Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really liked this until the end. It’s like I read a literary fiction book but suddenly wandered into an Agatha Christie ending. Perhaps it is a play on Linley copying Mozart at the end, but maybe I’m reaching.

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The Call of the Wild by Jack London

The Call of the Wild by Jack London
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a classic with good reason. Moving and captivating story with a lot of criticism about humanity.

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Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert

Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Perfectly cute plot to pass the time. Nothing terrible or amazing here. Skippable, but if you want a relaxing read on your New England vacation, this might be good.

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On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is pretty short and it's beautifully written. I don't like grouping books like this as "romance" because it is so much more than that, but let's just say it's not for group-audiobook-listening.

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Very Nice by Marcy Dermansky

Very Nice by Marcy Dermansky
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Zahid is a writer and a writing professor who sublets his Brooklyn apartment to Khloe (his friend Kristie's twin sister). Okay, that's normal. But PURELY BY COINCIDENCE, he's also sleeping with Khloe's boss's very young daughter Rachel. This really bothers me. But wait! Khloe has been in love with Jane her whole life. Now Jane becomes Zahid's editor at his publishing house PURELY BY COINCIDENCE. Okay, we're so we're just not even trying. Just so we're clear, Brooklyn has 2.5 million people. Manhattan has another 1.6 million.

The book was somewhat fun, but silly. The book markets itself as humor, but it wasn't particularly funny to me.

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The Respectful Prostitute by Jean-Paul Sartre

The Respectful Prostitute by Jean-Paul Sartre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Such an upsetting and accurate depiction of America.

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No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre

No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very dark and funny. Full of great lines exploring the simple tortures of everyday life.

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Unstoppable by Bill Nye

Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World by Bill Nye
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Had a very good start with larger climate and policy issues but then turned into a book about urban planning, and then fixing your house to be energy efficient. I got so bored with all the specific engineering.

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Light from Other Stars by Erika Swyler

Light from Other Stars by Erika Swyler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is such a beautiful and at times subtle book. It's literary science fiction, ala Le Guin. It's the love story between parents and children, and between childhood friends, and about the closest adult friends.

It's a story about a fully independent woman and why she's so independent, and how her life is full of everything that matters.

And it's about time, and how the real physics of time is so magical-seeming, and how our time in an important relationship is just a touch between two people's very separate time on earth. It's about how our era defines and intimately impact us. It's also about a love of science in general, which I definitely share.

Also, as someone who lost my father whom I had a very close relationship with, I could relate so much to the grief, and I could relate also to the beauty in that grief. Swyler conveyed that in such an evocative way.

A gorgeous book overall.

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The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel could have been titled, "Everyone Has Secrets," as it appears to be more about that than "The Japanese Lover," who, by the way, to my mind, is American. This was very readable, and I was always glad to return to the story, and the characters were interesting. I didn't precisely become attached to the characters the way I do with some characters (I even get attached to unlikable characters sometimes). I would recommend this book in general.

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Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I appreciate that this book tried to combine philosophy with the action-adventure dystopian genre that can be so fun but I just never got invested in the characters or the plot. I won’t be continuing the series.

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Men Without Women by Ernest Hemingway

Men Without Women by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Good writing but I had to force my way through.

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The War on Normal People by Andrew Yang

The War on Normal People: The Truth About America's Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income Is Our Future by Andrew Yang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm a supporter of Warren, but I thought there were a lot of important arguments and ideas in this book about the current state of our economy, and the direction it's taking. I have a hard time taking Yang seriously as a candidate because of his lack of government experience and his performance during the Democratic Debates, but this is probably the third-best book by a Democratic Candidate for the 2020 election. So far, I've read at least one book by each of the 10 candidates that qualified for the third debate (and some of the dropouts) except Beto. I guess that's next.

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A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Miss Bartlett, in deed, though not in word, had taught the girl that this our life contains nothing satisfactory. Lucy though she disliked the teacher regarded the teaching as profound, and applied it to her lover.”

This is the thesis that this book seeks to tear down, and it does so in the most delightful way.

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How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved the sociology and history aspect of this book and I definitely recommend reading it. I did struggle a little with the memoir portion. Because of my preference and the other reviews, I think I should also read Kendi's other book, Stamped from the Beginning, so I have that on hold at the library now.

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Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett

Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A love letter in book form. Patchett's nearly unconditional love for her friend Lucy Greely is palpable and I fell in love with them too. I don't think I've ever encountered a book conveys the importance and depth of friendship as well as this book does. And there's so much more here as well because both women were/are artists and deep thinkers.

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My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is on the boundaries of fantasy because there is a very realistic reading of the book, but if you give in to the 7-year-old narrator, Elsa's point of view, which admittedly I did, then it's very much a fantasy book. It's just fun fantasy romp, and if it weren't for the somewhat silly drama at the end, it might be appropriate for kids as well, but what's silly to an adult, is unfortunately probably scary to a young reader.

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The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy

The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book doesn’t stand the test of time well, but it’s interesting and entertaining. It also made me think about the principle of Christian celibacy in a different way.

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C Street by Jeff Sharlet

C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy by Jeff Sharlet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Completely horrifying account of the contradictory and often corrupt fundamentalist fervor in our government, in our military, and even influencing countries abroad. And it's not limited to one party, here are a few of leaders mentioned in the book:
Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.; Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; and John Ensign, R-Nev.
Reps. Michael F. Doyle, D-Pa.; Heath Shuler, D-N.C.; Bart Stupak, D-Mich.; and Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.

At one point, Sharlett summarizes the book that this is about the fundamentalist ideas that seek to subsume the ideas (and presumably the values) of democracy.

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American Gun by Chris Kyle

American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms by Chris Kyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's not in the book but Kyle was a marine and war hero, and the deadliest marksman in United States military history. (Of "American Sniper" fame.) After his return to the US, in 2009, he foiled two men trying to carjack him by grabbing his gun and shooting them before they were able to shoot him. Did he have any philosophical thoughts about guns in war or in domestic use? No, not really. His one thought is that having the best guns in war saves lives on your team. Other than that, this is just the facts and no analysis.

The historical facts, as stated by Kyle, are interesting. And the facts certainly persuade me that having the most up-to-date technologically advanced guns are necessary for warfare. However, Kyle talks about how mobsters in the US starting buying Tommy guns, the nickname for "Thompson submachine guns" with nary a commentary about what a complete disaster that was. Glocks became popular with police and criminals at the same time. What does that say about the lack of gun regulation? No thoughts from our gun expert Kyle.

Of course, the whole time I was reading this I kept thinking about what ultimately happened to Kyle. Kyle was murdered at 38 years old with his own .45-caliber pistol. He was murdered by a 25-year-old marine that Kyle knew was mentally ill but took to a shooting range because he believed shooting had therapeutic value. If Kyle had had a psychic premonition of his own death, would he have developed some analysis? What would that analysis have been?

Here are some more facts: https://lawcenter.giffords.org/facts/gun-violence-statistics/

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Marley and Me by John Grogan

Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book made me laugh out loud several times which is pretty rare even for books whose primary purpose is humor. We have a rescue lab mix and I was pleased to read about a dog that behaves worse than ours. I was glad that the author went the rescue route the second time around.

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