Terrifying explanation of the future impact of climate change on housing prices, insurance, and city infrastructure. Good explanation of specific US locations- the history of the housing market, city infrastructure, and predictions. Some opportunities are explained, but this one doesn‘t end on a super positive note.

This had a Cinderella/Beauty and the Beast with Game of Thrones to close it out. Parts were a little slow, parts were page turners. Fantasy isn‘t my favorite genre, but good nonetheless.

This is really good. Creative storytelling of a novel that is well known. Excellent

Entertaining fantasy novel- Hunger Games with a little Harry Potter and Dan Brown mixed in. Escapism reading for sure!

BG‘s story is well told, and her voice comes through in this bio. She accepts responsibility for a minor mistake, and does a great job explaining her experience and the impact that had on those around her. I bet she‘s a great teammate- she was consistent in awarding praise to those who helped her legally, with translation or with kindness in her darkest hour.

Crosley is an exceptional writer or articulates grief in an intellectual, relatable, vulnerable way. It‘s not a self help book, but a journey through her own grief of her friend‘s death. It‘s sad, but I kept thinking, “She said that so well,” repeatedly. If you can sit in someone‘s sadness, this is an exceptional book.

This quick, quirky book follows 7 women‘s boxing matches…in the minds of the boxers. Not only is each boxer unique in their boxing style and life, but you read their thoughts about their life not boxing strategy. It reminded me va of my mind wandering as I run- and the writing was incredible. This book may not get a lot of hype, but it‘s creativity of storytelling should.

This is part memoir and part history of Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in CO. It‘s interesting and Iverson has a lot to say about her life and the impacts of Rocky Flats. I think a map of the area and a timeline could have helped move this along. Parts were fantastic, other portions I scanned.

Good, twisting mystery with flawed yet likeable characters. Curious to see if this becomes a series and that‘s why character flaws were included that weren‘t essential to the overall story. Quick enough to feel like the plot moved, long enough to develop plot and twists.

I‘m not a birder, and I only picked it up as it‘s Amy Tan. It‘s glorious. Not too science-y, yet informative, and with Tan‘s ability to create stories, each journal entry about her observations becomes stories with characters and personalities. Who knew Tan is an exceptional artist? This has humor, beauty, and Tan‘s writing. Perfect.

I think that Land showcases his difficult it is to be poor, hard working, and a single mom exceptionally well. I loved her points through her life about the “deserving poor.” That said, her comments about having a child “by herself” and being angry with her friends (who helped her constantly) for not unconditionally supporting her was off putting. It changed my view of this book.

I love short stories and I loved Towles‘ writing style. He mixes the mundane life with cultured tastes with unique yet flaws characters with an appreciation of moments that makes life worth living. These aren‘t turn pagines because of plot; they are because of characters.

As his story is beyond ratable and emotional, the storytelling and message moves at an engaging clip. Incredible that he survived so many events, and I loved that he acknowledged his luck in many of those instances. Great Holocaust survivor book, and his message of being grateful for life is supported through his story.

Entertaining enough summer book. I hadn‘t read the other books in this series. A good beach read or a painting a room kind of audiobook. Red herrings to make it interesting and seeds planted for the next book in the series. 3/5 stars

ollowing two families in Georgia, the author traced 2015 to 2021. A veteran of war, with stints in Iraq and Israel, and a quadriplegic who lives next door, the story takes us through their complicated yet “normal” lives and how they became so politically divided. I loved it- people are just wonderfully complex, and this book showcases it…and how easily we can get trapped in our own echo chambers.

Listened to this one….its drama filled, and I can see the Succession comparisons. They are all horrible people and I couldn‘t find anyone to root for, which made me not love it like I loved Succession. If you like corporate drama, power and money, it‘s a good pick.

Not too preachy (though I completely agree with a ban of phones in schools and a focus of developing independence as a parent), well researched, and easy to read. I really like the parallel points- physical independence opportunities for kids and online limits. As a teacher, I wished for a chapter of the crazy helicoptering parents have for their children in school and the ramifications of that behavior on their children‘s development as well.

This history lesson and gun manifesto is interesting and well researched. It definitely picks up steam as it chronicles the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment post Nixon. This might tbe one that you love it if you agree with the author, and hate it if you don‘t. I agree with the points, so I enjoyed it.

Listened to this on audio, and Cooper is funny. Great for completing tasks around the home- not too heavy or difficult to track, fun anecdotes, perfect pace of reading. Fun, but maybe not the best book of the year.

I didn‘t realize what this was, and if I did, I bet I would have passed. However, I‘m so glad I didn‘t- it was so enjoyable and unique. Robinson processes the meanings of the stories in Genesis in a manner that I rethought the message that i learned about the Old Testament God. Meandering and thoughtful.

The strength of this book is the showcasing the horrors and camaraderie of the nurses in Vietnam. It‘s a page turner and quite a lot of ground that‘s covered. My complaint is that Hannah covered a few plot twists that were slightly forced (romantic drama). Overall, engaging great summer read!

This is an endearing book about the personalities of octopuses and the author‘s experience seeing and learning about their intelligence. Good, but slightly repetitive and I‘m probably not likely to love an octopus‘s sucker tasting my skin- I‘m mostly likely to be grossed out.

Entertaining who-dun-it why the added twist of the person who solves it gets the inheritance. This has two mysteries to solve which makes the reader go back to 1967 via diary entries and the present day murder. It kind of reminded me of Scooby-Do.

This novel about the aftermath of a young g mother who dies suddenly, focuses on her daughter, her best friend and her husband. Some parts are incredible, some parts stretch a little too much. Overall, good read, without being overdone.

This book is incredible. Dr. Ford gives a tutorial of surfing, processes her experiences, and puts her vulnerability on full display. She‘s an exceptional writer and her recap of the aftermath of her testimony was heartbreaking. I loved this book- very little about the assault and it showcases what she should be known for: an intelligent, capable, thoughtful and strong woman and parent.

This novel is wonderful. One flawed character that tells the story, with different characters‘ POVs to round out the gaps in perspectives and time. It‘s funny, sad, engaging, and cringey. Fantastic.

I grew up in a religious household and this book validated my feelings of what I thought Christianity was to my “I don‘t want a part of that‘ now. Through multiple interviews, Alberta showcases the evolution of the Church from Christ focused to politics focused…because fear sells. Well written and thoughtful, this was a great book.

There‘s a lot to like in this book- a plot that moves, interesting characters, and plenty of choices that cause more and intense drama. The first 1/2 is a 5, but the last bit felt like the ending pushed too hard at being intense. Good, crazy read.

Swisher recounts her professional journalism career reporting on tech and tech giants that matches the swagger that is needed to go ego to ego in covering them. Mostly recaps of events and interviews. Jobs is painted well; Musk is taken down. Interesting points on tech.

Orange has an unique style of writing that makes the plot and characters unique and intriguing. This has different eras that we visit, with flawed characters who share their perspectives in their storytelling. Good with a little variety in the stories.

There‘s some great interesting nuggets of peasant lives and interesting stories. It just felt like I had to find them in some longer winded set ups. I think a different organization might have helped it for me; I liked it, but it came at a price.

Two 4 year old girls start the book, and one tells the story throughout the rest. However, since the girl is remembering, living, avoiding and processing her grief, stories are repeated, but different. Excellent.

This is a short book that contains essays about influential woman and their relationship with the outdoors. I‘m not sure what I expected, but this was very well written and had interesting information about the freedom the outdoors provided them. It‘s good, just short.

This memoir processing the death of her parents is more than that. So glad I read this- her writing is exquisite and I didn‘t want to put it down. Best book I‘ve read in awhile.

Part memoir about her running career, and part manifesto about the issues in women‘s sports- the bias, body image, etc. the best parts were her telling her story- athletes can identify with so much, but the salary portion didn‘t sit well- she wanted to be an influencer and get paid by Nike, which is more important than running fast, yes, but that‘s not how professional sport work. She‘s honest and tries to make the sports better than she lived it.

I‘m fairly certain that I probably wouldn‘t like/respect Bunny in real life, but in this novel, I did. Following her meandering through her life and her proximity to oil yet not understanding it completely was mesmerizing. This worked for me and liked the quick pace of time.

Fun mystery following a journalist and her investigation. Love the switching of mediums- texts, plays, interviews and prose. Easy reading, good pace of plot.

This took a minute for me to get into, but one I did (1/3 of the way into it), I loved the storytelling method, topic, and pace. From a variety of perspectives, the story of the person who dreamed of building a “thinking” computer and ramifications of this from multiple people. Creative and packs a punch without being sanctimonious.

Part history, part science, part political, part innovation, Chip War walks the reader through the innovative of the “chip”, it‘s fabrication, ramifications, and its uses. How we got to the Asian dominance of chip production was interesting and where we go from here is complex and well explained.

Five families are followed throughout their experiences in the suburbs. Really interesting but I felt that it was more about schools than suburbs. That being said. I think the author should have included teachers‘ point of views of the suburb evolution, city managers and mayors to round out the challenges. I also believed every word of the parents‘ perspectives of what happens in schools. It‘s a wild world out there in public education.

Quick novel about a mixed race community. Written well, and the plot moves quickly. Characters were interesting and I wanted a bit more- great sign.

Excellent, page turning description of the development, physics, chemistry, weather, evacuation and defending the city from the Canadian fire in 2016. The explanation of how hot the fire was, how it moved, and the citizens‘ reactions was so good. For me, the last 1/4 of the book lost a little momentum, but that could be because the first 3/4 was so good.

Readable and informative look at the anatomy of the ocean, its movement and why, biodiversity in all the layers, and complexities. Portions of the book will find its way in my Honors Science class- interesting without being dry, informative not too technical, and a perfect explanation to listen to climate news with more understanding. Excellent.

This 642 page book spanning different POVs of an immediate family throughout events and flashbacks sometimes meanders. However, the ending is on point and pulls together seemingly loose ends to make the final 1/4 a wonderful page turner. Developed and flawed characters, a slow burn, and worth the time!

This informative book presented aspects of roads and infrastructure that impact an area‘s ecology in ways I never even considered. Readable and organized, it changed what I noticed on my drive to mountains on I70 in Colorado. Not the usual ecology book- which made it so enjoyable.

Fantastic novella about a Russian trying to escape conscription with a French woman leaving her relationship as they travel on a train across Siberia. Perfect pacing of plot makes this well written book a quick and enjoyable read.

I agree with a lot of his points, the information is readable and motivating, and connects many aspects of improving your healthspan. It‘s heavy on the author‘s personal experiences and anecdotes, which started to get off putting. Spoiler alert: exercise- cardio, strength, stability is the best strategy of staving off effects of aging.

This is like a bunch of connected short stories that all use the same setting-a house. I think it was creative and some characters/ stories were great, others….meh. This one is mixed for me.

Following a couple throughout their beginning, childhood and mid-life stories, this book switches perspectives and timelines frequently. There‘s some background information that makes this a long read, but it added justification and explanation to what and why the main character did everything in their relationship. It‘s not perfect, but neither are the characters- which makes this book so enjoyable.

There is so much of this I loved- the structure of explaining each system, the evolution of the system, how each system is different from a male, and society issues of each system. It was fascinating and so funny. I learned so much- and makes me think that, perhaps, my kids need to deliver a bigger Mother‘s Day gift each year🤣.