Caffeine by Michael Pollan

Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World by Michael Pollan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't quit caffeine to test out what Pollan is saying, but I did drink extra coffee while listening to this audiobook and I just remembered another study that said that coffee makes you extra-persuadable... hmm. Well, I enjoyed the book and I am persuaded. Nonetheless, I am going to keep drinking coffee because I'm addicted and I choose to cherry-pick the evidence of longer-lived coffee drinkers.

View all my reviews

The Messengers by Lindsay Joelle

The Messengers by Lindsay Joelle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a surprise. I am not a huge fan of YA or the Amazon free selections but this was short and I was delighted by some complicated characters in an intergalactic war riddled by "plague." The length and constant discourse made it feel like a play, but this could have been lengthened into a full and interesting novel with more descriptive and interior writing.

View all my reviews

The Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe

The Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I like that it appears to switch from horror to mystery.

View all my reviews

Ligeia by Edgar Allan Poe

Ligeia by Edgar Allan Poe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this a few times wondering what I was missing. I don't know. Possibly it's just not that great?

View all my reviews

The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe

The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The dark delight in this one comes from my love of the cat and hate of the man.

View all my reviews

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What happens when a mild asshole befriends a murderous sociopath? Detailed and bizarre horror.

View all my reviews

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A house with a haunted atmosphere works its negative influence on the inhabitants. A study in how location and company can affect your mental state.

View all my reviews

The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe

The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The type of thinking demonstrated in Poe’s conclusion is not an insubstantial part of my life philosophy.

View all my reviews

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really only liked the first story, "Why Don't You Dance?"

I didn't even like the title story that much, though I did like this one quote in it: "Well, the husband was very depressed for the longest while. Even after he found out that his wife was going to pull through, he was still very depressed. Not about the accident, though. I mean, the accident was one thing, but it wasn't everything. I'd get up to his mouth-hole, you know, and he'd say no, it wasn't the accident exactly but it was because he couldn't see her through his eye-holes. He said that was what was making him feel bad. Can you imagine? I'm telling you, the man's heart was breaking because he couldn't turn his goddamn head and see his goddamn wife.'"

Took me much longer to read this collection than I expected given how short it is.

View all my reviews

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you have experienced the kind of loss that I have experienced- and I know a lot of people have- it can nonetheless feel like no one really gets it. Well here is proof of the transformative power of death, life, and love packaged in a fairy tale. I'm wrecked like someone tore my chest cavity apart. Thank you, Alice Hoffman.

View all my reviews

Existentialism by Jean-Paul Sartre

Existentialism by Jean-Paul Sartre
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Just a short explanation of Sartre's views on what Existentialism is and is not. Neither the philosophy nor this book did much for me.

View all my reviews

In Praise of Wasting Time by Alan Lightman

In Praise of Wasting Time by Alan Lightman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is short and doesn't contain new information but would make a fine gift for someone who works too much or for a young person foolishly considering a job in business or law.

View all my reviews

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a very good coming-of-age YA in a poetic prose style. The scene with her mother at the end, this was so my mother, minus the religion.

View all my reviews

Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin

Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I appreciate that this book was short. I remembered a lot of the advice from the first book, Happiness Project. In general, I prefer the Marie Kondo book on decluttering and organization which Rubin did reference at the end.

View all my reviews

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.

View all my reviews

When by Daniel H. Pink

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A short book about how timing affects both our personal decisions and business plans. There is definitely some repeat information that most people are aware of already, but the book is so short that it's worth reading to get a sense of the overall psychological impact of timing decisions correctly.

View all my reviews

Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking

Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this collection of Hawking's last essays on "the big questions." But 1) skip all the introductions, 2) I wish scientists stopped opining on the concept of God in general on the basis of science specifically. If Hawking were still alive I'd ask, what if God is hiding in a parallel universe but He can see us perfectly well? What if He's inside a black hole? What if God is in all the particles of dark matter? What if He’s the fabric of space-time? What if He's inside us? What if He's the most important metaphor ever created by man come to life? What if He's any combination of those or even something else entirely? What then, Stephen? What could science have to say about any of that?

View all my reviews

Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman

Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a collection of short stories interlinked by families and houses on Cape Cod. I really enjoyed this collection and it was beautifully written. It’s very rare that I fall in love with characters this quickly. I'm not likely to forget Violet or the people she loved any time soon. I’m very interested in reading more by this author.

View all my reviews

Off the Sidelines by Kirsten Gillibrand

Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World by Kirsten Gillibrand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this because Gillibrand is one of the 2020 Presidential candidates. Unfortunately, this isn’t a policy book; it’s part memoir and part resume of her legislative pursuits on behalf of New York. That said, I think it’s difficult to be a woman/mother in my age-group and not be delighted by Gillibrand’s personality. She’s funny and very relatable and to the extent that she mentions her current policies, which is not very much, I’m in agreement with her positions.

On the other hand, she tried to address one of my central concerns about her, her House gun record, but I don’t think she did so persuasively enough.

She’s not my preferred candidate, and she’s not currently polling well. Nonetheless, if by some miracle she became the Democratic nominee, I’d be pleased to vote for her.

View all my reviews

Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman

Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was short and definitely inspired some deep thinking. I've had some of these dreams myself, and some of these scenarios (like no memory) exist here in this universe.

View all my reviews