If you are a non-Muslim American, this book will work your empathetic muscles. Told from a variety of ISIS women‘s stories, you are taken on a journey from their religious beginnings to how they ended up in ISIS territory. It was possible to detest them AND have sympathy for them. I learned a lot of history and about Islam. Very good read but it makes me even MORE worried about the refugee camps and how we treat people who are different.

I‘d give this a higher rating if the information in here didn‘t completely piss me off😜. I‘m a strong supporter of the Green New Deal and this collection of essays gave me some new anecdotes to include in my tirades of why we should support it. However, this book doesn‘t delve into the matter deeply, but gives strong reasons to support a major investment into our future.

Ironically I read a book about the TCHS, then follow it up with this endearing book about Albom‘s love for his adopted daughter. Quick, poignant read with plenty of sentimental observations. Loved the parts about Haiti and the orphanage he runs.

Admittedly, I hadn‘t read the “Before You Were Ours” and no background of the TCHS. The stories were sad but society‘s disapproval of pregnant single and poor women were just as sad. (Tann sounds like a horrible person, however.) This one just didn‘t do it for me.

I loved this collection of Olive and others (especially the connection to Amy and Isabelle!) Strout is one of my favorite authors and she doesn‘t disappoint here either! Great quotes and layered characters makes this a solid pick.

This book gave me great tips as to how to shake surveillance, develop an alias, and burn documents if needed. I thought the training in the CIA was so interesting and her humanity and portfolio of work was something to be deeply respected. I‘d love to travel the world as Fox did and enjoyed many parts of reading about her life, but couldn‘t connect with other portions.

“Denying darkness does not bring anyone closer to the light.” If you want to peer into an honest, raw, eloquent, heart breaking, inspiring, bad ass, vulnerable soul, this memoir is a good choice. I hope Miller writes more, about any topic, because she is observant, articulate and strong.

I feel smarter. And, if I could just remember all the amazing tidbits about our body systems and scientists, I‘d DOMINATE in trivia. Regardless, I loved this book, laughed frequently, and would welcome getting a beer with Bill Bryson at his earliest convenience. Fun, nerdy, and entertaining....perfection.

This one is a mix of multiple story lines that enables it to be fast paced and engaging. Farrow chronicles his investigation into Weinstein at NBC and The New Yorker. When this tale is told, the book is about women standing up to powerful men who assaulted them, journalism, and spies. Most of the book is about how stories are killed by those with power (trump, lauer, Weinstein) which is frightening. Farrow is a skilled writer. Great book!

Although I may not agree with every point he makes, Snowden makes me think about my rights, privacy, national security, heroes, and tech like no other. Written in a manner than translates the tech so one can understand how truly terrifying mass surveillance is, Snowden draws you in. Saying you don‘t have anything to hide means that you don‘t need privacy is like saying you don‘t have anything to say so you don‘t need free speech. Well done.

This is a great read. Albeit I am already interested in the price and importance of college, I found the data concerning Ivy League vs state schools, ACT/SAT test prep, first generation and minority student achievement, and admissions procedures utterly fascinating. There is so much to think and talk about that I‘d consider this nonfiction book a perfect book club read. The admissions strategy alone makes this one of my favorites of the year.

I love reading Patchett. Once again, she delivers on a character driven, engaging book with relatable, flawed, funny characters. Told by Danny, this book focuses on a sibling relationship that spans decades. I don‘t agree with every decision the characters made nor Patchett‘s decisions as an author, but I love her style and technique that I will read every book she writes😁.

This is a pairing of The Golem and The Jinni and The Nightingale. Based in WWII, Germany and France, this novel tells the story of a few main characters. It‘s clear that Hoffman did her research, and I loved the creativity of a golem in the Holocaust, resistance fighters, and survival decisions and costs that were told. Good book!

I love Coates as a writer. I loved the beautiful way he can tell horrific events and create more empathy for an entire group of people through his prose. The systematic horror of slavery was well written but I felt as soon as the magical realism entered the story, it was repetitive and I lost interest. Perhaps Coates wanted to showcase the value of the supernatural/magic to slaves, but it didn‘t work for me. Soft pick.

I enjoyed this book as it analyzes online writing and the evolution of how we communicate on the internet. I thought the parallels between postcard writing and twitter/texting were interesting. The information about when you joined the internet world and why you used it was fascinating sociology. I liked it, and liked her tone and use of humor.

Super interesting book about migrants, immigration, and the families in the native country. The research about the global impact of the country employee and the country receiving remittances changed my mind about how to deal with impoverished nations. Plus, the data about how highly skilled employees migrating positively affecting multiple countries, strategies nations use to keep “others” out, and one family‘s story was so interesting!

The most vulnerable, heart wrenching, exquisitely written book about the grief of losing a child to an accident. Read by the author, this audiobook details the journey of grief. It made me so very thankful for the busyness of my two children and in awe of Greene‘s bravery in telling his family‘s story in such beautiful, brutal honesty.

I loved this book. I loved the voice of the main character, the whimsical writing, and the witty observations of the highs and lows of Abi‘s life. I want to be friends with Abi, and the descriptions of 5 year old boy vocabulary was wonderful. Although there are sad portions, this book filled me with such joy as I read it.

I feel like this book is a misnomer.... it was more about how difficult it is to spot lying. I love his interesting vignettes, but some were really tangential. He makes me think, I disagreed on a number of connections, but was entertained. I liked: spies, blackout science, Friends, Knox sections. Didn‘t like: Sandusky, Turner, KSM, and policing sections. This one was a bit off for me but still enjoy his podcast!

It probably won‘t grace the high school syllabuses like it‘s predecessor does, but it‘s entertaining and page turning. Build of suspense, characters, Gilead‘s dysfunction are all included, with the audience questioning how a society could be this corrupt but without the means to stop it. I hope to write like Atwood when I am 70😜.

Absolutely loved this book! A wide ranging interview with Howard Zinn and his analysis of US History, true heroes, and glossed over events in America‘s history. Oddly uplifting, the message is in the power of people to organize and hold government to its ideals (since they won‘t do it themselves) and the power of truth. Recommended for every citizen!

Fitting quote for the youth demonstrating around the world today....🌎💪

Fun book exploring absurd solutions to everyday problems. Solid science was written in a witty, light manner, with math equations on the side. Comics are funny and nerdy. Great author!

This book about the siege of Daraya (outside of Damascus) and the secret library was the most inspiring books I‘ve read this year. It has so much pain and destruction, yet the BBC reporting of the founders of the underground library was so hopeful. Reading about how the citizens of Daraya banded together to endure a 4 year siege, establish schools, and cultivated knowledge, reinforced the belief that knowledge is resistance to oppression.

Fantastic collection of short stories and one well written novella. Great quotes, characters and plot smashed into a few pages of each story. Orner‘s character‘s dialogue is punchy, accurate and fun to read. If you like collections of short stories, this book comes highly recommended😁.

I like multiple POV novels, and this one had the unique twist of a POV of a mentioned character in the chapter prior that gave insight of the main character. I didn‘t especially like Maddie Schwartz but it was an entertaining book. Light and quick read.

A collection of essays by Arab women journalists from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia, this book gives such an unique perspective into each of these countries and the life of a journalist. It also made motivated to subscribe to the NYT to support the journalists who put their lives on the line so that we can learn the truth of our world. Wonderful, inspiring, harrowing read.

This book allows the reader to play the game of “Who is lying the least to me?” as a legal drama unfolds. Liked the multiple POVs that allowed the reader to piece together the events, choices, and consequences for all involved.

Great book. Kendi uses his life to walk us through each area of racism- biology, culture, behavior, color, space, gender, class, etc- and it‘s racist and antiracist policies. The idea of focusing on removing racist policies and voting for antiracist policy makers resonated for me. Gave me a lot to think about and I respect Kendi‘s vulnerability to discuss his mistakes and triumphs.

Very light reading. Novel about the women in a family during the summer of ‘69. Historical events are woven into the story but not really the focus. If you are looking for a light read, this is a good choice. If not, pass.

It‘s one thing to read about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII, but this beautiful graphic novel has you see and feel it. Heart string pulling beginning of his adoration of his parents, and Takei concludes with a patriotic call out of current wrongs of this administration. Beautifully told.

Novel depicts three intertwining characters in post apartheid Africa. I loved that the character development drove this novel rather and the political events of South Africa as a backdrop. I really liked each character which is remarkable as they were so very different. Well written and engaging,

Simply put, this book kicks ass. It‘s a cross between The Time Traveler‘s Wife, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Ready Player One. Loved the pace of events, mind bending science, and the main characters.

Loved the references to Denver (pic of the foothills with Denver below)

I‘m rounding this one up to 5/5 stars. Part history of Korea, psychology, and story telling of 6 families of North Koreans, this book is really interesting. Explaining how Korea was split, what life is like for different classes of Koreans, the famine, humanitarian aid, propaganda, defection, romance, medicine, and spies, this book has something for everyone. Well written and engaging!

Trying to get my head ready to start my 21st year (!) of teaching middle schoolers. Good tips, good reminders, and added some components that complemented my RJ training this past year. Building empathy is essential for all kids. Quick read, good strategies, but I‘d love to see data. Great intro to restorative justice in schools and easy structure to the book.

This is completely event driven book. Although I liked the two sisters POV, with so many events occurring in the book, it felt as though we were just moving from one thing to another without spending some time to develop characters. This could have been a great read but needed more restraint- either 1 sister POV, 1/2 as many traumatic events, or 150 more pages. Or, I just need to focus on my TBR pile and not attempt mass market books.

This book is a slow boil, with each section gaining speed as you read. The first portion describes the murder and fraud of The Reverend, the second portion tells the story of the defense lawyer, and the third details Harper Lee‘s life and her research into the first two parts of this book into her own true crime novel. The Harper Lee portion of the book was difficult to put down and makes me want to reread TKAM and In Cold Blood again.

Short yet powerful, this book is about way more than a reform school for boys. Whitehead‘s a master of using brilliant language to evoke just enough for the reader to use their empathetic muscles to feel the book. I liked this one more than the Underground Railroad and highly recommend this book!

Novel that has multiple POV, characters with depth, many plot lines, and good writing. Enjoyable, long, and engaging, this book was a great excuse to put off chores and immerse oneself into some serious family drama.

Quick, empowering read of the benefits of investing in womens‘ voices, choices, and education. Throughout many diverse stories of Gates travels around the world, we can see the uplift of villages, societies, and cultures when women are seen as equals. I loved the focus of the importance of men to be an ally- as it improves their life significantly as well. Gates is a good, not great, writer.

This is complicated. Stallworth is a 5 star person, the events 5 star, but the writing of the story was a soft 3 stars. (If nothing else this shows the gift of storytelling Spike Lee has.) The story of how a black cop can infiltrate the KKK is fun, albeit disturbing as the lines of beliefs seem to be repeated by many currently. The book itself has such potential as a great book and is a quick read but is not well written. Glad I read it!

Vuong is an exceptional writer and strings together beautiful passages in the midst of the characters‘ trauma. The book covers a lot of anguish throughout the novel, and if the writing wouldn‘t have been so wonderfully done, it would have been hard to make it through the book. Not my favorite of the year, but well done nonetheless.

This was quite the display of drama, and I couldn‘t put it down. I‘m not sure exactly what happened, I didn‘t really like the characters, but I‘m glad I read it for reasons I don‘t even know. It‘s been compared to Asymmetry, which I loved, and I don‘t think it was as good. Entertaining in a “these characters are a train wreck” sort of way...

This was a monster of a book! Well researched and thorough, Blight delivers an impeccable biography of Douglas- who‘s words are still applicable. You could learn almost everything about American history through reading about Douglas‘s life: slavery, compromises to keep the Union, fugitives, politics, Civil War, Lincoln, suffrage (women‘s and blacks), corruption, political system, affirmative action, Reconstruction, civil rights, lynchings, etc.

This book is about the lives of the 5 women who were killed by Jack the Ripper. Extensively researched, the author tracks each victim‘s life from her birth to night of death. (No gruesome descriptions of the murders.) Interesting historical lesson of London in 1870-1880‘s, themes of poverty, education, equity, domestic violence, and the plight of women in a lower class. Good read!

Absolutely horrifying, this book is a compilation of many interviews Alexievich conducted of children of WWII. I love this style of telling the story, but through the memories of children what is said and inferred is heartbreaking. However, I don‘t know of a single WWII book that would make one more compassionate to those who are present day refugees than reading the terror of living through war and the lasting impact of it on past children.

Really creative short stories that take a slight detour on the natural world. Well written, interesting but was not my favorite collection. Definitely will read this author again, but these just were a bit too supernatural for me!

If this was written by a lesser author, I‘d have read 25 pages and hated it. I adored the frivolous, wealthy, hard drinking, promiscuous main character(s), the exploits, the growth of her character, etc. Humorous, long, bubbly, and endearing, this book was a surprise to me of how much I loved it. Great lines by all characters- both hilarious and deeply introspective. Great summer read!

Great book following two complex characters- mother and daughter in the US and Jamaica. Well written, each character isn‘t perfect, but they maneuver through the consequences of the choices they made (and those around them) to grow and love themselves. Great summer read!

4.5 stars rounded up....really interesting and readable book detailing the implicit bias in society- how was established, the implications, and how it‘s measured. With a wide variety of anecdotes and cases, this book shows how pervasive bias is for all of us. Great book!