This is a complicated book. On one hand, it‘s engaging, thought provoking, empowering to choose how to die; on the other hand, it‘s a dysfunctional family on full display with characters who I was never sure I fully liked. I read it quickly, but I was frustrated by events/characters, which might show a great book- one that pulls you in to feel strong emotions.

I‘m not really into magical realism, but this one worked for me. Multiple POV, in the Dust Bowl, that connect via memories. I liked the premise, and it reminded me of the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Interesting characters, and my only complaint is that it dragged in the middle a bit. Overall, good read!

This almost felt like a book of short stories about four women. They are connected through their friendship and years together. Like most short stories, some of the chapters worked more than others. I didn‘t love the ending, which dampened my overall impression. I did love a book centered on friendship.

This story is incredible. It sealed my vow to never sail across any ocean, and it is shocking that this is a true story. I‘m not saying that the couple are likeable, but the events force fast page turning and engagement.

It‘s a shocking turn of events that start the book. I think it‘s a good plot that explores addiction, grief, shame and prison life. I think an alternating chapter between Corby and Emily could have softened the rigid character aspects and created more depth to their relationship. Corby was a lot for 434 pages. It‘s good, but not my favorite Lamb book.

Spanning 7 days, this multiple POV book, chronicles the desperation of two people who struggle to live and provide for their families. It moves quickly through chaos, unfortunate chain of events that forces poor decisions, and the ties of family. Gut wrenching, and I loved it.

I loved a few of these chapters- really interesting, hidden gems of information, innovative science and a new way of looking at biomedical breakthroughs. Sometimes, I thought Roach tried to be too quirky or shocking, and those chapters, while interesting, felt formulaic. Some diagrams would have helped me follow the explanation of how these new body parts worked. Overall, good, and if you like Roach, you‘ll like this one as well.

This is a charming book in many ways- love between a mother and son as they shout insults to each other, living life in the chaos of Beirut, and a quick witted narrator. The middle of the book didn‘t have the pace the first third did, but a wonderful book. I‘m not surprised this one won awards, as it was enjoyable and as it had humor, trauma and love woven throughout.

I wondered through this book if I‘d have the same empathy reaction to her book if I hadn‘t supported her in the beginning. It‘s not entirely a platform defining book, but an explanation of the gigantic lift it took to run a presidential campaign for 107 days. It humanized Harris- both her strengths and her flaws. It‘s a book to read and discuss, beyond her politics, but just the whole election that was so chaotic.

This is a great book about the history of fire suppression, fire‘s impact on ecology, and life as a hotshot. Super informative! There were times that I wondered if Thomas was a hotshot to write a book, but Steinem was a Playboy Bunny to write an article. Great read, and glad to see the public is getting an education of how hard and under appreciated the job of a hotshot is.

I hadn‘t read any of Hatmaker‘s previous books. I found this to be a good memoir of a woman going through a sad divorce, reestablishing her independence and exploring her codependency tendencies. Her best work is her most vulnerable; her worst is when she flippantly brushes over her luxurious vacations given to her by her friends. It‘s a good book, lots to like, mild annoyance (or jealousy) for me.

This book is another data point that our focus, as a country, is making money. Following four different people who work in different sectors, private equity companies made their money while destroying the collective and community. I just wonder if or when we, as a country, will prioritize our communities over our personal investments.

This is a WWII historical fiction novel about GW Pabst, his family‘s move back to Vienna, and his focus on making art. I wasn‘t familiar with this storyline at all, and the reliableness of the narrator and following his artistic design of movies was an interesting way to tell this story. Making art, while compromising values for survival, is at the heart of the one.

I love my Apple products. And, between covering the innovation, materials, scalability, Chinese factories, US-China politics, high skilled workers, economic and political strategy, and Apple policies, McGee has written a compelling, terrifying, engaging, and interesting book. I loved it.

Engaging? Yes. Drama filled? Yes. Keeps the pages turning? Yes. Do I like her? Uhhhhh….at times, yes, profound and grounded gems of wisdom are written followed by completely self-absorbed, pain the ass behavior. Addiction is the major theme, and this is her love story, told with justifications of poor decisions, questionable motives, and love. Complicated.

I loved this book. One, Roy is an exceptional writer, poetic without being overly dramatic, fierce with vulnerability. Two, a memoir about a mother with whom one has a complicated relationship and history and the grief of her passing is complex, defiant, and loving. Wonderful read.

There‘s a lot going on with this horror and historical fiction novel. A vampire that‘s taking revenge on Three Person‘s role in the massacre of the Blackfeet is written with horror, gore, eerie prose and a stalking pace. I can‘t decide if I like it- engaged, but disgusted at both the gore and the events that transpired…and not the ones initiated by the vampire.

This reads like a travel novel exploring the people who protect and study rivers. The information is good, the people are interesting, but the lack of the river itself annoyed me. It‘s a naturalist manifesto, and I agree with protecting the riparian ecosystems because of its importance, but the title didn‘t match the message.

This book of letters- to others and to our main character- moves through years of grief, events, and the mundane. In these letters, to and from, you piece together what happened (without conversation), Sybil‘s processing of her long life, mistakes made and mended, and new opportunities. What struck me most, most likely influenced by my own life, is Sybil‘s ability to grow, reconnect, and evolve, even as her own abilities and life were waning.

This had an innocent fairy tale feel with a Wizard of Oz vibe. I liked it, it felt like a heroine‘s journey mixed with a coming of age story on a different planet. Could be YA option.

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.