Booknotes edited by Brian Lamb

Title: Booknotes: Stories from American History

Editor: Brian Lamb

Publisher: Penguin Books 2002

Genre: Nonfiction - U.S. History

Pages: 556

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf

American history is shaped by great and small events, and in recent years a generation of writers has brought these events to life. They have shared these stories with the viewers of the long-running C-SPAN author-interview program Booknotes, and here some of the best have been collected for readers to savor. In this volume, more than eighty contemporary writers and historians examine seminal moments from American history, celebrated and uncelebrated alike.

Obviously the subject matter of this collection is right up my alley. And it’s been sitting on my shelf for years now. I finally dove in and picked it as my #slowbutsteady read for August. I actually finished it by the end fo the month picking away at the essays one section at a time. I very much enjoyed the stories told in each essay. I even learned a bit about American history. My only complaint is that these are transcripts of a television show. Sometimes, the writing style left much to be desired.

Next up on the TBR pile:

State of the Union by Nick Hornby

Title: State of the Union: A Marriage in Ten Parts

Author: Nick Hornby

Publisher: Riverhead Books 2019

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 132

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Tom and Louise meet in a pub before their couple's therapy appointment. Married for years, they thought they had a stable home life--until a recent incident pushed them to the brink.

Going to therapy seemed like the perfect solution. But over drinks before their appointment, they begin to wonder: what if marriage is like a computer? What if you take it apart to see what's in there, but then you're left with a million pieces?

Unfolding in the minutes before their weekly therapy sessions, the ten-chapter conversation that ensues is witty and moving, forcing them to look at their marriage--and, for the first time in a long time, at each other.

A random library shelf pick. I had heard of the television adaptation of the book and I always want to read the book before seeing the adaptation. This is a slim little novella featuring the scenes from a marriage was an interesting experience to read. We only get so much information from Tom and Louise. In fact most of the writing is dialogue. There’s very few descriptions throughout. I read this in one day, picking through each week’s entry. Overall, I really enjoyed this novella. Although there isn’t a big definite ending and I’m not sure it’s the happiest book. It’s very much in line with the mood of Hornby’s other works. I can’t wait to watch the television show.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl

Title: Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir

Author: Ruth Reichl

Publisher: Random House 2019

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 269

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

When Condé Nast offered Ruth Reichl the top position at America’s oldest epicurean magazine, she declined. She was a writer, not a manager, and had no inclination to be anyone’s boss. Yet Reichl had been reading Gourmet since she was eight; it had inspired her career. How could she say no?

This is the story of a former Berkeley hippie entering the corporate world and worrying about losing her soul. It is the story of the moment restaurants became an important part of popular culture, a time when the rise of the farm-to-table movement changed, forever, the way we eat. Readers will meet legendary chefs like David Chang and Eric Ripert, idiosyncratic writers like David Foster Wallace, and a colorful group of editors and art directors who, under Reichl’s leadership, transformed stately Gourmet into a cutting-edge publication. This was the golden age of print media—the last spendthrift gasp before the Internet turned the magazine world upside down.

Another Anne Bogel Summer Reading List pick. I’m slowly working my way through the entire list for this summer and most of the picks have been enjoyable. I haven’t followed Reichl’s career, but I loved reading about her time at the editor of Gourmet magazine. I was fascinated by her transition of jobs and quick learning I never knew exactly what an editor-in-chief of a magazine did, and this book was a great lesson. However, my favorite parts were when she dove into food itself. Now that I’ve read this one, I feel like I need to read Reichl’s other works.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

Title: The Girl in Red

Author: Christina Henry

Publisher: Berkley 2019

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 292

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Motif - Color; Horror

It's not safe for anyone alone in the woods. There are predators that come out at night: critters and coyotes, snakes and wolves. But the woman in the red jacket has no choice. Not since the Crisis came, decimated the population, and sent those who survived fleeing into quarantine camps that serve as breeding grounds for death, destruction, and disease. She is just a woman trying not to get killed in a world that doesn't look anything like the one she grew up in, the one that was perfectly sane and normal and boring until three months ago.

There are worse threats in the woods than the things that stalk their prey at night. Sometimes, there are men. Men with dark desires, weak wills, and evil intents. Men in uniform with classified information, deadly secrets, and unforgiving orders. And sometimes, just sometimes, there's something worse than all of the horrible people and vicious beasts combined.

Red doesn't like to think of herself as a killer, but she isn't about to let herself get eaten up just because she is a woman alone in the woods....

I picked this one up at the suggestion of the Reading Glasses podcast and sped through it on edge the entire time. I love dark fairy tale-esque stories and this one really packed on the dark. Red is such a compelling character. The world building is complex and yet relatable. Often I am not a fan when a character and/or author mentions something, but doesn’t explain, but clearly is leaving it until later in the book. This story did that a few times and yet I wasn’t annoyed. Perhaps because I really enjoyed Red’s voice I couldn’t wait for her to reveal the entire story of how she got to the current point in her journey. I loved the play on the Red Riding Hood story complete with “wolf.” And then we get the final horrifying twist to the story. I was here for every single reveal. So good!

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell

Title: A Woman of No Importance

Author: Sonia Purnell

Publisher: Viking 2019

Genre: Nonfiction - History

Pages: 368

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her."

The target in their sights was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill's "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and--despite her prosthetic leg--helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it.

Virginia established vast spy networks throughout France, called weapons and explosives down from the skies, and became a linchpin for the Resistance. Even as her face covered wanted posters and a bounty was placed on her head, Virginia refused order after order to evacuate. She finally escaped through a death-defying hike over the Pyrenees into Spain, her cover blown. But she plunged back in, adamant that she had more lives to save, and led a victorious guerilla campaign, liberating swathes of France from the Nazis after D-Day.

Another incredible story of a fascinating woman during WWII. I immediately fell for Virginia and her search for purpose in life. She’s such a fascinating character. The story dragged a bit during the early section, but once Virginia moved into position in France, the pacing moved forward. There were definitely parts of the story that were hard to read. But, overall, I learned so much about the variety of resistance activities within France during the occupation.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Title: Wil Grayson, Will Grayson

Author: John Green and David Levithan

Publisher: Dutton Books 2010

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Pages: 320

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Teen; MMD - Same Author

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

My last big John Green novel that I hadn’t read. I dove in and I wasn’t as enthralled by it as I have been by other books. The writing style switch between the two Wills was quite jarring. The first few times it switched, I really had to take a minute to adjust. Once I got further into the book, I found I was much more involved in the storyline and the two Wills. But ultimately, I just wasn’t that interested or connected to the characters. A lot of the story really fell flat for me. I definitely liked John Green’s later books much more.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

Title: Ayesha at Last

Author: Uzma Jalaluddin

Publisher: Berkley 2019

Genre: Romance

Pages: 366

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Random TBR Pick

Ayesha Shamsi has a lot going on. Her dreams of being a poet have been set aside for a teaching job so she can pay off her debts to her wealthy uncle. She lives with her boisterous Muslim family and is always being reminded that her flighty younger cousin, Hafsa, is close to rejecting her one hundredth marriage proposal. Though Ayesha is lonely, she doesn't want an arranged marriage. Then she meets Khalid, who is just as smart and handsome as he is conservative and judgmental. She is irritatingly attracted to someone who looks down on her choices and who dresses like he belongs in the seventh century.

When a surprise engagement is announced between Khalid and Hafsa, Ayesha is torn between how she feels about the straightforward Khalid and the unsettling new gossip she hears about his family. Looking into the rumors, she finds she has to deal with not only what she discovers about Khalid, but also the truth she realizes about herself.

Another pick off of Anne Bogel’s Summer Reading List. I quite enjoyed this modern romance set in Toronto. It was lovely to get a diverse couple to play off of. I most liked the sections of the book that really dove into the various beliefs and lifestyles of the characters. Ayesha was a great voice to follow along. I loved following her story and watching her grow more comfortable in her identify throughout the book. I can see the similarities to Pride and Prejudice, but find it to be a completely different story for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld

Title: You Think It, I’ll Say It

Author: Curtis Sittenfeld

Publisher: Random House 2018

Genre: Short Stories

Pages: 223

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

A suburban mother of two fantasizes about the downfall of an old friend whose wholesome lifestyle empire may or may not be built on a lie. A high-powered lawyer honeymooning with her husband is caught off guard by the appearance of the girl who tormented her in high school. A shy Ivy League student learns the truth about a classmate’s seemingly enviable life.

Curtis Sittenfeld has established a reputation as a sharp chronicler of the modern age who humanizes her subjects even as she skewers them. Now, with this first collection of short fiction, her “astonishing gift for creating characters that take up residence in readers’ heads” (The Washington Post) is showcased like never before. Throughout the ten stories in You Think It, I’ll Say It, Sittenfeld upends assumptions about class, relationships, and gender roles in a nation that feels both adrift and viscerally divided.

This is the Girly Book Club selection for August and it was a dud for me. I finished this collection of short stories a while ago, but had to sit with my thoughts to really understand my problems with them. My initial reaction was: Human beings are trash. After thinking more about it, I am going to stick to that statement. Diving deeper, I was left with a very depressed cynical view of humanity after every single story. I don’t need “happily ever after” stories, but these seemed so incredibly pessimistic about life and relationships. I thought that “Gender Studies”, “Bad Latch”, and “The Prairie Wife” were very interesting stories, but my goodness they were bleak. Once I thought about the stories even more, I realized that almost all of the characters featured were upper middle class and white. There was so much privilege inherent in all their lives. I think I might be over stories that focus on this demographic (full disclosure: I am part of these demographic). I am wanted to read about a variety of stories and situations. I don’t think I will have very charitable things to say about these stories at book club. But I have to admit that these stories are very well written.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Hope and Other Punch Lines by Julie Buxbaum

Title: Hope and Other Punch Lines

Author: Julie Buxbaum

Publisher: Delacorte Press 2019

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Pages: 320

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Literary Escapes - NJ

Abbi Hope Goldstein is like every other teenager, with a few smallish exceptions: her famous alter ego, Baby Hope, is the subject of internet memes, she has asthma, and sometimes people spontaneously burst into tears when they recognize her. Abbi has lived almost her entire life in the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11. On that fateful day, she was captured in what became an iconic photograph: in the picture, Abbi (aka "Baby Hope") wears a birthday crown and grasps a red balloon; just behind her, the South Tower of the World Trade Center is collapsing.

Now, fifteen years later, Abbi is desperate for anonymity and decides to spend the summer before her seventeenth birthday incognito as a counselor at Knights Day Camp two towns away. She's psyched for eight weeks in the company of four-year-olds, none of whom have ever heard of Baby Hope.

Too bad Noah Stern, whose own world was irrevocably shattered on that terrible day, has a similar summer plan. Noah believes his meeting Baby Hope is fate. Abbi is sure it's a disaster. Soon, though, the two team up to ask difficult questions about the history behind the Baby Hope photo. But is either of them ready to hear the answers?

Not sure what I was expecting when I picked this one up. Well, that’s not true. I was thinking this would be a very typical young adult romance. Instead, we get a very powerful story of teens dealing with perceptions, growing up, and identity. I loved following Abbi as she navigates an identity that was thrust upon her in infancy. She attempts to explain to others how this identity feels, but often the other characters put their own ideas and feelings onto her. I love that the romance wasn’t the main focus of the book. Sure Abbi and Noah end up together. I don’t think that is really a spoiler. But that storyline feels very third tier in the grand scope of the book. I’ll admit that this book had me tearing up in multiple spots. It was a lot more hard-hitting than I was expecting. This book may not make it onto my Top 10 for the year (seriously, I’ve read way too much this year already), but I may have to put it in my Top 25.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald

Title: Time After Time

Author: Lisa Grunwald

Publisher: Random House 2019

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 401

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

On a clear December morning in 1937, at the famous gold clock in Grand Central Terminal, Joe Reynolds, a hardworking railroad man from Queens, meets a vibrant young woman who seems mysteriously out of place. Nora Lansing is a Manhattan socialite whose flapper clothing, pearl earrings, and talk of the Roaring Twenties don’t seem to match the bleak mood of Depression-era New York. Captivated by Nora from her first electric touch, Joe despairs when he tries to walk her home and she disappears. Finding her again—and again—will become the focus of his love and his life.

Nora, a fiercely independent aspiring artist, is shocked to find she’s somehow been trapped, her presence in the terminal governed by rules she cannot fathom. It isn’t until she meets Joe that she begins to understand the effect that time is having on her, and the possible connections to the workings of Grand Central and the solar phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge, when the sun rises or sets between the city’s skyscrapers, aligned perfectly with the streets below.

As thousands of visitors pass under the famous celestial blue ceiling each day, Joe and Nora create a life unlike any they could have imagined. With infinite love in a finite space, they take full advantage of the “Terminal City” within a city, dining at the Oyster Bar, visiting the Whispering Gallery, and making a home at the Biltmore Hotel. But when the construction of another landmark threatens their future, Nora and Joe are forced to test the limits of freedom and love.

I was a bit confused about this book at the beginning. I thought it was a straight-forward historical fiction novel, but nope, there’s was definitely a fantastical element to this novel. I immediately fell for Nora and Joe and wanted to watch them through the years. And overall, I really loved reading their story. I was not a huge fan of the second romance featured. If the book ended about 75 pages before it actually did, this one would have earned 5 stars from me. As it stands, I did enjoy this historical fiction.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

Title: The Mother-in-Law

Author: Sally Hepworth

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press 2019

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 340

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: I Love Libraries; Cloak and Dagger

From the moment Lucy met her husband’s mother, she knew she wasn’t the wife Diana had envisioned for her perfect son. Exquisitely polite, friendly, and always generous, Diana nonetheless kept Lucy at arm’s length despite her desperate attempts to win her over. And as a pillar in the community, an advocate for female refugees, and a woman happily married for decades, no one had a bad word to say about Diana…except Lucy.

That was five years ago.

Now, Diana is dead, a suicide note found near her body claiming that she longer wanted to live because of the cancer wreaking havoc inside her body.

But the autopsy finds no cancer.

It does find traces of poison, and evidence of suffocation.

Who could possibly want Diana dead? Why was her will changed at the eleventh hour to disinherit both of her children, and their spouses? And what does it mean that Lucy isn’t exactly sad she’s gone?

Another pick from Anne Bogel’s Summer Reading Guide. I was expecting a very pedestrian thriller type of mystery, but this one really had depth. About 50 pages into this novel, I was fully invested in uncovering the secrets of the Goodwin family. I could not stand Diana and loved Lucy at the beginning of the book. By the end, things switched a bit and I began to really see Diana as the strong woman she was. I really enjoyed the back and forth in point of view and time periods. It added so much layer to the storyline and characters. I really enjoyed this one so much. Great pick from the Summer Reading Guide.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Hope for the Best by Jodi Taylor

Title: Hope for the Best (The Chronicles of St. Mary’s #10)

Author: Jodi Taylor

Publisher: Headline 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 320

Stars: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; Finishing the Series; Alphabet Soup - T

Max is no stranger to taking matters into her own hands. Especially when she's had A Brilliant Idea. Yes, it will mean breaking a few rules, but - as Max always says - they're not her rules.

Seconded to the Time Police to join in the hunt for the renegade Clive Ronan, Max is a long way from St Mary's. But life in the future does have its plus points - although not for long.

A problem with the Time Map reveals chaos in the 16th century and the wrong Tudor queen on the throne. History has gone rogue, there's a St Mary's team right in the firing line and Max must step up.

You know what they say. Hope for the best. But plan for the worst.

Another good adventure story through time. Overall I really enjoyed the plot and the various time periods visited. Max, as usual, is a delight and I love following her around. I loved reconnecting with Matthew and Matthew Ellis. Unfortunately, this volume was not quite as good as some of the previous. The reason: not enough Peterson and Markham! We need to go back to St. Mary’s and spend more time in its halls. Maybe next story…

The Chronicles of St. Mary’s:

Next up on the TBR pile:

Recursion by Blake Crouch

Title: Recursion

Author: Blake Crouch

Publisher: Crown 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 326

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Dancing with Fantasy and Science Fiction - Time Travel

Memory makes reality.

That’s what NYC cop Barry Sutton is learning, as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.

That’s what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.

As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face to face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds, but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.

But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?

I loved every page of this book! I thought I really enjoyed Dark Matter, but this one was much more nuanced. The storyline is fast pace enough to keep me engaged. The science is explained, but the reader doesn’t need to have a complete grasp of the science to enjoy. The characters are interesting and real. I got about halfway through the book and thought a conclusion was coming. And it was in a sense. But then the book changed direction and really started flying. I will be pushing this book in J’s hands next.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

Title: Lock Every Door

Author: Riley Sager

Publisher: Dutton 2019

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story . . . until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew's sordid past and into the secrets kept within its walls. What she discovers pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

My Book of the Month selection for July and I’m so glad I picked it. I needed a book that was exactly what I was expecting it to be and this one delivered. I wanted an edge of my seat thriller full of suspense, interesting characters, and a satisfying conclusion. I got it! I read this book in less than 8 hours. It was a ride from page one until the very last page. I loved following Jules as she navigates the horror housed in the Bartholomew. Could not put it down! Now I really need to pick up Sager’s other two thrillers.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Lumberjanes Vol. 8

Title: Lumberjanes Vol. 8: Stone Cold

Author: Shannon Watters, Kate Levh, Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooke Allen, Maarta Laiho, Carey Pietsch

Publisher: BOOM! 2018

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 112

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

Five best friends at summer camp take friendship to the max when they team up to defeat the strange forces lurking within the surrounding forest.

Excited to have Barney starting their first week at the camp, the Roanokes run over to the Zodiac cabin, only to find everyone turned to stone! Between strange shadows and Diane being back, it looks like April, Jo, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are going to have their hands full trying to find a cure for their friends . . . as long as they don’t look the wrong thing in the eye first.

Oh yeah! We get the return of Diane/Artemis! Loved this adventure featuring a variety of Greek characters and some giant birds. This series is a breath of fresh air. I love dipping back into the lives of the Roanoke girls every once in awhile.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

Title: The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

Author: Imogen Hermes Gowar

Publisher: Harper 2018

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 496

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf; Dancing with Fantasy and Scifi - Set In Our World

One September evening in 1785, Jonah Hancock hears an urgent knocking on his front door near the docks of London. The captain of one of Jonah’s trading vessels is waiting eagerly on the front step, bearing shocking news. On a voyage to the Far East, he sold the Jonah’s ship for something rare and far more precious: a mermaid. Jonah is stunned—the object the captain presents him is brown and wizened, as small as an infant, with vicious teeth and claws, and a torso that ends in the tail of a fish. It is also dead.

As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlors and brothels, all of London is curious to see this marvel in Jonah Hancock’s possession. Thrust from his ordinary existence, somber Jonah finds himself moving from the city’s seedy underbelly to the finest drawing rooms of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of the coquettish Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on—and a shrewd courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting sparks a perilous liaison that steers both their lives onto a dangerous new course as they come to realize that priceless things often come at the greatest cost.

Another Book of the Month selection that’s been sitting on my shelf for way too long. I picked this one up not really knowing what to expect. Ultimately, I really liked this story involving a merchant, a courtesan, a mermaid, and a real mermaid? However, this really took awhile to get into this story. The first 100 pages are pretty slow moving and are very focused on the Mr. Hancock and Angelica’s separate storylines. Once we get them together, the story really picks up. The writing style is a bit strange. It is written in the style of the late 1800s. Definitely a style that takes some time to get used to, but I did enjoy the writing. Interesting book, but not one that I would recommend to everyone.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

Title: Waiting for Tom Hanks

Author: Kerry Winfrey

Publisher: Jove 2019

Genre: Romance Comedy

Pages: 274

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Literary Escapes - OH

Annie Cassidy dreams of being the next Nora Ephron. She spends her days writing screenplays, rewatching Sleepless in Seattle, and waiting for her movie-perfect meet-cute. If she could just find her own Tom Hanks—a man who’s sweet, sensitive, and possibly owns a houseboat—her problems would disappear and her life would be perfect. But Tom Hanks is nowhere in sight.

When a movie starts filming in her neighborhood and Annie gets a job on set, it seems like a sign. Then Annie meets the lead actor, Drew Danforth, a cocky prankster who couldn’t be less like Tom Hanks if he tried. Their meet-cute is more of a meet-fail, but soon Annie finds herself sharing some classic rom-com moments with Drew. Her Tom Hanks can’t be an actor who’s leaving town in a matter of days...can he?

Way over-hyped and too cliched for me to enjoy that much. Annie is a very annoying protagonist waiting around for Mr. Right to canter up on his white horse. I just couldn’t with her constant reminders of waiting for “Tom Hanks.” We get it, it’s the title of the book, you don’t have to constantly remind me. Beyond that, Annie acts more like a 15 year old girl than a 27 year old woman. I just couldn’t get over her immature attitude about everything. And the romance wasn’t that great. Possibly could have been better as a YA novel.

Next up on the TBR pile:

I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott

Title: I Miss You When I Blink

Author: Mary Laura Philpott

Publisher: Atria Books 2019

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 276

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Nonfiction Bingo - Self-help Title

Mary Laura Philpott thought she’d cracked the code: Always be right, and you’ll always be happy.

But once she’d completed her life’s to-do list (job, spouse, house, babies—check!), she found that instead of feeling content and successful, she felt anxious. Lost. Stuck in a daily grind of overflowing calendars, grueling small talk, and sprawling traffic. She’d done everything “right,” but she felt all wrong. What’s the worse failure, she wondered: smiling and staying the course, or blowing it all up and running away? And are those the only options?

In this memoir-in-essays full of spot-on observations about home, work, and creative life, Philpott takes on the conflicting pressures of modern adulthood with wit and heart. She offers up her own stories to show that identity crises don’t happen just once or only at midlife; reassures us that small, recurring personal re-inventions are both normal and necessary; and advises that if you’re going to faint, you should get low to the ground first. Most of all, Philpott shows that when you stop feeling satisfied with your life, you don’t have to burn it all down and set off on a transcontinental hike (unless you want to, of course). You can call upon your many selves to figure out who you are, who you’re not, and where you belong. Who among us isn’t trying to do that?

A real mixed bag here. I just didn’t connect to Philpott or her life even though we share a lot of similarities in our lives. Most of the essays came off as “let me tell you how to live” instead of a more personal sharing of struggles. I felt like the author came across as very condescending at many points throughout. I just really couldn’t connect with Philpott and wanted her to stop telling me what to do. Just really didn’t connect at all to this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Title: Dark Matter

Author: Blake Crouch

Publisher: Crown 2016

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 342

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Lirbary Love; Literary Escapes - Illinois

“Are you happy with your life?”

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

I really enjoyed this science fiction thriller. In many ways, it reminded me of The Martian. We meet a man on the verge of encountering a major problem. We then follow him as he navigates a new-to-him world. The reader is hurtled along the adventure attempting to figure out the solution along with our main character. I sped through this book on the edge of my seat. I had to see how it all ended. I had to see if our Jason was able to get home. My one issue was the lack of depth to the character of Angela. She really was just Jason’s therapist on the journey. I wanted more from her. I wanted to hear more about her desires. Even with that gripe, I really enjoyed reading this one. Hoping to get to Recursion soon.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Columbine by Dave Cullen

Title: Columbine

Author: Dave Cullen

Publisher: Twelve 2009

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 417

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Nonfiction - 5 Star Read for a Friend

"The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . ."

So begins a new epilogue, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." It is a false script, seized upon by a generation of new killers. In the wake of Parkland, Charleston, Newtown, Aurora, and Virginia Tech, the imperative to understand the crime that sparked this plague grows more urgent every year.

What really happened April 20, 1999? The horror of Columbine left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we "know" is wrong. It wasn't about jocks, goths, or the Trench Coat Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on scene, and spent ten years on this book -- widely recognized as the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, Cullen draws on mountains of evidence, insights from the world's leading forensic psychologists, and the killers' own words and drawings -- several reproduced in a new appendix for the paperback.

In this New York Times bestselling work, Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers, who stand in stark contrast against the flashes of resilience and redemption among the survivors of the Columbine massacre.

This is one of those books that I feel like many should read, but you aren’t really going to enjoy it. There’s nothing particularly feel good in this account of the Columbine shooting, the origin of the idea, and the aftermath of the event. We meet the various people involved diving into some of their lives pretty deeply. A good portion of this book is given over to attempting to understand the shooters. We follow them as they plan one of the deadliest school shootings in America’s history. This book is not for the faint of heart. There are passages that are particularly hard to read. But yet, I felt like I needed to read this one to understand the state of school shootings today. I was a junior in high school when Columbine happened. This volume brings back all the memories of seeing this play out on the television and my own school’s reaction. Based on an interview with Dave Cullen that I recently read, I would like to pick up his newest book, Parkland. He describes them as bookends on the topic of school shootings.

Next up on the TBR pile: