This Bookshelf: 2021 Books
Links to All Steve Hopkins’ Bookshelves
Web Page
PDF/epub/Searchable
Link to Latest Book Reviews:
Book Reviews Blog
Links to Current Bookshelf:
Pending and Read
2021 Books
2021 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 books reviewed by Steve Hopkins at http://bkrev.blogspot.com during 2021 as well as books pending (The Shelf
of Possibility) or relegated to the Shelf of Reproach or 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)
Rating
Blog
Date
Comments
Click on Picture
to Purchase at
amazon.com
The Turnout
****
12/13/21
Ballet. In her novel titled, The Turnout,
Megan Abbott choreographs a complex
story about three characters twirling
around each other at the Durant School of
Dance. Sisters Dara and Marie have
danced forever at the ballet school founded
by their mother, and prize student Charlie
married Dara. The balance in their lives
pirouettes out of control as the story
develops. Readers who enjoy dark novels
with interesting characters and complex
plots are those most likely to enjoy this
book.
While Justice
Sleeps
****
11/22/21
Keene. Knowing how busy Stacey Abrams
has been for years in her day jobs, I wasn’t
sure what to expect when I picked up her
legal thriller titled, While Justice Sleeps. I
was thoroughly entertained by the clever
and engaging story, the fascinating
characters led by protagonist Avery Keene,
and the fine writing. Keene is a law clerk
who finds herself appointed as legal
guardian for her boss, Justice Howard
Wynn who is in a coma. She learns that
Wynn has been investigating a case and
what he has learned is alarming. Keene
must solve a complex puzzle while
powerful people are rushing to carry out
their plans. I still don’t know how Abrams
found the time to write to write this novel,
but I’m happy she did. I was hooked and
delighted by the story.
Nightmare
Scenario: Inside
the Trump
Administration's
Response to the
Pandemic That
Changed History
****
7/22/21
Infighting. If someone you loved died of
covid-19, take a pass on reading a book by
journalists Yasmeem Abutaleb and
Damian Paletta titled, Nightmare
Scenario: Inside the Trump
Administration's Response to the
Pandemic That Changed History. Your
heart will be broken again when you read
about chaos, incompetence and infighting
as the Trump administration responded to
the pandemic. For readers interested in
public policy, reading almost five hundred
pages on this subject will involve reliving a
recent experience with the guidance of
journalists. This is the story of a tragedy in
how a crisis was mismanaged. Despite my
focus on what failed as described in this
book, it’s fair to say that the authors also
call attention to good things that were
done. The running count of deaths as time
went on overshadowed what good steps
were taken in response to the virus.
2034: A Novel of
the Next World
War
*****
4/22/21
Realignment. Many of us have the
tendency to think that the way things are
now will continue into the foreseeable
future. In their novel titled, 2034: A Novel
of the Next World War, former military
officers Elliot Ackerman and James
Stavridis present a plausible realignment
of the world order in the relatively near
future. We often read fiction for a good
story about people we recognize as fully
human. The authors provide readers of
this novel with a cast of compelling
characters from multiple countrisaaies.
Each main character is called upon to play
a role or complete a mission, and through
luck or fate they take actions that forward
the strategic interests of their respective
countries. Ackerman and Stavridis capture
the individual and collective vulnerability
we face and prompt readers to consider
how likely it is for their fictional tale to
become true.
Notes on Grief
*****
6/8/21
Visceral. Wracked with grief following
the death of her father in 2020,
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote a book
titled, Notes on Grief, about her personal
experience and as a loving tribute to her
father. Through her fine writing, we
participate in the visceral aspects of grief
and want to howl with her at the great loss.
Her words expose our own grief as well.
During the past two years millions of
people have experienced forms of
pandemic grief as our world changed
unexpectedly. Our connections to each
other can become stronger in the context
of grief, and this finely written book will
connect deeply with every reader with a
grief story of our own.
The Divorce
****
11/16/21
Imagination. If I were forced to place
César Aira’s book titled, The Divorce, into
a category, I would create a new one for
this author’s imagination and skill: post-
magic realism. Within the course of a few
pages, we move from one coincidence to
another. We think we can separate
imagination from reality, and then realize
we can’t. When we’re sure we are hearing a
mundane story, something magical seeps
in. Aira moves readers along as fast as we
can read, taking us tighter and tighter into
his imagination. This book is short enough
to read a second time for a different take,
but trust me, multiple readings may not
lead to greater understanding, just more
questions.
Leave the World
Behind
*****
1/16/21
Safety. One of the reminders we all
received as we opened the gift of the
pandemic is that life can change in an
instant. Rumaan Alam offers readers a
finely written novel titled, Leave the World
Behind, that places characters into a
setting of uncertainty in which they face a
world that has changed. A couple and their
two children rented a rural house for a
week’s vacation away from New York City.
The owners show up at the house late at
night and ask if they can stay there because
something caused a massive blackout in
the city. Alam explores the ways in which
we respond to shock and change, and what
creates a sense of safety or threat for us.
Readers find themselves in the middle of
issues of race, class, privilege and
ambiguity. Perhaps all we desire is to
survive whatever comes at us so we can
live for another day.
Straight from the
Horse’s Mouth
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Hospital: Life,
Death, and Dollars
in a Small
American Town
*****
5/14/21
Sick. Few Americans love our healthcare
system. Readers of Brian Alexander’s book
titled, The Hospital: Life, Death, and
Dollars in a Small American Town, will feel
sick about the situation he describes.
Rather than taking a policy approach to
examining healthcare, Alexander focuses
on one town, Bryan, Ohio, its local
hospital, and a handful of people in the
community. I finished this book with a
deeper understanding of what’s broken in
our healthcare system, and how the
incentives for change are misguided. Most
readers will feel deeply for the personal
stories in this book, and the plight of all
the characters involved. Through
understanding some of the root causes of
our current situation, we should be able to
work toward good solutions for the benefit
of all.
White House, Inc.:
How Donald
Trump Turned the
Presidency into a
Business
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
His Very Best:
Jimmy Carter, a
Life
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
A Man Named Doll
****
5/14/21
Kidney. The test for whether crime fiction
will appeal to readers often involves
whether the protagonist comes across as
authentic and interesting. In his novel
titled, A Man Named Doll, Jonathan Ames
introduces readers to Happy Doll, a Los
Angeles private detective who prefers to be
called, “Hank.” Ames passed the character
test for me because I came to really like
Hank, a former cop who loves his dog and
shleps from one predicament to another.
Queasy readers will find some gruesome
violence here, and it’s not too much of a
plot spoiler to say that Hank loses a kidney
in a nefarious scheme in this novel. There’s
a sense that most of life for Hank is a
close-run thing, and somehow or other,
he’s likely to come through. A series
featuring Hank is off to a great start with
this novel.
The Woman Who
Stole Vermeer: The
True Story of Rose
Dugdale and the
Russborough
House Art Heist
****
5/14/21
Revolutionary. Readers who enjoy true
crime stories are those most likely to enjoy
Anthony Amore’s book titled, The Woman
Who Stole Vermeer: The True Story of
Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House
Art Heist. Rose Dugdale grew up in an
affluent family, obtained an Oxford
doctorate, and embraced the Irish
Republican cause, whether the IRA liked
her actions or not. Amore proposes that
her education gave her the ability to be
selective in stealing the right artworks and
that she is the most probable thief of two
works by Vermeer. While the main
perspective of this book involves Rose’s
skill as an art thief, there’s also a more
complete presentation of her life, and that
offers readers insight into a formidable
woman who committed her life to the
pursuit of causes in which she believed.
Evil Geniuses: The
Unmaking of
America
*****
8/26/21
Patience. Most Americans focus on
family and work and assume that our
elected officials and business leaders look
out for the interests of the whole country
in performing their managerial roles.
Meanwhile some Americans have played a
long game in shifting the playing field in
favor of a few over the many. That’s the
analysis Kurt Andersen provides in his
book titled, Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking
of America. A variety of patient operatives
in business, government, law, and
academics have nudged changes in public
policy in ways that improve outcomes for a
few and have placed heavy burdens on
middle class workers whose relative
incomes have been frozen for a long time.
Andersen connects dots from about 1970
to the present to show the gradual
transformation of American life by patient
oligarchs. Beneficiaries of this shift of
wealth away from workers and toward
owners may not like the messages in this
book, but those readers concerned about
the decline of the middle class will come
away from this book with an
understanding of how this has been
accomplished so far and what might be
done to turn the situation around.
The Quiet
Americans: Four
CIA Spies at the
Dawn of the Cold
War--a Tragedy in
Three Acts
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Who is Maud
Dixon?
****
11/22/21
Schemes. I was truly surprised by some
twists in Alexandra Andrews’ debut novel
titled, Who is Maud Dixon?. The plot is
engaging, the characters complex and well-
developed, and the prose well written. The
schemes of the characters are delicious to
watch as they unfold, and the dark comedy
is entertaining. The pace moves fast, and
the clever writing offers frequent rewards
to readers as we race to the end of the
novel.
Tropic of Violence
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Twilight of
Democracy: The
Seductive Lure of
Authoritarianism
****
10/25/21
Vulnerability. The more pages I turned
while reading Anne Applebaum’s finely
written book titled, Twilight of Democracy:
The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism,
the more I felt vulnerable to trends taking
place around the world. As a historian,
Applebaum offers historical perspective
and insight. As a journalist, she presents
an engaging narrative. As a human, she
includes her own experience in recent
decades as an illustration of the changes
she has observed, and the friends lost as a
focus on identity led to realignment of
alliances. Readers interested in public
policy are those most likely to enjoy this
captivating book.
Looking for Eliza
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Mill Town:
Reckoning with
What Remains
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
A Passage North
****
12/6/21
Trauma. In his novel titled, A Passage
North, Anuk Arudpragsam explores life in
Sri Lanka after three decades of civil war.
Through finely written prose we are
absorbed into the atmosphere of the
setting, influenced by the trauma and
suffering of the characters, and see
everyday life transformed. One aspect of
this novel comes across as a love song to
people and places, while another reveals
grief for what those people and places have
experienced.
Black Buck
****
1/26/21
Selling. Mateo Askaripour’s debut novel
titled, Black Buck, skewers startups,
racism, the sales process, and workplace
life. The novel is structured as a sales
manual and offers pretty good advice
about selling. I expect that Black readers
will guffaw at the multiple scenes in which
protagonist Darren as the only Black
employee at Sumwun gets told regularly
that he resembles some Black celebrity, a
different one every time. Askaripour
speeds us through Darren’s transformation
into a highly successful salesman, and the
changes to his character as this happens.
We never get the chance to relax while
reading this novel, as we shift from a
dramatic scene to a selling takeaway. A
section that begins with tranquility ends
with violence. Kindness turns to cruelty.
White supremacy exercises power as a dish
best served cold. I loved every page of this
roller coaster of a book.
Dearly
****
4/13/21
Focus. I reflected not long ago that I
wasn’t reading as much poetry as I’d like,
so considering that April is National Poetry
Month, I increased my focus. One of the
collections I loved is by Margaret Atwood
and is titled, Dearly. The wide range of
themes is this collection demanded that I
read one poem per sitting, and that worked
just fine. It allowed me time to read the
same poem two or three times and then
think about it before reading another. I
will not stake a position on how Atwood’s
poetry compares with her longer fiction. I
will say with clarity that these poems are a
delight and should satisfy every reader
who enjoys contemporary poetry. Atwood
is a close observer of us and our world, and
her focus in these poems captures what is
important and essential in who and where
we are.
The Push
*****
9/8/21
Chilling. What does a parent do if your
child is a psychopath? Ashley Audrain’s
novel titled, The Push, gives readers the
opportunity to think about that question.
Not long after giving birth to daughter,
Violet, protagonist Blythe Connor begins
to think there is something wrong. Blythe’s
husband, Fox, denies and dismisses her
fears and concerns. Readers are left to
gape in horror at the consequences of not
taking Blythe’s concerns seriously. Audrain
captures the overwhelming sorrow that
enfolds Blythe as this chilling novel
observes Violet’s actions that fulfill her
mother’s greatest fears. Parents who read
this novel will hug their children longer
than usual as a way of thanking them for
not being like Violet.
Why Didn’t We
Riot? A Black Man
in Trumpland
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Baseless: My
Search for Secrets
in the Ruins of the
Freedom of
Information Act
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
A Gambling Man
****
5/6/21
Fortune. The second novel by David
Baldacci featuring Aloysius Archer is titled,
A Gambling Man. After the first episode
left Archer in peril, he heads West in hopes
of become an apprentice to a private
detective in Bay Town, California. A stop in
Reno brought him good luck, a large
bundle of cash, a rare 1939 Delahaye
convertible, and the companionship of
Liberty Callahan, a talented actress who
wants to make it big in Hollywood. Action
in Bay Town is stimulating and perilous,
and Archer and Liberty make a great team.
Readers need not have read the debut in
this series to enjoy this installment, but
one’s understanding of Archer’s character
is enhanced if one reads from the
beginning.
The Pessimists
****
12/18/21
Community. The suburbia setting in
Bethany Ball’s novel titled, The Pessimists,
bears little surface resemblance to the
world that John Updike mined so often.
On closer examination, we do find the
banality, white privilege, and moral decline
that Updike dissected. Readers with
experience of certain expensive private
schools will love Ball’s creation of Petra
School. The cast of characters present
themselves on one level to their
community, but beneath that presentation
there is something far more interesting.
Ball cultivates this landscape with great wit
and skill, and fans of fine writing will find
a lot to enjoy in this novel.
Permafrost
****
9/8/21
Poetic. The language and images in Eva
Baltasar’s debut novel titled, Permafrost,
are poetic and lucid. The narrator observes
the world and expresses her desires with
clarity. Readers find an inner life that
contrasts with that self she presents to the
world. We feel the protagonist speaks to us
with raw honesty and that’s something of a
privilege for us to savor, and to stimulate
the desire in us to know more.
The Granite Coast
Murders
****
6/8/21
Busman. The setting of the sixth
installment of Jean-Luc Bannalec’s
mystery series featuring Commissaire
Georges Dupin, is a two-week beach
vacation for Georges and Claire, a novel
titled, The Granite Coast Murders. While it
appears that Claire has disengaged from
her medical practice during their holiday,
Georges begins a clandestine investigation
of a local murder. While Georges has been
warned before about detecting outside his
jurisdiction, he can’t stand inactivity, and
prefers a busman’s holiday to lying on a
beach towel. Some readers will salivate at
the descriptions of some of the meals that
Georges and Claire enjoy. Mystery fans will
love the intricate plot. Fans of this series
will enjoy the return of familiar characters.
April in Spain
****
12/18/21
Recognition. For the eighth installment
in his Quirke series of crime novels, a book
titled, April in Spain, John Banville has
abandoned pseudonym, Benjamin Black.
Perhaps Banville recognized what many
readers concluded long ago: the difference
between literary fiction and popular fiction
is artificial and unnecessary. While on
holiday with his wife in Spain, on the coast
of San Sebastian, Quirke recognizes a
woman who couldn’t be there because she
was murdered years earlier. What follows
is an engaging and exciting story that fans
of this author by whatever name and of
this series will appreciate.
That Old Country
Music
****
12/6/21
Characters. I enjoyed reading Kevin
Barry’s short story collection titled, That
Old Country Music, for two reasons. First,
Barry’s prose uses finely crafted language
and when there’s dialogue, it always suits
the character and situation, thereby
bringing the story to life. Second, within
the efficient structure of the short story,
Barry finds ways to present complex and
interesting characters, full of the nuance
and inconsistency we find in people we
know.
The 22 Murders of
Madison May
*****
8/19/21
Multiverse. I thoroughly enjoyed Max
Barry’s exploration of the multiverse in his
novel titled, The 22 Murders of Madison
May. We follow the same cast of characters
in slightly altered universes in which the
same dynamics play out multiple times.
Readers already know that character
Madison May is murdered multiple times.
Journalist Felicity Staples becomes caught
up in a crime story and then tries to stop
the recurring psychopath from killing May.
The small details about the alterations that
Felicity finds as she enters a different
world add to the richness of the story.
What could have become repetitive turns
out to be richer with each version. Fans of
thrillers who can tolerate some science
fiction components are those readers most
likely to enjoy this entertaining novel.
Exit
****
4/27/21
Schemes. Fans of crime fiction are those
readers most likely to enjoy Belinda
Bauer’s novel titled, Exit. Protagonist Felix
Pink is a retired widower who volunteers
as an Exiteer, someone who accompanies a
terminally ill person exercising their right
to die. The role of the Exiteer is to be
present and not to assist the patient. After
Felix and a new volunteer arrive as
scheduled to be present for a planned
death, a mistake is made, and the bulk of
the novel’s plot drives from that error. The
prose is well written, the characters are
finely drawn, and the plot twists very
satisfying.
The Illness Lesson
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Festival Days
*****
10/8/21
Luminous. Readers who appreciate
outstanding writing are those most likely
to enjoy the nine pieces in Jo Ann Beard’s
collection titled, Festival Days. The depth
of character development leads to insight
about human behavior and highlights the
complexity of our interior lives. Beard’s
descriptions shine light on what’s often
hidden in what we fail to observe. Thanks
to her writing, the world become
luminous. Finally, I thought the ways in
which Beard reveals and constrains the
emotions of her characters enhanced the
depth of her insight and our enlightenment
after reading these stories.
Cuyahoga
****
12/13/21
Spectacle. Have you ever wondered what
the place where you live was like when
people first settled there? In his larger-
than-life story of the origins of Cleveland,
Ohio, a novel titled, Cuyahoga, Pete Beatty
presents a rowdy spectacle on which
contemporary readers can gaze agog. Set
in 1837, we meet an eclectic cast of
characters on the dirt streets of twin towns
vying to become the greatest city of the
Western Reserve. Their rivalry takes
expression in the form of building a bridge
across the Cuyahoga River. Readers will
laugh at the farce as the plot unfolds, enjoy
the exploits of interesting characters, and
admire the whole scenic spectacle that
Beatty describes with enthusiasm and joy.
The Secret to
Superhuman
Strength
****
7/17/21
Intensity. Prolific cartoonist Alison
Bechdel offers laughs and insight in her
graphic memoir titled, The Secret to
Superhuman Strength. Bechdel chronicles
her lifelong engagement in fitness,
following one fad or program after
another. Beneath that surface story is a
thoughtful examination of our
interdependent lives, expressed in multiple
ways with sensitivity. For those readers
who enjoy the visual stimulation of the
graphic form along with the compact text
to read will fine this book a delight.
The Windsor Knot
****
5/6/21
Clever. SJ Bennett opens a new crime
series featuring a familiar protagonist:
Queen Elizabeth II. Under Bennett’s
conceit, the Queen solves crimes in her
spare time, and proves herself to be an
unerring judge of character in the process.
The setting for the crime in the novel
titled, The Windsor Knot, is Windsor
Castle, where an overnight guest has been
found dead in one of the bedrooms.
Thanks to a poorly tied knot, what
appeared to be suicide looks now like foul
play. The manner in which the Queen
pursues her inquiries will delight those
readers who love crime fiction, and the use
of her assistant private secretary brings
those two women closer together. I was
entertained by this clever novel and look
forward to the next case investigated by
the Detective Queen.
The Power Couple
****
3/25/21
Secrets. Patient readers who allow Alex
Berenson to draw us inside a marriage will
be rewarded by the twists and surprises in
a novel titled, The Power Couple. While
Brian and Rebecca are celebrating their
20
th
anniversary on a trip to Europe with
their children, nineteen-year-old Kira is
kidnapped. Instead of a direct thrilling
plot, Berenson leads us away from the
current action to learn about the couple’s
backstory and secrets. While tension
remains taut, especially during Kira’s
captivity, our impressions of different
characters change as we learn more,
including delightful surprises that open
our eyes. By the time the novel comes close
to an ending, most readers will be unsure
exactly how things will turn out. They do
resolve, of course, to this reader’s great
satisfaction.
Northern Spy
****
12/6/21
Peace. Fans of thrillers may enjoy Flynn
Berry’s novel titled, Northern Spy, because
of the fast-paced plot action. Beneath the
tension and conflict that provide the
backdrop for the novel, there’s an
underlying hunger for peace. Berry
develops the characters in ways that
readers quickly appreciate the familiar
humanity in which every person makes
compromises and finds a space for love,
especially within families. On one page, we
are caught up in the turmoil of espionage,
while on another, we observe the nurturing
of a child.
The Kaiser’s Web
****
3/18/21
Heritage. The sixteenth installment in
the Cotton Malone series by Steve Berry is
a novel titled, The Kaiser’s Web. A
candidate for election as Chancellor of
Germany stokes nationalistic sentiments
and represents those who are proud of
their heritage. Cotton is asked to help the
incumbent Chancellor who is vulnerable in
her race for reelection. There are secrets
involved, investigations in South America
and South Africa, as well as in secret Swiss
vaults. Berry speculates about an alternate
Nazi history, and offers plot twists and
surprises that will delight fans.
Parakeet
***
2/4/21
Bride. Let Marie-Helene Bertino’s finely
constructed sentences lull you as you read
her novel titled, Parakeet, so you can
dream along with the surreal narrative. We
meet the protagonist known as the bride as
she faces the emotional intensity of her
wedding week. Her dead grandmother
visits her in the form of a parakeet and
presents a warning and a challenge. The
momentum of the novel involves the
bride’s response to the visit of the
parakeet. I loved the finely written prose
but can tolerate only so much surreality.
Afterland
****
1/5/21
Escape. Are you ready for a different
pandemic? If so, consider reading Lauren
Beukes’ exciting novel titled, Afterland,
about the journey of a twelve-year-old boy,
Miles, and his mother, Cole, who cross the
United States from Seattle to Miami to
escape a fate for Miles that Cole finds
untenable. Cole is fierce in her efforts to
protect Miles, and the plot momentum
delivers intensity and thrilling action.
Readers who love a great story with
interesting characters and thrilling action
are those most likely to enjoy this novel.
Each of Us Killers
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Cry Baby
****
8/19/21
Missing. Fans of recurring protagonist
Tom Thorne may feel a bit of whiplash as
the seventeenth installment by Mark
Billingham, a novel titled, Cry Baby, takes
us back to 1996. Close readers will see this
as a prequel to the debut novel,
Sleepyhead. Whether this is the first Tom
Thorne novel for you or if you’d read them
all, you’ll find in this installment a talented
detective in the middle of an interesting
case involving a missing young boy.
Tension builds after others connected to
the boy are killed. Fans of detective fiction
will love the dead ends and twists in the
story, and by the time you’ve guessed with
confidence what happened to the missing
boy, you will be well on your way to
finishing off an entertaining book.
Rabbit Hole
****
9/8/21
Unreliable. Alice Armitage, the
unreliable narrator of Mark Billingham’s
novel titled, Rabbit Hole, began to annoy
me within the first few pages of this book.
She’s a patient in an acute psychiatric ward
and her running commentary has an
erratic, frantic and troubled rhythm. While
this is not Wonderland, there is a rabbit
hole through which Alice serves as our
guide. Patient readers who stick with Alice
will be rewarded by a terrific narrative
with murders to solve and the constant
question about how reliable Alice is in
what she is telling readers. Spending time
with Alice in the psych ward was thrilling
and entertaining, and every twist was
executed by Billingham with great skill.
Animal, Vegetable,
Junk: A History of
Food, from
Sustainable to
Suicidal
****
7/17/21
Agroecology. In his book titled, Animal,
Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from
Sustainable to Suicidal, Mark Bittman
reviews human history through the lens of
food. After over three hundred pages of
relating a litany of disasters from slavery to
colonialism to famine to genocide to
climate change to big food producing
unhealthy and addicting junk, many
readers may have lost the appetite to read
further (or to eat anything processed ever
again). But after laying out a sorrowful
past when it comes to food, Bittman offers
a way we can transform current practices
and move toward a better future. He
makes a strong case for all the benefits of
agroecology. Readers interested in
nutrition and public policy will find a lot to
chew on after reading this book.
The Devil You
Know: A Black
Power Manifesto
*****
2/13/21
Intentionality. Charles Blow makes a
perfectly reasonable proposal to fellow
Black citizens in his book titled, The Devil
You Know: A Black Power Manifesto.
Move back home to the American South to
increase the density of Black residents to
gain voting power to exercise Black power.
Through intentionality in aggregating
together, white supremacy can be defeated
by the actions of Black citizens. Blow
mentions specific states where such action
is most likely to succeed and uses his own
positive experience in moving to Georgia
as an example of positive change. His case
is convincing and bold and, if his
manifesto is followed, could result in a
successful reverse Great Migration.
Readers interested in public policy will
find a lot to think about after reading this
cogent book.
The Art of
Fairness: The
Power of Decency
in a World Turned
Mean
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
On the House: A
Washington
Memoir
****
6/19/21
Zippity. Former Speaker of the United
States House of Representatives John
Boehner’s memoir titled, On the House: A
Washington Memoir, should delight all but
a few readers. Boehner presents himself as
a humble guy who grew up in a big family
and the family bar, maintained
conservative values and lived a consistent
and genuine life following a set of
Boehnerisms that are listed in the book.
Looking beyond the awe shucks, regular
guy persona, he displays his political chops
in the ways he talks about a lot of people
he worked during his time in Washington.
Rest assured, Nancy Pelosi can look
beyond his words of praise, and Ted Cruz
won’t be using any Boehner quotes in his
next campaign. This is a cheerful story
from the guy who sang Zippity Doo Dah as
he bid farewell to public service. Follow his
example from the book cover and quaff the
tipple of your choice as you listen to what
Boehner has to say.
A Beautiful Crime
****
6/8/21
Venice. An interesting novel by
Christopher Bollen titled, A Beautiful
Crime, about scheming and deception
becomes more enchanted by the setting of
most of the novel in Venice. Nick Brink
and Clay Guillory meet in New York, fall in
love, and plan a crime to give them a
secure and happy future together. Bollen
draws readers into their deception and
before we know it, we are alongside the
characters in Venice, agog at the setting,
and shocked at the lengths to which people
will go once plans are set in motion. Fans
of crime fiction, and any reader who loves
Venice, will find something to enjoy in this
crime novel.
The Regrets
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Firekeeper’s
Daughter
****
6/19/21
Hockey. Angeline Boulley’s debut novel
titled, Firekeeper’s Daughter, introduces a
strong female protagonist who will delight
readers of this book. Daunis Fontaine
plays hockey with great skill as she’s ready
to leave home for college out of town in
hope that she will find her place in the
world. Family tragedy keeps her closer to
home as meth plagues the community and
the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis’
knowledge of Ojibwe traditional medicine
gets put to the test as she’s called on to do
things beyond her eighteen years. The plot
is engaging, the characters complex, and
Daunis a heroine to be remembered.
Talk to Me
*****
9/23/21
Sam. The center of attention in T.C.
Boyle’s novel titled, Talk to Me, is a young
chimp named Sam who appears on the
book jacket. Guy Schermerhorn is a college
professor devoted to a project in which he
is raising Sam in a human household,
teaching Sam to converse with human
housemates using sign language. After
undergraduate Aimee Villard moves in,
Boyle has the backdrop for exploring all
the ethical and philosophical issues to
explore about interspecies interaction,
which he does with great skill. I found this
novel develops the notion of what it means
to be human in ways that should engage
readers, and helps us appreciate and
understand the power of language. We also
have to face what we are willing to do for
love, in whatever form we find it.
The Profession: A
Memoir of
Community, Race,
and the Arc of
Policing in America
*****
7/22/21
Change. Bill Bratton’s leadership of police
forces in Boston, New York and Los
Angeles has given him a front row seat for
the significant changes in police work over
the past five decades. In his memoir titled,
The Profession: A Memoir of Community,
Race, and the Arc of Policing in America,
Bratton talks about the different roles he
has performed, and how, in every case, he
has assessed the situation, gathered data,
and implemented change. His account is
thoughtful and authoritative as he relates
his perspective on policing. Readers will
find it interesting to observe the pace of
change, which changes stuck, and how
fragile the profession can be to sustain
goodwill and effectiveness when rogue
cops behave in ways that taint those doing
a good job.
Undaunted: My
Fight Against
America's Enemies,
At Home and
Abroad
****
4/13/21
Values. Readers can learn a lot about
national security from former CIA Director
John O. Brennan’s memoir titled,
Undaunted: My Fight Against America's
Enemies, At Home and Abroad. If we are
able to set aside our political alignments
for a moment to read about the career of a
civil servant, we can find values that are
likely to be held in common by citizens at
all points along a political continuum.
Brennan grew up in working class New
Jersey, and a thread of integrity connects
his upbringing to his most important roles
in government service. Brennan is smart
and scrappy, and he leans toward candor
in this well-written book. I encourage
readers to set aside any preconceptions
about Brennan and listen to him tell the
story of his life and the jobs he performed
in the national security interests of the
United States.
The Authority of
the Court and the
Peril of Politics
***
10/25/21
Audience. I finished reading Supreme
Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s book titled,
The Authority of the Court and the Peril of
Politics, thinking about his intended
audience. If his audience is the informed
American citizen, his claims of the court
not being political come across as naïve. If
his audience is his fellow justices and his
message is for them not to overreach
because they may find the authority of the
court diminished, that made a bit more
sense to me. I thought of Alan Greenspan’s
confession about his foundational error in
the runup to the financial crisis. He
assumed that banks would act prudently as
a form of self-preservation. As we know,
they didn’t. Why Breyer might expect
fellow justices to preserve the authority of
the Supreme Court by not overreaching in
their decisions, I can’t imagine. We will all
watch the exercise of power and learn how
much peril can be absorbed by our
democratic republic.
Sad Janet
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Milk Fed
****
5/14/21
Appetites. Melissa Broder’s novel titled,
Milk Fed, offers a wide-ranging
exploration of appetite. Twenty-four-year-
old protagonist Rachel has abandoned the
Judaism of her youth to pursue an intense
focus on calorie counting. By controlling
what goes into her mouth, she believes she
has taken charge of her life. Life changes
for Rachel after a personnel change at her
favorite frozen yogurt shop. The precise
small portion that she used to receive
changes when the new employee, Miriam,
begins to dole out much larger portions.
Rachel is attracted to Orthodox plus size
Miriam, whose abundance provides the yin
to Rachel’s restrictive yang. What follows
is the pursuit of desires that will satisfy all
kinds of appetites and an examination of
how we want to be fed. There are many
times to laugh and wince on the pages of
this novel, but in Broder’s capable hands,
we see the changes in Rachel as she comes
to terms with who she is and what she
needs.
Assembly
****
11/16/21
Whiteness. By throwing out any
unnecessary words in her debut novel
titled, Assembly, Natasha Brown uses just
over one hundred pages to assemble and
dismantle the stories we tell ourselves and
each other about class, race, gender,
success, and safety. The Black female
narrator examines her life and experiences
with clarity. The societal canvas presents
Whiteness as the impossible ideal for
woman like her. The expectation of
obedience and complicity comes from a
colonial heritage that remains central to
contemporary life in Britain. This incisive
novel presents modern life head-on and
eyes wide open.
A Galway Epiphany
****
8/5/21
Miracle. The latest novel by Ken Bruen
featuring protagonist and private eye Jack
Taylor is titled, A Galway Epiphany. This
time out, Jack leaves his quiet country life
for a day in Galway. A truck hits Jack and
he spends three weeks in hospital in a
coma. When he awakens, he learns that the
whole country has heard his story because
people believe two children who tended to
him just after the accident are saints, and
his health is the result of a miracle.
Skeptics have asked Jack to find the
children so the miracle can either be
verified or some other truth can be
discovered. What follows is Jack Taylor at
his very best, to the delight of fans of this
series.
Everywhere You
Don’t Belong
****
12/13/21
Escape. Gabriel Bump’s debut novel
titled, Everywhere You Don’t Belong, tells
the coming-of-age story of protagonist
Claude McKay. Claude is an ordinary kid
trying to find his place in the world. Bump
draws the South Side of Chicago with care
and love, not flinching at describing the
troubled places. Claude seeks to escape
from his Chicago home and redefine
himself at a college far away from what
he’s known to this time in his life. Bump
gives us an Everyman story of struggle and
hope, filled with well-developed
characters.
No Heaven for
Good Boys
*****
2/23/21
Tradition. My heart ached as I read
about the plight of six-year-old Ibrahimah
in Keisha Bush’s novel titled, No Heaven
for Good Boys. In Senegal there is tradition
and honor for a young man to be sent away
from home to study the Koran with a
teacher called a marabout. A chance
encounter in Ibrahimah’s remote village
leads Marabout Ahmed to select
Ibrahimah to join his older cousin Etienne
in Dakar to study the Koran. After arriving
in the capital city, Ibrahimah finds little
instruction, little food and a life spent
begging to enrich Marabout Ahmed. On
the streets of the city, the dangers are life
threatening as the young boys called Talibé
are exposed to danger from many sources.
Bush drew upon true events to describe
this abusive practice. This story of a fight
for survival will be difficult to read, may
break your heart, and might bring renewed
confidence and hope in the goodwill of
most people.
In the Dark of War:
A CIA Officer's
Inside Account of
the U.S.
Evacuation from
Libya
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Deaths of Despair
and the Future of
Capitalism
****
2/23/21
Injustice. In their book titled, Deaths of
Despair and the Future of Capitalism,
Anne Case and Angus Deaton diagnosis
serious problems in American life and
offer thoughtful solutions to address the
current state of injustice experienced by so
many citizens. They are critical of areas in
which capitalism doesn’t seem to be
working, and they rail against the high cost
of healthcare that doesn’t deliver great
results. Supported by data, their analysis
provides a foundation for all parties
interested in public policy change.
Bestiary
***
3/18/21
Myths. In her debut novel titled, Bestiary,
K-Ming Chang introduces readers to three
generations of women who navigate
through a world of myth and reality. If
you’re comfortable with a woman growing
a tiger’s tail and remain at ease while
unsure what’s real and what’s imagined,
you’re likely to enjoy this novel. Chang’s
writing will appeal to readers who
appreciate literary fiction, and the motifs
of water, snakes and keys will delight such
readers. Personally, I don’t know enough
about Taiwanese mythology to appreciate
the references, but I found the writing
engaging and imaginative.
The Paris Library
****
4/13/21
Odile. Janet Skeslien Charles takes the
true story of the actions of the librarians of
the American Library in Paris during
World War II and uses her fine writing
skills to present a novel titled, The Paris
Library. Protagonist Odile Souchet was a
young librarian at the American Library in
Paris when the Nazis take Paris. Charles
tells us what Odile did at that time, and
also draws her in Montana in the 1980s
where she lives next door to a young
woman named Lily who loves language
and books. Charles connects Odile and Lily
as she lets readers see how relationships
make us who we are, and our relationships
with books and authors can also link us
together. After I read this novel, I made a
list of the libraries that have enriched my
life, and each of the ten I selected
contributed in significant ways to a life
well lived. Everyone who reads this novel
will think more about books, about
libraries and about the power of
relationships.
Sergeant Salinger
****
9/8/21
Trauma. J.D. Salinger has generated
curiosity among generations of readers
because of his reticence to talk about
himself and the reclusive life he led after
his writing became renowned. In his novel
titled, Sergeant Salinger, prolific writer
Jerome Charyn presents an account of
Salinger’s life during World War II.
Readers are left with the impression that it
was the trauma of the war and his personal
suffering that led to the quality of
Salinger’s writing. The contrast of Salinger
before and after the war is developed with
great skill and insight. Whether you’re
interested or not in a fictional
interpretation of Salinger, you’re likely to
enjoy this entertaining and finely written
novel.
Better Off Dead
****
12/18/21
Adversaries. The twenty-sixth
installment in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher
series is a novel titled, Better Off Dead, co-
written with his brother, Andrew Child.
The action opens with Reacher walking
west in the Arizona desert minding his
own business. What follows is his
enlistment in the search for a missing
person, and his pitting his skills against a
very worthy adversary. Fans of the series
will enjoy all the ways that Reacher plays
the angles, wipes out obstacles, and
improvises the best way to prevail.
Martita, I
Remember You
****
10/15/21
Friends. In her short novel titled,
Martita, I Remember You, Sandra Cisneros
explores close friendship. We meet three
young women in Paris and savor the
intensity of their brief time together.
Through letters and recollection, we learn
about their time in Paris and can choose to
read the narrative in English, Spanish, or
both. The text of their letters reinforces the
depth of their relationships and how the
time and place where they first met comes
alive as it is remembered.
Piranesi
****
1/5/21
Labyrinth. For an imaginative escape
from your own reality, consider reading
Susanna Clarke’s novel titled, Piranesi.
Most of the novel is set in an alternative
world, a labyrinth with what seems like
unending rooms full of beauty where
tidewater ebbs and flows. Protagonist
Piranesi explores this world and learns the
rhythms of life. For a while Piranesi seems
to be alone, but after the “Other” appears,
things get even more interesting. It will
take a while for many readers to become
acclimated to Clarke’s prose, but patience
pays off for those who enjoy a complicated
structure and lots of levels of meaning.
There’s no time like the present for
exploring a new world.
The End of the Day
****
2/23/21
Secrets. Introspection leads us to confirm
or regret past decisions. In his novel titled,
The End of the Day, Bill Clegg lets readers
meander across multiple characters and a
long period of time as we gradually come
to see the connections among people and
the consequences of past decisions. After
secrets are kept for what seemed like good
reasons at the time, the consequences of
those secrets have unexpected
repercussions in the lives of different
people. Patient readers who surrender to
confusion about connections are rewarded
after the pieces all fall in place.
State of Terror
****
11/22/21
Bombs. Readers willing to place political
allegiances aside for a few hours and
acknowledge that two women had a ball
collaborating on a novel so maybe there’s
something to enjoy in the product of their
efforts. Former United States Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton joined forces
with crime novelist Louise Penny to write a
thrilling novel titled, State of Terror. With
Penny’s skills at character and plot, and
Clinton’s insider view of world affairs, the
result is an entertaining novel about
bombs ready to devastate three locations
in the United States. Penny fans will love
the connections in this book to Three
Pines, and Clinton fans will love the
behavior of the fictional Secretary of State
as she interacts with the President and
various world leaders. I was thoroughly
entertained.
Win
*****
3/25/21
Reprised. Fans of Harlan Coben will be
delighted that he’s reprised a past
character for a complete and exciting novel
of his own, titled, Win. Protagonist
Windsor Horne Lockwood III becomes a
person of interest after a recluse is found
murdered in a penthouse apartment on the
Upper West Side. Inside the apartment
was a Vermeer stolen from the Lockwood
family two decades earlier, as well as a
suitcase bearing Win’s initials. There’s
mystery behind the identity of the recluse,
and secrets in the Lockwood family that
have been kept for a very long time. The
story moves quickly, the characters are
interesting, and the development of Win in
his own novel was satisfying.
The Archer
****
1/5/21
Guidance. Philosophers tackle tough
questions about the meaning of life. Gurus
of every type offer guidance on “how to”
almost everything. In his novel titled, The
Archer, Paulo Coelho tells a story about
how to live a meaningful and integrated
life. While brief with words, this novel
overflows with wisdom and guidance for
every reader’s thoughtful reflection. For
readers who are spiritual but not religious,
this book can provide a launchpad for
thinking about one’s life.
This Is the Voice
****
4/22/21
Informative. As an amateur singer and
multi-decade member of a choir, I came to
John Colapinto’s book titled, This Is the
Voice, with some knowledge about the
instrument I use when I sing. Happily, I
was both entertained and informed by this
book which crosses many disciplines to
describe the ways in which our ability to
convey meaning through sound has
defined our species. I ached when I read
about how Colapinto damaged his voice
and thought about the skills of those
otolaryngologists who restore and
strengthen voices. Next time I feel strain
while reaching for a note, I’ll think of this
book, relax, and not put my vocal
instrument at risk. Readers who enjoy
popular science books will find a lot to
learn from this entertaining and
interesting book.
Big Bad
****
7/22/21
Wild. The baker’s dozen collection of
short stories by Whitney Collins in a book
titled, Big Bad, are funny, thoughtful,
quirky and in each case, deep. Collins’
finely written prose can capture character
in a few sentences and reveal with great
creativity some aspect of the darkness
inside each of us, that thing that gets the
best of us from time to time. Collins places
characters in ordinary places and reveals
the extraordinary depths of human
behavior. Each of these stories can be a
well-savored treat for those readers who
love short fiction and enjoy the breadth of
ways to live one’s life.
Detroit Style: Car
Design in the
Motor City, 1950-
2020
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Saving Justice:
Truth,
Transparency, and
Trust
****
3/18/21
Lessons. You’ve already decided whether
you’re interested in reading a book by
former FBI Director James Comey, so
what I have to say may have no impact. In
his book titled, Saving Justice: Truth,
Transparency, and Trust, Comey talks
about lessons he learned from his life and
shares with some candor specific mistakes
he made, especially early in his career as a
prosecutor for the Department of Justice.
Someone needs to speak to a general
audience about the principles and values
that provide direction and guidance to the
administration of impartial justice in the
United States. Comey may or not be the
right voice, but what he says in this book
made sense to me and reinforces the
importance of fairness and equity in the
enforcement of law and the administration
of impartial justice.
The Law of
Innocence
****
1/26/21
Defendant. The sixth installment of
Michael Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer series
featuring defense attorney Mickey Haller is
a novel titled, The Law of Innocence.
Haller’s world turns upside down after he
is arrested for murder and has to defend
himself from jail. Mickey knows that he’s
innocent although the evidence looks bad
for him, and that to restore his reputation
he will need to find the real murderer.
Fans of crime fiction and this series are
those readers most likely to enjoy this