March reading roundup #3

March has been up and down, as always – varied weather, great music at ZUMIX and a few local adventures. As the month wraps up, here’s what I have been reading:

Drew Leclair Gets a Clue, Katryn Bury
True crime nerd Drew Leclair prides herself on solving local mysteries (even when her zeal gets ahead of her social skills). But when her mom skips town with the school counselor and a new cyberbully at Drew’s school goes on the attack, Drew has her hands full. I loved this sweet middle-grade mystery with a likable protagonist – first in a new series.

Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, Camille T. Dungy
Dungy has spent years tending and diversifying her garden in Ft. Collins, Colorado – a primarily white community. She writes in beautiful, powerful prose about native plants, community, belonging, parenting (especially during the pandemic), and the ways Black people have contributed (or been prevented from contributing) to gardens in this country. Absolutely fantastic – thoughtful and lovely and incisive. To review for Shelf Awareness (out May 2).

A Courage Undimmed, Stephanie Graves
Winter, 1941: Olive Bright has her hands full managing her courier pigeons, her irascible father and her sort-of-real (but is it?) relationship/cover story with Captain Jamie Aldridge. When a seance in the village results in a death, Olive (of course) does some sleuthing. A delightful third mystery in a really fun WWII series.

What You Don’t Know Will Make a Whole New World, Dorothy Lazard
Lazard, a longtime Oakland librarian and public historian, tells the story of her childhood in St. Louis, San Francisco and later Oakland: her big, chaotic, loving family; her hunger to learn and find her place in the world; and the challenges and joys of being a young Black woman in the 1970s. Such a compelling slice of American life. To review for Shelf Awareness (out May 16).

The Birchbark House, Louise Erdrich
I have such respect for Erdrich’s adult novels, and picked up this middle-grade novel at Verbatim. It follows Omakayas, a young Ojibwe girl, and her family through a cycle of seasons: foraging, fishing, tanning hides, picking berries, wrestling with the presence of white people (and their diseases). It’s sweet, funny and fascinating (with some real heartbreak in the winter chapter). First in a series and so enjoyable.

Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion, K. Tempest Bradford
Budding scientist Ruby captures a huge red bug in her yard – but after it escapes (!) and weird things start happening around the neighborhood, she and her friends investigate. I flew through this fresh, smart, funny middle-grade novel (though the bugs did gross me out) and loved Ruby and her crew.

Most links (not affiliate links) are to my local faves Trident and Brookline Booksmith. Shop indie!

What are you reading?

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

October reading roundup #1

We are nearly halfway through October – and between bike rides, a major work event and daily life, here’s what I have been reading:

Picture in the Sand, Peter Blauner
In 2014, a young Egyptian-American man leaves his home suddenly to join a jihadist uprising overseas. His grandfather, Ali Hassan, decides to share his own story with his grandson: his experience working on the movie set of The Ten Commandments and getting swept up in political forces larger than himself. I flew through this – it’s part thriller, part historical epic, part love story, part intergenerational family saga. Fascinating and layered. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Jan. 3, 2023).

Book Lovers, Emily Henry
Nora Stephens is not a rom-com heroine: she’s the other woman, the sharp-edged, stiletto-wearing city person who loses the guy. When her sister Libby begs her to go to a tiny North Carolina town, Nora reluctantly agrees – and even begins to enjoy herself. But the presence of a handsome, infuriating editor from the city throws a wrench into Nora’s plans. A fun, sometimes steamy rom-com with plenty of bookish references, but at its heart this is a story about sisters, family, and the stories we tell ourselves.

Seasons: Desert Sketches, Ellen Meloy
I picked up this collection at the Desert Museum in Arizona last spring. They’re short, bracing essays (originally recorded for radio) on life in southern Utah: flora, fauna, human community. Meloy is smart and salty and often hilarious. Perfect for morning reading.

The Verifiers, Jane Pek
Claudia Lin is loving her new hush-hush job working for an online-dating detective agency. But when a client turns up dead, and it turns out she was impersonating her sister, things get complicated fast. Claudia, like any good amateur sleuth, keeps digging into the case, even after she’s warned off. I loved this smart mystery about choices and expectations (our own, our families’, our potential partners’). Well plotted and I hope the author writes more.

The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights, Kitty Zeldis
Brooklyn, 1924: Catherine Berrill is desperate for a child to complete the family she’s started with her kind husband, Stephen. Dressmaker Beatrice Jones, newly arrived from New Orleans with her ward Alice, has a secret that connects her to Catherine’s past. I really enjoyed this twisty historical novel about three different women trying to make their way. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Jan. 3, 2023).

The Vanderbeekers on the Road, Karina Yan Glaser
I loooove this warmhearted middle-grade series (and loved meeting Karina in person recently!). The Vanderbeekers (plus assorted animals) pile into a friend’s van for a cross-country road trip. As is often the case with road trips, not everything goes to plan. Sweet and funny, like this whole series.

Take My Hand, Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Montgomery, Alabama, 1973: nurse Civil Townsend is working at a women’s clinic purporting to serve poor patients, but she grows concerned about the side effects of birth-control shots (and the necessity of giving them to young girls). A powerful, often heavy, brilliantly told novel about a woman who gets caught up trying to save the lives of the people she’s serving. Highly recommended.

The Woman with the Cure, Lynn Cullen
As polio infects thousands of young children, the race for a cure is on. Too-tall Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, obsessed with detecting the virus in the blood, becomes caught up in the science – and the politics – around finding a vaccine. A well-done historical novel (with lots of real-life characters, including Horstmann) about science and feminism and sacrifice. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Feb. 21, 2023).

Holy Spokes: The Search for Urban Spirituality on Two Wheels, Laura Everett
Everett, a minister and four-season cyclist, shares what she’s learned about spiritual practice from riding the streets of Boston. Thoughtful, forthright and wryly funny – I loved reading about her journeys around my adopted city. (I haven’t met her yet, but we know a lot of the same bike folks, including my guy.)

Most links (not affiliate links) are to my local faves Trident and Brookline Booksmith. Shop indie!

What are you reading?

Read Full Post »

Lab Girl at Great New Books

“Science has taught me that everything is more complicated than we first assume, and that being able to derive happiness from discovery is a recipe for a beautiful life.”

This is one of many wonderful lines from Hope Jahren’s memoir, Lab Girl, which I read this spring. As I walked under budding trees and past flowering bushes, Jahren’s narrative of becoming a botanist, building three successful labs and constructing a life from scratch resonated with me deeply.

Jahren draws wonderful parallels between plants and people, exploring roots, leaves, seeds, flowers and fruit in both the botanical and human realms. She writes about the cyclical nature of growth, the right conditions for flourishing, the ways both plants and humans react to unexpected strain. She never loses sight of the fundamental differences between plants and people, but her elucidation of those differences is also insightful.

I’m over at Great New Books today talking about how much I loved Lab Girl. Please join me over there to read the rest of my review.

Read Full Post »

My Favorite Books of 2016 (so far)

We are halfway through the year already, and I’m reading at my usual breakneck pace – nearly 130 books. I talk about what I’m reading in my semi-monthly roundups, but I wanted to share the best of my reading year (so far) with you.

Here are the books I have loved the most this year. (Not all of them were published in 2016, though about half of them were.)

Book That Best Embodies Its Title: Becoming Wise by Krista Tippett. She writes with such grace and (yes) wisdom about the Big Questions of what it means to be human, and draws many other voices into that conversation. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time. So many great, thought-provoking sentences.

Loveliest Quiet Novel: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. This gorgeously written novel follows the intertwined lives of two couples, the Morgans and the Langs, over several decades. Beautiful, thought-provoking, heartbreaking and wise. A book worth reading and rereading. (Recommended by Anne and others.)

Most Captivating Young Adult Adventure Story: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson. I loved every page of Leah Westfall’s journey from her Georgia homestead to the gold fields of California. She’s hiding a lot of secrets (including her ability to sense gold), but she is strong, compassionate and utterly human. I wrote about this book for Great New Books.

Most Sweeping, Heartbreaking, Absorbing Epic Novel: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Four words: my dad was right. I should have read this years ago, but I’m so glad I finally did. I fell head over heels for Augustus McCrae, Woodrow F. Call, and their band of cowboys and wanderers, making the journey from Texas to Montana. It’s long, but powerfully rendered in simple prose. So good.

Wisest Memoir on Faith, Seasons and Home: Roots and Sky by Christie Purifoy. I loved Christie’s honest, lyrical writing about making a home with her family in an old Pennsylvania farmhouse, and the struggles of staying put and building a worthwhile life. Luminous, clear-eyed and utterly lovely.

Freshest Take on Holmes & Watson: A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro, which reimagines Holmes and Watson as 21st-century teenagers at a Connecticut boarding school. Charlotte Holmes is sharp, jagged and brilliant, and Jamie Watson is insightful and kind. (The dialogue is fantastic.)

Most Insightful Foodie Memoir: Stir by Jessica Fechtor, which recounts the author’s journey to recovery after a brain aneurysm, and how she found her everyday (and a lot of delicious, life-giving meals) in the kitchen. Warm, wry and beautifully written, with so many insightful lines on food, family and living well.

Most Brilliant Homage to a Classic: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye, whose orphaned protagonist loves Jane Eyre but is not nearly so meek as that other Jane. Whip-smart writing, some truly wonderful supporting characters and so many fantastic lines.

Best Combination of Recipe Inspiration and Food Haiku: My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl, which includes mouthwatering recipes, lyrical tweets and some plainspoken wisdom about a tough year in Reichl’s life.

Best Reread: Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos, which pulled me out of a serious reading slump. Beautifully written, deeply compassionate and so smart.

Best Book About Science and Life for Non-Scientists: Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. A memoir about botany and building a life. Fascinating, sarcastic, lovely and wise.

Links (not affiliate links) are to my favorite local bookstore, Brookline Booksmith.

What are the best books you’ve read so far in 2016?

Save

Read Full Post »

May reading roundup #3

The latest library stack (above) came in the week before Commencement, which caused a tiny bit of panic over here. But I’m working through it. Here’s the latest roundup:

Lab Girl, Hope Jahren
Jahren is a botanist who has built three successful labs, and this memoir tells the story of her career and her longtime bond with her lab partner, Bill. Gorgeous writing, wry humor, and wonderful insights on plants and people. (Also: packed with fascinating information but not didactic at all.) Recommended by Lindsey and by Ann at Books on the Nightstand.

Model Misfit, Holly Smale
Geeky teen model Harriet Manners finds herself spending the summer in Japan for a modeling gig, where everything promptly goes wrong. I like Harriet but couldn’t quite believe she was that clueless. Really fun supporting characters and a great setting, though.

Mother-Daughter Book Camp, Heather Vogel Frederick
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Frederick’s series about a group of teenage girls in Concord, Mass., who start a book club with their mothers. This final volume takes them to summer camp, where they’re working as counselors before heading to college (sniff). They start a book club with their campers to counter homesickness. Super sweet and funny. A great ending to the series.

The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living, Louise Miller
When pastry chef Olivia Rawlings sets her workplace on fire, she flees Boston for tiny Guthrie, Vermont, where her best friend helps her find a job baking at the Sugar Maple Inn. The owner is stern but the locals are kind – but Livvy, used to leaving and being left, isn’t sure she can settle down in Guthrie. A heartwarming debut novel with mouthwatering descriptions of pastry and really engaging characters. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Aug. 9).

A Darker Shade of Magic, V.E. Schwab
Kell is one of a dying breed: Antari, magicians who can slip through the doors between worlds. As he navigates between three different Londons (Red, Grey and White), he stumbles upon a dangerous talisman from the fabled Black London and meets Lila, a trenchant pickpocket who proves a worthy partner in crime. A gripping, fast-paced fantasy novel, but I was seriously creeped out by some of the magic. Recommended by Jaclyn and Leigh.

Links (not affiliate links) are to my favorite local bookstore, Brookline Booksmith.

What are you reading?

Read Full Post »

January reading roundup #1

The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd
When Sarah Grimké turns 11 in 1803, she receives an unwanted gift: a 10-year-old personal slave, Hetty “Handful” Grimké. Although Sarah tries to free Handful, the two girls are bound together for the rest of their lives. Drawing on historical accounts of Sarah Grimké’s life, Kidd has created a rich narrative of loss, love and bravery, narrated by both Sarah and Handful. I especially loved Handful’s mother, Charlotte, and the portrayal of the city of Charleston.

Trespassing on Einstein’s Lawn: A Father, a Daughter, the Meaning of Nothing, and the Beginning of Everything, Amanda Gefter
Since she was a teenager, Amanda Gefter has relished long discussions about physics and the nature of the universe with her father. But when the two of them crash a physics conference to get the inside scoop on the nature of reality, their hobby becomes an obsession. A smart, funny, highly readable memoir-cum-exploration of spacetime, reality and various physics theories. Gefter makes her subject accessible even to humanities geeks. To review for Shelf Awareness.

The Forgotten Garden, Kate Morton
A small girl arrives in Australia on a ship in 1913, carrying a small suitcase which holds a few obscure clues to her past. Taken in by a loving family and named Nell, she learns about her origins as an adult, and attempts to trace her biological parents. After Nell’s death, her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the quest, traveling to England to visit Nell’s childhood home. A multi-generational saga – part family history, part fairy tale, part Gothic mystery.

The Dirt Diary, Anna Staniszewski
Rachel Lee is so bummed to spend her weekends helping with her mom’s new cleaning business. But if she doesn’t, she’ll never make back the money she secretly took from her college fund. Cleaning the houses of all the popular kids in her grade, Rachel discovers some serious dirt – but is it ethical to use her newfound knowledge? A sweet, funny story with a likable protagonist. (A total impulse buy at the Booksmith and well worth it.)

Lord Peter: The Complete Stories, Dorothy L. Sayers
I can’t get enough of Lord Peter Wimsey, that bon vivant sleuth with a (long) nose for murder. These short stories featuring him were like a box of chocolate truffles – rich, varied and best savored one at a time. Bunter, that imperturbable valet, appears frequently and the last two stories include Peter’s wife Harriet, whom I adore.

The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure What Ails You, Ella Berthoud & Susan Elderkin
A witty, ingenious compendium of novels to cure almost any ailment, from wanderlust to a stubbed toe, from the common cold to being disappointed in love. The only downside: some of the remedies (i.e. the novels) are depressing! Took me ages to finish because I read it in snatches, but highly enjoyable.

The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles, Katherine Pancol
When Josèphine’s ne’er-do-well husband runs off to Kenya to work on a crocodile farm, she’s strapped for cash until her trophy-wife sister Iris makes her a deal: Josèphine will write a historical novel and pocket the royalties, but Iris will get all the credit. (Of course, it’s not that simple.) Frothy, a bit racy and très French, this novel was so much fun. I hope its two sequels get translated into English.

Links (not affiliate links) are to my favorite local bookstore, Brookline Booksmith.

What are you reading?

Read Full Post »