So interesting, I should have learned more Russian history. This story of the Romanov children, especially the next-in-line tsar who suffered from hemophilia, was great historical fiction. Fascinating.

Great story about a girl finding her way in the off-off Broadway world of theater. Loved it.

I loved this book. Very real characters and portrait of the western Plains. Lovely.

Published in 1969, I read this in college in about 1985. They re-read shows it is still relevant, even if some cultural references are a little outdated. Social norms for woman around marriage, loss of self, self-abnegation...things haven‘t changed that much. A classic.

She‘s back and as bad as ever. Having just re-read the first Olive, it was fun to see how she worked in characters from the first book as well as others (Burgess Boys, Amy and Isabelle). So satisfying to read this sequel. “I do not have a clue who I have been. Truthfully, I do not understand a thing.”

This was a re-read for me. Olive is awful and yet so human. Loved to read these stories and think about what would come in the sequel.

A dear friend bought this book for me...I guess she thought I needed to find my true direction. It was fun to read, reminds me that I deserve a stay at Esalen!

Aaaarghh, so much to do and so little time. Must stop eating animal stuff, beef is the worst but cheese comes in (a distant) second. Must do more. Great book.

Heard this author on the radio. She led a life of poverty in bad neighborhoods with drug-addicted and neglectful parents, yet somehow managed to survive it and write a book. It was too much for me and I bailed halfway through.

Admit I had to push my way to the end of this. While it is supposed to be based on some historical event, I‘m not sure what it is—camels in the American West?

Great follow on to the Underground Railroad, this one about a reform school in Florida, based on history. Terrifying, infuriating, fascinating.

I love everything I‘ve read by Lisa See. This sequel to Shanghai Girls was so revelatory about the Cultural Revolution and the mass starvation in the countryside. Amazing.

How could it be better than The Handmaids Tale? And yet, it was. Wrapped up the loose ends, a reminder that the crazy religious people can be beaten. Viva Margaret Atwood.

Loved it, couldn‘t be more timely. I wish I could keep her many insights in my head. The rare book that I wish I had bought.

This was hard to read. A compelling story about the mistake of keeping a baby as a teenage mom and not having the ability or desire to relocate to a place where she can earn a living. Makes me sympathetic to all these women and grateful.

What more to say? I re-read this in advance of reading The Testaments. It remains one of my favorite books ever-scary, feminist, out there but not really. Fantastic.

I wanted to read this after seeing the author speak. An interesting take on sustainability—how food tastes. Glad to add it to my repertoire

Really fun book about cultural connections in England between two widowers. The “last stand” turns out to be something different than you think is coming. Wonderful.

Definitely should have given this one more time, and I would if the library weren‘t demanding it back. Note to self: study Buddhism.

Another terrific book by this author, reminding me that I know next to nothing about Korea. Loved it.

Story of an over-privileged and vapid poet/mother in Bethesda (!) who adopts the baby of her African American nanny, who has died in childbirth. Nice story but implausible, and hard to love the poorly-developed main character. I enjoyed it but it‘s not memorable.

I must have seen this on a “summer‘s best reads” list. Didn‘t grab me at the start and I bailed. Maybe give it a try later.

I loved this book about self-reflection and being a 50+ woman. It came at the right time for me!

Amazing book about the AIDS crisis and the devastation to the gay community. While Reagan and the homophobic US looked the other way. Unforgettable.

Funny story, surprisingly soft-core poem stories included! Thoroughly entertaining.

I loved this book, hated for it to end. Two parallel stories about a girl who is the scribe for a blind rabbi in London in the 1600s and the researchers who find the writings. So many things I didn‘t know about Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, the plague, etc. Just terrific.

Terrific story of a California girl living in NC who marries an older guy from Libya. Unsentimental look at a cross-cultural relationship and marriage. Couldn‘t put it down.

I probably read this at the wrong time and might enjoy it another time. Indian guy comes to New York for grad school. This is the story of his girlfriends. Didn‘t finish.

Really fun story about people in a small town largely held together by a woman who runs baking classes. Very light read, in fact I read it all in one afternoon. Delightful.

Timely story of a Mexican immigrant whose son (“the Lucky Boy”) is our in foster care when she‘s detained. Couldn‘t put it down. I wish the female characters had been a bit more developed as I wasn‘t that invested in the outcome, but the ending was satisfying. Another reminder how lucky I am.

This book is about a minister and his wife who are stationed in the Outer Hebrides, on the island of Hirta. I didn‘t love the book — felt too much like something I‘ve already read — but did enjoy the geography lesson. Skimmed to the end.

Delightful, sort of a woman who assigns her closest friends something they are reluctant to do. Charming.

Hilarious, boundary-pushing, like always. Peruvian businessman blackmailed over photos of his orgy; meanwhile his wife is having an affair with her best friend.

Bought this in the Hong Kong airport. A parallel tale of two people who go to Israel: one a young mom/author, maybe searching for her next book, the other an older retired lawyer, searching for meaning or something. It was ok but had I had anything I liked better, I would have probably ditched. The parallel stories never joined, odd.

I love Latin American fiction but this didn‘t grab me. Probably my fault for being too distracted to ever give it some time. Vow to try again when I‘m in a better space.

Maybe I wasn‘t ready for this but just couldn‘t connect. Weird story of two teenagers left in the care of a guy they call “The Mole.” Left halfway.

Terrific historical fiction about Mary Treat, Darwinism, contrasted with our current know-nothing environment. A big dose of Charles V Riley thrown in! Loved it.

This was good. 10% of girls died from foot binding. It seems unthinkable today. I read this as part of my China-trip prep and thank God that I was born when and where I was.

Terrific. Amazing reporting about the Osage tribe that was the worlds richest people in the 1920s.

Amazing, unforgettable story of a marriage after the husband is wrongfully incarcerated in Louisiana. Deserves all its accolades. Raced to the end and now so sad it‘s done.

This one was kind of random, about the relationship between a mom and her “sitter.” The sitter is kind of nutty, trying to replicate her own mom; the employer has a mute son with his own issues. Enjoyed it though.

Fun story of a Congressional intern who gets outed for having an affair with her boss and takes the fall, while he doesn‘t. She reinvents herself, only to have her daughter find out. Funny, so familiar.

This book is a keeper, about a guy who returns home after working as a nurse in assorted humanitarian crises. He needs to help with his elderly aunt and parent-less nephew. I enjoyed it all the way to the end.

Story of two Chinese American sisters, one is mentally ill. I found it a little slow but still enjoyable and absolutely wanted to finish. How to help someone who doesn‘t want to be helped?

Terrific! A little slow to get started (maybe it was just me) but I ended up racing to the ending. Parallel story of an unhappy girl in Japan and her relationships with her Buddhist nun great-aunt and suicidal father and an author, her husband and cat (Pesto) on an island off Canada. Want to go to Japan.

Haven‘t read a Stephen King book in years. This one caught my attention, not too scary, more of a mystery-thriller. I was not disappointed; it was fun to read and I blew through it in a few days. Somehow “the outsider” is able to turn himself into another person, so that he can kill and mutilate children while his “twin” takes the blame.

I loved “I Don‘t Know How She Does It” and awaited this eagerly. Alas it did not speak to me and I only made it to page 73. The writing is witty and the problems (teenage sexting, supporting the family while the husband finds himself) are timely for this stage of my life. Whoever thought that 11-point font is a good idea for a middle-aged audience made a big mistake. I could hardly read it by nightlight and I bailed. Maybe another time.

Charming story of an older man who walks across England to see a dying ex-coworker. Along the way he (and his wife) come to terms with their son‘s death, their relationship and themselves. Lovely and memorable.

Charming story of a writer named Arthur Less who goes on a round-the-world trip so as to miss his boyfriend‘s wedding. By the author of “Story of a Marriage.”

Such a delightful story of an older man taking a girl to her relatives after being rescued from captivity by the Kiowa Indians. Kep-dun and Joanna are so memorable, I hated for it to end.