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J.L.’s Year In Books

J.L.’s 2025 Year in Books

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2026 Reading Challenge

2026

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J.L. has read 5 of 30 books.

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J.L. Odom

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

https://jlodomauthor.com/

Twitter

JLNomad

Genre

Fantasy

Member Since

August 2008

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J.L. Odom hails from Oklahoma. After a five year stint in the Marine Corps as an Arabic linguist, she graduated from George Washington University with a degree in International Affairs, focusing on Conflict and Security. She lives with her husband and five children wherever it is that the U.S. Army happens to send them. Her hobbies include running, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and cooking meals for a crowd.

Her inspirations are C.S. Lewis and Robin McKinley, war history (and history in general), middle eastern languages, and desert landscapes.

She can be found on instagram with the handle @jlodom.author

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J.L. Odom’s books

Average rating: 4.32 · 1,048 ratings · 324 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	By Blood, by Salt (Land of Exile #1) 4.23 avg rating — 728 ratings — published 2024 — 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
	A Haunt for Jackals (Land of Exile, #2) 4.51 avg rating — 277 ratings — published 2025 — 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
	Honor: A Sci-Fi & Fantasy Anthology by Z.S. Diamanti (Goodreads Author) (Editor And Author), J.L. Odom (Goodreads Author), Herman Steuernagel (Goodreads Author) 4.72 avg rating — 43 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

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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J.L. Odom's Blog

Andor and The Power of Patience

I could make a list as long as my arm of all the things the show Andor does right. Gosh, it does so, so many things right. It simply oozes with thought and care and precision. But as I settled contentedly (or, often as not, with tension) into each next episode, one word kept coming to mind.

Patience.

This show–these writers–have so much patience. And the result is gorgeous. Just as three hours o

Series by J.L. Odom

Land of Exile (2 books)
by

J.L. Odom (Goodreads Author)

4.30 avg rating — 1,004 ratings

J.L. is Currently Reading

J.L. is currently reading

الفتنة

by Kanan Makiya

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Dec 22, 2017 01:48AM

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The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq

by Ronald Sempill Stafford

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Mar 03, 2018 06:02PM

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Fighting Back: British Jewry's Military Contribution in the Second World War

by Martin Sugarman

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Mar 03, 2018 05:54PM

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J.L.’s Recent Updates

J.L. and 4 other people liked Jocelyn (jocelyn.reads.books)'s review of Shirley: "I might be a little obsessed. I loved it!"
Apr 14, 2026 05:37AM · see review
J.L. wants to read Shirley by Charlotte Brontë	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
Apr 10, 2026 04:51PM · like
J.L. and 4 other people liked Jocelyn (jocelyn.reads.books)'s status update Jocelyn (jocelyn.reads.books) is on page 392 of 624 of Shirley: CB doing her thing and catching me with scenes that require tissues.
Apr 10, 2026 04:51PM
J.L. answered BiggPoppa7003's question: Do you have a name for the third book? If yes, can you share it? I actually do have a working title but I won't lock it in as permanent until I'm done with revisions/edits. As soon as I'm confident that it won't change, I'll share it and update my answer to this question with the title. I'm at the end (second to l See Full Answer
Apr 06, 2026 01:58PM · 2 likes · like
J.L. liked Benjamin’s status update Benjamin wants to read In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton
Apr 06, 2026 01:35PM · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of In Defense of Sanity by G.K. Chesterton. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — In Defense of Sanity by G.K. Chesterton <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
J.L. is now following Jocelyn (jocelyn.reads.books)'s reviews
Apr 06, 2026 01:11PM · like
J.L. is now following Mitriel Faywood Author of A Gamble of Gods (The Order of the Dragon, #1)
Apr 02, 2026 08:56PM · like
J.L. liked Nicki ’s status update Nicki started reading The Blue Sword (Damar, #1)
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J.L. wants to read He Who Ate The Wild by G.J. Terral (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
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Sword and Laser: Quick Burns (2025)	127	157	Dec 12, 2025 07:59PM
Beyond Reality: Q1 Challenge (Jan-Mar 2026): debut	14	26	Feb 23, 2026 05:49PM

J.L.’s Quotes

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
― C.S. Lewis

16981 likes

“The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.”
― C.S. Lewis

tags: education

2118 likes

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
― C.S. Lewis

tags: god, world

12760 likes

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
― C.S. Lewis

tags: religious-christianity

815 likes

“From at least the age of six, romantic longing --Sechnsucht-- has played an unusually central part of my experience. Such longing is in itself the very reverse of wishful thinking: it is more like thoughtful wishing.”
― C.S. Lewis

5 likes

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