Review: America's First Daughter

America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This historical fiction book is also a biography of Thomas Jefferson's surviving daughter Martha "Patsy" Jefferson. He did have other children as well, with Sally Hemmings, but they were not the main focus here. Since Martha kept by her father's side since the passing of her mother when she was young, the book is also a biography of Thomas Jefferson. But there is much here that is fiction as well, and a lot about Patsy's relationship with William Short (perhaps invented) and her husband Thomas Randolph. The book highlights letters and how Martha curated those from Jefferson and so shaped what is left of her father's legacy. The book is fairly well done.

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Review: Light from Other Stars

Light from Other Stars by Erika Swyler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This science fiction story is a dual timeline, but most of the exposition lies in 1986 when Nedda Papas is an 11-year-old precious girl. She has two hobbies, one is collecting bad words and the other is NASA, with her dream to be an astronaut. Nedda’s family lives in Easter, Florida, a small town located near the shuttle launches. When the Challenger shuttle explodes it seems to affect everyone.

Nedda is much closer to her dad emotionally, they share science and exploration together, while her mother experiments with baking odd cakes and sweets in the kitchen. They seem prickly to each other, but with this accident and another one that closely follows things change for everyone in Easter.

The other timeline takes place in the future with Nedda being what she dreamed of; she is an astronaut on her way to colonize a new planet. The crew is small, only four of them, and it’s being powered by a device Nedda’s dad was working on in the 1986 timeline.

The book is not straightforward and took me a while to get into it. Nedda isn’t the only character point of view, but hers does take up most of the book, even the young child’s view. The town in 1986 also seemed almost like 1960s with the traditional roles being showcased. Yet the book felt like it was written by a woman, with a focus on relationships more than the science and action. There is plenty of science in the book, but the people occupying the book and their personality take over. Overall, the book is slightly better than average, but a little overly long as well.

Book rating: 3.75 stars


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Review: Pastoralia

Pastoralia by George Saunders
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a book of short stories, six in all. I don't think there was one that I enjoyed. The topics are odd, the characters are odder and I just didn't like the absurdity. I'm sure some people will find these stories funny, but I didn't like them. The only reason my rating wasn't lower was I appreciated the writing format, the style. It's just the content I could not care less about. This book was on my shelves for a long time, if not doubtful I would have picked it up. I have enjoyed a bit of Saunders works before but increasingly have decided his writing is just not for me, doubtful I will read anymore of his works.

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Review: The Butterfly Season: What 64 Butterflies Taught Me About Nature's Great Mysteries and the Meaning of Life

The Butterfly Season: What 64 Butterflies Taught Me About Nature's Great Mysteries and the Meaning of Life by Lea Korsgaard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This narrative non-fiction book is about the author, Lea Korsgaard who undertakes an ambitious project to see all the butterfly species in her country of Denmark in one season. She gets help from scientists and a few others who know where you can find which specific butterfly and when. She maps it all out and goes out and seeks to find them, only counting it done when she can take a photograph. There's a website she uses to confirm her find.

Along the way we get information about her life, her kids, but I wouldn't say that the subtitle accurately describes the book. There is a little philosophizing and meandering, particularly with related butterfly subjects. Quite a bit of lingering with Vladamir Nabokov, who was a lepidopterist, or butterfly enthusiast. He even found a couple of new species of butterfly and has one named after himself. But “the meaning of life” and “nature’s great mysteries” is a bit of a stretch.

Unfortunately, I wasn't as interested in the book as I expected, but I did appreciate the line drawings of the butterflies at the end of chapters.


Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I primarily read the book by listening to a published audiobook copy of the book.

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Review: The Butterfly Season: What 64 Butterflies Taught Me About Nature's Great Mysteries and the Meaning of Life

The Butterfly Season: What 64 Butterflies Taught Me About Nature's Great Mysteries and the Meaning of Life by Lea Korsgaard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This narrative non-fiction book is about the author, Lea Korsgaard who undertakes an ambitious project to see all the butterfly species in her country of Denmark in one season. She gets help from scientists and a few others who know where you can find which specific butterfly and when. She maps it all out and goes out and seeks to find them, only counting it done when she can take a photograph. There's a website she uses to confirm her find.

Along the way we get information about her life, her kids, but I wouldn't say that the subtitle accurately describes the book. There is a little philosophizing and meandering, particularly with related butterfly subjects. Quite a bit of lingering with Vladamir Nabokov, who was a lepidopterist, or butterfly enthusiast. He even found a couple of new species of butterfly and has one named after himself. But “the meaning of life” and “nature’s great mysteries” is a bit of a stretch.

Unfortunately, I wasn't as interested in the book as I expected, but I did appreciate the line drawings of the butterflies at the end of chapters.


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