This book, Virginia 1619, SLAVERY & FREEDOM in the Making of English America (their emphasis, not mine) sounds like it would tell one a lot about how that whole slavery thing got going. It's actually a series of essays on different topics regarding this time and place. To me, (and I sure don't claim to be a scholar, by any means, but still, I can read) it read more like a defense of how hard everyone tried to make a real go of things before they resulted to slavery. Bad luck, unscrupulous leadership, battles with native peoples all made the endeavor full of pitfalls and a money pit, that is, until tobacco made its appearance. And we all know what happened then. Perhaps I missed something? But there was really only one chapter that seemed to address this topic slapped across the front of the cover, and that one was more like what I'd expected. Well researched, but left me a little flat.

This sounded like an important piece of the American history of slavery, so I asked for this book as a gift. Holy mackerel. What a slog. Here's an actual excerpt, chosen (mostly) at random: 'The captives landed in Havana in 1628 on the San Pedro numbered 230 piezas de esclavos but were evaluated as 142 piessas de pago. Most were young boys and girls whose value was estimated to be two-thirds or one-half that of an adult; mothers and infants were assessed jointly as 1 pieza de pago. Likewise, when a slave ship disembarked 16 "young and old" West Central Africans in Santo Domingo in 1631, they were evaluated as 10.5 piezas. Another ship arriving in Cuba in 1639 similarly landed 310 captives, eval- uated as 175.5 piezas; amonth them were 80 captives described as bambos or nursing infants for whom no import fees were paid. Following the arrival of a different slave ship in Santo Domingo from Angola in 1633, the ship- master's legal representative argued that the voyage did not bring any more captives than his registration papers specified, if their numbers were "reduced to piezas de Indias, as is customary." ' Riveted yet? Honestly, not until the very last chapter (and that starts on page 253, mind you) did I even understand what perspective the author had on slavery at all. What came to mind as I strugged through this doctoral project (every dissertation does not a good book make, David) was a comparison between, say, wandering through a Target store, taking in all the colors, shapes, and displays, and reading the packing list from the warehouse. Good research, and really pretty cover. The last chapter recaps the book, so if you're interested, may I suggest saving your time and just reading that?

I guess I was looking for some kind of overview of the RNC story arc over the last few decades, and the eventual January 6 race riot? Insurrection? Invasion? No matter --this book was definitely not that. What was it, you ask? That's harder. A slog. A weirdly paced narrative of the Republican party's drama, with some portions agonizingly detailed (meaninglessly so, to me), and others oddly skipped over. I found myself paging back to see if I'd missed something, but no, in fact, I hadn't. The author just glosses over some things that to me seem important markers (like, for example, the fact that 45 won the election), while dwelling interminably on other aspects of the goings-on behind closed doors. I'd hoped there would be some kind of recommendation, hope, something. But no, it was just a giant downer. Ultimately, I was counting the pages until I was finished, and this will not be a book I keep.

This is a book about all manner of bad behavior. Not burping in public, or forgetting to thank someone for a gift . . . nope, this is the real deal. In a series of loosely connected chapters, Myriam enlightens the reader regarding some well-known creeps, tells her own personal stories of creeps who have had a deep impact on her life, and the plain old creepiness of culture. Her writing style is unique and took me a while to grasp, but her intellect is sharp as a stiletto. You definitely need another book to lull you to sleep, but this one is worth a read.

Who knew? This book tells the story of Dick Williams and Karl Behr, both passengers on the Titanic and survivors of the disaster. Both rising tennis stars, they met briefly on the ill-fated ship, again after they were rescued on the Carpathia, and much later as opponents on the court. I'm sure there's some literary license at play here, but the author did her research also and includes the angst of restlessness, guilt, and depression, all in a time prior to the realization that feelings are not flaws. The book moves right along and was quite heartwarming, along with the heartbreak, of course. Theirs seemed to be a friendly kind of rivalry, as they had played a game together with much higher stakes, after all. I loved it.

This one started out okay, then quickly devolved into an exercise in eye-rolling. I liked the protagonist until I really, really didn't. The premise of the book is that everyone she dates (swipes), ends up dead. Enter the loveable detective and the chase is afoot. The problem arises when our main girl cannot, to save her life, follow the simplest of directions or tell the dang truth. Furthermore, I guessed the killer (easily), and that was the icing on the soggy cake for me. It was definitely a quick read, but I won't be looking for more by this author.

I've read lots of the hard-hitting books on race, and they have all been good. Really good. Thought-provoking, life-changing, and shelf-worthy keepers, all of them. But at the end, I'm still left with a flailing, floating sense of "Okay, but why?" After reading Caste , that question has been answered for me. I think it's one of the best books I've ever read on the topic of race, and probably one of the best books I've ever read, period. While most of these most talked-about books are good, they are sometimes a bit hard to digest, not just because of the subject matter, but because they are such a deep dive. Somehow, Isabel is so dang smart and such a fantastic writer, that she made this horrific topic readable. I plowed right through that book, marking passages, pages, thoughts--and I never ever do that. I would read it again. There were so many times I actually stopped and gasped that people around me stopped reacting. This book should be required reading in every school and for every elected official in this country. I will keep it, have recommended it dozens of times already, and am immensely grateful for her efforts to educate the masses, despite the pain she was experiencing through the process of writing a book about such a laden topic. She is wise and brilliant. Read it.

Heidi is the interim sheriff in hardscrabble Bad Axe County, where locals know the way and ways of the terrain and folks. And tradition, as well as loyalties, run deep. A girl is missing, and as Heidi tries to solve that case, she finds overlapping references to her own trauma--the murder of her parents when she was a teenage "Dairy Queen", doing the rounds and representing. As both cases unravel, Heidi begins to uncover some secrets that seem impossible to face. I loved the heroines, and author John Galligan does a good job writing from a woman's perspective.

I love Dave Barry. He doesn't take himself, or his readers, too seriously, and the result is a fun ride. This book was no exception. I find in his books, good guys win, bad guys lose, and there's a lot of silliness along the way, with enough grit to keep things real-ish. In his latest, there's Jesse, a new mom, stuck in the Everglades with her hot but useless boyfriend and his leering friend. While they're trying to make it big with videos of her baby-daddy's body, she stumbles on something unexpected, and sets into action a dangerous chain of events. A great escape read.

This book opens with morgue scene, and a wife identifying the body of her husband. From that point on, the chapters are from the perspectives of the different characters in the story. Still, the protagonist is the woman, Sophie, who is the hub connecting the three men and various women in her life. From that first chapter, when I was sympathetic toward her, I gradually but completely came to abhor her. While I was interested to know the outcome of the mystery, I really didn't like Sophie at all. I'm probably not supposed to, but if I don't like the main character, it's hard for me to invest in the book.

Author Alec Wilkinson needed a temporary job, and got one with the Wellfleet Police Department on Cape Cod. Apparently in the 1970s one didn't need any kind of special training, a police academy certificate, gun knowledge, etc. to be issued a squad car and a gun. Frightening, really, but luckily Alec was a peace-lover and most of his encounters were more slapstick than hazardous. He does a good job with his remembrances, and you can feel the loneliness, boredom, and uniqueness of working that night shift in a small town.

Lauren charms again, with this newest, chatty book about, well, stuff. Her style is so infectious, and although one may argue that the book meanders at times, I think it takes a great writer to do that as if a conversation is happening, (which real conversations do, in fact, do) and still keep the reader engaged. I'll read anything she writes--she makes me want to be her neighbor!