Rated Hell to Pay 6/10
Really well-constructed - an unusual take on the noir murder mystery because the death in question doesn't happen until more than halfway through the book.
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Rated Boy, Snow, Bird 8/10
A strange little book - a quick, enjoyable read, shot through with touches of dreamlike/fairytale weirdness. A woman flees her abusive home in New York in the 1950s and marries into a slightly mysterious family in New England; the book is told from the perspective of this woman (the Boy of the title - that's her name) and her daughter (Bird) but also revolves around her relationship with her stepdaughter (Snow). Lots of metaphorically rich stuff about race and gender in mid-century America.
Really fantastic - highly recommend to anyone who works in politics, community outreach, etc etc. In-depth look at the nuts and bolts of the civil rights movement in the Delta region of Mississippi, particularly the local people who worked with SNCC. Thought-provoking and well-reported.
Rated Dead Is Better 4/10
A modestly clever mystery novel, the gimmick of which is that it's narrated by a ghost who's accompanied by a ghost dog. It should have just leaned into how slight it is, and been more fun, rather than having aspirations of depth. It's weirdly structured, too, and sort of fell off at the end, in ways that make it obvious that it's setting up to be a series, which I'm not inclined to pursue further.
Rated The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration 10/10
Truly fantastic book about the black families who moved out of the South and into northern and western cities in the middle of the 20th century. It took up a decade and a half of the author's life and it shows: it's incredibly well-researched and well-written. The book is a mix of intimate stories and sweeping sociological analysis, focusing on the lives of three people who moved to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. One of the best works of American history I've read.
Rated The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 8/10
Very well-done investigation into the life and family of Henrietta Lacks, a woman who died of cervical cancer and whose cells have outlived her by decades as they've been cultivated for medical research. It's about science, race, ethics and medical history, as well as about the process of trying to track down and gain access to Henrietta's family.
Rated The Year of Magical Thinking 10/10
Lovely and painful. A minutely-observed study of grief that Didion wrote after her husband suffered a fatal heart attack and her daughter a severe illness. Brief, but it's not that fast a read, both because it's a little tough emotionally and because her writing is so sharp and good that I often found myself turning back to see how she phrased things a second time. Highly recommended even though it's sad; I think it will stick with me.
Rated The Sport of Kings 6/10
A story about horse racing, racial conflict and family histories in Kentucky. Beautiful writing, a downer, compelling at times but drags a bit at others - I am real torn between giving this one a 3 or a 4, because it's very ambitious and almost pulls it off.
Wants to read Pretty Monsters: Stories
Rated A Field Guide to Awkward Silences 6/10
Has its moments, but kind of disappointing because I really like her Post columns. As a book, it aims by turns to be charming and clever and poignant and wise but it doesn't quite hit as high as it aims.
Rated In the Country We Love: My Family Divided 6/10
When the actress Diane Guerrero was 14, her parents were deported to Colombia. In this memoir she details the practical and emotional toll of living undocumented, and the practical and emotional catastrophe of living on her own after the deportation. A quick read, charming and honest, with some really powerful moments.
Rated Soundtrack from Twin Peaks 8/10
If you are a Twin Peaks person and a music person, this is a treat, and it's a standout of the many books I've read in this series. Lots of intro-to-intermediate music theory interwoven with details about the creation and production of Twin Peaks. If you don't care about Twin Peaks, on the other hand, this will be of zero interest.
Rated The Spy Who Came In from the Cold 8/10
Rated Olga Dies Dreaming 10/10
<div>I went into this knowing almost nothing about it, other than I liked the cover and had vague recollections of people saying it was really good, and IT IS.</div>
Rated Commonwealth 10/10
Terrific - a lovely read that I tore through in just a few days. It starts with a christening party for a baby and expands from there, bouncing around in time, to tell the interlocking story of two big complicated families. Patchett is always great; this one is a little unusual for her - her prose is usually so stately and heightened, whereas this one is more straightforward stylistically, though it's still really great - she makes it look easy. You get perspectives from almost all the major characters, and Patchett takes their views seriously and compassionately. The book it reminds me of most, in structure and tone, is [b:A God in Ruins|3722183|A God in Ruins|Kate Atkinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451442002s/3722183.jpg|42652219], which I also love.
Rated Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War 8/10
Very Mary Roach-y, which I mean as a compliment; her writing is very clever and her curiosity is contagious. As she notes in the preface, this is very much not about the science of weapons, but rather a series of essays on how scientists attempt to keep the troops clothed, fed and healthy in both normal and dire circumstances. There are poignant moments and funny ones, but the former are somewhat underplayed relative to the latter given the weight of the subject matter. Not my favorite of her books but a good, quick and thoughtful read.
Wants to read An American Marriage
Rated Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth 8/10
I really enjoyed this and got a lot from it, even as I found it a little glib and over-certain. Based on the scanty evidence in the Gospels and the somewhat more robust political and cultural historical record of Roman-occupied Palestine, Aslan sketches out a plausible scenario of who the historical Jesus might have been. He does it with somewhat more definitiveness than he could actually have, though to his credit he lays out that this is just a theory based on what little evidence he has. It's very challenging to the perspective a lot of people - including but not limited to me! - might have on Jesus, and very arguable, but also lively and well-thought-out. I am pretty familiar with both the Gospels and Roman history and it gave me an interesting new lens on both of these (actually found myself consulting a Bible as I read, because Aslan relies on it pretty heavily!). <br/><br/>Recommended with a grain of salt, but more for the faux-authoritativeness than the bad reasons that most Americans would be skeptical about a biography of Jesus written by a secular Muslim.
Rated The Stone Sky 8/10
Both weirder and grimmer than the first two, and leaning much more into the sci-fi elements of the series: a lot more about the *why* of the world beyond just what's going on in the present. It's elaborate and detailed, in the mechanics of the world and visual description, but also emotionally rich, to the point of being pretty heavy/intense. Overall the trilogy is a masterwork; I probably liked this one the least on its own but it's vital to the whole story.
Rated Dare Me 8/10
Sitting at a weird intersection of teen drama, noir, literary fiction and body horror, this book is dark, trashy-smart and engaging. If you can suspend your skepticism about a story that tales place in high school, you'll be rewarded: Abbott is sharp at constructing plots, building tension and exploring her characters' minds and motivations. She takes the world of her teenage protagonist seriously, depicting cheerleading as something like gladiatorial combat and intra-group friend rivalries as political bloodsport. As clever and mean and claustrophobic as [b:Gone Girl|19288043|Gone Girl|Gillian Flynn|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397056917s/19288043.jpg|13306276], with better prose.
