A complicated community with lots of characters opposed to one another but still sympathetic. I'm a little uncomfortable with how many people thought they had a right to make Nadia and Luke's life decisions for them, and ended up not sure whether the author approves or disapproves of that. But certainly lots to think about.

A good introduction but probably not much new for a more experienced reader

I don't think I've ever read a nonfiction book about an idea, not a moment in history, that felt like it had surprise twists. I love the way Ronson commits to a question not an answer in his books.

Combines a personal narrative about an American living in Switzerland with her French husband with reflections and factual tidbits about bilingualism and xenophobia. It works.

Best book for a sick day. Smart and thought provoking but effortless to read.

I could not resist the cover, but the characters and dialogue seemed too modern, and I was not feeling it.

Memorable scenes and great prose. The plot arc is loose and looping.

Beautiful prose, beautifully imagined, and an anti-invasion message that seems very 1938. Futuristic, but also of its time? Requires concentration but glad I read it.

I never really got emotionally invested in the main characters but loved the secondary storyline with Tom, Vinnie, and Matilda.

Good recipes, but the memoir portions made the author seem unapologetically snobby.

Weird but so good. I loved the empathetic portrayal of Lincoln and his son and the chorus of souls and commentators (twitter in the afterlife??). I listened to the audio with the print book on my lap to help me track who was talking.

Huh. I really expected to like this book, and did like the sentences and the imagery, but the characters seemed foolish.

This romantic comedy makes me feel all fizzy.

What it's like to be a brain surgeon. Henry Marsh can be kind of an asshole and I don't want to have him over for dinner, but i so respect his unflinching honesty about the privilege and responsibility of doing something both heroic and unpredictable.

Very charming flirtation between hero and heroine, plot a little unambiguous.

Quietly awesome. These characters and their lifelong friendship seem so real in how well they come to know the best and worst of one another. Has a summer-into-fall feeling.

Not deep, but a pleasant digression if you have a soft spot for cathedrals, medieval legends, old books, and old libraries.

Read with my son. For me, too many plot elements and too much tension, but it's a readable middle grade survival story with a vivid setting.

Sort of not in the mood for these first world problems.

I can appreciate that the imagery here is fantastic, but sometimes for me, lots of fantasy elements lower the emotional stakes. I'm a bit concrete for this book, maybe.

As a child, I liked Jane Eyre better than Pride and Prejudice but as an adult I became aware that the plot is ... weird. This book is a fix it that shows events from Rochester 's point of view and makes some of his choices more understandable. I wish I had reread Jane Eyre first though as I spent a lot of time wondering 'is this part original?'

Twisty mystery plus an emotional personal story about the detective

Full of creativity and magic. My favourite stories were Chivalry and The Goldfish Pool

Satisfying armchair travelling

Pleasantly rambling until at the very end you see a scene in the school segregation battle through Steinbeck's eyes. His shock felt like mine listening to the news today. How timely.

Such masterful writing. So simple but so much emotion in plain ordinary lives.

Great setting, but the plot was unbelievable and the racial stereotypes troubling.

If you want to know what it was like to be born a musical prodigy in a Little Town on the Prairie.

Five stars. Funny, brilliant social satire of the specific things people in the Pacific Northwest can be snobby about, and a heroine I totally see myself in.

It's not really about who did the murder, it's about the 20s glamour.

If you like a puzzle and you don't mind a whole lot of betrayal - made me feel kind of icky

Though some suspension of disbelief is required, this book has lots of 30s glamour, snappy dialogue and a supremely likeable heroine.

So creepy - would be great to get into a Halloween mood.

Good book to take on a weekend away. Super brave female spies in WW 1 and 2. Some characters based on real people.

If it would appeal to you to spend time at a cocktail party talking to a guy who spent his life tracing valuable early copies of Shakespeare through the hands of collectors, librarians and thieves, this is for you.

Set in a small town in the South, this book has about 7 plot twists and will keep your vacation mood intact with a happy ending.

DNF. Very grand theory woven from anecdotal evidence. Not a lot of attention to alternate explanations.

If you feel like reading a western, with a shootout, but also a rich story about a found family

If you want to feel like an intellectual. If you want to revel in the imagery of being a lonely artistic soul in the big city. If you want to know more about outsider artists.

If you ever wondered what it would really be like to go back to Jane Austen's time. If you want a vacation page turner that also has something to say about the stories we tell about the past.

Title page of the month!

Recommended by my 11 year old son. Fast paced fun with kid jewel thieves, cryptic clues, and high stakes heists.

Lunch break