This Bookshelf: 2020 Books
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2020 Books
2020 Books
Links to 549 Books Read or
Skipped in 2020
2020 Bookshelf
2020 Bookshelf
Links to All Books from 1999
through 2020 Authors A-G
All Books Authors A through
G
All Books Authors A through
G
Links to All Books from 1999
through 2020 Authors H-M
All Books Authors H
through M
All Books Authors H
through M
Links to All Books from 1999
through 2020 Authors N-Z
All Books Authors N through
Z
All Books Authors N through
Z
Book of Books: An ebook of
books read, reviewed or
skipped from 1999 through
2020
Book of Books
This web page lists all 360 books reviewed by Steve Hopkins at http://bkrev.blogspot.com during 2020 as well as 189 books relegated to
the Shelf of Ennui. You can click on the title of a book or on the picture of any jacket cover to jump to amazon.com where you can
purchase a copy of any book on this shelf.
Key to Ratings:
*****
I love it
****
I like it
***
It’s OK
**
I don’t like it
*
I hate it
Title (Click on Link
to purchase at
amazon.com)
Author(s)
Blog
Date
Comments
Click on
Picture to
Purchase at
amazon.com
Out of
Mesopotamia
Abdoh, Salar
11/9/20
Endless. For an immersive mediation on
war, read Salar Abdoh’s novel titled, Out of
Mesopotamia. From the perspective of
protagonist Saleh, a journalist, we struggle to
make sense of those who are engaged in what
seems like endless war. With great skill,
Abdoh can be poetic and authentic in the
same sentence. We’re led into the darkness
of war where we find some form of
enlightenment about why we do what we do.
Most readers will finish this novel somewhat
weakened by proximity to the fragility of life.
Our Time Is Now:
Power, Purpose,
and the Fight for a
Fair America
Abrams, Stacey
11/24/20
Formidable. Stacy Abrams drew national
interest when she ran for governor of
Georgia and was beaten in a close race in
2018 by Brian Kemp, whom she claimed
suppressed Democratic votes. In her book
titled, Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose,
and the Fight for a Fair America, she
describes her life and the progress she’s
made in Georgia to register new voters and
build a Democratic force for change. Readers
of this book will find the story of a
formidable woman whose work over the past
decade in Georgia led to the state voting for
Biden in 2020, and as I write this, awaiting
the results of a runoff election on January 5,
2021 to select two U.S. senators.
Bleeding Out: The
Devastating
Consequences of
Urban Violence--
and a Bold New
Plan for Peace in
the Streets
Abt, Thomas
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Places and Names:
On War,
Revolution, and
Returning
Ackerman, Elliot
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Heap
Adams, Sean
7/15/20
Recovery. Sean Adams’ debut novel titled,
The Heap, pulls readers into an examination
of what we build, what collapses, and what it
takes to restore what is important. Los
Verticalés was a 500-story residential
building in the desert that has collapsed.
Protagonist Orville Anders works on a dig
site where he is looking for his brother,
Bernard, who survived the collapse and
broadcasts a radio show from the rubble
called the Heap. Adams explores what life in
Los Verticalés was like before the collapse,
and what was different for those on the outer
units who had windows compared to those
on the inner units who relied on digital
screens. The workers at the dig site form a
community of their own in CamperTown,
and Adams uses all three communities as
fodder for his satire. Many readers will find
this to be a compelling story, and others will
come away from it ready to reflect on the
creation of community life.
Amnesty
Adiga, Aravind
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Friday Black
Adjei-Brenyah, Nana
Kwame
6/10/20
Creative. There are twelve funny and crazy
short stories in the debut collection by Nana
Kwame Adjei-Brenyah titled, Friday Black.
These are sharp, finely written stories that
show off the author’s creativity and are likely
to delight most readers. There’s an emotional
range on display in this collection that packs
a punch. There’s dark humor, human failings
and issues galore. His writing surprised me
often, always had my full attention, and gave
me great reading pleasure.
Homeland Elegies
Akhtar, Ayad
12/9/20
Intense. If there was ever a year that
demanded the lamentations we find in a
finely written elegy, it is 2020. In his novel
titled, Homeland Elegies, Ayad Akhtar offers
an intense narrative about finding one’s
place in contemporary America, especially
for those raised in a different culture. The
novel draws us into the dynamics of a single
family and their problems and issues, which
provide a mirror in which we can see
ourselves and others. This novel is an
uncomfortable and cleareyed look at
capitalism and the current reality of the
American dream. There is raw
disillusionment on these pages, and
heartbreak. By the end of the novel, our
feelings for a father, a son, and for the
United States have commingled and we join
our voices in an intense song of lament at
our common predicament.
She Lover of Death
Akunin, Boris
5/26/20
Club. The eighth Fandorin mystery by Boris
Akunin is a novel titled, She Lover of Death.
A young and naïve protagonist, Masha
Mironova, arrives in Moscow at the
beginning of the 20
th
century and joins a club
of mainly poets who are enamored with
death. She becomes Columbine, wears a pet
snake, and before long finds herself next in
queue to commit suicide, thanks to the signs
she has received. Events are heading off the
cliff when Fandorin joins the club. Of course,
you’ll have to read the novel if you want to
find out what happens. Akunin plays with
words and names in this novel in ways that
will entertain many readers.
American Carnage
: On the Front
Lines of the
Republican Civil
War and the Rise
of President Trump
Alberta, Tim
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Catholic
School
Albinati, Edoardo
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Hell and Other
Destinations: A
21st-Century
Memoir
Albright, Madeline
5/26/20
Momentum. Madeline Albright’s memoir
titled, Hell and Other Destinations: A 21st-
Century Memoir, is packed with wit and
wisdom. This former Secretary of State tells
us of her life from 2001 to the present, a
period for her that was packed with deciding
what to do next and then after that, and then
something else altogether. Her momentum is
a force of nature as she accounts her life of
ongoing service and engagement. Her prose
is exciting, and her humor enchanting. Do
something or get out of her way.
A Long Petal of the
Sea
Allende, Isabel
4/9/20
Refuge. My frame of mind as I started
reading Isabel Allende’s novel titled, A Long
Petal of the Sea, involved feeling a little sorry
for myself. Disrupted by a stay at home order
to slow the spread of Covid 19, I felt thrown
off kilter by constraints on my regular
activities. After I few pages into this finely
written novel, I lost all sense of my situation
as I felt the plight of the protagonists
needing to leave Spain during the civil war
and becoming refugees in Chile. While at my
own home, I thought about the importance
of a sense of home in all our lives. Allende
explores a relationship from the 1930s
through the 1990s, and along the way, we
understand more about the nature of hope,
what constitutes belonging, and how love
grows over time and across obstacles. Fans of
well written literary fiction are those readers
most likely to enjoy this novel.
Afterlife
Alvarez, Julia
7/15/20
Sisterhood. Many novels help readers
answer the question: how to we live, now?
For Antonia Vega, the protagonist of Julia
Alvarez’ novel titled, Afterlife, this involves
finding moorings again, following her
retirement from teaching college and the
sudden death of her husband, Sam, the
beloved physician in their Vermont town.
Life has a way of injecting our “now” with the
next way to live. One of Antonia’s three
sisters has disappeared, so the siblings join
together to find her. Antonia also provides
refuge for a pregnant undocumented
teenager. Alvarez leads readers into lives that
are connected to one another as members of
the same human family, and our sense of
belonging relates to those closest to us and
all the members of our human family.
Whatever has brought us to this time in our
lives gives us the courage and wisdom to do
the next thing.
Djinn Patrol on the
Purple Line
Anaparra, Deepa
7/23/20
Missing. Disappearing children in Deepa
Anaparra’s debut novel titled, Djinn Patrol
on the Purple Line, will make your blood run
cold. Anaparra describes life in a city in
India, and what parents, police and children
do after children begin to go missing. The
descriptive prose offers a setting in vivid
detail, and the perspectives of different
characters draw us into what for most of us
will be an unfamiliar environment. The fine
storytelling propels us to turn pages as we
begin to care deeply about these characters,
especially the children.
A Warning
Anonymous
2/7/20
Credibility. Can you recall the time when
many medical doctors smoked? If such a
doctor warned a patient about the dangers of
smoking, do you think the advice would be
credible? After I finished reading the book
titled, A Warning, by an anonymous author,
I thought about the credibility of the writer
and how I could possibly assess it. This book
is an inside view of the Trump
administration by a senior official. The story
does not place Trump and his allies in a
positive light. Concerned citizens may be
aghast at parts of what is described on these
pages. Supporters of President Trump may
focus away from the content and toward the
author. My assessment is that it will take
time for historians to affirm or dismiss what
this book describes about President Trump
and those around him. In the meantime,
those readers looking for an insider’s
assessment of the White House will find one
view in this alarming book.
Salt Slow
Armfield, Julia
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Mostly Dead
Things
Arnett, Kristen
4/23/20
Taxidermy. Fans of literary fiction are
those readers most likely to enjoy Kristen
Arnett’s debut novel titled, Mostly Dead
Things. Narrator Jessa pulls readers into the
family grief following the death of her father.
As the title indicates, there’s a lot of death
around, and the taxidermy business is just
one part of it. The prose is finely written, the
characters complex and on the weird side.
All This Could Be
Yours
Attenberg, Jami
1/24/20
Legacy. Is Jami Attenberg’s novel titled, All
This Could Be Yours, just another tale of
family dynamics? Yes and no. Paterfamilias
Victor Tuchman lies dying, and daughter
Alex goes to New Orleans to be with her
mother, Barbra, and to uncover the secrets of
Victor’s life. Alex’s brother, Gary, decides to
stay in Los Angeles and not come to the
deathbed. Victor’s legacy is complicated and
takes different forms. Absent Attenberg’s
finely written prose, the outline of the story
would produce a big yawn in most readers.
As the secrets are revealed, we understand
the source and form of this family’s
dysfunction. For some readers, me included,
a depressing story about the Tuchman family
can lift one’s spirits. We’re all messed up in
some way or another, and we can survive
most of what life’s throws at us.
Bunny
Awad, Mona
1/10/20
Workshop. I’ve never been a fan of small
group sharing. You know, everyone sits
around in a circle and a variety of viewpoints
are expressed. Samantha Heather Mackey is
the protagonist of Mona Awad’s novel,
Bunny, and she’s a scholarship student, an
outsider in her MFA program at Warren
University. A powerful clique in her fiction
writing program call each other “Bunny” and
workshop moves to a whole other level after
Samantha is invited to join the clique. The
prose is clever and sharp, and the novel will
appeal to fans of finely written literary
fiction. Just don’t make us sit in a circle and
share.
The Age of
Illusions: How
America
Squandered Its
Cold War Victory
Bacevich, Andrew J.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Anxious People
Backman, Fredrik
10/19/20
Bridge. No matter how well we think we
know another person, there is always more
to their story. In his novel titled, Anxious
People, Fredrik Bachman introduces readers
to a cast of characters who come together in
both planned and unexpected ways and end
up becoming a bridge for others to cross
from one way of being to another. A physical
bridge in the novel also provides a common
thread to pull the story together. Most
readers will laugh along with these
interesting and compelling characters, and
empathize with the anxiety that we share in
common as we face what the world throws at
us. If you’re looking to read a novel that will
help you feel good, consider reading this one.
Daylight
Baldacci, David
12/21/20
Search. The third installment of David
Baldacci’s series featuring FBI agent Atlee
Pine is a novel titled, Daylight. Pine and her
sidekick, Carol Blum, have left Arizona to
search for Atlee’s missing sister, Mercy. As
they follow leads, they stumble into the case
of another recurring Baldacci protagonist,
John Puller, and they combine forces to help
each other. The action proceeds rapidly, as
Pine and Puller utilize all their skills to
defeat opponents and get the answers they
are after. Fans of this series and crime fiction
are those readers most likely to enjoy this
novel.
Walk the Wire
Baldacci, David
5/26/20
Murders. The sixth Memory Man novel by
David Baldacci featuring Amos Decker is a
novel titled, Walk the Wire. Amos and
partner Alex Jamison are sent by the FBI to
North Dakota to investigate a murder. It
takes lots of pages of exposition for us to
know why this murder has brought in the
FBI, and even Amos Decker’s perfect
memory has trouble keeping track of the
mayhem at play in this novel. Layers of
secrets are eventually uncovered, to the
satisfaction of close readers who ache to see
every murder solved and the story brought to
a satisfying resolution. As a bonus to
Baldacci fans, the author brings characters
from another series, Will Robie and Jessica
Reel, to North Dakota to help out Amos and
Alex. Fans of crime fiction, this author, and
this series are those readers most likely to
enjoy this novel and this series.
The Killing Tide
Bannalac, Jean-Luc
4/23/20
Discovery. The fifth Commissaire Dupin
novel by Jean-Luc Bannalac is titled, The
Killing Tide. I thought a good mystery would
be ideal covid-19 reading, but instead I found
myself bogged down with Dupin in a difficult
case on an island where he did not want to be
(either). Every now and then I could smell
the sea air and salivate when the narrative
turned to Brittany food. Murders are
complicated in this installment, as is the
possible discovery of an object of great value.
Dupin and his team try to stay a step ahead
and are thwarted at every turn. Fans of crime
fiction and this series are those readers most
likely to enjoy this novel.
Snow
Banville, John
11/24/20
Fury. Now that I’ve read the crime novel by
John Banville titled, Snow, I remain unsure
about exactly what the writer is up to.
Banville had been writing crime fiction
under a pseudonym, Benjamin Black, often
imitating the style of Raymond Chandler. He
presented a terrific protagonist, pathologist
Garrett Quirke, and loyal readers enjoyed a
series of novels featuring the increasingly
complex Quirke. Banville has dropped the
pseudonym and pulled a minor character, St.
John Strafford, from one of the Quirke
novels and gives him a book of his own.
Detective Inspector Strafford has been sent
from Dublin to County Wexford to
investigate the murder of a priest. What
follows is the fury that is a consequence of
sexual abuse, both religious and class
divisions, and the influence of the Catholic
Church in 1957 when the novel is set. Instead
of being a well-structured crime novel with a
strong protagonist, or a finely written literary
novel, we have something of a hybrid which
may not satisfy fans of either genre. I was
entertained enough but remain a bit
bewildered by exactly what Banville was
trying to do here.
Ninth House
Bardugo, Leigh
1/10/20
Yale. If you have a high school junior
looking at colleges this year, read Leigh
Bardugo’s novel titled, Ninth House, before
heading to the Yale campus. In her first
novel for adults, prolific YA author Leigh
Bardugo uses her personal memories of life
at Yale to introduce readers to a strong
female protagonist, Alex Stern. We get secret
societies in spooky settings, both real to the
New Haven campus, along with ghosts and
magic. Some writers can’t quite blend the
real and the fantastic, but Bardugo does that
to great effect in this novel.
Eyes to the Wind:
A Memoir of Love
and Death, Hope
and Resistance
Barkan, Ady
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Man in the
Red Coat
Barnes, Julian
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Quitter: A Memoir
of Drinking,
Relapse, and
Recovery
Barnett, Erica C.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
How Emotions Are
Made: The Secret
Life of the Brain
Barrett, Lisa Feldman
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Night Boat to
Tangier
Barry, Kevin
3/13/20
Criminals. There’s some magic in the
recipe Kevin Barry uses to assemble his novel
titled, Night Boat to Tangier. We have two
complex characters, Maurice Hearne and
Charlie Redmond, lifelong criminals. Barry
uses the setting of a waiting room at a ferry
terminal to place them in a melancholy mood
to reflect on their lives of crime. They are
waiting a long time for the arrival of
Maurice’s daughter, Dilly, who may be
coming or going from the terminal. Barry
pulls us from the present to the past as we
gradually revise our views of these two thugs.
When Barry adds booze, drugs and romance
to the recipe, and dialogue that sings, all the
pieces blend together.
Providence
Barry, Max
5/15/20
Intelligence. Fans of science fiction are
those readers most likely to enjoy Max
Barry’s novel titled, Providence. Humans
and the aliens they call salamanders are in a
war for the survival of their respective
species. Four humans are selected using
artificial intelligence to take the war to the
salamanders in a gigantic battleship
controlled by artificial intelligence. Barry
explores the roles of humans in this AI-
directed environment and presents a
thrilling and compact story. Barry also helps
readers think about the behavior of the
salamanders and the AI software and what
that means for humans.
A Thousand Moons
Barry, Sebastian
11/9/20
Continuation. In a novel titled, A
Thousand Moons, Sebastian Barry continues
exploring lives he introduced in his novel
titled, Days Without End. The protagonist is
Winona Cole, a Lakota Sioux orphan, raised
by Thomas McNulty and Thomas Cole,
former Union soldiers. The setting is
Tennessee after the Civil War. With finely
written spare prose, Barry leads readers to
fall in love with Winona, who is at the
receiving end of terror, cruelty and prejudice.
Barry helps readers come to terms with
aspects of our past and exposes the reality
behind comfortable myths. Winona is a
terrific character that this reader and many
others will remember for a long time.
The Herd
Bartz, Andrea
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
This Little Family
Bayard, Ines
9/19/20
Trauma. Steel yourself from being caught
in an undertow as you read Ines Bayard’s
debut novel titled, This Little Family. We
learn the irreversible action protagonist
Marie takes within the first few pages of the
novel. The remainder of the novel pulls us
into trying to understand Marie’s response to
the trauma of rape. As the light goes out of
Marie’s life, we find ourselves in the
darkness with her as she responds in the
ways that make sense to her troubled mind.
This finely written novel is difficult to read
because of the content. Those readers who
persist will find insight into the effects of
trauma and the choices that seem inevitable
but unnecessary.
Vacuum in the
Dark
Beagin, Jen
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Land of
Flickering Lights:
Restoring America
in an Age of Broken
Politics
Bennet, Michael
1/10/20
Earnest. Readers who care about American
politics are those who will be rewarded by
reading Michael Bennet’s book titled, The
Land of Flickering Lights: Restoring America
in an Age of Broken Politics. The US Senator
from Colorado (and presidential candidate)
weaves his personal story into his insider
view of the divisive state of politics. His
critique is factual and cogent. His
assessment is knowledgeable, and his
suggestions for change are reasonable.
Bennet exudes earnestness on every page of
this book, and whatever your political
allegiances, you may find something
worthwhile to consider after reading this
book.
The Vanishing Half
Bennett, Brit
8/19/20
Twins. Certain choices can define how our
journey through life plays out. The twins in
Brit Bennett’s novel titled, The Vanishing
Half, choose different paths, and readers get
to enjoy each sister’s life as the consequence
of their difference choices. Sometimes we
define ourselves, and other times we become
identified by others as being a certain way.
Sometimes a reinvention of identity can
involve an erasure of the past to maintain the
integrity of one’s new identity. Bennet
explores the lives of identical twin sisters
from the 1950s through the 1990s as one
sister chooses to be identified as White while
her sister allows herself to be identified as
Black. Bennet encourages readers to
immerse ourselves into these disparate lives,
as she demands that we think about racial
and gender identity with an open mind.
I’ll Be Seeing You
Berg, Elizabeth
12/17/20
Aging. Novelist Elizabeth Berg has written a
memoir titled, I’ll Be Seeing You, which
focuses on the family dynamics as her elderly
parents faced the need to leave their home
and move into an assisted living facility.
While this is the story of one family, Berg
helps us see ourselves and own families in
this story, thanks to fine writing and candor
about the range of positive and negative
emotions, especially while trying to care for
another from a long distance. The
introspection in this memoir leads to insight,
and guilt leads to peace. Whatever your stage
in personal aging or in caring for those who
need assistance at the late stages of life, this
memoir will lead to your personal reflections
about love and caring and the different forms
that takes over time.
The Confession
Club
Berg, Elizabeth
3/6/20
Support. The third novel by Elizabeth Berg
set in the town of Mason, Missouri is titled,
The Confession Club. Once again, Berg pulls
readers into the lives of loveable characters
and exposes the richness of friendship, love,
and the support of others. Fans of the series
will enjoy the return of beloved characters,
supplemented by new and fascinating new
ones. Berg is one of those authors whose
writing leads us to feel good about ourselves
and our neighbors, with all our shortcomings
and imperfections.
I Hold a Wolf by
the Ears
Berg, Laura van den
9/22/20
Unhinged. I restricted myself to one story
per day while I read the collection of eleven
short stories by Laura van den Berg titled, I
Hold a Wolf by the Ears. I often took a walk
after finishing the story of the day, and found
myself often agitated, or somewhat unhinged
like many of the characters in this collection.
Walking off the story cleared my brain. Van
den Berg strips away everything from these
characters except close examination of their
fears. After we see these fears, and feel some
part of the pain of suffering, something
changes and we observe what’s beautiful and
see life transformed. There’s no easy way out
of tough stuff for any of us. With van den
Berg as a guide, we somehow get through the
tough part and come out with strength ready
for another day.
Trump and His
Generals: The Cost
of Chaos
Bergen, Peter
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Lake of
Learning
Berry, Steve
4/16/20
Cathars. I know very little about the
Cathars, so when I picked up Steve Berry’s
novella titled, The Lake of Learning, I knew
he’d teach me something, especially by his
inclusion of author’s notes separating fact
from fiction. Recurring protagonist
Cassiopeia Vitt is back, and while Cotton
Malone makes just a brief cameo, fans of the
series can see Vitt at her best as she finds
herself in possession of a valuable key to a
Cathar treasure. Readers who like action
novels and are open to learning a thing or
two about events in 13
th
century France are
those most likely to enjoy this novella.
The Warsaw
Protocol
Berry, Steve
7/6/20
Blackmail. Leave it to protagonist Cotton
Malone to be in the right place at the right
time. Or is it the wrong place at the right
time? In the fifteenth installment of the
Malone series by Steve Berry, a novel titled,
The Warsaw Protocol, Cotton happens to be
present for the theft of a sacred object, so he
leaps into the fray to catch the thieves and
recover the object. Almost immediately,
Stephanie Nelle invites him back for a short-
term job. What follows is an adventurous
plot that involves securing items that are
planned to be used to blackmail the
president of Poland. Politics, villains, castles
and a salt mine are all in the mix for readers
of this entertaining action novel.
Doing Justice: A
Prosecutor's
Thoughts on
Crime,
Punishment, and
the Rule of Law
Bharara, Preet
6/10/20
Overview. Criminal justice fans will enjoy
the readable primer by former U.S. Attorney
for the Southern District of New York, Preet
Bharara, a book titled, Doing Justice: A
Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime,
Punishment, and the Rule of Law. As a
reader would expect from a well-organized
attorney, the book is structured coherently in
four sections: inquiry, accusation, judgment
and punishment. Through clear writing and
interesting case stories, issues in criminal
justice come to life on these pages as does
love and respect for the rule of law.
The New One:
Painfully True
Stories from a
Reluctant Dad
Birbiglia, Mike
9/8/20
Vulnerability. Every expectant parent has
been told that having children will change
their lives forever. The naïve among us may
minimize this fact or warning. My bride still
reminds me that over four decades ago when
she was pregnant with our firstborn, I
assured her that we would still be
spontaneous after we become parents. Stop
laughing. Comedian Mike Birbiglia will bring
some laughter to readers of his book titled,
The New One: Painfully True Stories from a
Reluctant Dad. Other parents will admire his
vulnerability about the darker sides of his
experience and feel some relief that their
own experience isn’t singular. So often there
are expectations of what we “should” feel
about our newborn children, and when we
may not experience those feelings, we may
feel alienated. Birbiglia’s candor and
willingness to talk about the dark side may
help other parents appreciate that not
everyone feels the same things in the same
way at the same time.
The Good Spy: The
Life and Death of
Robert Ames
Bird, Kai
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Secret Guests
Black, Benjamin
10/19/20
Princesses. John Banville, writing as
Benjamin Black, imagines young Princess
Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret,
being sent from London to rural Ireland in
1940 to escape the bombing. In his novel
titled, The Secret Guests, Black helps readers
see aspects of the personalities of Elizabeth
and Margaret as children that resonate with
their later lives. The action is set in
Clonmillis Hall, the estate of the Duke of
Edenmore, who could use funds to keep up
the estate which has seen better days. The
girls are in the care of a secret agent, Miss
Celia Nashe, and an Irish detective. There’s
an interesting cast of characters, some drama
and tension, and the kind of hijinks and peril
that should have prevented such a scheme as
hiding the princesses from ever taking place.
They may have been safer under the
bombing than in Ireland. I think Banville
enjoyed writing about something he thinks is
plausible, and readers who enjoy imaginative
historical fiction may delight in spending
time with his imagination.
Three Hours in
Paris
Black, Cara
5/5/20
Yank. Why did Adolph Hitler spend only
three hours in Paris in June 1940? Cara
Black offers one reason in her finely written
spy thriller titled, Three Hours in Paris. An
American woman named Kate Rees with
great shooting skill has been recruited by the
British to parachute into France to
assassinate Hitler. As with most spy novels,
nothing is ever quite as straightforward as
that, so when Kate’s mission fails on one
level, her Yank ingenuity leads her toward
success of another kind. A talented Nazi
detective named Gunter hunts Kate with his
great skills. Black develops these characters
and others with depth, while never easing
the tension or relaxing the plot momentum.
Fans of well written crime or spy fiction are
those readers most likely to enjoy this novel.
The Peanuts
Papers: Writers
and Cartoonists on
Charlie Brown,
Snoopy & the
Gang, and the
Meaning of Life
Blauner, Andrew
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Wealth of
Pigeons
Bliss, Harry and Steve
Martin
12/21/20
Collaboration. Now more than ever, most
of us can use a good laugh. One place to find
humor is in the cartoon collection by Harry
Bliss and Steve Martin titled, A Wealth of
Pigeons. This book is a collaboration
between a talented New Yorker cartoonist
and a renowned humorist. The result of this
effort led me to laugh a lot. There’s nothing
more exposed than a single cartoon panel: it
either delivers the goods or it flops. These
panels hit far more than they miss, and I
found the tonic on these pages to be a perfect
elixir to close out a distinctly unfunny year.
Someone Will Love
You in All Your
Damaged Glory
Bob-Waksberg,
Raphael
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Room Where
It Happened: A
White House
Memoir
Bolton, John
12/9/20
Paintball. John Bolton settles scores and
brashly positions himself as the smartest of
all in his book titled, The Room Where It
Happened: A White House Memoir. The
image I had while reading this book was
Bolton holding a paintball gun and shooting
at targets including Jim Mattis, Stephen
Mnuchin, Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo and
many others. I also had an image of the
multiple yellow legal pads on which he
recorded snippets in real time while working
at the White House in preparation for this
book. While some memoirs offer humble
perspective, this book has Bolton’s raw ego
on display on every page. Readers interested
in public affairs are those most likely to
appreciate this contribution to recent
political history.
Original Prin
Boyagoda, Randy
4/23/20
Antics. The pace begins with a sharp hook
of a first sentence in Randy Boyagoda’s novel
titled, Original Prin. “Eight months before he
became a suicide bomber, Prin went to the
zoo with his family.” With that opener, the
antics begin and continue nonstop for
another 225 pages, the first installment in
what is intended to be a trilogy. Protagonist
Prin is a middle aged academic at a failing
university and he has been diagnosed with
cancer. One minute he is a practicing
Catholic, and the next he prepares to become
a terrorist. I don’t have a clue where the next
installment will lead Prin and the rest of us,
but this opener was fun to read and will
appeal to those readers who enjoy satire.
The Cat and the
City
Bradley, Nick
11/17/20
Tokyo. Nick Bradley’s versatility shines in
his book titled, The Cat and the City. Set in
Tokyo, we follow a cat in a changing
landscape through tattoos, manga, footnotes
and other unusual locations. We find
ourselves connected at one section and
estranged in another. We long to belong and
then we desire an escape. There’s always
more to city life than a casual observer can
ever see, and Bradley takes us to places in
Tokyo that we might have never imagined,
let alone visited. Along this journey, the
vignettes explore many aspects of living at its
best and worst.
American
Moonshot: John F.
Kennedy and the
Great Space Race
Brinkley, Douglas
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
No Place to Die
Broadfoot, Neil
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Desk 88: Eight
Progressive
Senators Who
Changed America
Brown, Sherrod
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Galway Girl
Bruen, Ken
1/24/20
Falcon. Protagonist Jack Taylor is back in
the fourteenth novel by Ken Bruen to feature
him. Titled Galway Girl, Jack finds himself
the target of a team of young killers, led by a
woman named Jericho. Bruen takes the
bleak and darkens it, but don’t let that
discourage you from visiting Galway. Each of
the killers has a separate beef with Taylor.
Just when I felt I had settled in with the old
Jack Taylor, he up and leaves Galway briefly
and learns to be a falconer. Bruen uses the
falcon to great effect, and Jack soars like the
bird in this novel.
Make Russia Great
Again
Buckley, Christopher
10/19/20
Audience. I’ve been a fan of Christopher
Buckley’s satire for many years, so I was a
key part of the target audience for his book
titled, Make Russia Great Again. For many
people in 2020, laughter has become a rare
commodity. Political partisans are fighting
hard this presidential election year, and
some readers will perceive this book as
another form of anti-Trump propaganda. For
those readers who appreciate political satire
and are open to laughter even about figures
they support, this book is packed with wit
and perfectly aimed plausible takes on
contemporary American politics. I was
entertained once again by this display of
Buckley’s humor.
Dirt: Adventures in
Lyon as a Chef in
Training, Father,
and Sleuth Looking
for the Secret of
French Cooking
Buford, Bill
5/26/20
Essence. Readers with any interest in food,
France, people, stories and relationships will
find many things to enjoy while reading Bull
Buford’s book titled, Dirt: Adventures in
Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and
Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French
Cooking. My taste for this book started when
I read Buford’s excerpt in The New Yorker
about a baker named Bob in Lyon, France.
When this book was released this month, I
was prepared to devour it, and I did. Buford
makes it all look easy. What he does is cook
down people and stories until he uncovers
the essence. It takes a while to realize that
what we get in this book is the distillation of
many years of his engagement with chefs,
cooking, and writing. I encountered chef
Michel Richard from his Citronelle
restaurant in Washington and thought of
him as a creative and whimsical
restauranteur. I learned, as Buford did, that
the late Richard was a traditional French
chef, who avoided cooking those things that
he had not yet found a way to make better
than the traditional method. His dishes were
rooted in tradition and made better thanks to
his skill and creativity. That’s just one
example from this book. Buford uses self-
deprecating humor to move the story along,
and his family’s experience to balance work
and home life as he tried to learn all he could
about French cooking. Pick your favorite
menu item: the view as husband, father,
apprentice chef, mentee, writer, friend; and
savor this book’s richness.
The Back Channel:
A Memoir of
American
Diplomacy and the
Case for Its
Renewal
Burns, William J.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Toil and Trouble
Burroughs, Augusten
1/10/20
Witch. The latest memoir by Augusten
Burroughs is titled, Toil and Trouble. His
being a witch is one of the less strange
aspects of this finely written and witty book.
As with earlier books, he scrapes pieces of his
life to reveal the power of love in our lives
and the many ways in which we are all
powerless. This memoir focuses on domestic
life and his move to the country to an old
house. He finds grist to mill with his terrific
descriptive language in telling readers about
hired workers, neighbors, dogs, storms,
memories, storms, jewelry, diet and more.
Cygnet
Butler, Season
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Before You Go
Butler, Tommy
11/9/20
Imperfect. I enjoyed the charming
celebration of life in all its messiness as I
read Tommy Butler’s debut novel titled,
Before You Go. Protagonist Eliot Chance
becomes everyman as we see him on his
journey through a life which could easily be
ours. What seemed to be a design flaw in the
creation of the human species turns out to be
the secret of our survival and the path to a
good life. Butler captures our existential
longing and the ways in which we try to fill in
the holes in our lives. The prose is finely
written, and the insight into human behavior
is wise.
I Have Something
to Tell You
Buttigieg, Chasten
10/19/20
Candid. It won’t take readers very long to
read the memoir by Chasten Buttigieg titled,
I Have Something to Tell You. He writes
about his life with candor, humor, and an
absence of embarrassment about his naivete
and his struggles. There’s kindness and
warmth in every chapter, and a cheerful and
endearing embrace of the adventures so far
in his unexpected life.
Trust: America's
Best Chance
Buttigieg, Pete
12/21/20
Process. Former South Bend Mayor and
nominated Secretary of Transportation Pete
Buttigieg taps into the zeitgeist in a book
titled, Trust: America's Best Chance. He
describes that the most important work of
our time ahead is the restoration (or
creation) of trust among all citizens. He
explores the steps and the process that we
could use to make trust work again in
American life. We need to place trust in our
institutions, in each other and in our fragile
experiment in democracy. New networks of
trust need to be established to pull us
together to address the most important
issues of our time, including climate change,
racial justice and economic justice. I found
myself thinking of the many times in my life
when others placed their trust in me, and
when I extended my trust to others. I
reflected on those times when my trust in
someone was abused, and the challenge of
trying to rebuild trust once it was lost.
Readers interested in our democratic society
and in public policy are those most likely to
enjoy reading this timely book.
How Charts Lie:
Getting Smarter
about Visual
Information
Cairo, Alberto
3/26/20
Primer. General readers looking for a
primer on how to interpret visual
information should consider reading Alberto
Cairo’s book titled, How Charts Lie: Getting
Smarter about Visual Information. Cairo
explains and illustrates a variety of ways in
which visual images can distort data to sway
those who see the images. Armed with the
information from this book, readers can
become skilled at spotting distortions as well
as using good visuals to convey complex
stories effectively and honestly. Since I’ve
created and read thousands of charts over
decades, I didn’t learn anything new from
Cairo. Many readers will have their eyes
opened in more ways than one after reading
this book.
For the Record
Cameron, David
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Only Truth
Cameron, Julie
11/24/20
Trauma. Threat looms over protagonist
Isabel Dryland in the novel by Julie Cameron
titled, Only Truth. Scarred by an event
earlier in her life that she cannot remember,
Isabel and her husband, Tom, are making a
fresh start in the country. Something about
their new home doesn’t seem quite right.
Cameron structures the novel in two time
periods, allowing readers to understand the
past trauma to Isabel and the current real
threat. Isabel’s nemesis could be any number
of men, and Cameron lets each reader
consider who in the cast of characters
represents the lurking threat. Fans of crime
thrillers are those readers most likely to
enjoy this entertaining and creepy novel.
Brooklyn, The
Once and Future
City
Campanella, Thomas
J.
5/5/20
Hardscape. If you’ve ever lived in
Brooklyn, as I have, you know that your
heart can and will break. In his book titled,
Brooklyn, The Once and Future City, Thomas
J. Campanella offers a large and loving
picture of this special place. He focuses a lot
on the physical space: buildings, parks,
roads, while keeping the interest of readers
through the heroes and villains of each time
period he explores. If you love Brooklyn,
you’re likely to enjoy reading this book, and
will wish Campanella told more about the life
and love you know has penetrated this place
for centuries.
The Weight of a
Piano
Cander, Chris
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Hunter’s Moon
Caputo, Philip
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Alienated America:
Why Some Places
Thrive While
Others Collapse
Carney, Timothy P.
3/26/20
Community. In his book titled, Alienated
America: Why Some Places Thrive While
Others Collapse, Timothy P. Carney, makes a
strong case that discomfort and alienation by
some Americans may be less about income
equality and more about social isolation. He
describes what he found across the United
States as he reported on this story: more
Americans are or feel alone. The building
blocks of community like churches, sports
teams and volunteer organizations provide a
foundation for a strong and engaged
community life. In places without those
support networks, individuals feel alienated
because they lack the bonds that tie them to
others. I write this review on the fourteenth
day of sheltering in place to slow the spread
of Covid-19. I live in a community where I do
not feel isolated. I’m now six feet or more
away from neighbors and friends, but I can
feel the solidarity of all of us acting for the
common good. Reading Carney’s book
helped me appreciate what I have in the
community where I live, and I now better
understand the plight of those who feel no
social support from their own communities.
Black Sun Rising
Carr, Matthew
9/19/20
Blood. In Matthew Carr’s novel titled, Black
Sun Rising, protagonist private detective
Harry Lawton gets a plum assignment in
London to investigate a murder in Barcelona
and the circumstances surrounding a
mysterious large payment made by the
victim shortly before death. Set in 1909, the
novel captures all the atmospherics of that
time period. Harry uncovers other mysteries
in Barcelona involving murders in which the
victim’s blood has disappeared. As the case
progresses, we feel anxiety with Harry and
his epilepsy, and we learn about the
scientists who were promoting eugenics at
that time. Readers who enjoy complex crime
fiction with great plot twists are those most
likely to enjoy this novel.
Something Deeply
Hidden: Quantum
Worlds and the
Emergence of
Spacetime
Carroll, Sean
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
An Unlikely
Journey: Waking
Up from My
American Dream
Castro, Julian
9/22/20
Opportunity. There was one individual I
really wanted to meet after reading Julian
Castro’s memoir titled An Unlikely Journey:
his mother. This no-nonsense loving person
propelled Julian and his twin, Joaquin, to
superior educational opportunities at
Stanford and Harvard, and on to roles of
service for others at high levels of
government. This is a quintessential
American story, and also a Latino
assimilation story as big as all Texas.
Whether you’re politically aligned with
Castro’s views or not, reading this memoir
will give you renewed hope in how the
American dream remains alive.
Fifty-Fifty
Cavanagh, Steve
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Thirteen: The
Serial Killer Isn't
on Trial. He's on
the Jury.
Cavanagh, Steve
1/2/20
Serial. While the novel by Steve Cavanagh
titled, Thirteen: The Serial Killer Isn't on
Trial. He's on the Jury., is the third book to
feature conman turned lawyer Eddie Flynn,
this was my first exposure to the character.
Flynn is the ideal protagonist: troubled and
complex and talented. Fans of crime fiction
will love this novel’s plot involving a smart
serial murderer who has been outsmarting
the justice system. For his latest killing, he
has gotten himself a seat on the jury of a trial
of someone he framed for murder.
Squeamish readers may find the graphicly
described violence disturbing. The characters
are complex and interesting, the plot
exciting, and the premise intriguing. This
may be the first novel I’ve seen with a
descriptive subtitle, which is clever and
appealing.
Twisted
Cavanagh, Steve
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Furious Hours:
Murder, Fraud,
and the Last Trial
of Harper Lee
Cep, Casey
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
If I Had Your Face
Cha, Frances
7/15/20
Image. Frances Cha’s debut novel is titled,
If I Had Your Face, and features four young
women in Seoul struggling to find their place
in the world. Cha helps us understand the
choices faced by women in Korea and how
image can be something with which one is
never satisfied. Readers can identify with the
well-drawn characters and can feel the power
of friendship and love that leads them
through difficulties. Gender inequity in
South Korea is portrayed with raw and
unblinking imagery and stories. Economic
inequality adds to the struggle for these
characters both in terms of the cost of
looking one’s best and in being able to raise a
child. Some book clubs will find this debut
novel will open broad conversations about
contemporary issues.
Fight of the
Century: Writers
Reflect on 100
Years of Landmark
ACLU Cases
Chabon, Michael and
Ayelet Waldman
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
As Long As We
Both Shall Live
Chaney, JoAnn
6/10/20
Marriage. Fans of crime thrillers will love
the intensity of JoAnn Chaney’s novel titled,
As Long As We Both Shall Live. Matt tells
park rangers that his wife, Marie, fell off a
cliff. Detectives suspect Matt of murder. And
we’re off. Just when we think we’re sure that
Matt killed Marie, we think there might be
something else going on. Chaney keeps us
thinking and reading as she never lets up.
What is it about marriage that leads people
to the very edge?
Cesare
Charyn, Jerome
8/5/20
Madmen. Open up Jerome Charyn’s novel
titled, Cesare, and be prepared to be caught
up in life and death decisions in Berlin
during the Second World War. A young naval
cadet named Erik unwittingly saves the life
of Admiral William Canaris, the head of
German Military Intelligence. Set amid the
horror of Nazi atrocities, the novel riffs on
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, making Erik the
character of Cesare, and Canaris the mad
doctor. Readers join in a nightmare situation
where madness rules as they try to hide and
protect Jews from the death camps. Erik’s
loyalty to Canaris drives much of the action.
Madness increases when the setting changes
to Theresienstadt. Historical fiction can take
us to places and times that can be perceived
as better or worse than our current ones.
While this novel is one that takes us to a
much worse time and painful places,
Charyn’s fine prose and imagery pull us
along until we have had enough and must
escape the madness and return to the
relative sanity of our homes.
Imaginary Friend
Chbosky, Stephen
1/10/20
Biblical. There’s a battle between good and
evil that rages throughout the seven hundred
pages of Stephen Chbosky’s novel titled,
Imaginary Friend. Readers can choose the
lens through which one reads this book. The
horror lens will focus attention on all of the
truly gruesome scenes in the novel that will
test the strongest stomachs for grisly images.
The small town lens allows readers to focus
on the cast of characters in a community who
are weathering the normal ups and downs of
life and who contain elements of good and
evil within them. I chose the biblical lens in
which protagonist Christopher can be viewed
in a savior role and the roles of Eve and the
Virgin Mary appear in the text. Chbosky
focuses on the binds that hold us in fear and
what it takes to be free. The devil is at play in
the world and his wily ways entice us to align
with him. Pick your lens and settle down for
chills and frights in the woods and possibly
take time to reflect on the ways in which your
freedom is constrained and what you can do
about that.
The Bishop’s
Bedroom
Chiara, Piero
4/16/20
Sultry. The cover of the late Piero Chiara’s
novel titled, The Bishop’s Bedroom,
announces the contents with clarity. Sailing
around Lake Maggiore and seeing the fine
houses invites a rise in sexual tension as a
cast of sultry characters tack around each
other supported or stalled by the winds of
attraction. Set in 1946 in Northern Italy, the
atmosphere that Chiara offers pulls readers
into that place and time with great skill. The
opaque characters lie to one another with
ease, and readers are the observers of the
loose bonds that new relationships provide.
One can almost feel the rubbery nature of
idleness that imbeds in their lives that
summer following the world war. I read this
novel in winter in Chicago and within these
pages, everything was sultry.
The Hero
Child, Lee
3/6/20
Story. In a rare foray into non-fiction,
prolific author Lee Child offers fans a short
book titled, The Hero, that summarizes the
long history of the story and the hero, in both
oral and written traditions. This long essay
helps readers think about Child’s recurring
protagonist, Jack Reacher, in the context of a
very long storytelling tradition. Some of the
quirky asides were as fascinating as his core
premise. Now that I’ve better versed in the
context, I’m ready for the next Reacher
installment.
The Sentinel
Child, Lee and
Andrew Child
12/17/20
Russians. For the twenty-fifth installment
in his Jack Reacher series, author Lee Child
has teamed up with his brother, Andrew, a
fellow writer, for a jointly written novel
titled, The Sentinel. The roaming Reacher
takes a pause in his nomadic life when
something interesting catches his attention.
Soon after arriving in a town near
Pleasantville, Tennessee, Reacher observes
Rusty Rutherford, an IT manager, stumble
into an ambush. After Reacher intervened
with his skills and saved Rusty, his interest is
piqued. Before long, he’s sticking around
running across Russian spies and a
ransomware attack with a secret objective. I
found the slower pacing of this installment to
be different from the earlier novels, but the
plot and entertainment value remained
satisfying for this reader.
The Night Tiger
Choo, Yangsze
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Greenwood
Christie, Michael
11/9/20
Legacy. Where have we come from and
where are we going? In his novel titled,
Greenwood, Michael Christie displays four
generations of the Greenwood family and the
island and forest legacy that connects the
family members. We find love, loss, success,
failure, and climate change. We find wealth
and poverty, exploitation and stewardship.
Christie plumbs the many different ways that
we care for each other and our environment,
and the ways we hurt each other and
squander our inheritances. The prose is
finely written, and the novel will appeal to
those readers who are patient with frequent
shifts in time periods, and a meandering way
of getting to know the people and places. I
was enchanted by this novel, the complexity
of the characters, and the vivid life of the
forest.
The Body in
Question
Cimint, Jill
4/23/20
Dalliance. Jill Cimint makes thinking about
mortality and morality flow on the pages of
her novel titled, The Body in Question.
Protagonist Hannah, also known as juror C-
2, finds herself with mixed feelings about
being sequestered on the jury of a
sensational murder trial. As the possibility of
a dalliance with Graham, juror F-17, unfolds,
she rationalizes this as a last fling, and
minimizes any effect of this affair on her
much older husband. Mortality inhabits
every page of this novel, and the moral
choices predictably lead to consequences.
Cimint writes with great efficiency in this
novel, and her insight into human nature
unfolds with wisdom as the narrative
progresses. There’s really nothing casual
about a dalliance when Cimint gets her
hands on it.
The Basic Laws of
Human Stupidity
Cipolla, Carlo M.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Second Sight
Clifford, Aoife
4/9/20
Revelations. Patient readers who can enjoy
the slow simmering as a crime novel builds
gradually are those most likely to enjoy Aoife
Clifford’s novel titled, Second Sight. Set in
Australia, protagonist Eliza Carmody,
returns to her hometown and stumbles into
family secrets and revelations. The
connection between crimes in the present
and ones from the past make this novel
complex and interesting. The search for the
truth is worth the slow pace because there
are rewards to be found when secrets are
revealed.
Daddy
Cline, Emma
12/21/20
Underneath. Emma Cline plumbs what’s
beneath the surface of the lives of interesting
characters in her short story collection titled,
Daddy. In each of the ten stories, Cline finds
a way to touch the wounded place, or to
home in on the key turning point that
disturbs a life. As we read, we find
authenticity underneath a veneer. Things are
never as they initially appear. Fans of finely
written literary short stories are those most
likely to enjoy this collection.
The Boy from the
Woods
Coben, Harlan
9/19/20
Secrets. Can you think of a better name for
a person who was found in the woods as a
child and had no memory of his past than
“Wilde?” That’s the name of the protagonist
of Harlen Coben’s exciting novel titled, The
Boy from the Woods. Three decades after he
came out of the woods, another child has
gone missing, and now Wilde has been asked
by a recurring Coben character, Hester
Crimstein, to help find that child. Wilde
agrees and finds himself returning to an
uncomfortable place and he’s focused on
revealing the secrets that have been kept for
a long time. The story is engaging, the plot
has just the right twists, and the characters
are compelling. Fans of Coben and crime
fiction are those readers most likely to enjoy
this novel.
You Never Forget
Your First: A
Biography of
George
Washington
Coe, Alexis
8/25/20
Lively. If reading about dead people from
earlier centuries isn’t high on your list of
priorities, try picking up a copy of Alexis
Coe’s lively and funny book titled, You Never
Forget Your First: A Biography of George
Washington, and learn that reading about
dead people can be entertaining. With
playful wit, Coe dispenses with the many
myths about Washington, and presents a
different view of the person behind the
heroic marble façade. She carefully curates
those aspects of his life that bring the man
down to earth from a remote pedestal. This
breezy and cheeky book entertained me
thoroughly.
Middle England
Coe, Jonathan
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Death of Jesus
Coetzee, J.M.
7/6/20
Orphan. I’m undecided whether or not to
recommend that you must read J.M.
Coetzee’s two novels titled The Childhood of
Jesus and The Schooldays of Jesus before
you read the third novel, The Death of Jesus.
Normally, reading a series in sequence leads
to greater understanding. For these three
novels, there’s no understanding, only lots of
questions. The main question that David, the
now ten-year-old protagonist, asks in this
novel is: Why am I here? While Simon and
Inez act as if they are his parents, he is an
orphan, as we all are, since at some time we
are all alone in the world with our
unanswered questions about the meaning of
life. I’ve read all three novels, and feel
unsettled, which is probably the best
outcome achievable from these unusual and
finely written novels.
Four Friends:
Promising Lives
Cut Short
Cohan, William D.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
When No One Is
Watching
Cole, Alyssa
11/24/20
Rejuvenation. There’s something fishy
about the gentrification in progress in a
Brooklyn neighborhood, and Alyssa Cole
pulls us into a complicated scheme in her
novel titled, When No One Is Watching.
Protagonists Sydney and Theo represent the
contrasts in the neighborhood as they
alternate as narrators: the longtime resident
and the newcomer. Both narrators face
major challenges that become complicated as
they uncover the unsavory and illegal ways in
which neighborhood rejuvenation has
accelerated. There’s crime and exploitation
afoot, and Cole keeps thickening the muck in
which the characters find themselves as we
watch the scheme unfold.
Old Man Country:
My Search for
Meaning Among
the Elders
Cole, Thomas R.
2/14/20
Aging. Curiosity and his own aging led
Thomas R. Cole to seek out perspectives
from men over eighty, a growing cohort in
the United States. In his book titled, Old
Man Country: My Search for Meaning
Among the Elders, Cole provides snippets of
interviews with about a dozen old men, and
intersperses aspects of his own life
throughout. This short book broaches a topic
many old men avoid, but I can assure readers
that it’s safe to enter these waters. Whether a
reader finds meaning or wisdom on these
pages may depend on one’s individual
situation. Ask me when I’m ninety if any of
this makes sense.
The Churchgoer
Coleman, Patrick
10/12/20
Lost. Is a person who is lost himself capable
of finding someone else who is lost? In his
debut novel titled, The Churchgoer, Patrick
Coleman gives readers fine writing,
intriguing and unpleasant characters,
twisting plot lines, and insights into our
human condition. The protagonist and
narrator, Mark Haines, is a surfer who had
been a youth pastor and has reached a point
in his life where he feels he has failed at
everything. Cindy is a young drifter, who has
gone missing, and Mark turns detective as he
tries to find her. The California setting and
noir feel invoke Raymond Chandler in some
ways alongside religious fervor and laidback
surfside life. Coleman deploys great skill in
crafting these characters and placing tension
and insight in just the right ways to satisfy
many readers. An occasional perfectly
crafted sentence will whack you on the head
with something profound.
Whale Day and
Other Poems
Collins, Billy
11/9/20
Alive. For many readers, 2020 has been a
challenging year that has narrowed our
travels and offered such repetition that days
and weeks can seem indistinct. We can
become attuned to things in our
environment that in a “normal” year we
might easily overlook. In the 59 poems in his
collection titled, Whale Day and Other
Poems, Billy Collins draws our attention to
what seems ordinary and familiar. Thanks to
him, we can laugh or wince as we look more
closely at our surroundings. Fans will know
that some of the poems will lead to laughter,
while others celebrate the sheer joy of being
alive in the places where we find ourselves at
any given moment.
The Ballad of
Songbirds and
Snakes
Collins, Suzanne
7/6/20
Origin. Fans of the Hunger Games trilogy
are those readers most likely to enjoy
Suzanne Collins’ origin story of Coriolanus
Snow in a novel titled, The Ballad of
Songbirds and Snakes. We meet eighteen-
year-old Snow at the 10
th
Hunger Games,
where he and other students are selected as
mentors to the tributes. Snow is assigned to a
female tribute from District 12 and their
chance of winning seems remote. Collins
presents readers with an immature
Coriolanus and there are times when we
think he might choose to do good. To the
satisfaction of fans, we see the character
traits of the villainous adult Snow appear in
one form or another at every pivot in this
selection from his formative years.
Fair Warning
Connelly, Michael
9/19/20
Cyberstalking. Journalist and protagonist
Jack McEvoy returns for the third time in
Michael Connelly’s novel titled, Fair
Warning. A serial killer may be using a form
of cyberstalking to select targets with great
efficiency. Jack gets on the story because he
had a one-night stand with the latest victim.
Before long, readers are exposed to the dark
web and to a fast-paced plot trying to reveal
the identity of the killer. Fans of action
thrillers are those readers most likely to
enjoy this novel.
The Night Fire
Connelly, Michael
1/2/20
Perils. The twenty-second crime novel by
Michael Connelly to feature Harry Bosch is
titled, The Night Fire. Once again, LAPD
Detective Renée Ballard is on hand to face
new perils with Harry. The widow of Harry’s
mentor, Jack Thompson, gives him a murder
book that Jack took home from the LAPD
two decades earlier. Bosch and Ballard
collaborate to get to the bottom of the case,
which exposes them both to danger.
Meanwhile, Harry is worried because his
daughter faces peril at college, thanks to a
stalker near campus. Harry is also
collaborating with Mickey Haller, his half-
brother, on a murder case which leads Bosch
and Ballard toward added peril. Fans of this
series and crime fiction are those readers
most likely to enjoy this novel and may look
forward to the reprise of the Black Widow
from this book in a future installment.
The New
Wilderness
Cook, Diane
12/21/20
Experiment. Diane Cook’s ambitious debut
novel titled, The New Wilderness, taps into
themes that will satisfy many readers. We
enjoy the dynamics of a complicated mother-
daughter relationship in protagonists Bea
and Agnes. We explore the challenges of life
in a not-too-distant future when an
unhealthy urban environment leads Bea,
Agnes and a group of eighteen fellow nomads
to live in the wilderness as an approved
experiment to learn if community survival
can be achieved through this way of living.
Cook examines power, survival and coming
of age within an engaging and imaginative
plot filled with interesting and complex
characters.
Genesis
Cook, Robin
1/24/20
Genealogy. The twelfth novel by Robin
Cook to feature New York City medical
examiners Laurie Montgomery and Jack
Stapleton is titled, Genesis. As chief Medical
Examiner, Laurie has her hands full, and in
this installment, she has major personal
issues to deal with as well. The theme in this
novel involves the use of DNA and
genealogical databases. Fans of medical
thrillers are those readers most likely to
enjoy this novel and this series.
Florida Man
Cooper, Tom
10/27/20
Crowe. The two words in the titled of Tom
Cooper’s novel titled, Florida Man, tell you
what this book is all about. First is the place,
Florida, more specifically Emerald Island, in
the central swampy part of the state. Second,
a man, protagonist Reed Crowe, who we see
from the 1960s to the present, but mostly in
the 1980s. Supporting the setting are the
businesses Crowe has on Emerald Island: a
motel and an attraction featuring
amusement and animals. A broader cast of
characters are all well described, bringing
humor, love and terror in various doses. All
of the characters orbit around Crowe, and he
is the Florida man in all its eccentric
magnificence for those readers who enjoy
imaginative character-based fiction.
Guillotine
Corral, Eduardo C.
11/17/20
Body. I selected Eduardo Corral’s poetry
collection titled, Guillotine, from the longlist
of the 2020 National Book Award for Poetry.
His descriptions of the Sonoran Desert,
tragedy, and grief are breathtaking. He
selects words that form the body and
presents the human condition with poignant
insight. I realized after spending time with
this collection that I just don’t read enough
poetry and will continue to add more poems
to my reading queue.
Blacktop
Wasteland
Cosby, S.A.
12/17/20
Bug. One of my favorite protagonists among
the many books I’ve read in 202o is
Beauregard “Bug” Montage in S.A. Cosby’s
novel titled, Blacktop Wasteland. Bug is a
talented auto mechanic, and he knows how
to drive cars fast. Abandoned by his criminal
father, Bug strayed for a while when he
served as a wheelman in crimes. He now
owns his own business and has a loving wife
and children. Financial constraints lead to
temptation, and the novel explores the
tension with Bug as he’s caught between the
man he wants to be, and the identity he feels
with his missing father who chose crime over
family many years before. Cosby draws Bug
as a complex character and readers will feel
the tension as Bug tries to become the man
he was born to be.
The Angels’ Share
Crosby, Ellen
8/5/20
Madeira. The tenth wine country novel by
Ellen Crosby is titled, The Angels’ Share.
Protagonist Lucie Montgomery finds herself
in the center of the key events in this
installment. She discovers the body of her
neighbor in his wine cellar shortly after he
told her he wanted to buy bottles of Madeira
dating back to Presidents Jefferson and
Madison that her father had acquired. While
Lucie was the executor of her father’s estate,
she knew nothing about this Madeira. While
she searches for the wine, her neighbor’s
death was ruled a homicide and the killer
poses a serious threat to Lucie. Fans of this
series and crime fiction are those most likely
to enjoy this novel. I finished the book with
an interest in tracking down some old
Madeira myself.
The Innocents
Crummey, Michael
3/26/20
Isolation. I finished reading Michael
Crummey’s novel titled, The Innocents, on
the day that the mayor of my town declared a
shelter-in-place order to slow the spread of
Covid-19. That context is helpful, considering
that as a result of reading this novel, I had a
positive view of the richness of life that can
come even from isolation. In the novel, a
brother and sister eke out ways of surviving
in coastal Newfoundland where they live in
primitive habitation far from other people.
From the title, readers can expect that the
isolation represents innocence on the part of
these characters. I found the story riveting
and well-told. Whether you are in isolation
or not, you may be gripped by this story and
how living for another day is rich in and of
itself, whether your supplies are sufficient or
running low.
We're Better Than
This: My Fight for
the Future of Our
Democracy
Cummings, Elijah
11/24/20
Inspirational. The memoir by the late
Congressman Elijah Cummings titled, We're
Better Than This: My Fight for the Future of
Our Democracy, provides an inspirational
call to action for those readers who want to
make our country better. After we read of his
life of serving others, most of us will want to
be of some form of service to others. This is
the story of an honorable man, rooted in
faith, who did his best in building a stronger
society.
American Dirt
Cummins, Jeanine
3/13/20
Anguish. As I read Jeanine Cummins novel
titled, American Dirt, I felt the anguish of the
main characters as they fled drug violence in
Mexico and joined migrants trying to enter
the United States. I concede that legitimate
concern has been raised about cultural
appropriation in that this was not necessarily
Cummins’ story to tell. Nonetheless,
Cummins tells a compelling story very well,
leading readers to care about these people.
This is an individual story that is also
universal in a time of anxiety when life can
change in an instant. Cummins writes with
great skill and I was moved by the story.
Love Is the Way:
Holding on to
Hope in Troubling
Times
Curry, Michael
11/17/20
Balm. Readers looking for a balm to sooth
one’s soul during troubled times should
consider reading Bishop Michael Curry’s
book titled, Love Is the Way: Holding on to
Hope in Troubling Times. The presiding
bishop of the Episcopal Church reached a
wide global audience when he preached
about love at the wedding of Prince Harry
and Meghan Markle. In this book, he tells his
personal story, and preaches to all of us that
the path of love is the one that will lead us
toward solving our personal and communal
problems and challenges.
Coventry
Cusk, Rachel
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Celtic Empire
Cussler, Clive
6/2/20
Pitts. The twenty-fifth installment in the
Dirk Pitt adventure series by Clive Cussler is
a novel titled, Celtic Empire. Pitt father and
son are both back along with their familiar
cohorts in a predictable adventurous romp
around the world. We’re grounded in
something from history, in this case three-
thousand-year-old Egyptian version, and
tension comes when an evildoer is up to no
good, and the Pitts come to the rescue. No
plot spoilers there, that’s the successful
formula, and in this installment, I was
predictably entertained.
Final Option
Cussler, Clive
4/23/20
Nemesis. The fourteenth installment of
Clive Cussler’s Oregon Files series is a novel
titled, Final Option. Chairman Juan Cabrillo
and the crew of the Oregon face a
doppelganger of their ship and a talented
nemesis who has plotted his revenge against
Cabrillo for a long time. As expected with
formulaic fiction, Juan proves that he is a
worthy adversary. The action will appeal to
many readers, and the pace is always
exciting.
Journey of the
Pharaohs
Cussler, Clive
9/22/20
Bloodstone. Protagonist Kurt Austen and
friends have returned in a novel titled,
Journey of the Pharaohs, the fifteenth
installment in the NUMA series by Clive
Cussler. Following the formula of the earlier
novels, Kurt and team use their skills to great
effect in combatting an enemy, this time
called the Bloodstone Group. Fans of the
series will find the familiar mayhem in the
form of fast-paced action around the world.
Two backstories, one from Egypt’s distant
past, and the other from the 1920s, add to
the context for today’s adventure. These
books are quick to read and provide reliable
entertainment to those who enjoy this genre
and formula.
Marauder
Cussler, Clive
12/17/20
Paralyzed. Chairman Juan Cabrillo and the
other members of the Corporation have
returned in a novel titled, Marauder, the
sixteenth installment in The Oregon Files
series by the Clive Cussler franchise.
Following the damage in the last installment
to their ship, The Oregon, a whole new craft
has been built with even more powerful
weapons and disguises. A worthy adversary
has developed a chemical weapon that causes
paralysis and it’s up to Juan and the team to
thwart the complicated plans to deploy the
chemical on a large population center. As
fans expect, the action moves rapidly, the
characters are familiar, and the
entertainment is satisfying.
Wrath of Poseidon
Cussler, Clive
11/9/20
Origin. The twelfth installment of the Sam
and Remi Fargo series by Clive Cussler is a
novel titled, Wrath of Poseidon. Fans of the
series finally get to hear the story of how Sam
and Remi met and fell in love and adventure.
To deliver this backstory, the usual Cussler
structure wraps around the Fargos telling the
story to another recurring character in the
Cussler family of action novels. Readers who
enjoy the structure of these escapist novels
are likely to enjoy this installment, boosted
by the sweet origin story of these charming
protagonists.
How Did We Get
Here: From
Theodore
Roosevelt to
Donald Trump
Dallek, Robert
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Plain Bad Heroines
Danforth, Emily M.
12/17/20
Yellowjackets. There’s a lot going on
inside the 640 pages of Emily M. Danforth’s
novel titled, Plain Bad Heroines. There’s a
book within a book including asides to we
readers, and a movie within a movie that’s
within the books. There’s devil’s work being
done, along with satire, in two time periods:
1902 and 2015. Every time the yellowjackets
appear, and they show up regularly, it’s time
to pay close attention. After a while, some
readers may almost anticipate the arrival of
some buzzing or the sense of a swarm getting
underway. The cast of woman characters
who are intensely interested in each other
will intrigue many readers. The gothic
overtones increase and diminish until we
become accustomed to the presence of
ghosts and the will of the yellowjackets.
Danforth pulls us into her joyful playfulness
in this novel, and we find it easy to get
comfortable with ghosts and curses. Readers
who enjoy clever writing and are comfortable
with ambiguity are those most likely to enjoy
this creative novel.
This Mournable
Body
Dangaremgba, Tsitsi
11/24/20
Zimbwabe. Sometimes a novel lets readers
go to a place we’ve never been, spend time
with people who seem very different from us,
and come away with a fresh perspective
about our shared human experience. In her
novel titled, This Mournable Body, Tsitsi
Dangaremgba writes about the aftermath of
the transition in Zimbwabe from colonialism
to capitalism through the experiences of
protagonist Tambudzai Sigauke. In finely
written prose and deep insight into human
nature we feel the grief and struggle that
Tambu faces as her world changes. Having
left her village for a better life, her return
home reveals how much has changed and
how much has remained the same.
From Here to
Equality:
Reparations for
Black Americans in
the Twenty-First
Century
Darity, William A. and
A. Kirsten Mullen
8/5/20
Injustices. Through describing a long litany
of hundreds of years of injustice, William A.
Darity and A. Kirsten Mullen made a case for
justice in their book titled, From Here to
Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in
the Twenty-First Century. You probably have
formed an opinion about reparations
already. I guarantee that if you read this
book, you are very likely to reconsider your
position. The authors present their case with
clarity and turn our eyes to aspects of the
past that most of us would rather not see or
acknowledge. Even if you still think
reparations are impractical, have nothing to
do with you, or are just a bad idea after
reading this book, you will have spent a least
a little time opening your mind to the
possibility that reparations are the right
thing to do and there are ways to do it right.
The Passion
Economy: The New
Rules for Thriving
in the Twenty-First
Century
Davidson, Adam
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Are Snakes
Necessary?
DePalma, Brian and
Susan Lehman
5/15/20
Remake. The novel by Brian DePalma and
Susan Lehman titled, Are Snakes Necessary?,
offers readers a homage to Alfred
Hitchcock’s classic film, Vertigo, in print
form, without being any form of remake. In
this novel, a sleezy politician abuses a staffer
and she exerts her just revenge. Sometimes
novels with a cast of unappealing characters
can be a real kick to read. This time, I found
it all sad, empty and shallow. Some readers
who like crime fiction will enjoy this novel,
but I found the writing to be weak. Perhaps I
would have enjoyed it more if it had been a
movie.
Upheaval: Turning
Points for Nations
in Crisis
Diamond, Jared
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Hardest Job in
the World: The
American
Presidency
Dickerson, John
12/9/20
Descriptive. In his book titled, The Hardest
Job in the World: The American Presidency,
journalist John Dickerson calls on
Americans to reevaluate how we define the
role of United States President, what we
expect of a president, and how to best select
the best person to carry out that role for a
specific period of time. Using loads of
examples, Dickerson describes how the job
has changed over time, and how the current
expectations of any president makes that
person be set up for failure. Readers
interested in public affairs are those readers
most likely to enjoy this book.
Empire of Wild
Dimaline, Cherie
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
All My Goodbyes
Dimópulos, Mariana
3/26/20
Sadness. The protagonist of Mariana
Dimópulos’ novel titled, All My Goodbyes,
has more than her share of sadness and
sorrow. It seems like every time a human
connection is made, it’s time for it to be
broken. Dimópulos explores in this novel our
connections to people and places. There’s a
feeling of discomfort for readers as the
chronology and location shifts erratically,
giving us the same unsettled feeling as the
protagonist. Most of us are oriented toward a
person or a place, but some people are never
so settled. It won’t take long to read this
short novel, but it has taken me a long time
to become reoriented and to shake off the
sadness from these finely written pages.
Code Red: How
Progressives and
Moderates Can
Unite to Save Our
Country
Dionne, Jr., E.J.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
One Last Lie
Doiron, Paul
12/9/20
Secrets. The latest installment in the Mike
Bowditch series by Paul Doiron is a novel
titled, One Last Lie. Fans of the Maine game
warden will enjoy the return of a familiar
cast of characters, and the revelation of long-
held secrets. Retired warden Charley Stevens
has gone missing, and Mike goes on a hunt
to find him. Charley’s daughter and Mike’s
former girlfriend returns adding interest
about a new spark for an old relationship.
Fans of crime fiction are those readers most
likely to enjoy this novel and this series.
The Good Killer
Dolan, Harry
5/5/20
Complexity. Fans of crime thrillers are
those readers most likely to enjoy Harry
Dolan’s novel titled, The Good Killer. After
protagonist Sean Tennant shoots and kills a
gunman who was wreaking havoc and death
in a Houston shopping mall, the fast-paced
action accelerates. Sean’s act to kill garnered
admiration by many, but he didn’t hang
around to receive it. He began to flee Texas
and pick up his partner, Molly Winter, from
a retreat in Montana, so they could start a
fresh life someplace else. Sean knew that the
photos of his good deed would spread and
rouse interest in people from his past to
come after him and Molly. Dolan keeps the
action moving and creates believable and
complex characters whose behavior is a
complex mix of right and wrong.
Exciting Times
Dolan, Naoise
10/27/20
Roommates. Naoise Dolan’s debut novel,
Exciting Times, explores contemporary love
and relationships. Protagonist Ava has
arrived in Hong Kong from Dublin to teach
English to privileged children. Before long, a
banker named Julian begins a romantic
relationship with Ava that is fraught with
challenges. While Julian works abroad, Ava
meets Edith, a lawyer, and they explore a
relationship. Before long, the three
characters are roommates trying to sort out
what’s next. Dolan finds ways to lead readers
to care about what happens to these
characters, and to think about modern love
and the kinds of personal and financial
transactions that can transform our lives.
The Pull of the
Stars
Donoghue, Emma
8/25/20
Pandemic. Consider taking a busman’s
holiday from the current pandemic to Emma
Donoghue’s finely written book set during
the Great Flu of 1918, a novel set in Dublin
and titled, The Pull of the Stars. As in her
earlier novels, Donoghue doesn’t need a lot
of landscape in which to set her dramatic
action: much of this novel is set in a hospital
room over the course of three days. I was
delighted by the point of view from narrator
and protagonist Julia Power, a nurse.
Donoghue’s characters are deeply developed
and reveal the depth of human nature and
behavior. The prose is finely written, and the
novel should appeal to any reader who
enjoys the power of a well-told story and the
selection of just the right words to convey it
with love, care and precision.
Naked Came the
Florida Man
Dorsey, Tim
3/6/20
Rodeo. The twenty-third installment in Tim
Dorsey’s Serge Storms series is titled, Naked
Came the Florida Man. The title alone should
attract new readers, while fans of the series
have already consumed this funny novel.
Serge and Coleman tool around Florida and
we learn about forgotten burial places.
There’s football and even a rodeo. The gold
coins are a particular attraction, but the real
joy comes in the new ways Serge finds to
deliver justice. I can’t wait for them to gas up
the Plymouth and embark on adventure
number twenty-four.
Golden Gates:
Fighting for
Housing in
America
Dougherty, Conor
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Decadent
Society: How We
Became the
Victims of Our
Own Success
Douthat, Ross
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Diary of a Dead
Man on Leave
Downing, David
1/2/20
Josef. Prolific novelist David Downing sets
his stand alone novel titled, Diary of a Dead
Man on Leave, in the town of Hamm,
Germany in 1938. The book is structured as a
diary that was found long after the war
ended. The novel’s narrator arrived in
Hamm as a Russian spy calling himself Josef
Hoffmann. He was sent to Germany to
reactivate a communist cell. Josef knew that
he should write nothing down, but he
proceeds anyway. As he settles into Hamm,
he grows close to a widow who rents him a
room and he guides her son, Walter, in a
fatherly way. Walter is the one who found the
diary and his eyes are opened, as are ours, by
this account from a fascinating character and
overall good guy.
One Long River of
Song: Notes on
Wonder
Doyle, Brian
6/10/20
Essays. Brian Doyle died too young at age
60 from brain cancer, and I can only imagine
how many more beautiful sentences he
would be writing were he still alive. In a
posthumous essay collection titled, One Long
River of Song: Notes on Wonder, readers can
gorge on his fine prose, and his acute and
alert observations about life. Whether
musing on basketball, his children or nature,
Doyle has a way of opening our eyes and our
minds to the wonders around us. Treat
yourself to the finely written essays in this
collection and view your life and the world
around you with more clarity, humility and
understanding.
Threshold
Doyle, Rob
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Stateway’s Garden
Drain, Jasmon
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Last Taxi
Driver
Durkee, Lee
4/16/20
Insights. Every time I finished laughing
about a scene in Lee Durkee’s novel titled,
The Last Taxi Driver, I found myself
reflecting about the insight into human
nature that the funny scene captured.
Protagonist Lou is a taxi driver in Mississippi
working lots of hours and barely making
ends meet. His kindness to others allows him
to take on the unplanned role of wounded
healer, as Carl Jung would describe him. He
treats taxi passengers with respect and
dignity hiding beneath his veneer of
exasperation at the antics from others and
his own descent into darkness. Durkee’s
writing glistens on these pages, making this
novel a real joy to read, especially for fans of
literary fiction who also have a fully
functioning funny bone.
A Pilgrimage to
Eternity: From
Canterbury to
Rome in Search of
a Faith
Egan, Timothy
3/26/20
Companion. I read Timothy Egan’s book
titled, A Pilgrimage to Eternity: From
Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith,
while I was under the Illinois shelter-in-
place mandate to slow the spread of Covid-
19. The mortality rate for this pandemic
disease may lead many to think about the
meaning of life and mortality. So, my mind
was receptive to joining Egan as he explored
matters of faith while he walked a medieval
route called the Via Francigena from
England to Rome. Egan blends his own
discernment process with the history of the
places where he and other pilgrims stop
along the path. If life is pilgrimage, Egan
reminds us through his journey that we can
easily lose our way and suffer from blisters or
whatever else causes pain. He also reminds
us that we can find wonderful things in
unexpected places. There are especially
poignant scenes as he describes the segments
of the journey when in succession he’s joined
by his son, his daughter and his wife.
Whether you are confined to your home, or
able to walk or hike your own pilgrimage
paths outdoors, Egan can be a welcome
companion with this finely written book.
The Captain and
the Glory
Eggers, Dave
2/21/20
Satire. Partisans love satire that pokes at
opponents, and we bristle when satire hits
any targets we support. In his satire titled,
The Captain and the Glory, Dave Eggers
focuses on the incumbent United States
President, so how you assess Trump will
likely lead you toward or away from this
book. It’s clear that Eggers views the
situation in the United States as dangerous
and destructive to norms, values and the
institutions that form the fabric of
democratic life. This is a look at how the ship
of state is being steered, and Eggers
concludes that the state of the union is
perilous. Sometimes satire can make us
smile or laugh. This satire makes us think.
Approach or reject as you are inclined. I’m
deep in thought.
Had I Known
Ehrenreich, Barbara
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Voices: The Final
Hours of Joan of
Arc
Elliott, David
3/26/20
Verse. Readers looking for a book a bit off
the beaten path should consider reading
David Elliott’s book titled, Voices: The Final
Hours of Joan of Arc. Elliott writes in verse,
using a variety of medieval poetic forms. The
voices from the title and in these poems
include Joan of Arc as well as objects and
people in her life. The voice of the fire is
especially creepy.
Ducks,
Newburyport
Ellmann, Lucy
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Propelled: How
Boredom,
Frustration, and
Anticipation Lead
Us to the Good Life
Elpidorou, Andreas
10/19/20
Motivation. Contentment and satisfaction
may not help us achieve what we want in life,
according to Andreas Elpidorou in his book
titled, Propelled: How Boredom, Frustration,
and Anticipation Lead Us to the Good Life.
Instead, discontent is what leads us toward
progress. After you read this book, you’ll be
tempted to reply to someone who tells you
they’re frustrated or bored with the response,
“good.” You may have to give them a copy of
the book to explain the reason you said that.
Girl, Woman,
Other
Evaristo, Bernardine
7/6/20
Ensemble. I enjoy a novel that provides
insight into the essence of human behavior
especially through the development of a
single complex and interesting character. In
her superb novel titled, Girl, Woman, Other,
Bernardine Evaristo gives us a dozen such
characters. Through this chorus readers join
a celebration of humanity in a wide range of
ages and diversity of identity. Along the way,
their stories become part of our stories, and
we acknowledge aspects of shared history
and experience. I enjoyed every minute I
spent in the company of these fascinating
characters and this talented writer.
Temper
Fargo, Layne
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Catch and Kill:
Lies, Spies, and a
Conspiracy to
Protect Predators
Farrow, Ronan
1/2/20
Tactics. After I read Ronan Farrow’s book
titled, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a
Conspiracy to Protect Predators, I realized
that there was so little I knew when I read his
article in The New Yorker in 2017 about
Harvey Weinstein and his sexual abuse and
exploitation of women. I learned the ways in
which NBC stifled or resisted Farrow’s
reporting on this story when he worked for
them. I learned about the tactics used by
Weinstein throughout his career to commit
crimes and to cover them up. I was floored
when I read about the spies hired to follow
Farrow, and what one of those spies did
when he understood the nature of his
assignment. There’s always more to a story,
and in this book, Farrow delivers more than I
expected.
Cheaters Always
Win: The Story of
America
Fenster, J.M.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Lying Life of
Adults
Ferrante, Elena
9/8/20
Bracelet. Children learn to navigate the
world by observing closely the adults in their
lives. Giovanna, the protagonist of Elena
Ferrante’s novel titled, The Lying Life of
Adults, changes over the course of three
hundred pages from a child to an adolescent
to who she might observe as an adult.
Ferrante draws readers into Giovanna’s life
through dissection of close family and
romantic relationships. We feel the intensity
of Giovanna’s struggle to grow into herself. A
bracelet worn at different times by multiple
characters pulls the narrative together and
provides key symbolism relating to the
realities and the complications of adult life.
Ferrante proves again that all of life can be
revealed in a domestic story told well. The
full cast of interesting and complex
characters, their realistic dialogue and range
of behavior kept me captivated from
beginning to end.
Stay and Fight
Ffitch, Madeline
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Last Passenger
Finch, Charles
4/9/20
Slavery. The third prequel to the popular
Charles Lenox mystery series by Charles
Finch is a novel set in 1855 titled, The Last
Passenger. Young Charles matures in this
installment as he falls in love while solving a
complicated murder case. Finch focuses on
an important issue of that time around the
world: slavery. As usual, the fine writing
exposes deep understanding of human
nature. The characters are interesting and
complex. The plot entertains and the mystery
is clever. Fans of crime fiction and this series
are those most likely to enjoy this novel.
House on Fire
Finder, Joseph
2/21/20
Overdose. The fourth novel by Joseph
Finder featuring protagonist Nick Heller is
titled, House on Fire. After an Army friend
dies of an opioid overdose, Nick is
approached by a renegade heir to a
pharmaceutical family fortune who wants
him to help her obtain evidence that her
family was aware of the addictive nature of
their main moneymaking drug. Fans of
thrilling crime fiction will enjoy the plot
twists and action.
A Guest of the
Reich: The Story of
American Heiress
Gertrude
Legendre's
Dramatic Captivity
and Escape from
Nazi Germany
Finn, Peter
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Boy and His Dog
at the End of the
World
Fletcher, C.A.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Christmas Cupcake
Murder
Fluke, Joanne
11/17/20
Sugary. If you haven’t packed on extra
covid weight in 2020, consider baking from
the recipes as you read the 26
th
installment
in Joanne Fluke’s mystery series featuring
baker Hannah Swensen, a novel titled,
Christmas Cupcake Murder. While I find
almost every recipe far too sugary for my
taste (as are the recurring characters), you
might find something here that matches your
taste. In a departure from the formula in
earlier novels in this series, Hannah doesn’t
find herself in peril, there’s no murder, and
the setting moves to a much earlier time
period than most of the recent novels in the
series. Longtime fans will have a hard time
figuring out just what time period this is,
since there are continuity problems that may
distract close readers. If you like to spend
time with nice small town people who eat a
lot of sweets, this book and this series will be
a delight for you to read.
Coconut Layer
Cake Murder
Fluke, Joanne
4/9/20
Predictable. The twenty fifth novel by
Joanne Fluke to feature baker and amateur
detective Hannah Swensen is titled, Coconut
Layer Cake Murder. The formula provides
comfort to those readers who enjoy a
straightforward plot that involves a crime,
and the ways in which Hannah is placed in
personal jeopardy as she identifies the
perpetrator. Part of the formula includes
baking and recipes at the end of each
chapter. My record remains intact: I have not
yet copied or made a single recipe. Even my
sweet tooth can’t indulge the way the
characters in Lake Eden Minnesota pack
down the cookies and cakes. Fans of the
series will love the reprise of a large cast of
beloved characters, and Hannah’s trip to
California provides a change of pace early in
this installment. I think I’ll go eat an apple.
I Want You to
Know We’re Still
Here: A Post-
Holocaust Memoir
Foer, Esther Safran
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Guest List
Foley, Lucy
10/27/20
Atmospheric. The ingredients in Lucy
Foley’s crime thriller titled, The Guest List,
seem familiar: a remote island, multiple
characters with reasons to kill, a storm and
opportunity. The cast of unlikeable
characters allows for an abundance of
suspects after the murder takes place. Foley
leaves a trail of clues for observant readers as
different characters relate their version of
events, building to a climax that for some
readers will be obvious, and for others a total
twist and surprise. Since we can’t travel to a
remote location off the coast of Ireland, we
can visit in novels like this one, and while
social distancing can give us some delight in
that we are not in the company of the guests
at the wedding that drew them together.
Notre-Dame: A
Short History of
the Meaning of
Cathedrals
Follett, Ken
2/14/20
Weep. Fans of Ken Follett’s lengthy novels
may be shocked by his latest book titled,
Notre-Dame: A Short History of the Meaning
of Cathedrals. In fewer than one hundred
pages, Follett offers a love letter to Notre-
Dame Cathedral in Paris. Readers weep with
him following the recent fire, and he reminds
us of why this place is so important and
special. The restoration is still considered a
50-50 possibility, so read this book to be
reminded of why this structure means so
much, and then make a donation to support
the work ahead.
The Evening and
the Morning
Follett, Ken
10/19/20
Prequel. Fans of Ken Follett’s Kingsbridge
series are those readers most likely to enjoy
his new novel, a prequel titled, The Evening
and the Morning. This is an origin story, in a
familiar place where there isn’t a bridge until
close to the end of the novel. As usual with
this series, there’s a great cast of interesting
and complex characters, and loads of details
about everyday life during this time period
(starting in 997 AD). There’s a builder, a
priest and strong women, and every minute a
reader spends in their world provides great
entertainment. If you’re looking for a big
book to settle into, consider this one.
Sorry For Your
Trouble
Ford, Richard
7/23/20
Characters. Fans of superb writing
especially in short form fiction are those
most likely to enjoy the collection by Richard
Ford titled, Sorry For Your Trouble,
containing nine short stories. The characters
in these stories face all sorts of contemporary
troubles, and Ford’s spare language captures
their predicaments with precision and
insight. There’s complexity and subtlety in
most sentences, and Ford builds his
characters with great care into forms that we
recognize and understand. These characters
are people we know and at the same time are
individuals we have never met. We’ve
overheard the dialogue in these stories. We
have seen these characters in our
community, and yet Ford makes them fresh
and offers us wise reflections that apply to
our own lives.
The Lonely Hour
Fowler, Christopher
1/24/20
Intricate. The sixteenth Peculiar Crimes
Unit novel by Christopher Fowler is titled,
The Lonely Hour. Arthur Bryant is addled
and brilliant as always. Partner John May
makes a mistake that will have serious
consequences, and even Arthur may be
unable to get the PCU out of a jam. The title
refers to 4a.m., the time when a killer does
his dirty deeds. The plot is intricate, and the
familiar characters will delight fans of this
series. New readers can start here or
anywhere and find finely written crime
fiction with clever plots and a cast of
complex and interesting characters.
Life Undercover:
Coming of Age in
the CIA
Fox, Amaryllis
1/2/20
Service. The memoir by Amaryllis Fox
titled, Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the
CIA, focuses on her decade of service
working for the CIA. I was struck by her
youth and the price that her service extracted
from her personal life. Many readers will
reflect on what happens to an individual
whose early work life involved doing big and
important things. Readers interested in the
workings of the CIA will find a description of
training, office work and field operations
engaging and interesting. We come to
understand the courage it takes to engage in
covert work and we can see how finding
meaning in the little things in life can
supersede the really big stuff.
Guilty Not Guilty
Francis, Felix
4/9/20
Siblings. Fans of the long running crime
series by the Francis family may find
something a bit different in the latest novel.
Good and evil coexist within each of us.
While Felix Francis emphasizes one aspect or
the other in the major characters of his novel
titled, Guilty Not Guilty, we can’t escape the
fact that we do both good and evil of one sort
or the other, and none of us is wholly good or
wholly evil. The connection to horse racing is
limited in this novel, and a more dominant
theme involves the relationship of siblings.
Mystery fans will love the murder, and
thoughtful readers will close this book and be
led to think a bit rather than pick up
something else to read.
The Survivors: A
Story of War,
Inheritance, and
Healing
Frankel, Adam P.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Yes to Life: In Spite
of Everything
Frankl, Viktor E.
9/8/20
Lectures. You may have had the same
experience I did many years ago: reading
Viktor Frankl’s book titled, Man’s Search for
Meaning, and feeling optimism that human
spirit can overcome the worst circumstances.
Thanks to a new book titled, Yes to Life: In
Spite of Everything, readers can experience
the spirit of the lectures that Frankl delivered
in Vienna in 1946, less than a year after he
was released from a Nazi concentration
camp. Three renamed presentations
constitute this small book, and each lecture
overflows with insight, intensity and the
optimism, packed with the positive spirit
that kept Frankl alive and vital.
Trumpocalypse:
Restoring
American
Democracy
Frum, David
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Heroes: The Greek
Myths Reimagined
Fry, Stephen
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Under Occupation
Furst, Alan
1/24/20
Resistance. In his novel titled, Under
Occupation, Alan Furst pulls readers into
Paris in 1942. Protagonist Paul Ricard is a
novelist and through him Furst takes us into
many aspects of how the French resistance
operated while under Nazi occupation.
Ricard was swept into the resistance as were
others. Once inside, his assignments provide
the momentum for this novel. Readers can
feel the darkness of that time and place
through Furst’s finely written descriptive
prose. Fans of historical fiction, especially
when set in this time period, are those most
likely to enjoy this novel.
The Black
Cathedral
Gala, Marcial
7/6/20
Cienfuegos. Lots of narrators of Marcia
Gala’s novel, The Black Cathedral, combine
their voices to create a din that describes life
in Cienfuegos, Cuba. Readers are treated or
subjected to a barrage of fragments that
reinforce a poor quality of life and the
unrealistic hope that life will change after a
new cathedral is built. The people in the
town are caught up in violence and
selfishness. After finishing the novel, many
readers like me may scratch our heads about
this novel but concur that we just read an
indictment of life in modern Cuba delivered
by a rousing chorus of voices.
Stony the Road:
Reconstruction,
White Supremacy,
and the Rise of Jim
Crow
Gates, Jr., Henry
Louis
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Paris Hours
George, Alex
10/27/20
Fire. The novel by Alex George titled, The
Paris Hours, reveals the lives of four
characters over the course of one day in Paris
in 1927. George moves from one character to
another as the day progresses, using each
narrative turn to fill in the backstory for
these people, primarily through the use of
memory. We learn of love, loss, secrets,
longing and connection. George pulls
reluctant readers along as he adds colorful
and well-known people living in that time
and place, including Ernest Hemingway,
Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, and
Josephine Baker. A motif involving fire
connects the four individuals. Fans of fine
writing and intricate plotting are those
readers most likely to enjoy this novel, as will
those who love both Paris and this time
period.
The Last Ocean: A
Journey Through
Memory and
Forgetting
Gerrard, Nicci
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Lose Well
Gethard, Chris
6/10/20
Resilience. Failure can be a good thing.
That’s the message in Chris Gethard’s self-
help book titled, Lose Well. It’s a funny book,
as one would expect from Gethard, but also
contains a serious message about the value of
resilience, and all that we can learn when our
dreams are thwarted. All of us have suffered
rejection of one form or another throughout
our lives. Gethard encourages us to embrace
the rejection and use it for what we do next.
We’re told to stop worrying about failure,
believe in ourselves, get up and try again.
Candor about his own setbacks allows his
voice to be heard, whether a reader finds it
funny or not. Read the book and give your
dream another shot.
The Inevitability of
Tragedy: Henry
Kissinger and His
World
Gewen, Barry
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Agency
Gibson, William
2/21/20
Eunice. In his novel titled, Agency, William
Gibson picks up an exploration of the future
that he started about five years ago in his
novel titled, The Peripheral. Artificial
intelligence takes the form of an entity
named Eunice whose autonomy plays into
the fears of those who see conflict coming in
the relationship between humans and
artificial intelligence. Gibson adds a layer to
the story from a more distant future in which
hobbyists interact with the past to nudge
toward certain outcomes. Gibson writes with
great skill, imagination and insight. I find
myself thinking about Eunice long after I
finished this novel.
Homewreckers:
How a Gang of
Wall Street
Kingpins, Hedge
Fund Magnates,
Crooked Banks,
and Vulture
Capitalists
Suckered Millions
Out of Their
Homes and
Demolished the
American Dream
Glantz, Aaron
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Out East: Memoir
of a Montauk
Summer
Glynn, John
4/16/20
Shallow. My bride has known for decades
that I will read anything. She continues to
marvel that I actually do read anything. John
Glynn’s memoir titled, Out East: Memoir of a
Montauk Summer, tells what he did one
summer when he was in his twenties. Why
should any reader care? Glynn faced truly
first world situations in this recitation about
a charmed life. While there is angst galore,
the memoir is neither deep nor reflective. We
read an account of a shallow young man
finding his identity as he comes of age. He
does this in a setting of great privilege. Read
a sample before you commit to this memoir.
Lost Hills
Goldberg, Lee
8/19/20
Solo. Detective Eve Ronin gets the job done,
even if she has to go solo to do it. Lee
Goldberg’s novel titled, Lost Hills, entertains
readers with a “feel like you’re there” police
procedural set in Los Angeles. I consider this
book as a one-hour television drama for
readers. The action moves at a fast clip and
you don’t have to think too much as the
author entertains you. I liked the characters,
especially Eve, and was entertained with
enough twists to keep my interest to the end.
Nothing Can Hurt
You
Goldberg, Nicola
Maye
10/19/20
Narrators. Nicola Maye Goldberg
structures her novel titled, Nothing Can Hurt
You, as different views from characters, each
impacted by a single event. After we listen to
another’s point of view, can our perspective
change? What keeps us bound to some life
event and how is it that we can become so
intensely focused on a single thing? Can we
appreciate that some individuals closer to
the event that us can move on? The multiple
narrators in this novel provide their points of
view in Goldberg’s finely written prose. What
we make of each of them and of ourselves
when we finish the novel is up to us.
A Republic, If You
Can Keep It
Gorsuch, Neil M.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Maybe You Should
Talk to Someone: A
Therapist, HER
Therapist, and Our
Lives Revealed
Gottlieb, Lori
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Only Plane in
the Sky: An Oral
History of 9/11
Graff, Garrett M.
2/21/20
Voices. I was overwhelmed as I read Garrett
M. Graff’s book titled, The Only Plane in the
Sky: An Oral History of 9/11. He presents
many voices telling their story of that day as
they lived it. This is a book about our human
story, the individual story, the ordinary
people who dealt with an extraordinary event
in their own personal way. Be prepared to
share emotions on the pages of this book.
The range of voices is vast, and the feelings
are intense. Every day unfolds in its own
way, and this historic day unfolded for many
people in both ordinary and extraordinary
ways.
Bagehot: The Life
and Times of the
Greatest Victorian
Grant, James
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Beautifully
Foolish Endeavor
Green, Hank
10/12/20
Power. Hank Green concludes a story of
technology, power and submission that he
began in his debut novel, An Absolutely
Remarkable Thing, with his novel titled, A
Beautifully Foolish Endeavor. The Carls who
appeared as robots in the first novel have
disappeared, and Green explores the
perspectives of multiple recurring characters
as they adjust to the new world order and the
ways in which power has been concentrated.
Fans of the first novel are those readers most
likely to enjoy the continuation of this
engaging and thought-provoking story.
Until the End of
Time: Mind,
Matter, and Our
Search for Meaning
in an Evolving
Universe
Greene, Brian
6/24/20
Thinking. Brian Greene challenges readers
of his book titled, Until the End of Time:
Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning
in an Evolving Universe, to think about
thinking. He aims to provide clarity, and I
now have more questions than when I
started, which is perfect. As he explores a
variety of theories and points us to the
cosmos, he also directs us inward on a search
for meaning. Greene distills lots of big
notions on these pages, any one of which
lead a reader into decades of further study.
He has a way of making connections that will
encourage readers to continue thinking after
we finish reading this book.
Beaten Down,
Worked Up: The
Past, Present, and
Future of American
Labor
Greenhouse, Steven
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Cleanness
Greenwell, Garth
5/5/20
Happiness. What do we desire? In his book
titled, Cleanness, Garth Greenwell pulls
readers into episodes in the life of an
American professor in Sofia, Bulgaria. Some
of the glimpses seem ordinary, while others
pack deep intensity. Each sentence
reinforces Greenwell’s writing skill and pulls
readers into a structure that provides
understanding about life. What we desire is
happiness. It can come in surprising,
ordinary, expected or dramatic ways. Bliss
can be achieved when what we can do to
make someone else happy also brings
happiness to us. Fans of literary fiction who
appreciate superb writing are those most
likely to enjoy this book.
Dark Tides
Gregory, Philippa
12/17/20
Bridge. The second novel in the Fairmile
series by Philippa Gregory is titled, Dark
Tides. One of my gripes about reading the
second novel in a series is the amount of
repetition from the first installment. With
this novel, I have no such complaint, but
wish that the author had helped connect
more of the dots. Protagonist Alinor Reekie
from the first novel returns in a secondary
role in a setting two decades after the first,
with the Restoration as the backdrop. James
Avery who left Alinor to fend for herself, is
now a widower and returns expecting a
warm welcome now that his family fortune
has been recovered thanks to his support of
the king. Instead of picking up on their
thread in any direct way, the action involves
the wife of Alinor’s son, Rob, a delightfully
wicked manipulator and criminal named
Livia. Another plot line involves the life of
Alinor’s brother, Ned, who lives in New
England, caught in the uncomfortable
shifting tides between the indigenous people
and the English settlers. Many readers will
look forward to hearing more about the
adventures of 21-year-old twins Sarah and
Johnnie, the children of Alinor’s daughter,
Alys. In the meantime, what we have here is
likely a 450-page bridge between the
introduction of the series in the previous
novel, and the action to follow in the next.
Patient fans of historical fiction are those
readers most likely to enjoy this installment
and this series.
Tidelands
Gregory, Philippa
7/23/20
Exciting. Philippa Gregory begins her
Fairmile series with a novel titled, Tidelands.
Set in Sussex during the English Civil War,
protagonist Alinor is a hardworking midwife
eking out a living for herself and her two
children while not knowing whether her
missing husband is dead or alive. A large cast
of characters includes the activities of both
Roundheads and Cavaliers. Gregory draws us
into stories of how the divisions in the
country play out even in the most remote
locations. Just when Gregory leads us to
think events are heading in one direction,
there’s a twist to carry us to a different place.
We’re left wondering what happens to Alinor
next, the answer to which will wait until the
next installment in the series, set during the
Restoration. Fans of historical fiction that
includes well-developed characters are those
most likely to enjoy this novel and this series.
I You We Them:
Journeys Beyond
Evil: The Desk
Killers in History
Volume 1
Gretton, Dan and Ros
Urwin
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
When All Is Said
Griffin, Anne
5/26/20
Toasts. I highly recommend pairing five
drams of Black Bush as you visit Ireland and
join eighty-four-year-old protagonist
Maurice Hannigan in the five toasts he
makes in Anne Griffin’s debut novel titled,
When All Is Said. There are secrets, love,
loss, regret and great joy on these pages.
Griffin writes with considerable skill and
fleshes her characters with the complexity of
behavior that readers recognize as authentic.
Savor each toast and enjoy a grand story.
Now You See Them
Griffiths, Elly
1/24/20
Emma. My first exposure to Elly Griffiths’
Magic Men series is the fifth installment, a
novel titled, Now You See Them. Set in 1964,
former Brighton detective Emma is married
to Superintendent Edgar Stephens and she
feels unsettled at home with three kids. Girls
have been disappearing, and Emma sees a
chance to get back into the action. Conflict
between mods and rockers provides a
colorful backdrop. I was entertained from
beginning to end and expect that other fans
of crime fiction will enjoy this novel and this
series.
Camino Winds
Grisham, John
5/26/20
Storm. John Grisham gives readers an
exciting return to Camino Island in his novel
titled, Camino Winds. A major hurricane
lands on the island causing major damage.
Protagonist Bruce Cable’s bookstore and
home come through the storm ok, but one of
the island’s authors has died. Bruce and his
posse suspect foul play, and the action of the
novel involves their dogged investigation
into this case. Fans of Grisham and action
thrillers are those readers most likely to
enjoy this novel.
Wyoming
Gritton JP
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Money Tree: A
Story About
Finding the
Fortune in Your
Own Backyard
Guillebeau, Chris
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Lover’s
Discourse
Guo, Xiaolu
11/17/20
Compromise. With a nod to Roland
Barthes, Xiaolu Guo writes about modern
marriage and compromise in her novel titled,
A Lover’s Discourse. Through dialogue, we
see differences in culture and how to live
together in places that require each
individual to give up something for the sake
of the other. Guo explores what it means to
belong in the context of the area in which we
live, our domicile, and our family unit. Guo
lays out a host of questions for readers to
ponder as we listen to the fragments of
dialogue between a husband and wife.
Transcendent
Kingdom
Gyasi, Yaa
9/22/20
Contrasts. I keep thinking about the
powerful contrasts that Yaa Gyasi offers in
her novel titled, Transcendent Kingdom.
Science and religion are contrasted as
protagonist Gifty looks to her work as a
neuroscientist to answer life’s questions as
she also recalls her childhood in the
evangelical church. We see the different
worlds of Ghana and Alabama. We feel the
family pain when shortly after Gifty’s
brother, Nana, finds comfort playing high
school basketball, he becomes addicted to
OxyContin following an injury. There’s
contrast between Gifty and her mother, both
coping with loss in their own ways. Gyasi’s
prose will appeal to those readers who enjoy
literary fiction, and her insights into the
immigrant experience and into the wide
range of human behavior will keep readers
like me thinking about life long after we
finish reading this finely written novel.
Reinhardt’s Garden
Haber, Mark
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Let Them Eat
Tweets: How the
Right Rules in an
Age of Extreme
Inequality
Hacker, Jacob S. and
Paul Pierson
8/5/20
Plutocrats. Spend a little while reading
Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson’s book
titled, Let Them Eat Tweets: How the Right
Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality, and
you’ll begin to marvel about how a tiny
minority of successful American plutocrats
have gotten unpopular things done to their
advantage. Hacker and Pierson describes the
methods by which a few rich and powerful
individuals have commandeered the levers of
political power and built up unlikely
coalitions to protect or enhance wealth and
power for the few. This effort has been
building over a long period of time and the
current environment is the consequence of
gradual changes and incremental steps.
Readers interested in public policy and
political science are those most likely to
enjoy this engaging book. In case you haven’t
noticed, this is a great time in America to be
a plutocrat. The authors of this book explain
why and how that happened.
With All Due
Respect: Defending
America with Grit
and Grace
Haley, Nikki
1/24/20
Blunt. Nikki Haley’s memoir titled, With All
Due Respect: Defending America with Grit
and Grace, is a political novelty. She doesn’t
speak out of school and settles few scores on
these pages (one or two worthy targets get
their comeuppance again, bless their hearts.)
Based on timing, this is also not the opening
salvo in a political campaign. It is a blunt
appraisal of many contemporary issues, and
a personal story about how Haley’s life
experience and principles guided her actions
in public life. Agree or disagree with her
positions, but read her story with an open
mind, willing to listen to a story of what
made her the person she is today.
Curious Toys
Hand, Elizabeth
4/16/20
Pin. You don’t need to be familiar with the
Chicago amusement park, Riverview, to
enjoy Elizabeth Hand’s novel titled, Curious
Toys. Set in the Summer of 1915, protagonist
Pin is the fourteen-year-old daughter of a
fortune teller, and she has the run of the
park, often dressed like a boy. An
environment of fun and some mischief turns
dark after a girl is murdered. All the
characters are finely drawn, and even Charlie
Chaplin makes an appearance. The settings
are described vividly, the characters are
complex and compelling, and the plot is
thrilling. Pin is an absolute delight. Fans of
historical fiction, especially of this time
period, are those most likely to enjoy this
finely written novel.
The Rabbit Effect:
Live Longer,
Happier, and
Healthier with the
Groundbreaking
Science of
Kindness
Harding, Kelli
7/23/20
Kindness. I find it hard to not apply a
covid-19 lens to what I read during the
pandemic. So, when I read Kelli Harding’s
book titled, The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer,
Happier, and Healthier with the
Groundbreaking Science of Kindness, I
couldn’t help but think how a little bit of
kindness to others would go a long a way
these days. After all, we’re just being asked to
wash our hands, practice social distancing,
and wear a mask when indoors with others
or at times when we can’t keep a safe
distance away. These are times when many
of us will benefit from thinking about our
health in new ways. This book helps us
understand the interaction of body and
mind, and the ways in which we may be
missing pieces of what’s critical to our
health. Harding learned this through a rabbit
study, and readers of this book can learn
some missing pieces that can make our lives
happier and healthier. Also, wash your
hands, maintain physical distance from
others, and wear the damn mask. How hard
is it to be nice?
The Beauty in
Breaking
Harper, Michele
8/25/20
Healing. I can think of no better time than
now to read some life lessons from an
emergency room physician. In her memoir
titled, The Beauty in Breaking, Michele
Harper blends patient and personal stories
in ways that will engage and encourage most
readers. Harper helps us pay attention to
those places where each of us is broken in
one way or another and offers us a path
toward healing. We can learn about better
ways to live in many ways, and this book will
provide comfort to anyone engaged in a
struggle and looking for a voice of experience
to find a way to find healing.
The Second Sleep
Harris, Robert
1/10/20
Awake. Things are not as they appear in
Robert Harris’ novel titled, The Second
Sleep. We’re told the year is 1468.
Protagonist Christopher Fairfax is a young
priest who has been sent by the bishop to a
small village in Wessex, England, to conduct
the funeral of Father Lacy, who spent many
years as the village priest. This would be his
first funeral as a priest, so Fairfax wanted to
get it right. Thanks to Harris’ great plotting,
we learn along with Fairfax about Father
Lacy and as a result our eyes are opened to
the real story in this novel. Harris knows
how to tell a gripping story, and in this novel,
he focuses us on the past, present and future.
Cari Mora
Harris, Thomas
3/6/20
Miami. I was amused by Thomas Harris’
crime thriller titled, Cari Mora. Set in Miami,
the protagonist, Cari Mora, is a housekeeper
at a drug kingpin’s house. Stored and booby
trapped beneath the house is a stash of gold.
A colorful cast of characters wants to heist
the gold and Cari Mora. Harris gives us a
terrific villain, a strong female protagonist,
and keeps momentum by playing the desires
of the characters that include greed and
avarice. I read this book quickly and became
inured to the violence quickly. Fans of crime
fiction looking for a quick, amusing, violent
book are those most likely to enjoy this one.
The Warehouse
Hart, Rob
1/2/20
Dystopia. I usually prefer novels about a
bleak future to be set in a distant future time,
not today or the near future. When I started
reading Rob Hart’s satire titled, The
Warehouse, I began to warm to a very
dystopian take on contemporary American
culture. A company named Cloud has
become the dominant business enterprise in
the United States. The thriller aspects of this
novel dominate the satirical social
commentary. Hart lets the story speak for
itself, and Cloud does what it is has been
built to do. Hart gives us workplace
conditions that exploit, corporate behavior
that’s predatory, and a culture of surveillance
that’s downright creepy. The characters are
finely drawn and complex. My discomfort
from reading this novel arises from the
sensation that everything Hart describes is
plausible. A company that gives people what
they want. What could be wrong with that?
Die, My Love
Harwicz, Ariana
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Deep State
Hauty, Chris
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Upstream: The
Quest to Solve
Problems Before
They Happen
Heath, Dan
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Patron Saint of
Pregnant Girls
Hegi, Ursula
12/9/20
Symbolism. No symbol is subtle in Ursula
Hegi’s novel titled, The Patron Saint of
Pregnant Girls. Set on an island off Germany
in the late nineteenth century, the joy from a
traveling circus turns to despair after a giant
wave drowns three children. The novel opens
with that dramatic action, then develops the
characters of three surviving mothers and
how they deal with loss. Life on a small
island means that there’s no escape from the
looks on the faces of everyone who knows
what the wave took away from you. Hegi
allows the unfolding of joy in a beautiful
setting while maintaining the presence of
pain that will never go away. The novel
celebrates these women, and every reader
can gain strength from spending time with
them in this novel.
Unmaking the
Presidency: Donald
Trump's War on
the World's Most
Powerful Office
Hennessey, Susan and
Benjamin Wittes
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
St. Ivo
Hershon, Joanna
9/19/20
Longing. The emotional intensity
surrounding the characters in Joanna
Hershon’s novel titled, St. Ivo, increases as
we understand more about the
circumstances of two families. In domestic
situations, there’s always more to the story
than what can be gleaned from observations
and limited contact. The suffering, struggle
and loss that Hershon draws readers into are
real and intense. Many readers will reflect on
how they would respond to the situations
facing these characters. Those readers who
enjoy fine writing, deep insights into human
behavior, and are comfortable with the
unresolved reality common to all of us, will
find a lot to enjoy by reading this novel.
The Convert
Hertmans, Stefan
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Squeeze Me
Hiaasen, Carl
9/8/20
Pythons. Just when I needed a good laugh,
I picked up Carl Hiaasen’s comic novel titled,
Squeeze Me. Set as always in Florida, this
time we get the combination of a great
protagonist, Angie Armstrong, and political
satire about President Trump, Mar-a-Lago
and its wealthy members. When a python
does what a big snake is prone to do, Angie is
the wildlife expert called in to take care of
the problem. A great cast of characters,
include the return of Skink, will delight
Hiaasen fans. Florida at its oddest comes to
life for those readers who aren’t overly
sensitive to political satire.
Will and Testament
Hjorth, Vigdis
5/15/20
Siblings. The parents and four siblings in
the dysfunctional family described in Vigdis
Hjorth’s novel set in Norway titled, Will and
Testament, will draw readers into their world
and then leave us thinking about them for a
long time. Often in the novel it seemed as if
each individual were a member of a family
different from the one described by any one
of the members. Perhaps that is true on some
level for all families: certain formative
experiences provide the lens through which
all family life is viewed. The lens for one
sibling in this novel is the sexual abuse she
suffered from her father, and some siblings
and her mother do not believe it really
happened. Hjorth explores matters of what
we inherit, and the effort by parents to treat
children fairly when it comes to their estate.
What recompense, though, for abuse? How
can incest be weighed against the value of
holiday cabins? There’s an emotional punch
delivered on many pages of this finely
written novel.
The Gifted School
Holsinger, Bruce
2/7/20
Deception. People have secrets and Bruce
Holsinger pulls us into a swirl of deception in
his novel titled, The Gifted School. After a
Boulder, Colorado-like suburb announces
competitive testing for a new school, the race
is on for those families who want to secure
places. Holsinger lets us gradually come to
know four families, and their connected
relationships. As we get to know the
characters, we are drawn into a world of
privilege and ambitions inside a community
divided by income and class. Our feelings
about different characters change over the
course of the novel, and what causes us to
laugh in one section can lead us to sadness in
another. Spouses have kept secrets from each
other. Children are not who we think they
are. Readers can reflect about friendship and
ambition while considering the steps we are
willing to take for our children, and whether
those steps are really for us or for the kids.
Concordance
Howe, Susan
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
MBS: The Rise to
Power of
Mohammed bin
Salman
Hubbard, Ben
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Fair Shot:
Rethinking
Inequality and
How We Earn
Hughes, Chris
5/15/20
Pitch. Facebook co-founded Chris Hughes
pitches his recommendation for a
guaranteed basic income for all Americans in
his book titled, Fair Shot: Rethinking
Inequality and How We Earn. In the context
of the current high unemployment rate
thanks to the efforts to reduce deaths from
covid-19, the notion of a safety net in the
form of guaranteed income will appeal to
many individuals. The form Hughes
describes might not be the best solution, but
it is well worth taking into account as we
explore alternatives to providing a baseline
level of support through good times and bad.
Confirmation Bias:
Inside
Washington's War
Over the Supreme
Court, from Scalia's
Death to Justice
Kavanaugh
Hulse, Carl
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Into the Fire
Hurwitz, Gregg
3/13/20
Transition. The fifth thrilling Orphan X
novel by Gregg Hurwitz is titled, Into the
Fire. This time out, every time Nowhere Man
Evan Smoak thinks he gets the job done, he
ends up back in the dangerous fray or the
place described in the title. Protagonist
Smoak continues to develop in complexity as
the series progresses, and in this novel, there
seems to be a longing in him to make a
transition from his current life to something
else. We will have to wait for the next
installment to find out what happens. In the
meantime, thriller fans will enjoy reading
this novel.
Hi Five
Ide, Joe
3/13/20
Multiple. Private Investigator Isaiah
Quintabe is back for the fourth installment in
the IQ series by Joe Ide, a novel titled, Hi
Five. A murder suspect named Christiana
challenges IQ to prove her innocence. An
obstacle for IQ is that because she has
multiple personalities, no one of whom saw
everything that happened on the night of the
murder. Fans of crime fiction and this series
will enjoy the complexity of this novel and
the skills of the detective whose life becomes
more complicated with every installment.
Always Look on the
Bright Side of Life:
A Sortabiography
Idle, Eric
6/10/20
Smiles. Most readers will be entertained by
the great stories and jokes in Eric Idle’s book
titled, Always Look on the Bright Side of
Life: A Sortabiography. You’ll smile a lot
(Smilealot?) by the hilarious memories that
Idle offers in this book and be amazed at the
charmed life he’s led. He’s rubbed shoulders
with lots of interesting people, and he gives a
funny inside look at lots of them in this book.
Just thinking about what I read about
Spamalot brings a smile to my face as I write
this. Any reader who needs a good laugh
should consider reading this memoir.
The Ride of a
Lifetime: Lessons
Learned from 15
Years as CEO of the
Walt Disney
Company
Iger, Robert
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Imperfect Union:
How Jessie and
John Frémont
Mapped the West,
Invented Celebrity,
and Helped Cause
the Civil War
Inskeep. Steve
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Wow, No Thank
You
Irby, Samantha
4/23/20
Deadpan. I could not drink any beverage
while reading Samantha Irby’s book titled,
Wow, No Thank You. Liquid in my mouth
was prone to gush out as I was compelled to
laugh with gusto at an image, word or finely
turned phrase in this funny book. Whenever
she describes her awkwardness in a social
situation, readers can be confident that she
will mine that feeling for all the possible
humor that could be present. When she
starts a riff, you’re never sure when you will
laugh out loud, but chances are high that you
will. Readers with a funny bone that could
use a good tickle are those most likely to
enjoy the fine and funny writing in this book.
Make It Scream,
Make It Burn
Jamison, Leslie
7/15/20
Range. There’s a wide range of topics in the
collection of essays by Leslie Jamison titled,
Make It Scream, Make It Burn. Her writing is
what’s constant: a sharp eye and the ability
to choose words with care and precision.
There’s a sensation of loneliness that
captures a reader, whether found in a whale
or a person. There’s a close examination of
the self and a way of seeing distant places in
a new way. There were times while reading
this that I felt as if I were following
Jamison’s own curiosity, examining
something until sense began to penetrate her
big brain. Intelligent readers are those most
likely to enjoy these finely written essays.
Swimming in the
Dark
Jedrowski, Tomasz
7/15/20
Choices. In his debut novel titled,
Swimming in the Dark, Tomasz Jedrowski
brings readers to 1980s Poland and into the
lives of two young men who fall in love as
they spend time together in the countryside
after attending a summer agricultural camp.
Ludwik and Janusz choose different paths
when they return to Warsaw. One does what
is expected to rise in the Communist party,
and the other protests against the
government. The story is compelling, the
writing somewhat melancholy, and the
situation relatable for many people around
the world who search for both love and
freedom.
The City We
Became
Jemisin, N.K.
6/2/20
Avatars. The first installment in N.K.
Jemison’s planned Great Cities Trilogy is a
novel titled, The City We Became. Anyone
who has lived in a great city knows that the
place seems alive and has a certain set
personality. I don’t read a lot of fantasy
fiction, but there are times we need to escape
our world and Jemison offers that with her
writing skills. In the novel, she reveals
avatars for New York’s five boroughs and pits
them against an alien from the multiverse.
Each borough’s personality shines in these
characters. Avatars for São Paulo and Hong
Kong show up to help New York out. For a
great escape that also captures contemporary
life, consider reading this novel and the
others in the series when they are released.
Simon the Fiddler
Jiles, Paulette
5/5/20
Pursuit. Paulette Jiles sets her novel titled,
Simon the Fiddler, in Texas as the Civil War
is ending. Protagonist Simon Boudlin is a
twenty-three-year-old musician who has
avoided military service for both sides,
thanks to his artistic skill. He pursues an
indentured Irish servant with whom he falls
in love. Jiles offers readers an enjoyable love
story, surrounded by the atmosphere of life
in post-war Texas. Fans of historical fiction
are those readers most likely to enjoy this
novel.
Little Gods
Jin, Meng
5/15/20
Generations. The debut novel by Meng Jin
titled, Little Gods, explores a question
pondered often by the children of
immigrants: where do we come from? Jin
reveals the answer for protagonist Liya in the
same way readers discover the story: in
pieces, backwards and forwards, a gradual
unveiling of events and memories to achieve
understanding. We learn about physics,
relationships and what inheritance means
across generations. There are memories and
ghosts, grief and joy. This novel offers more
than the usually fraught mother-daughter
relationship. Readers learn what’s involved
in accepting reality and making decisions
that we think are best.
Trouble the Saints
Johnson, Alaya Dawn
12/9/20
Magical. Alaya Dawn Johnson presents the
perspectives of three characters in her novel
titled, Trouble the Saints. In the first section,
we meet an assassin named Pea whose hands
have an unexplained, inherited, magical
power. Pea’s lover, Dev, comes next, and we
learn more about Pea and others from his
perspective. By the time a dancer named
Tamara gives her perspective, we know her
well enough to increase our appreciation of
her humanity and complexity. The prose
often sings, and the setting in New York in
the 1940s is drawn with great skill.
Sisters
Johnson, Daisy
10/27/20
Siblings. Love and competition are often
intertwined in sibling relationships. In her
novel titled, Sisters, Daisy Johnson haunts
readers with the lives of July and September
as they face trauma and abuse. Johnson’s
prose keeps readers unsettled as she spills
out her story in dribs and drabs, building to a
surprising twist at the end. On the journey
from beginning to end, Johnson’s prose is
beguiling and will be appreciated by those
readers who enjoy finely written literary
fiction and can tolerate meandering.
Window Seat on
the World: My
Travels with the
Secretary of State
Johnson, Glen
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Enemy of All
Mankind: A True
Story of Piracy,
Power, and
History's First
Global Manhunt
Johnson, Steven
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Stillicide
Jones, Cynan
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Very Punchable
Face
Jost, Colin
11/17/20
Range. The title of Colin Jost’s memoir, A
Very Punchable Face, leads a reader to
anticipate self-deprecating humor, and the
narrative delivers that and more. From
Staten Island to Harvard to Saturday Night
Live, Jost delivers readers a range of
vignettes and life lessons that will appeal to
many readers, whether fans of Jost and SNL
or not. It takes vulnerability to succeed in
comedy, and Jost finds lots of ways to
express that in this entertaining book.
Chicago Católico:
Making Catholic
Parishes Mexican
Kanter, Deborah E.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Bomb:
Presidents,
Generals, and the
Secret History of
Nuclear War
Kaplan, Fred
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Front Row at the
Trump Show
Karl, Jonathan
8/5/20
Observer. ABC News’ Chief White House
correspondent Jonathan Karl has written a
book titled, Front Row at the Trump Show.
Karl’s contact with Trump goes back to New
York City when the two men were in
different roles. From that foundation, Karl
offers what he has observed over decades
about the relationship between Donald
Trump and the media. For those readers
interested in contemporary politics, Karl’s
book offers a closely observed view of Trump
and the White House. The anecdotes related
in the book are interesting and the author’s
perspective valuable in gaining insight about
the current U.S. President.
Impeach: The Case
Against Donald
Trump
Katyal, Neal
1/24/20
Foreign. Neal Katyal is a Georgetown law
professor who has represented both the
United States and individual clients at the
Supreme Court. Readers of his book titled,
Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump,
may doubt his non-partisan claim at the
beginning of the book, but those who read to
the end, including the appendix, are likely to
come away with a greater appreciation of the
Constitution, the intentions of the Founders,
and why the “perfect” phone call between
Presidents Trump and Zelensky documents
the kind of offense that merits the pursuit of
impeachment and removal because of the
specific request for foreign help by President
Trump not to support the interests of the
United States, but to assist in a re-election
campaign. Katyal describes why the
Founders were concerned with foreign
interference, and why the impeachment
remedy is appropriate, and why waiting for
the next election is not appropriate. Open
minded and informed citizens can read this
short book and become better informed
about what is at stake in 2020.
Zed
Kavenna, Joanna
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Tyll
Kehlmann, Daniel
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Marguerite
Kemp, Marina
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
If I Had Two Wings
Kenan, Randall
11/24/20
Authenticity. Readers who enjoy finely
written short stories are those most likely to
enjoy the collection by Randall Kenan titled,
If I Had Two Wings. Set mostly in a fictional
North Carolina town, the ten stories present
interesting and complex characters, full of
life, and behaving in ways that are totally
true to themselves. Over the course of just a
few pages, Kenan enlivens his prose with
finely chosen words, and pulls readers into
authentic lives with great efficiency and skill.
There’s humor, invention, and overall
empathy for how we make our way in the
world.
How to Be an
Antiracist
Kendi, Ibram X.
11/9/20
Awakening. If very few, if any, citizens
consider themselves racist, why are so many
individuals treated as less than fully human
because of their race? In his book titled, How
to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi helps all
citizens examine our social constructs, the
power dynamics in society, and our
individual and collective mindsets. Close
readers will experience an awakening of
some sort, leading perhaps to a different way
forward for all of us.
Death in Avignon
Kent, Serena
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Fly Already
Keret, Etgar
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Finding Meaning:
The Sixth Stage of
Grief
Kessler, David
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Divided States
of America: Why
Federalism Doesn't
Work
Kettl, Donald F.
8/25/20
Inequality. Timing can be everything when
it comes to non-fiction. The uneven
responses among different cities and states
to the novel coronavirus provide one more
example of the main points Donald F. Kettl
makes in his book titled, The Divided States
of America: Why Federalism Doesn't Work.
The sharing of power between the national
government and individual states began as a
creative compromise to create the United
States of America. Kettl describes how that
compromise built inequality into the
balance, especially because of slavery. In this
finely written book, Kettl argues that it is
past time to reform our political system, and
he offers some alternative solutions to what
he sees as the problems of the current
system. Where one lives makes the world of
difference when it comes to education, health
care, infrastructure and the risk of dying
from a virus that some political leaders have
not taken seriously. Any reader interested in
public affairs should read this thoughtful
book.
The Book of
Longings
Kidd, Sue Monk
6/2/20
Ana. In her novel titled, The Book of
Longings, Sue Monk Kidd introduces readers
to a strong female protagonist named Ana
who led a remarkable life in the middle east
during the Roman occupation. Also, Ana’s
husband was Jesus who was crucified by the
Romans. The novel helps readers reimagine
a familiar story in the context of how a
woman navigated a society in which all
women are undervalued. Some readers will
enjoy the “what if” element of the plot, while
others may be uncomfortable with the notion
that Jesus had a wife. I found the story
compelling, saw Ana as a fascinating and
complex character, and came away from the
novel with all my beliefs intact.
The Dragons and
the Snakes: How
the Rest Learned to
Fight the West
Kilcullen, David
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Gods of the Upper
Air: How a Circle of
Renegade
Anthropologists
Reinvented Race,
Sex, and Gender in
King, Charles
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
the Twentieth
Century
Writers & Lovers
King, Lily
6/2/20
Crossroads. Casey Peabody, the thirty-one
year old protagonist of Lily King’s novel
titled, Writers & Lovers, feels all the
confusion and vulnerability of being adrift.
Casey’s mother died suddenly. A romantic
relationship fell apart. The novel she’s been
working on for six years still isn’t finished.
She lives in a hovel. At age thirty-one she
works as a waitress to survive. Thanks to
King’s fine writing, readers care deeply about
Casey, and root for her as she forges ahead.
She falls in love with Oscar and Silas at the
same time, both writers and very different
personalities. Will she choose one or the
other? Can she continue to pursue her dream
of writing? Will she ever get out from under
her debt? Fans of literary fiction are those
readers most likely to enjoy this finely
written novel.
If It Bleeds
King, Stephen
6/2/20
Novellas. The four novellas in the collection
by Stephen King titled, If It Bleeds, will
appeal to all readers who enjoy his
imaginative storytelling. I especially enjoyed
the return of Holly Gibney from the Bill
Hodges trilogy in the title story. I found each
novella satisfying and read them too quickly,
as I usually do with King’s work.
Poisoner in Chief:
Sidney Gottlieb
and the CIA Search
for Mind Control
Kinzer, Stephen
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Why We’re
Polarized
Klein, Ezra
4/9/20
Identity. The key message by Ezra Klein in
his book titled, Why We’re Polarized, is that
we are getting the political environment that
we have consciously created since the 1960s
after the Civil Rights Act led southern
Democrats to become Republicans, and
instead of both parties having liberal and
conservative members, the parties moved to
the poles of one being conservative and the
other liberal. If you’re not fed up yet, things
will only get worse. Even so-called
independents identify more often with one
political party over the other. Klein makes
identity the lens to which we can observe
what has polarized us. Klein has a knack for
synthesis and for being a good explainer. It
all makes sense as one reads it. On further
reflection, what seemed conclusive becomes
simplistic and a realization strikes that there
are other lenses with which one can examine
polarization in American life. That said, any
reader interested in public affairs should
consider reading this book to incorporate
Klein’s synthesis into one’s own thinking
about contemporary life.
On Fire: The
(Burning) Case for
a Green New Deal
Klein, Naomi
7/23/20
Collaborative. I confess to waiting to read
Naomi Klein’s book titled, On Fire: The
(Burning) Case for a Green New Deal, until a
stifling heat wave arrived. Warm or cold,
Klein’s message resonates: people all over
the world need to collaborate to address
climate change. This book is a collection of
her essays over the course of two decades.
She pulls together the connections between
the climate crisis, underregulated capitalism,
economic inequality, systemic racism,
adverse health conditions, emigration for
survival and more. Whether you agree or
disagree with Klein’s views, you are likely to
find that she describes her position with
clarity and passion. It seems reasonable that
we collaborate to work toward better
outcomes for all.
Raised in Captivity
Klosterman, Chuck
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Pilgrims
Kneale, Matthew
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Vera Kelly Is Not a
Mystery
Knecht, Rosalie
7/15/20
Felix. Having told readers who ex-CIA agent
Vera Kelly is through an earlier novel, she
certainly is not a mystery in Rosalie Knecht’s
novel titled, Vera Kelly Is Not a Mystery.
Vera is the kind of private investigator and
human being who you want on your side. For
a lost boy named Felix, Vera is just the right
person to be on his side. After being asked by
an old couple to find this missing boy, Vera
goes to great lengths in her search, including
taking a job at a home for boys, and going to
the Dominican Republic to find his parents
and their family home. Vera’s own life
intrudes along the way, adding depth to the
character and to the plot momentum. I was
thoroughly entertained by the story and the
writing.
How to Be a
Family: The Year I
Dragged My Kids
Around the World
to Find a New Way
to Be Together
Kois, Dan
10/12/20
Nurture. The ground in which things grow
plays a big role in how something thrives or
withers. For a family, that ground is a
neighborhood, community or town. In his
book titled, How to Be a Family: The Year I
Dragged My Kids Around the World to Find
a New Way to Be Together, Dan Kois
describes the year he, his wife, and their two
daughters spent living in four different
places. Packed with candor and humor, Kois
mines the ups and downs of family dynamics
at play as they depart their home in
Arlington, Virginia to spend three-month
stints in New Zealand, Holland, Costa Rica
and Hays, Kansas. The culture in each place
supports the ways in which families live and
interact with neighbors. If you’ve ever
thought about packing up and living in a
place different from what’s been familiar,
you’re likely to find this book instructive and
interesting. General readers can enjoy the
vicarious pleasure and pain of how Kois and
his family learned what nurture looks like in
different places.
Hidden Valley
Road: Inside the
Mind of an
American Family
Kolker, Robert
6/24/20
Schizophrenia. Readers won’t soon forget
the Galvin family after completing Robert
Kolker’s exposition in his book titled, Hidden
Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American
Family. Don and Mimi Galvin had twelve
children starting in the mid-1940s and
ending in the mid-1960s. Six of the children
developed schizophrenia. Through extensive
interviews with family members, scientists
and others, Kolker offers life stories that
describe situations that will make most
readers uncomfortable. Once a reader opens
the door to come inside, it will be hard to
leave the Galvin family dynamics. While
telling a personal story, Kolker also describes
the development of science over the same
time period and how the Galvin family
influenced research and treatment for this
disease.
To Be a Man
Krauss, Nicole
12/21/20
Voices. The ten stories in the collection by
Nicole Krauss titled, To Be a Man, seemed to
speak to each other as well as to readers.
Across multiple times and places, the stories
explore identity in ways that are familiar and
strange. The prose is finely written, and the
insights into human nature are often
profound. I felt the tension among relatable
characters as they engage with each other.
These are our voices in the stories, this is our
life, this is our experience.
Catfishing on
CatNet
Kritzer, Naomi
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Bear
Krivak, Andrew
3/13/20
Harmony. No other people are here. That’s
the setting for Andrew Krivak’s finely written
novel titled, The Bear. A father grieves the
death of his wife and raises his daughter so
she will know how to survive after he dies.
Most readers will be drawn at once into the
lives of these survivors, and thanks to
Krivak’s lyrical prose, we will walk with them
and hunt and fish and struggle. We will feel
the cold and smell the mountain and sea.
Survival requires harmony with nature, and
the girl achieves her place in this world
without other people in a way that she never
seems lonely or empty. Fans of literary
fiction and those who appreciate well-crafted
prose are those most likely to enjoy this
outstanding novel.
Arguing with
Zombies:
Economics,
Politics, and the
Fight for a Better
Future
Krugman, Paul
4/9/20
Clarity. Among economists, including other
Nobel prize winners, Paul Krugman writes
with clarity. Over the past two decades, he
uses the platform of The New York Times to
convey his voice about a variety of issues
with stark, often blunt, clarity, and he takes
on foes mercilessly. In a book titled, Arguing
with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the
Fight for a Better Future, Krugman organizes
a collection of past columns by topic, and
opens each theme with his current
perspective, often involving how he was right
then and he is right now. Whether you agree
or disagree with Krugman, he writes with
great skill and, as the title indicates, he
continues to do battle with dead ideas: the
zombie notions that have been proven wrong
again and again but never seem to die. So,
read about tax cuts, deficits, trade wars,
social security, inequality, austerity, the
climate and more. Smile when you agree,
fume when you disagree, but admire his
clarity.
Sex and Vanity
Kwan, Kevin
8/19/20
Formula. Kevin Kwan offers fans another
comic novel featuring crazy rich people and
their decadent lives. There’s a romance at the
center of this novel titled, Sex and Vanity.
While Kwan uses the formula about cultural
clash and the behavior of some superrich
people that has worked for him in prior
novels, he also enhances the complexity of
the main characters in this novel so that
readers can feel some nuance which makes
the comedy work even better.
The Heart Is a Full-
Wild Beast
L’Heureux, John
7/6/20
Stories. The late John L’Heureux didn’t
seem to spend a lot of time thinking about
the small questions in life. Instead, in his
collection of stories titled, The Heart Is a
Full-Wild Beast, readers find thoughtful
examination of those moments that change
lives. This collection is packed with joy, love,
humor and celebrates the range of human
behavior that brings the world pleasure. No
topic seems to be off limits, as L’Heureux
finds the love or the connection or the
reasons to live and to carry on. I’ll miss the
ways in which this talented writer helped me
and other readers wrestle with what life
throws us.
Pew
Lacey, Catherine
8/19/20
Silence. What makes you uncomfortable?
The characters in Catherine Lacey’s novel
titled, Pew, face what makes them
uncomfortable, and Lacey’s fine writing leads
readers toward understanding about human
nature and life in modern society. When a
family arrives in church one Sunday, they
find someone stretched out in their pew.
Their religious values lead them to reach out
to help this person who seems to be
homeless and seems to need help. All the
inquiries of this person are met with silence,
leaving the community discomfited. What do
we call someone who does not disclose a
name? They decide to call the person, “Pew.”
Is Pew a man or a woman? After being taken
for a medical exam, Pew refuses to remove
clothing, leaving the gender classification
unresolved. Skin color does not
unequivocally establish the sorting
classification that some in the community
desire. Without the answers from Pew
relating to identity, the community members
are very uncomfortable. Lacey leads the
narrative forward toward the community
forgiveness ritual that pulls the story
together in ways that may not satisfy all
readers. Lacey’s prose is finely written, and
this novel will appeal to those readers who
appreciate thought-provoking literary
fiction.
Conditional
Citizens: On
Belonging in
America
Lalami, Laila
12/21/20
Us. Sometimes it takes the talent of a gifted
writer to describe experiences of living that
illuminate both those who have similar
experience as well as those who think the
world just isn’t that way. In her book titled,
Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in
America, Laila Lalami describes her
experience in the United States in the
context of being a citizen and also receiving
messages that she doesn’t belong here. If you
continue to think in terms of a melting pot,
you’re likely to revise that view after reading
this book. Lalami holds us all to task at the
reality of who we mean whenever we say,
“we.” What does it mean today to be “one of
us?” How welcoming are we to fellow citizens
who don’t look or sound like “us?” What are
the things we do every day to welcome others
or to send them the message that they do not
belong?
The Outsider: Pope
Francis and His
Battle to Reform
the Church
Lamb, Christopher
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
White Elephant
Langsdorf, Julie
5/15/20
Neighbors. Some of us want to fit in and
others want to stand out. In her debut novel
titled, White Elephant, Julie Langsdorf
brings us into a suburban neighborhood and
the conflict between one homeowner whose
new behemoth house dwarfs the neighbors,
and irritates those who want things to
remain the way they’ve been since the 1920s.
The houses and the neighborhood provide
the backdrop for the human relationships
that are sparked by this conflict and the ways
in which we are attracted and repelled. We
don’t get to choose our neighbors, and in
Langsdorf’s mix the results of an
unintentional grouping provide an
entertaining novel.
The Splendid and
the Vile: A Saga of
Churchill, Family,
and Defiance
During the Blitz
Larson, Erik
4/16/20
Persistent. Whether you know a lot or a
little about Winston Churchill, you’re likely
to enjoy Erik Larson’s book titled, The
Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill,
Family, and Defiance During the Blitz, an
account of the prime minister’s first year in
that role beginning in May 1940, a time of
great peril. Larson presents the intensity of
that time with skill. We can almost feel the
German bombs falling on England. Lord
Beaverbrook, Professor Lindemann and
many others deliver for Churchill and
country. Larson captures Churchill’s
persistence in the face of opposition at home
and from the enemy. Churchill’s mastery of
American relations with Roosevelt, Hopkins,
and Harriman come to life thanks to
Larson’s lively writing. Readers who enjoy
well written history for general audiences are
those most likely to enjoy this book.
Dragon Pearl
Lee, Yoon Ha
10/27/20
Quest. While I am not the target
demographic for a middle school science
fiction novel (although some of my
grandchildren are), I find that there are
times when any adult can be very satisfied by
reading a book in this genre. I thoroughly
enjoyed Yoon Ha Lee’s novel titled, Dragon
Pearl, in which thirteen-year old protagonist
Min goes on a quest to find out why her older
brother uncharacteristically left his Space
Forces battle cruiser. There’s adventure on
these pages, ghosts, lots of action and
reinforcement of family values. Min uses fox
magic and deceit at many turns to complete
her quest. Consider reading this fun story as
a distraction from whatever place may be
calling for your escape.
Luster
Leilani, Raven
12/9/20
Edie. Raven Leilani’s debut novel titled,
Luster, features a Black protagonist named
Edie, an artist who navigates through a
world that has left her unmoored. I found
myself rereading sentences that are
exquisitely crafted and express in art the life
that is Edie. Before we know it, readers are
awash in the waves that Edie tries to ride as
she spends her 20s trying to find her place in
the world. We encounter issues about race,
class and fidelity. We watch as Edie takes
one step after another toward becoming
herself. Fans of finely written fiction are
those readers most likely to enjoy this novel.
Transaction Man:
The Rise of the
Deal and the
Decline of the
American Dream
Lemann, Nicholas
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Trace Elements
Leon, Donna
5/26/20
Water. Fans will enjoy the return of
Commissario Guido Brunetti in the twenty-
ninth installment of the series by Donna
Leon, a novel titled, Trace Elements. Set in
Venice during a hot summer, Leon takes
readers and Brunetti on an exciting murder
case involving the quality of the water supply
for Venice. The familiar cast of characters
returns in this installment, and thanks to
Leon’s writing skills, we feel that we are in
Venice and we struggle with Brunetti in
deciding the right things to do in the search
for justice. Fans of crime fiction, especially of
this series, are those readers most likely to
enjoy this novel.
Kochland: The
Secret History of
Koch Industries
and Corporate
Power in America
Leonard, Christopher
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
This America: The
Case for the Nation
Lepore, Jill
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
They Don't
Represent Us:
Reclaiming Our
Democracy
Lessig, Lawrence
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Queen: The
Forgotten Life
Behind an
American Myth
Levin, Josh
2/7/20
Criminal. I thought the trope of the
Chicago welfare queen was a racist whistle
used by politicians, especially Ronald
Reagan, to drum up votes. While there were
plenty of lies and a framework of racism at
play, there actually was a woman who
committed major fraud among other crimes
in Illinois. In his book titled, The Queen: The
Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth,
Josh Levin tells us the true story of Linda
Taylor (who used lots of names), and the
truth is sad. Taylor was a con artist, a welfare
cheat, and probably a murderer. Her evil
deeds are presented in detail in this book,
and if it were fiction, we would find it too
improbable. The true story lands as a recital
of a troubled life and a criminal who treated
everyone with contempt and used others for
her own ends.
A Time to Build:
From Family and
Community to
Congress and the
Campus, How
Recommitting to
Our Institutions
Can Revive the
American Dream
Levin, Yuval
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Man Who Saw
Everything
Levy, Deborah
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Three Flames
Lightman, Alan
11/17/20
Hope. In his novel titled, Three Flames,
Alan Lightman develops a half-dozen
characters in three generations of rural
Cambodians over the past fifty years. Their
lives are a struggle, and each individual is
strengthened by hope. Cruelty requires a
response. Children are assets that can be
used to repay debts. The modern world
challenges the culture of the past.
Redemption is possible. We must endure
what we face in the present to be here for a
better future. If any of that sounds
interesting to you, you’re likely to enjoy
reading this novel.
The New Class
War: Saving
Democracy from
the Managerial
Elite
Lind, Michael
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
My Life as a
Villainess
Lippman, Laura
8/25/20
Verve. Just the word “villainess” in the title
gives readers a taste of the verve with which
Laura Lippman writes in her collection of
essays titled, My Life as a Villainess. I’ve read
her fiction for years, especially her Tess
Monaghan crime series set in Baltimore. I
thoroughly enjoyed the wit and enthusiasm
of her non-fiction in these essays.
Sometimes, she’s relating the experience of
Everywoman in recent decades. Other times,
she offers a glimpse into her own life in ways
that will entertain most readers. We get to
see among other topics, some of her
childhood, life in school, finding work as a
journalist, and her experience being an older
mother. Readers who enjoy a wry take on our
crazy world, good writing, and some real
verve, should consider reading these essays.
Dumpty: The Age
of Trump in Verse
Lithgow, John
1/2/20
Partisan. Political satire through text and
illustration have a long history. Actor John
Lithgow has expanded beyond his acting
chops to display his writing and drawing skill
in his book titled, Dumpty: The Age of
Trump in Verse. The illustrations by the
author are terrific, and the verse contains a
partisan bite that will delight some readers
and annoy others. If you like watching The
Late Show with Stephen Colbert, you’re
likely to enjoy Lithgow’s book which the
author read in part on that show.
Trumpty Dumpty
Wanted a Crown:
Verses for a
Despotic Age
Lithgow, John
10/27/20
Doggerel. President Franklin Roosevelt
wanted to be sure that artists were employed
during the Depression because he knew that
if left adrift their skills could do damage. In
his second book of political satire in verse
and line drawings, sheltering-at-home actor
John Lithgow displays again his wit as he
turns his attention to the despotic tendencies
of President Trump. While reading doggerel
may not suit a vast audience, I found his
book titled, Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a
Crown: Verses for a Despotic Age, to be a
quick read and a biting indictment of some
of the recent highlights (or lowlights) of the
Trump administration. Trump supporters
will experience raised blood pressure and
some fury if they read this book. Readers
who can’t wait for the end of the Trump
regime may laugh and cry at the sharp wit in
the poems and images in this book.
The Boy in the
Field
Livesey, Margot
10/19/20
Interior. Fans of finely written prose are
those most likely to enjoy Margot Livesey’s
novel titled, The Boy in the Field. Each
character’s depth and interior life becomes
revealed over the course of a well-structured
plot. Three siblings are coming of age and
observing their parents and others in new
ways. Even the dog’s interior life plays a part
as the story progresses. The siblings are
finding their places in the world and in
relationships. Livesey draws us into these
lives and we find ourselves caring about
them deeply.
Heaven, My Home
Locke, Attica
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Dorothy Day:
Dissenting Voice of
the American
Century
Loughery, John and
Blythe Randolph
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Infused:
Adventures in Tea
Lovell, Henrietta
5/15/20
Care. I admit to being a tea snob, so reading
Henrietta Lovell’s book titled, Infused:
Adventures in Tea, was right up my alley. I
nodded at all the ways in which she’s
passionate about good tea, and the care with
which we should treat the finest tea leaves to
capture the depth of flavor. As I’m writing
this sentence, my bride has just arrived with
a pot of Makaibari Estate Darjeeling, II Flush
FTGFOP-1. It’s brewed perfectly, tastes
marvelous and has a light golden color that
captures my eye. Whether you’re a tea snob
or not, if you like to taste delicious things,
consider reading this book and expanding
your tea consumption into some of the
examples she describes along with her
stories about the places and people who take
care to bring us fine tea. When you’re ready
to select tea to suit your palate, consider
ordering from great tea merchants, my
friends Bill and Janet Todd, at
http://www.todd-holland.com/. Next, I’m
thinking about brewing a nice China oolong
from the mountains.
The Case for
Nationalism: How
It Made Us
Powerful, United,
and Free
Lowry, Rich
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Lost Children
Archive
Luiselli, Valeria
2/7/20
Found. Fans of finely written literary fiction
are those readers most likely to enjoy Valeria
Luiselli’s novel titled, Lost Children Archive.
I can’t begin to describe the ways in which
Luiselli uses multiple elements to contribute
to an imaginative and coherent whole. A
family of four travels out West to document
sounds and search for children who have
been lost crossing the Southern border. The
prose remains powerful throughout, and the
raw humanity in multiple situations will
break your heart. We can feel tension
building on the journey, and by the time the
tension is relieved, we will all have found
something important. Through the voices of
the ten-year-old boy and five-year-old girl,
we learn about ourselves, one of the many
reasons we read fiction.
The Swallows
Lutz, Lisa
4/9/20
Objectification. The prep school as a petri
dish for growing diseased human behavior
may be overdone in fiction, but Lisa Lutz
uses the setting with skill in her novel titled,
The Swallows. After Alexandra Witt
reluctantly joins the faculty at Stonebridge
Academy, her creative writing assignment
becomes a reagent to identify the rot of
abhorrent behavior at this coed school. We’re
drawn into a toxic environment in which
female students are objectivized by males in
an organized and systematic way. We see the
power dynamics at work in the school and
the escalation of the resistance by the female
students to the system. There were times I
felt guilty for laughing and wondered if Lutz
led me successfully into that trap. Some of
her phrases made me stop as she caught me
by surprise. Provided your appetite for
reading about oral sex exists, this novel is a
way of seeing MeToo in yet one more
dimension.
Vesper Flights
Macdonald, Helen
9/8/20
Outside. I spent a half hour sitting on the
screened back porch yesterday morning
watching a hummingbird rest at our feeder,
sheltered from the rain, and slurping our
sugar water. I had just finished reading
Helen Macdonald’s essay collection titled,
Vesper Flights, so I was primed to observe
birds or other aspects of nature and not pay
attention to the passing of time. Each of her
essays in this collection contains fine writing
and close observations about our world and
ourselves. As I write this quick review, I’m
back on the porch looking up often from the
laptop to watch a bird in flight, a squirrel
leaping from one branch to another, a
Monarch landing on the milkweed and a
rabbit scooting to a hiding place under a
shrub. Grand!
In the Dream
House
Machado, Carmen
Maria
4/16/20
Abuse. In her memoir titled, In the Dream
House, Carmen Maria Machado explores
emotional abuse from a variety of
perspectives. Thanks to her fine writing and
persistent wit, readers are unlikely to
become morose or depressed after reading
this book. We can read memoirs to
understand things about human nature,
including behavior in forms we have not
experienced ourselves. The result is a greater
appreciation and empathy for what each of
us can face, and insight into those
interpersonal dynamics that can operate at
many different levels.
After the End
Mackintosh, Clare
7/23/20
Divergent. Clare Mackintosh’s emotionally
taut novel is titled, After the End. Parents
Max and Pip face a difficult choice in how to
treat their brain damaged child, Dylan. The
tension in the novel comes when the parents
diverge in choosing the best approach in
caring for Dylan. Mackintosh explores these
relationships, the heart wrenching decisions
that need to be made, and the meaning of
quality of life. She reveals ways in which the
divergent paths might play out over time. I
learned at the end of the novel that the story
is a personal one for the author who faced a
similar situation. Writers are often advised
to write about what they know, and it is with
emotional depth and great skill and personal
knowledge that Mackintosh describes the
most difficult choices that parents may ever
make.
Blue Ticket
Mackintosh, Sophie
10/12/20
Destiny. Fiction can help readers think
about the different ways in which society
could be organized and the ways in which
individuals respond to social constraints. In
her novel titled, Blue Ticket, Sophie
Mackintosh describes a world in which
motherhood is determined at the time of
menarche when a young woman goes to a
machine that spits out either a white ticket to
set her on the path toward motherhood or a
blue ticket that leads her to the insertion of
permanent birth control. Protagonist Calla
has been given a blue ticket, and the novel
explores the ways in which she responds to
this destiny.
The Mountains
Sing
Mai, Nguyen Phan
Que
5/15/20
Sacrifice. The first novel in English by poet
Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is titled, The
Mountains Sing. The multigenerational story
of the rise and fall and rise of members of the
Trần family in Việt Nam will appeal to any
reader or book group that loves to dive into
fine writing that draws readers into the lives
of people who sacrifice and suffer to obtain a
better life. We follow members of the family
from their land ownership and wealth prior
to the rise of the Communists through the
devastation that came from land reform and
the wreckage of the Việt Nam War to the
present time. This well-told story pulls us
into family life and the actions taken to
survive and reunite after separation.
A Burning
Majumdar, Megha
7/15/20
Aspirations. Three central characters in
Megha Majundar’s debut novel titled, A
Burning, have aspirations that they hope will
be met. Set in contemporary India, the novel
presents three points of view which combine
to help readers absorb the complexity of
their lives. Javin is a Muslim woman who has
been imprisoned falsely for a terrorist attack.
PT Sir was Javin’s teacher whose state in life
has been ascending because of what he has
done for a politician. Lovely is an outcast
who wants to be a movie star, and she can
provide the alibi to release Javin. Majundar
pulls readers into issues of justice, fate,
corruption and desire while using beautiful
prose and exhibiting deep insight into
human nature.
The Glass Hotel
Mandel, Emily St.
John
4/16/20
Revelations. The canvas of Emily St. John
Mandel’s novel titled, The Glass Hotel,
involves the whole world from 1958 to 2029.
I apologize for that spoiler, because the
canvas takes a while to uncover. Mandel
delivers scenes, narrators and time periods
that gradually reveal their connections. The
complex characters are so finely drawn that
we can anticipate behavior well in advance as
we participate through reading in the
revelations of what may have been present
all along. Protagonist Vincent is a talented
bartender in a remote luxury hotel. She is
also a prolific filmmaker whose structure
involves five minute takes of what seems like
nothing. The owner of the hotel, Jonathan
Alkaitis, heads a successful investment firm
that manages money. We learn early on that
his success comes from the Ponzi scheme he
has been running. Vincent leaves the hotel to
join Alkaitis in a role where most consider
her as his wife. As the opaque becomes
transparent and what seems transparent
become opaque, Mandel leads readers on a
delightful reading journey that I enjoyed
from beginning to end.
The Mirror and the
Light
Mantel, Hilary
3/26/20
Finale. Spoiler alert: in the third
installment of Hilary Mantel’s novels
featuring Thomas Cromwell, he dies.
Readers who loved the first two novels may
be pleased that it takes almost eight hundred
pages to wrap up his story in the finale titled,
The Mirror and the Light. Even for those
readers who already know the details of the
historical period covered, Mantel finds ways
to maintain our interest in whether King
Henry will die before Cromwell. Mantel also
finds ways to help readers understand both
the consistency of the main characters and
how they change over time. Cromwell’s
machinations in service of the king have
made him weary. The same ways in which he
vanquished adversaries are now used by his
enemies to bring Cromwell down. Fans of
historical fiction can admire the ways in
which Mantel brings the people and time to
life as we read all three books. Historians
may quibble about her hits and misses, but
for readers looking to escape and be
entertained, this book will be a pleasure.
Antisocial: Online
Extremists,
Techno-Utopians,
and the Hijacking
of the American
Conversation
Marantz, Andrew
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Deep River
Marlantes, Karl
2/7/20
Saga. Don’t look past Karl Marlantes’ novel
titled, Deep River, because of the size. He
needs all seven hundred pages to pull us into
the lives of determined people, living in
rough places, working hard, and building
families and communities. Three siblings
leave Finland and settle in southern
Washington state at the end of the
nineteenth century. Marlantes describes
logging, salmon fishing, and conflict between
workers and owners. We spend decades with
these siblings and a growing cast of
characters facing a range of life events and
challenges that propel the narrative. Fans of
historical fiction that’s well-written are those
readers most likely to enjoy this moving
American story.
Messengers: Who
We Listen To, Who
We Don’t and Why
Martin, Stephen and
Joseph Marks
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Registry of My
Passage Upon the
Earth
Mason, Daniel
11/9/20
Survival. There are nine well-crafted short
stories in the collection by Daniel Mason
titled, A Registry of My Passage Upon the
Earth. Each story involves characters who
find ways to survive in response to struggles.
Mason excels at revealing a character’s state
of mind that provides the roadmap to
satisfying our curiosity about the lives of
others. Mason takes readers to time periods
and places that provide a vivid backdrop for
his exploration of the core of what it takes for
each of us to survive and thrive.
Clear Bright Future
Mason, Paul
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
And Their Children
After Them
Mathieu, Nicolas
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Call Sign Chaos:
Learning to Lead
Mattis, Jim and Bing
West
2/7/20
Instructive. Former Secretary of Defense
Jim Mattis has too much class to write a tell-
all book about his time in the Trump
Administration, one of the many lessons he
offers in his book titled, Call Sign Chaos:
Learning to Lead. Mattis is a thoughtful
reader and a lifelong learner. He packs this
book with stories from his own life and
insights that can apply to all readers. Mattis
tells us of his childhood and the journey in
the Marines to become a four-star general.
Many of his lessons were hard won, and
become instructive for all of us, especially
those in leadership roles.
Strange Hotel
McBride, Eimear
10/12/20
Memories. What triggers your memories?
The unnamed protagonist of Eimear
McBride’s novel titled, Strange Hotel,
launches into a stream of consciousness
recollection of her memories after she
returns to a hotel room she had stayed in
years earlier. Fasten your seat belt, and stick
with the recitation of places, things and
people that flow past rapidly, as happens
whenever our memories are triggered. The
journey with this novel won’t take long, it
will often be strange, and by the last page
one reaction might be like mine: that was
really something. I’m just not sure what.
Deacon King Kong
McBride, James
4/9/20
Sportcoat. Readers looking for a funny
novel with terrific characters, spot perfect
dialogue and all around great writing should
pick up James McBride’s novel titled,
Deacon King Kong. The title refers to the
protagonist, a church deacon with a
penchant for the moonshine called King
Kong, and whom everyone calls Sportcoat.
Set in a Brooklyn housing project in 1969,
the novel is packed with a cast of engaging
characters, living and dead, and
relationships that pass the test of time. I kept
copying phrases like “…your cheese done slid
off your cracker.” (p. 44) Add to the recipe
guns, drugs, the mob, and a long-held secret,
and the result is hours of hilarious reading
pleasure.
Apeirogon
McCann, Colum
3/13/20
Facets. The core of the novel titled,
Apeirogon, by Colum McCann, is based on
the lives of two real men, Palestinian Bassam
Aramin and Israeli Rami Elhanan. Rami’s
daughter, Smadar, was killed by suicide
bombers, and Bassam’s daughter, Abir, was
killed by a rubber bullet. Their shared grief
and loss draw them together to become
messengers for peace. McCann constructs a
multi-faceted structure to pull readers into
this story. Chapters rise in number from 1-
500, followed by 1001, then descend in
number from 500. These pieces and
fragments combine into a complete novel
that does what all the best novels do: holds
up life for us to examine and try to make
sense of it all. This is the writer as artist
producing what I consider a masterpiece.
The Cockroach
McEwan, Ian
11/9/20
Satire. Readers who enjoy both political
satire and literature are those most likely to
enjoy Ian McEwan’s skewering of Prime
Minister Boris Johnson and Brexit in a novel
titled, The Cockroach. With a nod to Kafka,
McEwan spews invective with precision on
Johnson and on the gullible people who
believe what he says. If you need a good
laugh, reading about reverse-flow economics
will do the trick. To whatever extent McEwan
wrote this novel to help us laugh at these
crazy upside-down times, he succeeded with
me, especially when his prose was so finely
structured that the satire extended beyond
politics to overwrought literary facades.
Joy and 52 Other
Very Short Stories
McGraw, Erin
2/21/20
Insight. Erin McGraw knows people in all
our rich humanity, and she knows how to put
together a phrase. In her collection titled,
Joy and 52 Other Very Short Stories,
McGraw treats us to her insight about people
and draws out laughter regularly. Treat this
collection as you would a prized box of
Belgian chocolates or a rare single malt
Scotch. Dole out the stories in small doses, so
the pleasure lasts longer. She does more in a
page or two than some writers can
accomplishes in multiple volumes. In the
pause between stories, I found my
imagination running away using McGraw’s
words as a starting block, and the open track
ahead for me to use the insight I gained to
wonder about us and our world.
Zucked: Waking
Up to the Facebook
Catastrophe
McNamee, Roger
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
His Truth Is
Marching On: John
Lewis and the
Power of Hope
Meacham, Jon
12/9/20
Beloved. No matter how much you think
you know about the late John Lewis, you’re
likely to learn something new about him
after reading Jon Meacham’s book titled, His
Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the
Power of Hope. From his early life in rural
Alabama preaching to chickens through his
service in the United States House of
Representatives, you’ll learn about all the
different kinds of good trouble this beloved
man got into in a full life of service to others.
Against powerful forces, especially in the
struggle for civil rights, Lewis maintained a
steady focus on ideals and values, not
wavering from taking the next step toward
achieving a more perfect union.
The Hope and the
Glory: Reflections
on the Last Words
of Jesus from the
Cross
Meacham, Jon
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
To Calais, In
Ordinary Time
Meek, James
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
This Land Is Our
Land: An
Immigrant’s
Manifesto
Mehta, Suketu
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Lincoln
Conspiracy: The
Secret Plot to Kill
America's 16th
President--and
Why It Failed
Meltzer, Brad and
Josh Mensch
12/17/20
Gripping. If you avoid reading history
because you find it dull, consider picking up
a copy of a book titled, The Lincoln
Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America's
16th President--and Why It Failed, by
novelist Brad Meltzer and historian Josh
Mensch. The book tells the story of a plot by
a Baltimore secret society to kill Abraham
Lincoln on his journey by train to
Washington, DC in 1861 to assume the duties
of the United States Presidency. I had never
heard of this plot before, so I found the
narrative gripping to read and was excited to
find out something new about Abraham
Lincoln. An added bonus involves the way
Allan Pinkerton was involved, how he kept
the secret, and that he employed a woman to
play a key role in protecting Mr. Lincoln.
The Capital
Menasse, Robert
4/23/20
Pigs. Robert Menasse presents readers with
an astute take on the tension between
nationalism and union in Europe in his novel
titled, The Capital. Set in Brussels, we get to
enjoy the dysfunction of the bureaucracy, in
which Auschwitz is selected as the best
location for a celebration, and pigs take
center stage in the plot. While comic in many
respects, the novel helps readers reflect on
the importance of those institutions that can
bridge our differences. We need novels like
this one to hold up for us our absurdities and
lead us to think about what’s important.
Ecstasy and Terror:
From the Greeks to
Game of Thrones
Mendelsohn, Daniel
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Religion As We
Know It
Miles, Jack
2/14/20
Brief. Jack Miles has written a lot about
religion, and his latest book titled, Religion
As We Know It, may be the briefest and most
accessible. While he points readers toward
The Norton Anthology of World Religions,
for which he is general editor, it seemed to
me that he’s using this little book to include
things he couldn’t write in the anthology.
Readers with a general interest in religion
are those most likely to enjoy this book.
A Children’s Bible
Millet, Lydia
6/24/20
Storms. The parents in Lydia Millet’s novel
titled, A Children’s Bible, have abdicated
responsibility so a group of twelve children
of various ages fend for themselves after
storms devastate the summer house where
the extended group has been staying. The
children leave their hedonistic parents in the
damaged house and head into chaos. If your
appetite is for dark humor in troubled times,
you’re likely to love reading this novel.
Nature, man, animals and their relationships
are fodder for Millet’s fine writing and
observations about the state of our lives and
our world.
Goodnight
Beautiful
Molloy, Aimee
12/9/20
Twists. Fans of suspense novels will enjoy
being deceived by the narrative in Aimee
Molloy’s novel titled, Goodnight Beautiful.
Protagonists Sam Statler and his new wife,
Annie Potter, leave New York City to make a
new life in Sam’s quiet hometown upstate.
What follows builds in suspense, especially
after Sam goes missing. Just when a reader
follows the clues, Molloy switches gears and
there’s a new puzzle to figure out. I enjoyed
every time I had to accept that what I
thought was going on just wasn’t the case.
This novel offers readers a few hours of good
entertainment.
The Hollows
Montgomery, Jess
3/6/20
Integration. Jess Montgomery reprises
characters from her debut novel, The
Widows, in a new novel titled, The Hollows,
also set in the 1920s. The past doesn’t always
stay buried in the Appalachian hills of
Southeast Ohio, and Sheriff Lily Ross finds
herself uncovering disturbing evidence of
KKK activity and conflict in the community
over integration. Lily’s character continues to
develop in this novel, and her choices along
with those of her friends provide most of the
plot momentum. Fans who love historical
fiction with strong female characters are
those most likely to enjoy this novel.
This Is Chance!:
The Shaking of an
All-American City,
A Voice That Held
It Together
Mooallem, Jon
5/5/20
Earthquake. Readers who enjoy uplifting
stories about people helping others are those
most likely to enjoy Jon Mooallem’s book
titled, This Is Chance!: The Shaking of an
All-American City, A Voice That Held It
Together. Mooallem tells the story of the
Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964, much of
it from the perspective of Genie Chance, a
radio broadcaster who found herself able to
help others by staying on the radio in
Anchorage and keeping people informed and
helping point people in the direction of
helping one another. This is a great character
study of Genie Chance, of the can-do attitude
of newcomers in Anchorage, and the human
goodness of people who just step up to do
what needs to be done.
Shakespeare for
Squirrels
Moore, Christopher
8/19/20
Dream. The latest romp with Shakespeare
and Christopher Moore is a novel titled,
Shakespeare for Squirrels, the author’s
version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The
more you know Shakespeare, the funnier this
novel is, and the squirrels are the icing on
the cake. Characters from Moore’s earlier
Shakespearean ventures are reprised to the
satisfaction of readers of the previous two
novels in this set. If you liked Pocket in the
earlier novels, you’ll love him in this one as
he works his magic. Readers looking for a
relaxing diversion are those most likely to
enjoy this novel.
Five Days: The
Fiery Reckoning of
an American City
Moore, Wes
7/6/20
Changemakers. Robin Hood Foundation
CEO Wes Moore pulls readers of his book
titled, Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an
American City, into the long weekend of
Freddie Gray’s death in Baltimore in April
2015. We learn about the city of Baltimore,
the root sources of discontent that led to the
violence following Gray’s death, and the
hopeful signs of a better future. We are
introduced to changemakers who we’ll root
for and support as they try to make
Baltimore a better place. This is one more
book that helps privileged white men like me
understand better what Black Lives Matter is
about, to commit to supporting those trying
to effect lasting impact, and to change what I
can to make things better.
The Starless Sea
Morgenstern, Erin
1/2/20
Doors. With apologies (or thanks) to Dr.
Seuss, oh the places we’ll go and the things
we’ll see. That’s the welcome readers will
receive when opening the five hundred page
novel by Erin Morgenstern titled, The
Starless Sea. There are keys to be found as
shown on the book jacket and doors to be
opened. We are taken inside a secret world
and get to sail on a starless sea. We are on a
journey, and this imaginative book will give
interested readers a delightful magical tour.
Morgenstern’s descriptive prose brings this
world alive for us. Close readers will love the
symbolism and the beauty of the writing and
the references to other imaginative works of
fiction. I loved the adventure of the journey
and I admire the quality of the prose.
The Awkward
Black Man
Mosley, Walter
10/12/20
Portraits. I’ve read a lot of Walter Mosley’s
novels, and I consistently enjoy his fine
writing and the ways in which his characters
are complex, interesting, and exhibit human
behavior that’s always recognizable. In a
collection of seventeen short stories titled,
The Awkward Black Man, Mosley exhibits his
talent at character portraits with great skill
and efficiency. Within the constraints of the
short story structure, Mosley presents
vulnerability, struggles, awkwardness in the
world and relationships, and strength in
moving ahead. There are terrific characters
presented in these stories, and many readers
will see themselves and others presented
with insight and sensitivity by the fine
writing of this talented author.
Trouble Is What I
Do
Mosley, Walter
3/13/20
Catfish. The seventh novel in the Leonid
McGill series by Walter Mosley is titled,
Trouble Is What I Do. After a ninety-two-
year old man named Catfish comes to New
York from Mississippi with what seems like a
simple request, P.I. McGill agrees to help. No
good deed goes unpunished. What follows in
the story pulls together all the complexity of
this complicated protagonist. While packed
with lots of action, this short novel seemed to
end too quickly. Fans of crime fiction and
this series are those readers most likely to
enjoy this installment, and with me, look
forward to more pages in the next novel.
The Revisionaries
Moxon, A.R.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
How to Forget: A
Daughter’s Memoir
Mulgrew, Kate
4/16/20
Grief. As another child of an alcoholic
Catholic father, I felt an empathy with the
author as I read Kate Mulgrew’s memoir
titled, How to Forget: A Daughter’s Memoir.
I approached the book expecting less candor
than the talented actor delivers in this
emotional and vulnerable book. Written
from a place of grief following the death of
both parents, the book is packed with love
and caring as well as understanding while
still disclosing the suffering among so many
of the individuals described. There’s wit and
self-deprecation and the telling of interesting
family stories. Most of all, this is a tribute by
a daughter infused with love.
Please See Us
Mullen, Caitlin
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Earthlings
Murata, Sayaka
12/21/20
Outsider. Don’t let the cute cover image of
Sayaka Murata’s novel titled, Earthlings, lull
you. This is a dark story of a troubled woman
named Natsuki who feels like an alien within
her own family and society. When in Tokyo,
she is scolded by her mother, and abused by
a young teacher. She finds refuge during
Summer, which she spends on a Nagano
mountaintop at the home of her
grandparents. Her cousin Yuu and her plush
toy Piyyut claim to be from the planet
Popinpobopia and being on the mountain
may bring them closer to their real home.
Murata pulls readers into Natsuki’s troubled
and dark life as each succeeding episode
makes us understand her difficulties in new
and disturbing ways. This novel seems to
want to tell us about the troubles of
contemporary society and does so in ways
that will be haunting for many readers.
The Cactus League
Nemens, Emily
6/2/20
Ensemble. Whether you love baseball or
not, you’re likely to enjoy the interesting
ensemble of characters in Emily Nemens’
debut novel titled, The Cactus League.
Nemens gives us an overview of all kinds of
people drawn to spring training including an
aging batting coach and his wife, a star
player, a rookie player, an agent, and a
woman looking for a fling. The observations
about each character entertained me and
Nemens reveals human behavior in all its
quirky wonder.
Beheld
Nesbitt, TaraShea
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Knife
Nesbø, Jo
6/2/20
Twists. Jo Nesbø’s twelfth novel featuring
Harry Hole is titled, Knife. Crime fiction fans
will enjoy almost five hundred pages of plot
twists and Harry’s ups and downs. The only
woman Harry has ever loved, Rakel, has
been murdered with a knife, and Harry is a
suspect. His excessive drinking hurts him
again, as he can’t remember much about the
night Rakel died. Nesbø pulls readers into
the story, complicates matters superbly, and
leads us toward a surprising and satisfying
conclusion.
Greek to Me
Norris, Mary
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Keeper
Norton, Graham
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Dad’s Maybe Book
O’Brien, Tim
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Shadowplay
O’Connor, Joseph
7/23/20
Bram. Are you missing live theater during
the covid-19 pandemic? Spend a few hours
with Joseph O’Connor’s novel titled,
Shadowplay, and you’ll be in London’s West
End during the time of Jack the Ripper and
walking alongside Bram Stoker at work in
the theater. Sometimes we read fiction for a
glorious escape from contemporary life, and
O’Connor gives that to us in this finely
written novel. While this is a Dracula
backstory, it is also a story of passion and
ambition in a setting that will delight most
readers, but especially theatregoers who long
to return to those wonderful places. Night
becomes a time of danger and opportunity in
Victorian England, and Stoker is in the
middle of things that will spark the
imagination of readers of this entertaining
novel.
Hamnet
O’Farrell, Maggie
10/19/20
Stratford. Readers who enjoy historical
fiction are those most likely to enjoy Maggie
O’Farrell’s novel titled, Hamnet, based on
the lives of William Shakespeare and Anne
Hathaway in Stratford, England. The story
focuses on Agnes (Anne) and the love and
loss that define her life. O’Farrell’s prose
helps place us in the time and place and in
the context of the plague. With great skill,
O’Farrell draws us into a portrait of marriage
in the sixteenth century, and the ways in
which an artist acquires inspiration to
express in one’s work the most important
things in life.
The Switch
O’Leary, Beth
10/27/20
Exchange. While some readers may be
skeptical of the premise of Beth O’Leary’s
novel titled, The Switch, it won’t take long to
overcome that and luxuriate in the lives of
two women named Eileen Cotton. Younger
Eileen Cotton (Leena) works nonstop in
London as she grieves the death of her sister,
Carla, who died of cancer recently. Leena’s
grandmother, Eileen Cotton, the
grandmother, faces life changes at age 80,
sharing grief at Carla’s death, and adrift
following her husband’s departure for
another woman. After Leena’s boss demands
that she take a two month holiday from
work, grandmother and granddaughter
decide to switch places, with Leena leaving
her flat in London to live in her
grandmother’s rural home, and Eileen
looking for a chance to love again in the big
city. This is a heartwarming story that will
satisfy many readers and enliven any book
club’s discussion about life’s possibilities at
any age.
When Bishops
Meet: An Essay
Comparing Trent,
Vatican I, and
Vatican II
O’Malley, John W.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Hook
O’Mara, Tim
4/23/20
Rehab. The fifth novel by Tim O’Mara to
feature former cop Raymond Donne is titled,
The Hook. The dramatic action opens on the
roof of the school where Donne teaches, the
place where Maurice MoJo Joseph is shot to
death with an arrow. Mojo’s life seemed to be
turning around after a stint in rehab, but at
the time he died, heroin was in his system.
While Donne investigates, his girlfriend
Allisson writes stories about White
Nationalists, thanks to a runaway and insider
who has confided in her. The plot pulls
readers into the action quickly, and fans of
thrillers and this series are those most likely
to enjoy this novel.
Quotients
O’Neill, Tracy
8/19/20
Secrets. My best advice to readers of Tracy
O’Neill’s novel titled, Quotients, is to give
yourself over to whatever it is she is doing
and don’t worry too much about what’s going
on. Enjoy the precise sentences without
worrying too much about why this one
follows that one. By the end, you will have
watched a work of art being assembled and
can close the book with impressions about
contemporary life, about the power of
secrets, about love and family, and about
what it takes to make one’s way in this world.
At least that’s what I think I read about.
Inland
Obreht, Téa
7/23/20
Camel. I typically skip reading any books
set in the past in the American West because
the myths they present can be so predictable
and weary to plod through. So I stared at Téa
Obreht’s novel titled, Inland, for months
before I opened it. Fans of fine literary
fiction will enjoy her gorgeous prose, even
when ghosts are involved. Readers who enjoy
interesting and complex characters will
appreciate both Nora who struggles after her
husband left and Lurie who runs from his
past but is well known because of the camel
he rides. I never felt the plot was predictable,
and I never tired of her prose. Those of us
who travel with Obreht to Arizona in the
1890s are richly rewarded with fine writing
about interesting people in a well-described
place.
How to Do
Nothing: Resisting
the Attention
Economy
Odell, Jenny
3/13/20
Quality. Many of us spend much of our
daily time and mindful attention responding
to what others present to us for our
attention. In her book titled, How to Do
Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy,
Jenny Odell offers for readers’ consideration
a different way of engaging with the world.
She proposes resistance to addictive
technology and media and engaging with
people and places close to us. If your quality
of life involves a lot of time with devices,
consider ways of breaking your patterns and
pay attention to nature instead. I wonder
what Odell would think of how I absorbed
her book: walking outside and listening to
the audiobook.
Weather
Offill, Jenny
5/5/20
Fragments. In her short novel titled,
Weather, Jenny Offill spits out fragments of
the life of a librarian named Lizzie. As
readers flit from piece to piece, we laugh,
scratch our heads, and occasionally re-read a
sentence or two with great joy. Offill can
make climate change funny, and for that
reason alone, some readers are grateful for
her skills. No fragment lasts long, so like the
weather, it changes quickly whether you’re in
the sunshine or in a storm. Fans of
contemporary literary fiction are those
readers most likely to enjoy this novel.
The Memory Police
Ogawa, Yoko
2/7/20
Disappearance. Have you ever gone by a
vacant lot and found yourself at a loss when
you try to remember what had been on the
site? Yoko Ogawa’s novel titled, The Memory
Police, is set on an island where a powerful
surveillance state causes items to disappear
and for the memory of those items to be
unlawful. People also disappear, especially
those who have the ability to recall the
disappeared items. After a struggling writer
hides her editor from the police, fear and loss
increase dramatically. The premise is
frightening, the prose elegant, and the novel
disturbing in all the right ways.
The Sacrament
Olafsson, Olaf
1/24/20
Memory. What triggers our recollection of
memories? In Olaf Olafsson’s novel titled,
The Sacrament, the trigger for protagonist
Sister Johanna, a French nun, is her return
to Iceland. Two decades after her first
investigation into allegations of clerical
sexual abuse, a Vatican official from her past
asks her to go to Iceland to investigate
another allegation. With finely written prose,
and insight into human nature, Olafsson
draws readers into an examination of
memory and secrets. The author sneaks us
around the edges of Sister Johanna’s
recollections as we learn all that he wants us
to observe. Johanna shows readers how nuns
inside the institutional Catholic church can
be powerless in some respects and vital in
others. While there is an examination of
suffering in this novel, there’s also deep
insight into the nature of love.
Bakhita: A Novel of
the Saint of Sudan
Olmi, Veronique
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Precipice:
Existential Risk
and the Future of
Humanity
Ord, Toby
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Maggie Brown &
Others
Orner, Peter
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Joe Biden: The
Life, the Run, and
What Matters Now
Osnos, Evan
11/24/20
Resolute. Whatever you think you know
about President-elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
you’re likely to learn something new if you
read Evan Osnos’ brief book titled, Joe
Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters
Now. I always look for Evan Osnos’ writing
in The New Yorker, and in this book, he
draws on extensive interviews with Biden
and many others. While I found ample
examples of Biden’s leadership, strategy,
empathy and morality throughout this book,
I finished reading it with a deeper
understanding of how resolute this man is,
and in what good hands the United States
Presidency will be in during his tenure.
The Factory
Oyamada, Hiroko
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Invention of
Sound
Palahniuk, Chuck
11/24/20
Foley. A few decades ago, in a ploy to get my
sons to sit tight as a movie ended to let the
crowd clear, I would encourage them to look
at the credits and find the names of the Foley
artists. We began to recognize some of these
artists, and we all came to know what the
role of the Foley artist entails. While it was a
delight, then, to see Foley artists in the book
by Chuck Palaniuk titled, The Invention of
Sound, the context involved screams, horror
and the usual nausea inducing sensibility
that Palaniuk brings to his art. If you are a
fan of Palaniuk’s work, and have a strong
stomach, you will find in this book a
thoughtful exploration of suffering and the
power of art.
Hard Cash Valley
Panowich, Brian
8/25/20
Loss. Brian Panowich returns to Bull
Mountain and McFalls County for the third
time in a novel titled, Hard Cash Valley.
Squeamish readers should be cautious when
approaching this thriller, since the violence
includes both murder and torture.
Protagonist Dane Kirby has suffered a lot of
loss during his life in McFalls County. His
boss has assigned him to work with the FBI
on a brutal murder in another state, but the
trail leads him back home to a world of
chickens bred for fighting, criminal treachery
and the hunt for a boy on the autism
spectrum. The pace of the novel is rapid, and
Panowich builds heavy layers of complexity
onto each main character to intensify the
stakes and accelerate the action. Fans of
crime fiction with a stomach for gore are
those readers most likely to enjoy this novel.
Through all the loss, there is also love, and
that helps point Kirby and other characters
in the direction of redemption and recovery.
Meanwhile, the bad guys face justice to the
satisfaction of readers who have put up with
a lot from these criminals.
Like Lions
Panowich, Brian
2/7/20
Women. The violence on Bull Mountain
from Brian Panowich’s debut novel of that
name returns with revenge in his novel
titled, Like Lions. Sheriff Clayton Burroughs
finds himself in pain and withdrawing from
life with his wife, Kate, and their child. The
legacy of crime in his family and in this
location weighs heavily. Because Clayton’s
brother is dead, there’s a void in the criminal
playing field, and those trying to fill the void
provide the plot momentum for this novel.
The novel is a story of revenge and
retribution. Three women are the stars of
this book: Kate, a character named Vanessa,
and the ailing widow of the head of another
crime family. Readers who enjoy crime
fiction are those most likely to enjoy this
novel.
Dead Land
Paretsky, Sara
8/5/20
Power. The twentieth installment in the V.I.
Warshawski series by Sara Paretsky is a
novel titled, Dead Land. There’s a secret
power play to develop the lakefront on
Chicago’s South Side, and Vic’s goddaughter
Bernie pulls her into the middle of the
action. The familiar cast of characters
enhance the novel for longtime fans, and
links to Kansas and South America broaden
the story beyond Chicago. When bodies start
to pile up, Vic’s sense of urgency accelerates,
especially when she herself becomes a target.
I enjoyed every minute spent reading this
entertaining novel and appreciated the
continuing development of this familiar cast
of characters alongside their engagement
with new people.
Kingdom of
Nauvoo: The Rise
and Fall of a
Religious Empire
on the American
Frontier
Park, Benjamin E.
5/26/20
Rejection. Historian Benjamin E. Park uses
newly released archival information from
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints to offer readers a concise view of the
violent struggles on the American frontier in
the 19
th
century in his book titled, Kingdom
of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious
Empire on the American Frontier. Park
offers readers a serious look at the early
years of the Mormons, and places them in
the context of that time. For a brief period,
they found acceptance and refuge in Illinois
where they built a large utopian city,
Nauvoo. Park describes the variety of forces
that led to the abandonment of the city of
Nauvoo and the rejection of the Mormons
living in Illinois, forcing them to head West.
Readers who enjoy history are those most
likely to enjoy this book that blends well a
national story with the growing power and
popularity of a religion.
Humble Pi: When
Math Goes Wrong
in the Real World
Parker, Matt
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Eighth
Detective
Pavesi, Alex
10/12/20
Puzzles. Fans of mysteries are those readers
who will love Alex Pavesi’s novel titled, The
Eighth Detective. The setup is that a
mathematician has determined that there are
seven ways that a mystery can work, and he
wrote seven stories to prove his thesis. An
editor visits him on a remote island, and she
plays our role: reading the stories to solve
the puzzles. She provides an exciting twist to
it all, showing inconsistencies and providing
a puzzle of her own to delight readers.
All the Devils Are
Here
Penny, Louise
9/19/20
Paris. For the sixteenth installment in
Louise Penny’s series featuring Quebec’s
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, the action
moves from Canada to Paris, where Armand
and his wife, Raine-Marie, have gone to
await the birth of a new grandchild. In the
novel titled, All the Devils Are Here, Armand
is called on to use all his skills to solve a case
with great personal impact. While many
readers will miss the familiar setting of Three
Pines in this installment, the action is
delightfully complex, the twists surprising,
and the resolution satisfying. Penny allows
parallel development of the relationship
between Armand and his son, Daniel;
Armand and his godfather; and as always,
the relationship between Armand and his
son-in-law, Jean-Guy. Fans of this series will
love the latest installment, and new readers
who enjoy character-driven crime fiction
that’s well-written can start here or with any
other Gamache novel in this series.
Invisible Women:
Data Bias in a
World Designed for
Men
Perez, Caroline Criado
2/21/20
Default. Many readers will be outraged
after reading Caroline Criado Perez’ book
titled, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a
World Designed for Men. Women die
because in multiple ways men are used as the
default for data analysis and women are
ignored. Drugs are tested on men, even
drugs intended for women alone. Crash tests
use dummies based on men not women.
Perez offers loads of evidence and multiple
examples of many of the ways in which
women are invisible and the consequence is
dire. Women already know much of what’s in
this book because of a lifetime of working
around a world designed with men as the
default. Men should read this book and join
the outrage. Then, do something to make
this nonsense stop.
Nothing Is Wrong
and Here is Why
Petri, Alexandra
9/8/20
Poignant. The voice of Alexandra Petri as a
political satirist finds that sweet spot for me:
crisp, funny and poignant. In her collection
of essays titled, Nothing Is Wrong and Here
is Why, the range of her skills can be
observed in their fullness. Some of the essays
are new, and many are adapted from her
column in The Washington Post. Whenever
something comes out of the White House
that can send me into a rage, I know I can
count on Petri’s next column to express a
reaction far better than my feeble responses.
Our finest writers, like Petri, find ways to
help thoughtful people make sense out of the
garbled nonsense what we often see and
hear. This essay collection provides an
abundance of that good sense.
Un-Trumping
America: A Plan to
Make America a
Democracy Again
Pfeiffer, Dan
9/22/20
Playbook. I listen to the Pod Save America
podcast, so I was part of the target audience
ready to read co-host Dan Pfeiffer’s playbook
for 2020, a book titled, Un-Trumping
America: A Plan to Make America a
Democracy Again. Trump supporters should
read this book to reflect on what to expect
from the Democrats. Democrats should take
some of the actions that Pfeiffer proposes in
this novel. Any reader interested in public
policy should listen to some of the bold and
aggressive proposals made in this book.
The Great
Reversal: How
America Gave Up
on Free Markets
Philippon, Thomas
3/6/20
Concentration. If you think that the
United States continues to be an exemplar of
a free market economy, you may change your
mind after reading Thomas Philippon’s book
titled, The Great Reversal: How America
Gave Up on Free Markets. Philippon makes
the case that American consumers suffer the
ill effects of corporate concentration and
corporate lobbying that has given large
companies pricing power and market
dominance. The past three decades have
altered the landscape of free markets in
dramatic ways. Philippon explains how.
The King at the
Edge of the World
Phillips, Arthur
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Capital and
Ideology
Piketty, Thomas
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Last Thing You
Surrender: A Novel
of World War II
Pitts, Leonard
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Citizens Guide to
Beating Donald
Trump
Plouffe, David
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
These Women
Pochoda, Ivy
7/6/20
Voices. Amid the chaos involved with the
terror of a serial killer, we hear the voices of
a cast of women who know what must be
learned, if only someone will listen to them.
In her novel titled, These Women, Ivy
Pochoda gives five key women clear voices,
and adds to the murder mystery tension by
having the murderer be the one individual
paying attention to the women. The Los
Angeles backdrop for this story becomes
vivid, and readers will become invested in
each of the women that Pochoda presents.
Poilâne: The
Secrets of the
World-Famous
Bread Bakery
Poilâne, Apollonia
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Notre-Dame: The
Soul of France
Poirier, Agnès
9/22/20
Context. If France is such a secular country,
and few people there attend religious
services, why has there been such an
outpouring of support to restore the
Cathedral of Notre-Dame after the fire in
2019? In her book titled, Notre-Dame: The
Soul of France, Agnès Poirier explains all the
ways in which Notre-Dame has been the soul
of France for eight hundred years. Readers
will be gripped by her account of the fire and
the actions by many to save as much of the
structure and contents as possible. After that
opening section, Poirier places the
contemporary building in context by framing
key events in the history of France relating to
the building that is a church and much more.
She explores Henry IV’s conversion to
Catholicism, how Napoleon crowned himself
emperor there while the Pope was present,
how Victor Hugo’s writing and its
adaptations made the building beloved to
many, and how Charles de Gaulle used the
building to unite the country after the war,
and how his state funeral was held at Notre-
Dame. In these episodes and more, Poirier
shows how important Notre-Dame has been
to the citizens of France. I laughed at one
anecdote: in the Revolution mobs did
damage to Notre-Dame as a response to the
power of the Catholic Church. While much
harm was done to the building, the organist
played the Marseillaise loudly as a crowd
approached. That kept the mob somewhat at
bay and saved the structure from even
greater pillage.
The Authenticity
Project
Pooley, Clare
7/15/20
Revelations. We present a façade to the
world and the “truth” we tell even ourselves
may not get to the root of who we are. In her
novel titled, The Authenticity Project, Clare
Pooley uses a clever conceit to lead
characters to reveal their true selves: a plain
journal in which individuals have disclosed
themselves and left the journal for others to
find. What follows is part romantic comedy
and part deep insight into the nature of our
human connections. If reading this book
doesn’t uplift you, I don’t know what to
suggest, except perhaps reading another
novel by the prolific Alexander McCall
Smith.
Topics of
Conversation
Popkey, Miranda
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Education of
an Idealist
Power, Samantha
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
River of Fire: My
Spiritual Journey
Prejean, Sister Helen
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Secrets We
Kept
Prescott, Lara
2/21/20
Pasternak. Take the vodka bottle out of the
freezer, and pour yourself a healthy drink as
you settle down to read Lara Prescott’s debut
novel titled, The Secrets We Kept. She gives
us Boris Pasternak living under Soviet
oppression, and unsure that he will ever see
the publication of Dr. Zhivago. We see his
complicated life with both wife and mistress.
Prescott also describes the situation of
women in the CIA during the cold war, when
their roles as secretaries exposed them to
secrets of all sorts, and some of them were
able to pursue spy craft. We see the effort to
use Dr. Zhivago as a way to turn Soviet
citizens against communism. Thanks to
Prescott’s fine prose and effective character
development, we are pulled into places and
times that merge the historical and fictional
with skill. As I raised my glass of vodka upon
finishing the novel, I toasted Pasternak:
“Vechnaya pamyat” (let him be remembered
forever). Na zdorovye.
Eight Days at
Yalta: How
Churchill,
Roosevelt, and
Stalin Shaped the
Post-War World
Preston, Diana
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Crisis in the Red
Zone: The Story of
the Deadliest Ebola
Outbreak in
History, and of the
Outbreaks to Come
Preston, Richard
6/2/20
Mutations. For a real change of virus from
Covid-19 to Ebola, I decided to read Richard
Preston’s book titled, Crisis in the Red Zone:
The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in
History, and of the Outbreaks to Come. The
book reads like a thriller, packed with an
interesting cast of characters. In addition to
the focus on the 2013-2014 Ebola pandemic,
he brings readers back to earlier Ebola
outbreaks in Africa. Readers become caught
up with the stories of the victims of the virus,
the caregivers and the scientists. There’s a
heightened sensitivity to the issues Preston
raises in this book especially about
mutations, the uncertainty of treatments and
vulnerability during the Covid-19 pandemic.
I’m still thinking about the difficult choices
about limited resources, drugs and making
decisions about who receives treatment.
The Nobody People
Proehl, Bob
1/2/20
Different. Fans of science fiction and
dystopian novels are those readers most
likely to enjoy Bob Proehl’s novel titled, The
Nobody People. Proehl introduces us to
individuals called Resonants who have a
wide range of special abilities. The five
hundred pages of this novel describe the
ways in which the Resonants interact with
the larger population. The novel explores
how we treat those who are perceived as
different, and how good and evil co-exist,
sometimes in the same individual. This is a
story of love, community and hope alongside
fear, hatred and violence. The five hundred
pages required patience at times, and
resolution of the story will have to wait until
the next novel which is to be released in Fall
2020.
The Book of Dust:
The Secret
Commonwealth
Pullman, Philip
7/15/20
Journey. The second installment of Philip
Pullman’s Book of Dust trilogy is a novel
titled, The Book of Dust: The Secret
Commonwealth. Don’t even think about
reading this without having read the earlier
novel. For returning fans, Lyra and Malcolm
are back, and over the course of 650 pages,
they are on a journey. As with most middle
novels of a trilogy, there’s lots of exposition
and little resolution in this installment.
We’re left with a cliffhanger and an unknown
publication date for the finale. Some
journeys take longer than others, so we wait.
Maybe George R.R. Martin will fill our time
with something new.
The Missing
American
Quartey, Kwei
8/5/20
Emma. Kwei Quartey has started a new
crime fiction series featuring a young private
detective in Accra, Ghana named Emma
Djan. In this first novel titled, The Missing
American, Emma finds herself sacked by the
police department after she refused sexual
advances from a senior officer and is then
hired by a private investigator who values
her detecting skills. Her first case involves, as
the title indicates, a missing person. Quartey
pulls readers into the world of successful
internet scams as well as political corruption.
Most readers will enjoy how all the threads
of the plot come together and how easy it is
to spend time with Emma and to enjoy the
ways in which she gets the job done and
achieves satisfaction.
Hour of the
Assassin
Quirk, Matthew
8/19/20
Scapegoat. Be careful about what you eat
and drink before and while reading Matthew
Quirk’s novel titled, Hour of the Assassin.
The violence and blood in the narrative can
be off-putting, especially for delicate
stomachs. Within the first few pages of the
novel protagonist and former Secret Service
agent Nick Averose realizes that he has been
set up as the scapegoat for a murder he
didn’t commit. Quirk keeps the action
moving quickly as Nick uses all his skills to
find out what’s going on and come out of his
predicament alive. Fans of crime thrillers are
those most likely to enjoy this novel.
Follow Me to
Ground
Rainsford, Sue
2/14/20
Cures. Will the Earth heal us? In her debut
novel titled, Follow Me to Ground, Sue
Rainsford creates a setting where short or
long periods buried in the ground cure
people. Protagonist Ada and her father
provide healing to the people who come to
them, who they call “Cures.” Ada lives with
her father at the outer edge of a village, and
they are neither inside nor outside the
community. The sick are pleased to be
healed. Ada is caught between working with
her father and finding love with a man. What
does it mean to be a woman? Is burying in
the ground a prelude to resurrection? Fans of
literary fiction are those readers most likely
to enjoy this unusual novel.
Westwind
Rankin, Ian
2/14/20
Prescient. Ian Rankin wrote the novel,
Westwind, in 1990, but it was first published
in the United States in 2020. This is a
thrilling story of alliances and betrayal that
stands up well thirty years later, and in many
ways was prescient about today’s world.
While this novel is nothing like the author’s
Rebus series, the plot is entertaining, the
characters interesting and the story
plausible.
The Ideas That
Made America: A
Brief History
Ratner-Rosenhagan,
Jennifer
3/26/20
Survey. In her book titled, The Ideas That
Made America: A Brief History, Jennifer
Ratner-Rosenhagan offers a brisk survey of
key thinkers and ideas from the
Enlightenment to today, and how those ideas
have helped shape the United States of
America. After I finished reading the book, I
was mildly satisfied. I didn’t necessarily
learn anything new. I felt I was exposed to
one person’s assessment of some influential
ideas and placed them in context with
evolving life in America and with each other
idea. If a reader knows a lot about any of the
ideas she surveys in this book, that section
may seem too light. I think the purpose of
the book was to give an overview, and let
readers decide where they would to do more
reading. I realized it’s time for me to revisit
some of the transcendentalists. Read a
sample and decide where your thinking
about thinking needs to go next.
The First Cell: And
the Human Costs
of Pursuing Cancer
to the Last
Raza, Azra
1/10/20
Blunt. Experienced oncologist Azra Raza
offers in her book titled, The First Cell: And
the Human Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the
Last, an informed and personal assessment
of the state of cancer treatment. Her blunt
conclusion is that we need to do a reset. We
are wasting resources. Our cancer treatments
come too late and do a lot of harm to healthy
cells. We should refocus on early detection
and prevention. Widespread and targeted
late stage treatment has costs that she
describes through cases presented in this
book, including her husband’s leukemia.
When I finished this book, I had the sense
that this doctor knows her stuff, and that the
President of the United States should
appoint Raza to direct the allocation of
cancer research funds from the government.
When My Time
Comes:
Conversations
About Whether
Those Who Are
Dying Should Have
the Right to
Determine When
Life Should End
Rehm, Diane
11/17/20
Preparation. End of life care in the United
States takes many different forms based on
where one lives. In her book titled, When My
Time Comes: Conversations About Whether
Those Who Are Dying Should Have the Right
to Determine When Life Should End, Diane
Rehm interviews lots of people about the
issue and presents support for her position,
medical help in dying, while allowing space
for those who have other views. We do all
kinds of preparation in our lives, and end of
life planning is just one more consideration
for each of us to make. Any reader interested
in gathering information on this topic can
find a strong case for the author’s viewpoint
as well as a wide enough range of
alternatives to assist in making personal
decisions or advocate changes in laws.
Late Migrations: A
Natural History of
Love and Loss
Renkl, Margaret
3/6/20
Observations. I guarantee that after you
read Margaret Renkl’s book titled, Late
Migrations: A Natural History of Love and
Loss, you will notice more as you meander
through the world. If at the least, you look up
from a screen and into the great outdoors,
you will observe something beautiful. As we
read the ways in which she explores her own
grief, using finely crafted prose, we can
reflect about our own losses with new
insight. I may never again consider
something in nature common or ordinary. I
endeavor to notice more and recognize with
clarity my place in the world for however
long it lasts.
Blood Echo
Rice, Christopher
6/10/20
Pacing. The second novel in Christopher
Rice’s Burning Girl series is titled, Blood
Echo. If you’ve not read the first novel, go
ahead and start there. In this book, Burning
Girl Charlotte Rowe is back with her
superpower and on a mission that brings
trouble to her hometown. Rice starts this
novel with a rapidly paced plot and
maintains momentum that will keep readers
turning the pages for longer than one
planned. Just when we’re invested in one
plot line, things turn and get very interesting.
Fans of fast-paced thrillers and this series
are those most likely to enjoy this
installment and look forward to the next.
Tough Love: My
Story of the Things
Worth Fighting For
Rice, Susan
3/13/20
Optimistic. Some memoirs come across as
inauthentic and lacking candor, especially
when struggles are skipped over in favor of
successes. In her memoir titled, Tough Love:
My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For,
Susan Rice comes across as candid and
complete: the good, the bad and the ugly are
all presented for our consideration. The
result is a book that lays out the high
expectations she faced as she grew up, family
troubles, and a smart and thoughtful career
of service to the United States. Her life has
been one rooted in optimism, and that spirit
remains through the end of this memoir as
she shares the lessons of her life with
readers.
Jack
Robinson, Marilynne
12/17/20
Prodigal. For the fourth time, Marilynne
Robinson takes readers to the fictional town
of Gilead, Ohio to tell us things about
ourselves that we need to know. The novel
titled, Jack, features John Ames Boughton,
the wayward son of the Presbyterian
minister in earlier novels. The long opening
of the novel is a spellbinding conversation
conducted overnight in a cemetery between
Jack and a Black woman named Della Miles,
a local high school teacher. Their love
blooms quickly, despite their inability to
marry at that time. The conversation in the
cemetery is a masterpiece of carefully
constructed sentences that engage the two
characters and all readers in a deep dialogue
about life. The first three novels in this series
brought us to this cemetery and to the
challenges that Jack and Della have to face in
the world, despite their abiding love for each
other. Robinson compels us to feel with them
as they turn away from the world toward
each other and into what is most important.
Mobituaries: Great
Lives Worth
Reliving
Rocca, Mo
3/26/20
Eclectic. Personally, I can’t get enough of
Mo Rocca’s eclectic and humorous stories. In
a collection titled, Mobituaries: Great Lives
Worth Reliving, he tells readers about the
lives of people, some of whom we know well,
and others we’re glad to know thanks to his
storytelling. This is a fun book to read and is
often at its best when you feel the quirky
nature of Rocca’s observations and insights.
Read one or two of these, and I expect you’ll
want to read them all. I was well-entertained.
Why Cities Lose:
The Deep Roots of
the Urban-Rural
Political Divide
Rodden, Jonathan A.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Cher Ami and
Major Whittlesey
Rooney, Kathleen
9/8/20
Pluck. I didn’t expect that I would have the
patience to allow much time for a pigeon
narrator to keep my attention while reading
Kathleen Rooney’s novel titled, Cher Ami
and Major Whittlesey. Thanks to Rooney’s
fine writing, I easily warmed to the voice of a
homing pigeon and anticipated the return to
that voice after Major Whittlesey provided
his point of view as the alternating narrator.
The pair were joined together in World War I
when the pigeon Cher Ami flew through
enemy lines to deliver a message that the
major and his battalion were cut off from the
rest of the army and were the objects of
friendly fire. Rooney took this historical
event and brought it to life through
imagining those times from two very
different perspectives. She explores the
wounds to both narrators and the deep cost
of war.
The Jerusalem
Assassin
Rosenberg, Joel C.
6/24/20
Tense. The third novel by Joel C. Rosenberg
to feature former U.S. Secret Service agent
Marcus Ryker is titled, The Jerusalem
Assassin. Unknown terrorists are meeting
with success in targeting key players, so
when President Clarke announces a new
Mideast peace plan and wants to go to
Jerusalem, Ryker is engaged to try to keep
the President and others safe. The tension
remains taut throughout this thriller, and the
terrorists are worthy adversaries, usually
keeping a step ahead of Ryker and others. As
always, a reader feels the plot comes straight
from recent headlines, and Rosenberg
situates the issues among different countries
in the region with great skill. Now that my
heart rate has come back down, I can say I
was thoroughly entertained by this novel.
The Story I Am:
Mad About the
Writing Life
Rosenblatt, Roger
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
My Wife Said You
May Want to
Marry Me
Rosenthal, Jason B.
5/26/20
More. Have tissues or a handkerchief
nearby as you read Jason B. Rosenthal’s
book titled, My Wife Said You May Want to
Marry Me. Two weeks before she died of
ovarian cancer, Jason’s wife, Amy Krause
Rosenthal, wrote an op-ed piece for the
Modern Love column in The New York
Times titled, “You May Want to Marry My
Husband.” This book is the story of Amy’s
vibrant life, their marriage and family life,
and the ways in which she made our world
better through everything she did. Amy’s
first word was “more.” Jason tells this story
with grace and skill, pulling all readers into
leading a meaningful life.
Chosen Ones
Roth, Veronica
6/24/20
Dark. Fans of thrilling and twisting stories
are those readers most likely to enjoy
Veronica Roth’s novel titled, Chosen Ones.
Set in a slightly altered Chicago with a
parallel darker Chicago attached, this
imaginative novel keeps a fast-paced plot
moving along while we get to enjoy the
development of interesting and complex,
nuanced characters. Protagonist Sloane
heads toward a nemesis, the Dark One, and
feels the heavy weight of responsibility to
prevent chaos.
The American
Story:
Conversations with
Master Historians
Rubenstein, David
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Very Stable
Genius: Donald J.
Trump's Testing of
America
Rucker, Philip and
Carol D. Leonnig
5/5/20
Chaos. Since I read Philip Rucker and Carol
D. Leonnig’s book titled, A Very Stable
Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of
America, during the April 2020 coronavirus
White House briefings, the context for their
book became for me “the good old days.” The
authors are journalists at The Washington
Post, so some readers will dismiss them as
fake news and consider their book fiction or
certainly biased. Other readers will find
detailed reporting of the chaos during the
first few years of the Trump administration.
The authors clearly sourced material from
people who were “in the room” and present
readers with lots of material about the
president and those around him. Many
potential readers are weary of the chaos, but
those interested in public affairs will find this
book to be one of the best to report this
ongoing story.
Orange World and
Other Stories
Russell, Karen
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Chances Are
Russo, Richard
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Last Day
Ruta, Domenica
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Everything in its
Place
Sacks, Oliver
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Empty Bed
Sadowsky, Nina
7/15/20
Twists. The twisting and thrilling action in
Nina Sadowsky’s novel titled, The Empty
Bed, starts on the first few pages and never
lets up. We meet Eva and Peter in Hong
Kong where they have come from London to
celebrate their wedding anniversary. When
Peter wakes up the morning after their
arrival, Eva is missing. As we learn more, we
begin to wonder about both Peter and Eva.
Peter asks his London boss, Forrest “Holly”
Holcomb, for help finding Eva, so Holly calls
his former lover, Catherine, who runs the
Burial Society, a group that hides people
from evildoers. Catherine dispatches two
agents to Hong Kong while she heads to
Mexico City to protect others. Sadowsky
keeps weaving a web of intrigue, tosses a few
red herrings, and keeps us wanting to find
out more. Fans of suspense thrillers are
those most likely to enjoy this novel and the
others in the Burial Society series.
Home Before Dark
Sager, Riley
8/19/20
Baneberry. I find that a creepy novel with
strange happenings in an old house provides
just the right dose of chills to break the heat
of summer. In Riley Sager’s novel titled,
Home Before Dark, the house is Baneberry
Hall, and stuff that happened there in the
past and present can give slowly paced chills
to readers. Protagonist Maggie Holt lived in
the house briefly when she was a child. After
her father’s death twenty-five years later, she
inherits Baneberry Hall which she didn’t
know her father still owned. He profited
from a book about their brief time in the
house, and that story within a story breaks
the pace of this novel by alternating the past
and present events in the house. There are
just enough twists to satisfy most readers,
and for those of us who live in old houses, we
might do one more check tonight before
heading to bed.
The Method to the
Madness: Donald
Trump's Ascent as
Told by Those Who
Were Hired, Fired,
Inspired--and
Inaugurated
Salkin, Allen
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Sarah Jane
Sallis, James
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Memory
Monster
Sarid, Yishai
12/21/20
Holocaust. In his novel titled, The Memory
Monster, Yishai Sarid presents the report of
an unnamed narrator to the head of Yad
Vashem describing his life as a historian and
his immersion into every detail of the
Holocaust. We read about what the historian
learned about extermination methods and
processes at the death camps, and how he
presented what he learned to groups visiting
the sites of the Holocaust. As we turn the
pages, we feel the building presence of hate,
and how obsession changes over time. We
see the combination of hate and power and
the ease with which a path to murder can
occur. The power of the past dominates the
present for this historian, and we observe
how the force of memory can overpower
one’s will.
Unworthy
Republic: The
Dispossession of
Native Americans
and the Road to
Indian Territory
Saunt, Claudio
5/15/20
Expulsion. Fans of well-written history for
general readers will appreciate the book by
Claudio Saunt titled, Unworthy Republic:
The Dispossession of Native Americans and
the Road to Indian Territory. This University
of Georgia teacher delivers a sober
presentation of the expulsion of Native
Americans from their homes and land. Saunt
examines the rationale used to justify the
displacement of people and documents the
violence and cruelty as the policies were
carried out. As contemporary readers, we
discover some of the foundations of white
supremacy in the United States, and the
ways in which greed and incompetence can
lead to disastrous results.
Say Say Say
Savage, Lila
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Saint X
Schaitkin, Alexis
5/26/20
Repercussions. One key event has
repercussions in the many lives presented by
Alexis Schaitkin in her debut novel titled,
Saint X. At the end of the Thomas family’s
vacation on a Caribbean island, eighteen-
year-old Alison disappears and is found
dead, changing forever the lives of her
parents and her seven-year-old sister, Claire.
Schaitkin carries readers along with a plot
and multiple narrators weaving forward and
backward in time as we learn what happened
from various points of view. Claire is the
novel’s protagonist, and her life has become
consumed with learning what really
happened to Alison and what her big sister
was really like. Beneath the plot level,
Schaitkin delves into issues of white
privilege, racism and class differences.
Through the impact of Alison in life and
death on a number of minor characters, we
see the repercussions of one person’s life on
many others. The examination of multiple
lives takes patience, but close readers will
emerge from this novel with a heightened
sense of the impact of any single event on
multiple lives, for better or for worse, but
certainly forever.
The Grammarians
Schine, Cathleen
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Velvet Rope
Economy: How
Inequality Became
Big Business
Schwartz, Nelson D.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
What It Takes:
Lessons in the
Pursuit of
Excellence
Schwartzman,
Stephen A.
1/10/20
Discipline. In his book titled, What It
Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence,
Blackstone chairman, CEO and co-founder
Stephen Schwartzman shares the lessons
he’s learned throughout his life. He describes
his dreams and explains the discipline he
exercised as he made those dream happen.
His success in business has been
extraordinary and his impact in philanthropy
is huge and just beginning. No matter who
you are or what you do, there’s something
Schwartzman has to say in this book that will
apply to you and will resonate.
The Volunteer
Scibona, Salvatore
1/10/20
Abandoned. After most readers absorb the
first dozen pages or so of Salvatore Scibona’s
novel titled, The Volunteer, we are hooked.
After I was clobbered by the reality of a
father abandoning his son at an airport, I
wanted to know what this was all about.
After many more pages, across multiple
generations in many different places, I began
to get comfortable with the ways a life can go
wrong and how we can abandon others and
they can abandon us. The prose is finely
written, and fans of literary fiction will find
much to like in this novel.
The Seine
Sciolino, Elaine
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Best of Me
Sedaris, David
11/24/20
Curated. Whenever I read David Sedaris, I
find that I laugh and then I think. In his book
titled, The Best of Me, readers get a curated
collection of what Sedaris considers his best
work from the past three decades. Whether
you’ve read some of these stories and essays
before, or if they are new, you’re likely to find
yourself laughing. While a unique voice,
Sedaris also presents reflections that reveal
our common humanity and the ways in
which we live together, warts and all. Many
readers will finish this collection with eyes
open a little wider to the world around us,
and to the members of our families.
The Revisioners
Sexton, Margaret
Wilkerson
10/12/20
Heritage. We stand on the shoulders of the
ancestors who came before us, many of
whom we have never met, and whose stories
we don’t know. Three strong black women
are connected in Margaret Wilkerson
Sexton’s novel titled, The Revisioners. The
first-person voices alternate from 2017 (Ava)
to 1924 (Josephine) to 1855 (Josephine as a
child) and back again. The characters during
all the time periods face danger, react
quickly, and plan for a better future. Sexton
lets these women talk, and our job as readers
is to listen to these mothers and understand
heritage and act today based on what we
learn from their strength and perseverance.
10 Minutes 38
Seconds in This
Strange World
Shafak, Elif
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
This Brilliant
Darkness: A Book
of Strangers
Sharlet, Jeff
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Narrative
Economics: How
Stories Go Viral
and Drive Major
Economic Events
Shiller, Robert J.
8/25/20
Contagion. The novel coronavirus has
gotten many of us to think about the concept
of herd immunity. In his book titled,
Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral
and Drive Major Economic Events, Nobel
Prize winning economist Robert J. Shiller
offers an adjacent theory: that the spread of
stories has a powerful role in economic
behavior. I know a CEO who will often frame
a decision-making conversation in terms of
what one would have to believe for the
outcome to be probable. The beliefs of the
herd can spread, and like lemmings, we can
follow others into economic behavior that
builds momentum from beliefs that are not
necessarily supported by data. Shiller’s
writing for general audiences is always clear
and cogent. Readers interested in business,
finance and economics will find something to
think about after reading this book.
Great Society: A
New History
Shlaes, Amity
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Motion of the
Body Through
Space
Shriver, Lionel
6/24/20
Vulnerability. Lionel Shriver skewers the
cult of fitness in her novel titled, The Motion
of the Body Through Space, while she places
the topics of marriage and aging under her
perceptive microscope. Sixty-year-old
Serenata has exercised daily for decades and
has been procrastinating scheduling knee
surgery. Her husband, Remington, has led a
sedentary life, but when he finds himself in
early involuntary retirement, he decides to
run a marathon. When a personal trainer
spots hapless Remington, she sees a
goldmine for her business. If she can get him
to finish MettleMan, a hyper-triathlon, she’ll
get all the clients she can handle. Shriver
captures with precision and grace the
vulnerabilities we face as we age, and the
peaks and valleys in long term marital
relationships. Readers who enjoy finely
written prose, whether fitness buffs or couch
potatoes, are those most likely to appreciate
this novel.
It Shouldn’t Be
This Hard to Serve
Your Country: Our
Broken
Government and
the Plight of
Veterans
Shulkin, David
2/14/20
Politicals. Dr. David Shulkin has first-hand
experience of the exercise of political power,
and that’s what he writes about in his book
titled, It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Serve
Your Country: Our Broken Government and
the Plight of Veterans. After success as a
physician and in health administration roles,
Shulkin joined the Obama Administration in
2015 as Under Secretary for Health in the
Department of Veterans Affairs. His focus
was on veterans and he is proud of his
accomplishments. President Trump asked
Shulkin to stay on in government to become
Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Before long,
Shulkin experienced the vise of political
power squeeze him. A Florida pal of the
president’s became a regular point of
contact, and a group of “politicals” ran a
parallel policy operation within the VA with
their focus on privatization. The title
describes the tone of the book, and veterans
will read this and understand the threats
they face from the exercise of raw political
power at the VA.
The Order
Silva, Daniel
8/25/20
Conspiracy. For the twentieth installment
of his Gabriel Allon series, Daniel Silva sends
the Israeli spy back to a place where Gabriel
made close friends in high places in the past,
Vatican City. In the novel titled, The Order,
Gabriel is asked by the late pope’s private
secretary to come to Rome to investigate a
conspiracy involving the Holy See. A group
called the Order of St. Helena with much
support from the European right may be
engaged in a conspiracy to rig the election of
the next pope. Fans of this series are those
readers most likely to enjoy this latest
installment featuring a complex and
interesting protagonist who always seems to
choose whatever it takes to do the right
thing.
Crime in Progress:
Inside the Steele
Dossier and the
Fusion GPS
Investigation of
Donald Trump
Simpson, Glenn and
Peter Fritsch
4/9/20
Vindicated. For those readers who have the
appetite for an inside story about one of the
misunderstood and overspun stories of
recent years, Fusion GPS founders Glenn
Simpson and Peter Fritsch offer a book
titled, Crime in Progress: Inside the Steele
Dossier and the Fusion GPS Investigation of
Donald Trump. These former Wall Street
Journal reporters started a business in 2010
that conducts investigations, finding data for
the use of their clients in business and
politics. When a client approached them to
investigate Donald Trump’s finances, they
uncovered a treasure trove of information
including lawsuits and shady dealings with
Russian oligarchs and gangsters. Readers
can sense the weariness that settled on the
authors when their little business became the
focal point for political machinations. Read
the book to unspin what you think you know,
and you’re likely to conclude, as I did, that
their work product represented accurate
research and investigations that were later
proven to be true. The authors may rightly
feel vindicated, but they will never recover
the lost time and expenses involved in
defending themselves from partisan attacks.
Don Tillman's
Standardized Meal
System: Recipes
and Tips from the
Star of the Rosie
Novels
Simsion, Graeme
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Great
Democracy: How
to Fix Our Politics,
Unrig the
Economy, and
Unite America
Sitaraman, Ganesh
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Rodham
Sittenfeld, Curtis
9/8/20
Clever. It’s fun to watch a talented writer
take a prominent real person and veer their
life path just a bit off the known trajectory.
In her novel titled, Rodham, Curtis Sittenfeld
imagines what Hillary Rodham’s life would
have been like had she not married Bill. I
read this during this summer’s unique
political conventions, and it provided an
entertaining diversion. I especially enjoyed
Sittenfeld’s take on how Bill’s life might have
played out. Whether you love or hate the real
Hillary, it’s very likely that you’ll enjoy the
character in Sittenfeld’s novel.
Owls of the Eastern
Ice: A Quest to
Find and Save the
World's Largest
Owl
Slaght, Jonathan C.
12/17/20
Fieldwork. Good writing about an
unfamiliar place makes Jonathan Slaght’s
book titled, Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest
to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl, a
delight to read. I was a bit hesitant to open
this book about a scientist’s fieldwork in
finding fish owls in Primorye, a province in
the far eastern part of Russia. After just a few
pages, I was hooked on learning about
Slaght’s fieldwork searching for a two-foot-
tall owl with a six-foot wingspan. Readers
can almost feel what Shaght experiences
while living in a tent under freezing
conditions, crossing rivers packed with
melting ice, finding the owls in multiple
locations, drinking vodka, and relaxing in a
banya. Readers with any interest in scientific
fieldwork or conservation will find a lot to
enjoy in this finely written book.
Little Weirds
Slate, Jenny
3/6/20
Essays. I had the feeling that I entered
directly into Jenny Slate’s mind as I read her
collection of essays titled after one of them,
Little Weirds. As a talented comedian, she
made me laugh. As a writer, I admired her
phrases and images. As an artist, I
appreciated the scope of her vast creativity,
and how it plays out in each of these essays.
The time I spent inside her mind while
reading this novel was quite an adventure
and escape. I enjoyed the book while I read it
with a clear head, but I have the impression
that if one were to read these essays while
high, the experience might be enhanced.
The Geometry of
Holding Hands
Smith, Alexander
McCall
10/12/20
Complications. Readers who enjoy
Alexander McCall Smith’s Isabel Dalhousie
series will love the 13
th
installment, a novel
titled, The Geometry of Holding Hands. I
kept waiting to understand the title, and it
came at the very end of the book, so be
patient. As always, there are ethical concerns
that philosopher Isabel grapples with, and
her musician husband, Jamie, offers love and
clarity to all the complications that develop
in this novel. Smith has the ability to present
readers with domestic situations, add
conflict and complexity, and leave us very
satisfied with human nature by the end of
the book.
The Peppermint
Tea Chronicles
Smith, Alexander
McCall
2/14/20
Kindness. I admit to being a tea snob, and I
can’t think of a more vile concoction that
peppermint tea. I’m also a fan of Alexander
McCall Smith’s writing, so I thoroughly
enjoyed reading his latest compilation of
pieces about the recurring cast of characters
from 44 Scotland Street that were serialized
in The Scotsman. The new book is titled, The
Peppermint Tea Chronicles, and kindness
abounds providing pleasure to fans of this
series. Irene remains absent, to the delight of
Stuart and Bertie. Lots of big and little things
are happening to every member of the cast of
characters, and fans will close the last page
with a sigh as we await the next installments.
Readers who enjoy fiction that lifts one’s
spirits can start with this book and become
enchanted and ready to read the series.
The Second-Worst
Restaurant in
France
Smith, Alexander
McCall
4/23/20
Redemption. The second novel in the Paul
Stuart series by prolific writer Alexander
McCall Smith is titled, The Second-Worst
Restaurant in France. Paul joins his cousin,
Chloe, at a rented house in the French
countryside where he intends to work on
writing a cookbook. Once settled into the
local community, all thought of writing
disappears, as Paul does all he can to help
turnaround a restaurant and a village. As
always with Smith, the theme is upbeat.
Characters are finding themselves, and there
is a leap toward redemption that will make
all readers feel good about themselves, their
neighbors, and human nature overall.
The Talented Mr.
Varg
Smith, Alexander
McCall
9/19/20
Choices. The second installment of
Alexander McCall Smith’s Detective Varg
series is a novel titled, The Talented Mr.
Varg. Smith fans will enjoy the author’s dry
wit, moderate pacing, and compassion for all
characters. Things are never as they appear
for the Department of Sensitive Crimes, and
Varg chooses to investigate and help in ways
that are not often linear. Varg often tends to
choose mercy rather than justice. As always
with Smith, the way things turn out always
seem to be just right.
Spring
Smith, Ali
1/24/20
Growth. The third installment in Ali
Smith’s quartet on the seasons is titled,
Spring. This was the installment that I
wanted to read first, but Smith surprised me
with choosing Autumn as the opener. Spring
is a season of surprises and of sprouting. We
come to see the new growth of what we had
planted and what arrived by unknown
means. Smith shows the evidence of what we
have planted in society: detention centers
and the demonization of immigrants.
Surrender to Smith’s take on contemporary
life and dream with her on the pages of this
finely written novel. This is us. This is now. I
can’t wait for the final installment.
Rivers of Power:
How a Natural
Force Raised
Kingdoms,
Destroyed
Civilizations, and
Shapes Our World
Smith, Laurence C.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Year of the Monkey
Smith, Patti
2/14/20
Artist. Treat yourself by spending time
reading Patti Smith’s memoir titled, Year of
the Monkey. This multi-dimensional talented
artist offers readers her memories, dreams,
impressions, and experiences of 2016. We
travel with her during this year and thanks to
her poetic language, we feel what she felt.
Thanks to her photographs, we see a few of
the things that her artistic eye captured.
Most of all, we get to admire a talented artist
use many of her skills to try to reveal herself
to us and to help us reveal ourselves to the
world.
Grand Union
Smith, Zadie
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Intimations
Smith, Zadie
8/25/20
Vibrant. It’s time to treat your addled covid
brain with six fresh and vibrant essays by
Zadie Smith in a collection titled,
Intimations. Artists of all sorts help us make
sense of the world. In these finely written
essays, Smith uses all her artistic writing skill
to help us think about this unusual time. I
felt communal empathy in her words, and
kindness about our current predicament in
respect to the pandemic, racism and
immigration. We’ve all asked ourselves
scores of questions in 2020, and in these
essays, Smith reveals the questions she has
asked herself and how she is thinking about
contemporary life.
You Can Keep That
to Yourself: A
Comprehensive
List of What Not to
Say to Black
People, for Well-
Intentioned People
of Pallor
Smyer, Adam
11/17/20
Humor. I laughed a lot as I read Adam
Smyer’s book titled, You Can Keep That to
Yourself: A Comprehensive List of What Not
to Say to Black People, for Well-Intentioned
People of Pallor. I quickly thought of the gift
possibilities for this book to a lot of different
people. I can imagine a large number of
corporate training sessions in which this
book could be used to facilitate conversations
about race relations. I am one of the well-
intentioned people of pallor for whom this
book should find a receptive audience.
No Visible Bruises
Snyder, Rachel Louise
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Our Malady:
Lessons in Liberty
from a Hospital
Diary
Snyder, Timothy
10/19/20
Health. I can think of no better time to read
a reflection on the fragility of health.
Timothy Snyder’s short book titled, Our
Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital
Diary, describes the illness he experienced in
December 2019 (spoiler: not coronavirus),
and how important health is in the context of
all our civil liberties, a topic about which the
author is an expert. This book makes a
compelling case for universal health care
being a basic human right and how such a
system will help mend some places in which
our society has torn apart.
Separated: Inside
an American
Tragedy
Soboroff, Jacob
9/22/20
Cruelty. Prepare to be outraged and to cry
as you read Jacob Soboroff’s book titled,
Separated: Inside an American Tragedy. No
matter how much you think you know, or
how well you have followed the separation of
children from their parents on our southern
border, there will be aspects of this situation
that you’ll learn by reading this book. We can
become distracted by so many things, and
the story of the day displaces what happened
before it. Over the course of the four
hundred pages of this book, you will meet
the people who suffered cruelty because of
this policy, you’ll learn about those who tried
to hide what was going on, and the
occasional person whose actions made a
huge difference. Any reader interested in
public policy should consider reading this
book.
Mr. Nobody
Steadman, Catherine
6/2/20
Memory. Catherine Steadman teases out
the plot of her novel titled, Mr. Nobody. A
man is found on a beach in Norfolk and
neither he nor anyone else remembers who
he is. Neuropsychiatrist Emma Lewis has
been asked to examine the man, since his
condition seems to line up perfectly with her
expertise. Despite her professional interest in
the case, Emma is reluctant to return to
Norfolk because something happened there
years ago that caused her and her family to
leave and change their identities. Steadman
leaves readers waiting a long time to find out
about Emma’s past, and to reveal what’s up
with the man found on the beach. Readers
who enjoy psychological suspense novels are
those most likely to appreciate this book.
In Defense of
Elitism: Why I'm
Better Than You
and You're Better
Than Someone
Who Didn't Buy
This Book
Stein, Joel
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Machine
Steinberg, Susan
9/19/20
Summer. Susan Steinberg’s debut novel
titled, Machine, sends readers to the shore in
summer to spend time with a group of
teenagers. It may take some readers a while
to settle into Steinberg’s grammar and
language as she structures this novel in
creative ways. The sentences shift structure
when the mood changes, alerting readers to
tension and progress. Some of her meter is
poetic and that adds to the pace of reading,
accelerating or slowing down in ways that fit
the narrative. I enjoyed every semicolon.
Beneath the beautiful language, we see a
reflection of teenage life in summer: the
average locals and the privileged wealthy
transients. The culpability of the individual
and the community for events and situations
alternate in ways that lead a reader to reflect
after we’ve finished reading, beyond
Steinberg’s pacing to our own.
The Last Tourist
Steinhauer, Olen
11/9/20
Revived. Olen Steinhauer introduced
readers to protagonist Milo Weaver and a
CIA assassination squad called The
Department of Tourism in a trilogy that
ended in 2012. In a novel titled, The Last
Tourist, Steinhauer has more to say about
the tourists. Information is the lifeblood of
spy craft. Milo Weaver has been running an
enterprise called The Library which his
father started within the United Nations. The
Library provides client countries with
sensitive information. Corporations are the
real repositories of power in contemporary
life, and Weaver finds himself challenged by
a worthy corporate adversary. The action
moves quickly in the novel, and by the time
we arrive in Davos, all the pieces are coming
together. Readers who enjoy thrillers are
likely to enjoy this novel, whether familiar
with the earlier ones or not.
The Making of a
Justice: Reflections
on My First 94
Years
Stevens, John Paul
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
It Was All a Lie:
How the
Republican Party
Became Donald
Trump
Stevens, Stuart
12/21/20
Decades. Longtime Republican operative
Stuart Stevens reflects on the past five
decades of political life and draws
conclusions that disclose his complicity in
what has become a long con. In a book titled,
It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party
Became Donald Trump, Stevens describes
his participation in and observation of the
modern Republic Party and candidly
assesses the lies that have displaced the
principles on which his party was based.
Anyone interested in politics should consider
reading this book. Rather than stories or
invective, this book presents analysis. Some
Republicans may bristle at Stevens’
assessment or brand it as fake, and some
Democrats may be inclined toward
agreement and glee, but any citizen can
examine the past few decades and observe
much of what Stevens presents in this book,
whether we want to face those facts or not.
Hearing from an active participant with such
candor makes this book different.
Deep State: Trump,
the FBI, and the
Rule of Law
Stewart, James B.
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Power
Worshippers:
Inside the
Dangerous Rise of
Religious
Nationalism
Stewart, Katherine
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Reasons to be
Cheerful
Stibbe, Nina
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
People, Power, and
Profits: Progressive
Capitalism for an
Age of Discontent
Stiglitz, Joseph E.
7/23/20
Progressive. If you think everything is
peachy these days, don’t bother reading
Nobel prize winning economist Joseph
Stiglitz’ book titled, People, Power, and
Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of
Discontent. Assuming that most readers will
see a smidgen or two of trouble ahead for the
world, those who pick up this book will find a
cogent prescription which Stiglitz calls
“progressive capitalism.” Those readers
interested in public policy will find in this
book a clear description of trends and a way
to enjoy the benefits from markets while
building a system of effective controls and
balances. There’s no waffling ambiguity in
this book. All readers can understand exactly
what Stiglitz thinks we should do next.
The Borgias: Power
and Depravity in
Renaissance Italy
Strathern, Paul
2/21/20
Infamy. Consider escaping from
contemporary stories of power and depravity
and spend some time with Paul Strathern’s
book titled, The Borgias: Power and
Depravity in Renaissance Italy. Whether you
know a lot or a little about the Borgias before
opening this book, you are likely to re-read
some passages when what Strathern says in a
straightforward way sinks in. Treachery,
entanglements of all sorts, violence and
schemes abound on these pages. We hear
about boundless ambition, the purchase of
the papacy, and the exercise of power.
All Adults Here
Straub, Emma
6/24/20
Love. After spending time reading about
three generations of the Strick family in
Emma Straub’s novel titled, All Adults Here,
most readers will feel an extra spark of love
for our own parents, siblings, children and
grandchildren. Most of us will be more
thankful for our relations and their issues
when compared to the cast of characters in
this novel. Sixty-eight-year-old matriarch
Astrid Strick leads the ensemble, and her
teenage granddaughter, Cecilia, may be the
most mature member of the family. Straub
packs a host of contemporary issues into this
family and the small town in which Astrid
lives. I loved the sibling dynamics in the
novel, and the insight that as parents we may
do our best but know there are things we’ve
done that require an apology to our children.
Wisdom comes from not guessing what those
things are, because they may not be the
events or actions we recall.
This Could Be Our
Future: A
Manifesto for a
More Generous
World
Strickler, Yancey
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Empty the Pews:
Stories of Leaving
the Church
Stroop, Chrissy and
Lauren O’Neal
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Shuggie Bain
Stuart, Douglas
8/25/20
Alcoholic. Douglas Stuart’s debut novel
titled, Shuggie Bain, packs a wallop. Set in
Glasgow, the novel offers a detailed
exploration of the relationship between an
alcoholic mother, Agnes Bain, and her son,
Shuggie. Any reader who has lived in a
household where alcohol was a problem will
recognize Stuart’s insight into family
dynamics and what happens when children
have to assume responsibilities far beyond
what’s age appropriate for them. Stuart
excels at character development in this
novel, and through multiple detailed
descriptions of dysfunctional domestic life
readers can share just a small bit of what it is
like to live in a house with an alcoholic adult.
Stuart seems to keep pounding away at
readers with one sad episode after another
that can make us weary. That’s part of the
impressive power of this book: the text itself
recreates the repetitive experiences of this
family’s life. I highly recommend this novel
to those readers who appreciate finely
written literary fiction and those who find
depth and insight from descriptions of
domestic life, whether the same as what
we’ve known ourselves or completely
different.
Friends and
Strangers
Sullivan, J. Courtney
8/5/20
Privilege. The combination of finely written
prose and psychological insight elevate J.
Courtney Sullivan’s novel titled, Friends and
Strangers, from domestic drama to literary
fiction that encapsulates our current time
and place. After two decades in New York
City, protagonist and journalist Elisabeth
moves with her husband and child to the
rural town where his parents live. Many
readers will identify with Elisabeth staying
linked to her Brooklyn Moms group, while
she steps slowly into the Moms group in her
new community. Sullivan touches all the
right nerves when it comes to motherhood.
She also explores significant issues about
privilege in this novel, and the ways in which
insensitivity to the reality of privilege can
inhibit the ability of one to see what other
lives are like. Is the relationship between
Elisabeth and her young babysitter
friendship? After the babysitter finds a
mentor in Elisabeth’s father-in-law, what
does that mean for relationships all around?
Fans of finely written literary fiction,
especially mothers, are those readers most
likely to enjoy this novel.
The Chestnut Man
Sveistrup, Søren
3/6/20
Creepy. The debut novel by Søren Sveistrup
is a creepy thriller titled, The Chestnut Man.
The characters are interesting and complex,
flawed in all the ways we recognize and
appreciate. The crimes are bloody and
violent and the criminal meticulous and
dogged. The plot moves at a pace that after a
while sustains a reader’s elevated heart rate
level that jumps when a new twist arrives.
Most readers will hug their children a little
tighter after reading this book. Fans of crime
fiction are those most likely to enjoy this
novel.
Here We Are
Swift, Graham
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Rebel Ideas: The
Power of Diverse
Thinking
Syed, Matthew
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Turbulence
Szalay, David
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Mrs. Mohr Goes
Missing
Szmiczkowa, Maryla
8/19/20
Vocation. The best murder mysteries in the
Agatha Christie tradition have a protagonist
detective that’s beloved by readers. Maryla
Szmiczkowa provides one named Zofia
Turbotyńska in a novel titled, Mrs. Mohr
Goes Missing. Zofie is a bored socialite in
Cracow whose current task is a fundraiser for
a local care home and the nuns who operate
it. After a resident is found dead, Zofia leaves
her boredom behind and comes to life as a
passionate detective. She excels at this
vocation, to the pleasure of readers like me
who are entertained by this genre. Zofia has
the wit and flair of some of the greatest
fictional detectives who precede her, and I
was delighted to stumble on this novel and
look forward to Zofia’s next case.
Three Women
Taddeo, Lisa
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Hate, Inc.: Why
Today’s Media
Makes Us Despise
One Another
Taibbi, Matt
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Riches of This
Land, The Untold,
True Story of
America’s Middle
Class
Tankersley, Jim
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Race for Profit:
How Banks and the
Real Estate
Industry
Undermined Black
Homeownership
Taylor, Keeanga-
Yamahtta
8/5/20
Systemic. Readers of Keeanga-Yamahtta
Taylor’s book titled, Race for Profit: How
Banks and the Real Estate Industry
Undermined Black Homeownership, will
gain a deep understanding of systemic
racism and its impact for Black American
homeowners. Learn about how redlining
worked, how people are exploited, and the
long-term consequence of inequality in
access to housing. There are human stories
here alongside policy analysis. No matter
how much you think you know about racial
discrimination and predatory lending, this
book will teach you a lot more.
Men to Avoid in
Art and Life
Tersigni, Nicole
9/22/20
Mansplaining. For those readers whose
attention span has been shortened because
of anxiety and lifestyle changes as a result of
the novel coronavirus, a book to consider is
Nicole Tersigni’s Men to Avoid in Art and
Life. In fewer than one hundred pages, she
pairs artwork with contemporary phrases
and will deliver well-needed belly laughs.
Many readers will want to share a page or
more on Zoom or FaceTime with another
reader who will appreciate the subjects,
especially the mansplaining. If deadpan wit
tickles your funnybone, be sure to read this
book.
Donald Trump and
His Assault on
Truth: The
President's
Falsehoods,
Misleading Claims
and Flat-Out Lies
The Washington Post
Fact Checker Staff
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
First: Sandra Day
O’Connor
Thomas, Evan
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Power of Bad:
How the Negativity
Effect Rules Us and
How We Can Rule
It
Tierney, John and Roy
F. Baumeister
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Cruel Deception
Todd, Charles
2/14/20
Paris. The eleventh Bess Crawford novel by
the writing duo called Charles Todd is titled,
A Cruel Deception. This time out, the Great
War has wound down, and the need for
nurses has diminished. Bess remains
conflicted about her future when Matron at
The Queen Alexandra’s asks her to go to
Paris on a personal mission regarding
Matron’s son, Lawrence. Bess finds the man
abusing laudanum, and AWOL from his job
at the Peace Conference. Competent and
diligent as always, Bess investigates what has
troubled Lawrence, and her adventures in
Paris and environs are exciting and
dangerous. Fans of the series, and anyone
who likes historical fiction are those most
likely to enjoy this novel.
A Divided Loyalty
Todd, Charles
3/6/20
Twists. The twenty-second installment in
the Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery series by
the writing team named Charles Todd is a
novel titled, A Divided Loyalty. Fans of
historical crime fiction and this series will
love the twists throughout this installment as
well as the complexity of the case and the
continued development of the complex
detective as a troubled and talented person.
Despite the willingness of the chief inspector
to close a cold case that Rutledge has worked
on, the final few details to wrap up lead to a
very different outcome. Any worker whose
boss never seems to recognize talent and
success will find a lot in common with
Inspector Rutledge.
Women Talking
Toews, Miriam
2/7/20
Response. We know the situation that led
to the Mennonite women coming together to
plan their future: they have realized that over
the past two years they were drugged and
raped by men in their isolated community.
The novel titled, Women Talking, by Miriam
Toews takes the true story of a community of
women, and offers a fictional entry in the
ways in which women relate to each other,
take control of their loves, and exert power.
There are different viewpoints expressed
among the women gathered to consider their
response: stay or leave; fight or flee. Toews
writes with insight, sensitivity and wit as the
resilience of the women in the novel show
readers a path in life that may resonate for
many.
Drive Your Plow
Over the Bones of
the Dead
Tokarczuk, Olga
1/10/20
Blake. Every reader knows (or is) a
character like Janina Duszejko, the
protagonist of Olga Tokarczuk’s novel titled,
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.
On some pages, Janina’s narration makes me
laugh. I observe her translation of William
Blake on another page (the book’s title comes
from Blake), and step back several paces at
her reaction to the death of her neighbor,
whom she calls Big Foot. On some pages, I
questioned her sanity, or checked in to verify
my own. Janina loves animals more than
people and her interactions with humans
reflect that, while her cogent observations
reveal her assessment of their characters. I’m
a big fan of listening to eccentric voices, and
not underestimating them. When more
neighbors turn up dead, Janina writes to the
police that the animals are pursuing justice.
This novel is a perfectly paced thriller filled
with superb writing and deep insight into
human nature.
Trick Mirror:
Reflections on Self-
Delusion
Tolentino, Jia
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Elephant in
the Room: One Fat
Man's Quest to Get
Smaller in a
Growing America
Tomlinson, Tommy
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Too Much and
Never Enough:
How My Family
Created the
World’s Most
Dangerous Man
Trump, Mary
9/8/20
Deprivation. I finished reading Mary
Trump’s book titled, Too Much and Never
Enough: How My Family Created the
World’s Most Dangerous Man, with
tremendous gratitude that Fred Trump, Sr.
was not my father. I almost began to feel a
little bit sorry for Donald Trump who has felt
deprivation for his entire life, influenced so
strongly as it was by his tyrannical father.
While the prominent figure to attract readers
to this book is Donald, the family story’s
central character is Fred, Sr. and this is a sad
story indeed. I’m glad I read it, but now I
really need to disinfect.
Damascus
Tsiolkas, Christos
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Last Trial
Turow, Scott
8/19/20
Finale. It won’t surprise fans of Scott
Turow’s fiction that the latest novel titled,
The Last Trial, is set in Kindle County, and
recurring character Sandy Stern is back for
what is positioned as his last trial. At age
eighty-five, Sandy is not in prime physical
condition, but he knows how to operate in
the courtroom, and the best parts of this
novel show Sandy weaving his magic before a
jury. The client is a friend, and the evidence
against him is formidable. Turow shares his
insights into our human condition and the
legal system in ways that are empathetic
about frailty and the humanity woven into
the system. I enjoyed every page of this
novel, and every minute spent with Turow
and Sandy Stern.
Redhead by the
Side of the Road
Tyler, Anne
5/5/20
Connections. Micah Mortimer, protagonist
of Anne Tyler’s novel titled, Redhead by the
Side of the Road, strives for order and
perfection. Tyler tosses surprises into
Micah’s life and incomplete interpersonal
connections become transparent. Each of us
needs someone in our lives who helps us see
ourselves as we really are. Sometimes our
routine becomes more important than
paying attention to the love in our lives. The
portrait of Micah may not look like any of us,
but his complexity and humanity will be
familiar and offer a glimpse into what lives
can become when we are open to love. As
always, Tyler draws us into the story, keeps
us close, and brings us home by the end.
Barn 8
Unferth, Deb Olin
6/24/20
Chickens. Things don’t always turn out the
way we plan. In her novel titled, Barn 8, Deb
Olin Unferth introduces readers to a group of
activists who plan to rescue a million
chickens from the barns on a factory farm.
What could possibly go wrong? Unferth’s
writing leads us to care about the cast of
characters and to love the chickens, while
allowing the madcap action to unfold. I like a
funny story that has an important message
and this book had me laughing and thinking.
There’s really no limit to the things we’ll do
for love. Fans of imaginative and well-
written fiction are those readers most likely
to enjoy this novel.
The Outlaw Ocean:
Journeys Across
the Last Untamed
Frontier
Urbina, Ian
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Peculiar Peril
VanderMeer, Jeff
12/17/20
Magic. Fans of Jeff VanderMeer won’t think
twice about falling into his latest world, a
650-page YA novel titled, A Peculiar Peril.
When protagonist Jonathan Lambshead
arrives at the mansion he inherited from his
grandfather, a wild adventure begins
featuring a gateway to place called Aurora, a
different version of Earth. On the adventure,
we find talking animals, and versions of
Napoleon, Charlemagne and Kafka.
Jonathan comes to appreciate his role to
keep Aurora and Earth separated. The
strange characters are delightful, especially
the talking marmots, the fantasy enjoyable,
and the writing weird and lighthearted.
Dead Astronauts
VanderMeer, Jeff
10/27/20
Versions. Jeff VanderMeer, in his novel
titled, Dead Astronauts, continues a riff that
he began in his science fiction novel titled,
Borne, describing ways in which ruthlessness
leads to trying and trying again as multiple
versions of life forms attempt progress,
whatever that means. There are villains and
rebels on these pages, and a creepy world
that no matter how parts are remade
remains a horror. Fans of literary science
fiction are those readers most likely to enjoy
this strange and imaginative novel.
The Lines
Varallo, Anthony
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Great Offshore
Grounds
Veselka, Vanessa
12/9/20
Freedom. What every parent wants most of
all is for their child to be happy. In her novel
titled, The Great Offshore Grounds, Vanessa
Veselka throws readers into the messy lives
of parents and children. Thanks to rich
character development and vivid description,
patient readers can cross the world with
these fascinating people as they learn about
what’s really important in life. Financial
insecurity might be a better inheritance than
the inability to love or the absence of
freedom. Whether on land or the sea, sibling
bonds are strong, and a mother’s love and
care is constant. Readers who love
complexity and depth in a novel will find a
lot to enjoy in this finely written novel.
She Was Like That
Walbert, Kate
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
A Door in the Earth
Waldman, Amy
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Shooting at
Château Rock
Walker, Martin
9/22/20
Russia. Fans of Martin Walker’s Bruno
Chief of Police series set in the small French
town of St. Denis in the Périgord are those
most likely to enjoy reading this year’s novel
titled, The Shooting at Château Rock. One
minute, Bruno is gathering ingredients for a
meal, riding a horse, spending time with
friends, and the next he’s caught up in crime
involving Russia way above his pay grade.
While the plot spends a lot of time with a
rock star and a Russian oligarch, the biggest
challenge for Bruno in this installment
involves mating his dog. I am entertained by
every minute I spend reading the novels in
this series. Reading is one way to visit the
Dordogne while covid-19 travel restrictions
are in place.
Countdown 1945:
The Extraordinary
Story of the Atomic
Bomb and the 116
Days That Changed
the World
Wallace, Chris and
Mitch Weiss
10/12/20
Momentum. Readers who enjoy twentieth
century history meant for a general audience
will enjoy Chris Wallace and Mitch Weiss’s
book titled, Countdown 1945: The
Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and
the 116 Days That Changed the World.
There’s momentum and drama in this book
that is structured starting four months
before the atomic bombs were released on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I learned more
about Truman’s decision-making process
after reading this book, and the stories of the
pilots and others made the account personal.
Lent
Walton, Jo
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Love and Other
Thought
Experiments
Ward, Sophie
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
One by One
Ware, Ruth
11/17/20
Snoop. Any reader who has attended a
corporate offsite retreat will find delight
while reading the murder mystery by Ruth
Ware titled, One by One. Alcohol,
entitlement, and secret agendas provide the
ingredients for mischief, and the rustic chalet
in the French Alps may take your breath
away, literally. By the time an avalanche
strikes, most readers will be hooked on this
exciting novel, even if it seems like a very
familiar plot.
Lot
Washington, Bryan
6/10/20
Impressions. There are thirteen finely
written short stories in the debut collection
by Bryan Washington, the middle story of
which is used as title for the collection, Lot.
We get impressions in these stories,
sometimes fragments, of Houston life. Some
of the stories are connected. Many involve
losses, and the struggle for survival. All the
stories are finely written and will appeal to
any reader who appreciates literary fiction.
Apartment
Wayne, Teddy
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
The Truants
Weinberg, Kate
6/10/20
Teacher. Intelligent readers will find a lot
to like in Kate Weinberg’s debut novel titled,
The Truants. Protagonist Jess Walker can’t
wait to be on her East Anglia university
campus and experience the skills of a
charismatic teacher, Dr. Lorna Clay, an
expert on Agatha Christie. Weinberg
develops a cast of fascinating characters and
structures the novel in ways that Christie
would recognize. Jess becomes part of a
small fun-loving group and Lorna Clay
becomes the major influence on how Jess
thinks and lives. We’re treated to love
triangles, significant coming of age
moments, murder, pages of clever writing
and just the right amount of plot twisting
tension.
Uncanny Valley
Weiner, Anna
3/13/20
Outsider. Most readers don’t work in
Silicon Valley, so for us outsiders, Anna
Weiner’s memoir titled, Uncanny Valley,
gives us a view into one person’s perspective
on what it might be like to work for startups
in that place. Weiner entered the Valley as an
outsider, moving from New York to San
Francisco, and not bringing with her the
highly valued tech skills that dominate the
region. Instead, she brought smarts,
emotional intelligence, and the ability to
communicate with customers. Weiner’s
writing makes the book engaging and
interesting for those readers who want a
glimpse inside the culture of Silicon Valley
startups.
Big Summer
Weiner, Jennifer
8/5/20
Friend. Female friendships can be
complicated things, and there’s plenty of
complexity in Jennifer Weiner’s novel titled,
Big Summer. Protagonist Daphne Berg is
surprised when estranged high school friend
Drue Cavanaugh contacts her six years after
a dramatic breakup and invites her to be the
maid of honor at a huge society wedding in
outer Cape Cod. Daphne ends up feeling
sorry for friendless Drue, so she agrees.
What follows is a whirlwind of Instagram
posts to plus-size Daphne’s followers, and to
all the buzz around Drue and her fiancée.
There are rom com elements in this novel
that will make readers laugh, and enough
seriousness to keep turning pages to the end.
For those with covid-19 diminished
attention, this novel is likely to be a fun and
satisfying distraction.
One Day: The
Extraordinary
Story of an
Ordinary 24 Hours
in America
Weingarten, Gene
2/21/20
Herculean. Treat yourself to a celebration
of life by reading Gene Weingarten’s finely
written book titled, One Day: The
Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours
in America. Pulitzer-prize winning
Weingarten had strangers pick a random
date, and then he went out looking for
human interest stories from that date. His
process involved conducting hundreds of
interviews over the course of six years. The
result is a glimpse into all kinds of lives and
their stories. Weingarten approaches the
complexity of human behavior and presents
real people and their interesting and
compelling stories.
Valentine
Wetmore, Elizabeth
6/24/20
Odessa. The five female narrators of
Elizabeth Wetmore’s debut novel titled,
Valentine, never flinch as they describe their
lives in Odessa, Texas during the 1970s oil
boom. After an opening scene involving the
brutal rape of a young Mexican by a violent
oil worker, the pace never stops as Wetmore
lets these women tell us of their struggle for
survival in a culture that stacks the deck
against them at every turn in life. Wetmore
develops complex characters and leads
readers to hear their stories with compassion
and feel their struggle with empathy.
Wonderblood
Whicker, Julia
4/23/20
Magic. In her debut novel titled,
Wonderblood, Julia Whicker presents a
future United States where we have turned
away from science and toward magic.
Science failed half the world’s population as
it did not protect people from disease. We
turn to faith and interpret portents and
provide blood sacrifice to ward off danger.
Violent factions struggle for control and the
locus for worship becomes Cape Canaveral, a
relic of a time long past. Whicker offers
interesting characters, political
machinations, and an apocalyptic vision that
will make many readers shiver.
You Talkin’ To
Me?: The Unruly
History of New
York English
White, E.J.
9/22/20
Linguistics. As a speaker of New York
English, Brooklyn 1950s variety, I learned
new things about my native tongue after
reading E.J. White’s book titled, You Talkin’
To Me?: The Unruly History of New York
English. Between the tidbits of delight,
there’s a lot of pages to travel that are
steeped in linguistics. While I had views
about social class differences in language,
White helped me understand context for
that. Media depictions that have selected
from the broad New York patois have spread
the language and reinforced certain aspects
over others. If you have any interest in
language and its spread, you may find this
book interesting and informative.
A Saint from Texas
White, Edmund
9/19/20
Sisters. In a novel by Edmund White titled,
A Saint from Texas, identical twin sisters
take different roads away from their East
Texas start in life. Their daddy’s land
provided an oil fortune to nurture their
dreams. Yvonne decides to join Parisian
society, while Yvette aligns with the poor in
Columbia. White takes us across a half
century and treats us to fine writing infused
with great wit and joy. There’s Texas-sized
exuberance on these pages, and wisdom
about the nature of human behavior. White’s
characters are finely drawn with all the
complexity and foibles of all of us.
Mayflower Lives:
Pilgrims in a New
World and the
Early American
Experience
Whittock, Martyn
7/23/20
Personal. Thanks to covid-19, there will be
no vacation trip to Cape Cod in Summer
2020, so I took a virtual journey to that area
thanks to reading Martyn Whittock’s book
titled, Mayflower Lives: Pilgrims in a New
World and the Early American Experience.
Whittock profiles fourteen individuals as a
way to personalize the lives of the saints and
strangers who came to the New World in the
17
th
century. One of those profiled is my
namesake, Stephen Hopkins, one of the
strangers and not a saint, probably the only
thing we have in common. Every time I read
a book about this time and place, I learn
something new. Fans of history are those
readers most likely to enjoy the well-told
stories in this book.
Kent State
Wiles, Deborah
6/24/20
Voices. Even fifty years after the Ohio
National Guard opened fire on unarmed
students at Kent State University on May 4,
1970, there remain conflicting accounts of
what happened then over the course of
several days of protests. In her book titled,
Kent State, Deborah Wiles allows multiple
voices to relate different perspectives using
free verse. We hear from white and black
students, National Guard troops, and
residents of Kent. As is the case with many
books written for younger audiences, this
book removes what’s unessential to the
narrative. The result is a mining of multiple
memories of the past that provide another
context for discussing contemporary protests
and violent responses to peaceful as well as
disruptive activities.
Caste: The Origins
of our Discontents
Wilkerson, Isabel
9/8/20
Hierarchy. Sometimes all it takes is a small
shift in perspective for the lightbulbs to shine
on a complicated subject. In her finely
written book titled, Caste: The Origins of our
Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson describes the
ways in which the United States has
established a hierarchy that explains many of
our historic and contemporary divisions and
challenges. Having studied global caste
systems thoroughly, Wilkerson examines
how life in America reflects the eight pillars
typical of caste alignments. Under caste, it is
necessary to have a bottom rung of society,
creating a comparison of superiority and
inferiority. The system is meant to maintain
status and caste so that those defined as
inferior remain on the bottom rung. Her
stories are vivid and gripping, and by moving
away from the loaded language of racism,
she may help many readers alter perspective
and think about issues differently and accept
responsibility to move society forward.
This Is Happiness
Williams, Niall
2/14/20
Change. Change is in the air in the rural
Ireland town of Faha, and not just because
the electricity is coming. Niall Williams pulls
readers into Faha and its people in his finely
written novel titled, This Is Happiness.
Williams writes beautiful sentences that
capture the setting and the people in ways
that may lead a reader to underline or
reread. Since the next sentence is usually as
good as or better than the last, this can
become rhythmic and we begin to feel as if
we are in Faha among these fascinating
people. Fans of literary fiction are those
readers who will enjoy every hour spent in
Ireland on the pages of this finely written
novel.
The Dictionary of
Lost Words
Williams, Pip
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Erosion: Essays of
Undoing
Williams, Terry
Tempest
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Self-Portrait in
Black and White:
Unlearning Race
Williams, Thomas
Chatterton
6/10/20
Categories. If Thomas Chatterton Williams
can’t convince you that our racial constructs
are meaningless, no one can. In his book
titled, Self-Portrait in Black and White:
Unlearning Race, Williams uses the
backdrop of his own identity and the strains
of black and white and how he is perceived
as a way to ditch some categories as he
applies principles that make sense. This book
should lead most readers to rethink our
notions of race. Some readers may find his
book controversial. I didn’t. I listened to the
struggle of a son and a father trying to
unlearn the categories relating to race.
Williams writes of big things in a light way,
inviting readers to join him in moving ahead.
Nothing to See
Here
Wilson, Kevin
1/2/20
Children. We parents want our children to
become their best selves. Each child is
unique and needs love and support from
people who care for them. In his book titled,
Nothing to See Here, Kevin Wilson presents
us with twin ten-year-olds whose uniqueness
is expressed when they spontaneously burst
into flames. While the twins are unharmed
when this happens, there can be collateral
damage. Stepmother Madison hires an
acquaintance from school, Lillian, to care for
the twins. Lillian comes from poverty and
Madison from privilege. As Lillian narrates
this story, we laugh and enjoy Wilson’s finely
crafted prose. We begin to understand the
friendship between Madison and Lillian and
reflect on the responsibilities we take on
when we care for others. Readers who
appreciate wacky and finely written literary
fiction, rooted in deep understanding of
human nature are those most likely to enjoy
this imaginative and insightful novel.
Before We Were
Yours
Wingate, Lisa
5/15/20
Sisters. Lisa Wingate based her novel titled,
Before We Were Yours, on the true story of
an adoption agency that sold children. She
gives readers a compelling and emotional
story, packed with characters that readers
will come to know and love or hate. The
sisters in this story will stir your heart and
might even produce a tear or two. You’ll be
caught up in this novel from the beginning to
the end and will come away carrying
something of an emotional overload. If that’s
what you’re looking for in a novel, this is the
book for you.
In West Mills
Winslow, De’Shawn
Charles
2/7/20
Knot. I fell in love with the people and the
place so finely presented in De’Shawn
Charles Winslow’s debut novel titled, In
West Mills. Protagonist Azalea “Knot” Centre
is a force to be reckoned with, sober or
otherwise. Readers move into the small town
and we come to understand the secrets and
complications of normal lives in this tender
and warm story. We love and we want to be
loved. We want to be free and we are often
selfish. We may not know where we came
from or where we are going, so we plod along
doing our best. Love endures.
The History of
Living Forever
Wolff, Jake
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Rage
Woodward, Bob
10/27/20
Hubris. Having declined interviews with
Bob Woodward for his 1998 book, Fear,
Donald Trump decided to make himself
available to the journalist for a new book
titled, Rage. Full of blinding hubris, Trump
must have assumed that he could talk his
way through whatever Woodward asked and
ensure that a favorable view of the American
President would follow in the book, unlike
the earlier book which made the President
look bad. Instead, what we get from
Woodward are Trump’s own rambling,
disconnected and unhinged words as
recorded in seventeen on the record
interviews. On topics including the
pandemic, racial unrest and international
relations, we revisit things we think we
know, and learn a little more about the
reality behind the statements and stories. We
observe denial, combat, bluster and
occasional revelations of the difference
between what the President knew and what
he told the rest of us. In addition to the
Trump meetings, Woodward spent hundreds
of hours interviewing witnesses to the events
related along with their notes, emails, diaries
and other documents. He also read twenty-
five letters from Kim Jong Un that reveal
how manipulation was used to soften up
Trump in his dealings with North Korea.
Readers interested in public affairs and
politics are those most likely to enjoy this
enlightening book.
The End of October
Wright, Lawrence
7/6/20
Pathogens. If living through a real
pandemic makes you hungry to read about a
fictional one, be sure to read Lawrence
Wright’s novel titled, The End of October. I
had to keep reminding myself that Wright
wrote this novel well before anyone knew
about covid-19 because he gets so much of
our contemporary experience right. That
said, we read fiction for other reasons.
Protagonist Dr. Henry Parsons provides one
of those reasons. Wright enfleshed this
flawed hero with all the human qualities that
make us fascinated by other people. This
skilled epidemiologist does so much right,
makes some big mistakes, and tries to move
along, just like us. This thrilling novel
provides lots of suspense and a cast of
interesting characters, full of good and
malice, focused often on the wrong things.
Pathogens and nature are powerful forces, as
we’re learning, and our human inclinations
are not always focused on doing what’s best
for ourselves and for others.
The Coyotes of
Carthage
Wright, Steven
5/5/20
Dark. A small town election in South
Carolina provides the backdrop for Steven
Wright’s debut novel titled, The Coyotes of
Carthage. Protagonist Dre Ross has been
sent by his firm with dark money to
manipulate politics in the interest of a
mining company client. Wright offers
complex characters, a fast-paced plot, and a
glimpse inside local politics and the ways in
which outsiders can swing votes for hidden
causes.
The Math of Life
and Death: 7
Mathematical
Principles That
Shape Our Lives
Yates, Kit
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Prefecture D
Yokoyama, Hideo
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Frankly in Love
Yoon, David
2/21/20
Senior. David Yoon’s debut novel titled,
Frankly in Love, pulls readers back to high
school where senior Frank Li is dating Brit
Means. Frank’s Korean name is Sung-Min Li,
but no one uses it, and growing up in
Southern California, he doesn’t speak much
Korean. Yoon describes the tension between
the expectations of parents to maintain
heritage and an individual’s exploration of
one’s identity. Yoon’s characters are relatable
to all readers, the prose often witty, and the
situations typical to all of us during our
formative years.
Subduction
Young, Kristen
Millares
Shelf of Ennui 2020.
Interior Chinatown
Yu, Charles
9/19/20
Roles. Charles Yu’s playful, satirical and
insightful novel titled, Interior Chinatown,
explores many dimensions of the roles we
play and those to which we aspire.
Sometimes the role we want to play fails to
meet our expectations. Other times, we are
defined by others because of roles or
stereotyping. Protagonist Willie Wu
performs the everyman role in this novel,
aspiring to be Kung Fu Guy, but usually
relegated to Generic Asian Guy. Readers who
enjoy creative and imaginative fiction are
those most likely to enjoy this novel.
Verge
Yuknavitch, Lidia
7/6/20
Resilience. There are twenty short stories
in the collection by Lidia Yuknavitch titled,
Verge. The characters in these stories live on
the margins. In lives that are battered from
so many sources, there is truth and beauty if
one looks in the right places, and an
untraveled path out of a current setback can
be found. Yuknavitch write prose that sings
in celebration of the resilience of the
characters she creates.
The Friend
Zander, Joakim
3/26/20
Terrorism. Readers who enjoy thrillers
with interesting and complex characters are
those most likely to appreciate the novel
titled, The Friend, by Joakim Zander. What
would you be willing to do for a friend? How
well do you know a friend? Can someone
surprise us when they unexpectedly help us
out of jam? Zander gives us two plot lines
that develop slowly and then merge as
tension rises. Jacob Seger is a young Swede
who arrives at his country’s embassy in
Beirut to start an internship. On his first
night in Lebanon, he meets a man named
Yassim at a party and falls head over heels in
love. Is Yassim the photographer he claims
to be or is he a terrorist? Friends Klara and
Gabriella notice that they are being watched,
and after Gabi is arrested under suspicion of
terrorism, Klara enlists George, an
acquaintance from her past, to help her clear
Gabi’s name. There are Russian spies in the
mix, and lots of close calls as the full cast of
characters face life or death decisions. I was
thoroughly entertained by this novel.
The Lost Book of
Adana Moreau
Zapata, Michael
4/16/20
Structure. I enjoyed reading Michael
Zapata’s debut novel titled, The Lost Book of
Adana Moreau, for several key reasons. I’m a
sucker for great storytelling, and the multiple
stories and time periods that Zapata
connects in this novel kept me fully engaged.
The scope of this work could have led some
writers to bloat the prose, but Zapata uses
great discipline throughout this novel and
his finely written prose included no wasted
words. The overall structure of the novel is
complex enough to challenge the closest
reader, and Zapata seems to build the
universes he creates with ease. Fans of
literary fiction are those readers most likely
to appreciate this finely written novel.
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Key to Ratings:
*****
I love it
****
I like it
***
It’s OK
**
I don’t like it
*
I hate it