Simone and Her Books

Remembering Dan Pelzer and the quiet reading life

September 26, 2025

If you’ve ever considered a life on bookstagram or booktok, but never felt comfortable on social media, then don’t worry. There are millions of people who quietly shared a love affair with books that never got a thousand likes or went viral. Instead, they read their books, savor the stories, and then move on. Can you believe it?

Back at the end of July, a man named Dan Pelzer passed away. He wasn’t some great author or writer. He was never on bookstagram and he never shared his book reviews online. He was just an avid reader who kept notes on every book he’d read in his life from his early 30s until he passed away in his 90s.

Posthumously, his daughter shares the list of books he’s carried around for over 60 years. Every single book he’s ever read written down on a piece of printer paper with no fancy lettering or anything. Just a list of books.

Dan Pelzer lived a quiet reading life. And when I think about this day and age and how we share everything on social media, Dan Pelzer’s life is my ideal. Quietly writing down all the books that transported you from this existence, expanded your knowledge of other cultures. He lived a life in books and didn’t share it with anyone except his close family and the folks at the library. Columbus public library even put together a tribute reading list based on the books on his list.

When I think of people like Dan Pelzer or even the woman who’s kept a diary for her entire life, I try to imagine it for myself. There’s something so romantic in the idea of keeping a daily journal or a notebook with every book you’ve ever read in your life. A lifetime of memories left behind after your life is through. Maybe someone will stumble on the treasures or maybe they’ll end up in the dumpster. But it doesn’t matter the legacy you leave behind; all that matters is that at some point in your life you decided it was important to you to write it down.

The quiet reading life may be small and mundane, but that’s the appeal. We’re not showing off to others how many books we’ve read or feel pressure to keep up with new booktok trends. These places are great resources for inspiration, but participation is optional. As I get older, the quiet reading life is becomes more and more ideal. I’ve become less interested in sharing online and more interested in spending my time actually reading the books. It was fun for a while to read all the new books coming out (and I’ve done it for almost 10 years), but a longing to read backlist or other genres or even nonfiction continue to dog me.

I don’t think I’ll ever stop writing about books, but maybe they won’t be the latest book that came out. I will do what I set out to do almost 10 years ago, which is just to read my books and share them with you. If I could influence anyone to do anything in my life, it’s to enjoy your hobbies for yourself, and not for other people.

So if I’m saying anything, don’t feel like you need to start a book account on social media. Some things are meant to be yours alone. And if you do end up joining bookstagram, allow your personal joy of books dictate what you share. Be more like Dan Pelzer and read the books that inspire your life. Write them down in a little notebook and look back years from now in awe of the very little life you’ve led.
My 2025 personal curriculum

September 19, 2025
For quite some time, I’ve been a little disappointed in the reads I’ve been picking up. Some have been fantastic, but I’ve noticed there are more books I put down than I pick up and I wondered to myself if it may be related to the quality of stories publishing lately.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read some incredible new books, but my drive to continue to read and review new books has just completely dried up. Instead, I’d rather explore the fiction that’s been published for over hundreds of years. There’s so many great stories that I haven’t read, been wanting to read, and putting off for so many years. I’m finally ready to do that!

But where do I start? As someone who studied journalism in college, I don’t have the literary chops to discuss all the millions of books published since the invention of the printing press. Maybe it’s not necessary for us to know, but it’s an area of study I’ve always wanted to explore.

I think it’s quite serendipitous or even divine that in the midst of my struggle with new books and my brewing ideas of learning more about literature that this idea of a “personal curriculum” fell into my lap. The algorithm sometimes brings something along that’s actually useful.

I found the idea of the personal curriculum from the influencer @classicallyclare, who shares how you can set up a syllabus for yourself in an area of study you’ve been wanting to learn. It doesn’t need to be reading, either. It can be improving on a hobby you’re working on or learning a new skill. Perhaps you want to try and become a better cook, or a better dog owner, or a better bird watcher. With creating a personal curriculum, you can set yourself up to study these subjects and hopefully improve your life. I started thinking about a personal curriculum for myself.

While fantasy will still be near and dear to my heart, I want to explore more. Back in 2013, I made four critical book purchases:
1. On Writing by Stephen King
2. How Fiction Works by James Wood
3. The Collected Works of Amy Hempel
4. Aspects of a Novel by EM Forrester
I bought these books with the intention of growing my knowledge on what makes a good novel and using that knowledge to discern the fiction books I read. And while I read two of the four books on this list, I abandoned the rest having to re-purchase both of them for this study.

And in this season of my life where I’m done chasing the trends of novels that come out and focusing in on my own personal growth and study of literature, I’ve decided to create my own personal curriculum. I’m calling it: Back to Basics: What I Should Have Read in High School English Class

My objective: to improve my working knowledge on the definition of a good book and to apply that knowledge to both classic fiction and modern fiction.

Once I had the theme and my objective, it was time to pick out the books. And let me tell you, it’s tough to pick out books for a curriculum that works for you and not the other way around. But I think I figured out something for the time being:
1. How Fiction Works by James Wood – this will be the main component of my study as I venture into each chapter and consider the components that make a good story. The first chapter explores narrative, which probably is the most important part of any work of fiction.
2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – A timely classic as we get into the Halloween season. It’s a first person narrative from the point of view of Dr. Frankenstein, the man who brought life to the dead.
3. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry – A more modern classic (published in 1985) showcasing the journey of a group of men and their cattle from Texas to Montana in hopes of raising a cattle farm. I may have also watched the show recently and needed to pick this up next. It’s in the third person omniscient, but I’m hoping it’s a good example of Wood’s “free indirect style.”
4. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain – A memoir that I’ve been wanting to read for some time. It’s a different type of narrative since it’s a memoir, so you’re reading the life of someone who actually lived it.
I don’t know how this will go. Honestly, I’m nervous my mood will swing in a different direction and maybe it will. Perhaps the curriculum will only work for one season and I’ll be onto something in the next, but why not try it? If there’s something you’re interested in learning more about, then why not play “school” again and teach yourself that thing you’ve been wanting to learn.
Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman // Book Review

August 22, 2025

As the title suggests, this one was totally and completely fine.

Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman came to me randomly. I was in the middle of finishing up a romantasy series and I knew I had to take a break from the fantasy. I’d read Funny You Should Ask a few years back and absolutely loved it, so when I saw this book would follow Gabe Parker’s sister and her sorted love connection, I knew this would be the perfect escape for a little while.

And it turned out to be such a great escape. Honestly, if you’re looking for a relaxing romance with a little bit of that grief talk, then this one is for you. While I read this in the comfort of my home, I could imagine myself at the beach or by the pool with this one beside me. It wasn’t the most challenging story to read and it had some themes to keep me interested.

The story follows Lauren, a 40-something widower who is just trying to stay sane. With a teenage daughter, a small business, and a brother who flits in and out of her small town when not making it big in Hollywood, Lauren’s life lacks just one thing; love. It’s only been three years since her husband tragically passed away and for the most part, no one’s really caught her eye. That is until she visits her brother in Philadelphia and meets his handsome costar Ben Walsh; a British actor who’s claim to fame is a YA-retelling of Sense and Sensibility.

The most intriguing component to this story was reading about a middle aged woman who has lost the love of her life and looking to figure out life after love. With a dual timeline from before and after her husband’s death, there’s an interesting juxtaposition on who Lauren used to be and who Lauren is now. You see the wild child who had multiple partners and barely graduated from high school and then you see the charismatic mother who is doing her best.

It’s the same person, but two very views and what Elissa Sussman conveys here is how love can change us; how we’re molded into being by the people we choose to surround ourselves with. How grief takes us to a different place and maybe even how love can bring us back to who we used to be. I loved Lauren’s portrayal here. She’s messy and an overthinker, considerate and logical. She thinks not only for herself, but for her daughter as well and that shapes a person.

The story does fall short, though. Her relationship with Ben felt a little surface-level, which surprised me when she said she was falling for him. There were also some themes introduced that weren’t deeper explored making me wonder why they were added in the first place. But the book was still enjoyable, the characters were interesting, and it took my mind off my busy schedule.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes // Book Review

June 20, 2025

I’m kind of in that rare place where most of my bookish friends have read a book like this when they were in high school, but not me. I blame this one English teacher who focused more on plays than prose, which caused me to miss out on fundamental reads like this incredible sci-fi story of a man who undergoes a medical procedure to increase his intelligence level.

Written in the epistolary style, the story follows Charlie, a man who has lived his life with intelligence disability. Because of it, he’s been abused and taken advantage of by the people he calls friends and family. But he’s always had the secret dream of being smarter than he is, so he signs up to be the guinea pig in an experimental procedure that will increase his intelligence level.

From the moment you start reading this book, you knew it’s going to be different. The writing is grammatically incorrect. Words are spelled phonetically than correctly. It’s simple language, but it gives you a sense of where Charlie begins his journey. And as he undergoes the procedure, things start to change literally on the page. His writing improves, his vocabulary, he starts to notice more of the things around him, and even writes much lengthier and articulate journal entries.

I loved this creative way to convey how Charlie’s level of intelligence increases. And even as you see his spelling and language skills improve, you also see how he’s been treated by the people around him. That’s when your hearts starts to break for him. And sadly, it only breaks more even after that.

This is definitely one of those stories that will stick with me for a very long time. Seeing what happens with Charlie and how he grows, learns, and realizes the reality of his world makes you think of the disappointments and half-truths of your own life. Charlie is like us in many ways, one who is ignorant to the world around us until we see the truth and reality of it all. And how sometimes that truth is the bitterest pill to ever swallow.

I was devastated after reading this book, crying into the pages hoping that things would change, but maybe it’s better this way. I don’t know. Is it better to know about your potential and then forget or to not know at all?
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab // Book Review

June 13, 2025

“Bury my bones in the midnight soil,
Plan them shallow, water them deep,
And in my place will grow a feral rose,
Soft red petals hiding sharp white teeth.”

Why is it the books I loved the most, I have little to say about them?

Ok, well, this book turned out to be one of my favorite reads of the year so far! Wow! I had a hard time putting this book down and when I did, I tried my best to find the time to pick it up again. VE Schwab’s work has only improved over the years and this proves and they are finally in their writing prime!

The story follows three women, Maria/Sabine, Charlotte, and Alice, across decades of time and how their lives are intertwined through obsessions, attraction, revenge, and rage. The timeline jumps between Alice in the present day and Sabine and Charlotte’s story in the distant past. But what Schwab excels at with their storytelling is how they take their time to tell it.

At first, I didn’t understand why I had to care about Maria/Sabine’s whole backstory, but as I kept reading I started to understand the genius. The history of these characters needed to be told because it shaped the vampires they eventually became and that’s an important detail in the progression and ending of the book. So I would read carefully, read slowly (or try to), because all that backstory provides the personalities for each of these characters, which is so distinct from each other.

But I think what I loved the most about this book were the questions of morality and immortality. Vampires are known for two things: drinking blood and living forever and VE Schwab covers both at length throughout the story. The thirst for sustenance is so present in each of these characters, a priority to every other desire they keep. And then the degradation of these vampires over time, losing their sense of humanity only to become the monsters that they ultimately are. It’s truly brilliant writing!

Overall, this is truly a masterpiece from Schwab that I will definitely go back to reading in the future. It’s well-paced, well-written, and has such a good combination of literary themes that still carry some plot-moving components as well. Bravo!
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie // Book Review

May 30, 2025

Have you ever read a book that’s simultaneously the longest book in the world (in feel, not by actual length) and also a pretty good intro into Joe Abercromebie? That’s what I got from Joe Abercrombie’s latest offering.

The Devils follows a rag-tag team of monsters who are forced to escort the recently found princess (former thief) across the country to take up the throne she’s been destined for since birth. In terms of plot, that’s it. The crew featuring a vampire, a werewolf, an elf, a magician, an immortal soldier, and a reluctant monk all travel across the country to escort a princess coming across various villains that try their best to keep them from their destination. But this book is much more about the journey than it is about the destination.

Let me preface my review by saying that while I was pretty engaged in the book and laughed at Joe Abercrombie’s trademark humor, I struggled to get to the end. Not because it’s hard to read. Not because it’s a complex world like the one he wrote for The First Law, but because the book is incredibly dense, the pacing is slow, and much too long.

For the most part, I absolutely loved it. Despite my belly aching over the pace of the book, I absolutely fell to pieces for the characters and the individual stories. I loved the banter, the massive levels of growth, and the overall way this crew came to work with each other and root for each other. It’s most definitely the bread and butter of this story.

Another good trait about this book is the level of detail Joe Abercrombie goes into. Yes, the pacing is slow, but the descriptions are rich. You can visualize the battles and the moments that these characters have. I found myself gagging over more than one fight scene with the weird animal/human hybrid monsters. You learn the backstory of each character and they are pretty well formed creating a specific personality for each that made it so much more fun to root for them.

And finally, let’s talk about the humor. It’s fucking funny and in a dark fantasy book like this one, a little satirical levity brightens the entire feel of the book. It becomes more accessible especially if you’ve ever read anything else by Joe Abercrombie. I found myself chuckling throughout the book and marking the jokes that made me laugh. No author has made me giggle as much as he has in this book.

Overall, it’s a good fantasy book. If you’ve never read Joe Abercrombie and wanted to be acquainted with his writing, then this might be a good one to start with. But if you want to jump right off the deep end and read a super complex high fantasy series, then check out The First Law.

Thanks to Tor Books for the gifted copy of this book.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman // Book Review

May 2, 2025

LitRPG. It’s a thing. I didn’t know about this thing until recently, but it’s been around for quite some time and if you’re a fan of RPG video games, Dungeons and Dragons, and quirky characters with feline companions, then this is going to be right up your alley.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is the first book in what looks to be an epic series about a guy named Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, just trying to survive a massive dungeon crawler video game after the earth is invaded by some random alien species. I love this book. I loved this book so much that I’m contemplating buying book 2 right away and just diving right into it.

I’m a huge fan of silly stories where the earth is taken over by weird aliens using human beings to air a massive competition on whatever interplanetary entertainment system they have going on. Carl is just an average guy who happened to be stuck in the game with no pants and no shoes. Princess Donut was just a regular cat before she took a potion that made her intelligent enough to talk. And the two of them are fighting their way, level by level, to get to the bottom and win the massive dungeon crawl. I mean, what isn’t there not to love?

There’s not much serious about this book. I love that it’s action packed, plot-heavy, and shares with you the adventures of these two characters, who they meet, what they learn, what they destroy, etc. From the group of senior citizens they found and tried to help to the weird pigs in tuxedos that they massively destroyed, the book explores a lot of weird scenarios that these two find themselves. And the main objective: win.

While I want Princess Donut to be my favorite character, I actually find her to be a bit…cat-ish? If you can personify cat behavior, I’m pretty sure you would see it in Princess Donut, who just bugs the crap out of me. I actually like Carl way more as he seems to be the brains of the operation and when bad things befall on him, I can’t help but to giggle a little bit and wish for better for him. And yes, I found myself giggling while reading this book (most of which was read on a plane to Europe, so I know other folks could see me laugh).

From item descriptions to the game tutorial at the beginning of the book, Matt Dinniman has figured out how to cover all the aspects of a massive multi-player online game except instead of being an avatar behind a computer screen, you’re yourself. I even love the villains of the piece (and I’m not talking about the wild monsters they come across throughout the dungeon).

Overall, if you need a break from reality or if you wonder what life would be like in an RPG, then I would check this book out. Low stakes reading for a high stakes story.
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig // Book Review

April 25, 2025

If you’ve ever seen those statues and busts of women with veils over their faces (also, wow, that stonework is quite incredible), and you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to have an entire fantasy story centered around it, then this is the book for you.

The first in a new series from the author of The Shepherd King duology, The Knight and the Moth is entirely different from what Rachel Gillig’s already written. With a new magic system (no cards this time), a new romance, and a new world controlled by a magic that can only be accessed by the young women who drown in it, this book had me hooked from the moment I started reading it.

The Knight and the Moth‘s story centers around a world where people rely on the predictions of the diviners to help them with their futures. Our main character, Six aka Sybil, is a diviner, a foundling who was trained to drown/dream in the baptismal waters. She dreams of the five Omens that show whether or not someone is favored by them and she alongside five other women have been doing this for almost ten years. It’s the only thing she knows how to do. When Sybil’s sisters start to mysteriously disappear one at a time, a young knight and his king help Sybil to track down the five Omens and hopefully find her sisters. The rest is a journey across the world looking for magical items, young people, and Sybil also finds herself and what she can be outside the walls of the cathedral.

This is definitely a very easily readable book with a heavy plot line filled with all your favorite fantasy tropes, a bit of romance, some mystery, and adventure. If you’re a fan of all those things, then that might be the most enticing point of the book. I wouldn’t necessarily call this book gothic, but it does have a medieval theme to it with knightly chivalry, epic quests, and sword fighting. There’s even talking gargoyles, which was definitely my favorite character of the entire book.

It’s atmospheric and dark, especially in a world where Sybil must drown in the waters to have her visions and she has to drink blood in order to do it, but it’s also playful too because Sybil’s youthfulness and naivete is so strongly present in the entire journey she takes. She’s precocious, hard working, and caring, especially since she takes on the majority of divining work so that her sisters don’t have to. She cares enough to travel outside the walls of the cathedral, which she’s never done in the ten years she’s been living there in order to find the only people who ever cared about her. There was also the mysterious shroud Sybil had to wear around her face throughout the book. She never took it off in fear of seeing her own face for the first time since putting it on, but that sense of mystery behind the mask made it so intriguing and definitely worth figuring out!

But before I reached the end of this book, I found out that it was a series and what I’m reading wasn’t a standalone story, but the first. It shocked me since everything seemed to move quickly towards an ending I thought would wrap everything up. And while you do get a sense of completion by the end of the book, there were a lot of questions I had that I hope book 2 will answer. I will note that I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. It was beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but the way that everything came together was a bit confusing. I guess that’s only because I didn’t know that this wasn’t a standalone!

Other than that, this was a beautiful story of a young woman looking for herself, her family, and finding out the truth behind the waters of Aisling she’s been living around for so long. Definitely a great read and I can’t wait to read the next one!

Thanks to Orbit Books for the gifted copy of this book. This book will release May 20th, 2025.
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez // Book Review

April 18, 2025

I never tire of Abby Jimenez. When you’re down about the world and just want to get a little dose of dopamine in your life, then pick up any of her books. There’s a few hallmarks that you’ll always get with a good Abby Jimenez book. 1) She’ll always mention Nadia Cakes (the cupcake bakery she owned before becoming an author). 2) She will always feature Minnesota. 3) Her characters will always be complicated messes that need to be worked out together. 4) There is always a dog with a funny name.

And in Say You’ll Remember Me, you get everything. The funny dog name, the silly bakery, the landscape of Minnesota, and a complicated set of characters trying to figure out life when they come across each other. I sped through this book so quickly that it surprised me when I found myself with less than 10% of the book left. I don’t think I’ve ever read an Abby Jimenez book this quickly, but this one really got me with its realistic characters, setup, conflict, and little surprises.

The two main characters we follow in her latest romance are Xavier and Samantha. Xavier is a veterinarian who looks a little too much like Rhysand from ACOTAR and he meets Samantha when she brings in a stray cat who is missing a butthole. You heard me. For a meet cute, this is not what you’re expecting, but finding your true love in the cutest way ever is just not realistic. Cats born without buttholes and a character who is only a few short days away from moving across the country doesn’t seem realistic either, but it’s definitely imaginative.

Samantha’s been working as a social media manager for a national mustard brand, but with the deteriorating health of her mother, she’s decided to move back home to California to help with her home care. After a grueling evening spent locked inside an escape room, Xavier and Samantha realize one thing about their relationship: that if Samantha didn’t have to move back home and stayed in Minnesota, this could easily be their happily ever after.

Throughout the story, you see that a lot. You see Samantha asking herself “what if” fairly often. What if her mother wasn’t sick? What if she didn’t live miles from her boyfriend? What if the world was perfect and everything went the way she’s always imagined it? But that’s what I like about Abby Jimenez’s stories; how the fairy tale may make things a lot easier for the couple, but the reality is what brings them closer together. And while Samantha and Xavier go through their ups and downs throughout the story, regardless of their circumstances, they still had each other even if it’s for a few days every four or five months.

And the central theme of this book is whether or not a couple who loves each can make long distance work. With Samantha’s mother needing full-time care and Xavier trying not to go bankrupt with his new vet office, the odds are stacked against them creating a real sense of conflict for the couple that isn’t set on a trope that feels more artificial.

While I felt like Samantha’s story was the backbone of this book, I really wanted to see a resolution for Xavier’s story. There were hints throughout about his upbringing and the sad reality of his childhood as well as his no-contact parents trying to reach him again, I thought that might result in a big moment between them, but it kind of didn’t.

Overall, it’s another feather in Abby’s cap of romances. For the start of a new series for Abby, I can’t wait to continue reading more of her books. Also, this one didn’t end with a baby so that’s growth! Thanks to Libro.fm for the gifted audiobook copy.
The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi // Book Review

April 9, 2025

I’m a huge fan of time travel stories. Ever since I was a kid and I read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells for the first time, I was in love with this idea of traveling to the future or the past. Over time, my love of the genre continued to grow and I love exploring all concepts of portal jumping, time distortion, parallel universes. It’s definitely an interesting concept for me and when I heard that Philip Fracassi wrote a time traveling thriller, I knew I had to check it out.

The story follows Beth, a scientist who had just recently discovered time travel with her husband. Through a wormhole in space and time, human consciousness is able to jump back in time for 90 seconds to a moment in their personal memories. You can relive some of the most important moments of your life, good or bad. For Beth, it seems pretty bad since the first memory you see her jump to is the one where she watches her whole family die in a plane crash. You can tell the tone of the book from that single moment.

However, after her husband’s sudden death and the company she works for looking to make money off her invention, Beth is spiraling. It also doesn’t help that she sees her husband appear randomly throughout the day. Looking to solve some of the bigger questions of her invention (how the machine choose which memory to visit), she makes herself a guinea pig stepping through the wormhole more times than necessary only discover one day that she’s somehow altered the existence of someone close to her.

I feel like with Philip Fracassi, his strongest writing is his characters. I remember in my reading of Boys in the Valley, the emotional bond you create with his characters most definitely moves you through the story hoping that everything turns out alright for them. Beth is at this weird place in her life where she’s juggling too many things at once and not only do you feel that for her, but you also see how much she wants to be a good mom, a great scientist, and a good friend. You really feel for Beth who is struggling with the mechanics of her time machine, grieving the loss of her husband, and also being a mom to a young daughter she treasures. It felt very real despite the story being completely fictional.

As much as I loved the story and especially the main character, Beth, I just couldn’t get over the science. And I feel a little bad about it because Philip Fracassi was good enough to thank the scientists and experts he spoke with to make the science make sense. For the most part, it was interesting. The idea of your consciousness traveling through a wormhole through space and time to your memories is quite an intriguing concept. However, it was hard to wrap my mind around your consciousness traveling rather than your entire body. I wondered about subjective perspectives, memories being misremembered, etc. It wasn’t the strongest hard science story I’ve read and much preferred the elusive concepts in a book like Before the Coffee Gets Cold, which has a similar rule system when it comes to time travel.

Overall, this is an interesting science fiction story with tons of potential. I just wish the science made a bit more sense, especially since it plays such a huge factor in the book. Again, I feel pretty bad about this knowing how much research he did to make it make sense, but I think for Philip Fracassi, it was more about the characters who drive his stories.

Thanks to Orbit Books for a gifted copy of this book.