I love a good mystery, and one that can surprise me at the end is the absolute best. Unfortunately, although this book was well-written and moved along nicely, I figured out pretty early on. I would still recommend it for plot and writing.

From the revelation that the author's parents gave her the name "Austin" so she would "get the interview", this writer challenges the covert and just plain in-your-face racism that pervades every aspect of our society, including, sad to say, the Christian realm. I find her unshakable faith very inspiring, as I'm not sure I would have exhibited the same degree of dignity after being maligned time after time. She writes with candor and authority, and you just kinda want to know her to get her take on everything day to day.

A small Georgia town in 1938 is upended by a new teacher who takes her students in a new and eye-opening direction by introducing them to well, the world. Most townfolk are charmed, but not the KKK, who would prefer that she maintain the status quo. Well-written and captivating, I liked it so much I bought several for familiy members when I was halfway through.

As a lifetime risk taker, author Randall Sullivan decided in his seventh decade that the time was right to (try to) cross the Columbia River Bar. This confluence of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean has been the site of more shipwrecks than wrinkles on a 70 year old's face. He cajoled his old (and by "old" I mean longtime as well as also 70) friend Ray Thomas to accompany him on this--what shall we call it?--lark? suicide mission? voyage of self-discovery? Whatever the label, they were not only going to take on this devil in watery clothing but do it in a trimaran--one specially fitted with pedals, no less. As the story for their prep and search for the "perfect day" (to die?) unfolds, it is interspersed alternately with tales of far more seaworthy ships going down in the same spot, over and over and over, and with the unfortunate bonding backstories of both men having been raised by abusive fathers. It becomes more and more clear that these two men had a history of taking on increasingly difficult challenges, maybe to erase the challenge that couldn't be conquered--their own painful childhoods. If you like a true adventure story, tales of maritime derring-do (and death), and/or self-exploration, this book is a winner. And spoiler alert: they don't die.

Father: bus driver, fanatical history buff obsessed with the "bog people"--how they lived, and more pertinently, how some of them died. Can be unpredictable and volatile. Mother: meek, submissive, doesn't rock the boat. Silvie (daughter): teenage, yet dutiful, having been taught it's the better option. Professor: obvious history lover, being swept away by the experience. Peter, Dan: university students on this field trip. Like having a good time. Molly: university student who is free-spirited, rebellious, confident. This experiemental foray into living as the ancients did in northern England begins to become all too real as present blurs into past. The clash of the Silvie's naivete and the worldliness of the university students is blush-inducing and powerful. As the tension builds and the two elder men begin to reenact scenes from centuries ago, one wonders if everyone will be the same when they return home. Or will they return at all? Creepy.

Thanks, Bruce, for this breath of fresh air. Sometimes we just need a book that takes us away and feels like a belly scratch, and this is it. Liam and his beloved three dogs--Riggs, an Australian shepherd, Luna, a Jack Russell and Archie, a doodle puppy-- all get separated through unfortunate circumstances. Will the strong herding instinct of Riggs save the day? Or is it too late? You'll have to read it to find out! And I would if I were you. Besides the warm fuzzy aspect, this book really does make one think about how dogs see us, think about their days, etc. A great book all around.

This thoughtful book taught me a lot about the nature of human trafficking and how we have all probably been beneficiaries of someone else's bad fortune. The author references historical patterns of such importation of people for hard labor, but unfortunately the practice didn't end with the opening of the railroad. Folks we probably pass on the street every day have been trafficked for labor, and are often caught in a hamster wheel, afraid to go to the authorities for obvious reasons. Very insightful and honestly, discouraging.

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.