FICTION
Half-Blood Blues by
Esi Edugyan – The was the gripping story of a group of black musicians in
Germany as the Nazis come to power. I don’t have much to say other than I
wished it had come with a soundtrack.
Dark Places by
Gillian Flynn – A very disturbing and yet entertaining story about a brittle
woman who lost everything when she was a young child and her family was
murdered. Twisty and dark…
Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn – It felt a bit like Major Pettigrew if he were the
Queen of England. Lovely secondary characters and an interesting perspective on
the Queen.
View From Mount Joy
by Lorna Landvik – When I was reading it, it felt like a five star. So funny
and I didn’t want to put it down. It was a pleasure to read but somehow it
didn’t stick with me.
Curse of the Spellmans,
Revenge of the Spellmans and The
Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz – These
were some funny mysteries. A couple of them broke the five star barrier. The
first because it was such a sweet surprise and the other one because it felt
like she was really writing a strong story instead of just coasting on her
awesome characters.
Rules of Civility by
Amor Towles – Okay, it could be that I was reading it in Disneyworld, but I
thought the big reveal was kind of a snooze. The roaring 20s setting was
delicious and the characters fascinating, but they never did what I wanted them
to, which can be very frustrating when you are muttering advice to them under
your breath as you read!
GRAPHIC NOVELS
Baby's in Black: Astrid Kirchher, Stuart Sutcliffe and
the Beatles in Hamburg by Arne Bellsdorf –
This was fascinating. I love the movie BACKBEAT and this tells essentially the
same story, but with wonderful details. It really shows Stuart and Astrid as
artists. The only flaw is that every character looks the same. Not that I
remember to look at the pictures in most graphic novels, anyway…
The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln by Noah VanScriver – The art in this book was
marvelous and the story was very interesting, Lincoln just starting out and
hooking up with Mary Todd. It dealt with his mental and physical issues as well
as his work and life. It got a little weird near the end, but all in all, worth
a read.
Level Up by Gene Luen
Yang and Thien Pham – This was a quick little read, but it was emotionally
draining. The story was about a kid whose (now dead) father slaved his life
away so that he could go to medical school. But he would rather play
videogames. As a former young person I was gripped and moved. As a parent I was
less so…
MEMOIRS
Girl Walks into a Bar
by Rachel Dratch – It seems unfair of me to only give this four stars because I
didn’t like the way her life turned out. But I did. She is funny and her
writing is clear, but I didn’t laugh out loud as much as I thought I would and
I don’t want her to have to settle.
My Life as Laura by
Kelly Kathleen Ferguson – This was hysterically funny! KKF has an existential
crisis and decides to follow the path of Laura Inglass Wilder, in a nearly era
specific dress. She was signing her books at LAURAPALOOZA this summer (don’t
ask, just google if you must) and I kind of bought one on a whim because the
piece she read was very funny – I figured it was like movie previews where she
only tells the best part. But I was pleasantly surprised by the consistently
entertaining story.
Little Princes by
Connor Grennan – I don’t usually like books where people do nice things for
people in other cultures and leave with a sense that those simple folk are
really the wise ones. (See Three-Cups-of-Shut-the-Hell-Up) but Grennan was
humorously self deprecating throughout and he didn’t write about helping a
bunch of orphans, he wrote about helping some individual kids. Nicely done,
Grennan.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? By Mindy Kaling – I may have given this four stars
rather than five because I found her SO annoying as Kelly Kapur on THE OFFICE,
but now that I adore her on THE MINDY PROJECT, I might have liked this even
more. Either way, Kaling is funny as can be and her topical chapters were a
hoot!
How to Be a Woman by
Caitlin Morin – Morin is an English journalist who apparently wrote this in 20
minutes, or a couple months. She mentioned having to write it fast. There were
some fantastic bits in here and some annoying bits. She certainly let it all
hang out, but she tried to walk the middle ground between being a real mate and
wanting to let you know just how cool she really is. That being said, there was
important content here, I love her as a social commentator, but not much as a
memoirist. Less Caitlin history, more Caitlin’s ideas, please!
MIDDLE GRADE
Okay for Now by Gary
Schmidt – Hey, Gary Schmidt went to the same college as me! And he is a fellow
Michigander! And he can write! This was a beautiful story about friendship and
rising above circumstances. However, there were also some birds and a cancer
story arc that was probably a little over the top. I still loved it, but I felt
like it is one of those middle grade books that was written so that kids could
read it in school and find meaning,
not that it was written for adults, but I think adults are going to prefer it.
Master of Deceit: J. Edgar Hoover and America in the Age
of Lies by Marc Aronson – I just love those
oversized middle grade non-fiction hardcovers that Marc Aronson and Jim Murphy
keep sending my way. I get such a rich backstory on historical figures and
events without all that wordy embroidery that I have to wade through in adult
non-fiction. Do I feel guilty? Sure, a little. But I end up smarter at the end
just like in a real book. This one was about Hoover, a creepy little bastard who we are well rid of! Fascinating
reading, though.
NON-FICTION
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown – A sweet, funny, sciencey book – who
knew such a think existed? Brown discovers a planetoid bigger than Pluto just
as he is falling in love and starting a family. It is nice to see how he does
this universe shattering work but maintains perspective in his family life as
well.
The Cure For Everything
by Tim Caulfield – Yes Tim, you are so skinny and healthy. Now shut up.
Actually, don’t shut up, just stop being annoying. Caufield was fascinating and
he tried to bust all these health myths by making himself as shockingly healthy
as possible. He didn't make it sound fun, and he kind of made it seem
impossible – but it was interesting.
Unnatural Selection - Choosing Boys Over Girls and the
Consequences of a World Full of Men by Mara
Hvistehdahl – Oh my gosh! Stop having boy babies RIGHT NOW!!! Selective
abortion in many places is leading to a very skewed gender inequity in the
birth rate. This book freaked me out a little, but was a fascinating read.
PLAY
West Side Story by Leonard
Bernstein – Oh sure, I have seen the play and the movie, but I never read it,
so this counts. Oh, no reason…
I will write up the rest of my yearly reading bonanza
tomorrow!
