2018: Closing Out the Books

For the last installation of 2018 book blogging, I present my total of visually read books for 2018 as the lowest number it's been in years.  Possibly since middle school:

15.

Final commentary on Gravity's Rainbow plus the last three books below:

Gravity's Rainbow (C+, finally finished)		Worth the effort, but boy did this book take up a huge portion of my reading effort for the year.  I was very happy to be done.
The Importance of Being Earnest (B+)	Oscar Wilde	A classic for a reason, of course.  Frivolous.  Fun.  Entertaining.
Less (A-)	Andrew Sean Greer	I loved. Loved.  LOVED this book. The story of a 50 year old gay male author whose former partner is getting married, so he accepts all manner of invitations all over the world to concoct an excuse not to attend.  The writing is so subtly good that I found myself going back a few lines to double check that I'd fully appreciated the jokes. I don't believe I've ever read a book where the protagonist was a middle-aged gay male, and I sincerely appreciated the opportunity to get into that headspace. A friend said that this book reminded her of the Elegance of the Hedgehog (one of my favorite books of all time), and I agree.  There's almost nothing in common between the books in terms of characters or plot, but there's something about the slyly hilarious humor of the language and the honest and wistful characters and their desires that is a shared experience between them.
Rust & Stardust (B)	T. Greenwood	In 1948, young Sally Horner was kidnapped by Frank La Salle, a 50 year old mechanic, who posed as an FBI agent after observing her shoplift and used this ruse to convince her to come with him.  He kept her captive for 2 years as they traveled from Camden, New Jersey to Baltimore, Dallas, and eventually San Jose, California.  I learned from this book, that the news of this real-life story inspired Nabokov to write Lolita.  I don't usually like real-life crime novels that are not detective stories with a clean ending.  Crime as experienced by the victim is not the type of literature I like to consume. I got nightmares from criminal law class in law school.  But, this was a gifted loan from a friend, so I gave it a read.  Much like Lolita, it is a gorgeous collection of words.  It's a beautiful book.  It tells the tale from the perspective of the victim, rather than the perpetrator, which is, from the yuck-perspective, an improvement over Lolita.  It was a good, compelling read.  But, I raced to finish it as quickly as possible -- I just wanted the terrible story to end.  When it did, I was sad to be done with the writing. I would read this author's work again.

In audiobook news, I continue to rip through them at a ridiculous pace, with 45 in this post for a yearly total of 98.  Thank goodness for Libby (the Overdrive app that let's you check out audiobooks from your local library), or else, the price of my audiobook habit would dwarf most people's cable/Internet bill!

A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court (B)	Mark Twain	Funny, like only Twain can be. A tale of a man transported from the 1800s to King Arthur's Court where he becomes a magician and exploits technology to modify the court.  Gunpowder, bicycles, baseball, etc. all play major parts, as you'd expect.
Head On (B+)	John Scalzi	The sequel to Lock In.  Chris continues in the gender non-specified form from the original book and you can listen to it read by Amber Bensen or Will Wheaten.
Dismas Hardy (Books 7 - 17) (B)	John Lescroart	More goodness.  Caught up to modern day where Hardy's daughter is an associate at his firm.
Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in 15 Suggestions (B-)	Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie	Short and sweet, this letter from the always thoughtful author to a friend who has a newborn girl talks through her (pre-motherhood) ideas of how best to raise a daughter.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but wonderful, nonetheless.
Something In the Water (A-)	Catherine Steadman	I adored this thriller, although I had roughly figured out the "surprise" plot with about 20% left to go.  It's not ideal when you are pretty sure you know who the bad guy is and the main characters still haven't figured it out.  Even with that complaint, however, this was very enjoyable.  Also, the author is an actress, and she did her own reading -- her acting ability translated very nicely into voice acting and definitely added to the experience.  If you're looking for a comparison, this felt very similar to Girl on the Train, in terms of pacing, language, and theme.
Insurgent (B) Allegiant (B-)	Veronica Roth	2nd & 3rd book in the Divergent Series.  The tone and pacing were similar to Divergent -- obviously young adult with obviously under-developed emotional maturity, but with that reality worked well into the fast-moving plot.  Very enjoyable and full of surprises.
Eat, Pray, Love (B)	Elizabeth Gilbert	I needed something uplifting in the wake of the Kavanaugh hearings, and I remembered enjoying this book when I'd read it over 10 years ago.  I knew that Ms. Gilbert had evolved quite a bit since writing this book, and so had I, as well as the world.  I was interested to see how the book held up.  I am happy to report that it did hold up relatively well.
Educated (A+)	Tara Westover	Such a raw and brave and extremely American story.  Conservative mormonism.  Preppers. Physical abuse. A hard, honest, telling of a young woman's self-education from conspiracy theory-laden origins without a birth certificate with essentially no formal home-schooling, through BYU, Oxford, Harvard, and beyond.
The Alphabet Mysteries:  A is for Alibi; B is for Burglar; C is for Corpse (B- average) -- up to H at this point	Sue Grafton	I had been looking for another mystery series I could dive into and this 3 book collection was offered by Amazon for 1 credit, so I dived in.  It's a solid offering that entertains and distracts.  Kinnsey Millhone (the main character) is a fun strong female character.  The early books are set in the 80s, and it's kind of fun to realize how different professional work was before email and cell phones.  I have been making my way through the series as they become available via my local library.
Sourdough (A)	Robin Sloan	A book club member recommended this book and WOW!  Highly recommended.  A very unique and imaginative modern day tale of an old migrant people, culture, technology, startups, San Francisco in all of its excess and the complex biology of bread starter.  Surprisingly enjoyable and insightful.
The Magician's Assistant (B+)	Ann Patchett	I knew that Ann Patchett and Elizabeth Gilbert were close friends, and this book made it clear how that friendship could have been an easy one.  This book's take on life, mysteries, relationships that don't work according to society's or our own expectations but are still treasures to be cherished all felt like something Ms. Gilbert would endorse.  Poignant, full of loss, but also full of love.
The Mrs. Pollifax Series (books 1-11) (B average)	Dorothy Gilman	So refreshing!  This adorable series is centered on a 60-something widow who, suffering from a fit of depression, decides to volunteer at the CIA to be of service in lieu of suicide.  Her general instincts about people as well as her unassuming countenance serve her well and she always saves the day.  The stories are adorable, and oddly educational since they were written in the 70s and 80s and cover bits of international conflict set in that time period that never really escalated to the point of making it into modern version of history that I'd learned  (a low bar, as I'm not remotely a history nerd).
Committed (B)	Elizabeth Gilbert	A deep historical and personal exploration of the institution of marriage.  Fascinating and educational.  I will likely be recommending this to people who struggle with the concept of marriage, as I myself, once did, before capitulating for the sake of grandparents, family, and the reality that it's much easier to be legally married to your most important person than not.
Sapiens (A-)	Yuval Noah Harari	This was a big heart-heavy look at humans and how we've co-evolved with planet earth.  Turns out, we've been wreaking havoc on the planet and causing extinctions for ages.  We exterminated the majority of the large land mammals long before we even experienced the agrarian revolution.  On one level, this book was depressing.  On the other, it was comforting -- things are *not* getting worse, we've always been an all-consumptive species that took what we wanted at the expense of everything (and everyone) else.  If you are interested in the history of humanity, warts and all, I highly recommend this book.  But fair warning, parts of it aren't pretty at all.
Magpie Murders (B+)	Anthony Horowitz	Super clever book within in a book escapade, except it's a detective mystery series within a book.  And extremely well executed.  If you like murder mysteries, I guarantee you will love this book -- so much homage to the greats, in many ways, it's a love story to the genre.
Just the Funny Parts: …And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking into the Hollywood Boys' Club (B)	Nell Scovell	Excellent memoire from the television and magazine writer who ended up collaborating with Sheryl Sandberg on Lean In.  Honest tales of what it took to succeed in her career in the 80s, 90s, 2000s, and current decade.  She's got a wry sense of humor and a great story to tell.  Very enjoyable.
Sounds like America (C+)	Various	Free on Audible.  Great takes on regional differences/uniqueness in the US.  We probably ripped through 5 of the available episodes and enjoyed them all on a road trip over the holidays.  Perfectly consumable free content for car rides.

2018 Books, Part II

I've been steadily ripping through audiobooks and slowly making my way through visual books since my last books post.

Visually read books include:

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (C)	Mark Manson	Extremely fast read -- finished the book in less than 2 hours.  Very enjoyable with a few amusing anecdotes about personal fullfilment from odd places like Pete Best (drummer kicked out of the Beatles), founding musician of Megadeath, and Hiroo Onoda (Japanes WWII soldier who kept fighting in the Phillipines until 1972!).  Good message, particularly about the difference between responsibility and fault.  At times in our lives we will all bear responsibility for things that are not our fault.  That's just life.
Brave New World (A)	Aldous Huxley	I'd never read this classic dystopian novel, so I thought I'd give it a try.  The "everyone's body is for everyone's pleasure" bit is creepy when viewed in light of the discourse around whether humans have a "right to sex" that is popular with the incel nutjob crowd.  Very thought provoking on many fronts, but the biggest one for me, was thinking about Huxley's focus on the very human need for pain/struggle versus the losses we've had to depressive suicide with people who in one light could appear to have "perfect" lives without struggle.  I suspect I'll go back and re-read this one in a few years as it definitely felt like there was more there for me to discover and think about.
Left Hand of Darkness (B-)	Ursula K LeGuin	Given how much history this one has and how many SF authors consider it an important piece in the SF/Fantasy canon, I had to read it.  My book club agreed.  Overall, it hasn't aged as well as one might think.  At the time it was published it pushed the gender discourse.  But today, the gender binary seems extremely dated, even while the main characters other than Genry (the ambassador-like character from Terra/Earth) are all hermaphroditic and spend 5/6 of their time in a supposed non-gendered state when not mating or bearing children.  I'm very glad I read it, but it didn't inspire the same level of awe or appreciation for me, today, than it appears to have done in 1969.
Gravity's Rainbow (C+, in process)	Thomas Pynchon	So many things…This book is *work*.  The closest reading experience I can compare it to is the Illuminatus Trilogy.  But with more military references, less explicit sexual experimentation, and perhaps less linear plot cohesiveness.  At times the poetic construction is breathtaking -- often when I'm not totally sure what is being described, but the juxtaposed words and ideas are so fascinating that it's worth pushing through. I've been oscillating between behind the group, ahead of it, and right on track, but knowing that there are folks I like reading in parallel, I do think I'm more likely to finish this project than I would if I had started it on my own. More cohesive review to come when I actually finish it.
Inherit The Wind (B-)	Jerome Lawrence & Robert E Lee	We read this one for book club.  It's SHORT.  And easy to get through.  I checked out the book from the library and read it in a couple of nights before bed.  I also searched around the Internet and read some cliff's notes-like analysis prior to hosting book club where we watched the Academy Award winning movie.  At some point in my reading, I internalized one of the more poignant scenes in the movie as having occurred in the book.  But it did not.  One of our book club members read an online PDF version that had changes to modernize it such that the Journalist (Hornbeck) was a woman, which she said vastly improved the story.  Overall, the play is simplistic.  Reading it and watching the movie were a bit depressing, as it is clear that both the play and the movie thought that we'd be over silly conflicts over whether or not you can teach evolution in public schools by the 50s or 60s.  And yet... here we are.

Audiobooks are my companion while I garden, run, walk, and do chores in my homebound life.  The latest have included the following:

Aurora (A)	Kim Stanley Robinson	This book was epic in the poetic sense.  It starts with a multi-generational starship journey from earth to a potentially habitable planet in a star system light years away.  That portion alone could have been the whole book.  But no, one of the main characters dies.  The story continues, they miraculously arrive at their target and start to colonize.  Chaos ensues.  New choices are made.  More people die.  AI evolves, learns to love.  And eventually we are left with one of the strongest characters who has been through so much dealing with true human-scale (i.e. horrific) fear and trauma in her new surroundings.  So thoughtful, experimental, and wonderfully full of hope in the face of humans at their worst.  Another wonderful KSR offering.
Cutting For Stone (A)	Abraham Vergese	Such a multi-layered tender story of love, medicine, surgery, treatment and all of life's horrors, wrapped up in a gorgeous familial drama set primarily in Ethiopia where almost all of the major characters are immigrants.  Highly recommended.
Les Miserables (A+)	Victor Hugo	66+ hours of listening at normal speed.  Not for the faint of heart.  I adored this one and I'm so glad I put in the effort even if I did have to call a long run short due to a very long diversion into the history and facts of the Paris sewers, which completely failed to inspire the fast feet.  Hugo's portrayal of the poor and downtrodden with such humanity is absolutely gorgeous (and no doubt was shockingly subversive in its time).
Foundation and Empire (B)	Isaac Asimov	This was on sale on Audible and the Foundation trilogy had been on my list for a while.  The series is generally regarded as a masterpiece, and even out of order, it delivered.  It was not difficult to start with the 2nd book in the series and find the characters/plots/worlds interesting, although I'll probably go back and listen to the the 1st one before going on to the third.  Like many classics, I don't think I have much to say about this that hasn't been said.  If you like space operas, this is a good one.
The Scarecrow (B)	Michael Connelly	A solid enjoyable serial-killer thriller with a journalist as the main character.  I love Michael Connelly and I loved this book.  It was well done and I felt bad for Rachel (FBI agent who took professional hits due to her relationship with Jack MacKavoy (main character)).  Not as good as the Poet, but still fun.
Hunger (A-)	Roxane Gay	Oh boy.  Buoooooyyyyy.  This was loaded.  This book hit all of my body awareness and care and WTF points.  I could relate so strongly to the medical professional interactions -- women are often discounted in the medical context, even by well-trained, well-meaning professionals.  Obviously obesity results in even more medical dismissal.  Roxane's book is an honest and unflinching look at her own experience as a very obese human & woman of color and how her life is affected by it.  It was thought-provoking and difficult.  I recommend it.
Endurance (B+)	Alex Hutchinson	An excellent compilation and summary of all of the various studies that have been done about the various ways to measure human endurance whether about running, cycling, strength, heat exhaustion, feuling, etc.  Interestingly, many of these studies have been done on Canadians, because their conscientious objector status required able bodied males of draft age to serve in other ways, like subjecting themselves to electric shocks to measure muscle contraction...I think my favorite thing about this book is how comprehensive it is and how non-authoritarian it was in the analysis.  It's so *real* and *normal* -- like, "here's some interesting shit, but really, we're not sure we know much of anything."  So, if you really enjoy learning a ton of new things and walking away feeling like you still don't know anything concrete because that would be too simple, and not real, then you will enjoy this book.
Dismas Hardy (books 1-11) (Solid B average across the series)	John Lescroat	I've found a new murder mystery series.  Dismas Hardy is a vet, ex-cop, ex-DA, divorced dude who's dropped out of life in favor of bartending, drinking, and darts.  But, when a friend is killed, he agrees to do some investigation to try to figure out whodunnit.  The first book was set in San Francisco, written in 1989, and it's full of all sorts of local knowledge and SF nostalgia.  I'm hooked on the series and have been making my way through them sequentially.  Book 11 gets us all the way up to 2008, and I'm still loving them.
The Hunger Games Trilogy (A-,B-,C)	Suzanne Collins	I never saw the movies nor read the books and Libby (my free library app) had these available so I took the plunge.  I'd heard that the first book was by far the best, and I definitely agree, although I didn’t detest the 2nd and 3rd books as much as some folks -- I still enjoyed the plot-driven fun.  My favorite thing about them, by far, was the ambiguity of the love stories and the obvious emotional immaturity of the teenage main characters.
Let Your Mind Run (A+)	Deena Kastor	Absolutely wonderful and personal memoir of the excellent runner and human, Deena Kastor.  The idea that you should always be practicing gratitude and joy, and that doing so will make you perform better in all areas of your life is expressed extremely well in this book.  I found it uplifting, inspiring, and just generally fun.  If you are  a running nerd, you will enjoy the running nerdery, but even if you aren't, this is one of the better sports memoirs I've ever read.
The Mother of All Questions (B)	Rebecca Solnit	I just finished listening to this collection of essays and my first feeling is relief. So many of the facts and realities that Ms. Solnit writes about are painful, depressing, and infuriating.  It's a long slog to consume all of these essays in a row, and in hindsight, I think this is one of those books where reading, rather than listening, may be the best way to consume it.  At least for me, I would have liked to be able to read an essay a day or so over a longer period rather than being consistently bombarded with the important but hard issues she writes about in my "audiobook hours" over just a few days.  If you are familiar with Ms. Solnit's work, this is more of the same.  If you are not, I would recommend that you read her 2008 Essay: Men Explain Things To Me.  If it makes you laugh or think or challenges you then this book will likely do the same.

Making the Most of West Coast Summer (aka Peachtree week -0.5)

We went to Portland for a conference.  The weather was literally perfect.  SO PERFECT!  Highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s.  No air quality issues.

Sunset walk along the river.

And while we were there, walking around, lyfting when we couldn't walk, we saw that the bikes reign supreme.

Now THAT'S a bike lane!

And of course, I visited Powell's (on the suggestion of a friend), one of the biggest and oldest independent bookstores in the US.

Oh, and I fit in a run with a former bay area run-friend?  Yeah, it was pretty much perfect.

The Portland sign from across the river.

Also, the conference was very educational and useful.

From there, we came home, worked, gardened, and I spent a weekend night up in the Santa Cruz mountains with one of my best friends while E spent some time with one of his best friends for a guys' night sans kids.

A hike in the redwoods!

The running was good for a total of 10ish miles at decent paces plus 4 miles walking in Portland and 4 miles hiking in the Santa Cruz mountains.  I also fit in an extension of my 1:30/1:30 jumprope calisthenics workout to 36 minutes, which *completely* kicked my butt -- I'm seriously loving this workout and thinking of moving to jumping rope twice weekly.

Hiking in the shade of the redwood canopy is so peaceful.

Should be interesting to see what type of performance I can pull off at Peachtree -- the weather prediction is scattered thunderstorms with a low of 71, a high of 88, and 68% humidity.  They pushed the start to be 30 minutes earlier this year, which is appreciated, but even if we started at the absolute lowest temperature of the day, it's still going to be uncomfortable.

Seeing all the elite runners who will be competing tweet about heading there for the USA 10K road championships is making me a little sad that I'm not going to get to spectate the frontrunners at the finish.

I think it's reasonable to assume that I can beat last year's time of 1h18 (12:30 miles) as I was coming off a year of travel and didn't have much running fitness at all.  At my current fitness level, I know I could do a sub 11 min/mile 10K in our local conditions if I got out early when it was cool, potentially even pushing it close to 10 min/mile.  But I really have no idea what that level of fitness translates to for me in the heat and humidity. I guess we'll see!

Books, YTD

As expected, now that I'm not traveling full time, my book consumption is on the rise.  So far this year, I've physically read 6 books, and listened to a whopping 29! If I keep it up at this rate, I'll get to triple digits for the audiobooks, which will definitely be a first.

Physical books:

Title	Author	Review
Pachinko (A+)	Min Jin Lee	This book has it all.  A multi-generational story rooted in the historical details of Korean immigrants living in Japan from the late 1800s until the 1980s.  At times, I felt like I was sitting in on a history, cultural, and geography lesson due to all of the things I didn't know that I was learning.  And yet, the characters are all so rich and detailed that it was only after the fact that it felt like school.  While reading, it didn't feel like anything other than an impressive character study (with slightly more page time for strong female characters than the interesting men and boys in their lives) which kept me drawn in even during periods of simple life without an obvious plotline to pull me through.  But finally, at the end, I realized that there were multiple lines of story action lying dormant at various points, but all growing and moving interestingly, some ending in tragedy, some in joy, most in that beautiful real-life mixture of the two.  If you have any interest in the history of Japan, the history of Korean immigrants (both in Japan and in general), Japanese culture, Korean culture, or just plain old great storytelling, then I highly recommend this book to you.
Cat's Eye (B+)	Margaret Atwood	Her first book after The Handmaid's Tale.  A portait of time in the feminist experience unlike any I've ever read.  The tale of an artist. A female artist, who ages less than perfectly gracefully.  Who had tumultuous female (and male) relationships.  Exceedingly honest and well done.  Highly recommended.
The Brass City (B+)	S.A. Chakraborty	Impressive fantasy tale from a first-time author.  Rooted in the djinn mythology and supported by marids (water people), peri (air people), and earth people, it's a gorgeous tale of intermingling cultures and powers, court intrigue, and the associated drama.  One of the best new fantasy books I've read in years. It was written as the first book in a trilogy, which I didn't know when I started it, so the ending was not as satisfying as I'd otherwise want it to be.
Little Fires Everywhere (A+)	Celeste Ng	This book blew me away. I hadn't loved the reviews of her first book, and probably wouldn't have picked this one up on my own, but book club did.  And I was so glad.  Such a gorgeous and nuanced look at high schoolers while I was in high school coupled with mothers dealing with the feminism of that time, not to mention the cultural/racial realities that she deftly dropped into the narrative.  I highly recommend this book to all.  My Mother-In-Law read one chapter in my physical book before I flew out and ordered the kindle version for herself.  It's that addictive, and for good reason.
South and West (B)	Joan Didion	Notes from Joan Didion's travels in the south when she was 19 years old.  Observative almost to a fault.  Surprisingly relevant regional observations that inform cultural regional differences today.  Very enjoyable.
Kingdom of Speech (B)	Tom Wolfe	A find from the Telluride bookstore "Between the Covers" -- this book is recommended to every wannabe linguist.  It follows the history of "Darwanism" as well as the evolutionary conception of  language development and "Chomskyism."  One of the better nonfiction books I've read.  If you care about these things, Mr. Wolfe's dry humor and assessment of the realities of what we know today about the development of language will not disappoint.

Audiobooks:

Title	Author	Review
The Entire Harry Bosch Series: (B average)	Michael Connelly	I'm a sucker for good mysteries.  I also like to return to known characters and styles from authors that I like again and again via a series.  I've already consumed the entire Lincoln Lawyer series (Mickey Haller) and I knew I liked Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch books as light entertaining LA mystery fodder, so I gave the Black Echo a try to see if I wanted to do the whole series. The rest is history -- I put everything I could find in the series on hold in Libby and slowly made my way through them in whatever order they became available, with occasional supplements purchased from Audible where they weren't available on Libby. I've now finished the entire series except City of Bones, which is oddly super popular, so I’m just waiting ‘til it frees up. The bonus that I didn’t expect when I started this romp is that Bosch is just now starting its 4th season on Amazon and it’s free for Prime members. The TV series is good too. So I’m making my way through season 1, enjoying the clever ways that these stories have been updated to the modern day. This is particularly good, because the last episode of the Magicians for this season just came out and I was needing a new streaming TV show to fill the void while I wait for the latest season of Criminal Minds to be released on Netflix. The Black Echo (1992) The Black Ice (1993) The Concrete Blonde (1994) The Last Coyote (1995) Trunk Music (1997) Angels Flight (1999) A Darkness More Than Night (2001) City Of Bones (2002) – holding (10/19 for the single copy, I registered the hold on 1/20 – no idea why this one is so popular) Lost Light (2003) The Narrows (2004) (sequel to The Poet) The Closers (2005) Echo Park (2006) The Overlook  (2007) Nine Dragons (2009) (also featuring Mickey Haller) The Drop (2011) The Black Box (2012) The Burning Room (2014) The Crossing (2015) (also featuring Mickey Haller) The Wrong Side Of Goodbye (2016) (also featuring Mickey Haller) – read on paper in 2017 Two Kinds Of Truth (2017) (also featuring Mickey Haller) The Poet (His first book, prequel to The Narrows, pre-Harry Bosch)
The Late Show (Renee Ballard) (B)	Michael Connelly	Having almost finished everything in the Harry Bosch series, I decided to give his new detective a try.  Harry Bosch is a flawed, complex, and fascinating male character, but Michael has typically done a great job of writing female characters that interact with him, so I was interested to see how he'd portray a female main character.  Renee is fun, impulsive, and very interesting.  Her stubborness and commitment to the job are believable.  And, of course, in classic mystery style, she eventually figures out who is at fault and takes down the big evil.  Much like the Bosch series, Los Angeles is both the backdrop and a character.  Very enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to the next Ballard book, due in October.
The Hate U Give (A+)	Angie Thomas	This was possibly the best YA book I've read, ever.  Star, a 16-year-old African American girl, is so believably thoughtful, smart, and raging with teenage emotions that I couldn't help but fall in love with her, find her maturity and actions inspiring *and also* find her ridiculously immature and annoying at times.  The descriptions of inner city living, racial tensions, racial violence, code-switching, and more, were all excellent treatments of these extremely difficult topics.  First, and foremost, star is a human teenager, and then the layers of race, privilege, educational identity, sexual identity, and more are laid out in a riveting story of love, violence, and activism.
Running With Scissors (B-)	Augusten Bouroughs	A ridiculously crazy over-the-top tale of failed parenting, failed mental illness care, and a boy who somehow manages to surf the chaos.  I wouldn't call it entertaining.  Fascinating, perhaps.  But in a guilty "I shouldn't be watching this" sort of way.  It got a ton of attention when it came out in 2002, but I am doubtful it would garner the same level of praise today.
Storm Front (The Dresden Files) (C)	Jim Butcher	Fun adult male wizard fantasy tale (Harry Dresden, professional wizard).  He makes a living as a consultant to help people find lost objects, solve crimes that involve magic, etc.  Perfectly acceptable pulp to recover from Running with Scissors.
Fool Moon (The Dresden Files) (C)	Jim Butcher	Continuation of the easy wizardous pulp.  But with werewolves.  I learned the terms loups-garous and lycanthropes, and the French origination of the werewolf, which was interesting, and then oddly relevant in my next book…
It (A+)	Stephen King	Several authors and other people I admire had referred to this book as one of their favorites.  But, I’m not one for horror, generally.  So, while I’d wanted to read it, I’d also been putting it off.  After 2 fluffy fantasy wizard tales, I decided I could give it a try.  This book is a tome.  The audiobook is 44h55m!  And it held my attention for the entire time.  It’s fantastical in the most gripping sense and truly horrific in terms of creating a sense of fear and foreboding in the reader.  It’s also such a truly American story.  Set in Maine (King’s home state) during multiple time periods with the main characters spending much of the narrative in the late 50s as children and then in the mid-80s as adults, it’s a complex woven masterpiece of imagined evil incarnate that honestly portrays the casual sexism and racism of the various periods it describes in the background.  I’m very glad I ventured outside my comfort zone with this one, but I was also very glad when I finished it.
I Can’t Make This Up, Life Lessons (B-)	Kevin Hart	Autobiographical stories from the funny man.  He hustles like no one’s business and deserves all the fame he has achieved.  Realistic, funny, and heartwarming.
The Last Black Unicorn (A+)	Tiffany Hadish	Like the rest of America, I’ve fallen completely in love with Tiffany Hadish. This book is full of real honest accounts of her *very* difficult childhood and early adulthood including time in the foster care system, and an abusive marriage.  Throughout it all, she has maintained a love of comedy and a side-splitting sense of humor that is so authentically unique.  I tweeted to her (first time I’ve ever tweeted at an author) that I think this book should be required reading as part of any American Studies program as she gives voice to experiences that are common in our country, but not usually discussed openly.  Plus, she reads the book out loud and it is nothing short of inspirational (and hilarious).
How to American (B)	Jimmy O. Yang	Best known now as Jian-Yang on Silicon Valley, Jimmy O. Yang wrote (and read) a very funny account of his experience as an immigrant from Hong Kong who moved to Los Angeles when he was 10, and then his experiences in Beverly Hills, University of San Diego, Hollywood, and the entertainment industry.
New York 2140 (A)	Kim Stanley Robinson	KSR is the author of the brilliant Mars Trilogy: Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars – all of which I adored.  This book is the story of New York after two large “pulses” of ice melting, which have flooded Manhattan and left a Venice-like infrastructure of skyscrapers maintained via scuba repair at the bottom with habitable areas above the water.  The story is a story of finance, kidnapping, actual governance in the face of civil unrest, ephemeral power, tidal fluctuations, legal issues (well researched), children who are treasure hunters, NYC police, and a conservation-oriented streaming star with a blimp named “The Assisted Migration” who broadcasts her adventures in helping to migrate wildlife in response to climate change.  KSR is *so* smart.  Reading his science fiction is a fun education as he hides lectures on topics that interest him in fascinating plots.  Very though-provoking on how society may have to change due to the inevitably higher sea levels to come.