Stewart has written two of my favorite books of all time (A Prayer for the Dying and The Names of the Dead), so I had really high hopes for this. I was disappointed to find that the bite and snap of the previously mentioned books was completely missing. His writing ability hasn't changed, it's just that there was basically no plot. Jot down the daily ramblings of a retired person, and there you have it. I'm not saying that one has to have a crisis every day to lead an interesting life, but the story just didn't go anywhere. Henry sees a woman from afar while golfing, shortly after he was musing about his past love. We all wonder: Could this be her? Well, we never find out because that woman he saw on the course had nothing to do with the storyline. Or anything else. She was just glimpsed while he golfed. This meandering narrative is pretty typical of every chapter. Furthermore, the brittle relationship between Henry and Emily creates such a bleak overtone that it was just plain sad. While Henry is long suffering and saintly, his wife is admirable in her efficiency but intimately frosty. She never volunteers a kind word to her husband, leaving us all feeling the loneliness that permeates this book. Stewart, in the past, has dazzled with the big twist at the end, but that certainly didn't happen here. No pivot, no plot, no point. I just didn't get it.

Besides being an accomplished mover, Finn is a great writer. The recap of his first day on the job had me laughing out loud. You'll learn so much you never knew you wanted to know about truckers in general, movers in particular, and the people who hire them. Now I know that if I ever hire movers, I'll: Address them by name Buy them lunch Tip them at the end of the day Put exploding cans of snakes in my drawers Loved it.

While this book was a page-turner with some twists (I do appreciate a twist), there were some disappointments too. I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't. Here are my criticisms. The author has lived for some years in England, but is not British. However, he sneaks the Anglais parlance in there which, to my ear, just sounded forced and show-offy. He finds a word he likes, and then uses it to excess. We get it--the main character "sloped" around her apartment a lot. Find another word, dude. Was surprised in the middle, but not at the end. The end seemed rushed, lacked imagination, and I figured it out. It would be a great airplane read, and is a great debut book. However, I'm confident his next one will be even better.

This book, compiled by Kerry Kennedy, casts a wide net by contributors. From pious to atheistic, how the Catholic experience shaped each interviewee is as individual as they each are. The memoirs are snapshots of their time in (and out of) the Church, and reasons for their subsequent spiritual journeys. Definitely thought-provoking.

Of all the non-stop, jaw-dropping things I read in this book, the most disquieting thing of all was this quote: "By the time you read this, an infant who was born on Trump's inauguration day will demonstrate more emotionally (sic) maturity than the President of the United States." Chew on that a little bit. Yes, the typo bothered me, and there were a few others. (Tsk, tsk, University of Chicago Press.) However, the black and white evidence of Trump's toddler nature was far more disturbing than obvious hasty editing to get a book to press. After all, even since this book was printed (published in 2020!), there is SO MUCH MORE HE HAS DONE to cement his toddler label. I can see how details would be missed. If you're not a Trump fan, this book will make you shake your head and wonder about the future of our country. If you are a Trump fan, you'll probably dismiss it as "fake news". Sort of like a toddler who sticks their fingers in their ears and yells gibberish when they don't like what the adult is saying. I'm sensing a theme here. Folks, pretending the emperor is wearing clothes doesn't make it so. This man is childish, churlish, unpredictable and dangerous. The more his base excuses his behavior, the more he believes he is beyond any rules of law. Like a bratty child. And just like a brat, the ultimate responsibility lies with the lackadaisical parents who don't want to put in the effort to control this wayward behavior. Senate, I'm talking to you. GOP Trump base, I'm talking to you, too. Take your fingers out of your ears and look, listen and learn.

Such a visionary! Daphne could write the gooiest love story but wasn't limited to that genre . . . had she been born 30 years later, she would have written for Twilight Zone. That woman had a unique brain. This short story selection represents her impressive range. Go for it--you never know what you're gonna get with her, but you can count on something good.

I think you'll get the gist of this book by the cover. Hilarious and disturbing. Real quotes, folks.

While I love historical fiction, I tend to dislike fictional stories overlaying non-fiction events. I shoulda known. There's nothing inherently wrong with this story, just muddies up the real happenings with a somewhat slow tale. The true parts are interesting, but I could have skipped the rest.

I'd always assumed that Chinese folks were obedient followers of the Party, denying the self for the benefit of all. (Maybe it's because they shine in everything they do--heck, just look at their Olympic opening ceremony for Pete's sake.) Anyway, I'd also heard that during the one child era, nothing was forced, exactly, but that people were strongly encouraged to keep things down to one kid, with some cash incentives thrown in to sweeten the deal. Not so bad, really, right? News flash, people, according to this book, those assumptions are way off the mark. Picture the same policy here in the land of We-Do-What-We-Want, except with the political muscle of Tiananmen Square, and you'd pretty much get it. This is fiction, but seems to be very much based in fact. The story explores all angles--families who are trying to sneak another baby out before getting caught, medical mishaps, and the unfortunate party patsies who have to enforce the rules. It's astounding that this was published, and that the author is still alive. The book moves along throughout, continually sneaking in an unexpected hook right when your guard is down. Spoiler: it really went off the rails during the "play" at the end. Was the editor on vacation? Maybe I'm wrong and you'll love that part. Overall, though, a thought-provoking eye-opener.

For Edward Curtis, it was preserving a multitude of vanishing cultures via any medium available. 100 years too early to be understood, he worked exhaustively to record the rites, cultures, images and languages of Native Americans before "civilization" wiped their ways from the planet. This book is a beautifully researched and written memoir of the lengths to which Curtis and his sidekicks went to this end, and the quickly eroding natural world which had supported these cultures for centuries. Ed was a brilliant, self-educated combination of technophile and mountain man, truly having one foot in each world. Ultimately a hero to the peoples he loved, and a villain to the woman who loved him, Curtis' story is well worth reading.

If you've ever wondered how it is, really, to live in Alaska, this is the book for you. Heather Lende allows us a peek over her shoulder at her paper, for which she pens the obituaries and social columns. Through these writings we become acquainted with the locals, both the deeply rooted and transplanted, and see how they have woven into a solid community of warm friends in a cold place. You'll wonder if you'd have the stuff it would take to live in such a place, realize probably not, then wish you did. Read on.

Layering the (true) story of a serial killer over the atrocities of WWII mass serial killing, this book was difficult for me to appreciate. Maybe there's only so much murder one can process without becoming numb in self defense. I don't know. It was kind of a C+ for me.