sucked me in. almost wish it was longer to develop more of the tension of the story and the character of the villain, Art. seems like it could have almost been a series of books. great mix of a good story with philosophical and life affirming truths. 4 out of 5.

i was on a streak of books i haven‘t loved…but damn this one is turning things around. subversive in that the main story is not what you think it is…it is instead a lens by which we can understand the terror of slavery. you can feel it and if we feel it even in small part we can begin to try to deal with the aftershocks that shape our world today.

excellent. devoured this in under 24 hours. he is so good at illuminating the hidden patterns around us. highly recommend!

not bad. interesting mix of family dynamics and fantasy.

so good. loved her book memory police as well. this book captures the complex feelings of being a young adult staying in a new city with extended family. the cast of characters are great. loved it! just good vibes.

should be a action movie. great revenge story with well developed characters. loved the lgbtq themes.

good fun and an easy and engaging read. happy to see he has others in this series and looking forward to spending more time with the gang.

damn what a good book. grabs you and won‘t let you go. this should be made into a movie.

i loved parts of this book…but the way he wrote some of the characters made sections hard to read. ending was a cliff hanger - which was good and annoying simultaneously. i have mixed feelings.

kept my interest. a great way to highlight the courage of real woman spies during WWI. at times maybe a bit melodramatic but i am a sucker for a good story told across two different time periods.

not as good as Dune but still a worthy follow up to one of great science fiction epics

i think this is my 3rd read of this one. so good! getting ready for dune part two in theaters this week!

great read…mind blowing the type of risks these explorers took.

even these old ones as so great. love stephen king!

got to be in my top 5 for the year! such great writting and a story of survival in the west.

great untold history of shipwreck and survival.

very good. lets you live in the community with the characters. good themes and exploration of what it means to love your neighbor. recommend!

definitely enjoyable. like a anti colonialism harry potter. the themes are great and world building is well done. wish we had more time with the magic maybe but still good. good enough i want to check out her other trilogy!

he is still my favorite. the man is a legend and this book was consumed in a few days. i hope he continues the Holly story. makes me want to be a private detective!

very good! good two book series.

great second (and final?) book in the series. for some reason it took me a few initial chapters to get into it - but was great once i did!

go read this book now. got to be in my top 5 of 2023. not just an immigrant story but a story of found family , incredible endurance and courage. he opens a window to his 9 year old self and you feel like you get to fall in love with this kids…such a moving book.

loved it! great multigenerational look at families and relationships set in india. made me feel like i was part of their family…

some of this was a bit too detailed for me but what an adventure. illustrates how very different all parts of our lives were only 100 years ago. a great peek inside a period of true exploration. shows roosevelt as a very unique and iconic american president.

amoung top books of 2023! so well written. explores key themes about family, friendship and feminism. a must read!

neil gaiman is a master…i have read many of his other books but never this small and scary gem. loved it!

another book that should be required reading. such a complete and engrossing look at a complex man and leader. reminded me yet again that american exceptionalism is a myth and we need a full and national reckoning with our racist past and present if ever hope to see the dream MLK spoke of.

great ending to a phenomenal series

amazing

this series is amazing. much more than science fiction and really about the human conditon.

interesting book but never really grabbed me. tried to bring a magical or supernatural world to old hollywood but doesnt really go hard enough.

Great read. Warmly written but tackling big issues of race and class…but on the end a story about family and the ripple effects of our choices over generations.

really great small book. wanted it to continue longer. explores language, our sense of place and even what a modern concept of relationships can be. highly recommended!!

great followup to Warmth of Other Suns…explores the idea that ameica has a caste system created as part of slavery and continuing today. highly recommend.

collection of short stories that capture, at least partially, the native american experience. great writting but melancholy…definitely recommend!

so freaking good. this is a key part of the american story brought to life by Kristen Hannah. must read!!

best read of 2023 so far. should be required reading in high school. it connects the dots between the past oppression and subjugation of blacks in america and so much of our current situation. i loved the way the story was told through the lives of the migrants. check it out!

a great book that grapples with suffering and the silence of god…

i didn‘t love the martian, to technical. but this one has a great story and heart. definitely worth a read!

great ending to the bear town trilogy. such a honest take on the nature of our souls which create the relationships and eventually the towns we live in.

maybe my top read of the 2022. if you don‘t think the system is rigged for the mega rich - you will after you read this book. makes you realize you can‘t trust the fda, the justice system and drug manufacturers. unchecked capitalism is destructive. extremely well written.

stephen king is a legend…he is a national treasure. go read this book! it is not just the fantastical worlds he creates but instead how he grounds his characters in their humanness…and creates an emotional landscape. so good.

i am part of a book of the month club and they are always sending interesting new books. maybe their books are more literature than my typical fare…but they are always engaging and challenging. the bloater is no exception. a look inside boredom, relationships and our own internal conflicts.

As a stand alone book i am unsure of how much i would recommend. as part of the two part series - i highly recommend. i loved the olive series so much and this was not that…so took a bit to adjust.

really good. my first read that was set during the pandemic. taken together these two books shine - but the first book in the series is not as enjoyable as this one is. lots of thoughtful concepts are explored. highly recommend!

i love libraries and this book shows the power and community in libraries during the darkest hours of war. great and easy read. the use of the two time periods was an interesting twist but glad the author spent more time in the 30/40s in paris.

i live in arizona making this book even more special. so well done. the mix of art/illustrations and text is beautiful. if you don‘t know much about the challenges faced by native americans and the tension created between poor rural communities and the mining industry. this is a great primer. as a country our lack of respect for native ways, culture and religion is heart breaking.

started out strong but the story never got going or fully captured me. i know it was supposed to be a story about new york and the social classes…which was interesting but never connected deeply enough with any of the characters after the opening 3rd. not nearly as good as the follow up of lincoln highway.

good stuff…

the fact that we still find ourselves facing the mass delusion (or fall for the propaganda) that America is somehow set aside as special…a beacon of some christian ethic…amazes me. when faced with the reality of our past…we continue to prefer false histories and diseased patriotism over a true accounting of our crimes. this book reveales that at root of it…we are no different than those countries we demonize. read this!