en-US Fri, 18 Sep 2026 22:48:21 -0700 60 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 62057985 A charming, uplifting debut novel—full of humor and depth—that has taken readers around the world by surprise.

Everyone has a story to tell. But does Janice have the power to unlock her own?

She can’t recall what started her collection. Maybe it was in a fragment of conversation overheard as she cleaned a sink? Before long (as she dusted a sitting room or defrosted a fridge) she noticed people were telling her their stories. Perhaps they had always done so, but now it is different, now the stories are reaching out to her and she gathers them to her …

Cleaner Janice knows that it is in people’s stories that you really get to know them. From recently widowed Fiona and her son Adam to opera-singing Geordie, the quiet bus driver Euan, and the pretentious Mrs. “YeahYeahYeah” and her fox terrier, Decius, Janice has a unique insight into the community around her.

When Janice starts cleaning for Mrs. B—a shrewd and prickly woman in her nineties—she finally meets someone who wants to hear her story. But Janice is clear: she is the keeper of stories, she doesn’t have a story to tell. At least, not one she can share.

Mrs. B is no fool and knows there is more to Janice than meets the eye. What is she hiding? After all, doesn’t everyone have a story to tell?]]> 386 Sally Page James 0 currently-reading 4.25 2022
author: Sally Page
name: James
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/09/18
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]]> 17447507 "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." —Leonard Cohen

Christmas is approaching, and in Québec it's a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department, his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasn't spoken to him in months, and hostile forces are lining up against him. When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers that a longtime friend has failed to arrive for Christmas in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city. Mystified by Myrna's reluctance to reveal her friend's name, Gamache soon discovers the missing woman was once one of the most famous people not just in North America, but in the world, and now goes unrecognized by virtually everyone except the mad, brilliant poet Ruth Zardo.
As events come to a head, Gamache is drawn ever deeper into the world of Three Pines. Increasingly, he is not only investigating the disappearance of Myrna's friend but also seeking a safe place for himself and his still-loyal colleagues. Is there peace to be found even in Three Pines, and at what cost to Gamache and the people he holds dear?]]> 416 Louise Penny 1466834706 James 4 4.68 2013
author: Louise Penny
name: James
average rating: 4.68
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2020/03/11
date added: 2026/09/17
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]]> 234139688 The widow of Alexander Hamilton faces another mystery in the second Eliza Hamilton mystery, perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn.

It’s December 1805, and Eliza Hamilton is determined to seek justice. One young woman is dead, another has vanished—both residents of a house where Eliza’s friend, Alice, lives among other craftswomen struggling to survive in a city unforgiving toward widows and orphans.

With no help from the constabulary because the young woman’s body was found in a bad part of town–and was dressed as a man–Eliza vows to protect the women and uncover the truth. She suspects a connection between the death and the disappearance, especially given that the young lady who disappeared went missing while searching for the woman who was later found dead. 

As Eliza traces their last known steps, she unearths a hidden world of dangerous secrets lurking beneath the city—secrets that could tear apart everything she holds dear.

This pulse-racing historical mystery will intrigue and delight anyone fascinated by the Founding Fathers and feminist history.]]> 328 Mollie Ann Cox James 3 3.90
author: Mollie Ann Cox
name: James
average rating: 3.90
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2026/09/02
date added: 2026/09/02
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]]> 18888502 The story of the community of Port William is one of the great works in American literature. This collection, the tenth volume in the series, is the perfect occasion to celebrate Berry’s huge achievement. It feels as if the entire membership—all the Catletts, Burley Coulter, Elton Penn, the Rowanberrys, Laura Milby, the preacher’s wife, Kate Helen Branch, Andy’s dog, Mike—nearly everyone returns with a story or two, to fill in the gaps in this long tale. Those just now joining the Membership will be charmed. Those who’ve attended before will be enriched.For more than fifty years, Wendell Berry has been telling us stories about Port William, a mythical town on the banks of the Kentucky River, populated over the years by a cast of unforgettable characters living in a single place over a long time. In A Place in Time, the stories dates range from 1864, when Rebecca Dawe finds herself in her own reflection at the end of the Civil War, to one from 1991 when Grover Gibbs' widow, Beulah, attends the auction as her home place is offered for sale."And so it's all gone. A new time has come. Various ones of the old time keep faith and stop by to see me, Coulter and Wilma and a few others. But the one I wait to see is Althie. Seems like my whole life now is lived under the feeling of her hand touching me that day of the sale, and every day still.I lie awake in the night, and I can see it all in my mind, the old place, the house, all the things I took care of so long. I thought I might miss it, but I don't. The time has gone when I could do more than worry about it, and I declare it's a load off my mind. But the thoughts, still, are a kind of company."— Beulah Gibbs]]> 267 Wendell Berry James 0 currently-reading 4.57 2002
author: Wendell Berry
name: James
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2002
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/08/08
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]]> 244996910 In this lush reimagining of Greek mythology, the daughter of Hades and Persephone defies the gods of the underworld to forge her own life amid war, curses, and unexpected romance.

For Asphodel, the free-spirited daughter of Hades and Persephone, being cursed to never fall in love with a god is a blessing.

Determined not to be trapped in a union like her mother, Del spends her life blissfully on the Isle of Flowers, far from her family in the underworld. But when Asphodel’s parents ordain her marriage to Thanatos, the god of death, the freedom she’s long since guarded is at risk of being stolen for eternity. So Del takes fate into her own She kidnaps her groom-to-be and traps him on her Isle.

But defying the gods comes with a price. Without Thanatos to send mortals off to peaceful rest in the underworld, death will devolve into brutality and violence. The realms will be consumed by chaos. With time running out and her freedom on the line, Del must restore the balance she upended—even as she finds herself irrevocably drawn to the ever-charming and bashful Thanatos, who offers another way of saving the worlds by breaking her curse. Only then can Del choose to marry him.]]> 311 Callie Rowland 1662539800 James 3 3.60 2026
author: Callie Rowland
name: James
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2026
rating: 3
read at: 2026/08/08
date added: 2026/08/08
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]]> 34852785 Spanning several decades and written in an authentic voice both lyrical and wise, The Sisters of Glass Ferry is a haunting novel about small-town Southern secrets, loss and atonement, and the unbreakable bond between siblings.

Glass Ferry, Kentucky, is bourbon country. Whiskey has been a way of life for generations, enabling families to provide and survive even in the darkest times. Flannery Butler’s daddy, Beauregard “Honey Bee” Butler, was known for making some of the best whiskey in the state, aged in barrels he’d take by boat up and down the Kentucky River until the rocking waters turned the spirits smooth and golden. Flannery is the only person Honey Bee ever entrusted with his recipes before he passed on, swearing her to secrecy as he did so.

But Flannery is harboring other secrets too, about her twin sister Patsy, older by eight minutes and pretty in a way Flannery knows she’ll never be. Then comes the prom night when Patsy—wearing a yellow chiffon dress and the family pearls—disappears along with her date. Every succeeding year on the twins’ birthday, Flannery’s mother bakes a strawberry cake, convinced that this is the day Patsy will finally come home. But it will be two tumultuous decades until the muddy river yields a clue about what happened that night, compelling Flannery to confront the truth about her sleepy town, her family’s past, and the choices she and those closest to her have made in the name of love and retribution . . .]]> 255 Kim Michele Richardson 149670956X James 3 3.86 2017
author: Kim Michele Richardson
name: James
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2026/07/29
date added: 2026/07/29
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]]> 237485486 From the New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek comes a triumphant tale of a librarian's fight to bring literacy to the prisons of Kentucky and the underserved neighborhoods of downtown Louisville, revealing a story of fierce love, quiet strength, and the healing power of books.

When Cussy Lovett, a Packhorse Librarian famed for bringing books to the people of Appalachia, is unjustly incarcerated, she finds a new calling as a prison librarian, bringing hope to downtrodden women and voiceless city residents alike, finding a home even while separated from those she loves. A vivid portrait of mid-century Kentucky, from the hills and hollers of Appalachia to a vibrant city neighborhood on the cusp of urban renewal, The Mountains We Call Home explores the effects of criminalization and incarceration on the poor and powerless, while tracing the societal consequences of fractured family bonds.

Gritty, heartbreaking, yet infused with hope, The Mountains We Call Home is an authentic American tale and a powerful testament of strength, survival, and the magic of the written word.]]> 375 Kim Michele Richardson 1464239347 James 4 4.34 2026
author: Kim Michele Richardson
name: James
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2026
rating: 4
read at: 2026/07/22
date added: 2026/07/22
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]]> 242512660 When an astronaut is lost in space, his wife relives their epic love as she attempts to unravel what truly happened to him, in this sweeping love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s Space Race, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes.

When Joe Mitchell launches into space, the world is watching. It’s 1968, and the country waits with anticipation and excitement for another successful mission, another celebration as America sets its sights on the Moon. And then comes the knock at the door.

Joe Mitchell’s spacecraft has lost contact. He and his fellow astronauts onboard are feared to be dead. It’s his wife Vivian’s worst nightmare come to life, her grief suddenly taking center stage as the nation waits and mourns. In her quiet moments, Vivian relives their memorable story, unable to accept that this is the end to a love that felt as though it was written in the stars.

As the investigation surrounding Joe’s lost spacecraft intensifies and the mishap is written off as an operator error, Vivian is determined to clear her husband’s name and uncover the mystery of what happened in space. When someone starts sending Vivian messages—messages she believes only Joe could send—she begins to wonder if their love is stronger than space and time, and she’ll do whatever it takes to bring her husband back to her.]]> 352 Chanel Cleeton 0593816935 James 0 to-read 3.85 2026
author: Chanel Cleeton
name: James
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2026
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/07/15
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]]> 234352821 A provocative, personal, blazingly intelligent examination of one of the most vexing questions facing the United States today—who is, and should be, a citizen?

“How did ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ turn upside down to where we are today? Everyone needs to read this book, citizens and non-citizens alike. Brilliant!”—Sandra Cisneros

"The most comprehensive book on citizenship/immigration I've ever read. A must-read!"—Javier Zamora

In this one-of-a-kind book, Daisy Hernández fiercely interrogates one of the most complicated subjects of contemporary life and citizenship. Braiding memoir, history, and cultural criticism, she exposes the truths and lies of how we define ourselves as a country and a people. Turning to her own family's stories—her mother arrived from Colombia, her father a political refugee from Castro's Cuba—Hernández shows how the very idea of citizenship is a myth and part of the stories we tell ourselves about the American soul and psyche.

Reframing our understanding of what it means to be an American, Notes on Citizenship is an urgent and necessary account of the laws, customs, and language we use to include and exclude, especially those who come from Latin America. With her scholar's mind and memoirist's gift for narrative, Hernández weaves a story both personal and national, while reckoning with our country's ongoing debate about who belongs and providing fresh ways of thinking about citizenship. At once bracing, fearless, and tender, Notes on Citizenship is a powerful portrait of one family's experiences in the borderlands of citizenship and an honest illumination of the country in which we live.]]> 304 Daisy Hernández 0593730178 James 4 4.08 2026
author: Daisy Hernández
name: James
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2026
rating: 4
read at: 2026/07/08
date added: 2026/07/08
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]]> 244512344
John D. Caputo proposes a radical alternative—what he calls “religion’s last stand”—by turning to theopoetics. In the traditional account, theopoetics calls for approaching God poetically because God transcends human language. Caputo contests this view, arguing that in the radical account, God does not precede but is generated by the poetic imagination. Theopoetics is not adorning an already constituted God; it is constituting the very idea of God. A radical God, untethered from theological orthodoxy and confessional rivalries, is neither a real being nor an unreal illusion, neither the object of supernatural belief nor the reject of skeptical disbelief. By adopting a phenomenological suspension of both belief and disbelief, both theism and atheism, both the religious and the secular, Caputo demystifies the distinction between the natural and the supernatural and replaces it with the distinction between the prosaic and the poetic. A daring undertaking in radical theology, this lively and provocative book proposes a startlingly different future for religion.]]> 323 John D. Caputo 0231565100 James 0 currently-reading 5.00
author: John D. Caputo
name: James
average rating: 5.00
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rating: 0
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]]> 35162756 The Sparrow, an astonishing literary debut, takes you on a journey to a distant planet and to the center of the human soul. It is the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who leads a twenty-first-century scientific mission to a newly discovered extraterrestrial culture. Sandoz and his companions are prepared to endure isolation, hardship and death, but nothing can prepare them for the civilization they encounter, or for the tragic misunderstanding that brings the mission to a catastrophic end. Once considered a living saint, Sandoz returns alone to Earth physically and spiritually maimed, the mission's sole survivor--only to be accused of heinous crimes and blamed for the mission's failure.

In clean, effortless prose and with captivating flashes of wit, Russell creates memorable characters who navigate a world of exciting ideas and disturbing moral issues without ever losing their humanity or humor. Both heartbreaking and triumphant, and rich in literary pleasures great and small, The Sparrow is a powerful and haunting book. It is a magical novel, as literate as The Name of the Rose, as farsighted as The Handmaid's Tale and as readable as The Thorn Birds

Description from inside jacket]]> 518 Mary Doria Russell James 0 currently-reading 4.21 1996
author: Mary Doria Russell
name: James
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/07/04
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]]> 236942302 A warm, intimate novel that reminds us of the richness that can be found all throughout our lives—by the New York Times bestselling author of The Story of Arthur Truluv and Open House

As ninety-two-year-old Florence "Flo" Greene nears the end of her life, she writes a letter to Ruthie, the woman who grew up next door to her, describing the items Flo is leaving Ruthie in her will. But as it goes on, telling surprising stories about those “little” things Flo will leave behind (What could possibly be the worth of a rubber band kept in a matchbox tied up in red ribbon?), an unforgettable portrait of the life she has lived emerges.

The letter starts off as an autobiography in things, but it turns out to do much more than ultimately, it will transform Flo and those around her. In the time she has left, Flo decides to take herself up on tiny dares. She encourages Ruthie to reconsider her impending divorce by sharing a startling, long-buried secret about her own perfect-seeming marriage. Flo has never had a pedicure before now, and as long as she's going to a beauty parlor, she arranges to have a blue streak put in her hair, too. And as these adventures lead her to make new friends, Flo helps them, too, find the fulfillment that living a full life has led her to understand.

Full of Elizabeth Berg's characteristic mix of warmth, humor, and poignancy, A Love Story is a reminder that whatever your circumstances, as long as you're alive, you can keep on investing in life. The joy will inevitably follow.]]> 191 Elizabeth Berg 0593446844 James 5 4.37 2026
author: Elizabeth Berg
name: James
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2026
rating: 5
read at: 2026/07/01
date added: 2026/07/01
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]]> 242365308 One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…

His name is Theo. And he asks a lot more questions than he answers.

Theo visits the local coffeehouse, where ninety-two pencil portraits hang on the walls, portraits of the people of Golden done by a local artist. He begins purchasing them, one at a time, and putting them back in the hands of their “rightful owners.” With each exchange, a story is told, a friendship born, and a life altered.

A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is a beautifully crafted novel about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the invisible threads of kindness that bind us to one another.]]> 399 Allen Levi 1668236532 James 0 to-read 4.65 2023
author: Allen Levi
name: James
average rating: 4.65
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/06/17
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]]> 235173664 A woman confronts the surprising results of an ancestry test and begins to question the meaning of family and friendship in this wise, tender novel teeming with life—from the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of After Annie

No one knows you like your book club.

High school English teacher Polly Goodman can talk about everything and anything with the women in her book club, which is why they’ve become her closest friends and, along with her veterinarian husband, the bedrock of her life. Her students, her fraught relationship with her mother, her struggles with IVF—Polly’s book club friends have heard about it all.

But when they give Polly an ancestry test kit as a joke, the results match her with a stranger. It is clear to Polly that this match is a mistake, but still she cannot help but comb through her family history for answers. Then, when it seems that the book club circle of four will become three, Polly learns how friendships can change your life in the most profound ways.

Written with Anna Quindlen’s trademark warmth, humor, and insight into the power of love and hope, More Than Enough explores how we find ourselves again and again through the relationships that define us.]]> 256 Anna Quindlen 0593734629 James 3 4.21 2026
author: Anna Quindlen
name: James
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2026
rating: 3
read at: 2026/06/16
date added: 2026/06/17
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I have no complaints or major criticisms. It just wasn’t a story I related to very strongly. I’m the wrong age and gender.
]]> 242082841
And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.

Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human condition—one that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters. With exquisite prose and profound insight, The Things We Never Say takes one man’s fears and loneliness and makes them universal. And in the same breath, captures the abiding love that sustains and holds us all.]]> 207 Elizabeth Strout James 3 4.29 2026
author: Elizabeth Strout
name: James
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2026
rating: 3
read at: 2026/06/06
date added: 2026/06/06
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]]> 222199230 How rethinking our relationships with other species can help us reimagine the future of humankind 
 
In the woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa, sometime deep in our species’ past, something strange a bird called out, not to warn others of human presence, but to call attention to herself. Having found a beehive, that bird—a honeyguide—sought human aid to break in. The behavior can seem almost How would a bird come to think that people could help her? Isn’t life simply bloodier than that? 

As Rob Dunn argues in The Call of the Honeyguide, it isn’t. Nature is red in tooth and claw, but in equal measure, life works together. Cells host even smaller life, wrapped in a web of mutual interdependence. Ants might go to war, but they also tend fungi, aphids, and even trees. And we humans work not just with honeyguides but with yeast, crops, and pets. Ecologists call these beneficial relationships mutualisms. And they might be the most important forces in the evolution of life.  

We humans often act as though we are all alone, independent from the rest of life. As The Call of the Honeyguide shows, we are not. It is a call to action for a more beneficent, less lonely future. ]]> 353 Rob Dunn 1541605756 James 3 3.57 2025
author: Rob Dunn
name: James
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2026/05/29
date added: 2026/05/29
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]]> 228823087 The multi-million copy selling author of The Help returns with a bold, big-hearted novel about a group of unbreakable women, fighting for what’s rightfully theirs—and the power of friendship to change everything.

In 1933 Oxford, Mississippi, Prohibition is on the wane, and the Great Depression is tightening its grip. Poor and rich folks alike have fallen on hard times, even as the old social order remains. For women on the margins, the options are few and the price of dignity and self-determination is unbearably high.

Eleven-year-old Meg, one of the unadoptable “big girls” at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed. Birdie, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford on a mission to ask her social-climbing sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. And Charlie is a woman with a past, running low on luck but driven by fire, fury, and grit. When their fates converge, they come up with an audacious plan to take back control of their lives. Together, they form an unlikely sisterhood—but in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife, women’s freedom is fragile, and making an enemy can have dire consequences, will the price they pay for their outrageous risk-taking be too high?

The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheer—an epic testament to resilience, friendship, and the fierce, funny women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings. This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilarious—the triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.]]> 640 Kathryn Stockett 1954118821 James 0 did-not-finish 4.66 2026
author: Kathryn Stockett
name: James
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2026
rating: 0
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date added: 2026/05/29
shelves: did-not-finish
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]]> 220160840 A deeply irreverent and Biblically correct takedown of the far-right and their co-opting of religion, and guide to engaging them in effective conversational combat

For more than two centuries the United States constitution has given Americans the right to live in a society where church and state exist independently and without conflict. So why is Christianity suddenly being co-opted by far-right groups, politicians, friends, and family members to justify oppressive and unequal policies? And how do we fight back against those acting—literally—in bad faith?

Separation of Church and Hate, by comedian and TV and radio host John Fugelsang—himself the child of a former Catholic nun and Franciscan brother—finally offers the answers. In this informative, perspective-shifting guide, Fugelsang takes readers through common talking points and arguments—God condemns abortion, gay marriage is a sin, guns are an ordained right, and more—and exposes their hypocrisy and inaccuracy through scripture, philosophy, and plain old common sense.

Told with Fugelsang’s trademark blend of radical honesty, relevant humor, and deep political and religious knowledge, Separation of Church and Hate is the book every American today needs. It's a return to civility, a rallying cry for compassion and clarity, and a reclamation of the values and truths Americans hold dear. It's for anyone raised Christian but now disillusioned by organized religion; for Democrats, progressives, liberals, and moderates fed up with the right wing pretending to own Christianity; for atheists, agnostics, and any one of any faith who's sick of fundamentalists cloaking hatred in religion. It's for everyone who's realized that one doesn't have to subscribe to a religion to be a good person.]]> 288 John Fugelsang 1668066890 James 2 4.35 2025
author: John Fugelsang
name: James
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2026/03/20
date added: 2026/05/25
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Written to be a way to answer extreme right loyalists who cherry pick Bible verses to justify their ideology of hate, fascism, and white supremacy, I found it’s confrontational style laced with endless attempts at using humor to soften its attacks unhelpful and repetitive.
]]> 42892433 334 Jamie West Zumwalt 1640854800 James 4 homed and members of a low income red light district there serves as an example and model for ways a loving community can be formed to befriend and serve people who are almost always feared, hated, resented, ignored and maligned by the majority of society. It also documents the transition of a Christian minister from a far right evangelical to a moderate, social justice warrior who practices loving one another especially the least of these as Jesus taught. Jamie Zumwalt uses stories of her customers turned friends to make her points. One part inspiration, one part memoir, one part challenge for all of us to do better for the neighbors we most often neglect.]]> 4.69
author: Jamie West Zumwalt
name: James
average rating: 4.69
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2026/05/06
date added: 2026/05/25
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Although very specific to Oklahoma City, this non-fiction story of the creation of a coffee shop / day shelter open for non-
homed and members of a low income red light district there serves as an example and model for ways a loving community can be formed to befriend and serve people who are almost always feared, hated, resented, ignored and maligned by the majority of society. It also documents the transition of a Christian minister from a far right evangelical to a moderate, social justice warrior who practices loving one another especially the least of these as Jesus taught. Jamie Zumwalt uses stories of her customers turned friends to make her points. One part inspiration, one part memoir, one part challenge for all of us to do better for the neighbors we most often neglect.
]]> 235291764 From New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn comes a gorgeously written fantastical adventure which poses the question: Have you ever wished you could live inside a book? Welcome to the Astral Library, where books are not just objects, but doors to new worlds, new lives, and new futures.

Alexandria “Alix” Watson has learned one lesson from her barren childhood in the foster-care system: unlike people, books will never let you down. Working three dead-end jobs to make ends meet and knowing college is a pipe dream, Alix takes nightly refuge in the high-vaulted reading room at the Boston Public Library, escaping into her favorite fantasy novels and dreaming of far-off lands. Until the day she stumbles through a hidden door and meets the Librarian: the ageless, acerbic guardian of a hidden library where the desperate and the lost escape to new lives...inside their favorite books.

The Librarian takes a dazzled Alix under her wing, but before she can escape into the pages of her new life, a shadowy enemy emerges to threaten everyone the Astral Library has ever helped protect. Aided by a dashing costume-shop owner, Alix and the Librarian flee through the Regency drawing rooms of Jane Austen to the back alleys of Sherlock Holmes and the champagne-soaked parties of The Great Gatsby as danger draws inexorably closer. But who does their enemy really wish to destroy—Alix, the Librarian, or the Library itself?]]> 304 Kate Quinn 0063244802 James 5 3.78 2026
author: Kate Quinn
name: James
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2026
rating: 5
read at: 2026/02/28
date added: 2026/05/25
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Fantasy is no longer a genre I regularly read, but a fantasy about a magical asylum providing library with a young resilient, smart heroine was totally captivating. I admired and enjoyed all the details, all the literary and art references. Well, those that I got. I know I missed many. Would that such a place existed for all who need it. Stories have always been used to tell us how best to live and treat one another. This one is in that tradition. Its importance is not just in the story, but in the underlying meaning it cleverly disguises. Maybe it will speak to some in ways others don't and the world can become what it might be if only we would actually do the basic thing of loving one another every single other.
]]> 240027565
In a fast-paced, all-too-real thriller co-written by #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny and award-winning journalist Mellissa Fung, global politics become personal for two unlikely heroines. Alice Li, a first-generation Chinese-American, is an erstwhile food blogger who has lived in the shadow of her mother, Vivien Li. A Chinese dissident who escaped China after Tiananmen Square, Vivien is now a globally recognized human rights activist and passionate advocate for a free and democratic China.

When security and fire alarms go off simultaneously all around the world, setting off a panic, the signal is traced back to China. As world leaders scramble to respond, Vivien and Alice are called to the White House in hopes Madame Li can decode the Chinese intentions.

While it makes some sense that the President would turn to Vivien, since she regularly advises world leaders on the actions of today’s Chinese government, what isn’t clear is why they’d want to talk to Alice.

After looking at the evidence, Vivien says that the only thing worse than the Chinese government being behind it, is if they are not. It would mean, she explains, that some clandestine element within China is calling the shots. That the President of China has lost control. And an unstable China cannot be good for anyone.

Or perhaps that’s exactly what the shrewd old politician wants everyone to think.

Caught up in the chaos, Vivien and Alice are uniquely placed to stop the next, cataclysmic attack. But there are forces deep within both the American and Chinese governments intent on stopping mother and daughter. The estranged pair, who excels at misunderstanding each other, must figure out how to work together.

The increasingly frantic search for answers takes the women from the Oval Office to an office building in Akron, Ohio, from the noodle shops of Hong Kong to the necropolis of the first emperor. Along the way they must decode an old legend, and an old language invented by women, for women.

The Last Mandarin is an electrifying study of absolute power and voracious greed, political terror and personal conviction. But it is also, as to be expected from the minds of Louise Penny, beloved author of the Gamache novels, and Mellissa Fung, an acclaimed international journalist, an intimate examination of choice, of sacrifice, of memory and myths, both cultural and personal. It is the story of a mother and daughter, as well as a compelling international thriller about the precarious balance of power across the world, and within a family. And what happens when both break down.]]> 393 Louise Penny 1250412536 James 3 So I can say I liked this collaboration, and glad to have read it. What I missed most was Louise Penny’s cogent observations about human nature and the balance between the awful things people do with the recognition that decency also is still present in the world. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend The Last Mandarin to others, but with some reservations. ]]> 4.19 2026
author: Louise Penny
name: James
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2026
rating: 3
read at: 2026/05/24
date added: 2026/05/25
shelves:
review:
I found this whiz bang political thriller a fast paced engaging read, but I was often confused by who was whom. And the jarring shifts in whose story was being told was just annoying enough to be distracting more than keeping me engaged. I also found the Chinese story line to be less relatable and stretched credulity a little too far.
So I can say I liked this collaboration, and glad to have read it. What I missed most was Louise Penny’s cogent observations about human nature and the balance between the awful things people do with the recognition that decency also is still present in the world. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend The Last Mandarin to others, but with some reservations.
]]> 221545082 448 Karin Slaughter 0063336804 James 3 4.34 2025
author: Karin Slaughter
name: James
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2026/05/15
date added: 2026/05/15
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]]> 239053259 A vivid portrait of the unsung American women from 1776 to today who changed the course of history in their fight for freedom and helped shape a more perfect union

“This terrific book reveals the central, though often hidden role that women have played at every stage of our country’s history.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin

Over a decades-long, distinguished career, award-winning journalist Norah O’Donnell has made it her mission to shed light on untold wom­en’s stories. Now, in honor of America’s 250th birthday, O’Donnell focuses that passion on the American heroines who helped change the course of history.

We the Women presents a fresh look at American his­tory through the eyes of women, introducing us to inspiring patriots who demanded that the country live up to the prom­ises made 250 years ago in the Declaration of “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Since the signing of that document, the pressing question from women has Why don’t those unalienable rights apply to us?

Through extensive research and interviews, as well as historical documents and old photos, O’Donnell curates a compelling portrait of these fierce fighters for freedom. From Mary Katherine Goddard, who printed the first signed Declaration of Independence, to the Forten family women, who were active in the abolition and suffrage movements and were considered the “Black Founders” of Philadelphia, to the first women who served in the armed forces even before they had the right to vote, O’Donnell brings these extraordinary women together for the first time, and in doing so writes the American story anew.]]> 416 Norah O'Donnell 0593727037 James 0 to-read 4.14 2026
author: Norah O'Donnell
name: James
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/04/30
shelves: to-read
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]]> 222867068 From acclaimed author Terah Shelton Harris comes a poignant story of survival and redemption that questions what it means to stop existing and start living.

Leigh is the last of the Wildes. She knows this because she watched them all die.

Grief never truly fades and even as the tragedy haunts her, Leigh carries on, because survival is in her blood. So, when the transport bus taking her to prison careens off the road, killing everyone onboard except her, she does what's in her nature. She survives. 

While searching for a place to hide, Leigh stumbles upon an unexpected a flower farm in rural Alabama tucked away from the world. What Leigh doesn't expect is the found family there who have built something from the wreckage of their own lives. Especially Jackson, the farm's owner, who sees through Leigh's defenses, offers her small moments of tenderness, encourages her to face her own tragedies. Slowly, Leigh finds peace with the hard pace and soft nature of the farm, taking comfort in the life blooming around her. Maybe she's not beyond redemption, not too broken for something good. And maybe, just maybe, Leigh starts to heal.

But the past isn't so easily buried.

No matter how far she runs, the truth of who she is and the ghosts of the Wildes follow. And when those secrets catch up to her, threatening everything she's come to love, Leigh will have to truly face what she can survive.]]> 484 Terah Shelton Harris 1464229244 James 5 4.29 2026
author: Terah Shelton Harris
name: James
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2026
rating: 5
read at: 2026/04/18
date added: 2026/04/19
shelves:
review:
There is a lot of positive buzz about this book. In my opinion it's all deserved. I don't always fully appreciate books about troubled folks and their hard lives. I often start them and don't finish them. Too much "drama", too much dwelling in the pain. Maybe just too intense for me and not enough hope. But that's just me. Terah Shelton Harris was much more thoughtful, much more skilled, much more intentional in what she wanted to say about a person living an impossibly hard life s a girl. As she wrote in the prologue there are two stories in this book, a hard before and a more loving, healing after. They both "happened" but the second contains the magic of the importance of beauty and love and that is where the wildflowers grew. It wasn't all easy, this young woman's life. but it was hopeful. I also very much appreciated the author's notes and explanations at the end of the story. i love that she starts her books at the end and the first thing she does is to create a playlist for her story. When I direct a play the first thing I do is to create a playlist for it. For just the same reasons. As I write this I am listening to her playlist. I think you should read this book.
]]> 56435994 You’re a coward.

Time and again, as the New Year approaches, that charge is leveled against Armand Gamache.

It starts innocently enough.

While the residents of the Québec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request.

He’s asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting Professor of Statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university.

While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture.

They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson’s views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and fact, reality and delusion are so confused it’s near impossible to tell them apart.

Discussions become debates, debates become arguments, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold.

Abigail Robinson promises that, if they follow her, ça va bien aller. All will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone.

When a murder is committed it falls to Armand Gamache, his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion.

And the madness of crowds.]]> 448 Louise Penny James 5 The above was written in 2021. It is now 5 years later and after a second read and with the passage of time and circumstances, my opinion is much improved. I understand my initial reticence, but now the theme of why groups can act in a heard like manor and the subtleties of motivations seems amazingly prescience and relevant!]]> 4.44 2021
author: Louise Penny
name: James
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2026/04/09
date added: 2026/04/09
shelves:
review:
I don’t review books per se. I write my reaction to them. Hence no plot summary. They are everywhere. Second , I’m a fan of the series and I love the characters each in their own way, so that bias needs to be recognized and probably inflates my overall rating. My overarching reaction is that I thought this book was premature. It is based on the overly optimistic premise that the pandemic is over. Maybe in Canada, but not in most of the rest of the world. So the book immediately invited skepticism. Second, the whole story felt muddled and overcrowded with people, dire competing circumstances, and uncertainties. Even the eventual resolution seemed uncertain and hesitant. I know all mysteries involve misdirection, that’s a the core of their appeal, but I guess in this one too much felt contrived. And strangely enough by the end I realized I really didn’t care who killed the victim or even why. Honestly I thought the murder detracted from the much more interesting and relevant question of why a morally repulsive social policy could gain popular support. For me this installment lost it’s way. Having said that any opportunity to spend time with these characters is time well spent.
The above was written in 2021. It is now 5 years later and after a second read and with the passage of time and circumstances, my opinion is much improved. I understand my initial reticence, but now the theme of why groups can act in a heard like manor and the subtleties of motivations seems amazingly prescience and relevant!
]]> 238226952 She can hop into any novel, she just can’t stay there. Come along with the book witch in this magical and inspiring love letter to reading from the USA Today bestselling author of The Wishing Game.

Rainy March is a proud third-generation book witch, sworn to defend works of fiction from all foes real and imaginary. With her magical umbrella and feline familiar, she jumps into and out of novels to fix malicious alterations and rogue heroes. 

Book witches live by a strict Real people belong in the real word; fictional characters belong in works of fiction…. Do not eat, drink, or sleep inside a fictional world, lest you become part of the story. Falling in love with a fictional character? Don’t even think about it.

Which is why Rainy has been forbidden from seeing the Duke of Chicago, the dashing British detective who stars in her favorite mystery series. If she’s ever caught with him again, she’ll be expelled from her book coven—and forced to give up the magical gifts that are as much a part of her as her own name.

But when her beloved grandfather disappears and a priceless book is stolen, there’s only one person she trusts to help her solve the case: the Duke. Their quest takes them through the worlds of Alice in Wonderland, The Great Gatsby, and other classics that will reveal hidden enemies and long-buried family secrets.]]> 320 Meg Shaffer 0593983580 James 0 to-read 4.02 2026
author: Meg Shaffer
name: James
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/04/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> 241471016 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Change Your Mind, a panoptic exploration of consciousness—what it is, who has it, and why—and a meditation on the essence of our humanity

When it comes to the phenomenon that is consciousness, there is one point on which scientists, philosophers, and artists all agree: it feels like something to be us. Yet the fact that we have subjective experience of the world remains one of nature’s greatest mysteries. How is it that our mental operations are accompanied by feelings, thoughts, and a sense of self? What would a scientific investigation of our inner life look like, when we have as little distance and perspective on it as fish do of the sea? In A World Appears, Michael Pollan traces the unmapped continent that is consciousness, bringing radically different perspectives—scientific, philosophical, literary, spiritual and psychedelic—to see what each can teach us about this central fact of life.

When neuroscientists began studying consciousness in the early 1990s, they sought to explain how and why three pounds of spongy gray matter could generate a subjective point of view—assuming that the brain is the source of our perceived reality. Pollan takes us to the cutting edge of the field, where scientists are entertaining more radical (and less materialist) theories of consciousness. He introduces us to “plant neurobiologists” searching for the first flicker of consciousness in plants, scientists striving to engineer feelings into AI, and psychologists and novelists seeking to capture the felt experience of our slippery stream of consciousness.

In Pollan’s dazzling exploration of consciousness, he discovers a world far deeper and stranger than our everyday reality. Eye-opening and mind-expanding, A World Appears takes us into the laboratories of our own minds, ultimately showing us how we might make better use of the gift of awareness to more meaningfully connect with the world and our deepest selves.]]> 318 Michael Pollan 1984882007 James 4 4.29 2026
author: Michael Pollan
name: James
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2026
rating: 4
read at: 2026/03/31
date added: 2026/03/31
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]]> 222906527 A captivating new historical novel from Madeline Martin, set in Victorian London about a forbidden book club, dangerous secrets, and the women who dare to break free.
 
You are cordially invited to the Secret Book Society…
 
London, 1895: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club—a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood, and the courage to rewrite their stories.
 
Eleanor Clarke, a devoted mother suffocating under the tyranny of her husband. Rose Wharton, a transplanted American dollar princess struggling to fit the mold of an aristocratic wife. Lavinia Cavendish, an artistic young woman haunted by a dangerous family secret. All are drawn to the enigmatic Lady Duxbury, a thrice-widowed countess whose husbands’ untimely deaths have sparked whispers of murder.
 
As the women form deep, heartwarming friendships, they uncover secrets about their marriages, their pasts, and the risks they face. Their courage is their only weapon in the oppressive world that has kept them silent, but when secrets are deadly, one misstep could cost them everything.
 ]]> 331 Madeline Martin James 4 4.29 2025
author: Madeline Martin
name: James
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2026/03/27
date added: 2026/03/27
shelves:
review:
This is a very powerful, very troubling story of the suppressed state of women in Victorian England and how three of them with the guidance of a fourth escaped the tyranny imposed upon them by their society and the men who controlled them. The mentor of this invited group used a secret book society as the mechanism to create a community of friends who supported, protected and rescued one another from the brutalities of fathers, and husbands and societal norms. Were this story not grounded in historical research it would have been hard to believe possible. But perhaps the most disturbing thing about this story is that today Christian nationalists desire a return to this time of total subservience and domination of women by men and that their are women who naively, I believe, support this enterprise. The stark harshness of this historical novel deserves attention.
]]> 211179569 577 Andrew Ross Sorkin 0241479428 James 0 to-read 4.06 2025
author: Andrew Ross Sorkin
name: James
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/03/20
shelves: to-read
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]]> 231126977 Everyone said she was wicked.
Now Cinderella's stepmother tells her own story...

After the death of her second husband, Lady Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley is solely responsible for her two daughters, Rosamund and Mathilde, her simpering stepdaughter Elin, a razor-taloned peregrine falcon, and a crumbling manor buried in the woods.

When a royal ball offers the chance to change their fortunes, Ethel risks her pride in pursuit of an invitation for all three of girls - only for her hopes to be fulfilled by the wrong Elin.

Yet as her stepdaughter's engagement to the future king unfolds, Ethel discovers a sordid secret hidden in the depths of the royal family, forcing her to choose between the security she craves and the feckless stepdaughter who has rebuffed her at every turn...

Bridgerton meets Circe in this breathtaking reimagining of one of the world's most iconic fairytales, Cinderella.

**Lady Tremaine has stolen the hearts of readers everywhere!**]]> 339 Rachel Hochhauser 1250396344 James 0 to-read 4.13 2026
author: Rachel Hochhauser
name: James
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/02/28
shelves: to-read
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]]> 54790816 In this remarkable debut based on actual events, as a team of male scholars compiles the first Oxford English Dictionary, one of their daughters decides to collect the "objectionable" words they omit.

Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the "Scriptorium," a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Young Esme's place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word "bondmaid" flutters to the floor. She rescues the slip, and when she learns that the word means slave-girl, she withholds it from the OED and begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men.

As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women's and common folks' experiences often go unrecorded. And so she begins in earnest to search out words for her own dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words. To do so she must leave the sheltered world of the university and venture out to meet the people whose words will fill those pages.

Set during the height of the women's suffrage movement with the Great War looming, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men.

Based on actual events and combed from author Pip Williams's experience delving into the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary, this highly original novel is a delightful, lyrical, and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words and the power of language to shape the world.]]> 400 Pip Williams 1984820737 James 5 4.18 2020
author: Pip Williams
name: James
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2026/02/21
date added: 2026/02/21
shelves:
review:
I think this is one of the most honest, real, believable, timely and informative, relevant historical novels I may have ever read. I know that others feel it was too dark, lacked a manufactured happy ending, sorry sort of a spoiler, but like now the transition from 19th to 20th century was not a happy time for people not in the highest castes of their respective societies. Pip Williams makes that perfectly clear and I admire her honesty and historical accuracy. The story of the arduous creation of the Oxford English Dictionary was wonderfully researched and presented as the frame around which the fictionalized story and characters revolve. Both aspects, the historical and the fictional blend flawlessly and believably. The author writes in her comments that some of the story didn’t happen, but was nonetheless true. So well said. I was 100% engaged and interested throughout the book. Well, perhaps, not as much with the romance sections, but even those necessarily shaped and influenced the characters and later added gravity to their outcomes. If you love words, literacy, strong female characters and unflinchingly are willing to confront the strength, determination, and sacrifices made by women and some men to help women strive to achieve equality with men in patriarchal societies, then do read this book. And if you have, like me, taken the existence of dictionaries for granted, then read it for that as well. It’s a wonderful book!
]]> 217263798 In this spellbinding historical novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea and The Wind Knows My Name, a young writer journeys to South America to uncover the truth about her father—and herself.

In San Francisco 1866, an Irish nun, left pregnant and abandoned following a torrid relationship with a Chilean aristocrat, gives birth to a daughter named Emilia Del Valle. Raised by a loving stepfather, Emilia grows into an independent thinker and a self-sufficient young woman.

To pursue her passion for writing, she is willing to defy societal norms. At the age of sixteen, she begins to publish pulp fiction under a man’s pen name. When these fictional worlds can't contain her sense of adventure any longer, she turns to journalism, convincing an editor at the San Francisco Examiner to hire her. There she is paired with another talented reporter, Eric Whelan.

As she proves herself, her restlessness returns, until an opportunity arises to cover a brewing civil war in Chile. She seizes it, along with Eric, and while there, begins to uncover the truth about her father and the country that represents her roots. But as the war escalates, Emilia finds herself in danger and at a crossroads, questioning both her identity and her destiny.

A riveting tale of self-discovery and love from one of the most masterful storytellers of our time, My Name is Emilia del Valle introduces a character who will never let hold of your heart.]]> 301 Isabel Allende 0593975103 James 4 4.17 2025
author: Isabel Allende
name: James
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2026/02/05
date added: 2026/02/05
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]]> 125179933
At least it should be. It has no biblical support. And it dies a death of a thousand qualifications in philosophy.

Those harmed and hurting wonder why an omnipotent God doesn't prevent pointless pain. The problem of evil buries omnipotence six feet under.

But the death of omnipotence is not the death of God.

In this ground-breaking book, best-selling and award-winning author Thomas Jay Oord explains why omnipotence should be rejected. But Oord offers a amipotence, the power of uncontrolling love.

If we think love shapes and guides God's power, we make better sense of life. And better sense of the Bible. Amipotence explains why God doesn't prevent genuine evil and overcomes other obstacles to belief. An amipotent Spirit empowers all that is loving, true, beautiful, and good.

No book makes a bolder but more needed argument for why God is not all-powerful. In this book, those who care about love, scripture, and logic find what they've been looking for.

Get a copy of The Death of Omnipotence and Birth of Amipotence !



"Omnipotence has long been considered a basic, non-negotiable, characteristic of God. But is it biblical? And does it push us toward theological landmines that blow up faith? In this book, Oord, with his typical gentle candor, lays out the complex issues in clear and readable chunks. In the end, Oord points to the beauty and comfort of a God who is uncontrolling love."
- Peter Enns, professor of biblical studies at Eastern University, author of Curveball

"Thomas Jay Oord challenges one of the most fundamental attributes of God—omnipotence. He discloses that a narrow view of God as ‘Almighty’ is neither biblical nor adequately describes the God of Jesus Christ. Oord offers a new view of God as ‘amipotent.’ The power of God is the power of love, and the power of unconditional love is our strength. Oord has made an important contribution to restoring the biblical God, a God who is ever faithful in love, not a power over us but the power beneath our wings."
- Ilia Delio, OSF, Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology, Villanova University

"Omnipotence is widely believed to be one of the most important attributes of God. In this book, Thomas Jay Oord proposes a highly original and thought-provoking instead of omnipotent, God should be considered ‘amipotent.’ This is an important book which can radically change the way we approach central problems in philosophy of religion and philosophical theology."
- Yujin Nagasawa , H. G. Wood Professor of the Philosophy of Religion, University of Birmingham

"Finally God’s love has been saved from God’s control—faithfully, definitively, attractively! In this vibrantly accessible work, Thomas Jay Oord puts to rest the demoralizing, incoherent, and by the way nonbiblical notion of controlling omnipotence, used to justify endless injustice. In its stead, he unleashes ‘amipotence’— code for the power of love. Its time has preach it, teach it, live it!"
- Catherine Keller , Drew Theological School, and Author of Political Theology of Love

"This book provides a provocative argument that cannot be easily dismissed. This is the kind of nuance that contemporary debates over models of God need to consider."
- R.T. Mullins, Professor of Philosophical Theology, University of Lucerne

"Oord charts a path to theological freedom from the tyranny of an omnipotent God. This book is theology at its grounded in scripture, rooted in love, and engaged with brilliant and spirit-filled minds. If you have found yourself (rightfully!) unable to accept the horrifying implications of omnipotence but struggle to conceive of a God worth calling “God” ... good news! This is the book for you."
- Sarah Lane Ritchie, Science & Religion Scholar]]> 163 Thomas Jay Oord 1948609924 James 4 4.52
author: Thomas Jay Oord
name: James
average rating: 4.52
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2026/01/28
date added: 2026/01/28
shelves:
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]]> 224010011 New York Times Bestseller • Barnes & Noble 2025 Book of the Year • Boston Globe Best Book of the Year • National Indie Bestseller • Top Ten Indie Next Pick • Indigo Heather’s Pick


Ten-year-old Mona and her beloved grandfather have only fifty-two Wednesdays to visit fifty-two works of art and commit to memory “all that is beautiful in the world” before Mona loses her sight forever.



While the doctors can find no explanation for Mona’s brief episode of blindness, they agree that the threat of permanent vision loss cannot be ruled out. The girl’s grandfather, Henry, may not be able to stop his granddaughter from losing her sight, but he can fill the encroaching darkness with beauty. Every Wednesday for a year, the pair abscond together and visit a single masterpiece in one of Paris’s renowned museums. From Botticelli to Basquiat, Mona learns how each artist’s work shaped the world around them. In turn, the young girl’s world is changed forever by the power of their art. Under the kind and careful tutelage of her grandfather, Mona learns the true meaning of generosity, melancholy, love, loss, and revolution. Her perspective will never be the same—nor will the reader’s.


Mona’s Eyes is a heartfelt, enlightening journey across five centuries of Western art history. With the emotional impact of The Elegance of the Hedgehog and the readability of The Little Paris Bookshop, Thomas Schlesser’s sensational debut novel is at once a moving book about the beauty of life and a deeply touching story about the special bond between a girl and her grandfather.


“Vibrant debut ... Schlesser seamlessly interweaves the art lessons with Mona’s story... Readers of Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie's World will love this.”—Publishers Weekly]]> 368 Thomas Schlesser James 5 3.86 2024
author: Thomas Schlesser
name: James
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2026/01/23
date added: 2026/01/23
shelves:
review:
First, you probably have to love art to enjoy this very long didactic art history. It is not a novel in the ordinary sense. But I still loved it for the beautiful descriptions of the art, the interpretive comments and the sweet story of a grandfather and his ten year old granddaughter. I am a grandfather who loves his granddaughter. So very easily relatable. BUT having given the book the highest rating I readily admit it was at times a bit tedious and over all very slow moving. The simple story is very slow paced. So if you have the time to devote to it, a bit of patience and appreciate the importance of art in the world, then you too might touch the fifth star.
]]> 48744712 A revelatory manifesto on how we can reclaim faith from abstract doctrines and rigid morals to find God in the joys and ambiguities of everyday life, from the acclaimed author of Saving Jesus from the Church“In this book of stories from four decades of ministry, Meyers powerfully captures what it means to believe in a God who’s revealed not in creeds or morals but in the struggles and beauty of our ordinary lives.”—Richard Rohr, bestselling author of The Universal Christ People across the theological and political spectrum are struggling with what it means to say that they believe in God. For centuries, Christians have seen him as a deity who shows favor to some and dispenses punishment to others according to right belief and correct behavior. But this transactional approach to a God “up there”—famously depicted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—no longer works, if it ever did, leaving an increasing number of Christians upset, disappointed, and heading for the exits. In this groundbreaking, inspiring book, Robin R. Meyers, the senior minister of Oklahoma City’s Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ, shows how readers can move from a theology of obedience to one of consequence. He argues that we need to stop seeing our actions as a means for pleasing a distant God and rediscover how God has empowered us to care for ourselves and the world. Drawing on stories from his decades of active ministry, Meyers captures how the struggles of ordinary people hint at how we can approach faith as a radical act of trust in a God who is all around us, even in our doubts and the moments of life we fear the most.]]> 227 Robin R. Meyers 1984822527 James 5 4.62 2009
author: Robin R. Meyers
name: James
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2020/05/27
date added: 2026/01/19
shelves:
review:

]]> 75389986 CALCULATING GOD

by Best-Novel Hugo and Nebula Award-winner Robert J. Sawyer

DID GOD CREATE THE UNIVERSE? THE ALIENS THINK THEY CAN PROVE IT!

The beloved Hugo Award-nominated novel about the conflict between science and religion — perfect for fans of Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow and Carl Sagan's Contact. An alien walks into Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum and asks to see a paleontologist. Dinosaur expert Tom Jericho is stunned to learn that many worlds experienced the same five great mass extinction events as Earth did, and that the aliens believe this proves God tampers with the evolution of life. As Tom faces his own mortality, will his life-long atheism be shaken by these revelations? From this provocative launch point, Sawyer tells a fast-paced, morally and intellectually challenging story that just grows larger and larger in scope.

Calculating God is SF on the grand scale — with a very human heart.

Praise for Calculating

"Spectacular; unusually thoughtful SF." — Publishers Weekly "The premise is astounding. A fine read; an intellectual thriller with real bite." — Edmonton Journal "The best science fiction novel of the year." — Denver Rocky Mountain News "An engrossing and nuanced novel, full of food for thought and meat for meditation, the sort of epistemological gavotte that reminds us why God invented science fiction in the first place." —James Morrow"An enthralling story. The climax is an exhilarating and touching glimpse of transcendence." — Starlog "Sawyer ends with grandeur worthy of Arthur C. Clarke." — The Denver Post "An action-packed yet highly philosophical, theological, and ethical story. Well-melded into the fast-paced plot, a wonderful dialogue goes on over the God question and over right, wrong, and the purpose of life. It's guaranteed to expand the minds of believers and non-believers alike." —Tom Harpur in The Toronto Star "Sawyer once again demonstrates his wild talent for innovative, iconoclastic storytelling as he relates a thought-provoking, sobering, yet wryly compassionate tale of one man's discovery of timelessness even as his own time is running out." — Library Journal "Exciting and emotional. Sawyer smoothly combines ethical questions and comical dialogue in a highly absorbing tale." — Booklist " Calculating God is the most captivating work of science fiction I've read since Carl Sagan's Contact ." — Victoria Times Colonist Robert J. Sawyer, a member of The Order of Canada and a Globe and Mail , Maclean's , and #1 Locus bestseller, is the author of 24 previous novels, including The Oppenheimer Alternative , Quantum Night , and]]> 360 Robert J. Sawyer 1988415462 James 3 4.24 2000
author: Robert J. Sawyer
name: James
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at: 2026/01/10
date added: 2026/01/10
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A friend, an accomplished scientist, and great fan of smart well written science fiction recommended this one to me. He described it as a favorite one from his younger days. I can see why. We are both people who like to wrestle with the great existential questions, like is there a god, and if so how might it be best understood? So this is a well respected, accomplished science fiction writer’s take on that. I enjoyed the tale and appreciated its speculations. The aliens were very interesting and I found the human protagonist very relatable. The plot kept me interested and engaged almost all of the time. Ultimately it left me a bit disappointed, I may have come to it with too high and unrealistic expectations. Sorry, David. But thanks for the recommendation. I’m glad I know about the book and this author. It was a quick read and well worth the time.
]]> 8456771
But an unforeseen tragedy upsets Elfrida's tranquility. She takes refuge in a rambling house in Scotland, which becomes a magnet for various waifs and strays. It sounds a recipe for disaster. But somehow the group becomes greater than the sum of its ill-assorted parts and Elfrida finds herself at the centre of a very magical Christmas.]]> 513 Rosamunde Pilcher James 4 4.54 2000
author: Rosamunde Pilcher
name: James
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2026/01/03
date added: 2026/01/10
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This was a mostly believable stress free, mostly gentle tale of family, friendship and community working beautifully together to help individuals heal from the kind of tragic stresses that accompany life. At times it was a bit too much like a Hallmark Channel rom com with its formulaic plots and stereotypical characters. What saved it for me was the much better developed characters than those scripts provide. The ending was predictable, but nonetheless satisfying for it. Escapist? Sure, but these days, it is what is occasionally needed. It was a good way to cushion the start of what promises to be a tumultuous 2026.
]]> 217203110 The beautiful new novel that will make you laugh and cry, from the global bestselling author of Anxious People and A Man Called Ove. Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later…

You have to take life for granted, the artist thinks, the whole thing: sunrises and slow Sunday mornings and water balloons and another person’s breath against your neck. That’s the only courageous thing a person can do.

In the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world three tiny figures sit at the end of a pier. Most people don’t even notice them. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers seek refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days together. They tell jokes, they share secrets, and they commit small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into 18-year-old Louisa’s care. Determined to learn how it came to be and to decide what to do with it, Louisa embarks on a cross-country journey. But the closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes.

In this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art, Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect.]]> 435 Fredrik Backman 1982112840 James 5 That was my reaction after my first reading. After reading it again, even though I do think Ted and Louisa’s journey was maybe a bit longer than necessary, my reaction to Ted this time, at least, wasn’t indifference. I realized that he reminded me too much of a side of myself with which I am not particularly comfortable. The problem was he was too well and realistically written. With that recognition my earlier reservation was resolved. My small quibble is that there was such a gap between Christian’s introduction and then reintroduction near the end that I had to go back and remind myself who he was. That’s as much on me and me unreliable short term memory as it is the author’s however. I’m back to enthusiastically recommending it. ]]> 4.43 2025
author: Fredrik Backman
name: James
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/12/20
date added: 2025/12/21
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I’ve read, I think, everything Backman has written that has been translated into English. I’m a fan. My Friends started out really strong I was enthusiastically recommending it to my book loving friends before I was half way through. The longer it went the less enthused I became. Sad to say it just seemed to be too long to keep me as engaged as I was earlier on. For me it just started feeling repetitive. Maybe I just found the longer it went on I started caring less and less about the Ted character. I liked it and am definitely glad I read it, I just was all primed to love it and when I didn’t I felt, well, disappointed.
That was my reaction after my first reading. After reading it again, even though I do think Ted and Louisa’s journey was maybe a bit longer than necessary, my reaction to Ted this time, at least, wasn’t indifference. I realized that he reminded me too much of a side of myself with which I am not particularly comfortable. The problem was he was too well and realistically written. With that recognition my earlier reservation was resolved. My small quibble is that there was such a gap between Christian’s introduction and then reintroduction near the end that I had to go back and remind myself who he was. That’s as much on me and me unreliable short term memory as it is the author’s however. I’m back to enthusiastically recommending it.
]]> 214437586 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In his first major work since The Universal Christ, one of our most prominent spiritual voices offers a wholehearted and hope-filled model for the world today, grounded in the timeless wisdom of the Hebrew prophets.

“Richard Rohr is one of the great Christian spiritual masters of our time. Of any time.”—James Martin, SJ, author of Come Forth

How do we live compassionately in a time of violence and despair? What can we do with our private disappointments and the anger we feel in such an unjust world? In his most personal book yet, Richard Rohr turns to the writings of the Jewish prophets, revealing how some of the lesser-read books of the Bible offer us a crucial path forward today.

The prophets’ writings reflect the full spectrum of human maturity. In almost every case, their initial rage and their accusatory words evolve into a profound pathos and lamentation about our shared human condition and the world’s suffering. Through astute critiques of culture and institutions, and their journey from anger to sadness, and ultimately compassion, the prophets exemplify what Rohr calls “sacred criticism”—a distinct approach to confronting evil and injustice that acknowledges the wholeness of history, the interconnectedness of every living being, and the reality of a divine and universal love. In this, they set the stage for Jesus, who follows this identical pattern.

Drawing on a century of biblical scholarship and written in the warm, pastoral voice that has endeared Rohr to millions, The Tears of Things breathes new life into ancient wisdom. It paves a path of enlightenment for anyone seeking a compassionate way of living in a hurting world.]]> 196 Richard Rohr 059373582X James 4 4.60
author: Richard Rohr
name: James
average rating: 4.60
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/12/11
date added: 2025/12/11
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]]> 20446427 421 Bart D. Ehrman James 4 4.25 2014
author: Bart D. Ehrman
name: James
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2025/12/09
date added: 2025/12/09
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]]> 221272659 BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER (Sweden) • A profoundly moving debut novel that follows an elderly man’s struggle to maintain autonomy over his own an emotional story of love, friendship, fatherhood, and atonement that is already an international sensation.

“A tender tale about aging, our own and others, and the quiet brutality of love. About what being a man is, and what being a human is, about fathers and sons and fathers and dogs. It’s a book for anyone who’s had to say goodbye.”—Fredrik Backman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove

“A powerful, sneakily emotional meditation on life and death, and the foundational relationships in our lives. This is a book that will echo in your soul.” —Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain


Bo is running out of time. Yet time is one of the few things he’s got left. These days, his quiet existence is broken up only by daily visits from his home care team. Fortunately, he still has his beloved elkhound Sixten to keep him company … though now his son, with whom Bo has had a rocky relationship, insists upon taking the dog away, claiming that Bo has grown too old to properly care for him. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotion, leading Bo to take stock of his life, his relationships, and the imperfect way he’s expressed his love over the years.]]> 293 Lisa Ridzén James 3 4.39 2024
author: Lisa Ridzén
name: James
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/11/26
date added: 2025/11/28
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I tried to give this book a fourth star given its generally positive reviews and raves from authors I admire but couldn’t. Even three stars was a stretch because the story made me so angry most of the time. I’m in my late 70’s maybe it hit too close to home. Having the elder character be a loquacious insightful narrator while explaining he was suffering from cognitive decline never made much sense to me. How could a character be both so lucid and reflective and so incapacitated? PThe seeming minimal, often resentful care, most of the elderly main character’s care workers provided with their terse clinical notes documenting their limited actual care and lack of understanding, a son who cared more for the well being of the family dog than he did his dying father, the forced perfunctory visits to his mother being treated for dementia, the son’s total failure to recognize the importance of the two things that still gave his father support and comfort in what remained of his life, his one remaining friend and his dog was so depressing. It was all so bleak and terrifying. The one care giver who actually seemed to care and understand did her best to demonstrate the importance of listening, being attentive and respectful of her client’s physical and emotional needs and preferences. She and almost she alone treated him with some modicum of dignity. Her ability to influence others seemed minimal. Beyond her, and a young adult granddaughter, he was either ignored or reacted to as if he was a child. The reconciliation at the end seemed implausible and did little to rescue for me this dark, terrifying end of life narrative.
]]> 222227644 Somewhere out there, in the darkness, a black wolf is feeding.

Several weeks ago, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his team uncovered and stopped a domestic terrorist attack in Montréal, arresting the person behind it. A man they called the Black Wolf.

But their relief is short-lived. In a sickening turn of events, Gamache has realized that plot, as horrific as it was, was just the beginning. Perhaps even a deliberate misdirection. One he fell into. Something deeper and darker, more damaging, is planned. Did he in fact arrest the Black Wolf, or are they still out there? Armand is appalled to think his mistake has allowed their conspiracy to grow, to gather supporters. To spread lies, manufacture enemies, and feed hatred and division.

Still recovering from wounds received in stopping the first attack, Armand is confined to the village of Three Pines, leading a covert investigation from there. He must be careful not to let the Black Wolf know he has recognized his mistake. In a quiet church basement, he and his senior agents Beauvoir and Lacoste, pore over what little evidence they have. Two notebooks. A few mysterious numbers on a tattered map of Québec. And a phrase repeated by the person they had called the Grey Wolf. A warning…

In a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Gamache and his small team of supporters realize that for the Black Wolf to have gotten this far, they must have powerful allies, in law enforcement, in industry, in organized crime, in the halls of government.

From the apparent peace of his little village, Gamache finds himself playing a lethal game of cat and mouse with an invisible foe who is gathering forces and preparing to strike.]]> 384 Louise Penny 1250328187 James 5 4.40 2025
author: Louise Penny
name: James
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/11/20
date added: 2025/11/20
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]]> 204174589
Relentless phone calls interrupt the peace of a warm August morning in Three Pines. Though the tiny Québec village is impossible to find on any map, someone has managed to track down Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Sûreté, as he sits with his wife in their back garden. Reine-Marie watches with increasing unease as her husband refuses to pick up, though he clearly knows who is on the other end. When he finally answers, his rage shatters the calm of their quiet Sunday morning.

That's only the first in a sequence of strange events that begin THE GREY WOLF, the nineteenth novel in Louise Penny's #1 New York Times-bestselling series. A missing coat, an intruder alarm, a note for Gamache reading "this might interest you", a puzzling scrap of paper with a mysterious list—and then a murder. All propel Chief Inspector Gamache and his team toward a terrible realization. Something much more sinister than any one murder or any one case is fast approaching.

Armand Gamache, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, his son-in-law and second in command, and Inspector Isabelle Lacoste can only trust each other, as old friends begin to act like enemies, and long-time enemies appear to be friends. Determined to track down the threat before it becomes a reality, their pursuit takes them across Québec and across borders. Their hunt grows increasingly desperate, even frantic, as the enormity of the creature they’re chasing becomes clear. If they fail the devastating consequences would reach into the largest of cities and the smallest of villages.

Including Three Pines.]]> 432 Louise Penny 1250328144 James 5 4.39 2024
author: Louise Penny
name: James
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/11/14
date added: 2025/11/14
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Maybe not my favorite, but after a two year wait I loved being taken back into this world with these characters. Maybe too predictable. Maybe not enough of the three pines characters. Maybe the ending didn’t feel complete because of the last second teaser for a follow up book. Still the long wait was over and the welcomed familiar Louise Penny style was back in my ears and for that I can say I loved it. I reread it just after The Black Wolf was published as a reminder and as preparation before reading the newest book. I found I still loved it especially because of its prescient observations about tyrants and tyranny as the United States struggles and grapples with both. I hope there is a Gamache here who can help protect us from both.
]]> 220518269 A cry from the heart and a call to action from a Palestinian Christian pastor and theologian 
 
In this impassioned and incisive book, Munther Isaac challenges mainstream Christians’ uncritical embrace of the modern State of Israel. Speaking from his unique vantage point as a prominent Palestinian Christian pastor and theologian, he proclaims a truth that is rarely acknowledged in Christian Israel’s campaign to eliminate the Palestinian people did not begin after October 7, 2023. Rather, the campaign is a continuation of an appalling nineteenth-century colonial project that established systems of entrenched discrimination and segregation worse than South Africa’s apartheid regime.
 
Writing from within the war zone, and rooted in a commitment to nonviolence and just peace, Isaac urges readers to recognize that support for Zionism’s genocidal project entails a failure to bring a properly Christian theological criticism to bear upon colonialism, racism, and empire. He calls on Christians to repent of their complicity in the destruction of the Palestinian people. And he challenges them to realign their beliefs and actions with Christ—who can be found not among perpetrators of violence, but with victims buried under the rubble of war.]]> 279 Munther Isaac 0802885543 James 4 4.61 2025
author: Munther Isaac
name: James
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/11/08
date added: 2025/11/08
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First person account of the genocide in Gaza written by a Palestinian Christian minister. It is a history, a documentation, a lament, an indictment, and a plea for a moral response written during the first year of the Israeli attacks following the Hamas insurgency on October 3, 2023. Since the book’s publication things only got worse. A powerful indictment against Israel and the West’s policies and the role played by the Christian church and the Muslim religion to justify and support colonization, apartheid and genocide against Palestinians in what we now know as Israel and the ineffectiveness of the international courts to be able to enforce their rulings. While being shockingly and heartbreakingly informative I also felt Rev. Issac’s pain, frustration, outrage and anger resulted in attacks and accusations and expectations that to me seemed at times naive and inconsistent. That doesn’t detract from his main points but I think it weakened his appeal.
]]> 223334901 A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK AND ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2025

The acclaimed author of Red Clocks returns with a biting, lyrical novel about an intergenerational group home run by an ex-musician determined to make a place for those without one

On a bluff above a river rises The House, where elderly and disabled residents live alongside young people who help out in exchange for free rent. The community is led by a former punk singer who never wanted to be responsible for anyone yet now finds herself the caretaker of this precarious collection of lives. It’s not a family, exactly, but it’s got the complicated, sometimes painful, sometimes hilarious, dynamics of kinship.

When two kids—Nola and her little cousin James—show up on The House’s back porch in need of refuge, the whole experiment is thrown into question. All are welcome here, or that was the idea. But the authorities are looking for these children, and The House’s finances are teetering on the edge. 

Zumas’s long-anticipated third novel wrestles with America’s crisis of care in a taut, aching, polyphonic tale that moves as fast as the crackling comebacks that fly between The House’s residents over breakfast. As the rules of the outside world start to press in on this safe haven, readers will find themselves asking, what would the world look like if everyone had a place to belong?]]> 218 Leni Zumas 1643756605 James 2 3.18 2025
author: Leni Zumas
name: James
average rating: 3.18
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2025/11/08
date added: 2025/11/08
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Finished as much of this as I could.
]]> 29044 Truly deserving of the accolade modern classic, Donna Tartt's novel is a remarkable achievement—both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last—inexorably—into evil.]]> 559 Donna Tartt 1400031702 James 2 4.15 1992
author: Donna Tartt
name: James
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1992
rating: 2
read at: 2025/11/03
date added: 2025/11/03
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Easily the darkest, most disturbing book I have ever read. Can’t fathom the praise.
]]> 49127718
Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in a motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

Humorous, compassionate, and wise, Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope—the things that save us, even in the most anxious of times.

Includes short story - The Last Round of Golf]]> 336 Fredrik Backman 198216963X James 5 4.15 2019
author: Fredrik Backman
name: James
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2020/09/25
date added: 2025/10/20
shelves:
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This book is why I don’t give five stars to every good book I enjoy reading. Sometimes great ones like Anxious People comes along. Anxious People reminds me of the finest nesting doll. Each doll is exquisite in its own right, but every smaller one revels something new, amazing and unexpected. When you reach the inner most doll the whole suddenly becomes something entirely different and you’re not sure you can ever see the world in quite the same way again. It is a lesson in being human in all its simultaneous strength and fragility. The story is both absurd and completely real. The characters are idiots and wise beyond all reason. Their laughter and their pain will resonate deeply. Maybe like me the minute you finish it, you will read it again. And then be tempted to start again. Or perhaps you will want to plant an apple tree.
]]> 9311616 Winner of Britain’s coveted Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award, Ann Cleeves introduces a dazzling new suspense series to mystery readers.

Raven Black begins on New Year’s Eve with a lonely outcast named Magnus Tait, who stays home waiting for visitors who never come. But the next morning the body of a murdered teenage girl is discovered nearby, and suspicion falls on Magnus. Inspector Jimmy Perez enters an investigative maze that leads deeper into the past of the Shetland Islands than anyone wants to go.

]]> 384 Ann Cleeves James 4 4.24 2006
author: Ann Cleeves
name: James
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2025/10/14
date added: 2025/10/14
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]]> 219728281 “Perhaps never before has there been a book better timed or more urgent.” —Washington Post

One of President Obama's 2025 Summer Reads

As seen on CBS Mornings, CNN Anderson Cooper, ABC News Live, MSNBC Morning Joe, and many more

Who works for the government and why does their work matter? An urgent and absorbing civics lesson from an all-star team of writers and storytellers.

The government is a vast, complex system that Americans pay for, rebel against, rely upon, dismiss, and celebrate. It’s also our shared resource for addressing the biggest problems of society. And it’s made up of people, mostly unrecognized and uncelebrated, doing work that can be deeply consequential and beneficial to everyone.

Michael Lewis invited his favorite writers, including Casey Cep, Dave Eggers, John Lanchester, Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Vowell, and W. Kamau Bell, to join him in finding someone doing an interesting job for the government and writing about them. The stories they found are unexpected, riveting, and inspiring, including a former coal miner devoted to making mine roofs less likely to collapse, saving thousands of lives; an IRS agent straight out of a crime thriller; and the manager who made the National Cemetery Administration the best-run organization, public or private, in the entire country. Each essay shines a spotlight on the essential behind-the-scenes work of exemplary federal employees.

Whether they’re digitizing archives, chasing down cybercriminals, or discovering new planets, these public servants are committed to their work and universally reluctant to take credit. Expanding on the Washington Post series, the vivid profiles in Who Is Government? blow up the stereotype of the irrelevant bureaucrat. They show how the essential business of government makes our lives possible, and how much it matters.]]> 290 Michael Lewis James 5 4.43 2025
author: Michael Lewis
name: James
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/10/07
date added: 2025/10/07
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]]> 217963850 NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE • The heartrending story of twin sisters torn apart by China’s one-child policy and the rise of international adoption—from the author of the National Book Award finalist Nothing to Envy

“Remarkable . . . Barbara Demick movingly traces this history of overseas Chinese adoptions and their ripple effects on both sides of the Pacific.”—The Wall Street Journal

WINNER OF THE CHRISTOPHER J. WELLES MEMORIAL PRIZE • FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD • A BEST BOOK OF THE The New York Times Book Review, NPR, The New Yorker, The Economist

On a warm day in September 2000, a woman named Zanhua gave birth to twin girls in a small hut behind her brother’s home in China’s Hunan province. The twins, Fangfang and Shuangjie, were welcome additions to her family but also not her first children. Living under the shadow of China’s notorious one-child policy, Zanhua and her husband decided to leave one twin in the care of relatives, hoping each toddler on their own might stay under the radar. But, in 2002, Fangfang was violently snatched away. The family worried they would never see her again, but they didn’t imagine she could be sent as far as the United States. She might as well have been sent to another world.

Following stories she wrote as the Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, Barbara Demick embarks on a journey that encompasses the origins, shocking cruelty, and long-term impact of China’s one-child rule; the rise of international adoption and the religious currents that buoyed it; and the exceedingly rare phenomenon of twin separation. Today, Esther—formerly Fangfang—lives in Texas, and Demick brings to vivid life the Christian family that felt called to adopt her, unaware that she had been kidnapped. Through Demick’s indefatigable reporting, will the long-lost sisters finally reunite—and will they feel whole again?

A remarkable window into the volatile, constantly changing China of the last half century and the long-reaching legacy of the country’s most infamous law, Daughters of the Bamboo Grove is also the moving story of two sisters torn apart by the forces of history and brought together again by their families’ determination and one reporter’s dogged work.

“Excellent . . . entrancing and disturbing . . . [Demick] is one of our finest chroniclers of East Asia. . . . [Her] characters are richly drawn, and her stories, often reported over a span of years, deliver a rare emotional wallop.”—The New York Times]]> 337 Barbara Demick 0593132750 James 3 4.28 2025
author: Barbara Demick
name: James
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/10/02
date added: 2025/10/02
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]]> 220152313 Shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, a novel about forgiveness, grief, and what it means to be good, from the award-winning author of The Weekend.

Burnt out and in need of retreat, a middle-aged woman leaves Sydney to return to the place she grew up, taking refuge in a small religious community hidden away on the stark plains of rural Australia. She doesn't believe in God, or know what prayer is, and finds herself living this strange, reclusive existence almost by accident.

But disquiet interrupts this secluded life with three visitations. First comes a terrible mouse plague, each day signaling a new battle against the rising infestation. Second is the return of the skeletal remains of a sister who disappeared decades before, presumed murdered. And finally, a troubling visitor plunges the narrator further back into her past.

Meditative, moving, and finely observed, Stone Yard Devotional is a seminal novel from a writer of rare power, exploring what it means to retreat from the world, the true nature of forgiveness, and the sustained effect of grief on the human soul.]]> 302 Charlotte Wood James 3 3.91 2023
author: Charlotte Wood
name: James
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/09/24
date added: 2025/09/25
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A rather slow paced memoir like reflection on life and its regrets. My primary disappointment was the lack of resolution of the conflicts in the main character’s life with her now grown high school nemisis. I also thought the mouse plague was more of a distraction than a valuable plot element, but I could have missed the metaphoric implications. I liked it for the mood, the descriptions, and the reflections, but felt unsatisfied by how it ended.
]]> 190165394 ASIN moved from less recent edition

A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence.

"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.]]> 156 Martha Wells James 3 4.23 2017
author: Martha Wells
name: James
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2025/09/19
date added: 2025/09/19
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]]> 216247081 A 2026 NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction

A woman learns the incredible story of a real-life American Kingdom—and her family’s ties to it—in this enthralling novel from the New York Times bestselling, NAACP Image Award-winning author of Take My Hand.

As featured in The Washington Post ∙ People ∙ Harper's Bazaar ∙ NPR ∙ TODAY ∙ ELLE ∙ PopSugar ∙ Reader's Digest ∙ SheReads ∙ Woman’s World ∙ Real Simple ∙ BookBrowse ∙ and more!

Nikki hasn’t seen her grandmother in years. So when the elder calls out of the blue with an urgent request for Nikki to visit her in the hills of western North Carolina, Nikki hesitates only for a moment. After years of silence in her family, due to a mysterious estrangement between her mother and grandmother, she’s determined to learn the truth while she still can.

But instead of answers about the recent past, Mother Rita tells Nikki an incredible story of a kingdom on this very mountain, and of her great-great-great grandmother, Luella, who would become its queen.

It sounds like the makings of a fairy tale—royalty among a community of freed people. But the more Nikki learns about the Kingdom of the Happy Land, and the lives of those who dwelled in the ruins she discovers in the woods, the more she realizes how much of her identity and her family’s secrets are wrapped up in these hills. Because this land is their legacy, and it will be up to her to protect it before it, like so much else, is stolen away.

Inspired by true events, Happy Land is a transporting multi-generational novel about the stories that shape us and the dazzling courage it takes to dream.]]> 363 Dolen Perkins-Valdez 0593337735 James 5 4.35 2025
author: Dolen Perkins-Valdez
name: James
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/09/15
date added: 2025/09/16
shelves:
review:
Historical fiction at its best. Reveals an event about which one might otherwise never know and makes it relevant to an imagined, relatable present. In a country purposefully being torn asunder with hateful rhetoric this story rises above the hate to celebrate resilience, the strength of community, family and common values. The writing captured me and held my interest until the very satisfying conclusion. A book and an author that actually deserves all the accolades.
]]> 6647917 194 Marcus J. Borg James 3 4.42 1997
author: Marcus J. Borg
name: James
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/12
date added: 2025/09/10
shelves:
review:
This is quite possibly my favorite of Marcus Borg’s books that I have read. Borg was a contemporary progressive Christian scholar, an ordained Episcopal minister, and university professor. I’ve read quite a few books on theology written for lay persons by several authors. This was by far the clearest easiest to understand nearly completely devoid of the technical language of theology and philosophy which has me searching through the dictionary finding definitions that often only make meaning more obscure. I also appreciated that he was even handed, I thought, in comparing and contrasting the two dominate Christian understandings and ways of thinking about God. He is clear about his preference, of course. His arguments are Biblically based avoiding or disguising the often tedious convoluted philosophical arguments that dominate theological discourse. I found it very helpful in understanding the thinking of this way of understanding the Devine. I also think a conservative Christian curious about how and why a liberal Christian thinks the way they do would understand his explanation without feeling criticized or attacked. Such a one would likely not agree, but they may find more common ground than they might have suspected existed. My one disappointment was what I thought was his very brief, inadequate explanation of how and why his progressive view persistently retained the language of personification when it rejects the understanding of God as a Devine person/being.
]]> 61317425 A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series.

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.]]> 354 Heather Fawcett James 4 4.09 2023
author: Heather Fawcett
name: James
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/08/30
date added: 2025/08/30
shelves:
review:
This was a fun, quick read while waiting for a book on hold at the library to become available. Not my usual genre which was part of the enjoyment of it.
]]> 58019084 Where the Crawdads Sing meets The Four Winds as award-winning author Donna Everhart's latest novel immerses readers in its unique setting—the turpentine camps and pine forests of the American South during the Great Depression. This captivating story of friendship, survival, and three vagabonds' intersecting lives will stay with readers long after turning the final page.

It takes courage to save yourself...

In the dense pine forests of North Carolina, turpentiners labor, hacking into tree trunks to draw out the sticky sap that gives the Tar Heel State its nickname, and hauling the resin to stills to be refined. Among them is Rae Lynn Cobb and her husband, Warren, who run a small turpentine farm together.

Though the work is hard and often dangerous, Rae Lynn, who spent her childhood in an orphanage, is thankful for it—and for her kind if careless husband. When Warren falls victim to his own negligence, Rae Lynn undertakes a desperate act of mercy. To keep herself from jail, she disguises herself as a man named "Ray" and heads to the only place she can think of that might offer anonymity—a turpentine camp in Georgia named Swallow Hill.

Swallow Hill is no easy haven. The camp is isolated and squalid, and commissary owner Otis Riddle takes out his frustrations on his browbeaten wife, Cornelia. Although Rae Lynn works tirelessly, she becomes a target for Crow, the ever-watchful woods rider who checks each laborer’s tally. Delwood Reese, who’s come to Swallow Hill hoping for his own redemption, offers “Ray” a small measure of protection, and is determined to improve their conditions. As Rae Lynn forges a deeper friendship with both Del and Cornelia, she begins to envision a path out of the camp. But she will have to come to terms with her past, with all its pain and beauty, before she can open herself to a new life and seize the chance to begin again.]]> 352 Donna Everhart 1496733339 James 5 4.28 2022
author: Donna Everhart
name: James
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/08/23
date added: 2025/08/23
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]]> 223362031 From one of our most acclaimed chroniclers of the forces eroding the fabric of our shared life, her most personal and powerful a reckoning with the changes that have rocked her own beloved small Ohio hometown

The town of Urbana, Ohio was not a utopia when Beth Macy grew up there in the 70’s and 80’s, certainly not for her family. Her dad was an alcoholic who only fitfully worked, and people called him the town drunk, which hurt, as did their poverty. But Urbana had a healthy enough economy, and there were middle class kids at school whose families became her role models. People in Urbana were proud of their schools, and the library, and the history of their town, an important stop on the Underground Railroad. Macy loved Urbana, and though she was able to make it to college on a Pell Grant and then follow a career in journalism that took her far away, she still clung gratefully to the hometown that helped raise her. On the surface it was still picture-postcard cute.

But as Macy’s mother’s health began its final descent in 2020, on more frequent visits home to Ohio, she couldn’t shake the feeling that her town had dramatically hardened in ways she couldn’t process. Beth grew up as the paper girl, delivering the local newspaper, which was like civic glue, mirroring the community back to itself. Now there was no local paper, no paper girl, and precious little civic glue. Yes, a lot of the work that once supported the middle class had gone away, along with all that went with it. But that was an old story that didn’t begin to cover the forces turning her town into a poorer and angrier place. High school graduation rates were plummeting as absenteeism soared in the public schools and in the workplace. A mental health crisis gripped the small city, along with a litany of other pathologies. Urbana’s pride in its institutions was parents were opting to home school, or transferring their kids elsewhere, in record numbers. Even more painfully, many of her own family members and old friends had gone down the rabbit hole of conspiracies like QAnon, and worse. What happened to Urbana?

This was not an assignment Beth Macy ever wanted to take, but she felt she had no choice. Two years ago, she began to return regularly, to deploy everything she’d learned to figure her hometown out. The result is an astonishment, a book that takes us into the heart of one specific place and through it brings into focus in a new way our most urgent set of national issues.

Paper Girl is a gift of courage, empathy and insight, a profoundly generous act. Beth Macy has turned to face the darkest corners in the shared life of her family and community, people she loves wholeheartedly, even the ones she struggles now to like. And in doing so, in facing the truth—in person, with respect—she has found sparks of human dignity that she has used to light a great signal fire, of warning but also of hope.]]> 368 Beth Macy 0593656733 James 0 to-read 3.97 2025
author: Beth Macy
name: James
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/08/22
shelves: to-read
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]]> 10944349 From National Book Award-winning author Martin Marty, the surprising story of a Christian classic born in a Nazi prison cell

For fascination, influence, inspiration, and controversy, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison is unmatched by any other book of Christian reflection written in the twentieth century. A Lutheran pastor and theologian, Bonhoeffer spent two years in Nazi prisons before being executed at age thirty-nine, just a month before the German surrender, for his role in the plot to kill Hitler. The posthumous Letters and Papers from Prison has had a tremendous impact on both Christian and secular thought since it was first published in 1951, and has helped establish Bonhoeffer's reputation as one of the most important Protestant thinkers of the twentieth century. In this, the first history of the book's remarkable global career, National Book Award-winning author Martin Marty tells how and why Letters and Papers from Prison has been read and used in such dramatically different ways, from the cold war to today.

In his late letters, Bonhoeffer raised tantalizing questions about the role of Christianity and the church in an increasingly secular world. Marty tells the story of how, in the 1960s and the following decades, these provocative ideas stirred a wide range of thinkers and activists, including civil rights and antiapartheid campaigners, death-of-God theologians, and East German Marxists.

In the process of tracing the eventful and contested history of Bonhoeffer's book, Marty provides a compelling new perspective on religious and secular life in the postwar era.]]> 296 Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1400838037 James 3 3.65 1951
author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
name: James
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1951
rating: 3
read at: 2012/03/17
date added: 2025/08/18
shelves:
review:
This is rather a fascinating book. It is a biography of a book. A book that is arguably one of the most influential Christian reflections written in the 20th century, Dietrich Bonhoffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison. On the one hand for me this biography was as dry as dirt written by a highly qualified scholar for people who like himself speaks in “theologian” whose active vocabularies contain words like eschatology, hermeneutics, and Christology scholars who use precise guarded language with very nuanced meaning. These are people who are accomplished at splitting very fine theological hairs. On the other hand it is an intriguing study of the history of a book and its continuing journey along the stream of religious, that is Christian, speculation. The subject of this biography is a book whose author was, by almost all accounts, quite a remarkable man of Christian faith who never stopped examining what his faith in Christ and God meant in a rapidly changing modern world. The questions he asked himself and challenged himself with challenge those who care about the eternal questions thinking people of faith confront. It is also, in a way, a book about an enduring friendship between Bonhoeffer and Pastor Eberhard Bethge the compiler and editor of the letters and papers. It is a study of the subjectivity that always seems to be at the heart of interpretation. It clearly demonstrates how people often see in the writings of others what they want to see and interpret events and ideas in ways that enhance their own agendas perhaps consciously and perhaps without actually realizing that is what they have done. If you decide to take on the challenge of this book, remember it is the biography of a book – not of a man. On that score alone it demonstrates how powerful and influential a book can become.
]]> 52397
Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.

When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.]]> 368 Octavia E. Butler 0446675504 James 5 4.19 1993
author: Octavia E. Butler
name: James
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 2025/08/13
date added: 2025/08/13
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This is my second time to read Parable of the Sower. This time it was part of a book discussion/class hosted by my church’s Assistant Minister. It’s, of course a “classic” written by the well respected Octavia Butler who died before being able to complete a planned trilogy of which this was the first installment. It is a prescient prophetic work about the downfall of the United States which tragically we are just beginning to experience under the Christian Nationalist take over being over seen by Donald Trump. What I found most engaging was Butler’s decision to have her protagonist ground her efforts to establish (seed) a new community around a non theistic religion she called Earthseed. This parable is about survival told from the point of view of marginalized, now poor, survivors. We know there are upper caste wealthy members of the now totally fragmented United States, but this is not their story. Butler chose to omit any magic, supernatural, or alien forces, for which she was well known in her many other books and series, in this dark reflection on where civilization was headed. It is full of opportunities for reflection and discussion.
]]> 57823095
2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives—and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.]]> 408 Emilia Hart James 4 4.18 2023
author: Emilia Hart
name: James
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/08/09
date added: 2025/08/10
shelves:
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It was the clever skillful weaving of the three timelines and the womens' storylines that really appealed to me. Often multiple interwoven characters from different times seem much more contrived and forced. This time for me that wasn't the case. The underlying theme of misogyny through the centuries seems particularly relevant. I felt the "magical" connection the women had with the natural world was justified even though it stretched credulity a bit too far. I'm not sure I would classify this work as historical fiction in the strictest sense. But it made important historically relevant observations that should be taken seriously. The final epigraph was brilliantly chosen.
]]> 156008269
In New York City, bookseller Cassie Andrews is living an unassuming life when she is given a gift by a favourite customer. It's a book—an unusual book, full of strange writing and mysterious drawings. And at the very front there is a handwritten message to Cassie, telling her that this is the Book of Doors, and that any door is every door.

What Cassie is about to discover is that the Book of Doors is a special book that bestows an extraordinary powers on whoever possesses it, and soon she and her best friend Izzy are exploring all that the Book of Doors can do, swept away from their quiet lives by the possibilities of travelling to anywhere they want.

But the Book of Doors is not the only magical book in the world. There are other books that can do wondrous and dreadful things when wielded by dangerous and ruthless individuals—individuals who crave what Cassie now possesses.

Suddenly Cassie and Izzy are confronted by violence and danger, and the only person who can help them is, it seems, Drummond Fox. He is a man fleeing his own demons—a man with his own secret library of magical books that he has hidden away in the shadows for safekeeping. Because there is a nameless evil out there that is hunting them all...

Because some doors should never be opened.]]> 418 Gareth Brown 0063324008 James 2 4.10 2024
author: Gareth Brown
name: James
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/08/01
date added: 2025/08/01
shelves:
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]]> 60625765 For fans of Harper Lee and Rita Mae Brown, Roy Hoffman's new novel is steeped in a sense of place--coastal Alabama--with its rich tapestry of characters caught in a web of justice not for all.

Early Praise for The Promise of the Pelican:

"Roy Hoffman has written a fast-paced, mesmerizing and incredibly moving contemporary novel about human and civil rights,"-- bestselling author Lee Smith

"A thrilling novel, with characters as memorable as those of Shakespearean tragedy...I could not put it down." --Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife  

At once a literary crime novel and an intergenerational family drama, The Promise of the Pelican is set in the multicultural South, where justice might depend on the color of your skin and your immigration status. Hank Weinberg is a modern day Atticus Finch, recently retired as a defense attorney in Mobile, Alabama, and a Holocaust survivor, who fled the Nazis as a young child. With his daughter in rehab, he's now taking care of his special needs grandson. Mourning his dead wife, spending mornings fishing on the pier with other octogenarians, he passes the rest of his days watching over his sweet grandson with the help of Lupita, a young Honduran babysitter. When her brother Julio, an undocumented immigrant, is accused of murder, Hank must return to the courtroom to defend him while also trying to save his daughter and grandson's life from spinning out of control. The Promise of the Pelican takes its title from the legend that a pelican will pierce its own breast for blood to feed its starving chicks, a metaphor for one old man who risks all to save the vulnerable.

In a crisp prose style Harper Lee called "lean and clean," Hoffman writes from an enormous well of compassion. He fills his new novel with a cast of finely drawn characters of all ages and abilities facing life's harshest challenges and rising to meet them with dignity.
 ]]> 297 Roy Hoffman James 3 4.00
author: Roy Hoffman
name: James
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/07/20
date added: 2025/07/20
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]]> 62919785
The theory that Shakespeare may not have written the works that bear his name is the most horrible, unspeakable subject in the history of English literature. Scholars admit that the Bard’s biography is a “black hole,” yet to publicly question the identity of the god of English literature is unacceptable, even (some say) “immoral.”

In Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies, journalist and literary critic Elizabeth Winkler sets out to probe the origins of this literary taboo. Whisking you from London to Stratford-Upon-Avon to Washington, DC, she pulls back the curtain to show how the forces of nationalism and empire, religion and mythmaking, gender and class have shaped our admiration for Shakespeare across the centuries. As she considers the writers and thinkers—from Walt Whitman to Sigmund Freud to Supreme Court justices—who have grappled with the riddle of the plays’ origins, she explores who may perhaps have been hiding behind his name. A forgotten woman? A disgraced aristocrat? A government spy? Hovering over the mystery are Shakespeare’s plays themselves, with their love for mistaken identities, disguises, and things never quite being what they seem.

As she interviews scholars and skeptics, Winkler’s interest turns to the larger problem of historical truth—and of how human imperfections (bias, blindness, subjectivity) shape our construction of the past. History is a story, and the story we find may depend on the story we’re looking for.

“Lively” (The Washington Post), “fascinating” (Amanda Foreman), and “intrepid” (Stacy Schiff), Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies is an irresistible work of literary detection that will forever change how you think of Shakespeare…and of how we as a society decide what’s up for debate and what’s just nonsense, just heresy.]]> 416 Elizabeth Winkler 198217126X James 4 4.18 2023
author: Elizabeth Winkler
name: James
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/07/15
date added: 2025/07/15
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]]> 210158999 muizai. In a fit of childish jealousy over her new handmaiden's ladylike bound feet and talent for embroidery, Linjing ensures Little Flower can never leave her to ascend in society.

Despite their starkly different places in the Fong household, over the years the two girls must work together to secure both their futures through Linjing's marriage. As the two grow up, they are by turns bitter rivals and tentative friends.

Until scandal strikes the family, and Linjing and Little Flower's lives are unexpectedly thrown into chaos. Linjing's fall from grace could be an opportunity for Little Flower - but will their intertwined fates lead to triumph, or tragedy for them both?]]> 383 Jane Yang James 4 4.39 2025
author: Jane Yang
name: James
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/21
date added: 2025/06/22
shelves:
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Except for the length I thought this was a terrific book. I had to almost force myself to finish it, but I’m very glad I did. It has a very thoughtful and thought provoking ending that elevated the whole work. It would be a wonderful book club choice. It’s theme of the effect of a rigid caste system particularly on women in a culture is tragically not new, but seeing it through another culture and time permits an examination of the horrific consequences such systems create with perhaps less defensive reactions than when one is examining one’s own culture. The story also examines individual resistance to systemic violence. If you care about gender equality and why it has been so elusive, why historically it has been and currently is being resisted with renewed vigor, this book is a launching pad for serious discussion.
]]> 52362995
In The Great Oklahoma Swindle Russell Cobb tells the story of a state rich in natural resources and artistic talent, yet near the bottom in education and social welfare. Raised in Tulsa, Cobb engages Oklahomans across the boundaries of race and class to hear their troubles, anxieties, and aspirations and delves deep to understand their contradictory and often stridently independent attitudes. Interweaving memoir, social commentary, and sometimes surprising research around the themes of race, religion, and politics, Cobb presents an insightful portrait that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about the American Heartland.
 ]]> 272 Russell Cobb 1496209982 James 0 3.70 2020
author: Russell Cobb
name: James
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2025/06/11
date added: 2025/06/12
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]]> 61802946
Nola McCollum is the most desirable girl in Arthur’s class, and he is thrilled when they become friends. But Arthur wants far more than friendship. Unfortunately, Nola has a crush on the wrong Moses—Arthur’s older brother, Frank, who is busy pursuing his own love interest and avoiding the boys’ father, a war veteran with a drinking problem and a penchant for starting fights. When a sudden tragedy rocks the family’s world, Arthur struggles to come to terms with his grief. In the end, it is nature that helps him to understand how to go on, beyond loss, and create a life of forgiveness and empathy. But what can he do about Nola, who seems confused about what she wants in life, and only half aware of the one who loves her most?

Full of unforgettable characters and written with Elizabeth Berg’s characteristic warmth, humor, and insight into people, Earth’s the Right Place for Love is about the power of kindness, character, and family, and how love can grow when you least expect it.]]> 288 Elizabeth Berg James 0 4.40 2023
author: Elizabeth Berg
name: James
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2025/06/06
date added: 2025/06/06
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]]> 203337138 From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Mad Honey comes an “inspiring” (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—who are both forced to hide behind another name.

Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.

In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.

Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on . . . no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten.]]> 528 Jodi Picoult 0593497228 James 5 4.10 2024
author: Jodi Picoult
name: James
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/30
date added: 2025/05/30
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]]> 25302705
It’s also a book about a Swedish girl called Sara, her elderly American penfriend Amy and what happens when you land a very different kind of bookshop in the middle of a town so broken it’s almost beyond repair.

Or is it?]]> 435 Katarina Bivald 1492623458 James 3 3.80 2013
author: Katarina Bivald
name: James
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/06
date added: 2025/05/06
shelves:
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]]> 101144699 Taking the story of white supremacy in America back to 1493, and examining contemporary communities in Mississippi, Minnesota, and Oklahoma for models of racial repair, The Rivers Before Us helps chart a new course toward a genuinely pluralistic democracy.

Beginning with contemporary efforts to reckon with the legacy of white supremacy in America, Jones returns to the fateful year when a little-known church doctrine emerged that shaped the way five centuries of European Christians would understand the “discovered” world and the people who populated it. Along the way, he shows us the connections between Emmett Till and the Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto in the Mississippi Delta, between the lynching of three Black circus workers and the mass execution of thirty-eight Lakota men in Duluth, and between the murder of 300 African Americans during the burning of Black Wall Street in Tulsa and the Trail of Tears.

From this vantage point, Jones shows how the enslavement of Africans was not America’s original sin but, rather, the continuation of acts of genocide and dispossession flowing from the first European contact with Native Americans. These deeds were justified by people who embraced the 15th century Doctrine of the belief that God had designated all territory not inhabited or controlled by Christians as their new promised land.

This reframing of American origins explains how the founders of the United States could build the philosophical framework for a democratic society on a foundation of mass racial violence—and why this paradox survives today in the form of white Christian nationalism. Through stories of people navigating these contradictions in three communities, Jones illuminates the possibility of a new American future in which we finally fulfill the promise of a pluralistic democracy.]]> 375 Robert P. Jones 166800951X James 5 4.57 2023
author: Robert P. Jones
name: James
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/14
date added: 2025/04/14
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]]> 51152447 The Warmth of Other Suns examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.

“As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power—which groups have it and which do not.”

In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.]]> 544 Isabel Wilkerson 0593230256 James 4 4.51 2020
author: Isabel Wilkerson
name: James
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/11
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For me this was an important, insightful book. I sometime felt it was a bit redundant, but it provides a coherent way to understand the basic foundational structure of our country and its structural inequalities, injustices, and the violence and hatred that is the hallmark of white male supremacism. I think it minimizes or ignores other important explanations like identity formation and the role of the Christian church in creating the caste system that other authors and researchers provide. It certainly is an important place to start to understand why we as a nation have failed so completely to live up to the values of liberty and justice for all that we once claimed were foundational to our country. Caste may not be the only answer, but it is a great place to start to have the conversation around how we as a nation have failed and what we might begin to do to do better.
]]> 57695572
A stirring novel inspired by the life of an unsung heroine, and real-life crusader, Lizzie McDuffie, who as a maid in FDR’s White House spearheaded the Civil Rights movement of her time.

I’m just a college-educated Southerner with a passion for books. My husband says I’m too bold, too sharp, too unrelenting. Others say I helped spearhead the Civil Rights movement of our time. President Roosevelt says I’m too spunky and spirited for my own good.

Who am I?

I am Elizabeth “Lizzie” McDuffie.

And this is my story…

When Lizzie McDuffie, maid to Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, boldly proclaimed herself FDR’s “Secretary-On-Colored-People’s-Affairs,” she became more than just a maid—she became the President’s eyes and ears into the Black community. After joining the White House to work alongside her husband, FDR’s personal valet, Lizzie managed to become completely indispensable to the Roosevelt family. Never shy about pointing out injustices, she advocated for the needs and rights of her fellow African Americans when those in the White House blocked access to the President.

Following the life of Lizzie McDuffie throughout her time in the White House as she championed the rights of everyday Americans and provided access to the most powerful man in the country, Let Us March On looks at the unsung and courageous crusader who is finally getting the recognition she so richly deserves.]]> 384 Shara Moon 0063213443 James 5 4.15 2024
author: Shara Moon
name: James
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/06
date added: 2025/04/07
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It’s historical fiction, but reads as if it is a memoir with insights and observations about FDR and the times from a Black perspective.
]]> 61867769
Structurally inventive and emotionally kaleidoscopic, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water is Angie Cruz’s most ambitious and moving novel yet, and Cara is a heroine for the ages.]]> 202 Angie Cruz 1250208440 James 3 3.97 2022
author: Angie Cruz
name: James
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/30
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]]> 213248309 209 Anne Tyler 0593803493 James 3 3.84 2025
author: Anne Tyler
name: James
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
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]]> 63342987 From bestselling and award-winning author Patrick deWitt comes the story of Bob Comet, a man who has lived his life through and for literature, unaware that his own experience is a poignant and affecting narrative in itself.

Bob Comet is a retired librarian passing his solitary days surrounded by books and small comforts in a mint-colored house in Portland, Oregon. One morning on his daily walk he encounters a confused elderly woman lost in a market and returns her to the senior center that is her home. Hoping to fill the void he's known since retiring, he begins volunteering at the center. Here, as a community of strange peers gathers around Bob, and following a happenstance brush with a painful complication from his past, the events of his life and the details of his character are revealed.

Behind Bob Comet's straight-man fa�ade is the story of an unhappy child's runaway adventure during the last days of the Second World War, of true love won and stolen away, of the purpose and pride found in the librarian's vocation, and of the pleasures of a life lived to the side of the masses. Bob's experiences are imbued with melancholy but also a bright, sustained comedy; he has a talent for locating bizarre and outsize players to welcome onto the stage of his life.

With his inimitable verve, skewed humor, and compassion for the outcast, Patrick deWitt has written a wide-ranging and ambitious document of the introvert's condition. The Librarianist celebrates the extraordinary in the so-called ordinary life, and depicts beautifully the turbulence that sometimes exists beneath a surface of serenity.]]> 336 Patrick deWitt 0063085143 James 3 3.57
author: Patrick deWitt
name: James
average rating: 3.57
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
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Loved the idea, the characters, the basic narrative was the right balance between great description and mostly engaging story. It held my interest, but ultimately was so frustratingly disappointing. The book read as three stand alone short stories because the three sections felt disjointed especially the second section which was all about the main character’s four day adventure when as a young boy he ran away from home. It established that the main character ran away from a lot in his life beginning at a young age. Still so much was left unresolved. When the final scene ended it left me with so many unanswered questions. The balloon didn’t pop, it just deflated. In that instant it went from the hoped for five-star really loved it book to the disappointing three star I liked it. I will say if the point is this is the story of a likable fellow who missed out on a lot in life because of having a soul crushing timidity then the point was made and bravo to the author. But I would have much preferred he connect to some sort of resolution at least one more of the dots in this fellows life. Not on my recommended list.
]]> 196775837 "An ambitious historical epic that doubles as an intimate family saga. Jessica Shattuck captures and connects it all—the imperial ambitions of the postwar generation, the rebellion of their offspring in the Sixties, and the fallout we’re still sifting through today. . . . This is a wide-ranging novel to savor.” — TOM PERROTTA

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Women in the Castle comes a sweeping story of a nation on the rise, and one family’s deeply complicated relationship to the resource that built their fortune and fueled their greatest tragedy, perfect for fans of The Dutch House and The Great Circle.

The war is over, and America has entered a golden age: The Age of Oil.

It’s 1953, and for Nick Taylor, WWII veteran turned company lawyer, oil is the key to the future. He takes the train into the city for work and returns to the peaceful streets of the suburbs and to his wife, Bet, former codebreaker now housewife, and their two children, Katherine and Harry. Nick comes from humble origins but thanks to his work for American Oil, he can provide every comfort for his family, including Last House, a secluded country escape. Deep in the Vermont mountains, the Taylors are free from the stresses of modern life. Bet doesn’t have to worry about the Russian H-bombs that haunt her dreams, and the children roam free in the woods. Last House is a place that could survive the end of the world.

It’s 1968, and America is on the brink of change. Protestors fill the streets to challenge everything from the Vietnam War to racism in the wake of MLK’s shooting—to the country's reliance on Big Oil. As Katherine makes her first forays into adult life, she’s caught up in the current of the time and struggles to reconcile her ideals with the stable and privileged childhood her Greatest Generation parents worked so hard to provide. But when the Movement shifts in a more radical direction, each member of the Taylor family will be forced to reckon with the consequences of the choices they’ve made for the causes they believed in.

Spanning multiple generations and nearly eighty years, Last House tells the story of one American family during an age of grand ideals and even greater downfalls. Set against the backdrop of our nation’s history, this is an emotional tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance and what we owe each other—and captures to stunning effect the gravity of time, the double edge of progress, and the hubris of empire.]]> 304 Jessica Shattuck 0062979914 James 5 3.88 2024
author: Jessica Shattuck
name: James
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/09
date added: 2025/03/09
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]]> 41057294
A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.]]> 273 Sally Rooney 1984822179 James 2 3.81 2018
author: Sally Rooney
name: James
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/03/03
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]]> 74865468 An inspirational guide to the key junctures in life that, if navigated with faith and discernment, pave the way for us to become our most courageous selves, by the bishop of the famed Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C.

The decisive moments in life are those pivot points when we’re called on to push past our fears and act with strength. With How We Learn to Be Brave, Bishop Mariann Budde teaches us to respond with clarity and grace even in the toughest times. Being brave is not a singular occurrence; it’s a journey that we can choose to undertake every day.
    Here, Bishop Budde explores the full range of decisive moments, from the most visible and dramatic (the decision to go), to the internal and personal (the decision to stay), to brave choices made with an eye toward the future (the decision to start), those born of suffering (the decision to accept that which we did not choose), and those that come unexpectedly (the decision to step up to the plate). Drawing on examples ranging from Harry Potter to the Gospel According to Luke, she seamlessly weaves together personal experiences with stories from scripture, history, and pop culture to underscore both the universality of these moments and the particular call each one of us must heed when they arrive.
    With Bishop Budde’s wisdom, readers will learn to live and to respond according to their true beliefs and in ways that align with their best selves. How We Learn to Be Brave will provide much-needed fortitude and insight to anyone searching for answers in uncertain times.]]> 237 Mariann Edgar Budde 0593539222 James 5 4.49 2023
author: Mariann Edgar Budde
name: James
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/15
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Written from a first person perspective, this informative, insightful, and inspiring perspective on leadership in the face of challenges both normal and mundane and those that pose significant threat, like facing down a tyrant, this memoir has much to recommend it. Rev. Buddy gained national attention after two very public confrontations with the 57th president. I bought and read this book after the second one. I thought a good portion of the book was fine, but not spectacular. It was the last chapter, The Hidden Virtue of Perseverance, that was extremely relevant, inspirational and revelatory. My advice is buy the book for that chapter alone, but in retrospect, it probably stands out in part because the earlier chapters build to it. We are all called to be leaders from time to time in lots of different ways, and we are all faced with times when we need to be brave, and likely will soon have trying challenges ahead of us. This book has great relevance for us.
]]> 60221974 384 Pádraig Ó Tuama 1324035471 James 4 4.52 2022
author: Pádraig Ó Tuama
name: James
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/08
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I throughly enjoyed this eclectic, often unexpected and surprising collection of poems all by poets u known to me. The poems in and of themselves were thought provoking, but what made this anthology so marvelous was Pádraig Ó Tuama’s insightful commentary about each one. Not only did he explain what the poems meant to him, but offered wonderful insights into the art and skill of writing and reading poetry. Reading his smart anthology was much like attending an intriguing class on the introduction to poetry. Both the selections and the commentary were easily accessible, down to earth and jargon free. I choose to start 50 days with reading one selection first thing in the morning. It was a glorious experience.
]]> 95223
Not every book will change your life, but any book can. Not every discussion will make a difference, but a conversation can change the world.

In this timely retelling of an ancient Buddhist parable, peace activist Satish Kumar has created a small book with a powerful spiritual message about ending violence. It is a tale of a fearsome outcast named Angulimala ("Necklace of Fingers"), who is terrorizing towns and villages in order to gain control of the state, murdering people and adding their fingers to his gruesome necklace. One day he comes face to face with the Buddha and is persuaded, through a series of compelling conversations, to renounce violence and take responsibility for his actions.

The Buddha and the Terrorist addresses the urgent questions we face Should we talk to terrorists? Can we reason with religious fundamentalists? Is nonviolence practical? The story ends with a dramatic trial that speaks to the victims of terrorism—the families whose mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters Angulimala has murdered. It asks whether it is possible for them to forgive. Or whether it is even desirable.

No one can read The Buddha and the Terrorist without thinking about the root causes of terrorism, about good and evil, about justice and forgiveness, about the kind of place we want the world to be, and, most important, about the most productive and practical way to get there.]]> 116 Satish Kumar 1565125207 James 5 3.94 2005
author: Satish Kumar
name: James
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/08
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A wonderful little book full of insight and wisdom that uses a traditional teaching story to illustrate basic Buddhist principles about transformation, forgiveness, justice, and how to live in peace in our challenging world. Its message is universal. Some may think it overly simplistic, but I think that is it greatest value. A worthwhile read whether one agrees or disagrees with its lessons.
]]> 204135115
DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate the death, with her only clue being the disappearance of one of the home's residents, fourteen year old Chloe Spence. Vera can’t bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can’t dismiss the possibility.

Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie Bell, are soon embroiled in the case, and when a second connected body is found near the Three Dark Wives monument in the wilds of the Northumberland countryside, superstition and folklore begin to collide with fact. Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, and the dark secrets in their community that may be far more dangerous than she could have ever believed possible.]]> 384 Ann Cleeves 1250836859 James 5 4.48 2024
author: Ann Cleeves
name: James
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
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This is the book the final episode of the extremely popular BBC series Vera was based. I saw the episode before reading the book and still loved the book. It’s wonderful British crime fiction. Certainly an equal to Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache/Three Pines series which I almost always adore. Great characters, wonderfully detailed plot and descriptions of place, insights into human behavior of criminals, detectives and victims and fun to try to solve the cases. Usually very quick page turners that are entertaining, engaging and thought provoking. Certainly true of this installment.
]]> 145621141 “Henry Louis Gates is a national treasure. Here, he returns with an intellectual and at times deeply personal meditation on the hard-fought evolution and the very meaning of African American identity, calling upon our country to transcend its manufactured divisions.”
— Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste

“This is a literary history of Black America, but it is also an argument that African American history is inextricable from the history of African American literature.”
—The New York Times

A magnificent, foundational reckoning with how Black Americans have used the written word to define and redefine themselves, in resistance to the lies of racism and often in heated disagreement with each other, over the course of the country’s history.

Distilled over many years from Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s legendary Harvard introductory course in African American Studies, The Black Writing the Race, is the story of Black self-definition in America through the prism of the writers who have led the way. From Phillis Wheatley and Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, to Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Toni Morrison—these writers used words to create a livable world—a "home" —for Black people destined to live out their lives in a bitterly racist society.

It is a book grounded in the beautiful irony that a community formed legally and conceptually by its oppressors to justify brutal sub-human bondage, transformed itself through the word into a community whose foundational definition was based on overcoming one of history’s most pernicious lies. This collective act of resistance and transcendence is at the heart of its self-definition as a "community." Out of that contested ground has flowered a resilient, creative, powerful, diverse culture formed by people who have often disagreed markedly about what it means to be "Black," and about how best to shape a usable past out of the materials at hand to call into being a more just and equitable future. 

This is the epic story of how, through essays and speeches, novels, plays, and poems, a long line of creative thinkers has unveiled the contours of—and resisted confinement in—the "black box" inside which this "nation within a nation" has been assigned, willy nilly, from the nation’s founding through to today. This is a book that records the compelling saga of the creation of a people.]]> 302 Henry Louis Gates Jr. 0593299795 James 5 4.42
author: Henry Louis Gates Jr.
name: James
average rating: 4.42
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/24
date added: 2025/01/24
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This was an informative, often times challenging, and compelling look into what it means to be be Black and how that has been debated and defined throughout American history by Blacks. Based on lectures Professor Gates delivered in his Harvard classes in African American Studies this way of understanding the experience of being Back in the American caste system though the lens of black writers and their literature was for me an older white man a much appreciated revelation and insight. I've read some of these authors, but having this expanded context in which to think about and appreciate the sometimes hotly contested debates they represented open up my understanding. The metaphor of the black box and what it means to Gates, his family and most importantly to his new granddaughter was incredibly poignant and thought provoking. There were plenty of times I struggled to keep up with the details of Gates' arguments, but the main ideas were clear and valuable. In this worrisome time in which much that seemed like progress now feels threatened, having this context and insight, that many in power would like to have banned and erased, needs to be protected and preserved.
]]> 204982648
Gary Geist, a terrified young man set to inherit two farms, is desperate to marry Kismet Poe, an impulsive, lapsed Goth who can't read her future but seems to resolve his.

Hugo, a gentle red-haired, home-schooled giant, is also in love with Kismet. He’s determined to steal her and is eager to be a home wrecker.

Kismet's mother, Crystal, hauls sugar beets for Gary's family, and on her nightly runs, tunes into the darkness of late-night radio, sees visions of guardian angels, and worries for the future, her daughter’s and her own.

Human time, deep time, Red River time, the half-life of herbicides and pesticides, and the elegance of time represented in fracking core samples from unimaginable depths, is set against the speed of climate change, the depletion of natural resources, and the sudden economic meltdown of 2008-2009. How much does a dress cost? A used car? A package of cinnamon rolls? Can you see the shape of your soul in the everchanging clouds? Your personal salvation in the giant expanse of sky? These are the questions the people of the Red River Valley of the North wrestle with every day.

The Mighty Red is a novel of tender humor, disturbance, and hallucinatory mourning. It is about on-the-job pains and immeasurable satisfactions, a turbulent landscape, and eating the native weeds growing in your backyard. It is about ordinary people who dream, grow up, fall in love, struggle, endure tragedy, carry bitter secrets; men and women both complicated and contradictory, flawed and decent, lonely and hopeful. It is about a starkly beautiful prairie community whose members must cope with devastating consequences as powerful forces upend them. As with every book this great modern master writes, The Mighty Red is about our tattered bond with the earth, and about love in all of its absurdity and splendor.

A new novel by Louise Erdrich is a major literary event; gorgeous and heartrending, The Mighty Red is a triumph.]]> 384 Louise Erdrich 0063277085 James 3 4.01 2024
author: Louise Erdrich
name: James
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/03
date added: 2025/01/03
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]]> 123246338
Reisen blir en fortelling om det jordiske og det mytiske. Trærne taler og vannet hvisker om en slags frihet, mens forfedrenes ånder viser vei i Wards hypnotiske skildring av en av de mørkeste periodene i USAs historie.]]> 316 Jesmyn Ward 1982104511 James 3 3.76 2023
author: Jesmyn Ward
name: James
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/27
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]]> 195474002 From the bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow, and Rules of Civility, a richly detailed and sharply drawn collection of stories set in New York and Los Angeles.

The millions of readers of Amor Towles are in for a treat as he shares some of his shorter six stories set in New York City and a novella in Los Angeles. The New York stories, most of which are set around the turn of the millennium, take up everything from the death-defying acrobatics of the male ego, to the fateful consequences of brief encounters, and the delicate mechanics of compromise which operate at the heart of modern marriages.

In Towles’s novel, Rules of Civility, the indomitable Evelyn Ross leaves New York City in September, 1938, with the intention of returning home to Indiana. But as her train pulls into Chicago, where her parents are waiting, she instead extends her ticket to Los Angeles. Told from seven points of view, “Eve in Hollywood” describes how Eve crafts a new future for herself—and others—in the midst of Hollywood’s golden age. Throughout the stories, two characters often find themselves sitting across a table for two where the direction of their futures may hinge upon what they say to each other next.

Written with his signature wit, humor, and sophistication, Table for Two is another glittering addition to Towles’s canon of stylish and transporting historical fiction.]]> 452 Amor Towles 0593296389 James 4 4.35 2024
author: Amor Towles
name: James
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
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]]> 194534247 A highly readable, deeply insightful exploration of how to live with wisdom, resilience and love in our turbulent times

For the last quarter-century, author and activist Brian D. McLaren has been writing at the intersection of religious faith and contemporary culture. In Life After Doom, he engages with the catastrophic failure of both our religious and secular leaders to address the dominant realities of our time. McLaren defines doom as the “un-peaceful, uneasy, unwanted feeling” that “we humans have made a mess of our civilization and our planet, and not enough of us seem to care enough to change deeply enough or quickly enough to save ourselves.”

Blending insights from philosophers, poets, scientists, and theologians, Life After Doom explores the complexity of hope, the necessity of grief, and the need for new ways of thinking, becoming, and belonging. If you want to help yourself, your family, and your community, small and greater, to find courage and resilience for the deeply challenging times that are upon us ― this is the book you need right now.]]> 290 Brian D. McLaren 1250893275 James 5 4.18
author: Brian D. McLaren
name: James
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
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]]> 20697422 An engrossing and revolutionary biography of Isabella of Castile, the controversial Queen of Spain who sponsored Christopher Columbus's journey to the New World, established the Spanish Inquisition, and became one of the most influential female rulers in history

Born at a time when Christianity was dying out and the Ottoman Empire was aggressively expanding, Isabella was inspired in her youth by tales of Joan of Arc, a devout young woman who unified her people and led them to victory against foreign invaders. In 1474, when most women were almost powerless, twenty-three-year-old Isabella defied a hostile brother and mercurial husband to seize control of Castile and León.

Her subsequent feats were legendary. She ended a twenty-four-generation struggle between Muslims and Christians, forcing Moorish invaders back over the Mediterranean Sea. She laid the foundation for a unified Spain. She sponsored Columbus's trip to the Indies and negotiated Spanish control over much of the New World with the help of Rodrigo Borgia, the infamous Pope Alexander VI. She also annihilated all who stood against her by establishing a bloody religious Inquisition that would darken Spain's reputation for centuries.

Whether saintly or satanic, no female leader has done more to shape our modern world, where millions of people in two hemispheres speak Spanish and practice Catholicism. Yet history has all but forgotten Isabella's influence, due to hundreds of years of misreporting that often attributed her accomplishments to Ferdinand, the bold and philandering husband she adored.

Using new scholarship, Downey's luminous biography tells the story of this brilliant, fervent, forgotten woman, the faith that propelled her through life, and the land of ancient conflicts and intrigue she brought under her command.]]> 520 Kirstin Downey 0385534116 James 0 to-read 4.10 2014
author: Kirstin Downey
name: James
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: to-read
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]]> 3789698
Frances Perkins was named Secretary of Labor by Franklin Roosevelt in 1933. As the first female cabinet secretary, she spearheaded the fight to improve the lives of America’s working people while juggling her own complex family responsibilities. Perkins’s ideas became the cornerstones of the most important social welfare and legislation in the nation’s history, including unemployment compensation, child labor laws, and the forty-hour work week.

Arriving in Washington at the height of the Great Depression, Perkins pushed for massive public works projects that created millions of jobs for unemployed workers. She breathed life back into the nation’s labor movement, boosting living standards across the country. As head of the Immigration Service, she fought to bring European refugees to safety in the United States. Her greatest triumph was creating Social Security.

Written with a wit that echoes Frances Perkins’s own, award-winning journalist Kirstin Downey gives us a riveting exploration of how and why Perkins slipped into historical oblivion, and restores Perkins to her proper place in history.]]> 458 Kirstin Downey 0385513658 James 0 to-read 4.21 2009
author: Kirstin Downey
name: James
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 75559711 When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

Set in the world of New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes, Travis Baldree's Bookshops & Bonedust takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and secondhand books.

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.]]> 339 Travis Baldree 1250886112 James 4 4.32 2023
author: Travis Baldree
name: James
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/03
date added: 2024/12/05
shelves:
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It’s been awhile since I chose a fantasy. I was looking for a respite from the darkness of the real world. Thought I might trade it for the darkness of an imagined one in which there is most often a happy ending. I didn’t know it was a prequel to an earlier story. It stood on its own nicely and it was just the right blend of thoughtful observations about universal, apparently, relationship dilemmas and threats against existence.
]]> 145624514
Everyone who makes the journey faces an impossible choice. Hundreds of thousands of people who arrive every year at the US-Mexico border travel far from their homes. An overwhelming share of them come from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, although many migrants come from farther away. Some are fleeing persecution, others crime or hunger. Very often it will not be their first attempt to cross. They may have already been deported from the United States, but it remains their only hope for safety and prosperity. Their homes have become uninhabitable. They will take their chances.

This vast and unremitting crisis did not spring up overnight. Indeed, as Blitzer dramatizes with forensic, unprecedented reporting, it is the result of decades of misguided policy and sweeping corruption. Brilliantly weaving the stories of Central Americans whose lives have been devastated by chronic political conflict and violence with those of American activists, government officials, and the politicians responsible for the country’s tragically tangled immigration policy, Blitzer reveals the full, layered picture for the first time.

Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here is an odyssey of struggle and resilience. With astonishing nuance and detail, Blitzer tells an epic story about the people whose lives ebb and flow across the border, and in doing so, he delves into the heart of American life itself. This vital and remarkable story has shaped the nation’s turbulent politics and culture in countless ways—and will almost certainly determine its future.]]> 544 Jonathan Blitzer 1984880802 James 0 to-read 4.47 2024
author: Jonathan Blitzer
name: James
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/24
shelves: to-read
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]]> 219876684
Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.

Told in Fredrik Backman’s singular witty style with sharply drawn characters and relatable antics, The Answer Is No is a laugh-out-loud portrait of a man struggling to keep to himself in a world that won’t leave him alone.]]> 68 Fredrik Backman 1662526520 James 3 3.91 2024
author: Fredrik Backman
name: James
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/19
date added: 2024/11/20
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This is a charming short story that distills in compact form the essence of Backman’s style, observations and conclusions about human nature. For me that was both its strength and weakness. It was familiar, charming, funny, and sadly a bit too predictable.
]]> 54004753 A beautifully written and poignant tribute to the Earth, from Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet N. Scott Momaday.

One of the most distinguished voices in American letters, N. Scott Momaday has devoted much of his life to celebrating and preserving Native American culture, especially its oral tradition. A member of the Kiowa tribe who was born and grew up on Indian reservations throughout the Southwest, Momaday has an intimate connection to the land he knows well and loves deeply. 

In Earth Reflections on an American Land, Momaday reflects on his native ground and its influence on his people. “When I think about my life and the lives of my ancestors, I am inevitably led to the conviction that I, and they, belong to the American land. This is a declaration of belonging. And it is an offering to the earth.” he writes.

Earth Keeper is a story of attachment, rooted in oral tradition. Momaday recalls stories of his childhood that have been passed down through generations, stories that reveal a profound and sacred connection to the American landscape and a reverence for the natural world. 

In this moving work, he offers an homage and a warning. Momaday reminds us that the Earth is a sacred place of wonder and beauty; a source of strength and healing that must be protected before it’s too late. As he so eloquently yet simply reminds us, we must all be keepers of the Earth.]]> 68 N. Scott Momaday 006300934X James 4 4.29 2020
author: N. Scott Momaday
name: James
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/17
date added: 2024/11/17
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]]> 218009425
There’d been a reckoning. Life would never be the same and while for Nicky a falling gum leaf had marked the beginning of her world unravelling, the parcel and a phone call in 2000 would lay down a personal challenge.

Beneath the Wild Fig Tree interweaves these two transformative years into a kaleidoscopic coming of age story that unfolds across Sydney, Adelaide and Tasmania, exploring the complexities of relationships, grief, happiness and the luminosity of the natural world.

It is a novel that will particularly appeal to readers who enjoy strong characters, the tang of the ocean and a vivid sense of place.

‘An engrossing and vivid novel brimming with compassion for nature.’ Anna Iltnere, The Sea Library Magazine.]]> 372 Fiona Preston 1763588629 James 4 4.18
author: Fiona Preston
name: James
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/04
date added: 2024/11/04
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]]> 205066300 New York Times bestseller and Oprah’s Book Club pick was named a Best Book of the Year by Time and NPR. In coastal Maine, local residents feel the reverberations of one shocking act.

With her remarkable insight into the human condition and silences that contain multitudes, Elizabeth Strout returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, and to her beloved cast of characters—Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, Bob Burgess, and more—as they deal with a shocking crime in their midst, fall in love and yet choose to be apart, and grapple with the question, as Lucy Barton puts it, “What does anyone’s life mean?”

It’s autumn in Maine, and the town lawyer Bob Burgess has become enmeshed in an unfolding murder investigation, defending a lonely, isolated man accused of killing his mother. He has also fallen into a deep and abiding friendship with the acclaimed writer Lucy Barton, who lives down the road in a house by the sea with her ex-husband, William. Together, Lucy and Bob go on walks and talk about their lives, their fears and regrets, and what might have been. Lucy, meanwhile, is finally introduced to the iconic Olive Kitteridge, now living in a retirement community on the edge of town. They spend afternoons together in Olive’s apartment, telling each other stories. Stories about people they have known—“unrecorded lives,” Olive calls them—reanimating them, and, in the process, imbuing their lives with meaning.

Brimming with empathy and pathos, Tell Me Everything is Elizabeth Strout operating at the height of her powers, illuminating the ways in which our relationships keep us afloat. As Lucy says, “Love comes in so many different forms, but it is always love.”]]> 338 Elizabeth Strout 0593446100 James 4 4.17 2024
author: Elizabeth Strout
name: James
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/23
date added: 2024/10/24
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Like so many others I love the people of Crosby ,Maine Elizabeth Strout has introduced us to. Now she focuses on Bob Burgess, but the others are there too as supporting characters. What I have always loved about this series and this writing is the focus on the importance of everyday people living their realistic, normal everyday lives. Nothing fantastical, magical, or contrived. This wasn’t my favorite book in the series, but it ranks as one of my favorite books I have read this year. It’s a study of good people, living good, but not always easy or charmed happy lives. It’s an honest look at what makes life good and worth living. We should all have such good friends as these characters are to one another.
]]> 133286798 Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .

Manchuria, 1908.
In the last years of the dying Qing Empire, a courtesan is found frozen in a doorway. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and handsome men. Bao, a detective with an uncanny ability to sniff out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach—until, perhaps, now.

Meanwhile, a family who owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments but can’t escape the curse that afflicts them—their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. When a disruptively winsome servant named Snow enters their household, the family’s luck seems to change—or does it?

Snow is a creature of many secrets, but most of all she’s a mother seeking vengeance for her lost child. Hunting a murderer, she will follow the trail from northern China to Japan, while Bao follows doggedly behind. Navigating the myths and misconceptions of fox spirits, both Snow and Bao will encounter old friends and new foes, even as more deaths occur.

New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo brilliantly explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection. Epic in scope and full of singular, unforgettable characters, The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about old loves and second chances, the depths of maternal love, and ancient folktales that may very well be true.

New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo brilliantly explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection. The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about a winter full of mysterious deaths, a mother seeking revenge, and old folktales that may very well be true.]]> 389 Yangsze Choo James 3 4.13 2024
author: Yangsze Choo
name: James
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/15
date added: 2024/10/15
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I choose it from a list of recommended books from NPR. Lots and lots to like. I struggled to keep characters straight and was almost always a bit confused. I know that is my problem not the author's. It was almost as if I was under the influence of a fox. I loved the pace and the story telling until, as is often the case, the ending when the story suddenly rushed to an abrupt conclusion. The long carefully crafted narrative was left only partialy resolved. The story just ended. And I sat in my chair asking, but what about this and what about that. Disappointing.
]]> 40861864 From one of America's most inspiring political leaders, a book about the core truths that unite us, and the long struggle to discern what those truths are and how best to act upon them, in her own life and across the life of our country.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris's commitment to speaking truth is informed by her upbringing. The daughter of immigrants, she was raised in an Oakland, California community that cared deeply about social justice; her parents--an esteemed economist from Jamaica and an admired cancer researcher from India--met as activists in the civil rights movement when they were graduate students at Berkeley. Growing up, Harris herself never hid her passion for justice, and when she became a prosecutor out of law school, a deputy district attorney, she quickly established herself as one of the most innovative change agents in American law enforcement. She progressed rapidly to become the elected District Attorney for San Francisco, and then the chief law enforcement officer of the state of California as a whole. Known for bringing a voice to the voiceless, she took on the big banks during the foreclosure crisis, winning a historic settlement for California's working families. Her hallmarks were applying a holistic, data-driven approach to many of California's thorniest issues, always eschewing stale "tough on crime" rhetoric as presenting a series of false choices. Neither "tough" nor "soft" but smart on crime became her mantra. Being smart means learning the truths that can make us better as a community, and supporting those truths with all our might. That has been the pole star that guided Harris to a transformational career as the top law enforcement official in California, and it is guiding her now as a transformational United States Senator, grappling with an array of complex issues that affect her state, our country, and the world, from health care and the new economy to immigration, national security, the opioid crisis, and accelerating inequality.

By reckoning with the big challenges we face together, drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, Kamala Harris offers in The Truths We Hold a master class in problem-solving, in crisis management, and leadership in challenging times. Through the arc of her own life, on into the great work of our day, she communicates a vision of shared struggle, shared purpose, and shared values. In a book rich in many home truths, not least is that a relatively small number of people work very hard to convince a great many of us that we have less in common than we actually do, but it falls to us to look past them and get on with the good work of living our common truth. When we do, our shared effort will continue to sustain us and this great nation, now and in the years to come.]]> 336 Kamala Harris James 4 4.05 2019
author: Kamala Harris
name: James
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/05
date added: 2024/10/05
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]]> 58036496
Pelagius, who shows us how to look beyond sin to affirm our sacredness as part of all God’s creation, and courageously stand up for our principles in the face of oppression.

Brigid of Kildare, who illuminates the interrelationship of all things and reminds us of the power of the sacred feminine to overcome those seeking to control us.

John Muir, who encourages us to see the holiness and beauty of wilderness and what we must do to protect these gifts.

Teilhard de Chardin, who inspires us to see how science, faith, and our future tell one universal story that begins with sacredness.

By embracing the wisdom of Celtic Christianity, we can learn how to listen to the sacred and see the divine in all of creation and within each of us. Human beings are inherently spiritual creatures who intuitively see the sacred in nature and within one another, but our cultures—and at times even our faiths—have made us forget what each of us already know deep in our souls but have learned to suppress. Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul offers a new spiritual foundation for our lives, once centered on encouragement, guidance, and hope for creating a better world. ]]> 285 John Philip Newell 0063023520 James 5 4.54 2021
author: John Philip Newell
name: James
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/04
date added: 2024/10/04
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]]> 177059684
Paris, 1885: Aubry Tourvel, a spoiled and stubborn nine-year-old girl, comes across a wooden puzzle ball on her walk home from school. She tosses it over the fence, only to find it in her backpack that evening. Days later, at the family dinner table, she starts to bleed to death.

When medical treatment only makes her worse, she flees to the outskirts of the city, where she realizes that it is this very act of movement that keeps her alive. So begins her lifelong journey on the run from her condition, which won’t allow her to stay anywhere for longer than a few days nor return to a place where she’s already been.

From the scorched dunes of the Calashino Sand Sea to the snow-packed peaks of the Himalayas; from a bottomless well in a Parisian courtyard, to the shelves of an infinite underground library, we follow Aubry as she learns what it takes to survive and ultimately, to truly live. But the longer Aubry wanders and the more desperate she is to share her life with others, the clearer it becomes that the world she travels through may not be quite the same as everyone else’s...

Fiercely independent and hopeful, yet full of longing, Aubry Tourvel is an unforgettable character fighting her way through a world of wonders to find a place she can call home. A spellbinding and inspiring story about discovering meaning in a life that seems otherwise impossible, A Short Walk Through a Wide World reminds us that it’s not the destination, but rather the journey—no matter how long it lasts—that makes us who we are.]]> 399 Douglas Westerbeke 1668026082 James 4 3.86 2024
author: Douglas Westerbeke
name: James
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/23
date added: 2024/09/23
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]]> 27783240 Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author's continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in the Catholic church.

Instead of living out his vows as a Dominican brother Matthew Fox was expelled from the Order after 34 years by Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. Fox took this as a warning from the Church that henceforth thinkers should not think, but get in line. It is from this anti-intellectual, inquisition-style mentality that the cover-up of priestly pedophilia also grew as the Vatican appointed several generations of bishops and cardinals whose only criterion for selection was that they be uncritical yes-men.

Confessions tells the inside story of what it was like "standing in front of the train" when the Vatican was on the attack. It also reflects on the meaning of the encouragingly healthy papacy of Pope Francis, but holds little hope for the institutional church. Rather, this book points to the main interest and accomplishments of the author's work to bring spirituality and prophetic warriorhood alive again in society and religion. Fox draws inspiration from great mystics of the past, such as Hildegard of Bingen (a champion of the Divine Feminine) and Meister Eckhart (a profoundly mystical and ecumenical champion of those without a voice), and the return of the archetype of the Cosmic Christ alongside the teachings of the historical Jesus and the bringing forth of the wisdom traditions from all the world's spiritual traditions to stand up for eco-justice, gender justice, economic justice and social justice.


From the Trade Paperback edition.]]> 505 Matthew Fox 1583949364 James 3 3.75 1996
author: Matthew Fox
name: James
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 2016/02/08
date added: 2024/09/20
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I'd not rate Matthew Fox's Confessions very highly as a general interest read. For a pretty detailed history of a time and a theological movement seen through one man's eyes, efforts and experiences though, it may be quite interesting and valuable. One thing's for sure Father Fox kept detailed journals. His life and work are surely an inspiration to spiritual and political activists for change. His insights, observations and convictions that Christianity as he knows it and practices it has relevance to the modern world, deserve thoughtful consideration. Conservatives would not agree with that last sentence. Those who already know Fox and his ideas will probably enjoy and appreciate this update of his autobiographical chronicle of his life, work, and ideas. It's not, I think, the first book of his to begin with.
]]> 18964357 242 Ruth Rendell 0307829553 James 3 3.73 1964
author: Ruth Rendell
name: James
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1964
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/16
date added: 2024/09/16
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]]> 203086569 A tender and perceptive novel about three generations of an Irish American family jarred into crisis by an unexpected pregnancy—from the bestselling author of Hello Beautiful.

No one in my mother’s family ever talks about anything that can be categorized as unpleasant or as having to do with emotions. . . .

This spellbinding debut by bestselling author Ann Napolitano is a poignant reminder of how connected we are to those we love, even when we cannot find the words to say it. The unforgettable story of three generations of a large Irish Catholic family, Within Arms Reach is another rich and deeply satisfying novel from the author who captured the many dimensions of grief in Dear Edward and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood in Hello Beautiful.]]> 332 Ann Napolitano 0593732502 James 3 3.72 2004
author: Ann Napolitano
name: James
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/04
date added: 2024/09/04
shelves:
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