Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2018/What I've Read in 2018

Guess I'll start the ball rolling:

#1 What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler


#2 A Beautiful Terrible Thing: A Memoir of Marriage and Betrayal by Jen Waite

A woman learns that her husband isn't who she thought he was.

It's a sad story but...in the telling it comes off weak. She suspects her husband is having an affair. Instead of doing some research, she immediately loses it and and screams at him. Yeah, he was a jerk. But her behavior came off as immature too. From reading the internet, she decides he was a sociopath. And her therapist agrees with this diagnosis, never having met the man?

1. Native Tongue, by Carl Hiaasen

When the precious blue-tongued mango voles at the Amazing Kingdom of Thrills on North Key Largo are stolen by heartless, ruthless thugs, Joe Winder wants to uncover why, and find the voles. Joe is lately a PR man for the Amazing Kingdom theme park, but now that the voles are gone, Winder is dragged along in their wake through a series of weird and lethal events that begin with the sleazy real-estate agent/villain Francis X. Kingsbury and can end only one way.

This book was full of Hiaasen's signature humor and bizarre, only-in-Florida characters. An entertaining read.

2. Love Lessons at Midnight, by Shirl Henke

No one knows the true identity of the mysterious madam who runs London's most notorious brothel, The House of Dreams. This is the place where a man's wildest dreams can come true, but even in his most secret fantasies, Robert St. John has not imagined the pleasure he will find or the danger he will court while seducing its mistress.

This was the last novel Henke wrote before her publisher stopped publishing paperbacks and she and her husband started co-writing romance novels for the e-book market. Like most of her novels, it's very well-researched, but at times it shows a lack of a good editor (obvious typos). I needed to look up some of the Regency slang, but on the whole this was a good book.

3. Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need, by Dave Barry

Complete with maps, histories, quaint local facts (France's National Underwear Changing Day is March 12), song lyrics, helpful hints on how to get through Customs (all insects must be spayed), and tidbits from Dave Barry's own fond vacation nightmares, DAVE BARRY'S ONLY TRAVEL GUIDE YOU'LL EVER NEED is just that.

This satirical travel book makes fun of travel guides and the way they describe everything as dynamic. The "facts" aren't facts, although the description of traveling with children is on the nose: "Are we there yet?" "He's looking out my window!" "This is boring." "You suck!"

#3 After You by Joyo Moyes

Sequel to Me Before You.


I found this sequel disappointing. Obviously it dealt with different issues than the first book. But I thought we saw Lou blossom as a person there - learning that she could be more. While the events of the first book would impact her, this new book starting a year and half later has her with even less than she was before! Even at the end of the book, she seems to have no clue what she really wants.

Joan

#4 With Love from the Inside by Angela Pisel


Interesting idea but it came off flat. The 'last minute' evidence seemed a bit too contrived.

Joan

4. The Female of the Species, by Mindy McGinnis

Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter. Not anyone. As their senior year unfolds, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting these three teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.

This is an excellent book. The three main characters are well-developed and believable, as is a secondary character who has an important role in the story. The consequences of taking the law into one's own hands are explored in a thought-provoking manner, as are the stereotypes concerning both boys and girls.

5. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, by Michael Wolff

The first nine months of Donald Trump's term were stormy, outrageous—and absolutely mesmerizing. Now, thanks to his deep access to the West Wing, bestselling author Michael Wolff tells the riveting story of how Trump launched a tenure as volatile and fiery as the man himself.

A riveting story this was not. It read like a gossip magazine (which I tend to find approximately as interesting as watching paint dry). After all the fuss (which was why I bought this book in the first place), the book commits the cardinal sin of being boring. Bleh.

#5 The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham


The reviews on this book compare it to "Gone Girl" and "The Girl on the Train". While it was an entertaining read, it is not the same caliber as those books.

#6 Fatal by John Lescroart


An engaging read. I figured out 'who dun it' before the end of the book.

#7 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher


My daughter and I watched the NetFlix version so I thought I'd read the book. While there are some differences, the main plot was the same. Both were engaging. I liked the idea that even little acts can make a difference.

6. Wayne of Gotham, by Tracy Hickman

When the Batman begins to investigate the events surrounding his parents' murder, he will also uncover the darkest secrets of his family's past.

This novel goes back and forth between the present and the 1950's, when Thomas Wayne took part in an ill-fated experiment to cure people of criminal tendencies. Overall, the book is a good read, although I found some of the prolonged descriptions of cars tiresome.

7. Batman: Nightwalker, by Marie Lu

Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy.

This is the second book in the DC Icons series, each written by a different YA author. This novel shows Bruce Wayne as an 18-year-old, just starting his journey toward the hero he will become. It shows a very high-tech world, one that can be turned against the people who rely upon it. A good read, and one I would recommend.

#8 Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance


Just re-read this book for a book club I'm hosting next week. This book gave great insights regarding the factors impacting this group.

#9 The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton


Not bad for $1. Typical romance novel.

8. The Hit, by David Baldacci

Will Robie is a master of killing. A highly skilled assassin, Robie is the man the U.S. government calls on to eliminate the worst of the worst-enemies of the state, monsters committed to harming untold numbers of innocent victims. No one else can match Robie's talents as a hitman...no one, except Jessica Reel. A fellow assassin, equally professional and dangerous, Reel is every bit as lethal as Robie. And now, she's gone rogue, turning her gun sights on other members of their agency. To stop one of their own, the government looks again to Will Robie. His mission: bring in Reel, dead or alive. Only a killer can catch another killer, they tell him. But as Robie pursues Reel, he quickly finds that there is more to her betrayal than meets the eye. Her attacks on the agency conceal a larger threat, a threat that could send shockwaves through the U.S. government and around the world.

This is the first book I have read in this series, and now I am going to try to read the others. The story was engaging and kept me reading long after I should have put the book away for the night.

I love reading but I have so little time for it (outside fanfic of course) but I figured I'd give the challenge a whirl this year. I've only got one book down so far, so I'd be happy if I hit 10, let alone 50!

1. Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build your routine, find your focus, and sharpen your creative mind


I actually found this to be a really good read (i.e. listen-- full disclosure this was an audio book, but made for an easy way to kick off the new year). It's kind of an in-between of a self-help book and testimonials. My biggest problem always tends to be finding balance throughout my day/week/month/life and this took several aspects of that and simplified it. Very helpful especially when working in a creative field-- it even helped me focus and follow through on writing some fics.

Not doing a lot of fun reading right now (besides here), so we'll see what I get to read next.

#10 Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly


This historical romance focused on the 'rabbits' - female concentration camp prisoners who were used for horrible experiments. There were points within the book that I would've liked the author to develop more (such as how the Nazis doctor goes from balking at lethal injection to performing such atrocities), but on the whole it was a good book.

#11 Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes


The book brought up some interesting points regarding why they felt they campaign failed.


Joan

9. The Bear in the Attic, by Patrick F. McManus
10. The Good Samaritan Strikes Again, by Patrick F. McManus

These books contain collections of Patrick F. McManus' humor columns from Field & Stream and Outdoor Life. Some of the material is new, but most of it is reprints -- and all of it is funny. I love reading the work of this author.

#12 Supernormal: The untold story of adversity and resilience by Meg Jay

This book discusses how childhood traumas impact people and how some are able to cope and rise above it.

Joan

#13 The Second Sister by Claire Kendal


As a psychological thriller, this one was okay. I didn't care for the main character. The pacing was slow. There were too many deliberate red herrings.

11. Never Sniff a Gift Fish, by Patrick F. McManus

This is a very funny collection of McManus's columns from Field & Stream and Outdoor Life.

12. Micro, by Michael Crichton and Douglas Preston

A group of grad students from Harvard visit a start-up in Hawaii. Meanwhile, someone is willing to kill to protect the start-up's secrets.

This book was entertaining enough, but there was a plot hole big enough to drive a tank through -- everything centers around a machine that can shrink or grow anything, organic or inorganic. The question is, what happens to all the extra mass when something is shrunk (or when something originally small is turned into a large object, where does all the extra mass come from)? Michael Crichton was (mostly) a good writer of science fiction, and Douglas Preston is a good writer of both fiction and nonfiction, but having Preston finish Crichton's novel posthumously was a mistake. Two great writers did not equal a great novel in this case.

#14 The Short and Tragic Life of Rob Peace by Jeff Hobbs

Rob Peace was born in the slums in Newark NJ. But his mother worked hard to put him in private school and he got a scholarship to attend Yale. Despite all this, he still struggled to make a living.

Joan

13. Real Ponies Don't Go Oink!, by Patrick F. McManus

I'm enjoying these collections of outdoor humor by McManus. This book's title comes from a column about his desire for a pony when he was a kid -- and how he got a pig instead.

#15 Home Front by Kristin Hannah


I've read a lot of Kristin Hannah's book. They tend to be lighter, chick-lit so I wasn't sure if she was up to more serious issues. While she had more realism in the plot, other areas were still very chick lit such as the mother glossing over every thing bad and her sudden recovery at the end.

Joan

#16 The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion


This was lots of fun to read.

Joan

#17 The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion


This one had some fun moments along with some very awkward ones. This story was okay but I liked the first one more.

14. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya

Six-year-old Antonio becomes the protege of Ultima, an elderly curandera, in a small town in New Mexico in the mid-1940's.

This book is sometimes taught in English classes, but it was never on the curriculum when I was in high school. I checked it out of the library I run and read it recently. It's part coming-of-age story and part spiritual journey, and I found the spiritual journey part most interesting.

15. The River Nymph, by Shirl Henke

A decade after the Civil War, lady gambler Delilah Raymond wins a high-stakes game of poker against Confederate veteran Clint Daniels, taking his steamboat, which she intends to use to transport goods down the Missouri to the mining towns of the West. Daniels outmaneuvers her, though, and she winds up making the journey with him.

This is one of my favorite books by this author. It's the first in the River Nymph trilogy, though a better name for the trilogy would probably be "War is Hell," since that is the main theme throughout the series. Delilah is a widow, having lost her husband in the Civil War, and has lived by her wits (and with the help of her uncle's gun) since then. Clint is a veteran of the Confederate side, though he had no use for slavery. He also has a dark secret from his days as a "galvanized Yankee." Throughout the book, it's a question of whether he will be able to maintain the facade of civilization, or whether his journey back into the "heart of darkness" will cause him to revert to the savagery that ended his time in the western territories before. (Yes, Heart of Darkness is referenced in this novel.)

16. Spirit's Song, by Madeline Baker

In 1873, Kaylynn Summers is a runaway wife with a sizable bounty on her head (her wealthy, abusive husband really wants her back -- to teach her who she belongs to), who has been a captive of the Cheyenne for 8 months. Jesse Yellow Thunder is a half-breed bounty hunter who comes across her by accident in the Cheyenne camp and wins her in a horse race.

This is a well-written, sometimes humorous, and often sweet love story. Kaylynn is terrified of men after her experience with her husband, but learns to trust Jesse (and another would-be bounty of his, an incompetent half-Lakota bank robber named Ravenhawk). Sometimes more interesting than the romance story is the bromance between Jesse and Ravenhawk, who put aside their differences for the sake of Kaylynn, who sometimes gets in over her head.

17. The Midwife, by Gay Courter

Hannah Blau is a Jewish midwife-in-training at the Imperial College in Moscow in 1904 when an urgent missive from her mother brings her back to her childhood home in Odessa. Following the worst pogrom in Odessa's history, the family makes the decision to immigrate to America, where Hannah fights another type of prejudice (the medical establishment's prejudice against midwives) to become one of the most sought-after midwives in early 20th century New York.

This novel blended the the history of both pre-revolution Russia and early 1900's New York City with the story of a young woman overcoming incredible odds to not only survive, but succeed in her chosen career. Hannah is based in a large part upon the experiences of the author's grandmother, Anna Bialo Weisman, and Ms. Courter did a good job of mixing fact and fiction.

#18 Odd Child Out by Gilly MacMillan


Okay story - not a compelling read.

this is a very interesting topic

#19 Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety by Judith Warner


Lots of interesting ideas there. Some I agreed with. Others - hell no.

Joan

I think so too

18. The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse, edited by Matt Sinclair

This was an entertaining anthology of stories about end-of-the-world scenarios. Some of them are unusual, such as the story of a zombie apocalypse told from the POV of BBC (Big Black Cat).

19. Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen

After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.

This is one of the books assigned to kids in middle school that wasn't part of the curriculum when I was that age. I read it recently on the advice of one of my students, who checked it out and re-read it because she remembered enjoying it. She was right. This tale of survival and learning was well-written, well-researched, and overall excellent. I'd read other books by this author, but not this one. (Now I will have to check out and read the others.)

20. When Lulu was Hot: a Cajun Prequel Novel, by Sandra Hill

No one knows how old Louise Rivard, the notorious Cajun folk healer/matchmaker, really is. Nor do they know what happened to make her the way she is today, bless her bleeding heart. How did she get the name of Tante or Aunt, when she’s no aunt to any of the LeDeux clan? And what is this secret she’s hidden for more than fifty years?

This novel, set in Louisiana during World War II, tells the origin story of Tante Lulu, the elderly meddler/matchmaker of Sandra Hill's Cajun series. It tells about the great love of her life and how she came to be part of the LeDeux family. Parts are funny, parts are sad, and the ending was unexpected. My only quibble is with a bit of math -- no baby conceived in April of 1944 is going to be born in January of 1946. (That may be a typo, though -- January of 1945 is entirely believable.)

That sounds like a good one. I'll have to check it out.


#20 Born a Crime by Trevor Noah


This was a very entertaining read. He's very funny as he discusses things such as white church and black church and how a person must be tackled by the preacher to fully drive out the evil in him.

#21 The Perfect Girl by Gilly MacMillan


I was not impressed by this book. Any story where so much effort is put into describing physical appearances should tip me off that there's not much depth.

21. The Midwife's Advice, by Gay Courter

This is sequel to the novel The Midwife, in which the titular midwife expands her practice to become a sex therapist. The novel is set in New York City between 1913 and 1923, and includes a lot of historical events, including the fight for birth control, World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the influenza epidemic.

22. A Madness so Discreet, by Mindy McGinnis

Grace Mae knows madness. She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum. When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.

I've noticed an overriding theme in this author's work -- young women with abusive or otherwise dark pasts who prove capable of amazing acts of violence. These aren't the sort of revenge-themed stories one might expect, though -- there's always the question of whether an act of violence was really right, and the novels delve deeply into life's shades of gray.

23. How Do Birds Find Their Way? by Roma Gans

I won this book in a drawing at a conference I went to, and since the reading level was too low for high school, I took it home and read it to my 7-year-old niece. The information is presented simply, talking about birds finding their way using landmarks and the position of the sun and stars. It also speculates on birds using the Earth's magnetic field to guide them when migrating.

24. Not a Drop to Drink, by Mindy McGinnis

Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all. Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand. But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it.

In a future world where water is scarce, a source of drinkable water is something worth killing over, and Lynn and her mother, Lauren, are no strangers to destroying any threats to their pond. Anyone who approaches the pond is driven away or killed -- no questions asked. Then Lynn finds herself alone, with only a distant neighbor and a family of starving people who don't know how to survive nearby.

I liked this book, but some questions were never answered -- specifically, why is water so scarce? Maybe the sequel, A Handful of Dust, will supply the answer.

#22 When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment by Ryan T. Anderson

This is a controversial one. I felt the author's points were solid.

Joan

25. In a Handful of Dust, by Mindy McGinnis

In this sequel to Not a Drop to Drink, the protagonist of that book, Lynn, travels with the girl she adopted, Lucy, in search of the rumored desalinization plants and normalcy in California. Since they are in Ohio, it's a long trip, with dangers from man, beast, and nature.

I liked the concept of these books (basically, they're post-apocalyptic westerns), but there are too many things that don't add up. The book says there's a shortage of water, but never really shows it, except to state that the water was turned off in the cities. There seem to be ample lakes, rivers, and streams, except in the desert (where lack of water is the norm in real life). The lack of research where medical issues are concerned stood out, too:


Some parts of this book remind me of other dystopias, namely The Road, Soylent Green, The Stand, and The Handmaid's Tale.

26. O, Juliet, by Robin Maxwell

This book is a novelization of the story of Romeo and Juliet, but set in Florence, Italy on the cusp of the Renaissance. The story plays out in much the same way (and ends the same way), but Romeo and Juliet are quite a bit older (he's 25, she's 18, which was apparently quite normal for marriage in 15th century Florence), and Juliet's betrothed (named Jacopo Strozzi in this version) is the villain of the piece. Both Romeo and Juliet are poets, and there are multiple quotes from Dante Alighieri (and not The Divine Comedy, either, but rather The New Life, or La Vita Nuova, which tells the story of his love for a woman named Beatrice Portinari).

I learned a lot from this book, both about the background of the story (there are similar tales from all over the world) and about Renaissance Florence. I also learned a lot about Dante. Amazingly, I'd never known about La Vita Nuova, despite working as a librarian for 17 years. (I did know about The Divine Comedy, and that one is actually fairly popular amongst my teenage students.)

27. The Trial of Mary Lou, by Ron Carter

One warm June day back in 1931, Mary Lou Hubbard took the worn family Winchester .30-30 from the peg on the wall of her family's cabin in Settlement, Idaho. Her sights rested on the form of Corvis Lumley rowing his way across the Snake River. He was intent on making trouble, and Mary Lou knew it. Although she loaded only enough ammunition to sink Lumley's boat and humiliate him as he sunk 20 yards from shore, he wasn't going to let her get away with it. Lumley claimed attempted murder, and so began the trial of Mary Lou Hubbard -- a trial that brought together the unlikely combination of a Harvard graduate, an eighty-nine-year-old defense counselor, and a grizzled old clerk who wore the judge's black robes because the judge refused to.

This book was pretty funny. The slick new lawyer from Boston, eager to make a name for himself, discovers how things are done in the back country. In the process, he discovers how much he doesn't know, all in a farcical manner.

#23 The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken


My kids like this series and have been recommending it for a while. With the movie version coming up, I thought it would be good to read the book first. It's a good story but I wouldn't rank it as high as The Hunger Games.

28. Stolen Child, by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Stolen from her family by the Nazis, Nadia is a young girl who tries to make sense of her confusing memories and haunting dreams. Bit by bit she starts to uncover the truth — that the German family she grew up with, the woman who calls herself Nadia's mother, are not who they say they are. Beyond her privileged German childhood, Nadia unearths memories of a woman singing her a lullaby, while the taste of gingersnap cookies brings her back to a strangely familiar, yet unknown, past. Piece by piece, Nadia comes to realize who her real family was. But where are they now? What became of them? And what is her real name?

During World War II, Hitler encouraged German women to have as many children as possible to populate the newly conquered lands with what he considered to be the master race. However, he was stymied by biology, so the Lebensborn program was begun, where young Polish and Ukrainian girls who had the right blonde-haired, blue-eyed looks were taken from their families and placed with German families. By the time the war was over, many were so brainwashed (or had been adopted so young that they remembered nothing else) that they didn't want to return to their birth families.

This is the story of a 12-year-old Ukrainian Lebensborn girl who immigrates to Canada in 1950 after five years in a Displaced Persons camp. The people she calls her parents are not the ones she was born to, nor the German couple who adopted her, but they are her family now. As she adapts to her new life in Canada, she begins to remember things from her earlier childhood.

29. This Darkness Mine, by Mindy McGinnis

Sasha Stone knows her place—first-chair clarinet, top of her class, and at the side of her oxford-wearing boyfriend. She’s worked her entire life to ensure that her path to Oberlin Conservatory as a star musician is perfectly paved. But suddenly there’s a fork in the road, in the shape of Isaac Harver. Her body shifts toward him when he walks by, her skin misses his touch even though she’s never known it, and she relishes the smell of him—smoke, beer, and trouble—all the things she’s avoided to get where she is. Even worse, every time he’s near Sasha, her heart stops, literally. Why does he know her so well—too well—and she doesn’t know him at all? Sasha discovers that her by-the-book life began by ending another’s: the twin sister she absorbed in the womb. But that doesn’t explain the gaps of missing time in her practice schedule or the memories she has of things she certainly never did with Isaac. As Sasha loses her much-cherished control, her life—and heart—become more entangled with Isaac. Armed with the knowledge that her heart might not be hers alone, Sasha must decide what she’s willing to do—and who she’s willing to hurt—to take it back.

This book is really disturbing. Sasha Stone believes that her heart is her twin sister's, and that's why she's going against what she's always worked for -- her sister's heart is claiming what it wants, and what it wants is bad. You're never quite sure what the truth is, and whether to root for Sasha or against her.

#24 IGen-Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy- and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood by Jean M. Twenge

The author makes good points about the impact of technology (specifically phones) are having on the current generation.

#25 The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena


The author pulled out all the stops on this one. And in the process compromised the overall story. An okay read but not one of the better ones of this genre.

#26 The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck


This story focuses on the lives of three widows after the war - the choices they made and the consequences of them.

#27 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline


I love reading the book and then seeing the movie but this time I did it backwards. I found the movie and the book to differ yet both be entertaining. I felt there was potential to have more social commentary but that wasn't the primary focus of the story.

30. The Royal Maccabees Rocky Mountain Salvation Company, by Ron Carter

A con artist realizes that a group of Blackfoot Indians is buying moonshine with enormous gold nuggets and decides to con them out of their fortune. However, for all that he tries to think of himself as just out for his own good, his cons frequently wind up helping people. In spite of himself, a lot of people (including the Blackfoot) see good in him. A humorous, if somewhat strange, read.

31. So Far From Heaven, by Richard Bradford

SO FAR FROM HEAVEN is the story of the Tafoya clan, a Chicano family with a flair for misadventure. The Tafoyas include a physician philosopher, a radical daughter with a degree from Bryn Mawr, a clumsy, stupid son, and a governor of New Mexico.

The title comes from a quote by Manuel Armijo, governor of Nuevo Mexico in 1841: "Poor New Mexico! So far from heaven; so close to Texas."

The book starts with disgraced Texas executive David Reed driving through the night as fast as he can, headed west and nowhere, fueled by coffee and the strange notion that if he only goes fast enough, he will experience some sort of breakthrough -- which he does, when he swerves to avoid a jackrabbit, goes through a fence, and winds up with a concussion. After being rescued by Cruz Tafoya, a rancher/physician, David accompanies him to his ranch in New Mexico, where he regains his equilibrium (and his moral compass), all the while having nightmares about his former boss, Clyde Clifton Cotton, a land buyer who dabbles in oil, natural gas, sugar beets, housing developments, and whatever else happens to catch his fancy (always to the detriment of whoever he buys the land from). Meanwhile, New Mexico is undergoing change (the book was written in the early 1970s), including a radical grassroots movement that


This is one of my favorite books -- it's funny, heartwarming, and infuriating at turns, and definitely worth reading.

32. Tricky Business, by Dave Barry

The Extravaganza of the Seas is a five-thousand-ton cash cow, a top-heavy tub whose sole function is to carry gamblers three miles from the Florida coast, take their money, then bring them back so they can find more money. In the middle of a tropical storm one night, these characters are among the passengers it carries: Fay Benton, a single mom and cocktail waitress desperate for something to go right for once; Johnny and the Contusions, a ship's band with so little talent they are ... well, the ship's band; Arnold and Phil, two refugees from the Beaux Arts Senior Center; Lou Tarant, a wide, bald man who has killed nine people, though none recently; and an assortment of uglies whose job it is to facilitate the ship's true business, which is money-laundering or drug-smuggling or ... something.

This book is funny, though not as funny as Barry's first novel, Big Trouble. It lampoons gambling, drug smuggling, grumpy old men (I envisioned Jack Lemmon and Walter Mathau while reading), the "F" word, and Titanic. (The captain of the casino ship is Edward "Eddie" Smith, the first mate is Henry "Hank" Wilde, and the leader of the band is Wallace "Wally" Hartley.) The ship goes out in a tropical storm (because it has to meet up with the smugglers). Various people are double-crossing various other people, romance is found (and lost, on occasion), seasickness happens hilariously (really), and plenty of weed is smoked.

33. Red Sky at Morning, by Richard Bradford

The classic coming-of-age story set during World War II about the enduring spirit of youth and the values in life that count.

Josh Arnold becomes the man of the house at age 17 when he and his mother move to Sagrado, New Mexico in 1944. (His father is in the Navy.) While Josh's mother finds the social differences difficult to deal with (they were originally from Mobile, Alabama), Josh himself makes friends and comes of age in the final year of World II. This book is considered a classic of 20th century literature, and rightly so. It has a good mix of humor, drama, and social commentary, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys coming of age stories or Westerns set during the 20th century.

#28 Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris


This was no "Gone Girl". Parts of the premise were difficult to accept. I wanted to see how it ended but I wouldn't read this book again.

#29 The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth


Ok story - A little too soapy for my taste.

#30 The Feed by Nick Clark Windo


This book had a lot of potential. The concept of the Feed and society's addiction to it. The consequences once society collapses. Even such concepts as should we back up people on computers to make them immortal.

The writing style was a bit confusing. The characters went back in forth - in the present and past. It was hard to distinguish sometimes what was happening. I didn't like the characters.

It also felt with such big concepts that the author could've improved the story.

Joan

34. The Clearwater Union War, by Ron Carter

The folks of Clearwater, Idaho, had rarely come face to face with any city folk, so a group of Chicago gangsters driving through town in an old hearse drew a crowd right away. Later, when the gangsters' hearse pulled up to Abe and Beth's meatpacking company, the locals just assumed the circus was in town. And although they misjudged the purpose of their guests' visit, these small-town Idaho natives weren't far off.

Although this book was funny in parts, I disliked the strong anti-union stance. One would think, from reading this book, that all union officials are thugs and that the people they are trying to recruit are better off without a minimum wage, unemployment insurance, etc.

#31 Bear Town by Fredrik Backman


Wow! What a great book!I was instantly engaged. It involves a hockey team (and I'm not a sports person) but the story is about so much more than that.

#32 Educated by Tara Westover


What a story. Tara comes from a drastically different background. It's amazing she made it to college, given her circumstances.

#33 Being Mortal by Atul Gawande


Excellent book addressing some tough issues regarding quality of life and medical choices.

Just got back from vacation:

#34 An American Marriage by Tayari Jones


I hoped this was going to go in a different direction. These were interesting characters but not especially likeable.

#35 The Fever by Megan Abbott


I was impressed by another book by this author so I thought I'd try this one, hoping for a drama/thriller. It wasn't what I expected, it was more of a YA feel.

#36 Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng


Excellent book!!!

#38 The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah


Initially I was excited about this book. I enjoyed getting insight into daily life in the wilds of Alaska. Yet, I've read several other books by this author. They're usually an engaging story but more of what I'd call "chick-lit" - a little unrealistic and melodramatic. While this author has picked a more serious setting, there's still a lot of chick-lit going on here.

#39 Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

Second book in the Darkest Mind series


Okay storyline. I'll read the final book, just to finish it up.

Joan

#40 Columbine by Dave Cullen


I remember the misconceptions in the news at that time. This book does a nice job of addressing facts vs rumors.

Joan

#41 The Garner Files: A Memoir by James Garner and Jon Winokur

Entertaining biography about James Garner

#42 Survival by Ben Bova


Lackluster installment in the latest series.

Just got back from a week in Colorado:

#43 The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls


I was surprised the author didn't seem more annoyed/angry with her parents for many of their actions, some of which verged on abuse in my eyes.

#44 War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

Last book in the Red Dawn series


I actually got caught up in this more than the previous books in the series. There were some interesting conflicts. I was a little annoyed by one of the conclusions (judging from Good Reads feedback - many were very upset by it) but overall it was a good read.

#45 Hunger by Roxane Gay


It took a lot of guts for her to write this story, to expose her inner self to the world. The author went through a terribly traumatic experience at age 12 and still seems to be working things out.

I was a little annoyed that the writer contradicted herself a lot. She'd comment on how she didn't like people judging her for being overweight yet in the next paragraph make snide comments about thin girls at the gym. She hated that her doctors wanted her to lose weight and then she'd devote an entire chapter to her physical problems caused by excess weight.

#46 In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken


Decent ending to the trilogy.

#47 Home-Alone America: The Hidden Toll of Day Care, Behavioral Drugs, and Other Parent Substitutes by Mary Eberstadt

Some of her points are valid while I disagreed with others.

#48 Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill

This book gave lots of details (which got a bit dull) about this girl's upbringing in the Sea. Org - a special branch of Scientology. Frankly the only thing that kept me reading was to see this kid get out of this horrible environment.

#49 The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand


Definitely a light and fluffy beach read.

#50 The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer


This description seems off to me. I thought it was going to present interesting perspectives on women's issues, but it really didn't. I didn't like the characters that much. I didn't see much growth in them.

#51 Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love and Lose at Both by Laura Sessions Stepp

An older book but still has good points.

#52 The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen


This was a better thriller, though not a "Gone Girl" or "The Girl on the Train".

The Houseguest by Elizabeth Adams

A variation on Pride and Prejudice; soothing read while at the beach or in front of a fire.

#53 The Collapse of Parenting: How we hurt our kids when we treat them like grown ups by Leonard Sax, MD, PhD

I think I picked this one up before but it was still a good read with many excellent points.

#54 Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux by Black Elk and John G. Neihardt

I read this one for a book club. I didn't care for it.

#55 The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain


Parts of this book were a bit stretched for credibility but the author included actual historic events and the perspective of life at the time was intriguing.

#56 Sometimes I lie by Alice Feeney


This book was a wild ride with plot twists and turns. It was entertaining but it didn't all come together.

#57 Now That You Mention It by Kristan Higgins


Utter fluff. Great for a long day of traveling.

#58 This was the Real Life: The Real of Freddie Mercury by David Evans and David Minns

The upcoming release of Bohemian Rhapsody has got me excited about Queen again. This book gave a different perspective about Freddy. It got a little confusing with excerpts from many different people.

#59 Somebody to Love: The Life, Death of Legacy of Freddy Mercury by Matt Richards and Mark Langthorne

A much better book than the first one I read on this topic.

#60 Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

A story inspired by the real-life Tennessee Children's Home Society that dealt in highly suspect adoptions.

#61 The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance by Ben Sasse

I've read other books on this topic (which I've liked better). While I agree with many of his points, some seem a little out there.

#62 Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky

A woman with a troubled past has to face up to it.

I've read several books by this author and enjoyed them but this one was definitely subpar. Not much of a plot. She's divorced from her husband but five years yet he shows up and everything between them is immediately fine?

#63 Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman


Very entertaining read.

Perilous Waif (Alice Long Book 1) by E. William Brown. Only one in the series so far. Hardish space opera with a main character that doesn't know much about herself. She was picked up as a young child from a pirate base and dropped off by a navy ship at the closest orphanage.

I enjoyed the author's examinations of what things like gene engineering and nanotech can mean to humanity. For example when she runs away to get off planet because she does not fit in and figures they'll make her fit by mental conditioning she finally talks to a doctor she trusts. She asks why her internal medical monitor has been saying she needs EMS for years. Turns out that's electronic medical supplement, supplies the trace elements your body needs to grow new electronics.

#64 A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell


This was lots of fun! There are differences between the book and the movie but both are entertaining.

#65 The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

Girl meets guy. They fall in love. He leaves her. She marries someone else. Yet whenever the first guy shows up, she becomes a complete idiot. This was supposedly romantic.

#66 Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics is Destroying American Democracy by Jonah Goldberg

Excellent book talking about how our democracy came to be and how taking it for granted will have consequences.

#67 The All-Girls Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg


A fun read.

#68 All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin

A wealthy woman starts to question her life when her teen aged son gets into serious trouble. This author tends to be fluffy, thus partly why I picked it up for this time of year. This story has more substance than some of her previous works yet I'd still say she glosses over many issues.

#69 Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann


Frightening account of a truly horrifying real story.