After a couple of pretty slow reading months, it was nice to get a lot of ready done in March. I got a little ahead of my holds and was able to fold in some extra books. Here are the recaps:
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End - Atul Gawande - nonfiction - five stars - This is a really excellent book for anyone, but particularly those of us dealing with aging parents. It's an interesting look at where we are in terms of choices for those dealing with declining health whether it is from general aging, dementia, terminal illness. While there aren't any silver bullet solutions presented, Gawande does an excellent job of highlighting that there are choices and considerations, what are good questions to ask when you are grappling with these types of situations, how can the end of one's life be more fulfilling and carry more meaning. Highly recommend.
Keeper of Lost Children - Sadeqa Johnson - historical fiction - five stars - Ethel Gathers is the African American wife of a serviceman working in Europe following WWII. Unable to have kids, she chances upon a home that is caring for the children of African American servicemen and European women. Many of these children were given up because their mothers were ostracized after the war. Gathers ends up adopting six of the children, and then essentially establishes an organization to place the children with families in America, dubbed the 'Brown Baby Plan'. The book does a good job of telling the stories of all the players: Ethel, the kids, the mothers, the servicemen. Based on a true story, it was great to hear about an aspect of history that I hadn't known about before.
Cursed Daughters - Oyinkan Braithwaite - fiction - four stars - This is about a family of women who have been cursed. The women's relationships never work out. The story focuses on the current generation of women, Ebun, and her daughter Eniiyi who was born on the same day her cousin Monife died. Eniiyi is also the spitting image of Monife. The story bounce back and forth between the present, and the past, as you find out what happened between Ebun and Monife which led to Monife's death, as well as the back stories of the other women in the family. Overall it was a really good book, although I was not a fan of Ebun and Monife's mothers, those parts of the book were annoying.
Bossypants - Tina Fey - memoir - three stars - This one was kind of disappointing for me. I really enjoyed Amy Poehler's book which I listened to, and figured Fey's would be just as good. For whatever reason it wasn't. Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe I just think Poehler is funnier, I'm not really sure. There were definitely funny parts, but overall it fell a little flat for me/ Maybe it was more anecdotal than Poehler's and just didn't seem to flow as well? I'm not sure. This was just not as good.
Sing to Me - Jesse Browner - fiction - five stars - This was a little book I randomly picked off the new shelf at the library. It's about a boy named Hani who lives in the area surrounding Troy. His father and sister left for the city to try and sell some produce just before the fall of Troy, and never returned. The land is essentially cleared out, and Hani sets out for Troy to try and find them. He enters the ghost town of what was Troy, carnage everywhere, looking for his sister. It's a really interesting look at the aftermath of one of those great myths, and I really enjoyed the character of Hani, and quiet, loyal, generous soul. The manner in which he explores Troy, interacts with those he meets, a great read and I'm definitely planning to read more from this author.
Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin (Enola Holmes #10) - Nancy Springer - juvenile fiction - five stars - It's been a while since one of these books came out, and it was fun to get reacquainted with Enola. In this book, Enola stumbles upon a mystery when she finds a woman buried alive in a cemetery when she is there for another funeral. The mystery of who this woman is, and who is trying to capture her put Enola in danger, but also seem to intersect with Sherlock's current case. We also see Mycroft again. I like how the books are developing Enola as well as growing her relationship with her brothers. Always enjoyable.
Summer Rental - Mary Kay Andrews - fiction - four stars - As always, I find Andrews' books quick, easy reads that are nice diversion from some of the heavier topics or slower reads. In this book, Ellis and two of her best friends are off to the beach for a month. Of course each of them is brining a bit of a crisis/baggage to the vacation. Meanwhile, Madison is on the run from her husband. She finds her way to the Outer Banks and sublets a room from Ellis and her friends. As usual there is a little bit of drama, a little bit of love, and fun characters. Andrews' books definitely have a bit of a formula, but she does such a good job with her characters that it doesn't seem to matter, always a fun read.
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus - Emma Knight - fiction - four stars - Pen is a Canadian attending the University of Edinburgh Part of why she goes there is to understand what the relationship is between her father and Lord Lennox, a famous author who she thinks is key to why her parents broke up. I thought that part of the story was interesting. I liked the character of Pen, how she related to others, the relationships she developed, etc. I thought the way the plot unfolded was a little head scratchy and roundabout, but I didn't mind it too much. There was another subplot regarding a classmate who gets involved with a TA which was wholly unnecessary, but overall a solid read.
The Star Society - Gabriella Saab - historical fiction - three stars - Generally too predictable and hard to believe. Twins Ingrid and Aleida were separated during WWII. Ingrid fled with her fiance to America and is now working at the FBI. The FBI is starting to investigate communist influence in Hollywood and lo and behold Ingrid realizes that Ada Worthington-Fox, Hollywood's next big starlet is her missing twin sister, who worked for the Dutch resistance during the war. Ingrid gets herself assigned to the case, sisters reunite, etc etc. The whole premise of this book needed a lot of work.
The Book Club for Troublesome Women - Marie Bostwick - historical fiction - two stars - This book was annoying. I feel like it could have been really good, but it had an agenda (women's rights) and took any and every opportunity to slap you upside the head and tell you how unequal things were for women in the 1960s. I mean, I'm a woman, I get it. I'm here for the story though, not for the lecture. Basically this was about a group of women in the 1960's living in a new planned community in Northern Virginia. They start a book club, the first book being The Feminine Mystique, which starts to open their eyes to the injustices around them. The problem is that you can't go five pages without one of these injustices being pointed out and it frankly gets in the way of really getting to enjoy the characters in the book.
Favorite reads this month were Sing to Me and Being Mortal. Least favorite was The Book Club for Troublesome Women. Would love to hear what you guys have been reading.
