This is an interesting romance about 40-year old high school vice-principal on vacation who falls for the tennis court at a resort she and her friend visit.  The tennis in the book is so far from accurate that it was hard for me to willingly suspend my disbelief, do even though there were a lot of other parts that were cute and fun, I jut couldn't get into it the way I have with this author's other books.  If you don't know anything about tennis and you are looking for a good feminist  beach-read romance, then this is for you, but otherwise, pass.

​Not recommended.

This is a collection of essays with lots of interesting observations about life and the world, but the author is just such a whiner, I could not stand it.  He is just a grumpy old man complaining about everything in the guise of being funny.  Perhaps as a column meant to be read one a week, it would have been less grating, but when strung together I just felt an overwhelming urge to tell him to shut up until he had something nice to say.
Not recommended.

There was a lot that was fun about this book. It is about a high girls field hockey team in the late 1980's who collectively get it into their head that they can influence their ability to win by engaging in witchcraft.  Having been on girls teams in the 80's, so much of this story was reminiscent of those experiences.  The details were exquisite, reminding me of so much 80's pop culture that I had forgotten about.  From the California Raisins to all sorts of one-hit-wonders, it is amazing how many things were so popular for a bit and then just faded out of my mind.  The hair, clothes, phones, and news headlines descriptions brought a rich backdrop to the story. And the nicknames! They just do not have offensive nicknames now the way we did then.  It isn't a bad things that we don't have them, but kids today just do not appreciate how subtly ruthless girls were back then. 
The story is written in an unusual style in which the narrator will jump forward in time from the story to put things in context, like rape, casual racism, and transphobia.  This is an interesting way of being able to present may of the things we thought and didn't think in the 80's that would be just so offensive now. 
In many ways, the writing, both the style and the detail, was a distraction from the story itself and I sometimes forgot the storyline, being so lost in the era and social commentary, leaving me to delve not only into to my own memories, but also to thoughts of how much things have changed.  This might also be because I know exactly zero about field hockey and things like the "rotating rhombus" and the other hockey lingo left time for my mind to wonder. 

I also really loved the collective delusion that the kids on the team work themselves into.  How they fed off each other while using a Ouija board, doing "light as a feather, stiff as a board," and other "witchcraft" was realistic and, again, so rich with contextually accurate details.

​Recommend.

​This is one of those hyper-intellectual reads with long words and sentences, tons of characters, and a storyline that spans thousands of years.  I never did figure out the way everything was supposed to come together.  There were a lot of characters I couldn't keep straight.  Overall, it felt like it was a pretentious read designed for people who want to read something intellectual.  I am still surprised it is the same author as All The Light We Cannot See.  If you liked Neil Gaiman or Tim Powers, then you will probably love this.  I did not.


Not recommended.

Another sweet little romance that was a free download. High achieving New Yorker takes a job in London and meets curmudgeonly widow in a bar.  Although it for sure has the trite barriers that are so typical of the genre, because she has a friend who is a romance writer, there is a self-awareness of this that is kind of fun. 


Recommended

This is an odd novel, told with three narrators who are triplets living in a town whose water has been contaminated by a plastic manufacturing plant to the point where the town is populated primarily with people with disabilities.  One of the narrators is on the spectrum, another uses a power wheel chair and computer generated voice device.  The mother of the triplets is the person spearheading the lawsuit that has been languishing for more than 15 years. The most interesting theme in the book is her struggle with loving her girls "just the way they are," while also managing her anger and desire for revenge against the company and people who did this to them.  The book is definitely aware of this theme, but I feel like it missed an opportunity to really explore this complexity.  Some of the legal narrative just didn't make sense, but the character development and interpersonal dynamics, particularly the storyline about the conflict among the sisters was well done.  Once I was able to ignore the lawsuit details and focus on the other storylines, it was pretty good.
Not not recommended

A really cute little adventure romance, especially for a free audible download.  It was fast-paced and just sweet.  Set against he backdrop of a series of unfortunate events thwarting the protagonists attempt to further her career.  Very light, very fun.

​Recommend.

A lengthy essay, really, this is a history of the #MeToo movement and its aftermath in Australia.  I don't remember now how this came to be on my list of things to read (it wasn't part of my 50 friends list), but it was fascinating, particularly because it played out quite differently than in the States and Canada. In the hyper-masculinized culture there where sexual harassment is/was even more pervasive than in the US, far fewer famous men were impacted by the #MeToo phenomena, but the ones that were public had a significant impact on systems and culture that were really interesting to read about. Lots of food for thought here.

Recommend.

A quick and short little romance, after slogging through Secondhand Time I needed a diversion.  A British translator and an American scientist meet in France. Despite an unusual lack of barriers to the relationship that usually dominate this type of romance, the story unfolds in a fun and playful way.  Not the best romance I have read, but not terrible either. 


Not not recommended.

This is a collection of interviews of Russians talking about their post-soviet era experiences of living in Russia.  There are a wide variety of stories and perspectives represented and many of the stories are brutal in the telling.  Perhaps more than anything else what stuck with me was how people you thought were friends and loved ones can turn on you under the oppressive conditions.  These stories of pain weighed on me more than the stories of torture in prisons or the horrors of combat and war.  There are countless assaults and sexual assault told here, in addition to the description of love and joy and survival.  Reading this book in a time where Russia has launched a war on Ukraine was fascinating, as I imagine what these same people are thinking now with the information they are getting.  An interesting read, but not necessarily something I would recommend unless you are particularly interested in the topic.
​
Not not recommended.