Everyone gets a string that tells you how long you‘ll live. Multiple storylines emerge as people come to terms with the ensuing decisions. Great premise and solid character development. The middle got a bit preachy in my opinion but the way the stories develop and intertwine kept me reading. Interesting way to reframe prejudice, and a different take on the question of what a life well lived really means.

But this is what humans have always done. We segment ourselves based on race or class or religion or whatever f&@$ing distinctions we decide to make up, and then we insist on treating each other differently.

Solid Koontz. First I‘ve read in awhile but the style and voice are very much the same as they always were. I appreciated the strong female characters in this one, and nice to see a fox instead of his normal dog as the grounding force. Plenty of suspense leading up to the monsters and a nice relaxing end after all the action. An easy and suspenseful read.

"Google Maps," Katie exaggerates, though mavbe not excessively, "are for the timid who need to see the world simplified in order to understand it. These maps are for those big, bold, pioneering souls who love complexity - explorers, adventurers, lovers of byways and alternate routes!"

She does not believe that any political ideology can shape society into a utopia. She knows that, instead, even the most earnest utopians always and everywhere create horrific dystopias.

She isn‘t a survivalist, but she intends to survive. She‘s not a prepper, though she makes preparations.

Great concept and some interesting plot lines. I had a very hard time getting into the story though until about half through. Downloaded the audiobook and doing a read along made me finish though. 50-80% I was all in, but the last 10% was strange again. Something still stuck with me enough that I plan to try book 2 of the trilogy. I do love all the slasher film trivia sprinkled in.

A woman comes home after her parents die to settle the estate with her brother. But the family estate includes more problems than she‘s prepared for.
I enjoy the humor and wit that comes with Hendrix‘s retro inspired horror. It‘s the perfect blend if you want scary but not too scary. This is more of a Chucky-in-a-dysfunctional-family drama than a haunted house book. A solid pick for me.

A fun romp through an alternate world full of Godzillas. The author wrote this as a quick fun change of pace after the pandemic. And it reads that way. It‘s a bit corny and predictable but a lot of fun.

Just picked this large print edition up from the library. Is the lack of page numbers a choice? Or a printing error?

While it helps to like video games, this is more a story of the complexities of friendship. Three friends build a game, and then a company. It‘s a story of what happens when friends become too invested in one another‘s lives, too dependent on one another for support, but don‘t actually know each other as well as they assume. It explores the ramifications of all the bad assumptions we make around other peoples‘ intentions. A solid pick for me.

She had thought she arrived. But life was always arriving. There was always another gate to pass through.

Stay warm tonight!

Fantastic and immersive trip through the opioid crisis, and what's it like to truly be poor in the country. Strong symbolism around the ocean/water provided a steady and bright canvas that allowed the characters to go dark and be confused as they found their way through their stories. So many great characters, including the mountain setting itself.

Cute little collection of science humor.

This just came up on my library holds! Very excited to get started on it.

I'm curious about the Buddy Reads on The Storygraph and decided to use this book to try it. If anyone's interested in joining me, I'm “outandabout“ over there. Let me know and I'll add you.

Beautifully written with a tense plot but somehow a relaxed pace, with a surprise ending. I enjoy historical fiction that doesn‘t worry so much about historical accuracy that the character development is lost. Interesting journey of a girl too young to be married off for political gain.

“The tigress didn't so much pace as pour herself, as if her very essence was molten, simmering, like the ooze from a volcano. It was hard to distinguish the bars of the cage from the dark, repeating stripes on the creature's fur. The animal was orange, burnished gold, fire made flesh; she was power and anger, she was vicious and exquisite;

Incredibly written, a troubled boy discovers his passed mother through her brain imprint, and his father struggles with how to work through it. Beautifully written and skillet plotted.

If Aly and I had been in charge, the luckiest thing in my life — the thing that kept me going when all the luck in the world went cold — would never have existed, not even in my wildest models.

Fun mother-daughter story about a college visit trip. There aren't many good stories about a professional single mother and a teenaged daughter. The mother in this is much more real. She struggles with her daughter but worries about her leaving. She doesn't fall in love with some random guy. She has her own friends and her own career, but worries that she handled parenting all wrong. The story was solid and funny. Recommended for parents of teens.

(Pic from authors note.)
This was extraordinary, heart wrenching, sometimes hard to read but always hard to put down. The personal story of a group of immigrants, with a mother and young son as the two central characters. Everyone is running from something but more importantly running toward a dream of a better, safer, more human existence in el norte. This is a story not to be forgotten as you watch and we struggle with immigration.

Thanksgiving has become the season of “when does Gamache get here”! Finished the audiobook in a few days. Great story, great narrator, and the hometown we all wish we had. Btw, the new tv series is okay too. But just okay.

So good I bought a copy after reading the library book.

This is such a long book and so rewarding. The characters were so well developed that I wanted to keep listening. I had the written version too so I could flip back and forth as my attention span demanded. I knew it was about the building of a church, but I didn‘t know that there would be villains and heros, peasants and royalty. Well worth the investment of 41 hours. Not sure I‘ll finish the series but I will get the dvd miniseries to relive it!

Many authors put you on a roller coaster, rolling you through the ups and downs of a story until the biggest drop and then a long coast to recover. This book is more like a drop tower, a slow crank upwards and then the exhilarating single huge drop of a climax at the end. You don‘t have much of a coast afterwards but all the storylines are sufficiently closed that you can imagine the rest. A solid suspense.

An unusual #vampire book. Someone‘s killing vampires. They enlist the help of a former spy to find the murderer. The spy‘s wife, a doctor when female doctors weren‘t normal, helps by researching property records and medical journals. Based mostly in London, there‘s a section where the spy and vampire visit the Paris vampires, including a jaunt through the catacombs to see the oldest vampire. Thoroughly entertaining October read!

Watching the Netflix series is so disappointing. It follows their story chronologically, which takes away so much of the character of the story, and makes the characters much less likable. It‘s watchable but a very different and less satisfying experience than the book.

Fabulous! I know nothing about tennis but that‘s not the point. This is a great coming-of-middle-age story about a woman who learns what‘s really important in life. Great characters and strong character development. I see lots of people say they really don‘t like Carrie so they stop reading. But that‘s the whole point! Carrie doesn‘t even always like Carrie but eventually, she figures it out. If you‘ve ever wanted to win something, you‘ll love it.

They wanted a woman whose eyes would tear up with gratitude, as if she owed them her victory, as if she owed them everything she had.

A cute story, if somewhat predictable. Old codger and young girl discover the meaning of life together and build a found family in a small town. In this one, the old codger is a bookstore owner on a small island in the Northeast somewhere, which makes it the perfect #vacationread or #beachread. Easy reading, interesting characters, fast-paced.

Easy listening audiobook for a roadtrip. The third in the Will Robie series, with plenty of action, good characters, and a brisk pace. The North Korean woman's upbringing in the camps was a little repetitive, but I understand why he pushed it so much. Great ending where all the storylines intersect for a satisfying conclusion.

As a child, you always assume that your parents are choosing to treat you a certain way, and that they fully understand how their behaviors affect you. This book goes through the aftermath of one teen‘s death, exposing the truth - that everyone has their own history, their own damages. That each of us brings to parenthood all the pains we had through our own childhood. Well written, well developed characters, heartbreaking book.

So good. A great blend of character development, fairy tale magic, and a driving plot. The audio was fantastic. King himself read a very short piece, well woven into the story. The narrator was perfect and brought the story to life. I‘ll miss this story world and all its princesses, commoners, monsters, and benevolent creatures.

I have a few long road trips and this is a perfect companion so far. But I‘m having a hard time stopping! Really enjoying it so far, about half way through.

A dying small town sheriff takes on a runaway young girl. This reads like a cup of hot chocolate in front of a fire. Lovable characters, baseball, and an abandoned mutt. The town is basically a southern Mayberry, but Winston is even more likeable than Andy Taylor. One of those books you don‘t want to end.

The lack of quotations marks was just too confusing, and the characters didn‘t grab me enough to push through.

An excellent overview of the paradoxes of leading people. Are you micromanaging, or too hands-off? Are you caring enough about your team, or smothering them? Are you being too aggressive, or too passive? The format of the book walks through a story from the author's time in the military, then extracts a leadership takeaway and applies it to his consulting work in the corporate world. Thoroughly readable with excellent actionable advice.

Blake Crouch strikes me as a Michael Crichton for a new generation. Heavy in fact-based science, he takes current events and pushes them to their extreme for the benefit of exploring human emotions and behaviors. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Not sure if it's because his plotting, timing, and character development continue to improve, or because the topic is so compelling and timely. A solid recommend.

Second in the series. I didn‘t like this a much as the first one. Jessica Reel wasn‘t developed very well so I had a hard time caring about her. Still really enjoyed. Gratefully, the unnecessary sound effects and music were fewer and less disruptive on this one. We will definitely continue the series!

Reliable action adventure with flawed but likable characters. Finished the audiobook over a two day road trip. The audio production was a little off. I liked the multiple narrators, but they added music and sound effects. Including several sudden gunshots. Not the greatest sound on a long day of highway driving. The story was solid enough that I downloaded the sequel to listen to on the way home.

I hope Baldacci builds on this character! Travis Devine is both fundamentally flawed and completely likable. The other characters were equally captivating and the plot was just complicated enough to make this a fantastic binge listen on a long road trip.

I‘m learning golf at the age of “way too old to learn to golf”. But, enjoying myself! This is a very old one, published in 1957, containing what Hogan refers to as the only five things any golfer needs to get to a sub 80 score. So, not expecting that miracle, but the foundations still hold. I took a lot out of understanding the mechanics behind the grip, stance, posture, backswing and follow through. (Pic of home course from our back deck.)

James Reece and his overly descriptive weaponry are at it again. The first few chapters had so much detail we laughed out loud. But once everyone was appropriately armed and the plot got rolling, it was a fast paced enjoyable adventure. The ending though. Major cliffhanger. But still a great listen. Special shout out to Ray Porter who does all the James Reece books. It wouldn‘t be Reece without him!

Written by the FranklinCovey team, a great introduction for first-line managers, and an excellent reminder for those beyond the first-line. Discusses one-on-ones, goal setting, delegation, getting and giving feedback, leading through change, and managing your own time and energy.

I'm always on the hunt for short novels worth the time. This is Tookie's list of short perfect novels, from The Sentence. I managed to find 7 on here that are new to me and I'm excited to read. I'm finding the tagging system in #Storygraph to be so helpful in remembering why I'm adding books to my list. These are tagged “short-reads-Erdrich“ so I can remember where they came from.

I liked the writing, and the characters are so realistic you would expect to see them on the streets of Minneapolis. The story was strong for the first half, and then the pandemic hit, and then George Floyd. I appreciate that she tried to incorporate such timely and dramatic events, but it wasn't successful for me. It felt forced and the original tension and development got lost. Each event was well done, just not cohesive to the original story.

After mentioning Tantalus to describe a difficult customer (which I now know is a myth where a man is punished by standing in water that recedes when he tries to drink and under fruit just out of reach, basis of the word tantalize).

“Severed from its roots, unable to taste the starlight.”
Talking about an uprooted tree.

Interesting connection to the main story about a ghost trapped in a bookstore.

When I creep into our bed, there is the joy and relief of a person entering a secret dimension. Here, I shall be useless. The world can go on without me. Here I shall be held by love.

Audio version. Loved the narrator. The story was good. It took me awhile to get into the characters though. I prefer Sundown Motel from this author but this was strong enough to put her on my must-listen list.