Jacquelynn Lyon (Author of The Soft Landing Collection)

Jacquelynn Lyon rated a book it was amazing The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
EDIT: bringing this up a star because this book has stayed with me. I've just still been thinking about the jarbrains and walking into the vastness and texture of this world that has made books I've tried to read after not as good. A satisfying actio ...more
May 29, 2026 06:50PM · 3 likes · like · see review
Jacquelynn Lyon rated a book it was amazing Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I did not expect this to be this good. In fact, I thought it was just going to be a popular, practical time management book--which it is not. It was a philosophical text on the concepts of time which was both accessible and thoughtful, which can be a ...more
May 29, 2026 06:35PM · 1 like · like · see review
Jacquelynn Lyon and 600 other people liked Elle (ellexamines on TT & Substack)'s review of Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3): "I’m going to stop reviewing these books because I’m not going to lie: this entire volume could be about Murderbot laughing at a cat video and I would enjoy it. I love the questions this series brings up of what makes a human, and I’m increasingly fee" Read more of this review »
May 27, 2026 08:05AM · see review
Jacquelynn Lyon and 197 other people liked Mike's Book Reviews's review of The Last Contract of Isako: "Full Video Review Here: https://youtu.be/VvnDrhDZG44 Another strong outing from Fonda Lee. At this point she’s four‑for‑four with me, and this one hits a very specific sweet spot: the “one last mission” story anchored by an older, world‑weary protagon" Read more of this review »
May 26, 2026 07:07PM · see review
Jacquelynn Lyon rated a book it was amazing The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
EDIT: bringing this up a star because this book has stayed with me. I've just still been thinking about the jarbrains and walking into the vastness and texture of this world that has made books I've tried to read after not as good. A satisfying actio ...more
May 26, 2026 07:37AM · 3 likes · like · see review
Jacquelynn Lyon rated a book it was ok How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by K.C. Davis	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I was nodding along with this book for most of it until it got to ONE idea which has been bothering me for days now. I cannot make heads or tails of it since this idea is like an itch that won’t go away so I’m not going to rate this book. Like, logic ...more
May 25, 2026 06:00AM · 21 likes · like · see review
Jacquelynn Lyon wants to read The Raven Scholar (Eternal Path Trilogy, #1) by Antonia Hodgson (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Fantasy	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 21, 2026 06:05PM · like
Jacquelynn Lyon liked Kelly Kroeger's review of The Raven Scholar (Eternal Path Trilogy, #1):
May 21, 2026 06:04PM · see review
Jacquelynn Lyon has read Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
"He prayed for an end to the tyranny of all symbols, beginning with language." A book about the meaninglessness of death, even when we try to give it meaning. I really appreciated this book! The themes of grace were potent to me and the discussion ar ...more
May 18, 2026 08:21AM · 1 like · like · see review
Jacquelynn Lyon rated a book it was amazing The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Wow! When I first started this book, I kept bouncing off of it, but by the end I was fully invested and moved by it. It's a weird little book in a lot of ways, concerning itself with the cold war and gender politics and mysticism and polar exploratio ...more
May 15, 2026 06:02AM · 3 likes · like · see review

Jacquelynn Lyon rated a book it was amazing

The Last Contract of Isako
by Fonda Lee (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

EDIT: bringing this up a star because this book has stayed with me. I've just still been thinking about the jarbrains and walking into the vastness and texture of this world that has made books I've tried to read after not as good.

A satisfying actio EDIT: bringing this up a star because this book has stayed with me. I've just still been thinking about the jarbrains and walking into the vastness and texture of this world that has made books I've tried to read after not as good.

A satisfying action-packed read! I love the Green Bones saga and Fonda Lee, so I'm probably still the best audience for this book. I love a martial arts ronin story and while this was more of a detective story than I expected, it was an excellent combination of world-weary samurai arc, factional drama, and horrific undertones of a sci-fi future.

The book follows Isako as she is given one last contract to complete before she is allowed to retire--ie, walk out onto the plains of the inhospitable planet and die. (She is literally fighting for her right to die with honor.) Her last contract is to prevent an upstart from making it onto the Company Board that controls this planet that they are terraforming.

Favorites: I love a 50 year old woman and her deadbeat mom problems. I loved the way she had so much life experience that meant she kept running into old friends and histories throughout, really added texture. I was so onboard with the arc and journey of this story as we follow someone struggling both away from life, and toward it.

Mids: I did find it jarring when we changed perspectives about 60% of the way into the book, I missed Isako, but I did come around and enjoyed the nested narrative aspect of the book. Martim was a classic tragic character, earnest and well-dressed and doomed, so I got onboard.

The only thing is that I think Fonda Lee has a true talent for complex and sprawling interpersonal relationships and this book didn't contain quiet as many as her past work, Isako is functionally very isolated, but still done very well when present. Such as the apprentice-mentor relationships and mother-daughter relationship, all very juicy but in the background.

Mehs: The ending was alright with just a little less of a BANG than I expected. Like with other books I've read of Fonda Lee, she has a talent with making explosive middle arcs, such as the fight between Ayt Mada and Shae in Jade War, which is an enormous talent, but leaves the ending feeling less compelling in comparison. I found Isako's infiltration in the middle of the book one of my favorite parts and the ending not quiet as big.

Still! I love a book that keeps me reading and will always pick up a Fonda Lee book in the future. ...more

Jacquelynn Lyon rated a book it was amazing

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
by Oliver Burkeman

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I did not expect this to be this good. In fact, I thought it was just going to be a popular, practical time management book--which it is not. It was a philosophical text on the concepts of time which was both accessible and thoughtful, which can be a ...more

Jacquelynn Lyon and 600 other people liked Elle (ellexamines on TT & Substack)'s review of Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3):

"I’m going to stop reviewing these books because I’m not going to lie: this entire volume could be about Murderbot laughing at a cat video and I would enjoy it. I love the questions this series brings up of what makes a human, and I’m increasingly fee" Read more of this review »

Jacquelynn Lyon and 197 other people liked Mike's Book Reviews's review of The Last Contract of Isako:

"Full Video Review Here: https://youtu.be/VvnDrhDZG44

Another strong outing from Fonda Lee. At this point she’s four‑for‑four with me, and this one hits a very specific sweet spot: the “one last mission” story anchored by an older, world‑weary protagon" Read more of this review »

Jacquelynn Lyon rated a book it was amazing

The Last Contract of Isako
by Fonda Lee (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

EDIT: bringing this up a star because this book has stayed with me. I've just still been thinking about the jarbrains and walking into the vastness and texture of this world that has made books I've tried to read after not as good.

A satisfying actio EDIT: bringing this up a star because this book has stayed with me. I've just still been thinking about the jarbrains and walking into the vastness and texture of this world that has made books I've tried to read after not as good.

A satisfying action-packed read! I love the Green Bones saga and Fonda Lee, so I'm probably still the best audience for this book. I love a martial arts ronin story and while this was more of a detective story than I expected, it was an excellent combination of world-weary samurai arc, factional drama, and horrific undertones of a sci-fi future.

The book follows Isako as she is given one last contract to complete before she is allowed to retire--ie, walk out onto the plains of the inhospitable planet and die. (She is literally fighting for her right to die with honor.) Her last contract is to prevent an upstart from making it onto the Company Board that controls this planet that they are terraforming.

Favorites: I love a 50 year old woman and her deadbeat mom problems. I loved the way she had so much life experience that meant she kept running into old friends and histories throughout, really added texture. I was so onboard with the arc and journey of this story as we follow someone struggling both away from life, and toward it.

Mids: I did find it jarring when we changed perspectives about 60% of the way into the book, I missed Isako, but I did come around and enjoyed the nested narrative aspect of the book. Martim was a classic tragic character, earnest and well-dressed and doomed, so I got onboard.

The only thing is that I think Fonda Lee has a true talent for complex and sprawling interpersonal relationships and this book didn't contain quiet as many as her past work, Isako is functionally very isolated, but still done very well when present. Such as the apprentice-mentor relationships and mother-daughter relationship, all very juicy but in the background.

Mehs: The ending was alright with just a little less of a BANG than I expected. Like with other books I've read of Fonda Lee, she has a talent with making explosive middle arcs, such as the fight between Ayt Mada and Shae in Jade War, which is an enormous talent, but leaves the ending feeling less compelling in comparison. I found Isako's infiltration in the middle of the book one of my favorite parts and the ending not quiet as big.

Still! I love a book that keeps me reading and will always pick up a Fonda Lee book in the future. ...more

Jacquelynn Lyon rated a book it was ok

How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis

How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing
by K.C. Davis

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I was nodding along with this book for most of it until it got to ONE idea which has been bothering me for days now. I cannot make heads or tails of it since this idea is like an itch that won’t go away so I’m not going to rate this book. Like, logic I was nodding along with this book for most of it until it got to ONE idea which has been bothering me for days now. I cannot make heads or tails of it since this idea is like an itch that won’t go away so I’m not going to rate this book. Like, logically, I know this book is kind and did make me tear-up at one point when she talked about the bully self, the little self, and the observer self. That part really helped me! But I can't get over this one thought.

Overall: The audiobook was an easy listen for my commutes and there were a number of thoughts I enjoyed. As mentioned, I appreciated the three selves section and I am going to look more into that concept. On the other hand, like many nonfiction books (why are they like this?) the book did get pretty repetitive after a point. Plus, the “actionable” steps aren’t really things that apply to me anymore, but maybe I’ll keep them in my arsenal for if my depression ever gets really bad again– I haven’t had an apartment covered in trash since I was a teacher. I’m also pretty sure I wasn’t aware some of these were morally charged? I’ve been using clothes baskets instead of a wardrobe for years now and didn’t know that was like, weird. Like, wardrobes suck? You can’t see your clothes in there?

Anyway, I was mostly interested in the philosophy actually since one of the Youtubers I follow suggested it along those lines.

The Thought: A lot of the philosophy made sense to me until she reached the “rest is a right” section. Totally agree, rest is a right and if you’re working in shame then you’re probably also resting in shame– which won’t be very restful anyway. And I agree with that! You should rest without guilt since everyone deserves some rest each day. I also agree that laziness does not exist and our perception of laziness is skewed. My own thought is that we aren't lazy, we are ALONE. Individuals in our society are radically isolated in the modern day and one person expected to do everything that entire family units would do in the past is ridiculous. However, the book did not dive in too heavily on the isolation aspect.

. . . she launched into “once you give yourself the right to rest, then you may notice yourself resting a lot and that’s alright, it may take a lot of time to recover from burnout or XYZ.” This boggled my mind and has continued to work me up for days now. What does she mean you should let yourself rest as much as you want to rest??? Has this woman not seen The Void? What kind of irresponsible therapist gives their patients permission to enter the Depression Void?

The Void, as you might imagine, is a place where you let yourself spiral into the most awful darkness of non-action you’ve experienced in your life. I’ve spent at least a year in The Void as a teenager and I am more afraid of that place than I think I am of most anything else. Empty, listless, easy, consuming, no hobbies, no connections, no cares, no cleaning, no action. The Void is NOT laziness, I will assure you, but it is a seductive place that I know you can justify your way into if you’re not careful. So why is she giving mentally ill people that kind of justification from a authority figure to possible enter The Void in the name of rest?

I know her intention was probably aimed at people who overwork themselves or I don’t know, non-clinically depressed people? But that doesn’t make any sense because this book is specifically for mentally ill people. I mean, I guess postpartum depression is probably different than clinical depression or bipolar depression since maybe there IS some kind of end point, and she CAN rest enough to get rid of her burnout. The idea being that working people should allow for as much time of rest as they can while also still addressing their responsibilities. But giving yourself permission to rest until you can’t rest anymore sounds like a recipe for disaster–I am pretty sure I could rest permanently if I gave myself the chance. I am a depressed bitch and the name of the game is gently walking myself *towards* task instead of away from them.

As a therapist, I imagine she understands the instructions should partner with the results. I can’t imagine a scenario where this advice doesn't sometimes lead to the VOID. My general instinct is that this kind of advice is irresponsible and based on her own personal experience. She didn’t have anything to back up this advice, which wouldn’t be terrible, if it wasn’t dangerous advice which could lead to some major spirals in the name of rest.

I am very conflicted in general about this, so if people do have data or experience with letting yourself rest until you can’t rest anymore, then please speak up. I have very much been putting myself into knots over this.

On the bright side, this whole thing worked me up to the point where I could imagine a different type of therapy strategy, because honestly the level of self-coddling she recommends generally made me feel gross too. That part I think is definitely a me-thing though, whereas The Void I think could be a universal dangerous thing, but I digress. It did make me realize that I wanted a therapy style that expected MORE from me instead of less, because that kind of faith in you really can make a difference– that you are capable of achievements and not just apologies. ...more

Jacquelynn Lyon wants to read

The Raven Scholar (Eternal Path Trilogy, #1)
by Antonia Hodgson (Goodreads Author)
Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Fantasy

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Jacquelynn Lyon liked Kelly Kroeger's review of The Raven Scholar (Eternal Path Trilogy, #1):

Jacquelynn Lyon has read

Martyr!
by Kaveh Akbar

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"He prayed for an end to the tyranny of all symbols, beginning with language." A book about the meaninglessness of death, even when we try to give it meaning. I really appreciated this book! The themes of grace were potent to me and the discussion ar ...more

Jacquelynn Lyon rated a book it was amazing

The Left Hand of Darkness
by Ursula K. Le Guin

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Wow! When I first started this book, I kept bouncing off of it, but by the end I was fully invested and moved by it. It's a weird little book in a lot of ways, concerning itself with the cold war and gender politics and mysticism and polar exploratio ...more

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	The Soft Landing Collection: Sapphic Fantasy and Science Fiction Stories 4.27 avg rating — 131 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rules for Loving Haunted Girls: A Sapphic Urban Fantasy Collection 4.48 avg rating — 67 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Little Lights 4.67 avg rating — 33 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Crooked Stars: A Sapphic Fairy Tale Collection by Jacquelynn Lyon (Goodreads Author), Brenna Bailey-Davies (editor), Megan O'Donell (illustrator) 4.75 avg rating — 16 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Bog Hag 4.31 avg rating — 16 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wolves at the Door 4.36 avg rating — 14 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Meet Me Again 4.27 avg rating — 11 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dear Tuesdays really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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