“But time burns away behind us, leaving only ash and memory. That memory passes from mind to mind, then finally to my lips.” After finishing The Way of Kings, someone recommended that I read Brandon Sanderson’s standalone Cosmere novel, Warbreaker (Tor 2009), before proceeding any further with The Stormlight Archives. Color me intrigued (do youContinue reading “WARBREAKER – Brandon Sanderson”
Author Archives: Tommi Powell
WE WILL BE JAGUARS – Nemonte Nenquimo & Mitch Anderson
“laughter was jaguar medicine.” In 1956, Nate Saint and four other missionaries, were killed by the Waorani people of the Amazon. His sister, Rachel Saint, felt some sort of connection to the location and the people, and made it her life’s mission to “save” them. This is the still shielded world Nemonte Nenquimo was bornContinue reading “WE WILL BE JAGUARS – Nemonte Nenquimo & Mitch Anderson”
CALL AND RESPONSE – Gothataone Moeng
Current installment of Tommi Reads the World – we’re still in the Bs. Country: BotswanaTitle: Call and ResponseAuthor: Gothataone MoengLanguage: EnglishTranslator: N/APublisher: Viking 2023 It’s been a bit since I’ve done a “Tommi Reads the World,” but I’m back and we are STILL in the Bs. Call and Response is a collection of stories that reallyContinue reading “CALL AND RESPONSE – Gothataone Moeng”
REAL AMERICANS – Rachel Khong
“Every book I’d read led me further away from her, from the life we once shared.” Rachel Khong’s Real Americans (Knopf 2024) is a beautiful but frustrating novel, frustrating because of the missing parts. Divided into three sections, into three generations, the novel halts every time it starts to dig into the meat of theContinue reading “REAL AMERICANS – Rachel Khong”
THE WAY OF KINGS – Brandon Sanderson
“Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king… White to be bold. White to not blend into the night. White to give warning. For if you were going to assassinate a man, he was entitled to see you coming.” “They were not demons, they were just men whoContinue reading “THE WAY OF KINGS – Brandon Sanderson”
COUNTING THE COST – Jill Duggar
While doing my latest book nook, I listened to Counting the Cost, Jill Duggar’s 2023 memoir that was written with her husband, Derick Dillard, and Craig Borlase. I had watched the Duggars with a bit of morbid fascination throughout the years, much like most reality TV, and was even more captivated when the religious houseContinue reading “COUNTING THE COST – Jill Duggar”
CONFESSIONS – Catherine Airey
When I saw Catherine Airey’s Confessions (1.14.25 Mariner Books) being compared to The Goldfinch, I groaned. I’m serious. I audibly groaned. I think The Goldfinch is one of the more overrated novels of my time, and I still hold the opinion that the story deserved to have someone different tell it, someone with a lessContinue reading “CONFESSIONS – Catherine Airey”
BRAIDING SWEETGRASS – Robin Wall Kimmerer
One of my 2025 resolutions is to read more non-fiction and to use mundane tasks as opportunities to be more intentional with my time. Enter audiobooks (and laundry!). My first read of the year was Robin Wall Kimmerer’s 2013 release, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (Milkweed Editions). Kimmerer, aContinue reading “BRAIDING SWEETGRASS – Robin Wall Kimmerer”
Top Reads of 2024
SONGBIRDS – Christy Lefteri
“One day, Nisha vanished and turned to gold. She turned to gold in the eyes of the creature that stood before me. She turned to gold in the morning sky and in the music of the birds.” I ended my 2024 having read 68 books – far less than my goal, but considering the wayContinue reading “SONGBIRDS – Christy Lefteri”
A Girl Named Tommi 