Category Archives: United States

Brothers by Alex Van Halen

23 Monday Jun 2025

Posted by in Biography, memoir, Non-fiction, United States

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I enjoyed the stories of family, friendship, and brotherhood. Throughout the book Alex Van Halen commented on quotes written about the band. This writing style made the memoir feel  conversational. 

“Most importantly, Brothers is a love letter to the music they created and Eddie, who has been called for decades one of the greatest guitarists of all time.” — NPR‘s Fresh Air

“A poignant love letter from Alex to his brother and bandmate Eddie.” — People

“The tome is undeniably emotional, with some passages written directly to his late brother.” — Billboard

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Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

30 Wednesday Apr 2025

Posted by in Fiction, Science fiction, United States

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Nnedi Okorafor is a prolific science fiction author whose books often incorporate her Nigerian heritage. This was my first time reading her, and I can see why she is an acclaimed, award-winning writer. Death of the Author is the story of Zelu, who achieves success after publishing a novel about robots (a book we also read throughout this story). Unable to walk from a childhood fall, Zelu begins to incorporate futuristic technology into her own life. A hard book to describe, but well worth the read! 

“There’s more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor’s work than in whole volumes.” — Ursula K. Le Guin

“Okorafor’s book bounces between the novel (about the writer) and the novel-within-the novel (about the robots), and the result is an ambitious blend of genres.” — NPR

“Nnedi Okorafor is so ferociously talented that we are starting to see she cannot be boxed into any category or genre. Her new novel, Death of the Author, is a deeply felt dazzle. A blaze. It is true deep to the bones.” — Luis Alberto Urrea, Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of The House of Broken Angels

“A captivating Möbius strip of literary SF.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“[Her work is] irresistible to readers. Her nearly two dozen works of fiction have earned Okorafor a slew of honors—four Hugos, a Nebula, a World Fantasy Award. And a new generation of American storytellers who explicitly use their African heritage, history and mythology to inspire their work have followed in her wake, including Tomi Adeyemi, Ayana Gray, Jordan Ifueko and Namina Forna. . . . Connection is the heartbeat of Okorafor’s work.” — New York Times, 12 African Artists Leading a Culture Renaissance Around the World

“Okorafor explores what it means to be human. . . . All-out Okorafor – her best yet.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Death of the Author explores . . . conservationism, Africanfuturism, and what a world without humans could look like. The focus on the near future and the issues that Zelu faces give the postapocalyptic Rusted Robots a greater urgency. Her desire to live life on her own terms will engage readers who love to watch protagonists grow. Highly recommended for fans of Octavia Butler, Nicky Drayden, and Tade Thompson. . . . [Okarofor’s] latest book-within-a-book will attract genre and literary fiction fans alike.” — Booklist(starred review)

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Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service by Michael Lewis

23 Wednesday Apr 2025

Posted by in Federal Bureau of Investigation, Non-fiction, United States

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Don’t let the bland cover fool you.  This was a fascinating read.  My favorite chapters were the cybercrime/bitcoin stellar work of the IRS career man, the coal mine inventor working for the Labor Department, and the jet propulsion researcher at NASA. But not one chapter disappointed. A+ read!

“Perhaps never before has there been a book better timed or more urgent.” —Washington Post

“Michael Lewis has this incredible ability to zoom in on one person’s story, and from there reveals something much bigger about our culture. His books leave you seeing the world differently, and his books about federal workers are no exception.” —Katie Couric

“A spirited rebuttal to the canard that federal civil servants are nest-featherers up to no good. . . .

All the contributions. . . press the point that the government’s work is useful—and no one else but government workers are likely to do it. Compelling arguments against ideologues bent on dismantling the government.” —Kirkus Reviews

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From Here to the Great Unknown: a Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough

07 Monday Apr 2025

Posted by in Biography, memoir, Non-fiction, United States

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Before she died, Lisa Marie Presley asked her daughter Riley Keough to help write her autobiography. After Lisa Marie passed, Riley used hours of her mother’s recordings to complete the book. Without knowing much about the Presley family before reading this, I was moved by Lisa’s story and her family bonds. I recommend the audiobook.

“Instead of tap dancing around the hard parts, we’re drilling into the bedrock. We hear less from Presley and more from Keough, who comes across as level headed, valiant and kind. . . . Keough approaches the episode with respectful levity, the best tool available to members of a dysfunctional family. . . . Presley still gets a word in here and there, and these passages show how determined she was to stand up to her demons.”—The New York Times

“When her actor daughter, Riley Keough, writes that she wants Lisa Marie to emerge from the pages of the memoir as a ‘three-dimensional character’, she’s not kidding . . . it’s clear that Presley was nothing if not radically honest. It’s also striking how Keough seems to almost plead with the reader to understand and love her mother as much as she does. Ultimately, this is a book built on grief: Lisa Marie Presley’s for her father and son, but also a daughter’s for her mother.”—The Guardian

“The book is of two minds: It’s an unadorned, conversational memoir that’s more matter of fact than gossipy, little interested in preserving what her father’s biographer Peter Guralnick once called ‘the dreary bondage of myth.’ And it’s a frank, almost unbearably heavy meditation on grief. . . . Stunningly candid . . . Both women write gracefully about the unbearable, immovable heaviness of grief. Keough’s portrait of her mother in her final months is especially indelible. ‘I had mistakenly thought she was so strong-minded that nothing could ever truly hobble her,’ she writes. ‘But of course it could. Enough pain can hobble anyone.’”—The Washington Post

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Big Jim and the White Boy: An American Classic Reimagined by David F Walker, Marcus Kwame Anderson

28 Friday Feb 2025

Posted by in adventure, Fiction, Graphic novel, Travel, United States

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A BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, School Library Journal, Library Journal

So wonderful – I absolutely loved and highly recommend this graphic novel which is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

“A thought-provoking, profoundly moving adventure story. Not to be missed.”—Library Journal, starred review

“The book is an action-packed page-turner, with dastardly villains, narrow escapes, and a twist at the end that sheds a new light on the entire story.”—School Library Journal

“A vital reconsideration of an American classic.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

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The Wedding People by Alison Espach

22 Saturday Feb 2025

Posted by in Fiction, Humor, United States

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At a low point in her life, Phoebe books a trip to a beautiful Newport resort she’s always wanted to visit. When she arrives, she learns that every other guest at the hotel is there for a wedding, including a very strong-willed bride who convinces Phoebe to join in. This book was much more thoughtful than the title and cover made it seem, though funny as well, and I loved the writing and characters.

“Witty dialogue is just a bonus in this engrossing read centering on complex women making life-changing decisions. Recommend to readers who enjoy Sally Rooney, Curtis Sittenfeld, or Elizabeth Berg.”―Library Journal (starred review)

“The Wedding People is so much more than a funny story (though it is very funny). Espach has penned a keenly observed novel about depression, love, the ways women make themselves small, and how one woman got over it. Fully realized and completely memorable.”―Booklist (starred review)

“A collision of diametrically opposed life events and general drama, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Maggie Shipstead’s Seating Arrangements. . . . Espach has an eye for the full gamut of emotions that go hand in hand with lifelong commitment, from humor to self-involvement to pathos.”―Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times Book Review

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Annie Bot: a Novel by Sierra Greer

14 Friday Feb 2025

Posted by in Fiction, Future, romance, United States

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Annie is an expensive, lifelike robot purchased by Doug to act as his “girlfriend.” The more she learns and develops, the more conflicted she feels about her identity. As AI expands, this thought-provoking novel asks questions about what the future may hold.

Named a Best Book of the Year by Scientific American, Harper’s Bazaar and NPR. Named a Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of the Year by the Washington Post and Elle. Nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award in Science Fiction…..For fans of Never Let Me Go and My Dark Vanessa, a powerful, provocative novel about the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, exploring questions of intimacy, power, autonomy, and control.  (Amazon)

“This nuanced novel provides a fascinating look into a future we may never wish for.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Searing…dazzling…a coming-of-age thriller, a sexbot bildungsroman page-turner, a book that I excitedly described to anyone who would listen while I was reading it.” — Scientific American

“A brilliant and enraging exploration of ownership and love, and the way our creations have of growing far beyond us. Sierra Greer raises questions as current and pressing as our present-day anxieties about AI, and as ageless and enormous as the territory of Mary Shelley, about what constitutes humanity and what we owe to each other. Annie is a glorious creation– and self-creation– and I will never forget her, or this sharp and astonishing book.” — Clare Beams, author of The Illness Lesson

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There is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America’s Biggest Catfish by Anna Akbari

17 Friday Jan 2025

Posted by in Biography, Non-fiction, suspense, United States

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Three women separately all meet a man named Ethan online, and slowly discover he may not be who he presents himself to be. This suspenseful true story reads like a mystery novel.

“There is no putting this book down… A riveting story that puts into perspective the dark dangers of forming online relationships. A truly terrifying cautionary tale for anyone involved in the online dating world.―Kirkus Reviews

“[R]iveting account of deception and emotional abuse in the early days of online dating.”―Publishers Weekly

““There Is No Ethan” is billed as a memoir, and it often reads like a true-crime thriller, but I think it is most meaningfully assessed as a piece of investigative journalism…..I did not expect to be shocked by There Is No Ethan. Online deception has become so ubiquitous that it’s boring…But the twists and turns in Anna Akbari’s book are outrageous. I read it in one sitting, then spent days recounting her story to anyone who would listen, unable to shake off my indignation on behalf of the author and her fellow victims.”—New York Times

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The Teachers: A Year Inside America’s Most Vulnerable, Important Profession by Alexandra Robbins

30 Monday Dec 2024

Posted by in anecdotes, case studies, Non-fiction, United States

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Interesting insight about the modern world of education and obstacles that educators face, including hardships experienced during the pandemic. 

“This deeply researched and impressive study brings home the fact that America underinvests in the education of its children—and that teachers step in to fill the gaps.”—Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW)

“As a parent, I wonder about what my child’s teachers might be really going through. In The Teachers, the answer is by turns inspiring, heartbreaking and maddening. Robbins pulls back the veil on the lives of the teachers shaping who our kids are becoming — and the system that so often undermines their efforts. This book will not only make you smarter about the state of American teachers, but it will ignite you to act. Through the eyes of the teachers we come to know intimately in this book, the Teachers will change the way you think about American education.” —Rachel Simmons, national bestselling author of Odd Girl Out

“Nonfiction to read this spring…. “Teachers” reads like a great liberal arts lesson, with plenty of research to back up the book’s implications.” —The New York Times

“The Teachers is a must read… It’s an extraordinary work that combines broad scope, tight focus, telling details, and the voices of dozens and dozens of actual teachers.”—Forbes

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How to Read a Book: a Novel by Monica Wood

11 Wednesday Dec 2024

Posted by in Fiction, Humor, romance, United States

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“Monica Wood’s engaging novel of fresh starts follows Violet, a 20-something woman fresh out of prison; Harriet, a retiree who leads a book club inside the women’s prison; and Frank, the retired machinist whose wife was killed in the hit-and-run for which Violet served time. Shot through with clever asides and spiky feelings, the story ponders trust, reformation, and forgiveness.” — Christian Science Monitor

“Gorgeously told…A finely wrought story, with deeply memorable characters.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Told with compassion and empathy, Wood’s tender novel explores the ways people can surprise themselves and others. A deeply humane and touching novel; highly recommended for book clubs and fans of Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures.” — Booklist

“A young female ex-con, a widower who was collateral damage, and a woman who runs the prison bookclub—three indelible voices (and let’s not forget one extraordinary parrot’s), remind us that life is full of mysteries, and sometimes the ones we believe are unsolvable as the ones that might save us. About second chances (our lives need not be apologies), the weight of forgiveness, our bond with our books, and the stubborn way love can make us see a world shining with mercy, Wood’s new novel is both incandescent and unforgettable.”   — Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You and Pictures of You 

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