Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking by Leonard Mlodinow

 

If you've never read anything about this topic, this is fine. But there's nothing new here.

The Sentence by Louise Erdich

 

Lots of great stuff in here, but somehow I'm still conflicted as to whether I actually liked it.

Royal Valentine by Jenn McKinlay

 

This was epically bad. I only finished it for the same reason that people slow down to gawp at a car accident.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Ghosts in the Schoolyard by Eve L. Ewing

 

I didn't love all of this, but it also fundamentally changed the way that I think about "failing" schools.

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

 

Outstanding -- a great combination of fun story, interesting social commentary, and look at history/current events that was fresh. Recommended.

Seven Games by Oliver Roeder

 

This was fascinating. It was heavy on the ability of computers to play games, with interesting insights on what that means.

Losing Our Minds by Lucy Foulkes

 

This was very interesting; it raised some good questions about mental health.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty by Lauren Weisberger

 

This was fun.

Killer by Design by Ann Burgess

 

Burgess was one of the first criminal profilers, and this story is fascinating. 

Review copy provided by publisher.

When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger

 

This was great fun.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

 

This was dumb.

The Final Case by David Guterson

 

This was lame.

The Overstory by Richard Powers

 

The first half of this was magical; the second half was good.

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

 

I don't usually do YAL because it tends to be shallow and cliched, but this was fantastic. Highly recommended.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Last Resort by Andrew Lipstein

 

Clever plot, some clever dialogue, but just . . . not outstanding?

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Mitford Vanishing

 

I would describe this as "just OK." There are so many British mysteries that are so much better than this.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Hotel Portofino by J. P. O'Connell

 

Surprisingly good -- a nice choice for Downton Abbey fans.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Hush by Sara Foster

 

This was very interesting and well written.

Honor by Thrity Umrigar

 

This was fantastic. I need to see what else Umrigar has written.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

 

So I was deeply, deeply emotionally affected by this. I don't want to get into spoilers, but I would love to have someone to discuss this one with. There is a lot going on here.

A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib

 

This book seemed to be on every "best of" list, but I resisted reading it because I'm not super interested in music/culture criticism, but I finally picked it up, and it was well worth reading because the writing and insights are so, so good.

The Maid by Nita Prose

 

Very engaging, excellent characters, but the ending was a tad disappointing.

Deliberately Divided by Nancy Segal

 

Fascinating, although would have been better if 10% shorter.

The Mansion by Ezekiel Boone

 

I normally like Boone, and there were some interesting elements here, but this just didn't work for me.

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain

 

This was excellent, both on the level of mystery/suspense as well as social commentary. I don't want to give any spoilers, but I particularly appreciated how it handled the "white savior" issue.

Review copy provided by publisher.

A Dream to Die For by Susan Z. Ritz

 

I thought this was lame. I'm surprised I finished it.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

 

This was really interesting and well done.

Automating Inequality by Virginia Eubanks

 

This was fascinating and depressing.

Tell Me Lies by J. P. Pomare

 

This was very clever -- it's an interesting read.

What the F by Benjamin K. Bergen

 

This was fascinating and hilarious in general, although I thought the author should have been a bit more circumspect about how he treated slurs.

The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water by Erin Bartels

 

This was really clever and interesting, on many levels. It would be a great choice for book groups.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Technically Wrong by Sara Wachter-Boettcher

 

This is one of those books that everyone should read.

Do You Follow? by J. C. Bidonde

 

You know, this might strike some readers as way to Byzantine, but I thought it was clever and well done.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire

 

Some important ideas, some debatable ideas, some dated ideas.

Thick and Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom

 

Super-interesting and very readable.

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

 

I didn't love this. It just seemed implausible and yet also predictable.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The End of Genetics by David B. Goldstein

 

If you haven't read anything about recent advances in genetics and their implications, this is a good choice. But if you've read a few books on the topic, this won't break any new ground.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Ministry of Bodies by Seamus O'Mahoney

 

"I will make a list of everything that irritated me over my entire career and then publish it, with no transitions or overarching narratives, even if it makes me look like a grumpy old person who can't fathom change."

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson

 

Way too Byzantine.

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

So of course I had to read the second volume. It was decent.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

 

A good story, but I'm not sure how I feel about a mystery that is not solved by the end of the book -- not in some clever post-modern way, but just to set up the sequel.

The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones

 

This is one of those books everyone should read. While there's certainly room to dispute some specifics, the kind of criticism that this book has received leaves me baffled.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

 

Good, but didn't quite live up to the hype.

Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood

 

meh

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

 

I mean, kind of silly, but also kind of fun.

Crying in HMart by Michelle Zauner

 

This was decent, but not perhaps worthy of all of the critical acclaim.