Interesting fact: research has shown that reading fiction can build and better our empathy levels (Bal & Veltkamp (2013). While I share this fact with any random client on any given day, we inevitably end up in the rhythmic banter of a client laughing as they tell me, “I don’t think what I’m reading counts as increased empathy.” I then deduce the person is reading a slasher/horror/murderer-is-the-protagonist trope. 

“I don’t know,” I say with a smile. “It takes a lot of empathy to be able to emotionally relate to such a monstrous character.” That typically gets my clients to pause, reflect, and agree with my observations.

Something I love about this interaction is that while I am not pulling directly from any single client’s appointment, humans are so rhythmically in-tune with one another, I can confidently say I have shared this moment of banter on more than one occasion– both within the therapy office and in a social conversation while I’m wearing my Awkward-Quiet-Alyshia hat instead of my Ethical-Evidence-Based-LMHC hat. 

Perhaps this is the best point to introduce myself and my intentions here. Because yes, I am a licensed mental health counselor, but my intentions around entering the blogging world are not intended or designed to become a point of therapeutic interventions for the public. I am first and foremost a cat-mom, then a reader, then maybe a slightly eclectic hobbyist. What I do for work happens to be mental health counseling, and I have a strong passion for social justice; but this space is meant for me to reflect on books I love, books I hate, and explore patterns of human behaviors entirely from observations.

I am not a credentialed book-reviewer, and I’m not convinced I’ll be providing consistent star ratings on any of these stories. I will do my best to provide summaries entirely from my own memory before diving into what the suggested book brought up for me personally, whether it be a socially relevant issue, a personal coincidence of timing, or a vulnerable mention of why I always pick books that make me ugly cry.

There is no narrative arc to expect from this blog beyond the arc you experience if you pick up one of the novels I choose to write about. There is no knowing which book I’ll be picking up next (although I can pretty confidently say that the chances of me diving into horror is next to zero), but my goal is to reflect on one book a week—as long as life, work, and my cats allow it. Hopefully there is a new post on the weekend, but I make no promises– I work full time and just re-entered a new graduate program to strengthen my skills as a clinician, and for some reason I decided that is impeccable timing to also start a book-related blog! There might be times I share on a Sunday, and then that following Tuesday, and then you hear nothing until the next week’s Sunday. But by the end of August 2026, I hope to have 52 books that have been reviewed and reflected upon. 

If you join me on this journey and have a recommendation on what I should read next, please contribute to my problem and grow my TBR! I love to prioritize recommended books over books I personally am interested in– I find sharing that piece of yourself opens up a form of human connection that is most lovely.

Additionally, if I have taken a particularly nice picture of myself, my books, or my cats, I will be sure to add them to the weekly musing. Otherwise, welcome aboard! Curl up, dig in, and let’s turn some pages.

Sincerely,

Alyshia, Margo, Luna, and Ginny.

References

Bal, P. M., & Veltkamp, M. (2013). How does fiction reading influence empathy? An experimental investigation on the role of emotional transportation. PloS one, 8(1), e55341. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0055341