Maria's Updates

Maria has read 'The Wretched Divine'

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 22:16:36 -0800

Maria has read The Wretched Divine by Adalyn Grace

Maria is currently reading 'Assassins Anonymous'

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 15:55:14 -0800

Maria is currently reading Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart

Maria added 'Atmosphere'

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 15:42:25 -0800

Maria gave 4 stars to Atmosphere (Hardcover) by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This was another book club pick. I'm in three book clubs, yes, I know but this is a fun one called Books & Bangers and the meetings are online. This is set in the early 80s, when I was in high school so I could relate to the setting and time period. This is billed as a love story, but also has astronauts, NASA, the space shuttles. I watched Challenger explode in real time and was in an airplane flying to Florida when the pilot said if we looked out the window, we'd see space shuttle Columbia. We did not as it had broken up on entry. :( Overall I enjoyed the story - I would have liked more science and inside NASA coolness, and less love story (see spoiler to know why).

[spoilers removed]

Maria added 'All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me'

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 13:36:14 -0800

Maria gave 3 stars to All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me (ebook) by Patrick Bringley
This is a book club pick and I do like reading nonfiction. With this book, I really liked seeing behind the scenes at the Met - I've been there before, but now I want to go again and see the art he mentions. I also liked his personal story, but would have liked more info on the patrons - I love to people watch and I was hoping to hear more stories. When he writes pages and pages about a piece of art, I start to skim - I'm more interested in people than art. I appreciated it, but not to that degree.

Maria added 'TV Gods: Summer Programming'

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 18:26:54 -0800

Maria gave 5 stars to TV Gods: Summer Programming (Kindle Edition) by Lee Hillman
I'm updating my website and I realized I never reviewed this anthology! I've a story in here titled, Poseidon's Island - a riff on Gilligan's Island, one of my favorite TV shows when I was growing up. Yes, I dodged dinosaurs on my way to school. Anywho, this is a fun collection and my first story where I tried to be funny.

Maria wants to read 'The Astral Library'

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 13:38:04 -0800

Maria wants to read The Astral Library by Kate Quinn

Maria is starting All the Beauty in the Wor

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 13:31:00 -0800

Maria V. Snyder is starting All the Beauty in the World.
Maria wrote: One of my book club picks. It's interesting so far!

Maria is currently reading 'All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me'

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 13:30:18 -0800

Maria is currently reading All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley

Maria wants to read 'A Letter from the Lonesome Shore'

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 13:29:15 -0800

Maria wants to read A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall

Maria added 'A Letter to the Luminous Deep'

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 13:20:26 -0800

Maria gave 4 stars to A Letter to the Luminous Deep (The Sunken Archive, #1) by Sylvie Cathrall
This was a very enjoyable epistolary--a story written all in letters. I really loved the unique world - there's only one land mass and the rest of the people live on the water or under the water. There's mystery and romance and some science fiction, although the details on how certain things work is not explained - for example, living in Bubbles on the sea floor near a deep trench - the water pressure is immense - how does this bubble work? No idea - it just does - same with the dive suits and depth crafts and their version of email. For those not into SF, it won't be a problem for you, but I did wish to get a little more insight into how this fascinating world works. There's wonderful insight into the characters and this is book 1 of 2 so the ending is a bit abrupt. Thankfully book 2 is already published so I will add it to my TBR.