Funny, You Don't Look Autistic by Michael McCreary

Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum by Michael McCreary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was short and actually cute and funny. Great for the young or old. Highly recommend.

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Why We Can't Sleep by Ada Calhoun

Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis by Ada Calhoun
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a much better read than say Lean In, because the author has actually read books about feminism. I especially enjoyed the focus on Generation X because we are forever ignored. Seriously both Generation X and the Millenials have had a much tougher economy to deal with than Boomers, and the world seems almost completely dominated by the Silent Generation and Boomers.

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Black Death at the Golden Gate by David K. Randall

Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague by David K. Randall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Startling how similar the reaction of the Governor of California was over 100 years ago to that of our President today. Just cover up the Bubonic Plague! Don't make a big deal of it and it will go away. Microbes don't care about positive thinking or panic or anything other than actual protective measures and treatment.

All the descriptions of this book say it's the story of Rupert Blue, but can we take a minute for Joseph James Kinyoun? He was the first hero. I have a lot of sympathy for him. It's terrible to live in a world where people won't listen to science and require being constantly charmed to accept reality. The bad guys create a fictional world and force us all to live in it.

Fun fact: You can still get Bubonic Plague from fleas, though early detection and treatment with antibiotics should cure you.

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Bitten by Kris Newby

Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons by Kris Newby
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

There’s a lot of interesting Lyme Disease information here but there’s also a lot of speculation and drama that makes it tough to mentally compartmentalize what I accept as fact or likely.

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UnSelfie by Michele Borba

UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World by Michele Borba
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I appreciate the general concept of a parenting book about teaching children empathy. Empathy is definitely one of the fundamental values in our home. My only complaints were that 1) I don't like the entire concept of discussing it in terms of giving your children some advantage in the marketplace. Admittedly the author didn't spend too much time on this so I suspect it was an editorial marketing suggestion? Complaint 2) The chapter attacking millennials. I'm Generation X but I know more Boomer narcissists than Millennial narcissists. Literally the whole point of those "participation trophies" were to not hurt kids' feelings. Teachers that taught my generation (Boomers and Silent Generation) were known for joining the bullies in their teasing. Not to mention the whole destroying the environment for future generations thing.

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Sounder by William H. Armstrong

Sounder by William H. Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is not a book about a boy and his dog. It ripped my heart out. The writing is excellent. It feels too heavy and possibly subtle for children, but maybe for high schoolers.

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The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book because Mary Anne Schwalbe is my new hero. To be half the person she is would probably be a wild success. Also, I love books about books! My reading list has been revised. I've read some of the books mentioned but I hope to reread this after reading more of its recommendations. Will Schwalbe's mother is dying and there is a little wisdom about the end of life in it, but it's mostly a book about how to live your life well.

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Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very good kids' book about what it's like to have dyslexia and learning disabilities, how to be a good friend, and how to get help when you need it. Well-developed characters. Strongly recommend for middle grade.

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Coronavirus 2020

And with that... we're going to stop going to school or work now. Enough is enough! Our Spring Break starts Saturday but it feels so arbitrary and insane to go in one more day just to make it to the official Spring Break.

Also, Kevin went to the doctor today because he has congestion in his chest, so we should also quarantine since he's sick. No one can get a test in Nebraska unless they just came back from China or touched someone that was somehow able to get the test already.

So that's that, we're not going out again except to grocery store after I pick up kids from school today.

Get Well Soon by Jennifer Wright

Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is THE pandemic book everyone should read right now. It's terrifying, hilarious, and ethically-inspiring in equal measure. It will snap you out of your dream-like coronavirus confusion. It's amazing.

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Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3/10: I liked it. Didn't rock my world though and there were definitely a bunch of animals getting drunk on cider. 3/15: I reread it and now that I'm on coronavirus quarantine, it appears to be all about thriving under quarantine now... adding a star.



Here's my 8-year-old son's review which was obviously my review of what he thought:

James's review

Mar 10, 2020

really liked it

bookshelves: 1970s, 3rd-grade, childrens, fantasy, fiction, own

I like how Mr. Fox has to find ways to beat Mr. Bean, Boggis, Bunce. There was nothing I didn't like about the book.

Mom: What did you think about the stealing?
Me: I thought it was an interesting way to live.
Mom: You didn't think it was wrong?
Me: I don't know, they had to survive somehow, plus they had to get the farmer back for trying to kill them.
Mom: Ummmm.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3226090543 

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Open Book by Jessica Simpson

Open Book by Jessica Simpson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The beginning and endings are really interesting and it feels like she's being really honest even about her own shortcomings and secrets. I think there's a lot here for her fans, and for people who worry a lot about their own flaws or unhappiness. But there's also a bit of a disconnect because the rest of us can't, for example, run out to get plastic surgery on our post-pregnancy bellies. But I guess it's good to know that it's useless to compare ourselves to celebrities when they're honest like this.

In general, I think I might not be the right audience for celebrity memoirs because I'm not huge into pop culture, and as much as I try not to, I unfairly compare the writing to more literary memoirs.

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Moneyball by Michael Lewis

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The only reasons I didn’t give this book 5 stars is that it was a little slow in the second quarter and that I’m not at all a baseball fan, with the exception of one season of trying to learn all the Red Sox players only to see them all leave the team the following season- catching me completely by surprise and making me vow never to give away my love like that again. Necessary run-on sentence.

I love data and statistics though and from that perspective, this book is such a joy. If only more people took an interest in what statistics can and cannot tell us, the world would be a more logical and effective place.

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Unfu*k Yourself by Gary John Bishop

Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life by Gary John Bishop
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Absolutely nothing new or interesting here. You know what conveys the ideas here in a much more interesting, moving, and satisfying way? The movie Groundhog's Day with Bill Murray. Seriously, it's an amazing movie.

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The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett

The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is a lot of amazing information in this huge tome, and it took me three weeks to get through, but it was worth it. It could have used a firmer editing hand though. Both the chronology of infectious diseases and the diseases themselves were divided into chapters in ways I failed to understand. Additionally, given the large amount of extremely useful information provided by this book, it would have moved the book along to edit down every individual thought every patient and every doctor ever had, every description of every little leaf in the jungle the disease emerged. I could basically write an entire book review about any chapter, it's so overwhelming.

There was a lot of information about AIDS provided in the second half of the book.

Some of the themes of the book are sleuthing the origins of novel pathogen outbreaks, scientific hubris, and illness containment fails.

I recently watched an interview with Dr. Ian Crozier, an ebola survivor, and I was amazed at how much I understood that I'd only just learned from the information in this book.

I read this for some insight into the novel virus outbreaks like our cures coronavirus outbreak but I definitely gained a great deal more from reading this. And what a great ending!

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