Goodreads Update May 2019
I always start this update thinking I haven't really added much to my list. This month, however, I clearly remember adding books throughout the month. So let's check out the damage.
Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America by Eliza Griswold - Written as a response to Hillbilly Elegy, this book looks at what is happening in Appalachia today and how it affects the people who have lived the for generations.
Killing November by Adriana Mather - I love a good boarding school book. This YA thriller is set in a school set in the woods in the middle of nowhere that trains assassins. When a student is murdered, new girl November has to figure out how to not get pinned for the murder and also not become the next victim.
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - This writing duo wrote one of my favorite sci-fi series of all time. I am not in love with the cover. But the book sounds like it might be kind of funny.
Reading Behind Bars: A Memoir of Literature, Law, and Life as a Prison Librarian by Jill Grunenwald - If this doesn't sound right up my street, I don't know what does. This is a new book about prison librarianship. I am stoked!
White Houses by Amy Bloom - I have read an Amy Bloom book and not been terribly impressed, but this one is about Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok. I'm at least somewhat interested in checking this out.
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames - The summary for this book is really vague. The Fortunas immigrate to America from Italy right before WWII and she has to protect her little sister. Then there is a break between the sisters? That's all I got.
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep - As I understand it, this book is about a book Harper Lee worked on to be like Capote's In Cold Blood. There was a serial killer in Alabama who had killed 5 family members, but always got off in court. Then he was shot and killed at the funeral of his last victim.
Monsieur Mediocre: One American Learns the High Art of Being Everyday French by John Von Sothen - The author married a French woman and moved to Paris. After 15 years, he wrote this book about what it's really like to be an American in Paris.
The Missing of Clairdelune by Christelle Dabos - This is the sequel to A Winter's Promise that I read in January. This fantasy book is really hard to describe. There is so much happening. Let's just go with it's really good, and I'm interested in reading the sequel.
Pride Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev - Just from reading the summary, I see that this is not a direct update of P&P. The rich snob is a rich, Indian surgeon in San Francisco and the poor character is a DJ who doesn't really want to take the job the surgeon's family is offering.
13 Things Mentally Strong Women Don't Do: Own Your Power, Channel Your Confidence, and Find Your Authentic Voice for a Life of Meaning and Joy by Amy Morin - Apparently, this is in response to the #MeToo movement. I'm always down to learn some tips to be mentally strong.
Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by Mitchell S. Jackson - I actually had this book in my hand last week, but then I remembered that I was already reading 4 books and just really couldn't fit it in. The author is from a low-income area of Portland, Oregon which was riddled with drugs, gangs, broken families, and poverty. You know how I love a book about sociological sciense.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells - This is about a self-aware bot that is clandestinely figuring out who it is, while also working for the humans.
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham - Using reports from the time, and new research, this book is the definitive book on the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. I think this might fall in the category of disaster voyeurism. And I'm ok with that.
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin - Here we have yet another reimagining of Pride and Prejudice. Although at least one review says it's not really too much like the original. This one is set in Toronto in a Muslim community.
The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson - From what I can tell, this is about Princess Elizabeth's wedding in 1947 and the women who made her wedding gown.
Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin Manuel Miranda - This appears to be a collection of positive tweets from Miranda before he got famous. I could use little bits of positivity in my life.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson - A novel about a woman and books? Thank you, yes!
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman - Nina is an only child who works in a bookstore, belongs to a trivia team, and has a planner (!). Then her estranged father dies and she finds out she has a huge family who all want to meet her. Talk about anxiety!!
The Binding by Bridget Collins - In this world, books hold memories people want to forget. Emmett is an apprentice bookbinder who is learning to bind up people's forgotten memories when he finds one with his own name on it.
Whew! 20 new books! I'm exhausted!