S. A. Cosby — Blacktop Wasteland (Book Review)
S.A. Cosby is a master of suspense and thrills in his 2020 novel, Blacktop Wasteland. He combines intensity, rapid pacing, and a command of the sentence that boggles my mind. This is a heist thriller, and its action sequences sizzle like hot metal on pavement at 120...Sharon Stone — The Beauty of Living Twice (Book Review)
Sharon Stone writes about plenty of dramatic moments in her 2021 memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice. To date, her life story includes adopting three sons, surviving two traumatic brain injuries, contributing mightily to good causes, and yes, acting up a storm....Carol Anderson — One Person, No Vote (Book Review)
In 2018 I saw Carol Anderson speak about One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy. I’d just spent my first campaign season knocking doors to canvass for candidates I cared about. Anderson’s talk convinced me that voter suppression is the...Renée Nicholson — Fierce and Delicate (Book Review)
Renée Nicholson writes about two different parts of her life in Fierce and Delicate: Essays on Dance and Illness. Initially, she’s the young dancer making sense of competition, instructor corrections, and visions of the future. As the essays progress, Nicholson...Scott Hawkins — The Library at Mount Char (Book Review)
The Library at Mount Char, a spectacular debut novel from Scott Hawkins, combines epic and urban fantasy. It’s confusing for a long while, but thankfully the focus ultimately tightens. Better still, Hawkins creates memorable characters whose true nature hovers just...Arthur Herman — The Viking Heart (Book Review)
Arthur Herman explores Scandinavian culture, history, and its worldwide effects in The Viking Heart: How Scandinavians Conquered the World. As the publisher puts it, he “melds a compelling historical narrative with cutting-edge archaeological and DNA research to trace...Escape with a Good Mystery: My Holiday Weekend Plan
Summer is a time to escape, even if you don’t vacation at that time. Around the July 4th holiday, I chose two mysteries as summer escape reading. One is formulaic and the other has some twists at the end that turn typical formulas on their head. Because the author...From The Minimalists — Love People Use Things (Book Review)
A new book from podcasters The Minimalists is almost here. Called Love People Use Things: Because the Opposite Never Works, it’s about relationships. And about why our relationship with stuff gets in the way of developing meaningful relationships with people. Written...Mariam Petrosyan — The Gray House (Book Review)
Mariam Petrosyan is an Armenian-born author living in Russia. The Gray House is her debut novel, and she says her only novel. Although it’s a prize winner in Russia, I found it confusing and often amateurish. My main feeling at the end is, “thank goodness that’s...Ben Blatt — Nabokov’s Favorite Word is Mauve (Book Review)
Ben Blatt is a numbers guy investigating words in Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing. Experts hotly debate the intersection of the two, especially whether such a thing is valid. Blatt...Sarah McBride — Tomorrow Will Be Different (Book Review)
Sarah McBride covers a wide variety of topics in Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality. But given the complexity of gender identity and McBride’s own path, it’s not surprising. This was also a perfect pick for Pride Month. It fits...Elizabeth Packard is The Woman They Could Not Silence
in Kate Moore’s New Book (Review)
Elizabeth Packard is the subject of Kate Moore’s new book, The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear. But I’ll venture to guess you’ve never heard of Mrs. Packard. Although her story is...
Viveca Sten — Still Waters (Sandhamm Murders #1) (Book Review)
Viveca Sten starts a new mystery series in Still Waters. Sten is Swedish and thus her story is too. First published there in 2008 and then translated to English in 2015, the Sandhamm Murders series is a sensation. Nine books are available in English, and there’s even...Anne Fadiman — The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (Book Review)
Author Anne Fadiman combines multiple narratives in her fabulous ethnography The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Most importantly, it’s both an immigration and a medical story of one Hmong...Richard Engel — And Then All Hell Broke Loose (Book Review)
Richard Engel breaks down decades of newsworthy events in his 2016 book, And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East. As a veteran foreign correspondent for various new organizations, he should know. Yes, it’s fascinating. But I also found it...Bookshop.Org Affiliate
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