I heard author and mortician Caitlin Doughty interviewed on Freakonomics radio, and she was so funny, engaging and smart. I had to buy this, her first book, about her adventures working in a crematorium and attending mortician school. This book will challenge your views on dead bodies and the funeral industry, and make you ask: What is a good death? Why do we embalm the dead? Whose responsibility is disposing of a body? A fast, thoughtful read.

Historical fiction at its best: the kind of book where you finish the last page and open your internet browser to learn more. This novel explores the events surrounding the Mirabal sisters‘ death at the hands of the dictator Trujillo in the 1960s Dominican Republic. Highly recommended.

I loved John Green‘s podcast “The Anthropocene Reviewed” - it‘s smart, tender, empathetic, and curious. He went on hiatus because of COVID-19 and I have missed him like I miss my friends. I turned to this book and found my fix. YA novels sometime tackle tough topics more deftly than adult fiction, and this is one of those instances. Green gives us a heroine struggling with mental illness that is among the best I have ever read.

This is a big book. A 500+ page hardcover book of illustrated memoir to be exact. I don‘t know if it needed all 500 pages. I had high expectations because I enjoyed Allie Brosh‘s first book, Hyperbole and a Half, and unfortunately I could never quite get into this in the same way. Some essays I slogged through. Some were hysterical. Most were a pit of misery. If I was reading this pre-COVID, would I have found it more enjoyable?

I devoured this short novel about how a seemingly diverse group of people past and present are connected. The language is incredible- so much emotion packed into each sentence, every word has a purpose. So very glad my mom sent it along.

A nonfiction account of an archeological dig, close calls with jungle animals, a mysterious illness and the roles of government, academia and private funders to preserve an ancient city retaken by the jungle. There is a lot to unpack with this book around archeological ethics, the voice of indigenous people, corruption and money, and the potential for diseases to become pandemics (!). It would be an excellent choice for a book club.

I was looking for a thriller-type WWII story - this didn‘t exactly meet my expectations. The author has the tendency to repeat herself, describing an event and then have a character repeat the event as dialogue. I don‘t need to know that - I just read it. There‘s too much repetition with characters descriptions (we know!). A better editor could have tightened the prose and given the story the emotional punch it deserves.

This book will stick. Author Sexton does a powerful job of linking slavery, Jim Crow, and current incidents of microaggressions against Black people to show they are all rooted in the same thing: white supremacy. I think if I read that sentence before I read the book I would have thought “yeah, that‘s obvious” but Sexton‘s storytelling is on point. The cover quote is misleading. This story isn‘t about racial tension; it‘s about white supremacy.

Never a fan of Greek mythology, but Madeline Miller changes that! I like books that take minor characters (Circe was a plot device in the Odyssey) and unravel their story. Miller‘s language is beautiful and lyrical. I particularly enjoyed the relationship that develops between Circe and Penelope. I am left with the question: if you were a god, would you chose mortality if it meant you could be happy?

I read a review in the New Yorker about the new Showtime series with Ethan Hawke playing abolitionist John Brown. The review mentioned the playfulness of the book and the interesting POV, and that was spot on. It depicts a gory time in American history but the novel was never glorifying the violence and instead pointed to the absurdity and mundaneness of it all. This was my first James McBride book but not my last. I loved his tone & language.

I remember watching this movie sometime in the 90s and being blown away. So when I saw this novella I scooped it up. It didn‘t disappoint, even though I knew what the “big reveal” would be at the end. So smart. So creepy. The movie is great because it uses color and costume to great effect, dressing the smug Victorians as insects and showing they aren‘t much different than creepy crawlies. So glad I found this.

I really enjoyed this book about mothers and daughters, Fundamental Christianity and Native America. I don‘t think I‘ve ever read a novel that explores all these topics, and Ford does it in such a way that you see glimpses of other people you know. I think this is her first novel and I am excited to read more of her work.

My 12yo son was assigned this book as summer reading - and I could hear him laughing as he read. The author IS funny and even more so when you read the memoir aloud. Each chapter touches a theme: extended family, food, holidays, summer camp, first jobs, translating names into English, weddings, Disneyland. It‘s all in there. I needed something light to push out the darkness of our world, and this memoir reaffirmed that we‘re all in this together.

The science is compelling - Author Storr explores why humans are drawn to storytelling, what storytelling teaches us, and why stories carry the same themes and structures across cultures and time. I wish the book wasn‘t so Anglophilic and that he used more varied examples, but if you are a writer struggling to complete your novel or are interested in storytelling, you‘ll find something to enjoy in this book.

Gothic erotic queer short stories. Is that the first time those descriptors have been grouped together? This collection was a National Book Award Finalist, and author Machado is a gifted writer. As with many short story collections, some were stronger than others. “The Husband Stitch” is the story that stuck with me and gave me the shivers.

This novel holds up twenty years later. The story carries you along like a boat ride down the Congo River: quiet but underneath lurks hungry crocodiles. I wasn‘t sure how the book would fare politically in depicting the DRC and African post colonialism, but Kingsolver knows her history and she does a stellar job explaining the political through the voice of young girls. The downside is the book is 100 pages too long and I lost steam.

“One benefit of understanding the science of storytelling is that it illuminates the ‘whys‘ behind the ‘rules‘ we‘re commonly given... While there are general structural principles, and a clutch of basic story shapes which are valuable to understand, trying to dictate obligatory dos and don‘ts is probably a mistake.” This is the book for the writer who wants to learn to tell stories better. I am learning so much!

A beautiful book of poetry woven together to show the rich tapestry of Jewish life: family, history, tikkun olam (repairing the world), prayer and holidays. I loved her interpretation of the story of Ruth, reimagined Jewish prayers like the sh‘mah, and the imagery of growing up with an immigrant grandmother. And such a gorgeous cover! I flagged many poems for a second (and third) reading. And then I read them aloud to my spouse.

An oldie but goody. Rereading 20 years later and just as good as before!

An important book about how trauma impacts child development and more specifically the brain. The authors use one case per chapter to discuss behaviors, long term ramifications, and the resiliency of humans. The examples are fascinating: Branch Davidian survivors, Russian orphans, and yes, a boy who was raised as a dog. You‘ll be thankful for child psychiatrists providing treatment to the children who deserve so much better from their families.

Read this book. If there was a white nationalist living quietly next door, most of us would ostracize him. This is the true story of how a group of college students befriended Derek Black and slowly worked to change his ideology through conversation, science and meaningful relationships. Author Eli Saslow is a staff reporter at the WA Post who writes a compelling narrative that asks us what we would do when confronted with hate in our community.

My first Jojo Moyes novel - I almost didn‘t finish because I was annoyed by the way she was writing the only Black character in the book (faultless, one dimensional, in need of a white savior). However, there were a lot of one dimensional characters. The premise and setting is interesting and I love books about Appalachia after growing up there. Spoiler alert: a happy ending, which I needed, which is the reason I am giving this a so-so.

Loved the plot, characters and setting of this novel, based on the historical record of how “Doctor Zhivago” was used as a tool in the Cold War. It‘s not a beautiful piece of literature that wowed me, but the fast pace and different points of view kept me hooked and reading late into the night. Now to read “Doctor Zhivago” for the first time!

I started this novel this morning and I am already hooked! Lara Prescott has a great voice.

It‘s always interesting to read history you lived through and realize how much was happening that you weren‘t aware of. This nonfiction account of the Troubles in N. Ireland is comprehensive - but what really shook me is what‘s happened in the last 25 years. I thought N. Ireland was a great representation of how a country can heal. But this book shows how few have been held accountable and how many mysteries remain.

Told as the minutes of a series of meetings between women in an isolated Mennonite community who are debating whether to escape their abusers or stay and fight. It is based on a horrendous real life event. The women, all of whom are illiterate and kept from positions of authority in their community, must decide: When enough is enough, how do you start anew? Who do you save? How do you keep/ practice your faith when it has only been taught by men?

Believe the hype. This memoir is well-written, fast-paced and compulsively readable. It‘s the kind of book that will have you googling the author afterwards seeking more information. I read it for my book club and I can‘t wait to discuss!

This novel teeters on the edge of sci-fi & never crosses the line, but I think the plot would have been more gripping if the author explored the issues around capitalism and surrogacy through the lens of “what if.” Science fiction as a genre is excellent for bioethical questions (see Ursula Le Guin and Octavia Butler!); Ramos never lets the plot get too terrible, the situations too heartbreaking and by the end I shrugged at the major plot points.

For awhile it seemed like everyone I knew was reading this book, and when that happens I tend to look elsewhere. But it was the first pick by my new Bookclub, so here I am. I don‘t care about boats or crew and I am not a huge fan of the “greatest generation” genre. But it was an exciting story from start to finish and I got choked up at the end because I love a good underdog story.

Evaristo‘s prose/poetry style is quite fun to read, and her characters are quirky and deep, despite each of them only getting one chapter to speak. I loved all the older women in this book who get to voice their anger, determination, hurts and yes, power. I also learned quite a bit of British slang. There‘s little narrative plot but it doesn‘t much matter. Loved it.

So far this book is awesome - fast & quirky, and I love the characters. Plus I am sitting near my Xmas tree with the wind howling outside and a kitten chasing her tail. Perfect.

A novel I picked up on vacation at my grandmother‘s - she enjoys her British mysteries and I was looking for a quick, fun read. I was not disappointed and enjoyed another of Macmillan‘s novels, “What She Knew.” There are multiple characters telling the story of two seemingly disparate murders 20 years apart, but you know they will intersect at some point. You don‘t know who to root for but once you pick a side, you‘ll hope it was the right choice.

I am late to the John Green fan club. I found his podcast “The Anthropocene Reviewed” early in 2019 and was hooked. I will sit in my car and cry because some of his episodes are that beautiful. So it felt like it was time to tackle a YA romance where the protagonists are teens dying of cancer. I had to prepare myself that I would cry through this book. And I did. And it was so worth it.

It took me awhile to get into this book, but once I did I was hooked. The descriptions of the Siege of Leningrad were devastating and the character development is well done. Sometimes I was annoyed with the present time people and their first world problems but by the end I had forgiven them.

A devastating read - the domestic violence and sexual assault themes were challenging for me. The novel interweaves multiple character stories, which could be confusing at times. There were a few characters I wanted to know more about but by having so many narrators you can‘t dive deeper. Regardless I found it to be a compelling book about urban Native Americans and the forces of genocide and assimilation that impact our world today.

An important story to share about what happens when your mom escapes over the Berlin Wall and leaves her whole family behind. The author doesn‘t give herself much license to write in a literary style - no conversations recreated, no real plot to speak of, etc. But still. When the family reunites 40 yrs later I cried. I liked how the author interwove East German history throughout and I learned a lot. Can I call it a so-so pick?

I learned so much, and Susan Orlean is a fantastic writer. She dives into some fundamental questions: why are libraries more relevant today than ever? Did you know you used to pay a membership fee to belong to the library? Why would someone burn a library? How does the purchasing of books work? All of this is interwoven into the history of the Los Angeles Public Library and the devastating fire of 1986.

I decided to try this “mystery within a mystery” while on summer vacation. The book was 40 pages too long, and the female lead was not believable as female. I kept thinking she was male. Otherwise the plot moves along and I really had no idea whodunnit. Author Horowitz knows his genre and someone with more experience reading British murder mysteries would find Easter eggs all over the place. I felt like I was missing the joke.

I loved this book as a young adult, so I decided to reread it. I wasn‘t quite so enthralled this time, but the book is quite beautiful. Despite a quiet plot line that includes a lot of characters playing bridge, the story perfectly explores the monied class of NYC during the time of the Robber Barons. This is an early feminist novel that explores the rigid gender norms and the lousy choices available to smart, proud, less monied women.

I really liked this book at the beginning- strong characters, compelling storyline, witty dialogue. But the witty dialogue became tiring because EVERYONE was caustic and mean. It was funny until it was tiring. Major characters and minor characters were sharp and rude. That feels like being stuck at a dinner party where everybody wants to have the last word and prove how funny they are, but actually comes off as a jerk. I ain‘t got time for that!

Loved it from start to finish. Can‘t wait to give it as a gift to friends when they are feeling unsuccessful and ill-equipped to handle the world. This story actually led to fantasies about how I would use the power if I had it. A fun and smart read.

I expected more. Maybe the reviews were too glowing. I dislike the “wild woman in the woods who is so beautiful men fall in love on sight” trope. This woman has never been to a dentist and still maintains a beauty no one can match? Hmph. Despite all this the story was still compelling, and I‘d love to find a way to boat in that marsh and feed the gulls.

I shouldn‘t have read this prequel before the first one. But I did. And I found it too easy - the character development was non existent because they had been developed in the first book. The story was fun and the plot moved along, but I got frustrated at the way the author assumes you already know why the plot is moving along the way it is. Seemed like a copout.

I tried. I did. But I couldn‘t get through it. I just didn‘t care about these people even though the setting really intrigued me. Too bad.

I decided to reread this novel which was a favorite in high school. It was much funnier than I remembered and the dialogue is witty and oh so British.

My first Agatha Christie book, and it was very disappointing . The fact that the book needs an epitaph to reveal the real killer didn‘t mean it was clever - it was too far fetched and impossible. There is also some anti-Semitic language in the beginning and given that this book was published in 1940 you‘d think the author or publisher might have recognized how problematic that is and edited. The author note claims this was her favorite book. Bleh

Something about the title caught my eye at the library and I picked it up. So glad I did! I generally don‘t gravitate toward mysteries but found myself thinking about this book and trying to solve the mystery during my workday. The historical setting also provided new information I found really interesting: anarchists? Coal mining? The robber barons? Sign me up! I will definitely be following this author to see what else she delivers.

Engrossing and quietly devastating, I loved the tone and language of this book.