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
Viola Davis' memoir, Finding Me, is phenomenal on audio. Narrated by Viola herself, her authenticity oozes through. There is a lot of trauma in her stViola Davis' memoir, Finding Me, is phenomenal on audio. Narrated by Viola herself, her authenticity oozes through. There is a lot of trauma in her story, from being raised amidst squalor and abuse, to the racism she faced as darker Black woman in Hollywood. But this book is not about putting trauma on display, it is about her journey, about the choices she made along the way, about the people who hurt her and empowered her, and about how healing continues to this day. There is so much humanity in this book. I can hear Viola in my ears right now as I write this. Highly recommend for anyone that enjoys memoirs - this one is very special. P.S. I have never watched How to Get Away with Murder and that didn't matter one bit....more
I listened to Like House on Fire on audio and could not put it down. Merit is a mother of two young kids, married to a well-intentioned but often clueI listened to Like House on Fire on audio and could not put it down. Merit is a mother of two young kids, married to a well-intentioned but often clueless husband, and desperately yearning for more. When she returns to work as an architect in San Francisco, she finds herself drawn to her older, sophisticated boss, Jane. The two strike up a friendship that quickly deepens, forcing Merit to confront a crisis of identity and sexuality. The story is fast-paced and addictive, even if I had some minor issues with the characterization. Perhaps it's just me, but Merit's husband was maligned for what I saw as everyday domestic struggles. I didn't think that was necessary, as Merit and Jane's relationship could have stood on its own. Also, Jane's character, in particular on audio, came across as a bit snotty and condescending. The way she constantly called Merit "Little Bird" or "LB" was cringe-y! I thought the ending was great; I think this one will stick with me for awhile....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
Last Summer on State Street zooms in on 4 girls living in a Chicago public housing unit in the summer of 1999. Fe Fe, Precious, Stacia and Tanya are 1Last Summer on State Street zooms in on 4 girls living in a Chicago public housing unit in the summer of 1999. Fe Fe, Precious, Stacia and Tanya are 11/12 years old - friends forged by proximity and Double Dutch. One by one the buildings of Robert Taylor Homes are being torn down around them, the residents displaced. The girls' innocence is tested by this instability and their rising awareness of the drugs and violence crippling their community. Wolfe's writing evokes all the senses. I could feel myself walking the building halls and riding the elevators, could smell the aging infrastructure and hear the click clack of beaded jump ropes. Parts of the book felt uneven - particularly the depiction of Fe Fe as an adult looking back on the summer of 1999. I could have done without the dual timelines. Still a very powerful depiction of life inside public housing through the eyes of young people. 3.5 stars...more
Yerba Buena was just okay for me. The fact that Nina LaCour is an award-winning YA author should have been a red flag for me. I don't typically like YYerba Buena was just okay for me. The fact that Nina LaCour is an award-winning YA author should have been a red flag for me. I don't typically like YA as I'm not a fan of manufactured angst, plucky characters, neat endings and life lessons. Yerba Buena is not actually YA - though it does start with the two protagonists as teens, the main storyline features Sara Foster and Emilie Dubois as adults. Both are damaged and a bit adrift when they find connection and solace in each other, along with a cast of found-family side characters (also not my favorite genre). The tone of this book reminded me a lot of The People We Keep, which a lot of readers loved, so don't let me dissuade you if you were a fan of that one. For me there was just way too much breathless melodrama that we are supposed to take very seriously, but unfortunately I just didn't....more
An ode to Black women and to Memphis, spanning three generations. In a non-linear format we hear the stories of Hazel, her daughters Miriam and AugustAn ode to Black women and to Memphis, spanning three generations. In a non-linear format we hear the stories of Hazel, her daughters Miriam and August, and Miriam's young daughters Joan and Mya. These women are long-suffering, often at the hands of terrible men, yet resilient and fiercely independent. Stringfellow's writing is exquisite, rich but not overdone. The sense of place is thick, and there is a beautiful through-line of community and the creation of beauty and art. My one critique is that the women weren't equally developed and some of them felt indistinct from one another. Still, I really enjoyed this book. ...more
I have a pet peeve. When book covers are very attractive but don't match what's inside. There was no big wide white sandy beach in Vacationland! It taI have a pet peeve. When book covers are very attractive but don't match what's inside. There was no big wide white sandy beach in Vacationland! It takes place in a small town in Maine at a family vacation home featuring a rocky beach. Putting that aside, Vacationland was just fine. I have enjoyed many of Meg Mitchell Moore's books, but this was not my favorite (The Admissions and The Islanders come out on top). Vacationland is the story of two women: Louisa is a mother of three spending the summer at her parents' vacation home, and Kristie is a younger woman adrift after the death of her mother. There are secrets to be revealed and you better believe these storylines are going to cross in order to reveal them. The story is fairly formulaic and the characters quite one-dimensional. Louisa is at times insufferable in her privilege. Nevertheless, this is a solid pick for a beach read (I mean, the cover is manipulative that way!) but I'm guessing it will soon be forgotten....more
I'm not always drawn to historical fiction (especially World War II!), but was compelled by Take My Hand's telling of a lesser known aspect of AmericaI'm not always drawn to historical fiction (especially World War II!), but was compelled by Take My Hand's telling of a lesser known aspect of American history. The year is 1973 and Civil Townsend has just graduated from nursing school, a bit starry-eyed and eager to make a difference in her local Alabama community. Her work at the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic leads her to the family of two young girls, Erica and India Williams. The girls are just 13 and 11 years old, yet already recipients of state-sponsored birth control services. As Civil becomes more and more entangled in the lives of the Williams family, she discovers gross governmental violations of privacy and consent. While fighting to protect the girls, Civil struggles with her own personal boundaries, often testing the line between advocate and savior. Take My Hand reads like a movie (it would make a good one!) - heavy on plot and shock value. It fell down a bit in character development, and certain relationships between characters that strained credulity (one in particular I could have done without). Still a very worthwhile read....more
I thoroughly enjoyed The Violin Conspiracy and would easily recommend it to a broad spectrum of readers. It is advertised as a mystery - the book starI thoroughly enjoyed The Violin Conspiracy and would easily recommend it to a broad spectrum of readers. It is advertised as a mystery - the book starts when a multi-million dollar Stradivarius violin goes missing - but it is about so much more than that. At its core, The Violin Conspiracy is about being a Black musician in the very very white world of elite classical music. It is also about Black history in America, told through the origin story of this Stradivarius violin, passed through generations to protagonist Ray McMillian. It is the story of family, fame, and money - and what happens when family members want a piece of what one individual worked hard to earn. There is so much packed in here; some may argue a bit too much - but it was really well done and fantastic on audio. ...more
Meant to Be is a fictionalized version of JFK Jr. and Caroline Bessette's love story. Joseph S. Kingsley III is the descendant of American military anMeant to Be is a fictionalized version of JFK Jr. and Caroline Bessette's love story. Joseph S. Kingsley III is the descendant of American military and political heroes. Now in his 30s, he may finally be ready to settle down and consider running for office. Cate Cooper, on the other hand, was raised by a single mother and an abusive stepfather, whom she continues to distance herself from now that she has found success in the fashion industry. Joe and Cate's romance reads like a modern fairy tale - secret dates, dodging the media, tension caused by Joe's uppity family, and the threat of Cate's past coming back to haunt them. It is highly readable but not terribly remarkable. What I really appreciated about Meant to Be is the detours it takes from the real life story of John Jr. and Carolyn, the what ifs pondered and the emotions explored. The ending was fantastic. A very solid vacation read....more
Whoo boy, this book was excellent. And it's a debut that the author finished writing when she was 19 years old. 19. What the what? Incredible. NightcrWhoo boy, this book was excellent. And it's a debut that the author finished writing when she was 19 years old. 19. What the what? Incredible. Nightcrawling is gritty. It is dark. But it is hopeful? Nightcrawling takes place in East Oakland, where 17-year-old Kiara Johnson resides in an apartment with her older brother Marcus. Kiara's father is dead, her mother is in jail, and her brother is too preoccupied with rapping to focus on bills that need to be paid. While trying to make ends meet, Kiara falls into sex work, later getting caught up in a scandal involving the Oakland Police Department. Nightcrawling was a bit reminiscent of an Angie Thomas book, though definitely not YA given its themes. The parallel lies in Mottley and Thomas' ability to depict young Black people in their own voice, with complexity and nuance. Mottley never sugar coats the gravity of Kiara's situation, nor does she omit the moments of joy Kiara finds in her every day life. Mottley's writing is poetic but accessible. This was a fast read and one I highly recommend. ...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
This one has been on my list for awhile and I finally picked it up. At first it was just ok but when it took a turn toward (much) more serious themes This one has been on my list for awhile and I finally picked it up. At first it was just ok but when it took a turn toward (much) more serious themes I found myself emotionally sucked in, which is saying a lot for this reluctant rom-com reader. ...more
Standard Deviation is often cited as a backlist favorite by several trusted recommendation sources who, like me, enjoy books that are a cross between Standard Deviation is often cited as a backlist favorite by several trusted recommendation sources who, like me, enjoy books that are a cross between literary and contemporary fiction. Standard Deviation is the story of Graham Cavanaugh, a 50-something venture capitalist living in New York City with his second wife Audra. Together they are raising their 10-year-old son Matthew, who is on the autism spectrum. Quiet, observant Graham loves his wife, but has begun to grow weary of her constant social energy and the revolving door of friends and strangers that descend upon their apartment. A chance encounter with Graham's first wife Elspeth leads to a strange - yet not strange given their past closeness - friendship between exes. Standard Deviation is well-written, spot on in its depiction of everyday relationships, and at times chuckle out loud funny. It started out strong with tremendous promise, but fizzled out a bit with Audra's constant tiresome behavior and a very abrupt ending to the Elspeth storyline. 3.5 stars....more