HATED everything about it. I'm not a fan of the genre, so that's not the author's fault. He can write, however I felt that he overused similes for the majority of the book. I won't quote as it was an ARC and perhaps it was edited prior to publishing. I couldn't wait to finish.

This book is written in three parts. Part I begins the tale of three adopted brothers, all very different, living with their single dad, an Imam. You learn that the dad is distant but caring, and that somehow, our narrator, Youssef, is the non-favored son. He also has a secret--a brother that seems so real to him as to be an actual person. As the boys navigate childhood, they find out that their dad has a secret (or secrets) of his own. Part II was much less linear, and I had a harder time tracking the story, but was still hanging in there. I won't give any spoilers here. By the time Part III came around, I just hated it. I did finish it, but won't be looking for any other books by this author.

Lynne Truss is in despair over the fading away of proper punctuation, and I don't blame her. Being a bit of a stodge myself, I often critique signs for their over- (or under-) use of those mysterious symbols on the keyboard. She's a great writer, and humorously educates the reader, or tries to, anyway. A fun and quick read for proud nerds.

I was eager to hear the "science behind the fables", as blurbed on the cover, but there was a lot of slogging to get to the point. The book is exhaustively researched, (and it exhausted me) but I guess I was looking for something a little lighter. I felt like I was walking through the studies with the scientists, and I think I'm more of a "bullet point" kinda person.

Oh my gosh--what a gem. I rationed myself to just one of these vignettes a day to make it last, but it still didn't last long enough. In a time filled with strife and fractious relationships, this will restore your faith in the general goodness of people of all kinds.

The first thing I learned from this non-fiction book is that I don't want to be in the Iditarod, be a spectator at the Iditarod, or most importantly, volunteer as a vet at the Iditarod, as the author has, multiple times. But from my comfy poolside chair, I sure did learn a lot about that grueling race and what it takes to keep the dogs healthy. I found it fascinating. But I still don't wanna go.

Author David Litt, like so many others, felt adrift during the pandemic, so decided to do something drastic. Like learn to surf. In his 30s. Alongside his personal crisis, he was trying to make some kind of connection with his brother-in-law, a fellow surfer, who happened to subscribe to many of the things which repelled David. This book is so well written, and braids together the challenges of tackling something new and difficult, trying to find common ground in a loving way, and the effect the Covid era had on most of us. I laughed a lot, and yet it made me really think.

Spending her earliest years in a cult, Guinevere rarely saw her mother and was raised communally. She strove to be "good", make the adults in charge happy, and to follow the rules. But in Melvin Lyman's "The Family", whims could bring about castigation, isolation and worse, and often did. When girls were 13, they were selected as "junior wives" for the older men, with all that that entailed. Misogyny was the day-to-day norm. After proving herself helpful to the daughter of the cult leader and his current paramour, Guinevere found herself in the upper echelon of the cult hierarchy, traveling with the elite tier and living a very different life than she had before. All of that changed when her mother lost favor with the powers that be, and Guinevere's nuclear family was ousted completely from The Family--along with her mom's boyfriend. Thus, a new and horrific chapter in her life began. This book is a real page-turner, and kept me hooked to the end.

Born female in a very Christian culture, author Shannon T. L. Kearns relates his experience through the feelings of "otherness" while trying to fit in as a child, then adolescent, and finally young adult pursuing a position as a pastor. His realization that he actually identified as a man, and then ultimately acting on that knowledge is the crux of this book. I commend Kearns for making hard decisions and remaining kind in the process (or at least it seems so in the book). Spoiler alert: I would say that his lack of understanding as to why his wife was less than enthusiastic about his gender change rankled with me a bit. It seems logical that if one is a lesbian, which is how the couple identified when they married, one of them wouldn't be excited about suddenly being married to a man. Right? So while I felt his handling of his mom and his faith (remarkable, really) were kind and sensitive, he did seem to have a gigantic blind spot when it came to his marriage. I also thought there would be more scriptural "meat" bolstering the notion that the bible is often misinterpreted when it comes to issues of gender/sexual fluidity. There is a reading list and he did put his spin on a few passages, but it was lighter in that area than I had expected.

Wow. Author Lisa Belkin deftly tells the story of three families, from their "old country" origins four generations back, to their adopted home, the United States. Three men were ultimately involved in a murder, and we wonder as the book winds its way along, which will be which. I find that some authors include way too much superfluous material about characters, rendering the story mind-numbing and hard to read. Maybe to prove they did the research? Maybe to make the book longer? I don't know, but this book is not that, be assured. Although she fleshes out the family members, it's interesting and helps one "know" their stories and what made them tick. As this book was nearing its dramatic conclusion, I was still unsure of the outcome and as tense as if I were reading a hot summer mystery. The absolute cherry on top is that the author is actually related to one of the characters. Wanna find out which one? Read it!

Pauline Harmange remembers the difficult decision she (and her partner) made to terminate a pregnancy in this small but potent book. Her experience led her to tell not only her own story but those of other women. The result is, as one who thinks may expect, that one can feel conflicting emotions at the same time. And that despite sadness over what might have been, sometimes people are hanging on by a thread and a baby would break the tenuous hold one has on sanity and/or stability. The stories told here are raw and emotional, and definitely gave me something to think about. Just because it may have been the right decision at that time, it doesn't mean it's ever "over" for the woman (or man) involved.

Local Niles resident, Rick Burgess relates some of his most incredible memories in this self-published memoir. From his childhood tales of cozy community camaraderie to the airwaves to aeronautical dramas, he's lived a full life. Honestly, it makes me feel more than a little boring . . .