I'm not sure I could love a book more! SAM reminded me of books that made me fall in love with reading at a young age. Coming of age stories like AnneI'm not sure I could love a book more! SAM reminded me of books that made me fall in love with reading at a young age. Coming of age stories like Anne of Green Gables and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn that managed to articulate familiar feelings with exactly the right words. The earnestness of the characters - teenage Sam, her mother Courtney, her father Mitchell, and others that come into Sam's life mostly through her love of rock climbing - was so endearing to me. And the ending was perfect. I had worried the book might be YA, but rest assured it does not cater specifically to younger readers. While Allegra does an amazing job capturing the perspective and voice of young Sam - her writing is deceptively unpretentious - this book will most certainly resonate with adults (at least it did with this one!)....more
This modern classic was the most incredible book to read over the holidays. I didn't rush and I savored every page. I even took a 2-day break to bingeThis modern classic was the most incredible book to read over the holidays. I didn't rush and I savored every page. I even took a 2-day break to binge-watch Dopesick, which heightened my reading experience (I highly recommend this pairing!). I won't soon forget our beloved protagonist Demon, who we meet as a young boy deep in Appalachia. His father is dead and his mother is strung out on opioids, and his only saving grace is the family of his best friend who lives next door. What proceeds is a coming-of-age story that illuminates the structural problems of our time in a deeply personal way, as classics like The Grapes of Wrath and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn have done before. I loved it....more
This was a Shelf Subscription from The Bookshelf in Thomasville, and a book that owner Annie Jones raved about. The Book of Goose started out strong. This was a Shelf Subscription from The Bookshelf in Thomasville, and a book that owner Annie Jones raved about. The Book of Goose started out strong. We meet two young girls, Agnes and Fabienne, growing up in an impoverished village in post-war rural France. Agnes and Fabienne are inseparable, spending their days making up games and fantasies as a form of escape. Fabienne, ever the storyteller but with less formal education, convinces Agnes to transcribe their stories into a book that is later published under Agnes' name. Inexplicably, the book becomes a sensation, dubbed as the work of a child prodigy. This sends Agnes on a journey to Paris and later England, yet the two remain deeply connected - even obsessed - with each other from afar. If you ever had a childhood friendship with a weird power dynamic, this story will resonate. But overall, this book was just very strange - a quasi fairytale with dark symbolism that was often lost on me. Ultimately it felt like it was trying too hard to be something of significance but never really delivered....more
For a book about 3 musical sisters coming of age in San Francisco's 1950s jazz scene, I found On the Rooftop to be a bit quiet, yet still very enjoyabFor a book about 3 musical sisters coming of age in San Francisco's 1950s jazz scene, I found On the Rooftop to be a bit quiet, yet still very enjoyable. Since her husband died years ago, Vivian has been raising her three daughters Ruth, Esther, and Chloe as a musical trio. They are talented, hard-working, and have always been dedicated to their mother's dreams of stardom, until now. The girls are now in their 20s and realizing that they may have hopes and dreams that diverge from their mother and each other. In many ways this is a wholesome, somewhat predictable story about familial love and community. What I ultimately found most compelling about the book was the backdrop of black community displacement in the Fillmore district. Sexton creates such a strong sense of time and place and I was totally immersed....more
All This Could Be Different had tons of potential. It is the story of a queer Indian-American woman who has recently graduated college and started an All This Could Be Different had tons of potential. It is the story of a queer Indian-American woman who has recently graduated college and started an entry-level corporate job as a project manager. Sneha's story is messy - from her relationship with her immigrant parents to the women she starts dating to her sketchy boss and her tyrannical landlord, she can never seem to get herself firmly grounded. Mathew's writing is Sally Rooney-esque (in a good way) - moody yet unsentimental, and excellent at a sentence level. Unfortunately the book dragged quite a bit in the second half for me. But the cover - a stunning piece of art! - will earn this book a spot on my forever bookshelf....more
Once in awhile an author introduces so many characters in the beginning of a novel that I need to jot down the names to keep track. Usually by the 25%Once in awhile an author introduces so many characters in the beginning of a novel that I need to jot down the names to keep track. Usually by the 25% mark, the characters will be differentiated enough that I no longer have to refer back to my cheat sheet. Not the case with Flight, the story of three adult siblings, their spouses and children, who have gathered for their first Christmas without their late mother. These people were just far too angsty for me, with not enough richness in character development to justify it. There is also a side story about an unrelated single mom - more names to keep track of! - that in my view added nothing to the story. This one didn't work for me....more
I'm typically not a fan of books that require suspension of disbelief, but Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here was such a surprise hit for me that I eaI'm typically not a fan of books that require suspension of disbelief, but Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here was such a surprise hit for me that I eagerly awaited his latest. Now Is Not the Time To Panic turned out to be the perfect vacation book (read while poolside in Hawaii)...a bizarre premise that somehow works, quirky characters that you can't help but root for, plus it goes down easy and fast. As in Nothing to See Here, the "weird stuff" (kids that burst into flames in NTSH and mysterious art that triggers hysteria in NINTTTP) is not really the point. The point is the well drawn characters and unexpected relationships formed inside a carefully crafted time and place. I thoroughly enjoyed it....more
I have been making my way through Anne Tyler's backlist and am here to report that this one is fantastic. Tyler is a masterclass when it comes charactI have been making my way through Anne Tyler's backlist and am here to report that this one is fantastic. Tyler is a masterclass when it comes character development. Macon Leary is a travel writer whose wife abruptly leaves him following a tragic death in the family. Their collective grief is ever present in the story, but The Accidental Tourist is much more about life than it is about death. Newly alone, Macon manages his daily life the only way he knows how - with order and routine, until an accident leaves him with a broken leg. Macon is forced to move in with his siblings and seek help from others, including a dog trainer named Muriel. Muriel is free-spirited and unpredictable - the antidote to Macon's order and routine. Macon's unexpected relationship with Muriel forces him to consider making deliberate choices for himself for nearly the first time in his adult life. The Accidental Tourist is beautiful in its simplicity and the quiet way it manages to crack your heart open right alongside Macon's. And I didn't even like Muriel! I won't soon forget these characters....more
The writing in this essay collection is exquisite. It took me a couple of essays to really get into the groove of it but it just kept building from thThe writing in this essay collection is exquisite. It took me a couple of essays to really get into the groove of it but it just kept building from there. With refreshing honesty, Hauser reveals the fits and starts that have defined her love life. At first I fell into the trap of rooting for her to finally settle down with someone. But indeed it was a trap! Somehow Hauser uses robots, The X-Files and Rebecca to make readers think about love in a whole new way. By the end I was in awe of how she managed to shatter traditional narratives about relationships and embrace the validity of her experience. Perhaps not for everyone, but The Crane Wife was definitely for me....more
Come for the courtside thrills, stay for the character arc. Carrie Soto is an unapologetic, confident, competitive heroine...more of this in fiction pCome for the courtside thrills, stay for the character arc. Carrie Soto is an unapologetic, confident, competitive heroine...more of this in fiction please! Non-tennis fans: I am here to warn you that this book is about tennis. Like there is tennis on every single page. But that's OK! My ignorance of tennis did not take away from my enjoyment of this book. This is the story of Carrie Soto coming out of retirement at the age of 37 to defend her Grand Slam record. The whole book reads like a movie montage and I loved it. I am aware that some have critiqued TJR for writing a book featuring a Latina protagonist and I am not here to defend that. It was just a really great story!...more
I'm calling it...Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is the best book of 2022. It will be so hard to beat. Like so many others I was hesitant to pickI'm calling it...Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is the best book of 2022. It will be so hard to beat. Like so many others I was hesitant to pick up a book set in the world of video games. Some assured me that it's not really about video games. In fact, it is a lot about video games and turns out that is a wonderful thing. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is about video games as art, as storytelling, as play, and as work. It is also about friendship. Sam Masur and Sadie Green bond as kids over their shared love of Oregon Trail. As adults, they come together again to design and create games, eventually building a successful video game company with a third friend (and wonderful character) Marx Watanabe. Sam and Sadie's platonic relationship is like nothing I have read before in fiction. I felt like I knew these people in real life - particularly because Sam and Sadie were born in the mid-1970s like me, so their coming-of-age paralleled my own. Like the games they created, Sam, Sadie and Marx face moments of conflict, challenge, indecision, devastation, victory and escape. At a sentence level this book is so beautiful, and at a story level so powerful. I loved loved loved it....more
Ng creates a terrifying not-too-distant future that grabbed my attention, but the characters felt distant and the style muted compared to her past worNg creates a terrifying not-too-distant future that grabbed my attention, but the characters felt distant and the style muted compared to her past works. Our Missing Hearts is the story of 12-year-old Bird Gardner, who has been living with his father ever since his mother, a famed Chinese-American poet, left them years ago. Bird has few memories of his mother; his father is secretive and overly protective. All around them, society has been reshaped around laws written to preserve "traditional American values". When Bird receives a letter in the mail that appears to be a cryptic message from his mother, Bird embarks on a journey to find answers. I was intrigued by Ng's dystopian yet believable future America, but I wanted more nuanced character development and exploration of family dynamics that are classic Ng....more
I’ll be honest, I was unsure about selecting this book for my February Book of the Month. On paper it was the perfect pick for me: a multi-generationaI’ll be honest, I was unsure about selecting this book for my February Book of the Month. On paper it was the perfect pick for me: a multi-generational family saga spanning WWII in China, civil war era Taiwan, and contemporary US. Exactly my family history, yet I took pause. I worried that it might be written or edited for mass commercial appeal - a story told from a safe distance, lacking nuance about the complexity of our history and how it continues to echo today. I NEEDN’T HAVE WORRIED. Melissa Fu has written something so personal, so authentic and unapologetic, and so trusting of us as readers without the need to over-explain. At the same time this book is incredibly well researched and informative, even for someone like me whose parents followed the exact same journey as the main character Renshu. As a boy in China, Renshu and his mother Meilin live precariously, constantly in retreat from Japanese invasion. Eventually they are able flee to Taiwan, where they live as refugees until Renshu leaves for graduate school in New Mexico. In the US, we come to know Renshu’s daughter Lily, who is half white and grapples with having little connection to her Chinese roots. Beautifully written, this book awakened my heart and I am grateful to Melissa Fu for allowing me to live inside Meilin, Renshu and Lily’s world for a few hundred pages....more
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy knocked my socks off. Told through seven generations of Chinese women, it explores how loss and longing are imprinted The Many Daughters of Afong Moy knocked my socks off. Told through seven generations of Chinese women, it explores how loss and longing are imprinted on our DNA. I didn't love how the timeline jumped around non-linearly, but I found each of the women's stories to be compelling. The earliest story is of the real life Afong Moy, brought to America to be showcased as a novelty with her bound feet. Her fictional descendants include Faye (a nurse in China), Zoe (a boarding school student in England), Lai (who lives through the bubonic plague in San Francisco), Greta (a tech executive), and finally Dorothy. We delve deeper into Dorothy's story, whose young family is breaking apart just as the effects of climate change are hitting a future Seattle. Dorothy's exploration into the science of inherited trauma link the women's experiences together in such a fascinating way. The overall structure of the book is a bit imbalanced and distracting, but it's still one of the most unique stories I've ever read. ...more
I think the marketing for Somebody's Daughter does it a disservice. This is not just a book about Ashley's relationship with her absent, incarcerated I think the marketing for Somebody's Daughter does it a disservice. This is not just a book about Ashley's relationship with her absent, incarcerated father, which the blurbs would make you think. It is equally if not more about her relationship with her mother and grandmother who raised her. It is about the complexity of hurt people hurting others, including the ones they love, and about coming to understand one's flawed parents more fully. I loved Ashley's writing and her vivid descriptions of growing up in the south. Her narration on the audio was also excellent. However, I was left wanting a bit more depth on some aspects of her story, which surely impacted her deeply and perhaps she is still processing. ...more
Fiona and Jane is a collection of short stories that feature a pair of Taiwanese American women. In many ways it reads like a novel, and started out vFiona and Jane is a collection of short stories that feature a pair of Taiwanese American women. In many ways it reads like a novel, and started out very strong. We meet Fiona and Jane as young girls, and learn of their complicated relationships with their families of origin. From there we follow Fiona and Jane into adulthood, dropping in at various points in their lives, during which they are mostly disconnected from each other. I wanted more about Fiona and Jane's relationship with each other and less about their relationships with lovers. The reason for their enduring friendship was hardly explored. I also wanted their voices to be more developed. I had a hard time distinguishing their chapters from each other even though Jane was written from the first person point of view and Fiona from the third person. All that being said, I love that I now have access to books about diverse characters just living their lives, where race is not the entire point of the book. It is so refreshing. ...more
Rules of Civility is a book I appreciated more than loved. It's been on my list for awhile now, after feeling pretty similarly about Towles' other belRules of Civility is a book I appreciated more than loved. It's been on my list for awhile now, after feeling pretty similarly about Towles' other beloved novel, A Gentleman in Moscow. Both books have such a visceral sense of place. Rules of Civility is the story of Katey Kontent, who we meet in New York City in 1966, but quickly flashes back to 1937, the night Katey and her good friend Eve Ross meet the handsome banker Tinker Grey in Greenwich Village. I felt completely transported to 1930s New York, to the bars, the taxi cabs, the apartment buildings. There are some highlights of the book - an accident that interrupts their carefree lives, the push and pull of Katey and Tinker's relationship, and the friendship between Katey and Eve, each heroines in their own right. I could have done without all the parties and the whole social scene that Katey becomes immersed in, but I can appreciate how it added to the book. Also like A Gentleman in Moscow, a lot comes together in the end, showcasing Towles' brilliance as a writer. A very solid read....more
I was very excited to read this collaboration between Jo Piazza (who is white, and author of Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win, one of my favorites from 20I was very excited to read this collaboration between Jo Piazza (who is white, and author of Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win, one of my favorites from 2018) and Christine Pride (who is Black, and was Piazza’s editor for CWLTW). We Are Not Like Them tells the story of the interracial best friendship between Jen, who is white, married to a police officer, and pregnant, and Riley, who is Black and a rising star correspondent at their local news station in Philly. Jen and Riley’s lifelong friendship is tested when a 14-year-old unarmed Black boy is killed at the hands of Philadelphia police officers.
I will start by saying that I devoured this book in a single weekend. The plot is compelling and the pace propulsive. But as the book progressed, it became clear to me that I am not the intended audience for this book. I listened to a podcast featuring the authors, and they are not shy about their intention to write an accessible, enjoyable commercial fiction book that invites conversation about difficult topics. Think of it as a gateway book for a white person who has never read a book about race.
The first half the book was only mildly annoying with its clichéd references to colored people time, hair touching, “I can’t be racist because my best friend is Black”, etc. But the conclusion of the book was much more problematic for me and ended up coloring my entire assessment of the book.
Let’s take a step back and examine the “lessons learned” from this "important" book: - There are some unapologetically evil cops that should be held accountable for their actions, and then there are good cops who are not racist. - When it comes to incidents of police brutality, who are we to judge how the involved officers should be punished? We should leave that to the justice system. - Black people face discrimination, but it’s also really hard to be a poor white person that didn’t go to college. - If you are a person of color and you sense a fundamental disconnect with your white romantic partner around issues of race, you should ignore that because love is blind. - If you are a person of color and have had a hard time talking to your close white friends about race, you should really trust them more because they care about you.
I could go on. Now, I’m quite sure the authors would not agree with my list of lessons learned from their book. But the problem is that they handled the issues at such a surface level and with so much both-sides-ism that it’s not a stretch to imagine an uncritical reader drawing these conclusions. That same uncritical reader probably walks away from the book feeling hopeful that racism can be solved through friendship.
Three stars for getting a strong reaction out of me....more
I flew through Beautiful Country, Qian Julie Wang's absorbing memoir about her experience as an undocumented immigrant from China. What others have coI flew through Beautiful Country, Qian Julie Wang's absorbing memoir about her experience as an undocumented immigrant from China. What others have complained about - that Wang's memoir ends in her middle school years and does not account for how she later made it to Swarthmore and Yale Law School - I did not find problematic at all. To me, Beautiful Country was unique in that it was drawn completely through the lens of a child. Reviewers have also complained that certain events did not add up - why did her parents, successful professors in China, leave their home country, and why did Wang's mother make a drastic decision later in the book? - but again, it made sense to me that a very young Qian would not fully comprehend her parents' trauma and their resulting decisions. As a reader, I felt immersed inside her visceral descriptions of living in squalor amongst other immigrant families, working in sweatshops alongside her mother, and struggling to be seen by teachers and fit in with peers in school. I deeply felt the compounding effects of isolation and invisibility on each family member and the impact on their relationships with each other. And as I reflect, I find it interesting that readers really want to know about her path to the ivy leagues, perhaps because it would make the story more palatable and meaningful, by giving it a happy ending? I think that misses the point, and I'm actually glad that Wang approached it the way it did. Go in with the right expectations and this is truly a wonderful book....more
I rated this 4 stars right when I finished the book. Coming back to write the review a couple months later, I think I may lower it to 3 stars owing toI rated this 4 stars right when I finished the book. Coming back to write the review a couple months later, I think I may lower it to 3 stars owing to the fact that not much has stayed with me. Sally Rooney's writing in Beautiful World, Where Are You is sublime as always. Alice and Eileen are best friends from their school days. Alice has written a bestselling novel but is retreating from book fame in a suburban town where she meets Felix on a dating app. Meanwhile Eileen is in Dublin recovering from a breakup when she finds herself drawn back to her childhood friend Simon. The book is about the foursome's relationships with each other, including the missteps and missed connections between them that Rooney does so well. The book has epistolary elements, which I am not usually a big fan of, but I found myself super interested in Alice and Eileen opining about the world around them in their letters to each other. All in all this book had some really excellent elements but it did not add up to much more than its parts....more