death. We are taken back to the first three years of The Midnight Show’s inception (ala SNL) and the cast’s rise to fame.

This is one of those books that is a must listen. There are eleven different voice actors for each of the characters, recounting their experiences and relationships with Lillian in the years leading up to her death. It is a wonderful listening experience and I enjoyed every minute. by @the_book_maven

This week was super blah for me. I liked The Lighthouse Keeper’s daughter but was overall disappointed in the other three 👎🏻 by @the_book_maven

October Round Up

I had two standouts this month: This Story Might Save Your Life and One Moore Time, both 5-star reads. Honorable mentions: Getting Away with Murder and The Mash Up

Stats:
Total read: 18 (206 for the year so far)
Audio: 10
Kindle: 8
Physical: 0

Library checkouts: 7 (116 for the year)
Advanced Copies: 3 by @the_book_maven

Five books this week! All really enjoyable.

Four on audio and the newest incredible romance from Mariana Zapata that I spent the entire week reading on my Kindle because I didn’t want it to end 😭 She isn’t an author that releases a new book every few months so I likely have years to wait for her next one. by @the_book_maven

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Minor Dramas and Other Catastophes” by Kathleen West, domestic drama

Liston Heights High School is an extremely high performing school in a rich suburb of Minneapolis. From the outside, all is good: great test scores, fabulous drama productions, successful sports teams, happy students and teachers. But beyond appearances are catty moms, manipulative teachers and lots of money being thrown around.

Our story begins with Julia Abbott, a mom who is aggressively over-involved in the lives of her two Liston Heights children. Desperate for her son to get a larger role in the fall play, Julia donates thousands of dollars to the drama department and runs the booster club.

The afternoon when the cast list goes up, she hears nothing from Andrew so decides to go look herself. While in the crowd of students, Julia accidentally elbows the lead actor in the stomach. It’s caught on video and soon goes viral.

We also have Isobel Johnson, an English teacher, who teaches both of the Abbott kids. When Isobel was a child, her father went to prison for embezzling money from a children’s charity. Isobel sees her job at Liston Heights as not just to teach literature, but to help these rich privileged kids see beyond themselves and never become like her father. She does this by always bringing up opposing views: Is Atticus Finch racist? Is Nick Carraway actually gay and in love with Gatsby?

Julia sees the opportunity to move attention away from herself by rallying the parents against Mrs Johnson and her political agenda. There is a secret FB group and the rumors take off. However, the students love Mrs Johnson, whose class is actually engaging and thought provoking. They rally in favor of Mrs Johnson, led by Julia’s daughter.

This is my favorite type of book and I had a ton of fun with it! I love rich people behaving badly in any setting, but put them in a school and I’m all in. I listened to this one on Audible. It’s been in my library for ages and I finally pulled it up because I needed a cover with an apple for my ‘Ber Months challenge I’m doing with @readwithjessa and @read_renew_repeat . It’s narrated by Julia Whelan and is about 11 hours long. by @the_book_maven

This week’s reading!

My favorites were “The Mash Up” and “Of Karma and Corridors.”

The other two I really didn’t like unfortunately. by @the_book_maven

The first full week of October held my favorite thriller of 2026 so far! by @the_book_maven

September Wrap Up: a fabulous month of reading so I had to make a top 5 list.

1. Sunlight Finds You (5⭐️)
2. The Displacements (5⭐️)
3. Big Bad Wolf (4⭐️ + 🌶️)
4. Rules for Ruin (4⭐️)
5. Love Felt Like This (4⭐️)

Stats: 22 total (188 for 2026)

Physical: 6
Kindle: 3
Audio: 13

Library check-outs: 14
Advanced Copies: 3 by @the_book_maven

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Sunlight Finds You” by Laura Moriarty, historical fiction

In St Petersburg Florida in 1949, Nora meets Leonard. He’s the smartest boy at her high school, but because of his shyness, most people find him stand-offish. But Nora sees past his shell to the kind, sensitive boy that he is and they fall in love.

On the day Leonard turns 18, he drops out of school, forgoing his Ivy League future to join the army to get out from the home of his controlling father. Soon, he’s stationed in Japan and shortly thereafter the US enters the Korean War.

The way this book had a grip on me! I listened to it over 2-days and I do not exaggerate that I had literal knots of anxiety in my stomach every time I stopped, just wanting to be back with Nora.

It’s told in first person from Nora’s point a view, a handful of years past, when she’s older and wiser and can reflect upon her circumstances. The way the author wrote her voice, you feel like you are sitting with someone as they tell you their story.

I listened to this one from the library. I absolutely loved the narrator, Amanda Stribling, who was new to me. (Authors: take note when you need a female southern main character. She’s so good.) It was about 11 1/2 hours long and I honestly got a dip in my stomach a bit when the last line was read because I wanted more time with Nora. This book will be in my top ten this year for sure. by @the_book_maven