Review: The Rush: California Gold, the Civil War, and the Making of the Modern World

The Rush: California Gold, the Civil War, and the Making of the Modern World by Nathaniel Philbrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book explained the history of the gold rush in California and the subsequent aftermath in an understandable way. It stated in Sutter’s Mill located in the Sierra Nevada mountains, finding gold that lead to a vein called the Mother Lode. Later another vein of silver was found in Nevada, the next state over and called the Comstock Lode. These two veins of minerals helped fund the United States, helped with the Civil War and spurred the building of the railroad to the west coast. And much more.

Each chapter introduced a specific part of the history, such as building the railroad, or the Chinese immigrants who came to help build the railroad, or how the native people living in California were decimated by this influx of people. This focus within the chapter helped to ground this history throughout the book without feeling scattered or disorganized.

Among the various facts learned, I did appreciate hearing about the various mining techniques used, especially the massive water cannons used that destroyed the mountains. I first heard about this at a rest stop along Interstate 80 there are information plaques and photos about this. One sign reads “there were 45 separate hydraulic mines operating within just a 1.5-mile radius of where this highway rest stop sits”. This type of mining was so destructive, it is astonishing the lengths they went to get that gold.

I listened to this book which was wonderfully narrated by Scott Brick.

Book rating: 4.5 stars

Thanks to Viking Penguin and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. Also thanks to Penguin Random House Publishers for an advance audiobook copy of the book.


View all my reviews

Review: Identity

Identity by Milan Kundera
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kundera is from the Czech Republic but he wrote this book in French, and I read an English translation. The main character, an aging woman, Chantal is starting menopause, getting hot flashes and realizes that "men don't turn to look at me anymore." Chantal asks herself is she still a sex object to men? She wants to be desired and seems to not be able to accept aging and not being desired by someone she doesn’t know. She likes the “male gaze”.

Jean-Marc wonders, well what about him, he looks at her? But he is someone she knows, they live together. The book is mostly about Jean-Marc trying to get Chantal to notice how he still looks at her, loves her, and doesn't that mean something?

Unsigned letters appear for Chantal that she finds strange, someone says he is watching her. She tries to figure out who. The POV switches between Chantal and Jean-Marc, with a bit of Chantal’s past mentioned, such as her ex-husband and their child who died. But the past is not lingered upon, only mentioned briefly. The book is not very long, and there is a bit of oddness to the book overall, felt a little surreal.

Book rating: 3.25 stars


View all my reviews

Review: Black and Blue

Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve been going through my shelves reading some of those sitting there for a long time. This is another one that I got likely shortly after it was released. I loved Quindlen's writing style in this book. I was drawn in despite the topic of domestic violence.

Francine is a nurse married young to an Italian who is a NY cop, a detective. He was sexy and dangerous, and violent to her. Beat her up until one day she finally had enough and left, with the help of a woman who runs an organization for battered women to escape.

Fran takes her beloved boy Robert who is only ten and seemed to have accepted the lies of everything is okay, despite all the injuries to his mother. They are relocated to Florida and start a new life on edge. Fran, now Beth, can’t tell anyone her truth.
I was drawn in by the writing style, mostly conversational. But it’s also one of those books that don’t challenge too much. Despite the topic I’m glad I finally read this one.

Book rating: 3.5 stars


View all my reviews

Review: Red Star Sister : Between Madness and Utopia

Red Star Sister : Between Madness and Utopia by Leslie Brody
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Leslie Brody’s book is an autobiography about her life as a hippie teenager in the late sixties-early seventies. In 1965 at the age of 13 her mother died which drastically changed her life. At the time she was very engaged in music, being one of those screaming girls for the Beatles. But as she grew up the Vietnam War and the anti-war protests become her central focus.

During high school Brody joined school newspapers and tried to get her poetry or other feminist articles published in underground papers. She worked as staff at one paper, but was more a secretary and the boys never seemed to want to publish her writings. Also, during her high school years she attended the Woodstock music festival, although her experience was nothing like what I would have expected. She was on the fringes and spent the rainy days inside a car.

After high school she wanted to roam more and be more of a pollical agent and by fluke, picked up while hitch-hiking, joined The White Panthers. This was the first I’ve heard of this group, of course knowing about the Black Panthers. The White Panthers completely supported the Black Panthers while their agendas may have differed slightly as the White Panthers were very involved in trying to end the Vietnam War.

Instead of going to college, essentially phoning home to say Dad I’m not going, Leslie continues to be an activist. Eventually she goes to Europe and becomes a backpacker. She had a plan to go to Paris and talk to the Vietnam delegation about ending the war. However, before going to Paris she spent a lot of time in Amsterdam and very slowly traveled to France.

Eventually she ended up in the hospital with sores all over her body and spent a lot of time recovering. Perhaps her madness was the expectations of what she could accomplish with ending a war, but her efforts seemed haphazard.

The descriptions of her experiences of anti-war efforts and working with underground newspapers were very detailed. Brody had nearly continuously kept journals at the time, which helped serve as her memory along with some other artifacts she kept. A few times she writes about her recollections differing from what she wrote, which she ponders briefly upon. At times she uses unexpected words which made for better reading.


View all my reviews

Review: Togetherness: Symbiosis and the Hidden Story of Life's Greatest Collaborations

Togetherness: Symbiosis and the Hidden Story of Life's Greatest Collaborations by Rowan Hooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a great read about how everything is interconnected. The detailed explorations in symbiosis becomes a bit astounding and yet makes perfect sense when you think deeply on the subject.

The author Hooper discusses Darwin and his theories quite a bit with how he got some of it wrong with competition being the driving force, when cooperation in nature is much more prevalent.

Fascinating book really. It was a bit dense at times but written in a fairly approachable manner overall.



Thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.



View all my reviews

Review: O America: Discovery in a New Land

O America: Discovery in a New Land by William Least Heat-Moon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my first book by the author although I do have a couple others of his, his non-fiction travel books. This book, of course, is fictional being set during a few months in 1848.

An English doctor, Nathaniel Trennant, travels to America to see this land and get a sense of it. He was granted free travel overseas by the ship captain who believed there were unicorns and wanted the doctor to prove it one way or other. Of course, the "unicorn" horn turns out to be from a narwal. But the doctor earned his keep by treating the immigrant passengers, which gave him a first glance into who populates this new America. This book is essentially his log books of his travels.

Once docked the doctor finds himself in a slave market and is astonished at this business. Soon after he discovers an escaped slave whom he helps as he abhors the slavery business and so he gains a companion, although now they need to run from the slave catchers. They spend a few weeks with a religious community that shelters them, but soon they must leave. They travel on, mostly by waterways on paddleboats and meet various people and assumptions. They are hunted by a slave catcher throughout most of the book.

In the later part of the book, they befriend an Osage elder. He provides even more philosophy about the country, how it was and now has become. They all experience many adventures during the travelog

I listened to the audiobook version, but it was not the best way to read this book. The narrator had a very sing-song type way of speaking that was fairly distracting. I tried several different speeds, but it didn’t help much. After a while I got somewhat used to it but was happy it was finished.


View all my reviews

Review 742: Superluminal

Superluminal by Vonda N. McIntyre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is one of those that sat on my bookshelves for several decades. I used to be drawn to science fiction more than I am these days. The other day I decided to try the book, see what I make of the beginning at least. Well, the story drew me in and ended up reading the book in about 24 hours.

The story starts out about a newly made pilot, Laenea Trevelyan, a brash woman. To be a pilot the doctors take out your heart and replace it with a machine which you need to control. This is done since people cannot stay awake during transit, which is faster than light travel. As crew you must be put into sleep pods. Laenea has a hard time sticking to the doctor’s orders, staying in the hospital even. When she ventures out, she goes to see her friends who are all crew, but they no longer want to talk to her. There becomes a hierarchy with pilots being looked up to and revered.

Later we meet Radu Dracul who Laenea becomes very friendly with, despite him being crew. Radu is new to earth, being raised on the planet Twilight. He doesn’t know the rules or at least how people are socially. They discover one reason why crew and pilots aren’t friends.

A third person becomes important to the story, Orca whose family has changed their DNA to become more similar to water mammals. They at least speak a common language.

There were some corny bits here and there, perhaps my rating is a bit high, but the story sustained me and I fairly enjoyed it. The book was published in 1983 during a time when there were fewer women writers of science fiction.

Review 741: Billy Sunday and Other Poems

Billy Sunday and Other Poems by Carl Sandburg
My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars



This book of poetry is organized into twelve parts. Nearly all of the included poems were previously unpublished. The title poem was one published before in 1916, but in a revised version and without naming the preacher. Most of the poems were written between 1910 to early 1930s.

The poems are generally easy to read, straightforward without a lot of abstraction. Sandburg wrote so the common person would be able to understand his meaning. And his meaning comes through clearly. He is one of the downtrodden, the working class, the poor. He is a socialist.

His words paint portraits of people. A few describe atrocities, such as WWI and the sinking of the steamship Eastland which resulted in the drowning of hundreds of people, workers and family on their way to a company picnic. There is a section of love poems as well, which are mostly tender or passionate.

I bought this book many years ago, before taking poetry classes in college. I do not remember what brought me to purchase this book of poetry, perhaps it was what just a random purchase of poetry as I did back then. And hard to say why I never picked it up until recently.

Review 740: Stonedial

Stonedial by George Konrád
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars



This book appears to be obscure, as there are only three other reviews and none in English. My English edition was published in 2000, which is before goodreads really became around, so perhaps that is why so few entries? I have discovered through goodreads this book is listed as a second in a series, although there is no indication of that in my book.

The book was a frustrating read, for at least the first half. I almost put it aside and DNF it multiple times but kept going since it’s not overly long and have owned the book for many years. In the end it was worth it to have kept going.

The book is a translation from a Hungarian, which might explain some of the awkwardness of the writing of the POV shifts, but I doubt it. There were history, future and present all going on at the same time, and with the POV shifts so it was fairly confusing. The main character, János Dragomán would be referred to in the third person, but sometimes in first person as the narrator. This shift would happen suddenly, and it took a while to figure out this was the same person being spoken about.

János Dragomán, an itinerant philosopher, professor and writer returns to Kandor to be awarded an honorary degree, and see his old friends. He is also a womanizer, which plays in the plot particularly in the later portion. The narration kept returning to 1956, when there was an attempt in Hungry to revolt against the Russian occupation. Dragomán was a student then and was active in this revolt.

In this present time Dragomán just discovers he has a daughter and grandson, which has him contemplating staying in Kandor. There is more, but I’d rather not reveal the entire plot.

A bit of a strange book, but glad I stuck with it. Most of the action was in the last quarter of the book, which was straightforward for the most part, unlike the prior portion of the book. I suppose this answers why there are so few reviews, I expect many would have given up as I nearly did.

Review 739: The Hemingses of Monticello

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An incredibly detailed account of the Hemings family. Gordon-Reed places the Hemingses in the center of the narrative, how it was for them to live enslaved and without control over their life. Yet, with Thomas Jefferson some of the family had a greater degree of autonomy, they were treated better than the rest of his slaves. They were “privileged” within the slave community. Several generations of Hemings were from white masters and black slaves. Two of Jefferson’s offspring by Sally went on to live a life as a white person. All of their children were set free, eventually. It’s hard to imagine the mores of that time and place, that this was acceptable behavior.

Jefferson was careful in what was kept by his letters and writings. He tried to shape his historical image. Even at the time it was a scandal between himself and Sally, and still nothing was confirmed. Yet there are still facts, and of course now DNA evidence. He is quite the enigma.

Review 738: How Can My Manager Be So Stupid?

How Can My Manager Be So Stupid? by Kazumasa Hayami
My rating: 3.25 of 5 stars

Another fictional workplace book, this one about being a bookseller. Admittedly I was pulled in by the cover artwork.

The main character, Kyoko Tanihara works at Musashino Bookshop. She is frustrated with her job, the manager especially. She works in the literature department and is frustrated that publishers don’t send the books that she knows would sell. She orders the books, but they don’t arrive, or if they do only one or two copies, when they could sell many more. There are customers who complain that they want the hottest new book, but the store can’t get it. Although it’s the manager who Tanihara mainly complains about and how he runs things. His morning meetings he usually is glowing about a management book that everyone should read.

Through most of the book Tanihara is on the verge of quitting. She does have a lot of anger, but she is a book lover and is very involved in the dynamics of the job and even with an author or two. I was lukewarm through most of the book, but I liked how it ended up.



Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.

Review 737: American Oasis

American Oasis: Finding the Future in the Cities of the Southwest by Kyle Paoletta
My rating: 2.75 of 5 stars

While the book was okay and I’m glad to have read it, I don’t think the premise of the book held up. The author profiled a few cities in the southwest looking mainly at: Phoenix, Las Vegas, El Paso and Albuquerque, with a few other cities being mentioned. All of these places are hot desert climates, having water issues and in the last several decades huge growth. Some history about these cities were discussed.

Yet, the author described many personal stories of individuals or families that seemingly had nothing to do with the topic, other than they live in that city. The opening described the author’s upbringing in New Mexico. While one story was about a man who lost his hands in 1946 as a boy while playing with explosives. Dealing with his disability ended up giving him some fame. First a newspaper article then later working in movies. Okay, but how does this relate to that particular city and the future? (not to mention this man had moved to another state.) There are many digressions and stories like this. Interesting characters, but not all that relevant.

The last part of the book seemed to regain focus and keep on topic. Water issues are a problem and will be more so in the future. Looking at these desert and drought-prone areas is a good idea for finding solutions for the future. One interesting piece of information was that despite all the growth in Las Vegas, through their water policies the amount of water consumed has stayed at the same level. I just wish the narrative had kept this at the forefront for most of the book.



Thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor/Pantheon and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I read and listened to a published copy of the book, as it was published over a year before I finally got to the book. Apologies for the lateness.

Review 736: The Things We Never Say

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 2.75 of 5 stars



I understand why this book has such good ratings, but it didn’t work so well for me. Some aspects of the writing really bugged me, such as foretelling what would happen to a character several years in advance. Occasionally the story got to that time period as well. This forecasting happened quite often. I can see how the book could be polarizing as it delves into politics a bit in the middle to last portion of the book. I could have done without it too, as for fiction like this I want a mini-vacation from real life.

I read this book as part of a goodreads challenge. Looked like a book I might enjoy, and I did somewhat but the annoyance factor dropped the rating for me.

Review 735: On the Calculation of Volume IV

On the Calculation of Volume IV by Solvej Balle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is the fourth installment of this series. Next one is due out in November. Maybe it too will be released on November 18th, the day that is repeated for the characters in this series. In this one we have many more people. Coordination and organization seem to fill this book. The progression of days that are counted seem to jump forward frequently, another hundred here and there.

A couple of philosophical points came out at me while reading these books about how the need to work is no longer there. What do you do with your time if suddenly you have everything you need, whatever you want? What do you do with your days that repeat over and over?

I found that enjoyed this installment slightly less than the previous books in the series, but I’m fully invested and cannot wait for the next books to come out. I want to see how this all plays out.

Previously Read books in series:

• Book 1: On the Calculation of Volume I
•  (5 stars) July.28-Aug.03.2026
• Book 2: On the Calculation of Volume II
• (5 stars) Aug.04-10.2026
• Book 3: On the Calculation of Volume III
• (5 stars) Aug.10-16.2026

Review 734: The Trafficker Next Door

The Trafficker Next Door: How Household Employers Exploit Domestic Workers by Rhacel Salazar Parreñas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fairly short book on a topic that could certainly use a longer treatment. The book starts by discussing one case in depth, which was revealed in the magazine The Atlantic in 2017. Eudocia Pulido was given as a “gift” at the age of 18 to Alex Tizon’s mother. (Tizon is the author of the article.) Pulido was essentially a slave for over 45 years. Pulido’s parents in the Philippines never knew what happened to their daughter, as they died before she was given any freedom or money, which occurred after Tizon’s mother died. She worked for many decades without pay, unable to contact anyone, without control over her own life.

Another chapter focused on domestic migrant workers in Singapore, Dubai and UAE, and how employment agencies exploit these women, such as charging enormous fees to the worker. Coupled with very low wages they could go six months to a year before seeing any money. Some of the employers, rich households, would monitor how much their domestic worker would eat, many losing 10-15% of their body weight in the first few months of employment. Employers also monitor their movements and communication, not allowing them to call home, or leave their house whenever they would like, as their working hours are nearly round the clock. They cook, clean, do laundry, take care of the children, whatever their employers demand and in return get very little, a place to sleep and not much else.

The last chapter looked at the employers, or exploiters. Often, they used excuses for their own behavior for trafficking these women. Even some of the employers were expats from western countries, one would hope they would do better, such as the author herself. Parreñas was living temporarily in Singapore and was able to hire a domestic worker but did not go along with the agency agreements for pay. She paid off the worker’s agency fees immediately, gave her worker more pay than the agency’s suggestion, fed her well, and gave her set working hours that were not overly long nor egregious. Once off the clock the employee had freedom to do as she pleased. This is one of those books that makes you wonder about humanity; how we can be cruel to others over and over again.

Review 733: What Have You Changed Your Mind About?

What Have You Changed Your Mind About?: Today's Leading Minds Rethink Everything – 150 Influential Thinkers on God, Love, and Evolution by John Brockman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book came out of a question from the Edge website by John Brockman. A question per year with many responses making up the book. (The project has now ceased 2005-2018) This book was from 2008's question. I thought it was an interesting idea and realized now eighteen years later this book may be getting old and outdated. Yes, some of the answers are, but the majority were not.

There were 131 answers, or essays. Each entry was short, just a couple of pages. The answers come from a variety of people, but the majority were scientists. Also, the majority were associated with a university and had a book published. It was rare that an entry was written by someone without a published book. The few that weren’t were associated with a magazine or journal.

The scientists who contributed were from a variety of fields such as physics, computer science, biology, neuroscience, chemistry, and more. There was science adjacent, such as science writers and science historian There were mathematicians, psychologists, sociologists and philosophers. And for the random factor a musician, popular magazine editor and a few others not fitting into those categories. And, of course, there was overlap with 131 different people contributing to this book.

It can be a very thought-provoking book. I mean it was for me, but I did read it fairly quickly and probably would have been better to slow down and contemplate each entry more fully than I did. A few were a bit too deep into their field for me to fully understand what was being discussed. I could have stopped and looked up more information, but instead I just moved on. I only paused on a few that impressed me.

Review 732: The Anthropocene Reviewed

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I have never read anything by John Green before but have heard of him and his very popular YA books. But this book is not YA. Instead, it’s a collection of essays on topics that vary across the board. There are 49 of them, and each are fairly short.

Each topic seems to be personal to John Green, almost like a launching pad to discuss his own life, such as his anxiety or his kids. Yet they do return to the main topic. A few examples of the topics: Diet Dr. Pepper, Teddy Bears, The Internet, Sunsets, CNN, Goggling Strangers, and Plague. At the end of each essay Green then rates the topic ranging from 1 star for "Plague" and 5 stars for "The smallpox vaccine".

At the end of the book, I know a little about the author than I expected. Actually, the book is very different than what I expected, but it’s okay. It is not a book about climate change, nor about how humans have changed our biosphere and all that live upon it. Or it is about that, but also John Green. 

I give The Anthropocene Reviewed book 3.5 stars.

Review 731: The Best American Travel Writing 2016

The Best American Travel Writing 2016: Illuminating Essays on Why We Travel by Bill Bryson
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I tend to enjoy the various series of "Best American" although I have read very few of them in full. A few of the early essays felt that categorizing as travel was slightly generous. One example is the essay "How Can We Find More People Like You?" by Sara Corbett, where she discusses how Airbnb is finding it hard to expand in Japan. Or the essay The Actual Hollister by Dave Eggers discussing the town of Hollister and the Hollister clothing business. They felt more orientated towards a business than the experience of travelling.

Further in the essays move more towards what I expected. And some essays were by people living in other countries, which I think are expatriates, not necessarily a traveler. Each essay in the collection had hook which made the essay worthwhile for me to read. None were very long, as they are taken from essays previously published in magazines or journals from the prior year.

One of the last essays, “Invisible and Insidious” by William Vollman, was about radiation in Japan after the disaster in Fukushima caused by the massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The author kept visiting the area and measuring the different types of radiation, as well as talking to residents in the affected area. This essay is one that will stick with me the most.

Review 730: Biography of Silence

Biography of Silence: An Essay on Meditation by Pablo d'Ors
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

This is a very short book. It is a series of very short essays from the author about his experience with meditation. Overall, the book was good, but I did have some confusion as well.

He says at first he was not trained, just started doing it. But later he talks about having a teacher or meditating with others. The blub says he’s a Spanish priest and Zen disciple, but he does not come across as a priest, or at least a traditional one. Mostly it seems he talks about wanting to be a writer, not being a priest, so that’s confusing. In the end, that doesn’t matter really if he is a priest or a writer. Although having written this book he is at least a writer…

The very short essays are like vignettes into his life around meditating. Some of the short essays morph into why it is good to meditate, what can be expected, although he also says do not start to meditate with any goals in mind. The book was not about how to meditate either, although perhaps a few hints can be gleaned. The book mostly discusses how paying attention and being in oneself can enhance your life.

Review 729: The Summer Guest

The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The book is about several people who are deeply involved in a summer camp in Maine. It covers generations. The book is told in alternative POVs between four people and culminates in a fifth voice, a child of one of the characters and provides a sort of epilogue.

One of the voices is the summer guest Harry, who is a very rich man. In the current time he comes this year to die at his favorite place. He also just bought the camp and left it in his will to a young man Jordan who works there, his voice is one of the POVs. This change of ownership, of course, causes some stirrings. The camp had been in the family for a very long time.

In addition, the book is also about the couple Lucy and Joe who own the camp and just sold it to Harry. Their daughter Kate is the final epilogue voice. Joe was drafted into the Vietnam war and his father who was wounded and disfigured from a previous war. He wanted, and perhaps forced, Joe not to go. Joe ends up being a draft dodger. There are consequences for this, and just as him and Lucy started being a couple.

The timeline for the book was back and forth, not linear. It took a bit to get settled into the story with the timeline and characters shifting. I listened to the audiobook version and there was a different narrator for each character, which helped to keep things straight.

The book was well done, but nothing spectacular. This also may have been his first novel.

Book rating: 3.5 stars

View all my reviews

Review 728: Interpreter of Maladies

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is a collection of nine short stories. I found it mixed, a few I really enjoyed, while others not so much.

The characters in these stories are in the United States from India or Bangladesh. The stories explore the cultural aspects of the people while living in a different type of society. There is the juxtaposition of the way things are done in America to how these characters were raised.
I enjoyed the last story, The Third and Final Continent. A young man needs temporary lodging while he waits for his new wife to come to American and join him. He finds a room with an elderly woman, and he is very surprised when he finds out she is over 100 years old.

In the second story, When Mr. Pirzada came to Dine, is narrated by a child. Mr. Pirzada is now from Pakistan as the story takes place during the time of India being ripped apart. The family should now dislike and separate themselves from him as their home countries, but of course they do not. I thought this was one of the better stories as well.

Review 727: On the Calculation of Volume III

On the Calculation of Volume III by Solvej Balle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The book is the third in the series, and following the pattern begins just after the previous book. I still feel like these books would have been better in one longer work instead of splitting these into smaller parts.

Tara Selter is still repeating the same day of November 18, but now she is not alone. She writes about how they met and what they spoke about when they first met, and much more. There is quite a lot going on in this volume.

There is a section here that repeats part of her pattern in the first book. I thought this lagged the story slightly, but it was entirely understandable.

It's hard to describe what the content is without spoiling the plot, and the discovery of what happens is one of the main draws for me in reading these books. I cannot help but wonder what will happen next.

I have noticed that the translator had changed with this third book from Barbara Haveland to Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell. The quality of the writing is similar, and I could not really tell there was a change other than it was stated in the book. Although, I cannot help but wonder why there was this change.

Previously Read books in series:

• Book 1: On the Calculation of Volume I
•  (5 stars) July.28-Aug.03.2026
• Book 2: On the Calculation of Volume II
• (5 stars) Aug.04-10.2026
• Book 4: On the Calculation of Volume IV
• (4 stars) Sept.01-06.2026 

Review 726: On the Calculation of Volume II

On the Calculation of Volume II by Solvej Balle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The book is the second in the series and picks up right where the first book ended. Tara Selter is counting the days that have repeated November 18. In this book she tries to recreate a year of seasons. She visits her family for Christmas, then travels north for a winter. Then later south for spring and summer, staying in Europe. She is trying to trick herself that a year is passing instead of repeating the same day with the same weather.

In this book Tara becomes very interested in Roman history. With this she tries to navigate how to retain the items. A computer will erase all of her searches and saved documents. Things can disappear overnight, going back to where they were on November 17. Tara needs to train items to stay put by having them under her pillow or on the bed. In the case of a chair, she slept in it for several days. But things are not consistent either, just an oddity of this repeating of the same day.

This book ends with another surprise, and so I just keep reading. I love the details and the writing. The books are so short they go quickly, somewhat wish for a longer book instead of being broken into so many parts.

Other Read books in series:

• Book 1: On the Calculation of Volume I
•  (5 stars) July.28-Aug.03.2026
• Book 3: On the Calculation of Volume III
• (5 stars) Aug.10-16.2026
• Book 4: On the Calculation of Volume IV
• (4 stars) Sept.01-06.2026 

Review 725: In Ascension

In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
My rating: 3.25 of 5 stars

I'm a bit on the fence about this book. Some parts I enjoyed, while other parts I was bored and couldn't care less. The book starts with Leigh as a swimmer and diver who gets a spot on a research vessel to explore this extremely deep trench just discovered. It’s the deepest trench ever found. While exploring it odd things happen, mostly to the people who went diving.

Later, Leigh now is working on a research project to develop food from what was recovered in that deep trench exploration. So many details about work and her boss. But the past keeps getting brought up, her sister and her grew up with an abusive father. Now her mother is sick, and her sister thinks she should visit, but now Leigh is working in America, another country and it’s hard to get away. Then she gets high security clearance, and it becomes nearly impossible to leave without jeopardizing her job.

Leigh’s work with the recovered algae becomes integral to a project for space exploration that has to do with an ancient object that passed by Earth. She becomes part of a team training to go out into space, grueling training, in that no one expects will come into use. Until it does, the last chance team is the one sent into space.

The book is told in several parts. Somehow throughout everything nearly none of the characters are developed. There's so much oddness in the book, as well as some intriguing bits too.

Review 724: Contrapposto

Contrapposto by Dave Eggers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have enjoyed all the Dave Eggers books I've read before (only three) until this one. It is well written, but I just couldn't get fully into the book.

The book revolves around Cricket’s art and Olympia. Much of the book is taken with the early years of their lives, as kids, teenagers and young adults. But soon enough the years start skipping and we visit Cricket and Olympia at various points in their lives. Art is always there in some form or other.

The writing was decent enough, and Cricket was sympathetic character, while Olympia, not so much. Yet I didn’t get the experience of solid character and life that I was expecting from an Eggers book. Perhaps my expectation was too high. Or the commentary on art as a focus of the book interfered with the book being great.

Thanks to Knopf Publishers and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.

Review 723: On the Calculation of Volume I

On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Seeing this book cover around made me intrigued. I hadn’t read anything about the book, other than it is a translation and knew there are several in this series. I was pleasantly surprised by the book.

Tara Selter was on a book buying trip for her business with her husband Thomas. During this time away somehow, she got stuck in November 18. The day keeps repeating itself. Tara doesn’t end up doing the same thing over and over, at least that is not the description in the novel.

One aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was the descriptions, the level of detail. It reminded me somewhat of Karl Ove Knausgård and his autofiction series My Struggle. However, this is entirely fiction.

The book is short, too short really. It ends with a little cliffhanger of sorts where I had to know what happened next. Happily, I had the next book, volume II, with me as I was travelling. I’ve already finished that and well into volume III. I find this series of short books intriguing and a bit addicting. Unfortunately, not all are translated into English just yet so after the fourth I am going to have to wait.

Later Read books in series:

• Book 2: On the Calculation of Volume II
• (5 stars) Aug.04-10.2026
• Book 3: On the Calculation of Volume III
• (5 stars) Aug.10-16.2026
• Book 4: On the Calculation of Volume IV
• (4 stars) Sept.01-06.2026 

Review 722: We the People

We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution by Jill Lepore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a massive book, detailed and covers two and a half centuries. It took me quite a while to read it, months. But I didn’t read this solely, as I could only manage parts at a time. Further in, I was able to read a full chapter in one session, due to the book progressing in time, until almost to today. These later chapters were closer to when I had more information and become more readable at length.

The book begins with a very close look at how the United States Constitution was created. It took many people throughout the colonies, and many discussions. Each state had to ratify the new constitution, and each had their own desires and amendments. Would amendments be able to be added or not was a discussion. Who presented what to the constitutional congress, what their state desired, and all these minute details were discussed in length. It was very much in the weeds.
After the constitution was adopted, then came the discussion about amendments. As the chapters progressed the amendments would arise around social issues, such as in the later era civil rights or women’s rights, etc.

The book perhaps is a bit like a history book for school. All the minute details about the U.S. Constitution and amendments were more than I really wanted to know. Yet, reading section by section the book seemed good enough to keep going, and ended up being quite a reading project for me. And since this year I wanted to spend time reading about the history of the United States, this book did help to fill in a gap of my knowledge.

Review 721: The Illustrated Man

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This Bradbury book is a series of short stories. The opening, prologue has a man who meets the illustrated man who warns him not to look to closely. But of course, he does. The images on his skin move and talk and tell these stories... An interesting frame, except it doesn't hold up in the final story.

Then the stories themselves have not aged well. All the women hold traditional roles. Many stories feature rockets going to Mars, or other planets, and it is the men. They hold the jobs; women do the domestic work. I suppose it is to be expected for stories written in the late 1940s-50s, but I had hoped for more imagination.

As mentioned, a rocket was in most of the stories. It felt there wasn’t enough variation of the stories. A few of the stories tended towards horror, or somewhat odd. Although the book is clearly science fiction, the writing focus was on the people and relationships, as much as you can in a few pages. The setting of a rocket going to another planet was just transportation. It wasn’t described how it was possible, nor how the time to travel was quick. What mattered to the story was the man being away.

Overall, the book was not as spectacular as I had hoped, just okay.

Review 720: Interference

Interference by Brad Parks
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Matt Bronik is a quantum physicist; his wife Brigid is nearly deaf. They have a son together living near Dartmouth where they work. Brigid works in the library, Matt as a professor and researcher. Their life is unremarkable until Matt starts having a weird medical condition. It came on all suddenly, he passed out and was in a coma like state for several hours.

This happened twice. Brigid was on edge about her husband’s problems. What was going on? Perhaps it was his lab experiments, with a virus that he was working on. It sounded plausible. Matt was also stressed out since he couldn’t seem to get further in his research. He hadn’t published in a while; he needed to publish. Then a ultra rich businessman approached Matt with a crazy job offer. $1 million a year to work in his own lab, only doing research, no teaching, he could focus on research. When Matt refused, he upped the amount.

Then Matt had a third episode. This time it turns out that he was kidnapped. The rest of the book is about what happened to Matt. Naturally, a veteran detective gets involved and we get his POV. Through most of the book it switches between Brigid and the detective.

Brigid becomes way more involved in trying to find her husband than would happen in real life, her sister helps out with the son. A few of Matts colleagues become involved. All these people pose lengthy theories of what happen and how. Then a new fact arises and they switch the theories around and discuss at length. All of this with the how involved the wife is and all the discussions kinda bugged me. I know its fiction, but it was so far off from what would really happen. Brigid goes on scene to a spot they think Matt is being held. No police would allow the wife to wander around while they collect evidence.

Anyway, the book was okay. There are some twists, of course, and at least one, the most crucial seemed forced. The science was minimal I had hoped for more.

Review 719: White Teeth

White Teeth by Zadie Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An extensive book about two, then three families. The book is written with heavy amount of humor, tongue-in-cheek and outlandishness. This over-the-top style didn't vibe with me.

The first half or so of the book would jump from one person to the next without a seeming plot, so it was hard to get placed within the book. By the time the plot came out it was just ridiculous, and I could hardly care anymore.

I will say for a first book it is well done, there is writing skill. It just wasn't for me. I've had this book sitting on my shelf for so long, thinking I'd enjoy it more. At least I finally got to reading the book.

Book rating: 2.5 stars.

rounded up for the writing skill

Review 718: The Whiskey Rebels

The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss
My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars

Quite enjoyed this historical fiction book. Takes place in the 1780s to early 1790s, while the country is barely begun and still forming itself, particularly with banking. The book also is a bit of a mystery, but not quite either.

There are two main characters, both you cannot help but like despite their faults. Joan Maycott is a woman (gasp) and highly intelligent, the other, Ethan Saunders, being a drunk and falsely accused of being a traitor during the revolutionary war.

Their lives intersect with this banking business and trading of shares. It tended to go on slightly long, and I found some of all that trading got to be too much, otherwise I would have rated the full five stars. I did quite enjoy the humor though, somewhat deadpan humor mostly.

Review 717: Fires in the Night

Fires in the Night: The Earth Liberation Front, the FBI, and a Secret History of Eco-Sabotage by Matthew Wolfe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The events discussed in this book took place mainly, but not entirely, in the Pacific Northwest by a group of young people called ELF, Earth Liberation Front during the 1990s. The first part of the book is more focused on several of the people involved in setting fires or actions to liberate animals. Law enforcement is peppered throughout the book but is discussed more thoroughly in the later part. The author Wolfe is neutral in this book, doesn’t provide opinions only facts of what happened or balanced, counterposing views. The writing was done well in making this a coherent narrative.

There was a good discussion on how these types of acts have become labeled as (incorrectly) terrorism, also known as eco-terrorism. There was a major shift after Sept.11, 2001 with Bush declaring a war on terror and including these types of groups with increased surveillance and infiltration.

The book was intriguing. These young people were working towards laudable goals, wanted to improve the world, but went about it entirely the wrong way. At least they were always mindful to harm only property, or seemingly help animals, and never purposefully harm people. Yet in the end, they had to ask themselves how much did their actions help in promoting their cause?

Thanks to Viking Penguin and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 716: In an Old Hawaiian Garden

In an Old Hawaiian Garden: An Album of Hawaii's Flowers by Don Blanding
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a very short book, can easily be read in under an hour. Although if you’re one to peer for a long time at a drawing of a flower and contemplate the accompanying poem it may take longer.

There are under twenty of these flowers that can be found in Hawaii. The poems are six or eight lines which praise the flower on the opposing page. The poems are okay, nothing that seems remarkable. The images are done fairly realistically but have a sort of soft focus as well.

My copy, which came to me through generations of my family (my great-grandmother knew the author) also includes an insert about where you can buy the images for framing so as not to cut up the book itself. It also advertises other paper products with these images, like stationary or cards. I'm sure those are no longer available now since this was published in the 1940s.

The description in goodreads about this book is incorrect, as there are more than 8 flowers in the book, although maybe only that many are native to Hawaii and the others are not native. I’m not sure about the horticulture history.

Review 715: The Virgin of Waikiki

The Virgin of Waikiki: A Torrid Tragedy of the Tropics by Don Blanding
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a very short book, a poem, only one, that can easily be read in just a few minutes of time. There is a very short introduction by the publisher which states the author delivered this poem at an event and, “It was felt that a number of appreciative souls who were not present…were deserving of the pleasure which this rare and piquant piece affords to Epicurean literary tastes.” The first printing was a small private batch, when quickly sold out there was another, then this third which seems to be the first to include the illustrations.

I am not a fan of the poem, the drawings that accompanied the text, however, I did enjoy. This was printed in 1933, so the humor and social mores were different during that time.

***Spoiler Alert: I do have a spoiler below***

The poem is about a “spinster” woman aged 40, living in Waikiki near the beach, who was still a virgin. She had a dour countenance. People made fun of her. The neighbor lady sought to change things and gave her a romance book. The spinster read it and was filled with passion at what she’s been missing in her life. In a crazed way, she goes out and seeks it. 

The very end of the book contained an envelop of types that covered up the last image, or maybe page. Since it was already opened, I cannot be certain of exactly what was hidden.

The poem was a simple rhyming scheme. I will hold out on my opinion on Blanding’s writing overall until I read a longer work of his. I do have several of those, as this book and several others belonged to my great-grandmother, who knew the author. They were in a writing group together, although she never published. The books have been handed down through the generations, with the latest from my dad to me a few years back.

Review 714: Glasses

Glasses by Adam Geczy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This short non-fiction book is in the Object Lessons series that focuses on a single object. I love the concept of these books, read quite a few and have many more to go.

As someone who needs glasses to see beyond the page I was interested to see what Geczy had to say. There is a lot about culture and how people are perceived. There are some possible hiccups with his text, as the exposition on how children are viewed with glasses by their peers. That felt more personal than universal. In discussing various people in pop culture that wear glasses it felt like Geczy was trying to be all encompassing, yet doubt that was the case, missing many examples that could be included.

The last chapter looks towards the future with augmented glasses that have been developed and those planned in the near future. Glasses that give you an overly of additional information, or record all that you see. Let alone other futuristic improvements that may be directly embedded in contact lenses or your eye.

Not much in the way of history other than the most basic. Nothing about how glasses are made, other than now they are part of fashion and all fashion lines must now have branded glasses on offer. However, there were musings and random moments about glasses that held my interest, which is why I keep coming back to this series.

Thanks to Bloomsbury Academic and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 713: Abigail and John

Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith B. Gelles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Highly enjoyed this biography of Abigail and John Adams. The book perhaps was more of a biography of Abigail than of John.

Both Abigail Smith and John Adams came from pious backgrounds with families well established in America before the revolution. They married while John was 29 and Abigail just 19. And quickly after their marriage their lifelong habit of letter writing began, as John being a lawyer, would travel to the various colonies for work. This also established a pattern for their marriage with John being absent from home much of the time.

Since they were great letter writers and their correspondence survives, even to their numerous relatives and friends, it enables books like this. The book was not so narrow to only discuss their marriage. It is a wider biography which discusses their entire lives. Such as how John became involved with the revolution, and the long years apart while he was in Europe serving the new country while Abigail dealt with living in a revolutionary war zone, while managing a farm. During this time women did not own property or assets, yet to keep the family afloat Abigail bought land and other assets in John’s name. She even started trading goods to keep the family afloat during this time of struggle.

There is a lot of material here in the book. To note, one surprising fact is how their young boys spent many years apart from one parent or another, or often both. The family believed in Duty and their children learned the lesson well. Duty to others came before self. The youngest boy barely knew his father as John was in Europe for much of his life.

It was noticeable the author’s opinion that John Adams was not a monarchist, as many of his detractors, and historians state. She proves this several times in the book. This being the only book about him I’ve read, I cannot say, but she makes a convincing argument.

Their lives are quite detailed, until we get to the post-presidency of John Adams and near the end of their lives. Other than discussing the renewed friendship with Thomas Jefferson, the latter era is glossed over. Now I would like to read a biography of their eldest son John Quincy Adams, he had an unusual childhood.

I had this book for many years, not sure why I waited so long to read it. This year of a focus on American history finally gave me the impetus needed.

Review 712: The Ephemera Collector

The Ephemera Collector by Stacy Nathaniel Jackson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an unusual and unexpected book format, reminded me of a post-modern style book, but it wasn’t that. It is not a straightforward book by any means.

There are pages of images, some that repeat are a timeline that I found helpful to understanding the full story. There are other images, maybe some from a dream journal. There are poems and excerpts, from a journal maybe. It’s not very clear where these textual parts.

There are two stories here. The main frame of the book is with Xandria Anastasia Brown, who is an archivist at Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. In 2035 she's been having health issues, particularly memory lapses, and passing out, when an event happens at the library. It has to do with BlackoutWika, which she established but wasn’t involved in this event. She became locked in her office, which happily contains essentials for surviving for a few days. Xandria doesn’t understand what is going on. Yet she still strives to continue working with the archives, she is focused on the work.

The very opening of the book has Xandria talking in an interview on her 300th birthday. Something happened to her medically that caused her to stop aging.

The second story takes place further in the future, at Diwata, an underwater community that was built to escape the devastation on the surface. While other communities went into outer space, this group, the Black Reconstruction Collective, established themselves off the coast of California.

There is an audiobook for this but I’m not sure if that would translate well as there is much here that is visual, not just what was mentioned above, but also with the formatting. There are bots that communicate which is identified by brackets, maybe audio can adapt that part. Anyway, not sure this is one to attempt in audio.

Overall, there were parts of this book I liked, some I did not. There was some repetition, which I didn’t like, and some parts of the book were confusing. I found the bot named sassafras interesting.

Review 711: Cleanup on Aisle Five

Cleanup on Aisle Five: Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View from Behind the Supermarket Register by Ann Larson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author, Ann Larson, found herself needing a job just as the pandemic began. Despite having several degrees no one was hiring, except at essential places like the grocery store. Larson was able to hire in at a supervisor level for the front-end, overseeing the cashiers.

What started as an article turned into this book. Which means the book is not quite the cohesive narrative with a driving force of a premise. Larson provides instead a retelling of her own experiences working at a grocery supermarket.

There are many interesting points in the book about how people are treated, how the job affects them physically, and the author's response to demands by management. Larson sides with the workers whenever possible. It's a low paying, high turnover job that's very demanding, particularly physically. One cannot help but sympathize with the employees trying to manage pain while doing a job that is physically demanding.

Larson ends the book with ways that grocery stores can do better for their employees. Better pay to start with, but also better health care would certainly help as well. It’s hard to say what customers can do to help, but perhaps not using the self-checkout machines? It’s worth reading this book just for her experiences with these machines. Unfortunately, they seem to be multiplying instead of diminishing.

Thanks to Atria-One Signal Publishers and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.

Review 710: This Land Was Saved for You and Me

This Land Was Saved for You and Me: How Gifford Pinchot, Frederick Law Olmsted, and a Band of Foresters Rescued America's Public Lands by Jeffrey H. Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book provides the history of how land in the United States became preserved for future generations. Nothing in the book addressed deserts, it was very tree oriented.

U.S. Forest Service, National Parks, Wilderness Preserves, and other public lands have a history, and part of that history is told in this book. Its focus is on some of the men that fought the land and forests.

The book begins with Frederick Law Olmsted, managing a mining operation in the California Sierra Nevada. Needing a break, he wanders to the Yosemite area and is astonished by its beauty. Olmsted realizes this land needs to be protected before it is destroyed by commerce, either mining, clear-cutting timber or some other extraction method that destroys beautiful landscapes.

There are more biographical details of Olmsted for the page length of this book than he deserves. I didn’t mind too much since I’ve been interested in learning more about the guy. Yet it did detract from the premise of this book.

From Olmsted the book discusses Gifford Pinchot. I found it interesting that Pinchot was groomed by his father to become a forester, and good thing he liked it. Pinchot saw opportunity to make his mark with forestry. Like all early foresters he got his forestry education in Europe, then back to the United States, first working with Olmsted then quickly becoming the lead man on forestry management.

At this point there was a lengthy discussion about the development of schools for forestry and development of an agency within the federal government. Pinchot was quite influential with both aspects, even being underhanded towards people he previously worked with.

Pinchot’s view towards forestry was that forests were to be used, not preserved, and this viewpoint became very influential in managing forest service lands. He not only headed the new agency he also trained many foresters for many years.

Further in the book discusses other men who saw that needed to be preserved as wilderness, untouched by humans for the future. They believed that wilderness helped humans reconnect with nature and was good antidote for city life.

The book had many interesting points and yet it also was too large of a topic to be adequately cover everything for a book of under 250 pages. It also seemed to miss quite a bit as well, such as neglecting to mention any women who also helped in the fight to protect lands.

Review 709: Discontent

Discontent by Beatriz Serrano
My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars

As I tend towards books about work, mostly fictional, this book piqued my interest. A translated fictional account of Marisa working in an ad agency. I quite enjoyed it.

Marisa spends most of her days avoiding work and watching YouTube videos instead. She has multiple accounts to choose from when commenting and thrives on all the likes and replies. For her paying job she tends to delegate to get the work done.

The book is only from Marisa’s point of view, and is mostly internal dialog, although there are conversations and some descriptions. The format worked for me to have the closeness of the main character. Marisa is having a rough time of it. She has a very hard time facing another day of work and relies a bit too heavily on medications to make it through.

Perhaps one of Marisa’s downfalls is she has very few friends. The one person she befriended at work is now gone. Marisa now skips the therapy sessions and just relies on getting refills for her anxiety. Yet she does need friends.

There is humor in the book, dry and cynical and at moments farcical. Yet the book addresses a very serious problem with meaningless work, isolation and the feeling of being stuck in corporate job with no good alternatives.

Review 708: When the Day Comes

When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A couple of years ago I won this book from the publisher (not exactly sure how, maybe from a webinar I attended). The publisher prints mainly Christian romance, which is not my preferred genre. However, I gave it a chance as there was some interest in the premise.

Libby is a time traveler of sorts. She lives in dual timelines. The book starts one of her lives in 1774 Williamsburg, Virginia and the other in 1914 London, England, although she grew up in New York city. Each day is lived twice, once per timeline. At the age of 21 she will be able to choose which timeline to live out the rest of her life. Although there is another rule, that if an attempt to change history is made, then she will no longer return to that timeline and her body will die there.

For Libby she loves her life in 1774. Her mama was also a time-crosser who guided her for both lives. Living in the Colonial era is not an easy time to live, especially now that Libby’s father recently passed away. The women are now struggling to keep the printing shop going. However, there is Henry whom Libby loves, although he does not know. There is much more family warmth in this timeline as well.

In the 20th century Libby’s mother is very cold to her, while her only love is from her father, who had remained in New York. They are in London to find a husband for Libby. Many of the nobility are looking for rich wives from America (called American Dollar Princesses) to help support their crumbling estates, which is just what Libby’s mother is looking for, to gain further social status. This is not what Libby wants.

The writing and world building is well written, easily understood. Although why this exists, why these people become time-crossers is just a given. The story did get a bit dramatic at times, but I was pulled along for the story and enjoyed my time with the book. This is a first book in a series.

Review 707: Dreamland

Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep by David K. Randall
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

The book begins with the author explaining his own disturbed sleep and how he wanted to learn more, and hope to stop it.

This lead to investigations into many different aspects of sleep. Some of which being interrupted like himself with sleep walking, or other manifestations, such as eating or cooking entirely while asleep. One of the more extreme cases discussed a man in Canada, Kenneth Parks, entirely asleep, drove to his in-laws house and killed his mother-in-law and thought he’d done the same to his father-in-law. Upon awaking he took himself to the police and confessed, not entirely sure how or why it happened.

The book doesn’t linger on this part of sleep only. It goes into a myriad of topics like difficulty breathing while sleeping (sleep apnea), dreaming, sleeping pills and mattresses and the connection between sleep and sports performance. This is not all, Randall covers many topics all related to sleeping. Since it is a wide breath there is hardly any depth found in the book.

It does cover some ways to improve sleep, and while that was the goal for the author and his own sleep, it isn’t the best book for that information. It just doesn’t go into enough depth. However, it can be helpful to some degree.

I listened to the audiobook, and it is not the best way to read this book. The narrator was one of the stranger ones I’ve encountered, being overenthusiastic at times and doing character voices when someone is quoted. Some of the accents the narrator does aren’t well done either, which did give me a chuckle. For a non-fiction book it was all very odd. Perhaps this narrator is better suited to fictional books. In any case it didn’t detract from the material too much.

Review 706: Burn Down Master's House

Burn Down Master's House by Clay Cane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



In the introduction the author states this book will make you uncomfortable and he definitely achieved that. We have four stories that could be four individual short stories. However, they build on each other. The main character in each story changes, but in the last they all come together more fully. The book takes place in the time of slavery in the South in United States with the main characters being enslaved, with a couple of exceptions.

The first story introduces us to Magnolia Row, the plantation, one of the cruelest in the area. After the events in this story the slaves scatter. The characters in all of the stories are all related in some way to Magnolia Row. In the last story the civil war has begun.

Each character finds a way to fight for their freedom, often in brutal way, paying retribution on their masters. But not always. In one story we have Charity Butler who is gains her freedom (for a time) by the laws in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This story in particular is based on true events.
Several other aspects of these stories are historically accurate. It does take some of the more brutal parts of history, but also shows how people persevered and reclaimed their lives. The book overall feels one sided, with very minimal white people being decent. The characters are not very nuanced. However, it does have one black man being just as cruel when becoming a slaveowner himself.

I listened to the audio which is narrated by the author, but did not really enjoy the narration style. It made a difficult book even more difficult to get through. The words were enunciated very deliberately and slowly, with a pause after every word. I had to speed up the narration more than I typically would to find a better reading pace, which helped. If there is any interest in reading this book my suggestion is to avoid the audiobook.

Review 705: The Vigilante Life of Scott Mckenzie

The Vigilante Life of Scott Mckenzie by Shawn Inmon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the seventh book in the Middle Falls Time Travel series, one of the few series I've continued to follow. While the writing itself isn't particularly strong, with more exposition than anything else, the central premise is compelling enough that I have kept reading them.

The time-travel premise in each book is that the main character dies, often self-inflicted in some way, then is “reset” as the same person to an earlier, pivotal point in their life. The character remembers what happened in their previous life, so they can make changes. This premise is what I find interesting. What would someone do differently if they could change the trajectory of their life?

In this book, Scott McKenzie is a Vietnam veteran wounded both physically. Emotionally he was wounded from early in life, as he grew up in a violent house, until age ten, when his father killed his mother then himself. It took Scott several "lifetimes" to discover his purpose, stopping those who would harm innocent people. This book contains considerably more violence than the previous books in the series, which did not appeal much to me.

Although each novel is a standalone story, characters from earlier books occasionally make appearances. That happens here as well, when Scott eventually meets and befriends the main character from the previous book. Perhaps my memory is not what it used to be, but I barely remembered Scott from that earlier story. Or, maybe he wasn’t mentioned much in that prior book. In any case, I do enjoy the crossovers.

One unexpected bonus with this book was that my husband listened to it with me during a road trip to a family wedding. Since he doesn’t read as much as me, it was nice to find a book he and I both could enjoy, and help make the long drive pass more quickly.

Previously Read Middle Falls Time Travel Series books:

• Book 1: The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver
• (4 stars) July.2024
• Book 2: The Redemption of Michael Hollister
• (4 stars) July.2024
• Book 3: The Death and Life of Dominick Davidner 
• (3 stars)  September.2024
• Book 4: The Final Life of Nathaniel Moon
• (4 stars)  April.2025
• Book 5: The Emancipation of Veronica McAllister 
• (3 stars)  April.2025
• Book 6: The Changing Lives of Joe Hart
• (3 stars)  May.2025

Review 704: The Autobiography of My Mother

The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kincaid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


After taking a Caribbean literature class in college I bought this book, then did not read it. So after a couple of decades it was finally time. I went into the book somewhat blindly knowing nothing about the story.

Xuela Claudette Richardson was born without a mother as she died in childbirth. Her father, not knowing what to do with her gave her to his laundress as if she was dirty laundry. This woman did not love her. Her father ruled her life, to some extent, but was distant and one could hardly say he loved her. She was born of mixed race in Dominica. Her father sent her to school, actually more schooling than would be expected of a girl in that country. She did not make any close friends. Zuela instead would find what she needed from her own self. She could only rely in her own mind and body.

For much of the book it is somewhat sexual but the language used is not graphic nor what you may find in most typical books. It is the language that propels this book. It is poetic it is sensual.
Zuela’s world is a harsh one. That she claims herself and knows what she wants is amazing. She makes no apologies, lives fully in the world where she is born into, surprising self-accomplishment.

The book is all Zuela’s words of her mind and very little interaction with others as far as dialogue. Yet it works. This is to be read for language and writing style, not so much for the content. And that is what my rating reflects.

Review 703: The Good Girl

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Decided to try this audio book which I’ve had for a long while and got for free from audible, who knows why. It could be classified as a thriller, or a police procedural, maybe a mystery. There was a kidnapping. The book reveals the details it in real time and after the fact. This is not my favorite genre, but just having the book propels me to read it, get it off the TBR.

Mia is kidnapped from a bar, where she was to meet her boyfriend, who cancelled again to work late. The before time line is not perfectly linear, but mostly and describes what happened, mostly from Colin’s point of view, but we also get Mia’s mother, Eve and her view of before. One other voice is the police detective trying to solve the case.

The kidnapper, Colin or Own, was to hand her over to another guy who was running the show. The problem is the kidnapper didn't want to see this woman hurt or killed, which would happen if he had handed her over. So he takes her to a remote cabin in the woods to figure out what to do.

The other time line, after, is the current time line. This is when Mia is now back at home recovering. She has memory loss of what happened those months she was missing, she also only responds to a different name. Mia goes to therapy, the mother tries to take care of Mia and the detective is still trying to fully solve this case.

In the audiobook there were multiple narrators, one for each character. I don’t mind this type of narration, and sometimes prefer it. In the end the book was okay, and as seemingly typical there are a few twists that were not that surprising.