The Soul Thief by Charles Baxter

The Soul Thief by Charles Baxter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my first Charles Baxter so I wasn't comparing it like other reviewers to his other works. I thought it was pretty good, though I thought the ending was overdone. Nothing really sticks with me though and the characters feel a little washed out though that might be by design given the ending.

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How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A powerful and moving memoir about Uwiringiyimana's experiences in the Congo, a Burundi refugee camp, and finally New York. Her story is important and she's a very relatable writer.

The horrifying thing is that the ethnic cleansing in the Congo has barely slowed down. In January of 2019: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46896159. In general, all the news from The DR of Congo is bad: https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cvenzmgylgwt/democratic-republic-of-congo.

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The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Diviners by Libba Bray
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

While I enjoyed the character of Evie, the plot was pretty played out and boring.

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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.

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Netherland by Joseph O'Neill

Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found this book tedious to read. I was annoyed at what felt to me to be very inorganic jumping back and forth through time; it didn’t seem like the jumping improved the narrative by giving me the information when I needed it, but just confused the narrative. The book is a little bit of a love letter to New York between 2001-2003 or so. He gets lots of details of New York right, including the 2003 blackout, but seems to miss the mark on 911 itself. It’s not a 911 book, but if you plant your characters right then and there you need to get the weirdness right.

I wasn’t bothered by the wife’s reasons for leaving, I think it was clear that it wasn’t about her fear of living in the city alone, but I was confused about her refusal to discuss it with Hans. Hans is so passive that he doesn’t insist she talk about it, and he never gains any self-awareness about how insane that is.

I found the relationship with Chuck mostly uncomfortable- two people trying to use each other for contrary ends. Which is bad, because the novel is supposed to mostly be about that relationship. O think Han’s relationship with his mentally ill Angel neighbor is more interesting but insufficiently explored.

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The Ask by Sam Lipsyte

The Ask by Sam Lipsyte
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The beginning was really funny (and sad) but after about two thirds through I got tired of the characters not developing and their situation devolving. Lipsyte is very intelligent and witty, and kudos to you if you get all his jokes. I’m sure so many of his jokes went right over my head, but oh boy will you feel full of yourself when you get some of them. Ha! Ultimately, I thought Don, a minor character, was the most interesting, though I didn’t like the direction his story took. The plot is mostly just a vehicle for satire and who cares what happens to them anyway... not me.

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Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Starts off as a slow tale about a New York City family before and during the World War II era. Ultimately, I was very invested in the Kerrigan family, though not in Styles family. There were also some plot moments that didn’t seem realistic, but Egan’s impressive writing carries you along anyway.

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The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather

The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really unique and interesting account of a woman from her early childhood through her maturation and the accomplishment of her career goals. Not the sort of thing you'd expect from a 1910's frontier novel.

The main character is Thea Kronborg, a musician and singer. Everyone else in the book is in her orbit. Her family, her teachers, supporters, and men who love her in different ways. One thing that was difficult in reading the book is that Thea didn't have female friendships outside of her mother and aunt.

The book could have been edited down a lot. The adult portion, especially, seemed to meander. But overall, well worth reading. I've been reading Willa Cather's books in order so now it's on to My Ántonia!

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The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book reminds me of both Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis and Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island, except it is exceptionally well-written. Seems that the Etched in Sand author suffered even more than Jeanette Walls (not that it is a competition) and Hillbilly Elegy is the not-so-subtly political, so it might be an interesting comparison for readers interested in the experience of poverty, which is the experience of most of the world. (Specifically, 10% worldwide live in extreme poverty which is less than $1.90 a day, and 80% live on less than $10 a day, according to the World Bank.)

The story in The Glass Castle is pretty compelling and picks up speed in the last one-third of the book.

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Lunch Poems by Frank O'Hara

Lunch Poems by Frank O'Hara
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There were lots of parts I loved, but more that I struggled with. I suspect that part of my problem is that I don't read enough poetry yet, so I'll keep trying and hopefully revisit this one later.

Here are my favorite bits:

From "Adieu to Norman, Bon Jour to Joan and Jean-Paul," p. 35:
“the only thing to do is simply continue
is that simple
yes, it is simple because it is the only thing to do
can you do it
yes, you can because it is the only thing to do”

From "Steps," p.58:
“oh god it’s wonderful
to get out of bed
and drink too much coffee
and smoke too many cigarettes
and love you so much”

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Time's a Thief by B.G. Firmani

Time's a Thief: A Novel by B.G. Firmani
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The writer is very smart. That's mostly what this book is about. It's also about the main character's obsession with an awful rich family in New York City. The part I could most relate to is the heaviness of life's reality not matching youthful expectations. Now I sound a million years old.

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The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cute children's book. I like that it references the actual stories of Greek and Roman mythology.

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The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beyond the overall messages, which are themselves very well communicated, there are so many brilliant gems in this short book. The letter at the beginning is wonderful, and a good introduction to the rest. Then there's a very autobiographical section which is interesting, but the second half of the book is my favorite portion. I didn't put it down until I was done and it was well worth rereading.


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Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love this book. I loved every minute of it. It's a masterpiece about science, religion, literature, war and human destruction.

Tiger got to hunt,
Bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder, "Why, why, why?"
Tiger got to sleep,
Bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand.

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Here Is New York by E.B. White

Here Is New York by E.B. White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's interesting how similar New York still is- in the generalities if not in the specifics. Beautiful essay.

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The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first fourth and third fourth went slowly for me, but I appreciated the resolution and the world that had been created mostly by that resolution.

Jason is a bit less developed than Percy, probably because he has memory loss. Piper is pretty well developed and Leo a little bit less so. I read this a long time after I read the first three Percy books and I was struggling to remember everyone at camp, though it wasn't strictly necessary. I also enjoyed the survey of mythological people as the heroes traveled from city to city in the US.

I'll probably read the next one in this series, though I'm not in a huge hurry to do so.

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I owned this book for many years before I picked it up to read it because I moved to Brooklyn, though I live in Cobble Hill the main character Francie lives in Williamsburg. I felt less of a connection to the location- Brooklyn is not what it once was- and more of a connection to the main character. She loves books and she loves learning, and she tries to push her brother to learn too. I also enjoyed how the relationship between Francie and her mother develops as they both "bloom."

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Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this, it was cute. I liked the bookstore and library settings, and I would have given it 4 stars but the ending is a bit blah, and the characters outside the main character are not my favorite. (The roommates are more interesting than the best friends.)

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The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this as a kid for the first time and I was overly focused on the fact that I didn't like Holden Caulfield, and was grossed out by his poor interactions with girls and women. But as an adult appreciate the writing and the clear voice of the 16-year-old main character.

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Zone One by Colson Whitehead

Zone One by Colson Whitehead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fabulous scathing critique of all the preoccupations of society. Very nihilistic. I loved the main character and the way his challenges before and after the last day were presented. I felt like I could relate to him and his problems even though he's a very emotionally reserved character. I also loved Gary and Kaitlyn, and how they were awful and wonderful in their own ways. Some of the last 1/5th of the book was a little convoluted with the present day conversations of numerous characters that didn't play a central role.


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