This was a 2017 favorite on many lists but I didn't think I wanted to read about misogynistic Ireland. Oh, I was wrong! The books starts with a 16-yr old being denounced from the pulpit as a whore, by a priest who will later be found to have fathered 2 children with two woman, then the story follows her to Dublin where her son Cyril is born in the midst of violence. Cyril's story is told in episodes from 1945 to 2015. Sad, funny, so amazing

Mild recommendation: The 1962 plane crash that killed 100+ members of Atlanta‘s art community sets this story in motion. This is about the people who lost loved ones and others who are swept up in the aftermath. Drama ensues. This was an absorbing story, a quick read that pulled me in.

There are serious themes here: race, privilege, responsibility. Is it a serious book with a potboiler overlay? A lighter read with lurking discussion threads?

Starting in 1967 at age 11, Willa's story moved to 1977 for her engagement, 1997 and finally 2017 (page 107) for the remainder as her disappointments pile up. I'm somewhere in the middle on my view of this book: enjoyed it, happy to have read it, but some of this felt flat, a bit off. Maybe I've read too much Anne Tyler? All in all, a qualified recommendation

Hmm. I think I'll skip this one 😯

Here are the stories of working people who can't seem to get ahead. The issues explored include pregnancy discrimination, for-profit college scams, skyrocketing student debt, predatory midlife reinvention courses, gig economy jobs instead of stable jobs, automation, devalued caregiving and the list goes on. Worthwhile to consider these, though I'm not sure about ideas like co-parenting and guaranteed basic income. So discussion ready

Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford and created Theranos, promising a portable lab in a box that could quickly produce a large volume of blood tests from a few drops of blood. Her startup was viewed as a medical breakthrough and raised more than $700 million, becoming a company valued at $9 billion. Things were not as described. This is a fascinating account by the Wall Street Journal reporter who broke the story. A compelling book.

This is a compulsively readable account of 150 million years of dinosaurs. No special interest in dinosaurs is required.

"For all our darker impulses, for all our shortcomings, and for all of the dreams denied and deferred, the experiment...is worth the fight."

Bookish shade from the New Yorker!

A family of five. The youngest has been away for a few years, but returns to attend his sister's wedding. From this point, we learn how the rift happened and then what happens in the years after the wedding. This is a deep and satisfying reading experience dwelling on rewards and heartaches of family life, love, culture and loss in this American Muslim family. Highly recommended literary fiction

The death of Rebecca‘s nanny and former lactation helper Priscilla shatters her, but soon she agrees to care for Priscilla‘s newborn son. Much of the novel follows Rebecca‘s path as a mother and poet, a character-driven meditation on relationships, race, status, with events of the later 80s and 90s as a backdrop.

I received this as a free WSJ+ ebook and found it an engrossing read.

This is a fun peek into the world of people who love to dress up as Jane Austen‘s contemporaries, mingle with Austen scholars, dance as they did then, and load up on fan merchandise. Her books and characters are sources of endless delight and discussion. The author represented his mother, a noted scholar, after she was sidelined and provided one more man on the dance floor. Very enjoyable

“An astonishing literary debut!”- Margaret Atwood: This book! The praise is well deserved. Read this.

Great listening, though sensitive listeners/readers beware. Thoroughly enjoyed most of this. David Sedaris is so oddly hilarious!

Fascinating and compelling: a series of essays about a crazy quilt of a state. Lawrence Wright lives in Austin, writes for the New Yorker, writes plays and is in a band. He wrote the Looming Tower, on Al Qaeda, and many other books. I heard an interview, maybe on Fresh Air, that encouraged me to read the book and I‘m happy for the perspective on this state that seems too large, not just in acres, to easily grasp.

What if you've found your place but it doesn't match what people expect from you? What if you are comfortable conforming to rules in small ways, but not to most societal pressures to strive? Read this. #netgalley

Enjoying this book, out in September #netgalley

This will change your view of these lakes and your drinking water: sea lampreys, alewives, zebra and quagga mussels (yikes)