 Icelandic cafe decor. These are color coordinated books that look cool, but the books have been cut away about 3 inches from the spine so that they can be displayed. The bookshelves don't need to be full sized this way, but the books are unreadable.
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 Everybody Loves Kamau! W. Kamau Bell. 2018. Everybody Loves Kamau. Another short essay. It was basically a rehash of his book, so if you have read the full book, I would skip it.
 The List. Fun little essay about dating by the author of a book I really love called The Wangs Versus the World. I kind of liked it.
 The Dispatcher. John Scalzi. 2016. The Dispatcher. I really like Scalzi (Lock In & Agent to the Stars), so I was thrilled to see this very short book on the audible free list this month. He did not let me down! He builds alternative universes so quickly and draws you into them skillfully. Everything is so close to real life, with just a small twist to explore an idea. Here, it is the ethics of assisted suicide, end of life care, murder, and death. There are layers of complexity and nuance, just the way I like a good sci fi/fantasy story. Highly recommend.
So, yes, I was a bit behind on posting reviews for the year, but I am caught up now. Next up, I have a series of three short books, starting with The List, but the next book will be Elizabeth II. Hopefully, I have turned the corner away from the mediocre reading of the last three months and some books will start resonating with me as we head into spring and summer. *** Comments Carla: Appreciate your book reviews! Julie: Appreciate all your reviews  The Sympathizer. Viet Thanh Nguyen. 2015. The Sympathizer: This historical fiction about a spy involved in the US-Vietnam War is on my recommend list, with some hesitation. The prose is engaging and the story is interesting, complicated enough to hold your attention. It is a spy novel, but with unexpected twists and unusually strong character development. The interpersonal relationships were heartbreaking and the story line overall was quite depressing. I did not enjoy the graphic descriptions not only of violence, but also of non-violent gross things. It was not exactly gratuitous, but it was more detailed than I prefer. Nevertheless, I found the nuance of allegiance and alliance portrayed here, as well as friendships that were built on trust and deception, to be worthwhile. I like a book that makes me think about complex issues like this, especially when it stays with you after it ends. Recommend.
 City of Bones. Cassandra Clare. 2007. City of Bones: The first in a vampire series, this was a light read that more or less kept my attention. It took longer than I like to set the stage, but this is perhaps because it is the start of an extended series. I am undecided whether I liked it enough to keep going, but I liked it enough that I am thinking that 2020's reading challenge might be to finish all the book series I have started and never got back to. If so, then this is one I would come back to. So, I'm not recommending it for now, but I am reserving judgment until I finish the next one.
 Song of Solomon. Toni Morrison. 1977. Song of Solomon: Toni Morrison is one of my favorite authors, with many books that fundamentally changed how I view the world when I was a teen. Being in a reading rut this year, which seems to have been going on for ages, I thought I would go back to an author I thought was a reliable love for me. Alas, in a continuation of my year of mediocre and crappy reads, I was tremendously disappointed in this book. Written from a man's perspective, the themes of incest and intergenerational dysfunction didn't have the usual tone of depth that I have come to expect from her. I found the description of much of the abuse to be hollow and didn't further the story The characters were hard to relate to and the character development felt hollow. Skip this one.
 Better. Atul Gawande. 2007. Better: This non-fiction book written by a surgeon about the ethics of medicine was surprisingly good. I could relate to some of the themes of constrained choices when trying to balance dynamic decisions in a professional setting where exhaustion, limited resources, and a desire to do good for as many people as possible are imperfectly made. Relatively short, it is worth a read for folks interested in the topic. On a side note, a visit to the ER while reading this resulted in my temporary obsession with hand-washing. The discussion about the history of hand-washing in the medical field was fascinating. Recommend.
 In Real Life. Joey Graceffa. 2015. In Real Life: Another of the many memoirs I have read in the past few years "written" by internet influencers with a ghost writer or co-author that I just can't recommend. I keep buying these hoping that I will like one, but they just fundamentally lack enough substance to carry a full book--and yet the editors continue to let them be the length of a full book. No thank you…and hopefully I will remember this next time I am tempted by one of these.
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AuthorI'll read anything a friend recommends & I love telling people what I think about it. Every year, I read 50 books recommended by 50 different friends. Welcome to My 50 Bookish Friends Blog. SearchCategories
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