While reading, I kept thinking, “A better example of this is actually…”, then, horrifically, realized this was published in 2018. Unfortunately, things have gotten worse, the strategy clearer, and our understanding of fascism is in real time. Ugh.

Politically, I agree with most points the author makes. Some essays about traveling with her kids were wonderful and completely describes the feeling of loving America (what we think it might be) with what it is, and its history. I think what would have made this a 5/5, is the people that her family met- not just the landscapes and attractions. Though these are America, the people and our ability to (hopefully) be neighborly is what I came for.

This is both a memoir of a family over the course of generations, a tutorial of Ukrainian culture, and processing being displaced because of a war. Well written, heartfelt and inspiring, it‘s a solid pick. It‘s clear the author loves her home, and it‘s a travesty that it still continues to be fought over, as it deserves to be its own independent nation.

This is incredible…though I‘m not sure that my idea of what happened in this novel is what the author actually intended for me to think…but I don‘t care. I don‘t need to understand something to completely love and enjoy every minute of this. And what I think what happened is superb- the structure and writing makes this a strong, artsy pick from me.

Read this really quickly…and I like the flashbacks on our way to tell this story. The plot moved quickly enough to keep me engaged, and there are a few twists and turns. Frank deserved more from the storyline. Though, maybe that‘s the pull of this one- who do we forgive and why?

I love a good multiple POV novel with a bit of mystery to be solved. The plot moves at a great clip,I liked the seed bank/ southern seas as a setting. Though I don‘t think every part is believable and/or needed to go that direction, that fact that I didn‘t stop reading quickly and/or became upset means that through the writing, I became invested in each character- whether I liked them or not. Good book!

How to Survive propels this book of poetry to an easy 5 star rating. Poetry isn‘t my normal reading genre, but I‘m so grateful I gave this one a go- creative, interesting, enjoyable way to see different perspectives through poetry. Excellent.

A series of essays about what the authors term as abundance. I disagree with the title- I think it could have been tradeoffs or unintended inefficiencies. Most of the writing focuses on good intentions of liberal policies that cause inability to be nimble and quick to build, invent, deploy.

This book, and Backman‘s writing, is everything I love about reading.

Feel good book about characters in a small town. Meandering beginning that pulls together nicely at the end!

This is a heart warming, implausible, novel showcasing a man who is an alcoholic, takes advantage of his family, and his journey to being a better man via 2 children, his pissed off daughter, a cat, a dream, and a road trip. Though many of these events are unlikely and enabling, it didn‘t make me not like it. Enjoyable.

It took me awhile to read this, and I almost gave up a number of times. It‘s a slow march through years of research and training (like most science). The end, featuring Helena, brought this from a 3 to a 4- had we jumped earlier, it could have been a 5.

This WWII novel is more about the inhabitants of 33 Place Brugman- the resistance, the Jews, the bystanders and the Nazi collaborators. The POV chapters kept the plot moving at a great pace. Characters were great even when they weren‘t. Enjoyable novel!

This historical book covering the late 1990s-now was both nostalgic and helped connect dots for me in regards to the Tradwife/ anti-feminism vibe that I see resurfacing. The tentacles of those ideas were placed in so many pop and cultural touch points that it was interesting seeing the connections come together.

I never buy books (libraries for the win!), but I‘m buying this one. Loved the short essays as a daily prompt to write (or think) a bit. The essays were written by a range of interesting people- each with their own style. Loved this idea, loved the essays. Wonderful.

This little book explores a happy life, a meaningful life, and a psychological rich life. Stability or movement? Exploration or living close to family? Can you have it all? Interesting anecdotes about who are more likely to travel, try new foods or places, and the benefits of a meaningful life. I was impressed with the wide ranging literature references. Definitely a book to ponder.

Little bit jewel heist, romance, mystery, Paris in 1942, and wise cracking 90 year olds that make this historical fiction a delight.

The true story of Marguerite is a 5/5. This novel is somewhat entertaining but the pace, the love story, and parts of the main character‘s internal dialogue didn‘t quite work for me. Other parts were great, so an uneven quality gives this a 3.5/5 rating from me.

Quick historical fiction novel about a Confederate woman saving an Union soldier from death by nursing him back to health while hiding him. It‘s entertaining, engaging and the plot moves nicely.

I finished this thinking, “that was so sweet.” This is an excellent debut, considering that the majority of the book deals with addiction, forgiveness, death, family, and recovery. It was wonderful.

Roach is an enjoyable writer and it was entertaining to read about lesser known problems and solutions of human space travel. Hygiene, separation anxiety, motion sickness, and isolation issues are explored in a witty and informative manner.

If you are looking for a love story, this is a great book. If you are excited about the NASA, first women in the program, this book leaves you wanting more. The ending has many flashbacks to create context and tension, but I wanted more on the details of the present. Good love story, and it‘s easy to root for this love to live happily ever after.

This book celebrates those of us who believe that we should “dance in different disciplines”, meander in experiences, and not confuse a too early obsession with grit. In a time where year round and travel team youth sports have taken over, this is a testament to the value of learning and thinking from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives. Great book!

One of Hannah‘s first novels and it‘s clear that she has a page turning writing style. Characters are mostly likeable, good plot, and I like how the story is told but, again, romance is a driving force for confidence and life affirmation for the characters. Good, not great.

A common science essay: “describe the journey of a water molecule” is transformed into an epic POV novel based in Nineveh, London, and Iraq. I rooted for each main character for different reasons. Each POV had their own strengths and I loved the history lesson of the Yazidi faith and history. Narin‘s grandmother had wonderful nuggets of advice and one-liners that made the novel worth reading in itself. Wonderful.

This missing hiker thriller has multiple POVs that connect to in the search. Good, the Maine warden‘s character was its strength. Nice mix of interviews, media and narratives to move the plot along. It‘s good as a summer read.

Based on Obama‘s 2024 recommendations, I picked up this economics book. Using graphs and historical data, Susskind explains economic growth over time, and, like most Obama picks, gives the reader some thought provoking insights and moral questions to ponder. I don‘t think this is the summer page turner for most of us, but the discussions about sustainability, AI, and investment in R&D are timely and relevant.

Vuong is an exceptional writer, and the connection between these two characters is interesting. Parts didn‘t sit well for me, but that‘s because of my experience with dementia not the storyline. Good book, lots to think about, yet some parts unresolved and unbelievable. Overall, good novel.

Excellent journalism following five families in Atlanta and their quest to find a place to rent, food and childcare and stay on top of their bills. There is very little correlation between how hard one works with how much one gets paid. This book does a fantastic job of showing the system- the heroes and villains- and explains how expensive it is to be the working poor.

There are heinous, graphic acts of violence, morally decrepit characters, and nonstop action. It‘s a stressful page turner- and though I understand that the character that I was rooting for amidst of of this was a very, very bad person who justified every action for “his family”, Cosby delivers another book I simply cannot put down (without flipping to the end to just see a name confirming life or death.) It‘s graphic, it‘s dark, and captivating.

Multi-generational POV novel, that jumps characters and time periods to help the reader understand each character. Great writing, good characters and beautiful settings, make this a page turner. The racism- blatant and covert- was believable, with generations of the family searching for “home”.

As a 49 yo woman, I felt that parts of this book were so well written and hilarious, and other parts were so “WTF?”. Like a raunchy comedian who is so funny…and then tells a joke that makes you think “ok, that‘s too far.” I‘m not sure who or if I‘d recommend this, but I flew through it in 24 hours, and am both confused by and understand completely what I just read.

Admittedly, I thought the title was a metaphor for other items, but was pleasantly surprised to read an entire book about TB- history, culture, treatments, research, patients. It‘s incredible, written by the wonderfully talented John Green. I like him more, and hope this book gives people pause who consider that medical research should be more than solely profit focused.

Part history, part memoir of the impact of the Indian boarding schools on individuals and their families. Great research on history and impact of generational trauma but, though completely related, it felt jarring bouncing between the two styles of writing. Good information.

The strength of the storytelling in this novel is the last third of the book. I had a hard time believing the beginning of the book- not really likeable characters and events that seemed like they came from left field. The setting and writing were enjoyable, and I‘m glad I pushed through to the end, but wasn‘t one of my favorites this year.

Part memoir, part history tracing the kids whose parents advertised their children to be taken in by British households in 1938. They originated in Vienna, and each of the stories told had such different paths throughout their lives. It‘s heartbreaking, but the biggest impact is thinking of the parents who knew that sending their children to complete strangers in a different country was the best decision they could make to keep them safe.

I‘m a big fan of Williams- of how he describes daily life expertly and beautifully, and he does the same in this novel. I felt it moved too slow (even though I like that about his writing). The plot was interesting at times, but didn‘t hit with the same punch that others had. Good, but not great.

I‘d give this a 4.5/5 stars. It was so interesting and informative- one of those books that make you see things just a little bit differently. The beginning and end of the book were fantastic about the science of airborne particles, but the middle dragged a bit. I understand that not everyone would find the physics of particulates intriguing, but how infectious diseases spread is. Maybe this one is for the science nonfiction nerds😜!

A quick read, as Annie, who is 37 weeks pregnant, walks to find her husband after a major earthquake hits Portland. I loved the alternating timelines that gave Annie‘s character depth, flaws, and likability. She‘s far from perfect, her choices are haphazard, which helps the pages turn. My only complaint is the ending- I like a bit of wondering, but some events were forced and other parts hanging. Overall, good book!

I liked a lot of this book, and it‘s interesting reading about traveling in the 1970s. Steves chronicles the mishaps, learning and euphoria of traveling to lesser known places on the Hippie Trail. His learning that it‘s worth it to spend a little more for good sleep and good food is a precursor to his travel books.

I devoured this, even with knowing the ending. It‘s been a long time since I‘ve read about the reaping, training, parade, trying to overthrow the Capital with disastrous results, and the arena where all things go to hell. This pairs fantastic with sitting poolside and is nostalgically wonderfully dramatic.

This was riveting, and I‘ve read some tech memoirs. Maybe it‘s the story telling, the cultural pieces of issues different countries had with facebook, or the juicy bits of gossip of the upper echelons of FB. Whatever it was, this one is engrossing and I highly recommend.

This book has promise if you like philosophy. I, however, ended up taking a lot of naps when I started to read this. I don‘t think I‘m a philosophy student.

It‘s definitely dystopian, no closure, depressing, not even sure I liked the main character, yet somehow, I loved it.

This is a repackaging of good advice to control what you can control. It‘s a good recentering, though I‘d like a little more information about parenting and this theory. The best part I thought was the section of adult friendships: why it‘s hard, what to do and what it takes to meet new friends and preserve old friendships. Overall, good reminder of how to not get engaged in the drama.

It takes a creative and well written story to turn an unlikable character with questionable moral character to be likable.

This is a creative, well written, 1/2 fiction, 1/2 sci-fi novel. I wanted more Wind, more Msizi chapters, less angry family, which shows the strengths of this evolving story telling strategy. With a novel inside a novel, this one jumps between two stories, and adds to the reader‘s understanding of the main character. Good read!

This isn‘t an easy read and it pairs well with “Everyone who is Gone is Here”. Following the human smugglers who are the guides or coyotes for people who are leaving Central America and migrating to Mexico or the US. It‘s intense, complicated, and told with humanity. Excellent!

Good family drama book. I just felt that the love triangle was over dramatized. Lots of characters and back stories to keep the plot moving, but some parts didn‘t hit perfectly for me. Loved the setting, vibrancy of Kolkata.

Creative and artsy way of chronicling stories of survivors of the Jeju Island Massacre.