This is a humorous novel that had to grow on me. The premise is silly - a reality show of Americans set in Sweden with Swedish heritage. The characters are well developed, and I particularly enjoyed learning so much about the geography, culture and customs of Sweden and Swedes.

Anne Lamott never disappoints! Love her writing style, humor, honesty and vulnerability.

I enjoyed the first half about Rosie more than the second half about Helen. Every other chapter time shifts & I enjoyed the “now“ more than the “before“ chapters. Set in Sonoma Valley, it was fun to read about the descriptions of the vineyard. I would read more of the author's novels when I'm in the mood for historical fiction. The main character has synesthesia which reminded me of YA novel A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass.

Not my favorite Backman book as I didn't like the characters. It reminded me a bit of Turtles All the Way Down by John Green due to the anxiety of the flawed humans. The interconnected of the characters was interesting and it was funny at times.

I'm not sure how I missed reading this novel, having read all the others. After reading Tell Me Everything, I went back & read this. The characters development is a mark of the author's strong writing and this novel didn't disappoint. The Burgess siblings don't have great relationships & have drifted apart as adults. Yet they are connected to each other through their shared sad childhood, so when Susan's son Zach gets into trouble they reconnect.

There is much I liked about this novel. The setting of the English countryside, the quirky characters Michael and Marnie with their wry humor, baggage and hang ups, and the subtle humor. If you are an Anglophile, I think you'd enjoy this.

This is my first novel by this author and it was beautifully written. I will definitely read more of his novels!

An interesting story about building the Panama Canal and the cost to human life and lives it affected. Complete with love, power, betrayal, friendship, poverty, wealth - a true reflection of the human experience.

A story about stories and love. Strout brings together all of her beloved characters from previous novels. I adored this book. The ending is perfect! My only hope is that this doesn't mean the author won't continue writing her amazing novels.

This was a challenging read in that it was dense and a painful storyline. War is always messy and so much loss, including not having a childhood as is the case of the main character. I learned a lot about Sri Lanka. For anyone who doesn't shy away from challenging historical fiction, this is a good one. Great writing.

An interesting read of historical fiction. There was a bit of repetitiveness with the guilt, but the plot seemed to closely mirror the real life of Hedy Lamarr. I enjoyed the second half of the book better than the first, perhaps due to Hedy's maturing. At the start of the novel she was only nineteen!

This is a beautifully written book about Khaled and his two Libyan friends Hosam and Mustafa. Khaled is exiled in London from Libya due to political unrest. The story spans around 40 years and goes all the way to the Arab Spring. Writing, reading and language are a significant part of this story too. Long listed for the 2024 Booker Prize. Highly recommend!

I enjoyed much about this sweet story with an overall theme of love, forgiveness & kindness, but the writing was repetitive - perhaps to reflect dementia in aging people, but it didn't work for me. I was also confused at the beginning. I mixed up characters thinking that Sadie & Hannah were Denise's daughters as I didn't realize the early chapters about the girls were flashbacks. While the premise was good, the format didn't work for me.

I enjoy memoirs and this one was no exception. Her portrayal of being a Jew during the Holocaust is raw and honest in that many of her feelings are typical for being a teenager. Equally impressive with her resilience was how much detail Gerda remembered. Highly recommend!

This was my first novel by this author. I didn't realize it was a followup to Brooklyn, but it was fine as a standalone book. I didn't love it though. The characters over multiple decades never said how they felt to people important to them. Perhaps this was a reflection of the times. On the upside, I was unsure how it would end so the plot made me want to keep reading.

Rowell's YA novel Eleanor and Park is one of my all-time faves. The downsides: At first I found Shiloh annoying. The other oddity was the level of language Juniper used. She's a young girl yet talks like a grandma. On the plus side, Rowell's characters are realistic in that they are messy rather than being a fairy tale. Shiloh did grow and develop as a character which was redeeming. Not a lasting life-altering book, but a sweet quick read. 3.5/5

I'm not sure why I've never read Louise Penny before (other than that mysteries aren't my first genre choice). However, this did not disappoint as the writing is so descriptive and the characters are intriguing. I plan to continue reading the series.

Zentner is one of my favorite YA authors and his first adult novel comes across equally as heartfelt. There is something so special about one's first love that a part of it stays with us no matter how many other loves we encounter later in life. If you're looking for a sweet romance with issues that reflect current culture, this may be for you.

A very slow read which felt like a slog. Not sure why I finished it as I never quite got invested in the characters as none were likable.

A quick read thriller which reminded me of many televised British mysteries. Not a novel with staying power, but a good way to spend a day too hot to be outside.

A psychological thriller with many references to folktales and operas. In spite of it starting slow and not liking most of the characters, it was a quick read that kept my attention.

This book got off to a slow start for me in Akorfa's section. Once I got to Selasi's section I was too invested to quit. However, I found the resolution a cliche. Even though the plot provided insight into Ghanian culture, I didn't love the novel.

If you enjoy the world of ballet or novels about messy family relationships and dreams, you may enjoy this book.

A psychological thriller with themes of Catholicism, racism and misogyny. Recommend for older teens and adults. The novel shifts between 1984 when the protagonist Justine is twelve and 2014. The scenes in the earlier timeframe seemed more fleshed out and I was left with questions about Justine as an adult.

An interesting read about North Korea with a clearly unreliable narrator. The plot wasn't always coherent, but compelling enough to want to finish it.

The retelling of Huck Finn told from the point of view of James. Excellent! This should be nominated for many book prizes and should be read far and wide (though sadly in many US states it would end up on a list of banned books).

Although this is fiction, it reads like an actual account. Set in Dublin, this shows that sexual assault is universal. Flawed characters, and a blurring of the truth. Told from the point of view of three characters. Well written!

A coming of age novel about the loss of a mother to not only the three girls in the family, but also to their father. The protagonist and her father become obsessed with her playing squash as a channel to dealing with their grief.

A very quick (though at times not easy) read about the war in Saravejo and one woman's determination to not only survive, but also make the lives of her family and friends better in a time of hell. Well written; I can see why it was longlisted for the Women's Prize in 2023.

If you enjoy UK history this is an enjoyable fictional read about a family put into the context of major events in England. I read this while on holiday in the UK which made it even more fun!

I heard Patric Gagne interviewed on a podcast so wanted to read her memoir which I found fascinating.

The premise of this book is odd, but I enjoyed it. An octopus befriends an older woman Tova and helps her solve a mystery about her son. In some ways, the storyline is tied up too neatly, but I still found the story endearing and sweet.

I really enjoyed the author's book Godland. This one is also a well-written memoir back with solid research about marriage, divorce and life ever after.

The main character Andy is a bit annoying in that he wallows in the breakup with Jen for a long time. As a standup comedian he's not that funny. He can't seem to get out of his own way. However, the ending redeemed the novel for me. I enjoyed the perspective it gave with a couple plot twists thrown in.

I enjoyed this book and they way the characters were woven together, but I would have like to have followed Eva's life more closely. The structure reminded me of Olive Kitteridge, only set in the Midwest. I enjoyed it more than The Lager Queen of Minnesota and I also want to read his latest novel.

I enjoyed this novel loosely based on a real person. The protragonist is an 84-year old woman who looks back on her life all the while walking over 10 miles on New Year's Eve in 1984.

This is an incredible read about why ultra-processed food is so damaging to our health and society at large. Amazing research to back up the author's claims. Highly recommend if you're interested in learning more about health.

Kiley Reid is an excellent author. I enjoyed the character development and the unpredictable plot. The theme of racism was woven throughout in a subtle way. I was finding ways to sneak in reading it as I was so drawn in. Highly recommend along with her first novel, Such a Fun Age.

After reading an article with the author about banned books, I read Lawn Boy to see what all the fuss was about. Without giving much away, there's themes of sexual identity & sex, but the book is much more about poverty & how difficult it is to overcome than anything else. I see no reason for this book to be banned. The honest reflection of class in our society could make some uncomfortable, but as the saying goes, “The truth sometimes hurts“.

A fun read for fans of The Great British Bake Off, bakers or fans of novels with older protagonists. Jenny, 77, & married to Bernard for 60 years, takes a chance & becomes a contestant on a baking show. She's successful, but this life changing experience conjures up memories she's buried for the majority of her life. Alternating between flashbacks & current events, the novel has a somewhat predictable plot, but is still enjoyable.

I love Kate Bowler's podcast so enjoyed reading this short memoir about her experience of being diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer at the age of 35 and the subsequent medical treatment and mistreatment she received. She is not in remission so I knew there was a happy ending!

I picked up this book because I enjoy the author's novels. This one did not disappoint. It likely won't stay with me as amazing literature, but I enjoyed the plot and character development. It wasn't entirely predictable, and ended hopeful.

I don't enjoy novels where I don't like the characters and this book falls into that category. However, even though I liked almost none of the characters, the plot held my interest enough to want to know how it ended. I was not happy with the resolution though. In thinking about the novel, opera was a major thread throughout it and I guess the plot was a tragedy in the sense of an opera.

I was not familiar with Suleika Jaouad until I watched the documentary American Symphony, which is in some ways a sequel to this memoir. Cancer is never good, but for someone in their twenties with a brain that is not fully developed, it wreaks havoc not only on the body, but also the mind and soul. Though her cancer returned in 2020, I am happy Suleika landed on her feet, and ended up with Jon.

A well written book from a debut author that reads more like a collection of short stories than a novel as each chapter is about a different character, but they do overlap. The common elements are the characters are all Palestinian and all reside in Baltimore. So many of the stories are about young women who become pregnant and disgrace their families so there is much guilt and shame over falling out amongst generations.

I loved everything about this book. It is so much more than the book jacket blurb. It's about friendship, coming of age, stories we tell ourselves in our head, being gay and not being able to come out, reproductive rights, humor, complicated families, socioeconomic issues.

A coming of age book for three men - William who served in the Viet Nam War, Vince who worked a construction job with William the summer before college, & Beau, Vince's HS/college-aged son. The structure of the novel was well done. My criticism is it felt a bit “preachy“ at times with some of the parallels forced. If you like historical fiction about Viet Nam you will likely enjoy it. I loved the title.

This was a fun quick read with so much suspense. It had a couple of plot twists I wasn't expecting which made me want to keep reading. If I had been able, I would have finished it in one sitting.

This is a multi-layered beautifully written novel with several plots the authors threads together into a cohesive storyline. It makes sense why it was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2023. I look forward to reading some of the other author's novels.

I have mixed feelings about this book. A couple of key plot events were too good to be true when people who had lost touch were reconnected. Also, in some ways the story was trying to do too much - it had themes of systemic racism, bisexuality, rape, domestic abuse, adoption. On the other hand, I liked the short chapters and the switching back and forth in time. It kept my interest and was easy for me to read many pages quickly. 3.5 stars