About Me

The story behind A Book A Week, and the reader behind the reviews.

It started with a New Year's resolution:
1 book a week, 52 books in a year.
I kept reading, and it grew into something much more.

Back in 2011, I was an avid reader who had somehow lost my way with reading. Between working and being a full-time student, reading for pleasure had slowly fallen by the wayside.

I wanted to change that. So I gave myself a New Year's resolution to read one book every week for a year. I started A Book A Week on January 1, 2012 as a way to hold myself accountable and share what I was reading along the way.

I didn't quite reach my goal that first year, but I kept reading. I kept reviewing. And all these years later, I'm still here, looking forward to whatever book comes next. Some years I crush my goals, some years I don't, but my love for a good book has never wavered.

Line drawing portrait of Ethan

Hi, I'm Ethan

Reader. Blogger.
Book lover.

I'm a lifelong reader with a particular soft spot for mysteries and thrillers. I've always loved the genre, and I credit those stories—the twists, suspense, and need to know what happens next—with keeping me a reader as an adult. My reading has taken me in all kinds of directions since then, but I'll always come back to a good mystery.

I love creepy horror novels. A fascinating work of nonfiction can completely pull me in, too. And I've found plenty of favorites in science fiction, literary fiction, romance, and other genres I might never have picked up when I first started the blog. That's part of the fun. I never quite know what kind of story is going to grab me next.

When I'm not reading or writing reviews, you'll usually find me at home with my husband and our pets. I'm a classically trained musician and composer, an enthusiastic home cook, and a backyard gardener. There's usually a trip to look forward to or some new project that has caught my interest, too.

At the end of the day, I just really love books. There's nothing quite like discovering a story I can't put down or finding an author I can't wait to read again. Even when a book doesn't quite work for me, I still enjoy thinking about why and putting those thoughts into words. That's what keeps me reading, reviewing, and sharing it all here on A Book A Week.

Loose hand-drawn fountain pen illustration

Review Disclaimer

Honest reviews, always.

Some of the books I review are ones I've purchased myself. Others are provided by publishers or authors in exchange for an honest review. Either way, what I write here is always what I really think.

Not every book is going to work for every reader, and that's part of the fun of talking about books. I'll tell you what worked for me, what didn't, and hopefully give you enough to decide whether a book might be right for you.

Good, bad, or somewhere in between, you'll always get my honest take.

Contact

Have a question about the blog, a book you think I should read, or just want to say hello? I'd love to hear from you.

Drop me a note using the form below.

Let's Connect

I'm always happy to hear from readers, publishers, authors, and fellow book lovers.

Review Copies

I'm always open to considering books for review. I read across a pretty wide range of genres, though mysteries and thrillers tend to be particular favorites. If you'd like me to consider a book, send along a little information about it and why you think it might be a good fit for A Book A Week.

Publishers & Authors

Review requests, interviews, features, or something else you have in mind? Send me a note. I'm always happy to hear about new books and opportunities that might be a good fit for the blog.

General Inquiries

Have a question, a recommendation, or just want to talk books? Those messages are welcome, too.

Find Me Elsewhere

Send a Message

Your information will only be used to respond to your message.

Archive for 2016

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

Saturday, December 31, 2016

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

"None are so blind as those who will not see." Following her duties as one of Florence Nightingale's proteges during the Cri...

Read the review →
Cujo by Stephen King

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Cujo by Stephen King

"The world was full of monsters, and they were all allowed to bite the innocent and unwary." For several decades now, Stephen Ki...

Read the review →
No Easy Day by Mark Owen

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

No Easy Day by Mark Owen

"The only easy day was yesterday." In No Easy Day , Mark Owen recounts his role in the top secret mission to locate and extermin...

Read the review →
IQ by Joe Ide

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

IQ by Joe Ide

"Most of us have to play the hand we're dealt but you and that mind of yours? You can deal your own hand, play whatever game you wa...

Read the review →
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

As Hollywood seems to be stuck in a perpetual cycle of reboots and retellings, it was only a matter of time before the publishing industry b...

Read the review →
Friday Flicks: Inferno

Friday, November 11, 2016

Friday Flicks: Inferno

"Hope not ever to see Heaven. I have come to lead you to the other shore; into eternal darkness; into fire and into ice." -  Dant...

Read the review →
Deadline by John Sandford

Monday, November 7, 2016

Deadline by John Sandford

Virgil Flowers is known for being the go to guy in investigating "the hard ones". As a lead investigator for the Minnesota Bureau ...

Read the review →
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

"There must be something in books, something we can't imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something the...

Read the review →
Friday Flicks: The Girl on the Train

Friday, October 14, 2016

Friday Flicks: The Girl on the Train

Earlier this year, I read The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins as part of a book club. I loved the way Hawkins blurred the lines of her t...

Read the review →
Without Mercy by Jefferson Bass

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Without Mercy by Jefferson Bass

"Some days I think we're making progress. Other days, I think the problem is just human nature itself, stretching all the way back...

Read the review →
The Buried Book by D.M. Pulley

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

The Buried Book by D.M. Pulley

"Books are like people. Sometimes they lie." Young Jasper's life is being turned upside down. His mother is gone. She left h...

Read the review →
Friday Flicks: Sully

Friday, September 30, 2016

Friday Flicks: Sully

America has a complicated history with airplanes. They started as a luxurious means of travel and represented the core of mankind's expl...

Read the review →
Autumn in Oxford by Alex Rosenberg

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Autumn in Oxford by Alex Rosenberg

Tom Wrought is being framed. Life hadn't been easy up to this point, but he never expected it to get this bad. A Pulitzer prize and coll...

Read the review →
Storm Front by John Sandford

Monday, September 12, 2016

Storm Front by John Sandford

"There're not many angels around anymore. Not in my work." The Virgil Flowers series by John Sandford is one of my all time ...

Read the review →
The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak

I don't have any kids (unless you count my dog), so I wouldn't consider myself an expert on children's books by any means. That ...

Read the review →
Binge by Tyler Oakley

Monday, August 29, 2016

Binge by Tyler Oakley

Before reading his book, Binge , I wasn't very familiar with Tyler Oakley. I've seen him hosting some awards show red carpet coverag...

Read the review →
The Gifts of Memoir by Christine Hale

Friday, August 26, 2016

The Gifts of Memoir by Christine Hale

In A Piece of Sky, A Grain of Rice: A Memoir in Four Meditations, I've written about  myself but not for  myself. I talk about a child...

Read the review →
Bossypants by Tina Fey

Friday, August 5, 2016

Bossypants by Tina Fey

"To say I'm an overrated troll, when you've never even seen me guard a bridge, is pretty unfair." I wouldn't conside...

Read the review →
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Monday, August 1, 2016

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

"If you go in with fear, fear is what you'll find" I have a confession to make. In my haste to share my enthusiasm of books...

Read the review →

Friday, July 29, 2016

Giveaway: Blue Moon by Wendy Corsi Staub

on Tour July 25th - August 26, 2016 New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub returns to Mundy’s Landing—a small town where ...

Read the review →
Purity by Jonathan Franzen

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Purity by Jonathan Franzen

"So many Jonathans. A plague of literary Jonathans." Jonathan Franzen has reluctantly accepted his role as one of America's ...

Read the review →
Burn by James Patterson

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Burn by James Patterson

By now I know exactly what to expect when I open a James Patterson novel. His heroes will be classic good guys with just enough personal bag...

Read the review →
Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson

Reclusive author M.M. Banning, Mimi to her friends, values her privacy. Years ago, she wrote a novel that became a literary phenomenon. She...

Read the review →
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

"I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head." There is no denying that one of last year's "it...

Read the review →
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

"Remember, every treasure comes with a price." When the blistering heat of the Texas summer hits, I usually change my reading ha...

Read the review →
Giveaway: Pigeon-Blood Red by Ed Duncan

Friday, May 27, 2016

Giveaway: Pigeon-Blood Red by Ed Duncan

Pigeon-Blood Red is a fast-paced and suspenseful crime thriller by Ed Duncan. It was released in March 2016, published by Zharmae and is ava...

Read the review →
Powered by Blogger.