Love, paint, love

I‘m thoroughly enjoying this book!

A story needing to be told. A disturbing look into the trial and execution. No matter how bad a person, there is humanity to be found. The impact this had on the men who guarded and got to know him is gut-wrenching: the complexity of the human spirit and how our soldiers are harmed by war in expected and unexpected ways. If you can read this book without shedding a tear for Hussein and the men with him in his final days, you have a hard heart.

Really excellent page turner! Scott the painter rescues a little boy following a plane crash. Investigator Gus spends the rest of the book weaving all the stories and pieces together, ultimately solving the mystery of why the plane went down. Reveals lots of other interesting things along the way. Great book!!!

Such a great read! Joona Linna is a great character. The plot is compelling and the pace is great. Excellent page-turner!

Ok but just didn't capture me...too bad because the characters had a lot of promise, but the story somehow didn't go deep enough to suck me in...

Enjoyed reliving the late 80s and 90s through the eyes of Moby. I had glimpses into that scene but it was always too loud and drug ridden for me to feel comfortable. I enjoyed Moby's story more when it focused on his sober years and experience in the music industry. Could have done without many of the stories of his intoxicated years.

Interesting material but I ended up skimming a bunch of it. I'm a lawyer but prefer lighter fare in my free time!

Three of my favorite books for kids...looking forward to reading/re-reading with my youngest!

Interesting idea and creative approach to mental illness, but the characters and plot were not compelling. I would have preferred the story if the kids really did have super powers!

This turned out to be a quick, charming read. Gatewood is an inspiration...a survivor and a walker. Favorite quote: "'What is it with old people and mountains?'...That's a fine question."

Oddly fun memoir. Science-y types will love it. Endearing descriptions of plants. Unique life story of struggles to become a scientist, mental health challenges, and unusual but lovely friendship with lifelong friend and colleague Bill.

Fun read! Set in Scotland, which I love. Recommended by a friend. Looking forward to the next book and the TV show as well!

This memoir is part sweet tribute to beloved parents, part painful journey through Hodgman's life, as he struggles to accept and love himself. Growing up he knows from an early age that he is gay, different, doesn't fit in. He picks up self-destructive behaviors, always jokes about everything, too much self-deprecating language, a drug habit he eventually kicks. Sad because he seems so sweet. Is it really so hard to love yourself? Apparently.

I haven't read this yet, and my sister-in-law asked me:
"Have you read the New Jim Crow? I am thinking of using it in my classes, but it may be a bit too hard for my students. I was wondering if you knew of a shorter, more accessible piece that makes the same argument. Or a piece that connects the problems in the judicial system with the problems in foster care..I want students to see the interconnections between institutions."
Suggestions?

A sad and lovely book. About all the mistakes we make and how we somehow pick ourselves up and keep going.

I am completely captured by this book. The characters' voices are so unique and weave together to develop the tragic plot and set the novel firmly in place and time--the US in the 50s and the 70s--a commentary on race in America made so real through these absolutely believable characters.

Maybe not as funny as some of his books but still that unique perspective.

OMG, so funny!!!

Simon Rich is funny. I prefer his essays/short stories, but this little novel is a quick and silly read. And I thought my high school years were tough...

Good but not great. Interesting idea for the plot but it never quite pulled me in. I didn't really connect with any of the characters.

Move over Miss Eyre and Mr. Rochester, Miss Steele and Mr. Thornfield are in the house! This is a delightful book. Is Jane Steele a Dexter-like serial killer, or just a woman trying to make it in a man's world?

It's been awhile since I read a book in one sitting. Samantha is hard not to love. A little weird, a lot defensive, trying too hard or completely withdrawn. You walk with her through her grief over the loss of her father, but rejoice in her discovery of her family history, her mother, and yes, love.

A truly outstanding book. Brilliant writing and commentary...on James Brown, music in general, the American south, and race in the U.S.

Brilliant writing. As much a commentary on the south as a biography of James Brown. Wow.

If the title, table contents, and mind-blowing foreword don't hook you like they've hooked me, don't tell me...I don't want to know.

Oh, this beautiful beautiful book!

"He had barred himself from mourning because...Because he was alone, totally alone, with the burden of his love."

Soon Anna was surrounded by piles of books as a woman in a shoe shop might be surrounded by boxes. Perdu wanted Anna to feel like she was in a nest. He wanted her to sense the boundless possibilities offered by books. They would always be enough.

Such a beautiful passage...

...the novel still struck him as a kind of gazpacho that kept sloshing over the edge of the soup bowl.

There were candlesticks and whispering, full wineglasses and music. Dancing shadows on the wall, one of them tall, the other strikingly beautiful. There had been love in this room. Now there's only me.

Not so much an emptiness, but a gap between what was and what is, like air trapped between the seams of his soul.

I'm not loving all the jumping around from voice to voice, but the chapter I just read is narrated by Cam, who emerges as the most interesting character in this book and finally reveals the true evil the various factions will be fighting.

Funny, a tad disturbing, overall enjoyable book. Ignatius is strange and disgusting, but you can't help pulling for him and delighting in his happy ending. Sad about the author-killed himself at age 32. His mother found the manuscript, recognized its worth, and managed to get it published. Well done

Her brown wedgies squeaked with discount store defiance...